Dear Parents/Carers

This term has been very busy and it is hard to believe that we only have three more weeks until Easter and the Term 1 holidays.  It is very pleasing to see so many students engaging in their learning in their classes and acting on feedback given by their teachers. 

Student Leaders Induction Assembly and International Women’s Day afternoon tea

Last Wednesday 8 March  we held two very special celebrations. In the morning we held a Whole School Assembly where our 2023 Leaders from Years 8- 10 were inducted into their roles.  Congratulations to all our student leaders.  We were very fortunate to have Ms Elise Whitmore, a former student of Scottsdale High School address the audience and talk about the attributes leaders need to have. Additionally, she strongly encouraged our students to be aware of gender inequalities that still exist today and how we can all make a difference to making the world a more equitable and safer place.

Elise attended Scottsdale High School from 1998 to 2001. She went on to complete Years 11 and 12 at Newstead College, and then completed a Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Law at the University of Tasmania, followed by a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice. Elise commenced her legal career in commercial law in 2010, and then transitioned to the community legal sector in 2012 (where she has been ever since). She became Principal Solicitor of the Women's Legal Service in 2020. During that time Elise also sat on the Boards of both Laurel House (the sexual assault, counselling and support service in North and North-West Tasmania), and Magnolia Place (the Launceston Women's Shelter). Elise is also currently a member of the Gender, Respect and Fairness Reference Group with the State Department of Justice. Thank you to Elise for giving so generously of her time and demonstrating that our students can experience success in demanding fields of employment.

Well done to the following student leaders:

Our Year 7 students are going through a nomination process and they will hold elections shortly for their SLB representatives. 

In the afternoon, we celebrated International Women’s Day. A number of our Year 9-12 girls, including some girls from Winnaleah District High, enjoyed an afternoon tea in the PAC with four inspirational women who work and reside in the north east.  Thanks to Grace, Keeley, Taylor and Tess for sharing their experiences with out students and encouraging them to embrace opportunities that come their way and to have self-belief. Thanks to Miss Walker for organising this event, Mrs Butler and the Hospitality Academy for catering and to Winnaleah District High School for joining us for this event.

Expectations Document

Last year our students created Scottsdale High School’s Expectations document which guides the way we behave and interact with one another. In Home Group each week, students and staff are focussing on two key aspects and unpacking what this looks and sounds like.  We encourage you to have a chat to your child about this document as it does help them to make good choices about their learning and their behaviour

Well done to all students who participated in our Athletics Carnival on Thursday 9 March at the Scottsdale Recreation Ground.  It was impressive to see so many students participating to gain points for their House and students were extremely supportive of one another. Our House Captains did a fabulous job promoting house spirit and friendly competition.

Many thanks to our HPE staff, Miss Brown, Mr Petterwood and Miss Juraimi and all other staff who assisted with organisation, supervision and setting up and packing up.

We still have several events to run in class time before results can be finalised but it is very close with points currently sitting at

The Interhigh Team will be announced in Week 8 when we have final scores and places. Interhigh Athletics will be run Friday Week 1 of Term 2.

School Association

Reminder that the  next meeting will be on Wednesday 29 March at 7.00pm in the Library. We have moved to a later meeting time in the day based on feedback given.  There will be a short AGM then general meeting. New members are welcome to join. Meetings run for approximately an hour. This is a great opportunity for parents/carers to be kept informed of our improvement journey.  Nomination forms are attached.

Vaping

We have provided a Parent Information Factsheet in this newsletter made available by our school nurses. We have noticed an increase in the number of students experimenting with vaping and students are aware that we have a Policy for responding  to using smoking devices.

Scottsdale High School’s Non-Smoking Policy is in accordance with the laws which regulate the use of smoking products for minors. It is illegal for anyone to use smoking products on Department for Education, Children and Young People property. If a student chooses to use smoking products, or is a bystander to someone using smoking products at school, the school’s procedure will apply.

Students caught using smoking devices outside of school grounds, including before or after school, will be regarded as bringing the school into disrepute. This may result in an external suspension.

Our school nurses can provide support to students, including accessing Quit programs.

Elizabeth Williams

Principal

Year 7 and 9 students have been busy over the recent week undertaking and preparing for NAPLAN Testing.

Students have undertaken practice testing to learn about the NAPLAN Portal. Students have then all participated in testing for reading, language conventions, writing and numeracy.

 We would like to remind parents that NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance; however, students and parents may use individual results to discuss progress with teachers.

 The reason why NAPLAN is conducted online is because NAPLAN online provides a better assessment and more precise results.

One of the main benefits of NAPLAN online is that it uses tailored (or adaptive) testing. This means that students receive questions better suited to their abilities, so they can show what they know and can do.

Online testing also allows us to provide a wide range of accessibility options to support students with disability to access NAPLAN.

Feedback from students is that they find the online test more engaging.

The Year 9 and 10 students have had a very settled, calm and successful start to the year.

As part of the school wide focus on creating a calm and orderly learning environment all Year 10 students will be reading a text called ‘The Resilience Project’.

This text is written by author Hugh Van Cuylenburg and discusses his journey to finding happiness through gratitude, empathy and mindfulness.

To support this work we have put forward a challenge to all Year 9-10 students to undertake a daily challenge that supports their physical, social and emotional health.

Daily challenges include trying something outside their comfort zone such as taking a 1 minute cold shower or physically challenging themselves undertaking a 6 minute plank.

We encourage parents and carers to chat with their children abut whether they are trying any daily challenges to support this work on improved positive wellbeing and focus on learning more about gratitude, empathy and mindfulness.

Challenges so far include:

1 minute cold shower

6 minute plank and push up

Watch an interesting documentary and learn something new

A day without any social media

100 lunges

Try a 10 minute meditation

Cook a meal with 6 vegetables in it

Giving a compliment to a stranger

Finding 3 things to be grateful for

 Home groups will be checking in daily with students as to how they are progressing with this challenge.

World Sleep Day 2023

World Sleep Day 2023 will take place on Friday, March 17 and incorporates the slogan Sleep is Essential for Health. Just like eating well and exercising, sleep is a behavior that is foundational to one’s physical, mental, and social well-being.

Sleep Well to Learn Well

Did you know that most of us spend 30% of our lifetime

sleeping!

Just like your phone, your body and mind need to be

recharged each day – for us it’s through a good night’s

sleep!

When we sleep our bodies have time to repair and grow.

This helps us manage our mental health, helps us learn

better, boosts our immune system, and improves our

memory.

How much sleep do our learners need?

High School age students require: 8-10 hours

What happens if I don't get enough sleep?

Without enough sleep we can be more irritable, moody,

aggressive, restless, impulsive, be more likely to have

accidents, and longer term are at higher risk of obesity,

heart disease and diabetes.

School children may struggle with their learning, have poor concentration and memory, and have trouble staying mentally well.

For some great sleep tips and further information…visit these sites:

https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/ (they have lots of great factsheets)

https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/healthy-lifestyle/sleep-concerns-problems/sleep-problems-solutions

https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/healthy-lifestyle/sleep-concerns-problems/persistent-sleep-problems

https://headspace.org.au/assets/Factsheets/HSP225-Sleep-Fact-Sheet-DP3.pdf

If you are concerned about your child's sleep habits and would like some support, feel free to contact your School Health Nurse through the school office.

Cheers Nurse Amy