29th May 2009

MIDDLE ROAD, (PO BOX 1261)DEVONPORT Phone: 6420 8100. email: [email protected]

Issue 4

NEWSLETTER From the Principal’s Desk

29th May 2009

Term 2 dates 15 June — 4 Sept

Smoking Policy We have had a very positive response to our smoking policy, however I have had several requests to clarify elements of the policy. 1.

Reece High is a smoke free zone for everyone. If a parent, visitor or teacher enters the school grounds walking or in a vehicle, they can not smoke. We will all use the following statement….”Hi, I would just like to remind you that we are a smoke free school, can you please put out your cigarette or leave the school grounds”. 2. The policy extends to students who are representing Reece High School out of hours including at netball, football, soccer  any activity. 3. Coaches of teams must abide by this ruling. In the role of coach, you are part of Reece High therefore you can not smoke whilst with the team. If you require further clarification please do not hesitate to make contact. School Uniform There are still far too many students who are out of uniform. Please take the time to get uniforms over the school holidays or at the very least purchase a plain navy blue windcheater. The way you dress sends a message to the community. Wear your uniform with pride. Attendance We have now been using MGM messenger for 6 weeks and I would like to thank those parents who have been so prompt in responding to the message. Unfortunately there are still too many students with unexplained absences. Students can not be expected to realise their potential if they are not at school. Education does make a difference to your life chance. Professional Learning Days in Term 2 Please note that students will not be required to attend school on Friday 3rd July as all teachers will be in Professional Learning. The focus of this Professional learning is classroom management and behaviour management. Shortly after the holidays we will commence the process of preparing reports so for those students with outstanding work, use the time to get your work completed. Have a good break, stay well and return in Term 2 ready for work. Sheree Vertigan-Principal

R e e c e H i g h S ch o o l

Social

On Thursday the 21st of May prefects held the first social for 2009. The theme was Masquerade/Hollywood, with Olivia Hiller and Michelle Hall taking out best dressed on the night. Although we didn’t have the biggest turn out, the small crowd created a very positive atmosphere. We have had a lot of excellent feedback. We would like to thank all staff and all the students who attended. We can’t wait for term 2! We all hope you have a fun and relaxing holiday :) Nikola Snell, Sophie Smith and all the prefects

Loud Shirt Day On Friday 15th May, the grade 9 Council held Loud Shirt Day, in aid of deaf children and the hearing impaired. It was a successful day, with $219 raised. A lunchtime BBQ was held and many people got involved by wearing bright and colourful loud shirts Congratulations to the Grade 9 Council and Mr Fairfield for organising a great day, and to everyone who got involved.

Grade 10 Numeracy Support Class A numeracy support class is available to all grade 10 students throughout terms 2 and 3. These will be held in room C07 Thursday afternoons from 3:30 to 4:30pm.

Contact [email protected] for further details.

Grade 10 Rotary Drivers Awareness Program All Grade 10’s will participate in Drivers Awareness program on Monday June 15th at Camp Clayton All Students need to bring their LUNCH And in full school uniform

Reece High School has recently implemented the mathsonline program sponsored by McDonalds for all Australian schools. The Web address is http://www.mathsonline.com.au This program can be accessed at school and from the home; every student has a username and password. This is grade 7 to 12 program that consists of mini video lessons (4-6 minutes), worksheets and feedback. The system keeps track of students work and their results. Students, teachers and parents can access the site. Username and password can be e-mailed home by contacting:

Andrew Baker—[email protected] HWB News: Sexual Health:During term 2 all grade 7-10 students within the Health and Wellbeing Curriculum will be educated on Sexual Health. The units provide students with the knowledge and skills to enable them to make considered choices and informed decisions in areas of personal relationships, sexual identity, risk and health and well being. We believe it is important that students gain knowledge and understanding in this area, as they will be faced with many of these issues either now, or in the near future. However, in some cases, we are aware that parents may wish to educate their own children on such topics. If you have any issues with your child’s participation in this unit, please contact HWB staff on 64 208 100.

North West Futsal Tournament: Early this term 6 teams represented Reece High School at the North-West Futsal Tournament. All teams participated in the full spirit of the game, giving it their all while playing and showing great school spirit while spectateing other teams that were playing. A big congratulations to the representatives of the following teams for there outstanding achievements: Grade 7 Boys: 1st

Grade 9 Boys: 2nd

Grade 8 Boys: 3rd/4th

Grade 10 Boys: 2nd

Grade 7/8 Girls:1st

Grade 9/10 Girls: 4th

Inter Cross Country 55 Reece High students from grades 7 to 10 participated in the Inter High Cross Country which was held on Wednesday May 27th at the Ulverstone Football Ground. In the overall placing we managed to finish a creditable 3rd and all students should be congratulated for their efforts and behaviour on the day. Some of the outstanding performances on the day were: Grade 7 Rebecca Howe 2nd Courtney Dowling 14th Jack Triffett 3rd Taylor Harris 9th

Grade 8 Kiara Daly 4th Trisha Peper 19th Skye Barker 18th Hamish Bound 5th

Grade 9 Melissa Howe 9th Mieke Lizotte 19th Hilary Rees 18th Chris Wray 8th Jordy Dick 10th Ben Ollington 18th

Grade 10 Danielle Hooper 7th Chelsea Nichols 11th Matthew Thompson-Purton 11th

Careers in Local Government Project For the past eight weeks, my group which consists of six Grade 10 students have been working on a project with the Devonport City Council, to upgrade the Devonport Youth Policy. In doing so, we have constructed a survey for the youth of Devonport, and for youth service providers, to obtain the thoughts of the Devonport Youth, and the service providers about issues that apply to our youth everyday. Examples include; drug and alcohol abuse, mental and/or physical health issues, transport, accommodation and more. We have been out in the community working with schools and businesses, to get them to fill in surveys and see if we could leave surveys at their businesses for young people to fill out, and posters to advertise their existence. Once we have gained all the results from the surveys, we will then collate all of our information to make a new Youth Policy, and make graphs along with power points to present to the council. Working with the council was a fantastic opportunity to get outside the classroom and into the community. We were pushed out of our comfort zones and into a similar situation as the workforce, as we had to be responsible, efficient and meet deadlines. We’ve also strengthened our communication skills by making phone calls to speak with youth providers, and gained confidence in talking with members of the community and approaching the right people to help us. We are proud to have made a difference for the future of Devonport’s youth. Joshua Gibbons, Alissa Nutting, Belinda Williams, Aiden Stalker, Shannon Gardner and Jeremy Scott

In this project, we worked alongside a mentor, Peter Porch, an employee from the Devonport City Council. We have covered budgeting, capital and operational assets and 3D design. While looking at budgeting, we learnt where the money comes from and how they decide where to use the money. When looking at capital and operational assets, we learnt how they rank the need to upgrade or build something new and how they maintain their assets. 3D design involved sketching buildings, drawing floor plans and using Google sketch-up. Through this experience we have all gained valuable maths skills, people skills, learnt what the council does and how it works and also gained ‘work experience’. We have also ventured out of the school to the Council Chambers and Depot, where we have experienced how the council works. Tish Snowden-Allen, Brendan Anderson, Jerry Rockliff and Jakob Smith

Mersey Police and Community Youth Club

CAR BOOT SALE Roundhouse Park - Devonport Entry off Victoria Parade opp. Fire Station

SATURDAY 30th MAY  Lions Club Food Van  Trash and Treasure  Bric a Brac  Crafts, Books & Records  Activities for Youth

Gates Open 7:30am Limit 50 Cars Selling Begins 9:00am $10 Entry Fee per Car Boot

BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL Please Call The Zone Ph: 6423 4099

CONTACT DETAILS Reece High School, Middle Road, Devonport Tas 7310 Ph (03) 6420 8100 Fax (03) 6420 8199

Email: [email protected]