Newsletter 5 July 2024
Principal’s Report
We have had a really successful Term 2 and at mid-year we are on track to achieving our school Improvement Plan goals by the end of the year.
Three-way Conferences
Three-way Conferences were held this week, it was rewarding to see families and teachers working together in partnership to improve student outcomes. We encourage families to connect with us and communicate regularly about any concerns. Families can provide insight about supports that have worked well at home and in prior years and help us to identify appropriate accommodations and supports.
Lockdown Drill
Each year we are required to familiarise staff and students with prevention and mitigation strategies and preparedness in the event of a threat at our site. We are to undertake lockout-lockdown drills at least annually. In Term 3 on Wednesday 14 August, we will be undertaking a lockdown drill. A text message will be sent the day before to all families as a reminder of the drill. Please speak to your child and reinforce that the drill is to be taken seriously and emergency planning is necessary to mitigate threats at school.
Assembly
This week we held an assembly to acknowledge our Cross Country Champions, students with attendance levels above 98%, and select students from each year level who have demonstrated a school value/s in their everyday actions.
Kinmen Student Visit
We are excited to be welcoming 20 Kinmen students and 3 adult chaperones on our first day back at school in Term 3. Kinmen students will be attending Devonport High School for 9 school days and will be immersing themselves in our culture. Kinmen students will buddy up with a DHS student in the classroom and participate in excursions and other extracurricular activities.
Five Devonport High School students will have the opportunity to participate in an outbound study tour to Xiamen, China, Kinmen and Taipei, Taiwan during Term 4 2024. As a part of the study tour students will attend school in Kinmen County. Students will learn through classroom immersion and explore the diversity between mainland China and Taiwanese cultures.
The tour will take place from Monday 21 October 2024 to Saturday 2 November 2024. A total of 20 students from 4 North-West schools will participate in the outbound program. The 2024 Kinmen County Study Tour is open to all current Year 9-10 students.
School will resume for Term 3 on Monday 2 July.
Kind regards,
Fiona Gaby, Principal
Inter High Cross Country
On Wednesday 5 June our Inter High Cross Country Team travelled to Penguin to compete in the Inter High Cross County. The team did a wonderful job and represented the school well. We placed 3rd in A division, which is an exceptional result. Other schools in our division included Burnie High in 1st place, Latrobe High in 2nd place and Ulverstone High in 4th place.
Having all our team turn up and compete on the day makes a huge difference to our overall scores at the completion of the event. Scores for this event are a culmination of each age groups overall time. The lower the combined times the higher your team ranks. It was really pleasing to see so many eager competitors for our school. Some of our students had some great results including:
Mack – 6th - Mack received an invitation to compete at the All Schools Competition due to this result.
Keira - 12th place Bethany - 13th place Charlie - 16th place
Jackson - 18th place Lara - 19th place
There were approximately sixty competitors in each race.
A huge shout out to Lilla, Lui and Aaron who were called up to fill in for some students and all ran so well for our school. There were some very strong finishes from our team, lots of ice cream consumed and we had a lot to be proud of with how these students represented our school. Congratulations to the team!
Breanne McCall
PE Teacher
Safeguarding Advanced Training
Earlier this year, the Department for Education, Children and Young People rolled out Safeguarding Training for staff, volunteers, and service providers.
This training was compulsory for everyone as part of our ongoing commitment to safeguard Tasmanian children and young people and prevent them from harm.
The department has recently released additional advanced Safeguarding training modules.
These are optional and are aimed at anyone who volunteers at a DECYP site, external providers, and anyone in the community who wants to learn more about how to keep children and young people safe.
If you’d like to build your knowledge in this space, the modules are available on the department’s Safeguarding page.
Note: If you require additional assistance to access the modules, please take a look at the FAQs about technical support and additional assistance, which are also on the department’s Safeguarding page.
State Recovery Advisor Update
State Recovery Advisor Update – Hillcrest Primary School Tragedy (2021)
In response to the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy, the State Recovery Advisor has issued an update on ongoing recovery efforts. This update includes an overview of activities aimed at supporting affected families, students, and community members.
To view the full update, visit the link below. Subscribe to receive future updates directly.
Immunisation Program Year 7 & Year 10
The Year 10 Immunisation Program for Meningococcal (ACWY) will be held on Thursday 31 October. If you have returned a Consent Form for your child, they will be vaccinated.
IMPORTANT: If your child has received vaccinations elsewhere since completing the Consent Form, is unwell or has commenced taking some form of medication – YOU MUST advise the Devonport City Council Customer Service Department immediately on 64240 511.
Parents are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of information provided on the Consent Forms and for any necessary alterations to the information being passed on to the Health Department.
Should you have any other queries about the program, please contact Devonport City Council’s Customer Service Department on 6424 0511 during Council’s office hours.
President’s Report
YLead Program
At the beginning of Term 2 the Student Leadership Team participated in the YLead Program hosted at our school. The day involved Reece High School, Ulverstone Secondary College and Sheffield High School and included team building games, brainstorming future events for school and acknowledging leadership qualities.
Fundraising MND
Our fundraiser for this term was the Big Freeze. The day was dedicated to raising awareness for Motor Neuron Disease, a disease that causes weakness of the brain and nerves. The student leadership team sold hot chocolates at recess, a barbecue and ice bucketing teachers at lunch as well as selling raffle tickets. Overall, the day was an immense success raising $650.
Wednesday Wellness
We have also focused closely on ideas to improve the wellbeing of our female students. To try and encourage our female students to attend school more regularly and have a space to feel comfortable we have now opened D-Block on Wednesday lunch times named Wednesday Wellness. This is a calm environment for students to try different craft activities, listen to music and a chance to socialise. The gym is now opened at Tuesday lunch times for females only to promote inclusivity.
Term 3
The Student Leadership Team has various plans for Term 3 with our annual Footy Colours and Winter Warmers Days. To continue the Student Leadership teams main theme and value of connection across all year levels we are excited to plan for the second year in a row a whole school social and reintroducing a Talent Quest.
We hope you have a great and safe school holiday!
Ryan and Macy
Student Leadership Team
Science
Our Year 8 students have been learning about how tissues in the body help with movement and function. They dissected a chicken wing and viewed both tendons and ligaments and how they help support joints and their movement.
Students learned how ligaments connect bone to bone and tendons connect muscle to bone, and they got to see this in real time as they stimulated the muscle of the wing to contract and relax the muscle, moving the wing up and down.
As an added bonus, after the dissection, students stripped the wing to the bones and we placed them in vinegar in a jar. The bones are hard at the start and break when you bend them. However, after a week in the vinegar, the bones become bendy and pliable, something bones don’t normally do. Overall, students had some fun whilst learning some important aspects of how their bodies work.
Year 9/10 Foods
This term in 9/10 foods, we have been learning about food trends in Australia. In class we have been learning how to present food. Including making chocolate work, plate presentation and photography.
Kirsty, Kellara and Sakura
School Nurse
What is the eSafety Commissioner?
It is Australia’s regulator for online safety. Started in 2015, it is a team of educators, investigators, lawyers, technology experts and other professionals with a goal of safer and more positive online experiences.
What does it do?
The purpose is to safeguard Australians from online harms, advise on online safety issues, focusing on 3 P’s:
Prevention- through research, raising awareness and education programs
Protection:- through regulation and investigations under the Online Safety Act
Proactive change: staying ahead of technology trends, improving user safety standards and improving impact across borders.
They move quickly to protect people from online abuse and act as a safety net across:
Adult Cyber Abuse
Cyberbullying Scheme for Australian Children
Image-based Abuse
Online Content for illegal and restricted content.
The website contains resources & education for parents about online safety, provides technological research, information on parental controls and advice for online issues your student may be facing including reporting an incident. Visit www.esafety.gov.au
Mel Smith, School Nurse
Breakfast Club – Devonport Chaplaincy
Breakfast Club is on Tuesdays and Thursdays before school from 8:00am onwards. Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy something to eat and have a chat.
Darra Boerma, Chaplain
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