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- Principal's Report
- Subject in Focus - The Arts - Visual Arts (Miss Saunders)
- Prefects' Report
- Techno Bully Performance
- Civics and Citizenship
- Inter-High Swimming Carnival
- RHS Athletics Carnival 2022
- Parrots Cup Football
- Inter-High Athletics Program
- West Tamar Carols 2022 and Exeter Show 2023
- Youth Volunteer Army
- Legana Pump Track
- Legana Youth Centre
- Smith Family
On Tuesday the 1st and Wednesday the 2nd of November, the Riverside High School Athletics Carnival was held at Windsor Park. Despite the wet and windy weather leading up to the carnival we didn’t get the winds or showers which were forecast for the two days instead we had sunshine!
Student participation was excellent in Years 7 through to 10 with the highlight of the carnival being the 100m finals and relays. Thank you to the parents who came along and supported the day and to the Riverside canteen staff who transported all of their equipment to Windsor for students and staff and the Year 10 Student Council for the barbecue.
The Inter-high Division 1 Athletics Carnival will be held on Wednesday, 16th November at the St Leonards Athletic Centre. The HPE staff will announce the representative team as soon as possible. Parents/guardians can attend the Inter-High Carnival. The program for the Inter-high carnival will be shared via Face Book once received. Attached to this week’s newsletter is a report from the athletics carnival including a list of the records broken.
The election process for the 2023 Prefect Board is well underway. The process of running for election has many steps which are coordinated by the Year 9 leadership team. Students who have made it to the final stages will present their speeches to the student body and staff on Friday, 11th of November. We thank all candidates for the work they have completed in writing and preparing their speeches.
End of Year Assemblies
The Riverside High School Presentation Evening 2022 will be held on Wednesday, 14th of December from 6.30-8.30pm in the school gymnasium. Award recipients in Year 10 will receive their invitations for family members on Wednesday, 7th December. Family members will need to RSVP to the evening.
The final Year 10 Celebration Assembly will be held on Wednesday, 21st of December. Year 10 and 9 students will attend this special event in periods 2 and 3, starting at approximately 10.45am. The assembly will be live streamed to the Year 7 and 8 students and teachers in their classrooms. Year 10 students and their families will receive an invitation to this special event closer to the date. The Year 10 assembly will be recorded for parents/guardians who can’t make it on the day.
NAPLAN 2023
Students will be sitting NAPLAN between the 15 and 27 March 2023.
The National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning at school. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so.
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.
This is the first year NAPLAN will be held in March, having previously taken place in May. This change was made so school systems would have access to results earlier in the school year, so they can be used to inform teaching and learning plans for the remainder of the year.
Why NAPLAN is conducted online
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.
Parent information brochures and other resources
Your questions answered on NAPLAN and what it means for your child:
NAPLAN information brochure for parents and carers
The link will take you to the official National Assessment Program (NAP) website.
Please contact the school if you have any further queries.
Teacher Professional Learning Day – Student Free Day
On Friday, teachers at Riverside High School were involved in professional learning on the new version 9.0 of the Australian Curriculum, had the opportunity to work in professional learning teams moderating student work portfolios and were involved in a one-hour practical session on the use of iPads as a means for differentiation in the classroom. In 2023, Riverside High School will have one to one iPad for all students in Year 7, 8 and 9.
25 Years of Service – Department of Education
The Department of Education celebrates and acknowledges staff that have completed 25 years of employment in the Tasmanian State Service. Cynthia Pearce, the Business Manager at Riverside High School, was recognised for her long-standing service at a special presentation afternoon last week. Cynthia was presented with a certificate and gift from the Deputy Secretary, Trudy Pearce.
Riverside High School often has students who are successful in making state and national teams and representative teams in the arts, sports and academic pursuits. We would love to share and celebrate the successes of our currently enrolled students in our fortnightly newsletter. Please contact the student administration office if you are happy to share your child’s achievements.
Survey for Families: Out-of-Area Enrolments
The Department for Education, Children and Young People is reviewing the procedure for out-of-area enrolments at Tasmanian Government schools. We are interested to learn more about your perspectives on the benefits of attending your local government school, and the reasons families seek enrolment at a school outside their local intake area. You are invited to have your say using an online survey at https://forms.office.com/r/CX6hgsUvcX.
Remembrance Day
Riverside High School Prefects attended the Remembrance Day Service in Launceston and coordinated the service for the school community at 11:00am. A minute’s silence was observed and dedicated to those soldiers who died fighting to protect the nation.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Ethan 7E who has been invited to the Tasmanian Awards for the Australian Mathematic Competition. This is a testament to Ethan’s hardworking nature and exceptional mathematical ability.
Ms Jeanna Bolton
Subject in Focus - The Arts - Visual Arts (Miss Saunders)
Art is a human act. Art is Risky. Generous. Courageous. Provocative.
While it may be viewed by some as merely decorative, it is essential expression from one human to another. Creative expression is an innate need for our identity.
“Art invites curiosity, develops perspective, and with that comes tolerance of diversity and difference.”
Art nurtures the spirit and calms the mind
Gary Tinterow, director of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Kenn McLaughlin, executive director of Stages
Learning through and about the arts enriches the experience of studying while at school as well as preparing students for life after school.
- Arts subjects encourage self-expression and creativity and can build confidence as well as a sense of individual identity.
- Creativity can also help with wellbeing and improving health and happiness – RHS students have told us that their arts lessons were an outlet for releasing the pressures of studying as well as those of everyday life.
- Studying arts subjects also help to develop critical thinking and the ability to interpret the world around us.
- At Riverside High School we offer a wide variety of experiences in our Visual Art rooms for students.
We follow the structure of and assess against the Australian Curriculum.
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/the-arts/visual-arts/rationale
Grade 7 have 2 x 75 minute blocks each week in Art. Over the course of the semester art taster for year 7s, students are exposed to a range of materials, techniques and experiences such as: Acrylic and watercolour painting, collage, sculpture, digital art, clay work, sketching and more. In Grade 7, students are given an introduction to the Visual Arts and are provided with an art journal for theoretical planning and some assignments. Pictured below are some examples of the Self-Portraiture unit, where students gained skills in proportion work, line, shading and more.
As an option subject in Grade 8, students have 2 x 75 minute blocks each week. They adopt a more methodical structure in their art lessons and begin to develop their own aesthetic. Students push boundaries and explore ways of enhancing their art practice by looking at the work of artists and an assortment of styles/genres. Students start to develop more meaning in their artwork and using their art as a tool for expression. Their ceramic tiny houses along with their lino carvings inspired by the works of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, were just beautiful and make for a lovely display at Sidefest.
In Grades 9 and 10, students also have 2 x 75 minute blocks each week. They are given the opportunity to explore the Visual Arts in detail. Students refine skills in portraiture, landscape painting and sculpture. In 2021, students used oil paints to create beautiful Tasmanian landscape inspired paintings inspired by a range of painters including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art makers. During their Ceramic Bowls unit, students designed their own bowls, inspired by a range of ceramic artists and styles. Students developed clay skills during class workshops to make structurally sound bowls of varying sizes. They persevered through the process of drying, patience, bisque firing and then painting their work. While it can be a tedious process, the disciplined method in making these pots is enjoyable and the end results speak for themselves. We congratulate students on their considered approach and willingness to develop skills in clay. Students also completed a printmaking unit based on the theme of trees, exploring first nations connection with trees and country, developing their drawing skills in their journals and then creating a dry-point etching.
In combination with class workshops using specific materials, along with set tasks and assignments, students are encouraged to develop their own inquiries. They are self-motivated and will now develop a body of work based on chosen themes, styles and techniques. Studying Visual Arts in Grade 10 will prepare students when making choices around the many Arts subjects on offer in Years 11 and 12.
Last week on the 1st and 2nd of November, Riverside High School ran our annual Athletics Carnival at Windsor Park. The days were action packed! The entire school participated. To give students a break from all of the intense competition, the House Captain Prefects organised a range of fun events. Students were divided into house groups and points were rewarded accordingly. The first activity was a tic tac toe relay, where kids competed to score three in a row. Following this, we rotated through a range of relay games such as, three-legged race, wheelbarrow race and the ‘chimp’ race. With the assisted supervision from the Prefect Board, we were able to get involved in the carnival and have fun with students. It was a great opportunity to test our leadership skills and cooperate as a team.
On Saturday, 29th October, the Prefect Board held a community event and big fundraiser for our legacy, an outdoor stage. We spent the day cooking and serving sausages at Bunnings. The fundraiser made $1500 and it was a great experience for us all. We learnt a lot about how to organise an event such as this and gained a lot from working as a team.
Last Friday, Grade 7 and 8 students enjoyed the informative Techno Bully performance. The play involves a male student who befriends Kathy. He seems sympathetic, but Kathy doesn’t know what to do. Kathy's Dilemma enables an exploration of cyber bullying. The play exposes the misuse of new technologies and the consequences that can follow. At the conclusion, students had many questions relating to cyber safety and awareness that answered by the team.
Should we have compulsory voting in Australia? This was the question posed to high school students from all over Australia in a Civics and Citizenship pilot program held on the 27th of October. Tasmania was represented by 7 year 9 students from Riverside High School who participated in the nationwide conference via zoom. Participants listened to lectures on the history and introduction of compulsory voting, the arguments for and against compulsory voting in Australia and a comparison to voting arrangements in other countries. Each lecture was followed by questions posed from the student delegates.
A rigorous discussion was held between hubs from all around Australia before a vote on the question of compulsory voting was conducted. The results of the voting and details of the discussions held were then presented as a communique to Senator Sue Lines, the President of the Senate.
The participating students gained valuable experience in academic research into voting in Australia and an understanding of the importance of voting and Civics and Citizenship as a learning area.
After the postponement of the 2022 NHSSA Inter-High Swimming Carnival in Term 1, it was wonderful to be back at the pool again in Term 4 with our students competing against the best swimmers from rival schools.
Riverside went into the day’s competition holding only the Junior Shield after Prospect won the Senior and Overall Shields in 2021. Prior to this, Riverside had held the Overall Shield for a record 28 years.
Riverside High started off the day strongly winning three of the first four Medley Relays, however by the halfway mark, Prospect were leading the way in the Shield.
It is in Riverside’s nature to find a way and despite fatigue starting to become a factor due to some students swimming up to seven races over the course of the day, members of the team from Grade 7 and 8 started to find the wall first and Riverside overtook Prospect in the race for the Junior Shield.
Going into the last events of the day, the 4 x 50m relays, Riverside were only 8 points behind Prospect in the race for the Shield. This was as close as we had been all day and there was a genuine belief that we could finish strongly in the relays and secure the first place. With relays worth double points, Riverside came home strongly winning five of the eight 4 x 50m freestyle relays. The Grade 7 boys and the Grade 8 girls relay teams both broke long standing NHSSA Inter-High records on their way to big wins in their relay races.
As the race meet wrapped up, there was a high level of anticipation amongst the swimmers from all schools as we waited for the final results to be announced.
Riverside were announced winners of the Junior Shield and second in the Senior Shield to Prospect. We waited to hear who had won the Overall Shield. When Riverside were announced as the winning school, a loud cheer went up from the team. It was almost a sense of relief, as much as it was a celebration. We had won the Shield back after losing it in 2021 for the first time in 28 years.
It was impressive to witness how the students carried themselves throughout the day and the respect that they showed towards their competitors.
Congratulations to all members of the Riverside High swim team for the way that you competed and equally important, for the way that you conducted yourselves on the day.
Congratulations to the following students who were successful in breaking relay records at the Inter-High Swimming Carnival.
Boys 7 4x50m Freestyle Relay Div A
- Archer R
- Lachlan P
- Sam R
- Kodi R
Girls 8 4x50m Freestyle Relay Div A
- Matilda B
- Lauren M
- Aurora D
- Lily R
The Athletics Carnival was on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd of November at Windsor Park. We were absolutely blessed with the weather, considering the consistent rain we had in the lead up to November.
It was awesome to see such excitement amongst the students and staff to be back out on the sporting fields. With the lead up weather not being the greatest, we made some changes to the event locations as the back oval was too wet and soggy, this meant we utilised the main oval more heavily with the events like the 800m and the 1500m. These changes created even more of an atmosphere and saw students being encouraged and motivated by many others due to this.
Days like these are special, a real highlight is the house spirit and genuine support students gave to fellow peers throughout the carnival. It was pleasing to see students participating across the board in the events that were on offer. They were determined to produce their best efforts.
The success of the Athletic Carnival though relies truly on the contribution of many community members and organisations.
We would sincerely like to thank the Launceston Little Athletics Club for their wonderful support by allowing us to use their timing gates and athletics’ equipment.
Thank you to the West Tamar Council and the Launceston Football Club for allowing us the use of the sporting grounds, buildings and toilets of the Windsor Park precinct.
Thank you to all the staff and students who turned up early to help set up the events to ensure that the carnival was ready to start on time each morning.
We are also grateful to the RHS canteen team and the Grade 10 Council who ran the BBQ non-stop over the two days. The food and drink supplied from both ensured that students and staff had high levels of energy and were well hydrated.
Finally, to all staff and students, thank you for your positive attitude and tremendous contributions over the two days. The success of whole school events like these relies on everyone playing their part and this was done super effectively.
Results:
As always, there is a very healthy rivalry between the four Houses at our school carnivals. In 2022, it was Forrest again who came out on top of our Athletics Carnival.
The final results were as follows:
1st Forrest 4813
2nd Kingsford-Smith 4270
3rd Lawson 3844
4th Monash 3703
Outstanding performances were produced by students across all grades, with a number of records broken. Congratulations to the following students who broke records:
Year 9 100m Isabella Wing 12:43 secs
Year 9 High Jump Isabella Wing 1.58m
Year 9 Long Jump Isabella W 5.4m
Year 9 Triple Jump Isabella W 10.55m
Year 9 80m Hurdles Isabella W 12.69 secs
Year 9 Javelin Isabella W 28.24m
Year 9 80m Hurdles PJ C 12.16 secs
Year 10 Triple Jump Elliott P 12.81m
Year 10 Long Jump Elliott P 6.05m
Year 10 Long Jump Amelia W 4.66m
Congratulations to the following students who are our Track and Field Champions and Runners-up in 2022.
Grade 7 Girls
Field Champion: Georgia C Runner-up: Layla Q
Track Champion: Layla Q Runner-up: Nandali A
Grade 7 Boys
Field Champion: Loti N Runner-up: Thomas H
Track Champion: Benjamin W Runner-up: Kodi R
Grade 8 Girls
Field Champion: Sophie R & Daisy B
Track Champion: Olivia B Runner-up: Aurora D
Grade 8 Boys
Field Champion: Finn P Runner-up: Alec J
Track Champion: Oryn Waters Runner-up: Koby A
Grade 9 Girls
Field Champion: Isabella W Runner-up: Sophie B
Track Champion: Isabella W Runner-up: Sophie B
Grade 9 Boys
Field Champion: Lucas W Runner-up: Sam G
Track Champion: PJ C Runner-up: Lucas W
Grade 10 Girls
Field Champion: Isabelle L Runner-up: Amelia W
Track Champion: Rori L Runner-up: Amelia W
Grade 10 Boys
Field Champions: Elliott P Runner-up: Campbell A
Track Champion: Campbell A Runner-up: Jordan S
On Friday the 28th of October the Senior Boys and Girls took part in the inaugural Parrots Cup, organised by the Bridgenorth Football Club. Bridgenorth coordinated the day to make a greater community connection with the schools involved and utilise the day to encourage players to become players in future years at their club.
The day was held at the Launceston Christian School and had round robin games between Riverside High School, Launceston Christian School and Exeter High School.
Both boys and girls teams were successful in winning their way through to the final. The girls played Exeter High School in the final, in what was a tight affair as both sides struggled to kick into what was an extremely strong breeze blowing toward the Southern end of the ground. Despite Exeter defending with true grit and determination, our girls were able to skilfully dissect the field and score multiple goals in the game (2 x 15 minute halves). The girls were well led by Isabelle L, who was awarded the medal for best player in the final, but received strong contributions from Kaitlen S, Grace M and Ruby H.
The boys team played Launceston Christian School, who were playing their first game of school football for a number of years. The Riverside High School boys had played school football together for two years now and the cohesion they displayed was the key difference between the two sides as Riverside High School was able to run out convincing winners. Campbell A, played a terrific captains game to be awarded the medal for best player. He was ably supported by Jacob W, Jordan S and Matthew T (who kicked 4 goals in the final).
The school would like to thank Bobby Beams from the Bridgenorth Football Club for coordinating the day and organising his band of helpers, who contributed to a fantastic day of community togetherness. The nicest part of the day was the students mixing at the lunch break and discussing where they were going to play football together in 2023.