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- Principal's Report
- Subject in Focus - Languages
- Athletics Carnival
- Relay for Life
- Grade 7 Wellbeing Day
- Grade 9 STEM
- Optus Digital Thumbprint
- Computing
- Prefect Profiles
- Outdoor Stage
- Grade 8 Junior House Captains
- School Chaplain - Riverside High School - Position Vacant
- eSafety 2023
- World Sleep Day 2023
Dear Parents/Guardians,
On Wednesday, 8 March and Thursday, 9 March, we held the Riverside High School Athletics Carnival on our school ovals. Despite the wind on day one of the program, the weather was warm and student participation and engagement at the carnival were excellent. The highlight of the carnival as always was the 100m finals and relays. We will be collecting feedback from students, staff and families on the carnival structure. Thank you to the parents who came along and supported the carnival days and to the students who helped with the barbeque.
The Inter-high Division 1 Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday, 27th April, at the St Leonards Athletic Centre. The HPE staff will announce the representative team as soon as possible. Parents/guardians are welcome to attend the Inter-High Carnival. The program for the Inter-high Carnival will be shared via Facebook once received. Attached to this week’s newsletter is a report from the Athletics Carnival including a list of the records broken.
Relay for Life
Relay for Life was held last Saturday at the Silverdome in Launceston. Year 10 students were provided the opportunity to participate and were well supported by teachers. Thank you to our Prefects and Miss Saunders for organising the participation of Riverside students. The Prefects raised a total of $3,013.
Interim Reports
On Wednesday, 5 April, we will be sending home an Interim Report with students. The report provides an indication of how your child has settled into the school year in each subject area. The report at this stage does not include achievement ratings. Parent/teacher/student interviews will be held in Term 2.
Safety on West Tamar Road
While there have been some recent reminders about the importance of safety on the way to and from school, there are a couple of things we need to revisit. Firstly, those students who walk to West Tamar Road, either to meet parents at their vehicle or to walk home, are asked to ensure that they leave the school with care. This includes using the appropriate crossings. In particular, students who head in the direction of Windsor Park, need to be using our crossing in Brownfield Lane to leave the school to ensure that they do not cross the road at the top of Brownfield Lane. This is particularly dangerous considering the amount of traffic that is leaving our school and is making it very difficult for drivers, especially our bus drivers. Secondly, students are reminded of the need to use either the underpass or the lights on West Tamar Road and not to cross the road in other places. Our priority is always student safety.
Moderation Day
A reminder that the final week for Term 1 is very short. Thursday, 6th April is Moderation Day (Student Free Day) for all Year 7-10 students. This day provides an opportunity for teachers to work collaboratively and moderate students works samples in all subjects. Friday, 7th April is Good Friday.
Elective/Option Subjects
As you are aware we are now in Week 6 of Term 1 and interim reports are currently being completed by teachers.
Students in Years 8 to 10 who have requested a change to their full year elective subject choices have been provided the opportunity to do so by competing the ‘change of elective subject form’ and submitting this to the Assistant Principal.
From Week 8, the week beginning 27th March, any changes to full year course choices which are assessed under the Australian Curriculum Achievements Standards prove more challenging, with students missing major assessment tasks and course content due to the late change.
From Monday, 27th March all requests to change elective subjects MUST be directed to Grade Leadership Teams due to the impact the potential change has on student results.
Lesson Times
Just a reminder our current lesson times are as follows:
Home Group | 8:45am - 9:00am |
Block 1 | 9:00am - 10:15am |
Recess | 10:15am - 10:35am |
Block 2 | 10:35am - 11:50am |
Change-over | 11:50am - 11:55am |
Block 3 | 11:55am - 1:10pm |
Lunch | 1:10pm - 1:55pm |
Block 4 | 1:55pm - 3:10pm |
Explaining an Absence
We really value the importance of consistent and regular attendance and have high expectations for our students in this area. We understand that adolescence is a challenging stage and that there are times when teenagers seek independence and think they know best. No matter how hard parents try, some students experience times when they can be reluctant or refuse to go to school. We know that attendance patterns are established very early in the year and that is why we have a strong emphasis on working with you to address any attendance concerns at the start of the year.
What You Can Do
- Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day, make that the expectation. Regular attendance sets up good behaviours for regular attendance at work.
- Help your teenager maintain daily routines such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep. On average, teenagers need 8-9 hours’ sleep to be healthy and alert. You may also need to monitor their use of the internet, mobile phone and TV at night to ensure they are not staying up too late or being disturbed while sleeping.
- Try not to schedule hair, dental or medical appointments during school hours.
- Schedule family trips for school holidays, rather than during term time.
- Don’t let your teenager stay home unless genuinely sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety. Please feel free to contact your child’s Home Group Teacher or Grade Leader if you are concerned that this may be the case.
- Monitor your teenager’s attendance and school performance. A regular check in by phone or email is a good idea. If you have concerns about your child’s attendance, please contact us through the Home Group Teacher, Grade Leader, Assistant Principal, the Social Worker or the Principal.
Explanations of absence, where known in advance, are always appreciated. A reminder that when your child is absent from school there are a variety of ways that you can communicate with us about that. These are:
- Phoning the Administration Office which is open between 8:00am – 4:00pm.
- Using the Schoolzine App, Absentee button.
- Writing a short note in the Student Planner for your child to share with their Home Group teacher.
- Sending an email to either the Home Group teacher or our school email address Riverside.High.Admin.Staff@decyp.tas.gov.au
- Sending a text message on 0418 140 427 (MGM OutReach)
Ms Jeanna Bolton
Languages is a compulsory half-year class for all Year 7 students. In year 7, students spend one term learning Chinese and then spend the next term exploring Japanese. Year 7s have started strong this year with Chinese. Students focussed on pronunciation, investigated the origins and meanings of Chinese characters, and learned how to introduce themselves in simple Chinese. Culturally, our focus has been on the lives of teenagers in China. Students watched videos about schools in China, looked at Chinese social media, and watched some interesting musical performances. Students will now complete their individual projects, comparing Australia and China in several areas.
In Year 8, students are able to pick Japanese as an elective. So far, students have enjoyed learning to read and write hiragana characters. Students have spent the term considering the cultural importance of writing systems in Japanese as we build up our reading skills. Now, students can recognise and use a number of characters. Students are using their new skills and vocabulary to create picture books or make collages. Although class might be rigorous, we never forget to have a little bit of fun. Weekly karaoke warm-ups are a must, and later we will look at cultural activities such as calligraphy, tea ceremonies, kimono-wearing, and traditional Japanese cooking.
Languages continue to be a valuable part of our school curriculum, and I am excited about the rich cultural and linguistic opportunities the year has in store.
Crystal Coleman
The 2023 Riverside High School Athletics Carnival was held on our school grounds for the first time in over a decade. Leading up to the carnival, the school’s groundsmen put in many hours of work to mark out the lanes and ensure that the grounds were ready to host 750 students over the two-day carnival.
The main focus of our school sports carnivals is participation and having fun. However, it must be said, there is also a healthy rivalry between our four houses Forrest, Kingsford Smith, Lawson and Monash to see who will be crowned the champion house.
The day before the carnival, House Meetings were held. The House Prefects had their first chance this year to meet with their teams to share words of inspiration and encouragement in an attempt to have the students in their house participate in as many events as possible to maximise their house points.
As the first day got underway, there was an air of excitement, with the colours yellow, red, blue and green seen everywhere. Students from all four houses answered the call and were entering in as many events as they could. This made for a very tight competition, with the points between the four Houses very even at the halfway mark of day one. As the day progressed, Forrest forged ahead and held a small lead over Lawson going into the last event of the day, the 100m Finals.
The 100m Finals are always very exciting, as all of the students line the 100m track to cheer on their house team mates as they sprint towards the finish line. There were many great times achieved and some excitingly close finishes, with the Grade 10 Boys Final a standout, as PJ C held on to beat a very fast finishing Charlie Q by 0.1 seconds.
Day 2 commenced with Forrest hanging on to a slender lead over Lawson. As the day went on the lead would change several times and it all came down to the last event of the carnival, the Relays.
Relays are worth double points, and we again witnessed some very close races. In the end, Lawson was able to win enough relays to edge their way in front of Forrest and after the last race of the carnival the final House placings were:
1st Place – Lawson 6929 points
2nd Place – Forrest 6903 points
3rd Place – Monash 6723 points
4th Place – Kingsford Smith 6535 points
Congratulations Lawson House!
There were many standout performances over the two-days, resulting in a number of records being broken.
Congratulations to the following students who broke records:
Isabella W | Grade 10 | 100m | 12.29 seconds |
Isabella W | Grade 10 | 200m | 26.44 seconds |
Isabella W | Grade 10 | Discus | 26.13 metres |
Isabella W | Grade 10 | High Jump | 1.60 metres |
Isabella W | Grade 10 | Long Jump | 5.00 metres |
Isabella W | Grade 10 | Shot Put | 10.17 metres |
Sam R | Grade 10 | Shot Put | 14.14 metres |
PJ C | Grade 10 | 400m | 52.55 seconds |
Aurora D | Grade 9 | 800m | 2:33.15 minutes |
Congratulations to the following students, who are the 2023 Riverside High Athletic Carnival Track and Field Champions.
Grade | Track Champion | Field Champion |
7 Girls | Kennedy M | Sierra S |
7 Boys | Ezra B | Thomas R & Declan B |
8 Girls | Olive N | Maddison G |
8 Boys | Lachlan P | Loti N |
9 Girls | Olivia B | Sophie R |
9 Boys | Oryn W | Finn P |
10 Girls | Isabella W | Isabella W |
10 Boys | Lucas W | Samuel G |
We would like to thank the families and friends who came along to support over the two days. It was wonderful to see you all at the event, supporting the students, as they gave their very best efforts.
We would also like to publicly thank parent helper Mrs Davina Lanham, who volunteered her time on Day 2 of the carnival, to help with timing of the 800m races. Your support was very much appreciated Davina.
Finally, congratulations to all students and staff for your wonderful efforts over the two days of the carnival. Without your commitment to the event, it would not have been the success that it was.
Toby Musovic
On Saturday, 4th March, at 1:00 pm the Riverside High Relay for Life team consisting of 25 Grade 10 students assembled at the Silverdome ready to do as many laps as possible with our gold baton in the 10 hours we had. Relay for Life is a community fundraiser for those battling and impacted by cancer. Teams walk or run laps around a designated track symbolising that every day we are making strides towards a cancer-free future! With many of us turning up with beanbags, camp chairs and blankets, you could say we were pretty comfortable.
Even when it wasn’t our turn to get some laps in, we were still occupied. Many card games such as Uno were played along with many of us getting a groove on to the live music or the silent disco headphones. There were also a few competitions throughout the night, one of the more memorable ones being the vehicle race where some of us used cardboard boxes to create Thomas the Tank Engine and his carriages. After a lot of painting, we were finally ready to race. Unfortunately, we lost best design and fastest but at the end of the day, it was fun and for a worthy cause and that’s all that matters.
Currently, Riverside High has raised $3,013. This money can provide: 1,850 with SunSmart education, 45 calls to trained cancer professionals or 24 days of a PHD student’s world-class research. We are extremely appreciative of all the people that have donated to our page. It means a lot to the team and the Cancer Council. I hope Riverside High has the chance to participate in Relay for Life next year as it is an incredible experience and a great charity to support.
Ned N
On Tuesday, 14 March, the Grade 7’s participated in their first whole grade Wellbeing Day with their focus being community and connections. The day’s aim was to help students develop new and stronger relationships with their peers and teachers.
Students began the morning in their homerooms spending time reflecting on their start to high school as individuals.
The day’s events started after recess with students working through a number of different team building activities with a focus on communication, respect, and courage. Student favourites included the tug of war, blindfold challenge, and charades. Students also had an opportunity to have conversations with students outside of their home groups. Feedback from students was positive with them enjoying the chance to get to know others.
A big thank you to our amazing Grade 7 Home Group teachers for helping facilitate the day and to Mr James Beardwood and the Grade 9 Peer Mentors for helping run activities and being a great support for our Grade 7 students.
Grade 7 Leadership Team
This term, Grade 9 STEM students have been competing in the design and engineering challenge, having to create a ball run from only paper that would have the pinball ball take the longest time possible to reach the end. Using the design process and knowledge with friction, students created some very creative and elaborate designs, with the winning ball run taking over 8 seconds.
Alan Mowbray
Last Monday, Riverside High School had a visit from the Optus Digital Thumbprint group to take students through cybersecurity, cyberbullying and digital identity. Emily conducted an exhilarating and interactive talk, providing students the opportunity to examine their social media profiles and posts, as viewed through the lens of a boss when hiring and during employment. There were activities to raise awareness of the importance of creating an online and offline balance for healthier relationships and lifestyles. Students were led through the skills of creating strong passwords, enabling privacy settings on social media, and understanding just how easily and far things can spread when shared on the internet.
Alan Mowbray
In Computing, students have been busy learning about hardware, software and its function. Students had the opportunity to disassemble computers, review each component and discover what the name of each component is and its function. Students were fully engaged and are now working towards creating their own theoretical gaming PC.
Alan Mowbray
We are Eli and Max, and we are part of the Learning: Endeavour and Aspiration Portfolio. We share this position along with Angel, Alex, Poppy, and Rhys. Together, we are striving to create opportunities to enhance and extend your learning. We host and organise events such as competitions and lunchtime activities, and work behind the scenes to ensure that all students have a fun and enjoyable time at school, with all their interests catered to.
My name is Eli and whether I'm in school or not, I'm a friendly and approachable person. I participate in a variety of activities outside of school, including sports, drama, work, and Netflix. I have acquired a range of extremely useful skills from my involvement with drama, including public speaking, self-confidence, and the ability to understand others. When I ran for Prefect, I wanted to create a more encouraging and fun learning environment for both my peers and other pupils.
No matter if it's in the classroom or elsewhere, I always try to set an example for other students. Regardless of the situation, I will always be polite and kind to both educators and students alike. Because I truly believe that you should treat people how you want to be treated, I will always be kind and respectful to those around me, so have a great 2023!
I’m Max, and in addition to working as part of the Learning Portfolio, I have a role as a Deputy Head Prefect and Treasurer for the board. This means I work as head of the Learning Portfolio, help make decisions with the rest of the Executive Group and manage the board’s finances.
In my free time I enjoy playing piano, reading about random things online and playing games. I’ve had experience in debating and theatre, both of which have helped me develop my public speaking skills and self-confidence. I enjoy Maths and Science, I find learning new things pertaining to my interests genuinely fascinating. I could go on for hours about the role of Scandinavia in the Second World War, or Euclid’s proof that the square root of two is irrational, but (fortunately for you) I don’t have the space here.
This year will prove to be an exciting one, full of opportunities for us and the board as a whole. But not only will it be great for us, we hope to make this year memorable for all students at Riverside High School. On behalf of the board, we would like to once again wish you all the best for 2023.
We are pleased to announce last year’s Prefect Legacy, an outdoor stage, has been installed into our school over the past weekend. This will be utilised for a range of community activities that will boost the culture within Riverside High School. The stage will host atmospheric veranda sessions, exciting drama performances and provide another convenient place to run events or simply a sunny place to sit in break times. The 2023 Prefect Board are looking forward to seeing how we can make the most of this wonderful new space.
Isha and Jack
Congratulations to our Grade 8 students who have been successful in their applications to be a Junior House Assistant. They were in action last week supporting our Wellbeing Prefects with the athletics carnival and house meetings.
Lawson: Will W & James W
Monash: Isabel M, Chilli H & Bea W
Kingsford-Smith: Olive N & Lucy W
Forrest: Emerson T, Kinsey J, Madison M & Ben C
Lillian Males