Welcome to Term 1.

Dear Parents and Families,

I hope that you have all had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to the year ahead at Riverside High School.

We would like to welcome our new families to Riverside High School and our Year 7 students for 2024.  This year we have approximately 200 Year 7 students enrolled, and our Year 11/12 course will continue in VET Civil Constructions on a Tuesday in partnership with Tas TAFE.

Thank you to the Prefects and Peer Mentors who have supported the transition of Year 7 students to high school, assisted with the distribution of stationery packs, and timetables, and supported the learning in the classes.

Thank you to the non-teaching and administration staff who have also worked hard over the holidays to prepare our school for the start of a new year and to Sue in our Uniform Shop during what is the busiest time of year for uniform purchases.

New Staff 2024

We are delighted to welcome the following new staff to Riverside High School for 2024. 

Ms Alexander Administration

Mr Bonney MDT Year 7

Miss Britton Teacher Assistant

Miss Clark Intern Year 10

Mr Curro ICT Year 7

Mr Doyle Teacher Assistant

Mrs Elliott HPE Year 8 AST

Ms Hudson HASS/Eng Year 7

Miss McRobbie Teacher Assistant

Ms Pullen HASS/Eng Year 7

Mr Sanders HPE/HASS Year 7 AST

Leadership Team 2024

The Leadership Team for 2024 is also listed below.  Please feel free to contact your child’s Home Group Teacher or their Grade Leadership Team if you have any questions.

GRADE 7

GRADE 10

Newsletter and School Calendar

I encourage you all to read our school newsletter which is published fortnightly and can be located at the address below.  The school newsletter is where we celebrate the achievements of all students in Years 7-12. The school calendar can be located on the Schoolzine App.

Values

Our school values guide how we need to work together as a learning community.  Riverside High School’s CARE Values are embedded in our ways of working, guide our interactions with others and we continue to celebrate the achievements of students who display our school’s CARE Values at whole school assemblies and grade assemblies.

Courage – where students accept challenges and embrace the opportunities that the school provides.

Aspiration – a culture of high expectations and achievement where students try their very best in all aspects of their school.

Respect – where students and staff and the broader community respect themselves, others, the past, and the environment.

Endeavour – resilience and perseverance to achieve personal growth.

We strive to think carefully about how these values are reflected in our ways of working.

In the second half of the year, we will be changing our values to reflect the DECYP or departmental values which will be consistent across all schools and business units. This will be a time of learning for all - what do the new values represent and what do they mean for our work.

Former Riverside High School Student and Prefect, Announced 2024 Australian of the Year

Professor Richard Scolyer was announced joint 2024 Australian of the Year. Professor Scolyer was a Head Prefect of RHS in 1982 and the recipient of our Scott Kilvert Prize.

Professor Scolyer and his colleague, Georgina Long, have carried out research into melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Both were awarded the title of Australian of the Year for this life-saving research.

Professors Scolyer and Long have now turned their attention to a different form of cancer following Professor Scolyer’s diagnosis of an incurable form of brain cancer. Both are now testing an experimental treatment to fight the tumour and are seeing some positive results, although the cancer is not completely gone.

Riverside High School has certainly had many outstanding students who now make significant contributions to society.

Congratulations Professor Scolyer from the Riverside High School community!

Safeguarding Training

If you are intending to volunteer on school events, excursions, canteen etc. you must have completed the DECYP Safeguarding Training. If you have any questions, please contact Mr Rohan Pooley on 6327 6333.

Safeguarding-Training-posters.pdf (education.tas.gov.au)

Nut Aware

Riverside High is a nut aware school. Our school has several students/staff who have a severe allergy to nuts, especially peanuts. If these people come into contact with peanuts, or any food products that contain nuts they will suffer severe anaphylactic shock, during which breathing may cease. A peanut butter sandwich in the same room would be enough to start this reaction. We therefore request that all students/staff do not bring peanut butter sandwiches or any items that contain nuts or nut ingredients to school. In most cases the label on foods will indicate the presence of nuts. Your co-operation with this is greatly appreciated.

Mobile Phone Policy

As you would be aware, we have a very clear Mobile Phone policy, aligned to DECYP requirements for all schools. This means that, for students, mobile phones are required to be switched off and securely stored in lockers during the school day. While we live in a world surrounded by technology, we know that mobile phones can cause a distraction from learning and are impacting on the development of respectful and supportive relationships.  Last week we communicated to all students very clear expectations with regards to mobile phones at school and we seek your support with this. I would like to acknowledge how impressed we have been with the way students have settled back into this routine, which can be an adjustment after the break. 

CONDITIONS OF USE

• Mobile phones must be switched off and stored in lockers from the start of the school day to the end of the school day.
• The use of earphones is not permitted at any time, with any device, unless directed by the teacher where audio is required for the learning task when using a device.
• Students with ‘smart watches’ must have them set to ‘aeroplane mode’.

Please be aware that any communication between parents and students during the school day, will need to be through the School Admin Office.

It is important to remind everyone that students need to take care with any valuable items they bring to school, understanding that students bring these to school, not as school requirement, but at their own risk. Any valuables need to be stored in lockers and should not be left sitting in bags or unattended. This includes items such as phones, ear pods and devices.

Safety on the way to and from School

As we begin the new school year it is very important to highlight the need for students to take particular care in managing their personal safety whilst travelling to and from school. This includes ensuring that all students are clear with which buses they need to catch, where parents will be collecting them from and the need to use designated road crossings.  I need to stress the importance of students using the underpass and the traffic lights on West Tamar Road. I also need to remind students of the importance of wearing bicycle helmets. West Tamar Road is an extremely busy highway especially during peak times, so your support with reinforcing these important safety messages would be greatly appreciated.

The turning circle off Brownfield Lane has parent drop off/pick up bays and we encourage parents to use these. This is very safe for students as they can use a crossing at either end of the lane and makes traffic flow back onto the West Tamar Road fairly smooth.  We ask that parents and carers please take care when coming into our school at the beginning and especially the end of the school day, as it is very busy and safety is a priority.

Please be aware that students are not permitted to bring skateboards or scooters to school. This is for safety reasons and because we are unable to store these items in our new spaces.

Grade 7 Meet and Greet

Ms Jeanna Bolton
Principal

Welcome back! Let’s make everyday count.

Here we go, another exciting school year ahead! We hope you enjoyed your holidays.

By showing up to school every day, your child will have the best opportunity at a bright future. It gives them every chance to be around friends, learn new things, and find interests.

Good attendance habits can sometimes be hard to maintain. But creating a solid routine, from the start of Term 1, can set your child up for success for the year ahead.

If you’re looking for tips on how to create better attendance habits, visit the Anything can happen website.

Please always talk to us if you’re having trouble getting your child to school. We’re here to help.

2024 is the start of an exciting year for our school where every student and teacher have an iPad to enhance and support their learning experience. At Riverside High School we take an approach to learning which combines direct instruction teaching with technological elements allowing students to engage with content in different ways and at different pace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bwhR1ZKGRE

iPad Distribution:

To receive their iPad, students will need to return their ‘School Validation Forms’ and ‘ICT Agreements’ by Friday, 16^th February.

Students in Grades 8-10 who have returned their forms will receive their iPad on Monday, 19^th February from their Home Group Teacher.

Grade 7 students will work with their Home Group Teachers to familiarise themselves and build their iPad skills during Week 3 to prepare them for blended learning.

Ready for Learning:

It is the responsibility of students to be prepared for their learning by having their iPads fully charged at the beginning of each day. We encourage families to set up routines at home to support students to be ready for learning. 

This is an exciting opportunity to enhance the already rigorous learning programs at our school pushing the envelope of teaching practices and continuing to provide an engaging, supportive and differentiated learning environment. 

Lillian Males
ICT Co-ordinator

Photo Day/s:

Friday, 1 March (Main Photo Day)
Monday, 4 March (Absentee Photo Day)

Have your child’s school memories captured forever.  MSP Photography will be at Riverside High on the dates featured above.  Every student must be in full school uniform on photo day.

Please be aware that all photos must now be ordered online.  Your child will receive an order slip with a unique shootkey printed on it. Orders received after photo day will be subject to a surcharge.

ORDERING PROCESS FOR INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS

1. Log on to www.msp.com.au and click ORDER ONLINE. Online ordering will remain open until Midnight, Monday, 11 March.
2. Enter the Shootkey and select the pack you wish to order. Record your Reference Number for your information.

To order a pack for another student from the same family use the “Change Shootkey” function to enter the next shootkey.

Repeat the process with the sibling photo shootkey, you will find this on the separate sibling photo sheet.

     3. Your total order will be calculated and a discount will automatically be applied for orders over $110.00.

SIBLING/FAMILY PHOTOS (envelope available from School Admin office upon request)

1. Families wishing to order photos of siblings together need to follow the information provided on the Sibling slip to order Sibling/Family photos. The student must return the Sibling Photo order envelope with the order reference to the photographer when they have their sibling photo taken.

We greatly appreciate your assistance with this matter.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Our school will be switching over to a new messaging platform for communicating with you.   This will replace our current system MGM Outreach.

The new platform, called EdSmart is an Australian platform which is designed to improve communication in school communities by allowing electronic messaging i.e. SMS and emails. For now, it will be used to manage absences messages i.e. you will receive a SMS or email alert if your child is absent from school requesting a response.  It will also allow us to send a communication message to all parent/guardians.

The platform will, over time, be rolled out across all Tasmanian Government Schools and new features will be added. 

You will receive a text message and/or an email with further details.  Note, the text message sender will be a shortened version of our school’s name - Please keep an eye out for it!

Further information is available on the Department’s website

Communicating with your child's school - Department for Education, Children and Young People (decyp.tas.gov.au)

On Saturday, 20th January 2024, through to Thursday, 25th January 2024, Grade 10 student Celeste made her way to Canberra where she represented Tasmania in the National Indoor Field Hockey championships as Goalkeeper #1 for the Under 15s girls' team.

Day 1 consisted of two games, which was a tough way to start with a 5-1 loss and a 2-1 loss. The girls had to win the next game to proceed in the competition. After a hard game, Celeste and her team managed to take the win, securing their place in the top five.

The team played extremely well and finished in fourth place, with Celeste only having 7 out of the 21 goals scored against her throughout the 5-day tournament.

The team overcame many obstacles and exceeded expectations, being the first Tasmanian team to play off in a medal match in indoor hockey for six years, leaving the girls as the highest placing Tasmanian Team in recent years.

From Tuesday, 26^th December 2023, through to Wednesday, 3^rd January 2024, Year 8 student Mia was one of eleven U/16 sailors to represent Tasmania in the Zhik 60^th Sabot sailing Nationals held in Hervey Bay, Queensland.

This was a great experience for Mia, competing against over 50 other sailors from around the country in conditions varying from a light summer’s breeze to extremely windy and stormy weather.

The first official race day (invitation race) was sailed in strong winds and rough seas, however Mia sailed well to finish in the middle of the fleet.

This was Mia’s first experience in sailing against so many other boats and one she is not likely to forget any time soon.

The Exeter Show is back again with all your old favourites and new ones too. There is something for everyone. Set in the heart of the picturesque Tamar Valley, the show brings together exhibitors as well as visitors from across the State. Proudly presented by the Exeter Show Society Inc. it is a true rural show featuring prime lamb competition, cattle, alpacas and the popular animal nursery as well as the fun of the fair with rides and show bags and lots of free entertainment for the kids – pony rides, laser tag, face painting, Majick Feathers, games and so much more. Both children and adults can enter the pet parade and the dog high jump which is always fun. The world class woodchopping competition will be taking place in the special arena, plus stalls and of course the show hall with all the prize-winning entries and exhibits.

This year we are excited to have the return of the show jumping competition, which is a great spectator sport and a definite part of the rural circuit.

A great variety of food stalls to tempt your palette plus the quieter Apple Crate Café will also be run again by the Clifford Craig Foundation for Devonshire Teas and lunches.

The Exeter Show Society wishes to thank all the volunteers that help out on the day and weeks before the show. A thank you to our wonderful sponsors, judges, stewards, announcers and advertisers that make the show such a success. We also thank our local community who support us so warmly every year.

Applications for stall holders can still be accepted and the show schedules for entries into the show hall are now available. Tickets can be purchased from Ticketebo in advance.

Costs are adults $12 and children over five years of age $5.

To get in touch email exetershow.secretary@gmail.com or phone Hilary on 0438 944 725.