Filter Content
- Principal’s Report
- Interim Reports
- Subject in Focus – Student Support
- EdSmart
- Prefect Easter Day & Veranda Session
- Prefect Planning Day – Wednesday 3 April
- Black Square Chess Tournament – Friday 5 April
- Inter-High Swimming Carnival – Thursday 11 April
- Congratulations to Olivia
- Grade 7F Sewing
- Prefects Profiles
- SunSmart at Riverside High School
- Youth Week Diversity Book Chat & Hangout at Launceston Library
Dear Parents/Guardians
On Tuesday we held our final whole school assembly for Term 1. The assembly recognised the achievements our F1 In Schools teams, the Swimming Champions and our Prefects provided a report to the school community on their Term 1 activities. The second half of the assembly included our ANZAC service which was led by our Prefects.
Thank you to the student leaders who will be attending the ANZAC Day Service and march in Launceston on ANZAC Day, representing Riverside High School. Ryan, one of our Prefects, will be the guest speaker at the ANZAC Day Service and we thank him for his work in preparing his speech.
School Uniform Term 2
The Administration Office hours for the school holiday period is Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm, but will be closed on ANZAC Day. School uniforms can be purchased from our Administration Office. During the first three weeks of Term 2 we ask that students transition to the school’s winter learning uniform. In Term 2 when winter sports start, students are permitted to wear their sports uniform to school if participating in the roster. The school has a variety of woollen jumpers, spray jackets and rugby jumpers for the winter months. We also have a supply of second-hand winter uniforms which can be provided to families free of charge on Tuesday, 16 April, 9:00am to 3:00pm, collection will be at the Administration Office. Thank you to the community members who have donated uniforms.
Important Information for Parent/Guardians
The start of the school day for Riverside High School is 8:45am with Home Group. In Home Group attendance is taken, important school messages are communicated to students and teachers are assisting students to be ‘ready to learn’ with organisational skills and the explicit teaching of the school values.
Please support your child to be on time to school and in class at 8:45am.
We are aware that some parents/guardians are choosing to drop their child off at the Riverside Shopping Complex. Students coming to school from the complex each morning are often late. Please be aware that teachers do not have ‘duty of care’ until students arrive at school and are on school grounds. We encourage parents/guardians to please drop their child off at school of a morning time if they are not catching buses.
School Calendar
The school calendar has been updated with important dates for Term 2. The school calendar can be located on the Schoolzine App.
Staffing Term 2
In Term 2, we do have some staff changes. Mr Lockwood will be on leave and Miss Wheaton will be transferring to another school.
I will be taking Long Service Leave in Term 2 and as mentioned in the last Newsletter, Adrian Smith will be the Acting Principal whilst I am away and Ben Gadsby will be the Acting Assistant Principal of Year 8. We have a wonderful Leadership Team who will continue to support each of the grades and lead our School Improvement Plan in Term 2.
Helmet Safety and Bikes
In Australia, wearing a bicycle helmet is mandatory for all cyclists, regardless of their age or level of experience. This law is in place to protect cyclists from head injuries in the event of a fall or collision. Helmets are essential for all students who choose to ride their bikes to school. Even if students are riding on the footpaths to school, they must be wearing a helmet. Riverside High School provides bike racks for the safe storage of bikes during the school day. If a student rides their bike to school and does not wear a helmet, we will be contacting parents/guardians. Please be aware that scooters and skateboards are not permitted at Riverside High School.
Ms Jeanna Bolton
Principal
We wish to advise that all our students will receive Interim Reports at the end of this term. This is a progress report that presents a snapshot of how the year has started in each subject area. The report provides a rating on key attributes that are important for successful learning. While it is too early in the year to include an academic achievement rating, this report will give a clear indication of how your child is working in each subject.
Please be aware that our Term 2 Parent/Teacher/Student Interview Evenings will be held on Monday, 27th May from 3:30 to 5:00pm and Tuesday, 28th May from 3:30 to 6:30pm in Building 2 (our Grade 9/10 area, located directly above the Administration area). This will give both families and teachers an opportunity to discuss how to best support students’ ongoing learning and allow evidence of learning or student work samples to be shared. Students are strongly encouraged to attend with their parents/carers. Interview appointments are for 10 minutes. Details on how to book a Parent/Teacher/Student interview will be sent home at the beginning of Term 2. Please be aware that some staff are part-time and their availability will be shown in the booking system. For these teachers and others who you may find are fully booked on the night, please make contact with them directly through the School Admin to make alternative arrangements.
We are continuing the phased implementation of our Communicating Learning Progress with Families Policy. This year, we will again share evidence of learning or student work samples with families throughout the year. We know that sharing learning progress more regularly will support the development of strong partnerships and help families feel connected to their child’s learning. Opportunities to meet with your child’s teacher/s about their learning progress will also be provided. The below table is an outline of the Communicating Learning Progress with Families schedule across the year.
| Term | Reports and Student/Parent/Teacher Interviews | Sharing of Evidence of Student Learning Requirements |
| Term 1 |
Interim Reports Attributes (Effort, Organisation, Task Completion and Behaviour) completed for all subjects in SARIS. Reports sent home towards the end of Term 1. |
|
| Term 2 |
*Student/Parent/Teacher Interviews Interviews to be held on Monday, 27th May from 3:30 to 5:00pm and Tuesday, 28th May from 3:30 to 6:30pm. Mid-year Reports Ratings (9-point for core subjects and 5-point for options) and Attributes entered for full year subjects and Grade 7 half-year subjects. Mid-year Reports sent home towards the end of Term 2. |
* All full-year subjects will share one evidence of student learning for all subjects. Teachers of Grade 7 half-year subjects will also share one piece of student work. Sharing options include: Canvas, Student/Parent/Teacher Interviews or by sending a hard copy home. This work will be shared by the end of Week 8 in Term 2. |
| Term 3 |
*Student/Parent/Teacher Interviews Interviews to be held approximately Week 6 of Term 3. |
|
| Term 4 |
End of Year Reports Ratings (9-point for core subjects and 5-point for options) and Attributes entered for full year subjects and Grade 7 second half-year subjects. Attributes for all Grade 8 half-year subjects and all Grade 9/10 short courses completed. HG attributes entered. End of Year Reports sent home in approximately Week 9. |
Teachers of Grade 7 half-year subjects occurring in the second half of the year will share one piece of student work early in Term 4. |
Jeanna Bolton
Principal
Our Learning Support students have made a great start to 2024. They are working hard in classes, enjoying hands-on learning and some have started their literacy, numeracy and social groups.
In the Care Centre at break times, students can relax quietly, challenge each other to a range of games with chess proving particularly popular this year, chat with peers or simply relax in a bean bag or rocking chair. The smiles on their faces put smiles on ours.
Jo Faulkner & Darren Hanson
Riverside High School will be transitioning to a new messaging platform for communicating with parents. This will eventually replace our current system MGM.
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. 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!
EdSmart will start at Riverside on Monday 8th April, for the time being we will still be using our current MGM system.
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 Friday, 5th April, 7 students competed in the first interschools chess tournament of the year. The event, hosted by Black Square Chess and held at Launceston Church Grammar School, went for the entire day and was filled with both wins and losses.
The team, consisting of students from Years 7-10, competed against players from 5 other schools. There were 7 rounds of competition, with each awarding the students with a point for victory, half a point for a draw and no points for a loss. The top 4 scorers of the team contributed to our team score, with a maximum of 4 points available per round.
Halfway through the day, things were looking hopeful, with Riverside High sitting in third place. After some difficult matches, however, other schools pulled ahead. After 7 rounds Riverside placed in 4th with a score of 16 and a half points.
All players gave every match their best effort, but our top scorer was Fletcher, who scored a total of 5 points, only losing two games. His final match against the champion was a nail-biting round, that was lost with only 23 seconds remaining on the clock.
The students involved said that they enjoyed the day and have a renewed competitive spirit. They came away with a new desire to hone their chess skills and to bring a stronger, more tactical team for the next tournament.
Crystal Coleman-Cox
The NHSSA Inter-High Swimming Carnival was held at the end of Term 1 at the Launceston Aquatic Centre. It was wonderful to be back at the pool again and to have our students competing against the best swimmers from rival schools. Riverside entered the competition as holders of the Division 1 Senior Shield.
Riverside High School started the day strong, with a win in the Senior Boys and Senior Girls Medley races. We also had several 1st places in the 50m Freestyle events, however, by the halfway mark, Riverside High were sitting in third place with Prospect leading the way in the Overall Shield.
With relays worth double points, the team was confident they could close the points gap. We fared well in several of the relays, with the grade 10 girls dominating the 4 x 50m freestyle relay and again broke their long standing NHSSA Inter-High record in a time of 2:14:40. Riverside High School managed to close the gap significantly and ended up finishing in second in all three divisions (Junior, Senior and Overall). A fantastic display of the Riverside High determination and passion.
Although we didn’t come away with the result we would have liked, we should all be proud of our efforts. Next year, we are looking forward to participating again and hopefully bringing home the shield. Official results will be released at a later date.
Thanks to the other competing schools, parents for coming out and supporting the students and all members of the Riverside High School swimming team for the excellent participation and representing our school with pride.
Adam Sanders, Ava Wheatley and Georgia Rolls
Olivia has been selected in the 2024 17 & under Tasmanian State Netball Team and will be competing in the National Netball Championships in Frankston, Victoria from Monday 8 April to Sunday 14 April.
We have been working on our pattern making and hand-stitching productively this term, with some really cool ideas.
Angela Fitzallen
We are Isabelle and Elaria and we are members of the Learning Portfolio along with Megan, Issac, Emily, and Gemma.
My name is Elaria and I am Deputy Head Prefect of the Learning Portfolio. My role is to discuss with the other members of the Learning Portfolio our visions and ideas for our school, as well as working alongside Daisy, Jack, Olivia, and Harvey as an executive group. In my free time, I enjoy playing tennis, spending time outside in the sun, and going out for brunch with my friends. Inside of school, I am very passionate about all areas of learning, but my favourite subject is maths.
My leadership journey began in my primary school years where I would take on all opportunities with an optimistic and open mindset. This allowed me to progress into my first official leadership role, School Captain. Ever since my Grade 6 year concluded, I had always hoped that I would be able to continue my leadership journey in another leadership role.
Coming from a non-feeder school, adjusting to high-school life had proven to be quite difficult, especially since the only person I knew at the school was Issy. New friends, new routines, new classes are all aspects of high school that you don’t always have control over. As the years have progressed, I realised that there is one part of high school you can control, and that is your mindset. To me, having a positive mindset means embracing challenges, aspiring high in all areas of our education, and having the courage and determination to do whatever it takes to get things done. To me, this meant setting personal goals to improve my academic output.
As a Prefect, I aspire to introduce a sense of mutual enthusiasm towards school-based endeavours.
To introduce myself, my name is Isabelle and I am a member of the Academic and Arts Portfolio.
The role of being a Prefect is something that I highly value, and I am so excited for the growth, goals and success that I am sure 2024 will hold with the amazing group of people I get to work alongside. Two things that I especially love are tennis and travelling. I have had many incredible opportunities to immerse myself in many different cultures, seeing so much diversity and connection throughout the world. As a naturally creative person, I truly believe in big ideas and determination, and I am eager to channel these qualities into our school community. An important aspect of leadership to me, lies in the ability to listen actively and empathetically, and this year I would love to see an increased input from our student voice.
As a Prefect, the values of kindness and equity I hold very highly, and I do my best to display them always in my day-to-day life as I believe that kindness is what gets you the furthest in life. This year I am striving for constant growth and a sense of increased support within our school community, socially and academically.
This year will hold great opportunities for growth and success for our board and we look forward to making 2024 a positive year for everyone in and around the Riverside High School Community.
Elaria & Isabelle
