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