Newsletter No.8, Friday 30 September 2022

Message from the Principals

It is hard to believe we are three quarters of the way through the year! Our teams have been busy planning a variety of transition activities to take place in Term 4, to help our students be prepared for a strong start in 2023.

These plans include:

• Working with our feeder primary schools to ensure we have a customised approach to help familiarise our 2023 cohort with their Year 7 environment.
• Collecting student voice to inform the planning for our cohort of Year 8 and 9 Ogilvie Campus students moving across to the New Town Campus. The first of these activities in Term 4 will be on Tuesday 25 October. On this day the New Town Campus student body will be at their Swimming Carnival which will allow the Ogilvie Campus students to come and have their classes for that day on the New Town Campus with their regular teachers. On this day they will also be adding some of their art work to adorn the walls of the New Town Campus as well as other activities to help establish their identity in the school. Further activities will take place throughout the term.
• Year 9 and 10 class groups are currently being formed for the new year with each student being able to select at least one other student they would like to have in their class.
• Working with the staff of Elizabeth College to look at ways we can implement an extended transition program for our Year 10 students to help them get acclimatised to their new environment and start to build relationships with their new teachers before the commencement of the new academic year. A separate letter has been sent to all Year 10 families outlining the details of this exciting initiative.

We have a magnificent group of committed staff who are working tirelessly to ensure that each and every one of our students gets the education they deserve and we would like to recognise and acknowledge their work in this space.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the parents who accessed our recent Discussions of Learning period with their student’s teachers. If you missed this opportunity, we strongly encourage you to make contact with your child’s teacher to check in on their progress and receive feedback on how to help move their learning forward.

Have a safe and restful break and we look forward to working with you in Term 4.

Deb Day - Lead Principal

Holly Stewart - Principal, New Town Campus

Andrew Hughes - Principal, Ogilvie Campus

From your School Association

Strategic Plan 2022-24

The Hobart City High School Association’s first ever strategic plan is done!  The plan will guide the decisions we make for the next two years as we work towards achieving our vision for ‘a vibrant, diverse and inclusive school community that works with the school to enable our young people to flourish’.

We’ll focus our efforts on three important goals:

• Engagement: Creating an informed and engaged school community.
• Input: Providing valuable input into the plans and policies of the school.
• Support: Supporting the school’s priorities through partnerships and fundraising.

You can find the full strategic plan on the School’s website.

Welcome Families Event 2023

We decided at our last meeting that we would hold an event to welcome families in the first term of next year.  We’re keen for it to be an opportunity for families to meet each other and school staff. Watch this space for more details.  If you would like to help us organise this event we’d love to have you!  Please get in touch at hchs.association@education.tas.gov.au.

Next meeting

You are welcome to come along to our next meeting on Tuesday 8 November, 5:30 pm-7:00 pm at the Ogilvie Campus.  If you can’t be there in person you can join in online – email us and we’ll send you a link - hchs.association@education.tas.gov.au.

Melinda Maddock - Chair

9/10 Writer's Workshop Excursion

On Wednesday 21 September, the 9/10 Writer’s Workshop class went on an excursion to Salamanca, exploring the historical sites to inspire their writing.  The students visited Salamanca Square to participate in some café related writing tasks while enjoying a hot chocolate and some tasty morning tea.  They also had the opportunity to visit St David's Park and view a variety of historical gravestones preserved behind the Supreme Court building to support their historical fiction pieces.  Battery Point was also a destination within the excursion, with students encountering many historical views, creating a magnificent backdrop for many story possibilities.  Overall, this excursion was an exciting experience for all of the students, inspiring many fabulous pieces of writing.

Mandy Maree
AST - English, HaSS, LOTE

Year 7 HaSS and Science Incursion

Year 7 students will be participating in a HaSS and Science Incursion on Tuesday 18 October.

Students will spend 90 minutes emersed in a hands-on experience of Aboriginal Survival Technologies with Naturalist Phillip Green.

This will lead into the Term 4 work we will be doing in HaSS and Science.

Ashleigh Snigg and Mandy Maree
AST - Science,  AST - English, HaSS, LOTE 

Arts News

Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts have been busy performing at concerts, rehearsing for our school production “The Pitch”, making dance routines and creating works of art. Many of the events will be on show at our ARTS Showcase on Thursday 3 November 2022. During the Term 3 break, there will be extra rehearsal for the production and Stage Band.

Music

Year 7 music students are invited to attend Year 7 Concert Band rehearsals every Monday afternoon 3.00 to 3.45pm in the music room. Most Year 7 students can play between three and five notes. This new rehearsal time will suit many of our Year 7 students just starting to play their instrument well and will assist them to become more proficient on their instrument.

Theatre Production

The Theatre Production cast and crew are in full swing rehearsing for our whole school production “The Pitch”. Theatre Production students have provided a range of great ideas for the script and Ms Wilson has been very busy finalising the script and stage instructions.  Ms Stowe and Mr Wagner (from Elizabeth College) have been rehearsing script scenes with small groups of students.

Digital Art and Photography

Students in Digital Art and Photography are using a software to create new digital works of art. These will be on display on Arts Showcase on Thursday 3 November 2022.

Stage Band

During the Term 3 break, there will be extra rehearsal for the production and Stage Band.

Ceramics 

Ceramic students are making their art works from high grade clay. They are in the process of  refining their projects. Students will use colourful glazing and will placed in the furnace for the firing process.

Jazz Festival

During August each year a Jazz festival is organised in North Hobart. This year the Combined Elizabeth College/Hobart City High School Stage Band played in North Hobart as one of the feature events for the ‘Hot August Jazz” Festival. This was another great performance to a capacity audience.

Elizabeth College/Hobart City High School Combined Performances

Elizabeth College Year 11 and 12 music students performed their solo ensemble recitals at the Elizabeth College Performing Arts Theatre. The EC/HCHS Combined Saxophone Ensemble performed and our combined EC/HCHS Choir performed to a capacity audience in the Elizabeth College auditorium.

State Band Championship

Last weekend the Senior Combined EC/HCHS Concert Band performed at Hobart College in the State Band Championships. It was fantastic to see the large bands play together on stage.

Leading up to this event the Senior Combined EC/HCHS Concert Band also performed at Lenah Valley  Primary School. Many of our students are ex Lenah Valley Primary School students and for this occasion we have an individual picture of the ex Lenah Valley students.

State Rock Challenge Finals

We also had our Rock Band ‘Off-Put' play in Launceston earlier this month as part of the State Rock Band Challenge finals. They performed to a very lively audience.

Thank you to the HCHS Arts staff Amanda Fletcher, Janelle Stowe, Simon Reade, Alex Brown, Jane Mason, Tom McGee and Tracey Pattern for leading these events. Thanks to Jenny McDonald, Les Johnson, Katy Raucher, Tom Webster and Gus Leighton from Elizabeth College Performing Arts staff for their support for our collaborative projects.

Andrew Sweeney 
AST - ARTS

Maths Relay Competition

Congratulations to all teams who particpated over the weekend in the AAMT Maths Relay Competition.  Our Year 9/10 team were equal winners (with Hutchins School and Taroona High School) in the upper secondary division. 

Polish Program

Groups of Year 9 students have participated in the Polish Program, run by the Beacon Foundation. The program is all about giving students that extra ‘polish’ to their transferable skills of leadership, communication and self-advocacy. A core aspect of the program entails students working with business mentors - from Blunstone Australia this time - which will lead to opportunities for our students to engage with the world of work in the future!

Geoff Crosswell
Careers and Pathways

Hobart Fun Run 2022

Congratulations to the following Hobart City High School staff and students who completed the 5km run:

Year 7 - May G

Year 8 - Keiji G (19:56) 2nd in the 10-19 age group

Year 9 - Daniel R, Phoebe C, Carissa C, Ben N

Grade 10 - Walter A, Sidney S, Lincoln S

STAFF - Jane Brooks, Jess McDonald, Rhys King, Tom McGee, Paul Neely, Suzie Jones.

Hobart City High was awarded the John Tubbs Memorial Trophy for the fastest male team and fastest female team. New Town High School and Ogilvie High School have both won these awards in the past so it was super special to win both trophies in our first year as Hobart City High School. 

Photo credit Roll Cycles Hobart Fun Run.

Jane Brooks and Jess McDonald
Sports Co-ordinators 

Languages Club

Last week at Elizabeth College, the Languages Club made Japanese curry. Students in Years 8-12 across the Hobart City Partner schools cooked up a storm!  Thank you to Heath and Eunji for sharing all your culinary secrets.

Earlier in the month, students celebrated the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Students learnt about the festival, made traditional mooncakes and listened to some Guzheng players showcase some traditional Chinese music. Thank you Bing, Vienna and your team on a wonderful afternoon.

Wear It Purple Day

Thank you to everyone who helped in any way to support Wear it Purple Day.  On the Ogilvie Campus, Ms Bonifacio and the Prefects ran a barbecue, drinks and fairly bread stall.  Thank you to Shane and Ann from the canteen for the prep and cooking. Diversity students and School Nurse Lydia organised activities.  Elissa of 7C won  the lolly jar competition with a correct guess of 97.

For the New Town Campus we thank our School Nurse, Maggie, and Foods Teacher Ms Sutton for their organisation and the school leaders for their efforts in co-ordinating the events. 

Thank you to all staff and students who wore purple, donated money or purchased food and drinks. The final amount is still being calculated but there should be over $1 000 after costs.  This will go to Working it Out and Wear it Purple.

Lillian Smith
Teacher

ARTS Showcase

Hobart City High School

ARTS Showcase

Creative, Visual, Innovative and Performing Arts

Thursday 3 November 2022 – New Town Campus 5:30 - 7:00 pm

Hobart City High School students are presenting our inaugural ARTS Showcase  on Thursday evening 3 November 5:30 to 7:00 pm.

The evening will feature a wide range of students’ art projects by students from both campuses. The event be held at the New Town Campus and will begin with a seated formal introduction followed by a series of arts events presented throughout the school.

Included in the Program of Events

School TV - Online Gaming

Games are an integral part of human behaviour. It is normal and healthy for young people to engage in play as a part of their daily lives, including playing games online. And like most activities, online gaming can have both positive and negative outcomes. It can be intimidating and confusing for carers trying to understand a young person’s online experiences with many considering that staring at a screen is an unhealthy habit. However, the World Health Organisation does believe that as well as the risks, there are also many positive benefits associated with online gaming and these could be key in nurturing bonds with others.

During the pandemic, there was an explosive growth of gaming as people sought much needed connection during isolation. In the media, gaming often gets bad publicity because most coverage tends to concentrate on the minority of gamers who play to such an extent that it compromises all other areas of their life. However, online gaming can teach young people many skills including teamwork, concentration, communication and problem-solving. It requires a level of interaction and skill from the player; unlike watching television, which is more passive.

Online communities provide opportunities for young people to feel socially connected and have a sense of belonging. At healthy levels, gaming can increase their self-esteem and social acceptance. However, any behaviour, when taken to extreme, can also have a negative impact on a young person’s everyday life. Understanding what your young person experiences online and knowing the warning signs if they are at risk, will help nurture a more positive relationship with online gaming and help your family find the right balance.

If you are concerned about your young person’s online gaming habits, it’s important to consider a number of factors. This edition will provide strategies in how to deal with any issues you may be experiencing. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Upcoming Events

17 October - Term 4 commences

18 October - Science and HaSS Incursion - OC

20 October - Royal Hobart Show Day - Public Holiday 

21 October - Professional Learning Day - no students

25 October - Swimming Carnival for the NTC - Aquatic Centre 

25 October - Old Scholars Meeting 5:00 pm - NTC

28 October - Newsletter published

3 November - Arts Showcase - 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm - NTC

8 November - Swimming Carnival for the OC - Glenorchy Pool

8 November - School Association Meeting 5:30 pm - OC

9 November - Year 7 Immunisation (Second Dose) - OC

12 - 13 November - High School Basketball Regional Championships

16 November - Inter-High Swimming Carnival - Aquatic Centre

25 November - Newsletter published

26-27 November - High School Basketball State Championships

29-30 November - Elizabeth College Connect Days

29 November - Old Scholars Meeting 5:00 pm - NTC

30 November - 2022 Year 6 Orientation Day - OC

1 December - Schools Triathalon Challenge - Bellerive Beach

2 December - State Athletics Carnival

5-9 December - HCHS Musical Band (TBC)

7-9 December - Year 10 Big Picture Camp (TBC)

13 December - School Association Meeting 5:30 pm - OC

15 December - Presentation Evening - Wrest Point Casino

19 December - Year 10 Celebration Dinner - Wrest Point Casino

21 December - Last day for students