Newsletter No.8, Friday 25 August 2023

Message from the Principals

It is hard to believe we are halfway through Term 3 and are enjoying the turn in the weather and the longer days. The term has started well, full of learning that has occurred in the classroom, outside of the classroom and within our community. Students have been engaged in a range of learning opportunities and extra curricula activities. We wish our Middle School Concert Band students all the best and safe travels in Melbourne next week.  Students have been busy preparing for the whole school musical to be performed in Week 10.

Tournament of Minds (ToM)

Our two teams are well underway with their long term solution, gearing up for presentation on Saturday 9 September. ToM is a problem solving program for teams of seven students from both primary and secondary years. The aim is to enhance the potential of our youth by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment.

This year we have one team working to solve the Arts challenge and another focusing on STEM. The Arts is a discipline for those who have a love for the visual and performing arts. The long term challenges will involve research before developing a creative interpretation in response to the Challenge. There are plenty of opportunities for artistic expression in the form of dance, song, musical instruments, theatre and all forms of the Visual Arts. We can’t wait to see what they produce.

National School Reform Agreement

As a part of the Australian Government review of the National School Reform Agreement (Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System) we welcomed chair Dr Lisa O’Brien as one of their consultation schools in Tasmania. They were interested in hearing about the success of the merge and our commitment to quality teaching and learning and our thinking around the systemic barriers to improvement and ways to overcome these.

We also provided insights into the challenges and possible solutions relating to attracting and retaining teachers, supporting student mental health and wellbeing and the targets and reforms needed to drive improvement.

DECYP representative, Acting Director Operations, Adam Clifford supported the visits and was impressed with the professionalism of our staff and their strong moral imperative to lift opportunities for their students.

NAPLAN 2023

Results for Years 7 and 9 have been mailed to families this week. This testing is valuable for schools as it can be used to identify trends and patterns with teaching and learning, be used to set targets for school improvement and help to check that every child is showing appropriate growth and progress. It is important to remember this is just a snapshot in time and is only one of a range of assessments we use to support students learning. Please contact the school if you have any questions or you would like to discuss your child’s results.

Mobile Phones

As you would be aware DCEYP's policy is to have 'phones off and away all day'. During Term 2 both campuses had a strong focus on this and on the whole had been very good at following this during Term 2 and parent feedback has appreciated the strong stance and procedures to support phones being ‘off and away all day’.

We have noticed phones have been creeping back. We will be ensuring that the policy continues to be followed. Our students have told us through our student voice surveys that feeling safe at school is a priority for them. Unfortunately, when students have access to mobile phones during the school day, the number of bullying incidents and other unacceptable behaviours increases. All parents will shortly receive a letter outlining the processes we will use in more detail. We request that parents support us in implementing the policy and please discuss with your young person. Please contact the school if you would like to discuss this further.

Britany Roestenburg - Lead Principal

Holly Stewart - Principal - Senior School

Andrew Hughes - Principal - Middle School

School Attendance

Please note the following:

• A full school day is from 9:00 am (present in class) to 3:00 pm. To enable your student to be in class on time we have staff here to provide duty of care from 8:30 am, which allows enough time to prepare for being present on time to the first class, which is Home Group. Please note that Home Group is part of the scheduled school day and it is important that all students are present. Teachers are on duty at the end of the day until 3:30 pm.
• Part days missed, including Home Group, all add up to important school being missed. For example if your student misses Home Group each day for 4 weeks, that is the same time as a full school day.
• As a result, we ask that where possible all appointments are scheduled outside school hours.
• If your student is not able to attend at any time, please contact the school via email hobart.city.high@decyp.tas.gov.au, through SZapp (Schoolzine app) or respond to any text messages received around non-attendance via return text on 0417 968 541 (free text service).
• Please feel free to contact the school if there are concerns around your student’s attendance so we are able to assist however we can to ensure that they are at school.

Course Information Evening

We look forward to welcoming students and their families to our Course Information Evening on Tuesday 12 September.

Due to the recent announcement that for 2024, Year 7 to 9 students will be based on the Ogilvie Campus and Year 10 will be on the New Town Campus, we have made some adjustments to our curriculum provision. We encourage families to attend the relevant session for your young person to learn more about courses for 2024.

There will be two sessions. One for current Year 7 and Year 8 students who will be entering Year 8 and Year 9 next year (on the Ogilvie Campus from 5:00-6:00 pm) and one for current Year 9 students who will be entering Year 10 next year (on the New Town Campus from 6:30-7:30 pm).

Further information will also be available about Big Picture at both Campus events.

Please book via the form link: https://forms.office.com/r/DGwb3rnhMq or by clicking on ‘Book Now’ on the flyer.

Erika Boas and Sarah Geale - Assistant Principals – Teaching and Learning

From your School Association

Visiting Our Partner Primary Schools

Our committee members and school principals have been making thier way around our partner primary school association meetings this term. So far we have met with family members at Mt Stuart, Goulburn Street and Lansdowne Crescent primary schools. They had lots of questions for us on a range of topics including school culture, safety and behaviour management, wellbeing, clubs and House activities, managing phones and devices, support for students with additional needs, student numbers and capital works. We really value the chance to talk to families of students in our community about the great things our school has to offer.

Cultural Connections

We are pleased to be hosting families from diverse cultural and language backgrounds at an afternoon tea next Thursday 31 August at 3:15 pm in the Lower Student Centre at the Ogilvie Campus. The aim of the event is to better understand how we can communicate and to make connections so that everyone feels part of our school community. A big thank you to our EAL teachers for their help in making this happen.

Funding Program For School Projects

The School Association will be making small amounts of funds available for specific projects or purchases for the school. We will manage funding requests through a process developed by committee members and with the involvement of student leaders. Once the finishing touches are made to the program we’ll send it out and wait for the applications to roll in!

Next Meeting

Our next meeting is Tuesday 5 September, 5:30 – 7:00 pm at the New Town Campus. Everyone is welcome to come along or join us online via Teams – to get the link, email                          hchs.association@decyp.tas.gov.au.

Melinda Maddock - Chair

HCHS and the Arts

Dance, Drama, Music, Visual and Creative Arts improve academic performance and enable our students to maximise their potential. For example, acquiring critical thinking, problem-solving and time management abilities allow students to perform more effectively during assessments and exams. The Hobart City High School Arts Department recognises to provide co-curricular opportunities to reflect our national and international setting. Our co-curricular programs provide extension programs for gifted and able students, celebrate inclusivity, diversity and learning for every learner, every day. The Australian Curriculum and achievement standards highly values academic achievement and cultural identity, combining disciplinary Arts subject knowledge alongside the development of learning competencies throughout every students educational journey. Across all year levels, Hobart City High School Arts teaching staff teach students to respect other perspectives and customs and empower them to make a difference in our world through aesthetic learning interactions in Dance, Drama, Music, Visual and Creative Arts. In 2020, LinkedIn identified the five most in-demand skills by employers as creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability and emotional intelligence and these are skills are nurtured and developed in Dance, Drama, Music, Visual and Creative Arts at Hobart City High School.

On Monday our Middle School Concert Band students are travelling to Melbourne to perform at the Victorian Schools Concert Band Festival. This competition offers the full educational arts experience with young musicians performing on stage in their ensemble, receiving immediate feedback on stage from a highly skilled adjudicator. Participants are involved in listening to others in performance, watching how it can be done differently with opportunities to analyse their own performance back at school by listening to the recording and watching the video provided. At our last Melbourne performance (pre COVID) our Combined Schools Concert Band received a Platinum Award.

The Melbourne Festival provides the following opportunities for students and teachers:

• A performance goal for ensembles.
• Performing in a number of Victoria’s outstanding concert venues.
• The opportunity to hear a performance by a number of groups of similar standard.
• The chance for students to work with leading educators from Australia and overseas.
• Professional development opportunities for ensemble directors.
• Comments from a panel of experienced professional adjudicators.
• A stereo recording of their performance including adjudication comments.
• Important feedback for directors as to the overall performance and direction of their ensemble.
• Personalised video conducting tutorials for ensemble directors.
• Opportunities to network with colleagues and catch up on what others are doing and from where they get their inspiration.
• An Award placement plaque for each ensemble of Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Performance.

Good luck to the Middle School Concert Band students and their trip to Melbourne.

A reminder that we have a range of co-curricular ensembles for student participation. All students are welcome to attend rehearsals. The rehearsals happen each week.

• Middle School Concert Band - Monday 3:00 - 4:30 pm, Ogilvie Campus
• Vocal Ensemble - Tuesday 8:15 - 9:00 am, Ogilvie Campus
• Combined Campus Band - Tuesday 3:00 - 4:30 pm, Ogilvie Campus
• Saxophone Ensemble - Thursday 8:15 - 9:00 am, Ogilvie Campus
• Brass Ensemble - Thursday 3:00 - 4:30 pm, Ogilvie Campus
• Stage Band - Friday 8:00 - 9:00 am, New Town Campus

We Will Rock You  - Musical Production

The school production tells the story of a globalized future without musical instruments. A handful of music rebels, the Bohemians, combat against the all-powerful Global soft company and its boss, the Killer Queen; they argue for freedom, individuality and the rebirth of music. Two young outsiders Scaramouche and Galileo, cannot come to terms with the bleak conformist reality. They join the Bohemians and embark on the search to find the unlimited power of freedom, enjoyment and Music

Featuring more than 20 hit Queen songs including “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen,” “We Will Rock You,” “Somebody To Love,” “We Are the Champions,” and many more, We Will Rock You, follows two young rebels as they try to restore music to "the world" in a post-apocalyptic world. We Will Rock You is a musical for our time: an energetic, foot-stomping anthem to individuality.

We Will Rock You will run from Monday 25 to Friday 29 September at the Playhouse Theatre - more details to come soon.

Andrew Sweeney - Arts Curriculum Co-ordinator

Big Picture News

Big Picture would like to acknowledge the achievement of Year 11 student Aleira. Aleira started a School-based Traineeship with the Legislative Council late last year and has already been signed off on her Cert II in Work Skills. The lady who signed her up, Kate Massie, thinks it may be the fastest Cert II she’s seen, completed in six months. Aleira has now started her Cert III in Business, continuing to balance school and work life – working two days a week at the Legislative Council and the remaining three days she studies towards her International Big Picture Learning Credential.

Hobart City High School is also proud to announce that two of our Big Picture students will be representing the south of the state in a finals heat of the Australian Poetry Slam 2023. Sophie, Year 10, and Samm, Year 11, will travel to Launceston for the Tasmanian Finals on Saturday 26 August. We wish them both the very best of luck!

Liz McDermott - Year 11/12 Teacher Advisor - Big Picture

Science Week

National Science Week Reception at Government House

On Monday 14 August, Elizabeth College hosted a reception at Government House to celebrate National Science Week. Two of Hobart City High Schools top science students Daniel and Ella were invited to attend along with teachers, scientists, professors, and other students from all over Hobart. Daniel and Ella represented the school admirably and had the opportunity to engage in some very interesting discussions including some fascinating research into repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation which is showing great promise in treating a host of neurological disorders.

Science Week for the Middle School

8E had fun experimenting with Lemon Volcanoes (chemical reactions involving citric acid).

Science Week for the Senior School 

Some of our Year 9s participated in Science Week activities at Elizabeth College.

Science Buds

As part of Science Week, Mr Bounds and some ‘Science Buds’ from different year levels (and ex New Town Primary students) ran some science stations in the Science labs. New Town Primary School students from Prep to Year 6 participated in activities.

2023 Model Solar Challenge

The Model Solar Challenge involves building, testing and racing solar powered model cars and boats.  This opportunity is open to students in all year levels and no prior experience is necessary. Participating students need to attend weekly sessions to work on their models and this year’s race day will be held on Saturday 25 November.  Information and event videos can be found on the Tasmanian Solar Challenge website: https://www.tassolarchallenge.org/

Interested students can give their names to their science teachers. Parents or carers wanting more information or to register interest on a student’s behalf can email Mr Hedges: orion.hedges@decyp.tas.gov.au

Orion Hedges - Teacher - AST Operations

National Writing Competition - "What Matters"

“What Matters?” is a national writing competition that asks students to consider and explore topics that matter to them. Inspired by Gough Whitlam’s commitment to involving young people in shaping Australia’s future, this year’s competition received 4,991 entries nationwide.

Hobart City High School was proudly represented by Freya, Year 10 and Khan, Year 8 at the Tasmanian awards ceremony. Khan is the runner-up in the 7/8 category with his piece titled, Middle of the Sea and Freya is the winner of the 9/10 category with her piece titled, Hope Matters. Freya is also the overall runner-up across all entries in the state. Both Freya and Khan are no strangers to this competition, with Khan placing runner up in 2021 and Freya winning in 2022. 

To celebrate their fantastic achievements, Josh Willie MLC invited Khan, Freya, and their teachers to a morning tea at Parliament House, followed by a special interest speech in the Legislative Council. You can read their inspiring submissions here: What Matters? Writing Competition - Department for Education, Children and Young People (decyp.tas.gov.au)

Congratulations to both Freya and Khan on their great achievements. We are all proud of you!

Liv Prenter and Nic Raymond - English Teachers

HCHS Students have a Taste for Learning

Our Hospitality class are a group of dedicated, passionate cooks, who strive to go further, trying new methods and engaging with the world of food through an entire unit on Italian cooking. Recently we invited a guest, an Italian cook to share his cooking skills and passion, Mr Robi Callegari, whose family recipe was gifted to us as he generously guided us through. It is a longer cooking polenta dish (we served it with a ragu) and the secret ingredient was the use of cream and butter melted with the parmesan and cheddar right at the end. Mr Callegari is from right up in the north bordering the mountains so the Swiss French influence is discernible! It was through the generous support of Marti Zucco at the Italian Club that we found our authentic Italian cook! Thank you to the Italian Club, Mr Zucco and Mr Callegari.

In addition, on Monday 7 August the same Hospitality class, along with some of our Big Picture students, were guests of the Tasmanian Hospitality Association. We visited Drysdale TAFE centre, where the THA professionals demonstrated hands-on activities in food and wine service, barista service, the creation of rice paper rolls in the large commercial kitchen and the creation of mocktails at the bar. All young minds were fully engaged and are considering returning for further one day trainings or even longer courses. The trainers were friendly and knowledgeable and one of these gentlemen will return in his own time to teach an in class barista service to our other Food Studies students. The school is very blessed by our ongoing association with Drysdale TAFE and Tasmanian Hospitality Association, we eagerly look forward to the next engagement.

Ruth Howard - Foods Teacher

Important Dates

28 -30 August - Middle School Concert Band Melbourne Tour

30 August - ADF Guest Speaker - 9:15-10:15am - NTC

12 September - Course Information Evening

                                 Year 8-9  (next year)- 5:00 - 6:00pm OC

                                  Year 10 (next year) - 6:30 - 7:30pm NTC

15 September - Futsal Roster commences - 4:30 - 8:30pm (various venues)

18 - 20 September - Year 9/10 Outdoor Education Camp 1 - Fortescue Bay (Tasman National Park)

19 September - Year 7/8 Girls Netball Championships - Hobart Netball and Sports Centre

20 September - Year 7/8 Boys Netball Championships - Hobart Netball and Sports Centre

20 - 22 September - Year 9/10 Outdoor Education Camp 2 - Fortescue Bay (Tasman National Park)

21 September - Year 9/10 Girls Netball Championships - Hobart Netball and Sports Centre

21 September - Inter-High School Chess Tournament - 9:00am - 3:00pm OC 

21 September - Discussions of Learning  3:30 - 6:00pm - Both Campuses

22 September - Year 9/10 Boys Netball Championships - Hobart Netball and Sports Centre

22 September - Futsal Roster - 4:30 - 8:30pm (various venues)

25 - 29 September - Musical, We Will Rock You - Playhouse Theatre

29 September - Futsal Roster - 4:30 - 8:30pm (various venues)

27 September - Whole School Assembly - Aurora Stadium

29 September - Futsal Roster - 4:30 - 8:30pm (various venues)

29 September - Newsletter

29 September - Last Day of Term 3