Newsletter No 3, Friday 10 May

Message from the Principals

Welcome back to Term 2! We trust you had a restful break and are ready to embark on another enriching term of learning and growth.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the students who participated in numerous Anzac Day services across greater Hobart. Your respectful attendance and involvement in honouring the bravery and sacrifices of our service men and women exemplify the values of remembrance, respect and unity that are important to us at Hobart City High School. The staff and students presence at these services was truly commendable, and we are proud to lead a school community that understands the importance of paying tribute to our nation's history.

Preparations are underway for our upcoming Year 7 camps and we wish all students a safe and exciting time away. The camps are not only an opportunity for our newest members of our school community to form connections and forge friendships but also a chance for all students to engage in outdoor activities, challenge themselves, and create lasting memories. We encourage all students to embrace this experience wholeheartedly and approach it with enthusiasm and an open mind. We have no doubt these camps will be a highlight of the term for many of our students, and staff eagerly anticipate hearing about the adventures and discoveries they encounter.

As we settle into Term 2, let us continue to foster a supportive and inclusive learning environment where every individual feels valued and empowered to achieve their full potential. We continue to reinforce and demonstrate our values of courage, growth, respect, responsibility and connection on a daily basis.

Get ready to lace up your running shoes and unleash your inner athlete because the highly anticipated Cross Country and Colour Run events will be held on Thursday 16 May! Our school community is gearing up for a day filled with fun, fitness, and a burst of vibrant colours. Whether you are a seasoned runner or simply enjoy a brisk walk, these events offer something for everyone. The day will be held on the Ogilvie Campus, with students completing a course they have been practicing as part of their HPE curriculum. Both events are an opportunity for students to demonstrate their commitment towards taking a positive risk and improving their individual fitness and wellbeing. 

Thank you to all our parents and carers who were able to join us for our recent Discussions of Learning. Your ongoing support and partnerships are invaluable and we look forward to continued discussions and support for your young person. Together, we can work towards ensuring that every student thrives academically, socially, and emotionally.

We are confident that Term 2 holds great promise and lots of opportunities for our school community, and we look forward to the term ahead. Let us approach this term with positivity, determination, and a willingness to embrace new challenges and opportunities.

ANZAC DAY

Hobart City High School helped commemorate ANZAC Day across three local services. Lest we forget.

Reclink AFL 9s Competition

Hobart City High School participated in the Reclink AFL 9s Competition at the Hockey Centre in Hobart. Teams participated in a round robin format with the girls and boys teams making it to the last match of the day to play off in the final against Kingston High School. Both teams played hard in the final, in good spirit and demonstrated sportsmanship with Kingston, coming out on top in both matches. A huge congratulations to all teams involved and thanks to Reclink and AFL Tasmania for organising the day!

Year 7 SRC

Meet the Year 7 SRC. Students were presented with badges and certificates at our last assembly. We are looking forward to working together to create a student voice that builds a warm and inclusive social culture which supports all students to learn.

Levy Payments

Levies have been invoiced to parents and carers. The expectation is that these will be paid fully by the end of Term 2. It is not a requirement for you to pay this amount in one lump sum, you can make regular payments through BPay or by contacting the office to arrange for regular payments to be deducted.

Every Minute Matters

We want to ensure that we are supporting our learners in their attendance at school. Many of you may have already seen some messaging regarding this on the TV. “Attendance Matters” and here at Hobart City High School “Every Minute Matters”. Attendance is taken every lesson, so when a class is missed, unless already notified, a notification by text is sent to a family contact.

It will not surprise you that research has found, higher levels of attendance correlate with higher level of achievement. Attending gives you the opportunity to achieve more. We have revised our attendance processes so that we can engage with and support our learners and families when there is a potential attendance concern. We ask that if there is a concern, that you also take the initiative to discuss this with your young person's Home Group teacher.

The Education Act specifies the reason a young person can be authorised not to attend school. They are:

• sickness/incapacity.
• medical, legal or related appointments.
• natural disaster or extreme weather preventing your child from safely attending their enrolled school.
• terminal illness of an immediate family member.
• bereavement of a person your child had a close, significant or family relationship with.
• having witnessed or been subjected to family violence.
• being a participant or official at a recognised State, National or International event.
• participation in a recognised learning experience.
• an application for home education being received by the Education Registrar and provisional registration being granted.

What will happen if my young person is absent for a reason that isn’t listed?

• The absence will be recorded as an unauthorised absence.
• Notifications are sent when classes are missed.
• Principals receive notifications about the number of unauthorised absences.
• We are required to send you a letter notifying you of the equivalent of 5, 10 and 15 day absences, as stated above these are not always full day absences, but any time missed where classes are scheduled each day. For example, if your student does not attend home group each day, that is 15 minutes missed so in less than 4 weeks that results in a 5 day absence letter.
• We will seek to work with you to increase your child’s attendance to maximise their learning if the Principal is concerned about your child’s attendance.

As responsible young people we expect all learners to be punctual to their classes. We will seek to support them with punctuality in instances where there is an ongoing concern, we hope to have our families support on this matter too.

For learners the school day starts at 9:00 am and runs until 3:00 pm each day. Please see the our timetable below.

School hours are from 8:30 am through to 3:30 pm. It is important that parents do not bring children to school before school hours because there is no supervision of students at that time. Similarly, it is important parents either collect their children at the end of the school day or arrange for them to catch the bus home/make other collection arrangements so that students are not left unsupervised at the end of the school day.

Unsupervised students may engage in dangerous play or put themselves in dangerous locations such as car parks being used by buses and cars during school drop off/pick up. Parents are responsible for their child outside school hours unless they have accessed school-based childcare during these times.

Share Your Thoughts On School Attendance

Share Your Thoughts On School Attendance

Help us better understand any barriers that may be in the way, and what supports are needed to help with getting to school.

The Department for Education, Children and Young People is doing statewide consultation on school attendance. 3P Advisory is independently running the consultation. Your answers are confidential, and you won’t be identified.

We want to hear from you. You can take part in an online survey, share or vote for suggestions, or join an online drop-in session via the 3P website. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

You can also share your thoughts about what you like or don’t like about our Every school day matters campaign.

As a parent or carer, please have your say. Please encourage your young person, too.

Every piece of feedback counts. Thanks for helping shape future DECYP initiatives, school-based engagement strategies and public awareness campaigns.

News From Our School Health Nurse

Let’s chat Sleep!🌙 Getting enough Zzz's is super important for everyone, especially students. It helps them to grow strong in both body and brain. Turns out, a bunch of students are not catching enough sleep, and it can make staying engaged in class tough.

Here are some easy-peasy tips to help sleep better:

• Tech Timeout: That blue light from device screens such a phones and tablets can mess with sleep. Try cutting back on gadgets before bed.
• How Much Sleep? Students aged 6-13 need about 9-11 hours each night, while those aged 14-17 should get around 8-10 hours each night.
• Bedtime Routine: Keeping bedtime consistent helps signal to your body it is time to wind down.
• Chill Activities: Quiet activities like reading, journalling, crocheting or taking a bath can get you ready for a sound sleep.
• Move More: Being active during the day means better sleep at night.
• No Tech in Bed: Keep beds as cozy spots for sleep, not for screen time.

Need more ideas? Check out www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au or pop by and see our school nurses Hayley and Anita.

Southern Primary School Sports Association Inter-School Athletics Carnival

Year 10 students attend the Southern Primary School Sports Association Inter-School Athletics Carnival held at the Domain. Students supported the successful running of events such as the vortex throw, long jump and marshaled all running events. It was a fantastic day and great to see the enthusiastic primary school students positively participating in all events! Well done to all involved for such a great day.

Celebrating Student Success in Big Picture

Maddie, Year 12, had their application accepted to attend the very sought after UTAS course XOS101 – A Practical Introduction to Temperate Marine Biology. This course takes place annually on Maria Island and has been running since 2015. There were approximately four hundred applications for the 24 places available. Applications are received from all over Australia and we are very proud that Maddie gained one of these places.

The group collected data from the waters of Maria Island, counting the different species and organisms and studied the data to understand the impact of the marine ocean warming in Tasmania as it is warming four times faster than global temperatures.

Photo credit to Felix Harper.

Samm, Year 12, launched their debut into the publishing world as the feature poet at Silver Words at Shambles Brewery. This anthology was first conceived in Year 10 as an interest project. The below picture is Samm with Daniel Townsend. Daniel mentored Samm for the year in 2022 and then joined the Big Picture staff at HCHS in 2023.  In Year 11 Samm formatted and edited the anthology, inviting another student to illustrate the poems. Finally, Samm was able to launch the book, presenting half a dozen poems from their anthology to a full house at the monthly Silver Words gathering and then closed the evening with some other original poems.

Abbey, Year 11, has secured a school-based traineeship with Banjo’s Claremont. Abbey will be working to gain a Certificate III in Retail Baking. Abbey will be lucky enough to finish her workdays at 2:00 pm but only after finishing the eight hour shift starting at 6:00 am!

Belle, Year 10, has just been asked to undertake a Certificate III in Dental nursing at Sandy Bay Dental after undertaking two shadow days with them. Belle will be working two days a week and attending school three days.

On the first Thursday of this term was an excursion to TMAG for the Beaker Street CoLab project. Big Picture and students from other year groups collaborated with scientists to create artworks inspired by their research.

Digital Skills For Families

Digital skills are critical to your young person’s success, but do you worry about their safety online? The Digital skills for families team are running a FREE session to help you keep your family safe in the digital age.

Date: Thursday 23 May

Time: 5:00 – 6:00 pm

Location: Hobart City High School

Learn about protecting personal information, setting healthy boundaries, and identifying and addressing cyberbullying. Q&A session after the presentation for any further questions, or email the Digital skills for families team: digitalskillsforfamilies@libraries.tas.gov.au

#DigitalSkillsForFamilies #LibrariesTasmania #ESafety #CyberSafety

ICT Agreement

A few important notes regarding laptops.

HCHS is a 1:1 device school which means each student in Years 7, 8 and 9 is issued their own school device. We explicitly teach our students to use their devices safely, respectfully, responsibly, and for learning.

Each student must return their 1) ICT Agreement and 2) Laptop Agreement. Both agreements are required before a student’s laptop may be issued. Laptops form an important part of our 21^st century learning program.

It is helpful if each student establishes a good routine of charging their laptop at home overnight, ready for the next day’s learning.

Loss and or damage:

If a student loses their charger, a new charger can be purchased at the NTC or OC Office for $40.00.

If a student has a damaged laptop sleeve or laptop case that they would like to replace, a new sleeve can be purchased at the NTC or OC Office for $14.85 or they may prefer to purchase their own privately. Please return the damaged case or sleeve to the office.

If a student has a lost or damaged laptop, the student must speak to a Year Level Team Leader immediately for support. The Year Level Team Leader will carefully assess and consider each scenario. A student will, if possible and appropriate, be provided with a temporary loan device while repairs are undertaken. An invoice may be issued to the family for the cost of the laptop repairs or replacement laptop at the discretion of the Principal. 

City To Casino Fun Run/Walk

CITY TO CASINO FUN RUN/WALK Sunday 26 May 8:00 am. The City to Casino is the second oldest community running event in Australia, second only to the City to Surf in Sydney. 2024 is the 51st year of the City to Casino Fun Run/Walk. Join our Hobart City High School team and walk or run to help raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Tasmania. Visit:

Tasmanian Youth Parliament

Youth Parliament is an excellent addition to any schools co-curricular program as it is an engaging educational program. Furthermore, we provide an excellent opportunity for schools to gain promotional material, as photos of students will be taken during the conference, and may be sent to their respective schools upon request! 

Please find the application form here!  There is also a link to our Facebook page here, feel free to share the relevant registration post on your respective school’s Facebook. 

For enquiries or more information, please contact youthparliamenttas@ymca.org.au or visit our website.

Important Dates

13- 14  May - 7B, 7E and selected students from 7I Camp (Spring Beach Orford)

14-15 May - 7D, 7G and selected students from 7I Camp (Spring Beach Orford)

16 May- Cross Country and Colour Run

20 -21 May - 7C, 7F and selected students from 7I  Camp (Spring Beach Orford)

21 - 22 May - 7A, 7H selected students from 7I Camp (Spring Beach Orford)

23 May- Digital Skills for families at OC campus- 5:00 pm

24 May - Inter High Cross Country 

26 May - National Sorry Day

28 May - LEAP Day 

29 - 31  May - Outdoor Education Camp -  Year 10  (Freycinet National Park)

1 June - Pride Month 

5-7 June - Duke of Edinburgh Camp 

7 June - Professional Learning Day, Student Free Day

10 June - Public Holiday (King's Birthday)

13 June - All Schools Cross Country

21 June -  World Music Day

27 June - Interschool Chess Tournament

5 June - Term Two Concludes