Newsletter No.7, Friday 26 August 2022

Message from the Principals

TRANSITION

It was wonderful to see the excellent Year 6 Taster Day held for over 170 Year 6 students last Friday.  Students experienced various high school lessons and navigated their way around the Ogilvie campus as well as meet some of their new peers for 2023.  A great day was had by both staff and students alike and we look forward to further transition events throughout the remainder of the year.

In the spirit of supporting students to transition it was a great Taster Day at Elizabeth College last Monday for our Year 10 students.  We are working closely with the leadership team and staff of Elizabeth College to ensure that each of our students are well prepared for their start to the Year 11 studies in 2023.

In addition to our Year 6 and 10 Taster Days we also held a Year 8 and 9 transition experiences to the New Town Campus over the past few weeks.  Year 8 and 9 students experienced some lessons in the co-educational environment together.  It was inspiring to see the look of relief and joy on the faces of our students.

2023 COURSE SELECTION

Coming up on Tuesday 30 August is our Course Information Evening.  The purpose of this event is to support families to learning more about the courses of study available in Years 8-10.  In the days immediately following this event, students will be asked to select their options subjects for Year 8 and their specialised subjects for Years 9 and 10.  2023 Year 8 information will be from 5.00-6.00 pm on the Ogilvie campus and 2023 Years 9 and 10 will be on the New Town campus.  

On Tuesday 30 August, a comprehensive guide to all available subjects will be posted on our website.

CHESS

We are looking to start up a chess club in the coming weeks as we have many talented chess players across our two campuses as well as some students just wanting to learn.  If your child is interested, please get them to leave their name at the front office and the organising teachers will get in touch with them.

VALUING YOUR FEEDBACK

Coming up soon will be the annual Parent/Carer Satisfaction Survey.  We are aiming to send this out to parents in the week starting Monday 5 September and will be open for 2 weeks.  We are encouraging ALL families to participate in this survey as we look at the information from this survey to inform our future planning.  We will send out a text link to all parents/carers at the time and should take around 5 minutes to complete.  Your input and feedback is highly valued.

INCLUSION STRATEGY - STUDENT VOICE

In 2021 a group of Ogilvie Year 8s and 9 students met as the Positive Change Makers.  Their work has sparked us into action this year to consider how we name and face the challenges of making our school an inclusive and welcoming place for all.  This group and the strategies they devise will be entirely student led, which is an exciting prospect and a Tasmanian first.  So far, we have met and begun the conversation.  We will continue to meet and grow our group as we makes plans to positively impact and improve our school culture.

Deb Day - Lead Principal

Holly Stewart - Principal, New Town Campus

Andrew Hughes - Principal, Ogilvie Campus

Works to start at New Town Campus

New facilities are on the way for our students.  Works started this week at the New Town Campus on a new social staircase  This will  connect three new student common areas and incorporate a lift for increased access to all levels and spaces.

Tasmanian construction firm Fairbrother will be undertaking the works, which are expected to commence soon and be completed in time for Term 1 2023.

This is great news as the new facilities will better support our learners and make the New Town campus more accessible.

The works will be managed to minimise disruption for students, staff and our community.  You may notice some temporary changes at New Town Campus while construction is occurring.

The project is part of a 2021 election commitment by the State Government, with $1.6 million allocated to undertake priority works at the Ogilvie and New Town Campuses to support co-educational learning, and $20 million for a major redevelopment of the school’s learning areas.

Works to upgrade student bathrooms and learning areas at the Ogilvie Campus have already been completed and earlier this year, extensive community and stakeholder consultation was undertaken to inform the scope of works for the $20 million dollar major project.

It is an exciting time for our school, and more information will be provided about the major project once the scope of works has been determined.

Holly Stewart - Principal, New Town Campus

From your School Association

STRATEGIC PLANNING

We held a strategic planning session on Tuesday 9 August to work out what the Association’s goals should be for the next two years.  We had lively conversations about our vision and purpose, and the values we think are important for guiding our decision-making.  Our focus will be on building a strong school community and supporting the school to deliver its priorities for our students.  We hope to sign off on the plan at our next meeting and will publish it on the school’s website.

NEXT MEETING

You are welcome to come along to our next meeting on Tuesday 13 September, 5.30pm-7.00pm at the Ogilvie Campus.

Other meeting dates for 2022 are: 8 November and 13 December.

We’d love to hear from you - if you have questions or suggestions please email us at hchs.association@education.tas.gov.au.

Melinda Maddock - Chair

Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) 2022

Please note that new applications for the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) 2022 will not be accepted after Wednesday 7 September. 

Gail Reeves - School Business Manager, Ogilvie Campus

Cindy McDonald - School Business Manager, New Town Campus

National Science Week 2022

Hobart City High School embraced National Science Week which was themed "Glass: More than meets the eye".  Some Science Week activities included:

TASMANIAN TRITRATION COMPETITION

Students took part in the Tritration Competition, the aim of the competition is to encourage students who enjoy Chemistry - especially practical Chemistry.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE EVENING

On the evening of Monday 15 August at Government House, the Governor of Tasmania, the Honourable Barbara Baker, and Emeritus Professor Don Chalmers hosted a reception to mark the start of National Science Week Southern Tasmania.  Our Head Prefects were able to talk to leading local Scientists about their pathways and experiences.

YEAR 9 VIST TO ELIZABETH COLLEGE

Elizabeth college staff and students hosted some of our Year 9 students as part of National Science Week.  Students explored lasers and mirrors, making nylon, coding lights and simulated how we test for diseases in a lab.

HOBART CITY HIGH SCHOOL LEARNING

Across the school students learned about the composition , history and uses of glass in a “pop up” lesson. Hands on activities included bending glass and watching demonstrations of the explosive Prince Rupert’s Drops.

Jo Berriman - AST - Maths and Science, New Town Campus

Ashleigh Snigg - AST - Maths and Science, Ogilvie Campus

Humanities Competition Results

Competitions provide our students with excellent extension and enrichment opportunities.

Congratulations to the following students who participated in the 2022 Australian Geography Competition:

Participation : Ibrahim, 7B, Shanawer, 7B, Carissa, 9D

Credit:  Alex, 7D, Raphael, 7G, Mahardika, 7B, Ayva, 7D, Paige, 10E

Distinction: May,7D

High Distinction: Daniel, 7H

Congratulations to the following students who participated in the 2022 Australian History Competition:

Participation:  Courtney, 7G, Alex, 7D, Gabriel, 7B, Ben, 9R

Merit: Paige,10E

Credit:  May, 7D, Mark, 8S, Kashyap, 9S, Maryam, 10B, Paige

Distinction: Daniel, 7H, Pierre-Yuuki, 8O

Mandy Maree - Curriculum Leader - HaSS, English and Languages - Ogilvie Campus                          

Sara Mulholland - Curriculum Leader - HaSS, English and Languages - New Town Campus                  

Hobart City High School 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 and provides co curricula opportunities to reflect our national and international setting. Our co curricula 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 student’s 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 authentic 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 skills are nurtured and developed in Dance, Drama, Music, Visual and Creative Arts at Hobart City High School.

Elizabeth College Arts students visited Hobart City High School, New Town Campus this week.  The Arts subject areas are actively building connections with Elizabeth College Arts departments.

MUSIC NOTES

The Hobart City High School recently had our annual workshop at the New Town Campus.

Over sixty students from Years 7 to 12 and Big Picture students participated in our annual  three day rehearsal workshop.  This was our first large scale post COVID music workshop.  The purpose of our three day workshop was to learn new sheet music repertoire to perform at school and community events.  Students were fantastic and they performed brilliant and we had a capacity parent audience at our Saturday afternoon concert. This workshop also included Year 9 to 12  students with peer support,  tuition and rehearsing. They assisted with teaching our Year 7s and 8s how to rehearse, play and perform their music. Thankyou to Alex Brown, Jane Mason, Simon Reade, Tom McGee, Tracey Pattern and Cass Wilson for helping to coordinate the three day workshop. We are planning more successful and exciting Arts activities and thankyou for your continued support of the student opportunities that HCHS has to offer in the Arts.

Andrew Sweeney - Arts Curriculum Coordinator

Elizabeth College Taster Day

A small taste of Elizabeth College Taster Day. Year 10 students enjoyed seeing what Elizabeth College has to offer. 

Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey

The time of the year has arrived where we survey the wellbeing of our students.  The wellbeing of all students at Hobart City High School is important to us - we want to hear how students feel and think about different things going on in their lives.

Students in Years 7–12 will be taking part in the survey during weeks 7 and 8 of this term.  A letter with more information will be sent home shortly with your young person.

See our next school newsletter for more information, or contact Cath Apanah at cath.apanah@education.tas.gov.au

Cath Apanah - Assistant Principal - Wellbeing and Community Engagement

Upcoming Events

30 August - Old Scholars Meeting (NTC Boardroom) 5.00pm

30 August - Year 8 2023 Information Session for families - OC

30 August - Year 9/10 2023 Information Sessions for familes - NTC Hall 

31 August - Transition Access Activitiy - Claremont College

31 August - Elizabeth College to enrol Year 10 NTC students into Year 11 courses - NTC 

1 September - Elizabeth College to enrol Year 10 NTC students into Year 11 courses - NTC 

2 September - Teacher Aide Appreciation Day

2 September - Year 8 and 10 Kickstart Arts - cr New Town Road and St Johns Avenue

3 September - Tournament of Minds State Final - OC 

7 September - New Town Primary - Sports Roster - OC

8 September - Literacy Day

8 September - RUOK Day

9 September - Year 8 and 10 Kickstart Arts- cr New Town Road and St Johns Avenue

12 - 16 September - Student Wellbeing Survey Testing Week

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

16 September - Year 8 and 10 Kickstart Arts- cr New Town Road and St Johns Avenue

19 - 23 September - "Discussions of Learning"

23 September - Year 8 and 10 Kickstart Arts- cr New Town Road and St Johns Avenue

27 September - Old Scholars Meeting (NTC Boardroom) 5.00pm

28 September - Year 9 Primary School AFL Carnival - Bowen Road Primary

30 September - Year 8 and 10 Kickstart Arts- cr New Town Road and St Johns Avenue

30 September - Newsletter Published

30 September - Term 3 Concludes