Taroona High School

Department of Education

Key Dates for 2016

S

Wed 3 August – 7.00 – 8.30pm

Grades 8, 9 & 10 Course Information

Evening

Thu 4 August – 7.00 – 9.00pm

Grade 10 College Information Evening

Hobart College

Sun 7 – Sat 13 August

Senior Band Tour, Queensland

Mon 15 August – 7.30pm

School Association General Meeting

Wed 17 August – 7.30pm

Steve Biddulph Workshop – Raising Boys

THS Gym

Thu 18 August – 7.30pm

Steve Biddulph Workshop – Raising Girls

THS Gym

Thu 25 August

Subject Preferences for 2017 Due

Thu 1 September

Grade 10 RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver

Awareness), Hobart Show Grounds

Tue 13 September

Grade 7 Immunisations

Wed 14 September – 4.30 – 9.00pm

Spring Arts Festival

Fri 16 September

Reports go Home

Mon 19 September – 7.30pm

School Association General Meeting

Wed 21 – Wed 28 September

New Caledonia Trip

Thu 22 September – 3.00 – 8.00

Parent Teacher Evening

Fri 23 September

End Term 3

Taroona Views Issue 7: 1 August 2016

From the Principal

I am honoured and delighted to be appointed as Taroona High School’s Acting Principal for

the remainder of 2016. I want to pay tribute to John O’Rourke for his outstanding

leadership over the last five years. I also thank our school community (students, parents and

staff) for their confidence and support shown me so far in this role. I intend to continue

John’s great work to steadily guide the learning in our school without altering its tenor.

Students

Students in Years 7, 9 and 10 are now in new semester courses. A big thanks to all our

parents for preparing and supporting our students so well in making this transition.

We welcome many new students, including 12 new international students and several

exchange students. We now have 35 international students, being competently managed by

Susan Weston Smith.

The 2017 course selection process will commence soon. Please read the article in this

newsletter and try to help your child consider choices and make decisions based on what

they are good at and what they enjoy, rather than what their friends might be selecting.

My Education (Further information is on the next page of this newsletter).

Our staff professional learning day was spent learning about and planning for teaching My

Education to all our grades. Our teachers are now well equipped to teach this new subject

and all students are participating in these classes with their Home Group Teachers.

Staff Changes

While I am working as principal, Michelle Andrews is now Assistant Principal managing

transition, staff professional learning and supporting student welfare in Years 7 and 8. Claire

Taylor and Rachael Graham are now working as Grade 7 coordinators.

We welcome new teachers, some of whom you will already know:

Laura Hannan (English SAH),

Alison Young (Maths/Science for Clint Rottier),

Jennifer Morgans (Art for me),

Hannah Chapman (Wellness for Wade Nation),

Harold Vanderplas (Maths/Science).

We are pleased to announce the return of Mr David Perkins who is with us to teach one

lucky Maths class and in coming days, Ms Roxanne Pritchard-Christie, who returns from

maternity leave. It will be great to have her back on our teaching team.

External School Review

Yesterday, a team of four principals spent the day at our school interviewing students, staff,

teachers and parents about the school. They will combine these interviews with our school’s

quantitative data to formulate a report on our progress and areas for improvement. Thanks

to everyone for your support and participation on the day. The areas of investigation

centred around the following:

Are we maintaining our high standard of student achievement, engagement

and well-being as the school numbers continue to increase?

Karena Gregory

Acting Principal

Taroona High School My Education Update-2016

My Education is a Kindergarten to Year 12 approach to career and

life planning in schools that will support students to develop the

knowledge, skills and attributes needed to successfully plan and

make informed choices for their future. All state schools from

Years 7-10 are working with students on My Education. Years 11

and 12 will be operating fully next year, as will the K-6 sector.

Taroona High School Grade 7-10 students are all participating in

this program. Students will be able to involve parents in this

work by sharing the class work that is in a Fronter program (THS

My Education). Grade 9 and 10 students will be able to discuss

with parents future ideas of careers, educational programs,

institutions and opportunities by accessing MY Education Online.

Students will be able to operate on both of these programs at

school and at home. Students will need to bring their laptops,

tablets or IPads to school to every lesson. Grades 9 and 10 have

many hours of research and decision-making tasks across a year

and this work will require devices they can use. We have

discovered that phones are not compatible with the software they

will be using. Grades 7 and 8 will spend time working on Fronter

and this will require them to have their laptops with them.

My Education is a coordinated, whole-school curriculum approach

to preparing all of our students for their future. Taroona is using

a 50 minute lesson once a week to deliver the My Education

program. Students will continue this program in Years 11 and 12.

Ensuring that students have the skills, knowledge and

understanding to make well-informed learning, work and life

decisions is essential to an individual’s social and economic

wellbeing and that of the broader community. These procedures

aim to provide opportunities for our students to see the

significance of education in their future and allow them to develop

personal attributes to successfully manage the multiple transitions

they will experience throughout their lives.

Julianne Blackaby

My Education AST

UNSW English Competition

This will be held on Tuesday, 2 August. Those people who are

taking part are reminded of this, as the closing date was several

weeks ago. They will need to report to Room A113 straight after

recess with the necessary pencils, rubber etc.

School Facebook Page

You do not need to log into Facebook to view

this school page: www.facebook.com/taroonahigh.

2017 Course Selection Process

This week students in Grades 8 and 9 were issued with a 2017

Course Selection Guide which will assist them in choosing their

courses for next year.

The Course Guide, not only gives details of the courses offered

from each of the Learning Areas, but also provides students with

guidelines for choosing subjects. It also contains instructions on

how to select courses electronically. Students are asked to

complete this process by Thursday 25th August. Before they do

this, however, students should consider their choices carefully and

should only make their decisions after close consultation with their

teachers and parents/carers.

Parents requiring more information about courses are invited to

attend the 9/10 Course Information Evening on

Wednesday, August 3rd. We will be selling hot drinks at this

event to raise money for our school in Bangladesh.

Grade 7s also choose subjects for next year but on a more limited

basis. Information about 2017 Grade 8 Courses were issued to

Grade 7s via an assembly. At this assembly, Grade 7 students

received the Grade 8 Selection Guide which they should have

brought home to parents/carers. Once again, as with the Grades 9

& 10, courses are chosen on-line.

ALL students in Grades 7 - 9 have been given their personalised

details and log-in code for choosing their courses online. If they

lose their copy, they can get another one from Student Services or

from Ms Flinn.

Maths News

The Australian Maths Competition was held on 28 July with more

than 60 students participating.

The Tasmanian Maths Relays are being held at Rosny College on

Sunday 21 August. Students who are interested in being

considered for a team must collect a letter/form from

Mrs Andrewartha. These must be returned to her as quickly as

possible as membership of one of the teams is very competitive.

Good Character Check

Good Character Check forms are required by the Department of

Education for parent help and school excursions. These are

required by the Department until the 1st September this year.

Please refer to the link below for a form.

https://www.education.tas.gov.au/documentcentre/Documents/Go

od-Character-Check-Application-Form.pdf

Working with Children Card

After 1 September you will be required to have a Working with

Children Card as a volunteer. The site for this is:

http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/.

NAPLAN Online - Trial of the New Online Assessment

Platform

You may have heard that NAPLAN online is being introduced

across Australia over three years from 2017. Tasmanian

Government schools will be administering NAPLAN online from

2019.

NAPLAN online will provide better assessment, more precise

results and faster turnaround of information.

Our school has been selected to trial the new assessment platform

(the computer system the test will be taken on). This trial, called

the Platform Trial and Readiness Test (PTRT), is a chance for the

new platform to be tested in a real-life classroom environment.

The PTRT is not a test of student achievement and results will not

form part of a student’s overall assessment.

Feedback from schools participating in the trial will inform

transition to the online assessment as well as provide valuable

feedback to shape the final development of the NAPLAN online

platform.

During August 2016, students will participate in a trial of the

assessment platform, by undertaking online tests that include

examples of the new NAPLAN online questions. Each test will

take approximately 45 minutes to complete.

If you have further questions, please contact the school on

6227 7700.

School Website

Our school website can be found at:

https://education.tas.edu.au/taroonahigh/. Sign in (top right hand

corner of the page) using education\tah.parent as the username

and parent2012 for the password, then click on Taroona High

School Intranet (top left hand corner). If you are using Internet

Explorer you may need to select ‘Use Other Account’ before

entering the details in the signup window.

Writing Prize

Congratulations to

Jem Nalder (10I), who

won the Year 9/10

Tasmanian section of

the What Matters?

Writing Competition

with her story, It’s Not

Just a Game. Jem will

travel to Sydney for a

writers’ workshop,

receive a cash prize

and is in the running

to win the national

prize.

Science News

It’s been a big year so far for the Science Department. Our

Science building has grown, with the completion of a new Science

Lab, bringing us up to five labs, three of which are gas equipped

‘hard’ labs.

Grade 9s and 10s finished in 3rd place in the Science and

Engineering State Finals, beating all other Southern Tasmanian

Schools. In the Big Science competition, we received 12 High

Distinctions out of 34 entries - an impressive effort! We now

await student results from the National Chemistry Quiz. In two

weeks’ time, Gillian Wallace will take a team of Grade 9s along to

the RACI Titration Competition. We wish them all the best.

Last term a group of Grade 10 students had the opportunity to

spend an afternoon at UTAS with CSIRO Space Scientist,

Rob Hollow, to observe an active pulsar and learn about the

opportunities that exist in Space Science. Science staff had a

professional learning session with Rob, further allowing us to bring

the latest science to the classroom.

Also during Term 2, Mr Rose

and Mrs McWhirter took a

group of 80 Grade 8 students

to the UTAS Geology

Department to explore the

world of Geology, with a

focus upon working in the

industry. Students had an

opportunity to use

radiometric equipment,

microscopes and chemicals.

They encountered an

impressive range of geological

samples and cutting edge equipment.

Coming up very soon is Science Week (15-19 August). While

every week at Taroona High School is Science Week, we do have

some special activities planned. The Grade 8 STEM students will

set up and run a Science Fair for Taroona Primary Students. There

will be a daily science question on the student bulletin, with prizes.

Our Grade 7s will walk along to the IMAS Taroona Laboratories

to investigate the work that happens there. Grade 8s will learn

about how drone technology is being used now and into the

future.

Tim Muir

Head of Science

Ivy Ganey working in the UTAS Geology lab

Minerals under the microscope

Alliance Française Competition 2016

Congratulations to the following students for their success in the

Alliance Française Competition on Friday 24 June at Hobart

College:

Sophie-Marie Young won 1st prize for Grade 10 Conversation

and 2nd prize for Grade 10 Poetry. The poem was titled

Le Printemps (Spring) by Victor Hugo. Bravo et félicitations!

The following students received mentions honorables:

Grade 7 Poetry: (Coco le Perroquet)

Kate Poynter

Sophia Clark

Alicia Wolfe

Dylan Murphy

Narryna Nicholas

The following students in Grade 7, who have French speaking

background, learned the Grade 8 poem and received mentions

honorables in that category (Hors Concours):

Inès Ait Maamar

Bilal Ait Maamar

Daniel-André Buzelin

Grade 8 Poetry: (La Tour Eiffel by Maurice Carême)

Gabby Burke

Grade 9 Reading Comprehension

Marcus Rees

Grade 10 Poetry:

Liam Shea-Butler

Grade 10 Listening Comprehension:

Sophie-Marie Young Liam Shea-Butler

I would also like to acknowledge all the other competitors – you

all worked very hard on a challenging task:

Grade 7: Isla Burton, Josh Harrison, Narryna Nicholas,

Amelia Waldie, Cy Anderson

Grade 8: Xavier Galey, Ruby Brookes, Ella Lord

Grade 9: William Squires

Grade 10: Vienna Markham

I would like to thank Florence Creavin and Anne Gillme for their

assistance and support to get the students to learn or practise

their appropriate sections.

Grade 7 Lunchtime Futsal Competition

Fifteen very enthusiastic teams representing all nine Grade 7

classes took part in the Term 2 lunchtime competition. All games

were played in great spirit and were largely refereed and scored by

Grade 7 students. The Grand Final played between Yellow

Chickens (7Y) and Australasians (7R) was a close affair, with

Yellow Chickens scoring two second half goals to clinch the title.

James Ross did a fantastic job as referee. Winning team members

were Jack Duffy, Isaac Melville, Utsav Lohchab, Otto Schwarz, Alice

Atkinson and Magdalena Chappell.

The golden boot award for the competition highest goal scorer

was a three way tie between Declan Taylor, Tom Roberts and

Otto Schwartz.

Students’ Achievements

Thomas Green (10T) was selected in the

Tasmanian Under 19 Badminton Team that

competed in Sydney from 30 June to 7 July.

This competition was being used to select an

Australian team so the play was of a very high

standard. Thomas played well against very tough

competition. He narrowly lost in the semi-finals

of the Plate competition. His good sportsmanship was noted by a

panel of umpires.

On his return from the Nationals he won the Men's B Grade

Singles at the Southern Tasmanian Badminton Association

Invitational Tournament and came runner up with Siobhan Duhig

(former Taroona High Student) in the B Grade Mixed doubles.

Congratulations Thomas.

Congratulations also to Helena

Robin (8I), who recently competed

at the Sydney Eisteddfod and was

awarded first place in the Song from

Operetta or G & S (14 & Under).

Hannah Navickas (8I) has been selected in the

2016 15 & Under Tasmanian State Netball Team

to compete in 2016 School Sport Australia, 15 and

Under Netball Championships in Adelaide. We

wish her all the best as she competes for her state

at national level.

Winners: Yellow Chickens

Grade Eight Debating Grand Final

This year in Grade Eight debating, we had two Taroona High

School teams entered into the roster. Out of all the eligible

schools in the competition, both Taroona teams made it to the

Grand Final – Taroona High 1 and Taroona High 2. They had each

fought their way up the ladder to first and second place. This is

almost unheard of in schools debating – having two teams from the

same school in the grand final is a huge achievement for Taroona

and shows the prowess of each team.

There was a large audience on the night of the debate, including

teachers from both teams, Grade Ten coaches and parents. We

each had an hour to prepare our speeches on the topic “Students

should be required to play sport at lunchtime.” In the end of what

was an engaging and competitive debate, where each team argued

their case incredibly well, Taroona 1 became the winners of the

Tasmanian Debating Union Class Eight Roster 2016. The decision

from the panel of three adjudicators was unanimous.

It was a rewarding experience for both teams. We would like to

thank Mrs Chilcott and Mr Rose for their efforts in coaching, as

well as the Grade Tens for sharing their experience in debating

with us.

Jessica Pursell (8R) and Annwen Roberts (8R)

Past Student’s Achievement

Former THS student Owen Phillips is a set and

costume designer of Terrapin Puppet Theatre’s

current production, Egg. After being involved

with music and drama both at Taroona and

Elizabeth College, he went on to study a three

year theatre design degree at NIDA, and now

works in Melbourne. His credits include I’ll Eat You Last, Sweet

Charity, working on costume design for Funny Girl, set design for Little

Shop of Horrors. Owen has been nominated for several awards and

he is a recipient of an Australia Council ArtStart grant.

Junior Band Camp

On Sunday 26 June, over 70 extremely enthusiastic Grade 8

students arrived at 3.00pm at Orana Guide camp, for an intensive,

enriching learning experience, not only musically but socially as

well. We ate copious amounts of nutritious food cooked by our

MasterChef Steve, to keep us sustained and raring to go

throughout the camp.

Aside from the hours of magical music making, students honed

social skills as they strengthened friendships, while others

completed intense workouts on the exercise playground. On the

second day we worked with our instrument groups, with the

amazing specialist tutors. The improvement of musical skills

throughout the band was extraordinary and our hours of hard

work had paid off. After rigorous whole band rehearsals on

Tuesday, we were tired, but we dug deep for the team and became

pumped and ready to perform for our family and friends. By the

end we shocked ourselves by the progress we had made and

thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

Yvette Duhig (8R) and Edie Kirkcaldie (8G)

Snow Tour to Mt Hotham

The school holiday tour to Mt Hotham was blessed with beautiful

snow conditions. Everyone had a great time, especially when the

sun came out on the last day (pictures opposite).

CONTACT DETAILS

Meath Ave, TAROONA, TAS 7053

Phone: 03 6227 7700 Fax: 03 6227 7799

Email: taroona.high@education.tas.gov.au

Web: http://education.tas.edu.au/taroonahigh

Download the Taroona High App

The school App can be freely downloaded to your

iPad, iPhone or iPod from the ITunes Apple Store

(https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/taroona-high-

school/id936553095?mt=8 ). This App allows you to keep track of

your timetabled classes, read the school’s Daily Bulletins, read the

canteen menu, view the school’s calendar and many other

wonderful tools. Students log in with their DoE username and

password. Parents can read the school’s calendar and Daily

Bulletins by logging in with username: education\tah.parent

and password: parent2012.

50 Year Reunion – THS Leavers of ’66

Tour of the school & afternoon tea – 1.30pm-4pm; Friday

28 October, Taroona High School

Official reunion evening – 7pm-12am; Saturday 29 October,

Southern Lights Hotel, Kingston (includes complimentary

welcome drink and finger food)

Barbecue/picnic lunch – 12.30pm-4pm; Sunday 30 October,

Taroona Community Hall (BYO food and alcoholic/non-

alcoholic beverages; coffee and tea provided)

Cost: $30 for the Saturday evening event (includes school tour and

barbecue, with no extra charge); for those not attending the Saturday

evening event, there will be a $10 per head charge to cover the tour and

barbecue.

If you would like to find out more about the reunion or contribute

in some way, the committee welcomes your email at

ths.leavers66@gmail.com. There is also a Facebook page for the

leavers’ reunion; search for ‘Taroona High School 1966 Leavers

Reunion’.