Tamworth High School is an inclusive centre of innovation, creativity and excellence.Willis Street Tamworth South NSW 2340 | PO Box 5348 Tamworth South NSW 2340 | T: 02 6765 7888 | Fax: 02 6762 1264

E: tamworth-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au W: tamworth-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Term 1 Week 11 - Thursday 9 April 2020

The Buzz

On Monday we had the privilege of hosting the King Tut roadshow at THS. The roadshow is a labour of love for the organiser, Wayne, as he has a passion for hands on learning for students.The trailer itself contains numerous replica artefacts and a number of original pieces dating back several thousand years. The trailer is divided into three sections with a 360 degree interactive video on the life of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun and samples of ancient writing.Outside of the trailer, the students learnt about ancient writing styles, the first alphabet, forensic anthropology and archaeology.Our Year 7 4C class and the Year 11 Ancient History class experienced the exhibition over three and a half hours, engaging in the interactive exhibits and learning how to write their names in hieroglyphs.Head Teacher HSIE Mrs Scott, and Ancient History Teacher Mr Lasscock secretly got their history nerd on and joined in or led the activities.Mrs Scott said, “Being so far away from Sydney and in the current climate, it is hard for us to access hands on resources. Having the Tut roadshow attend our school today complements our teaching and helps our students connect with the past.”

Tutankhamun visit

Principals ReportAs I’m sure all parents are aware, we are passing through a momentous period, not only for our school, but for our entire community. These are without the most difficult times we have lived through and as such, our education system has had to make serious adjustments to adapt to the realities of social distancing and increased hygiene controls.

At Tamworth High, we have been able to adapt to the new requirements expeditiously, enabling 98% of our student population to continue to participate in their education via online delivery, in line with the NSW Department of Education (DoE) advice on this matter. Building upon several years of development, our school has been able to ramp up our use of online resources such as Google Classroom, Zoom video and Microsoft Teams to deliver lessons to students regardless of their location.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all parents and students for their patience and cooperation during this unprecedented event. I want to assure everyone that the staff of Tamworth High School, with the support of the DoE are continuing with their efforts to continue the process of developing and delivering valuable and engaging lessons, especially for our senior students.

As is always the case with successful education practice, effective communication remains an essential element and as such, we have strived to ensure all communication channels, especially the online processes such as the school website, the THS Facebook page and email systems. These are in addition to the DoE and NESA websites.

We have instigated strategies to contact families to ensure students are receiving the support they require to cope with the state of play. We encourage all parents to contact the school to discuss any aspect of their child’s education as we remain open and operating to support all THS students.

With regard to our senior students, it is essential that they stay on course towards the HSC to the best of their abilities and not fall into the trap of panicking - NESA will be working with the DoE to ensure an appropriate and fair process for delivery of the HSC will be developed and delivered - yes, it will not be what was to be expected but there will be a way forward and rest assured, our staff will be working to ensure that we adapt to these changes to deliver the best outcomes for our students.

Please continue check the various online communications as there will be constant updates. For the time being, the advice I can provide is that the current situation will continue, probably for all of term 2. Term 1 will conclude this Thursday and all regular lessons will be suspended until Tuesday April 28 (Monday 27/4 is a staff development day). Having said this, our senior teachers will provide support for students via various online methods over the break as is always the case.

In closing, I want to wish everyone a safe term break and reinforce the message of social distancing and remaining at home. Mr Daniel Wilson Principal

WHY KEEPING ACTIVE DURING ISOLATION IS VITAL FOR YOUR HEALTH!Isolation is tough, both mentally and physically. It is important for students to be engaging the online educational platforms but they must not forget to look after themselves physically as well. Unfortunately lots of team sports, PDHPE gyms and outdoor recreational areas are closed however, there are still plenty of ways to keep active. The Tamworth High School PDHPE Faculty are using the Goose Chase online app to engage students from Year 7-10 in a variety of physical activity challenges as well as posting weekly workouts for students to do at home with

the use of minimal equipment.Remember that physical activity also keeps the mind healthy and happy. Below are a few apps that you can use to motivate you to be active, lots of which use minimal or no equipment at all and most are FREE. If you are stuck for ideas and want some further guidance on physical activity options, please don’t hesitate to contact our Head Teacher PDHPE at stephanie.halpin2@det.nsw.edu.au Stay safe, enjoy your break and be as active as you can! Happy Easter THS PDHPE Faculty

PDHPE Report

SMILING MIND – A mindfulness app that focuses on meditation and positive mental health.

7 MINUTE WORKOUT – Videos that show you how to perform 7 minute workouts.

COUCH TO 5K – This app takes you through a running program that works up to running 5km. Awesome for beginners.

YOUTUBE – Search anything you like, HIIT Workouts, Yoga, and Body Weight Circuits are all available for free.

Miss Brown rallied a group of student volunteers on Friday 13 March to participate in Clean up Australia Day.The group walked from Tamworth High School to Bicentennial Park, picking up rubbish along the way as well as near the walking bridge, touch fields and river, before picking up more rubbish on their way back to school.

Our school volunteers wereMaggie Barker, Damon Barwick-Taylor, Jainah Grant, Braydon Iffland, Charli Irvine, Connor JonesHayden Lock, Cheyenne Meally, Brooklyn Mellross, Jeremy Milo, Cheyanna Norman, Savannah Nothdurft, Vienna Richards, Haylee Slomczewski, Ryan Southern, Bianca Wilde and Lilly Williams

Clean up Australia Day

CompetitionDo you have an interest in writing? Would you like the chance to win $1000 or a great prize?If you answered yes, then start writing your short story or poem now. Entries close Thursday 30 April and must be emailed or handed to Ms Moxon in the English staff room, hannah.moxon2@det.nsw.edu.au, prior to Tuesday 28 April, first day of Term 2. For further information, please ask Ms Moxon, your English Teacher or head on over to the website www.write4fun.net

Girls AcademyThe Girls Academy program was launched at Tamworth High School in 2017 and is now the only school in the Tamworth District to have the academy, with over 80 girls as members.

Girls Academy has been empowering girls and changing communities since 2004. The in-school mentoring and leadership program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls is the largest of its kind in the country.The full-time program is community led and runs within the school system. The Girls Academy staff identify and eliminate the barriers preventing girls from completing their education and reaching their full potential.Girls Academy is centred around an Academy room that acts as a sanctuary and support centre for the girls before, during and after school. Academy staff provide individual mentoring and support, as well as cultural connection, empowerment, sports and other extracurricular activities.Girls Academy provides much-needed support to enable the students to achieve Girls Academy’s Big 4 objectives:· Increase school attendance· Advance academic and personal achievement· Improve Year 12 graduation rates· Facilitate post-school transitions.

Girls Academy has a clear purpose — develop a girl, change a community.

Girls Academy hold a breakfast every Wednesday morning in the girls academy room from 7am. If you would like any further information in regards to the THS Girls Academy, please contact Program Manager KatrIna Bone katrinabone@girlsacademy.com.au 0497 770 237or Development Officer Kim Kent kimkent@girlsacademy.com.au

Changing Australia's future, one girl at a time

Year 7 Woodwork

Year 9/10 timber

Our year 7 students have sarted their high school year by making pencil boxes and learning about the importance of safety in our TAS classrooms and around the machinery.

During the first part of the term the Design and Technology (beginners) students designed and constructed a trinket box as an introductory project to the course. It involved layering and veneering different timbers along with a smoked acrylic lid. These projects allowed for students to come up with an array of ideas and construction methods.

Water Polo NewsThe Opens girl’s Water Polo side had to defend their title as Regional Champions for the first time in many years. The girls played a young Peel High team, as predicted, with such an experienced group of players, THS came away with an easy win. The school however, can be extremely proud of the sportsmanship displayed by the team which was led by Mikayla Gross and Lucy Hofman. Our THS girls coached and encouraged the PHSl players throughout the game. To quote a PHS student, “we were scared to play Tamworth High but the girls were so nice and helped us in the water”. Ms Poder could not have been prouder.

Our boy’s water polo team performed outstandingly. They played extraordinarily well against Farrer, a far older and more experienced team. After being a little shell shocked in the first few minutes when Farrer managed a few swim-aways and scored their first 3 goals, the boys rallied hard and pushed back. They talked to one another, closed in their defence and scored some fantastic shots. While they began to tire out with no subs, the boys each gave it heir all, continued to talk positively to one another and held strong in their defence. In the end we went down 11-5.

In a first for Tamworth Water Polo, the two teams were coached by legendary husband and wife duo, Cheryl Surtees (PHS) and Ron Surtees (THS). Both games acted as a trial for selection in the North West Team and the school would like to congratulate the following players; Hunter Hall, Cain Ford, Byron Vernon, Lachlan Flemming (R), Sarah Hofman, Hannah Irwin, Rachel Barnes, McKenzie Noble, Ella Murray, Tess Chambers (R), Sophie Hobden (R) and Indy Mulligan (R)

THS AgricultureNext term, our Agriculture students were to participate in the annual Wingham Beef week event. Unfortunately due to current restrictions, the event has been cancelled. This has not stopped our students, in particular Elizabeth Woods, from preparing the Tamworth High School star steer, “Spinks” for the competition. When Spinks arrived at the farm in November 2019, the little steer weighed in at just 310 kgs. After some much deserved TLC and hard work, Spinks is now weighing in at 480 kgs.Although the actual Wingham Beef Week event will not be able to go ahead, the steer competition will still continue. This gives Spinks another 45 days of growing and the opportunity of taking out the star steer title.

THS would first like to thank Wingham Beef Week committee, Bob Jamieson Agencies, The Manildra Group and Wingham Beef Exports for providing our students a steer to prepare for Wingham Beef Week.

We would also like to thank Mark and Lisa Hones for the opportunity to purchase other steers, our hay suppliers Ross and Jane Hann, THS farm assistant Peter Jones, THS Teacher Mrs Campbell, THS Parent Mr Lincoln Woods and all the parents that have support THS Agriculture.

We look forward to our continued support of Wingham Beef Week in 2021.

In other news, the THS Ag Plot has gone from strength to strength regarding our fresh produce. We have had bumper crops of pumpkins, silverbeet, zucchini, cherry tomatoes and watermelons as well as an abundant supply of eggs, which are available for purchase through the school. Our fruits and vegetables are grown free of pesticides and are nurtured by students and staff in a controlled environment.The benefit provided to the students with this hands on learning experience has been invaluable. Students investigate soil quality, seasons, exposure to the sun and rainfall to establish the best produce to grow at the right time of year.Any monies raised is invested straight back into the Ag Farm so the learning experience for our students is improving every year.

Calendar

Comunication

Term 1 Week 119 April Last day of school 10 April Good Friday 10 April School Holidays begin

Term 2 Week 125 April Anzac Day 27 April Staff Development Day 28 April All students return to school

P&C NewsThe P&C AGM will take place on Tuesday 19 May 2020 at 6.30pm in the THS Library. All are welcome to come along and encouraged to have input. Entry is via Willis Street.

Tamworth High School

Tamworthhighschool

Tamworth High school will be closed from Friday 9 April through to Monday 27 April. During this time we will be posting on our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

As you would be aware, the THS Northern Excursion for yeear 10 students 2020 has been POSTPONED. THS Staff are in discussions with the tour company, looking into alternate dates for this excursion to go ahead at a later date in 2020. At this stage its impossible to know when we will have more information on this. We will keep students and parents updated with information as soon as it comes to hand. You can also follow the private Facebook group, 2020 THS Northern Excursion.

Northern Excursion