Filter Content
Welcome to Week 4!
This week in grade assemblies, a significant number of students in all year groups received recognition for their efforts and achievement in the mid-year reporting phase. We acknowledged students with outstanding academic results and those who demonstrated outstanding application to their learning and presented them with certificates. As a school, we are aware that many students have tried extremely hard to improve in their application and academic achievement and letters have been sent home to families to recognise those students who continue to strive for their best. These assemblies highlight the importance of students striving for their own personal excellence in all aspects of their schooling. (The Year 10 assembly will be held on Monday.)
School Uniform
Thank you to the parents/guardians and students who continue to support us with the wearing of full school uniform every day. The uniform reflects our culture of Courage, Aspiration, Respect and Endeavour. All grades have a number of excursions, programs and events in coming weeks. We ask that students continue to wear their unform every day and, where families require support with uniform, we ask that you contact the school administration office or members of the grade leadership team.
We are currently in need of second-hand uniforms, so if you have uniform items that you would be happy to donate to the school, it would be greatly appreciated. Included in this newsletter is a list of the uniform prices for 2022.
School Beanies
The School Association and Prefect Board have supported the coordination and design of a school beanie. The beanie can be worn by students to school, after school, in break times and at sporting events and excursions. It is hoped that the beanies will arrive soon and can be purchased through our uniform shop.
School Association Riverside High School
We have a supportive, motivated and wonderful School Association at Riverside High School. The committee meets twice a term at the school on a Monday evening at 7:00pm. We currently have a vacancy for a parent representative. If you are interested in being on the committee, please contact the school administration office for a nomination form or contact one of the committee members if you have further questions. School Association members are:
- Joanne Wing
- Belinda Jones
- Justine Alexander
- Colin Smith
- Pamela Taylor
National Science Week
On our school Face Book and Instagram page you will have seen many of our students engaged in experiments and inquiry tasks which celebrated National Science Week and the theme of glass. Students had the opportunity during break times to participate in the learning tasks in the multi-purpose room. Thank you to our wonderful Science teachers and Lab Techs for providing this fantastic opportunity.
Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews
Information has been sent home on the process for Parent/Teacher/Student interviews which will be held in Week 6, Monday, 29th August, 3:30-5:00pm and Tuesday, 30th August 3:30-6:30pm in Building 2. The three-way interviews give both parents and teachers an opportunity to discuss how to best support students’ ongoing learning and enable students to understand what they need to do to progress.
Years 11/12 – 2023
Riverside High School has been exploring Year 11/12 provisions for 2023. It is most important that the courses on offer focus on engagement, retention and achievement and connect to employment and future learning options. In consultation with DoE VLCE unit and Tas TAFE, a skills shortage was identified in ‘Civil Constructions’. In 2023 Riverside High School will partner with Tas TAFE to provide Civil Constructions VET Cert 2. Please see the attached documentation on Civil Constructions. Tas TAFE have already presented to the Year 10 students, and we are taking expressions of interest now.
School Parking for Visitors and Parent/Guardians
At the end of the school day, we have a large amount of traffic in the school. A reminder to parents and guardians to drive slowly and please ensure you are parking in the dedicated parking bays only and that you are not obstructing buses. The school buses must be able to enter and exit the turning circle to ensure they collect and drop off students at the allocated times. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.
Restorative Practices
Restorative practice is a whole school teaching and learning approach that encourages behaviour that is supportive and respectful. At Riverside High School, the school values of Respect, Courage, Aspiration and Endeavour are explicitly taught, with students developing their understanding of what the values look like, sound like and feel like in different learning environments.
Restorative Practice puts the onus on an individual or individuals to be truly accountable for their behaviour and to repair any harm caused to others because of their actions.
Teachers at Riverside High School in Terms 1, 2 and 3 have been involved in professional learning on Restorative Practices and developing their understandings of restorative language.
Restorative practice is more than a series of questions. It is a non-punitive approach which accepts that we all make mistakes and have the ability to ‘fix’ the problem together and learn from our experiences. Restorative practice is inclusive and concerned with maintaining and building connectedness between students, parents, teachers and the community. It is an essential component of wellbeing.
Below are examples of the Restorative Practice questions teachers may use with students at Riverside High School.
What happened? (Value the student’s voice and perspective)
What were you thinking about at the time? (Develop emotional literacy by linking thoughts, feelings and actions)
What have your thoughts been since? (Assess reflection following the incident when emotions have de-escalated)
Who has been affected by what happened? The key question to trigger empathy and remorse. Think beyond those directly involved to see the ‘ripple effect’ of actions and consider the personal impact)
In what way have they/you been affected? (Name or describe the impact and acknowledge the consequences)
What do you think needs to happen to make things right? (Include what you need to do. Devise agreed, realistic and meaningful resolutions to heal the harm)
If the same thing happened again, what would you do differently? (An opportunity for learning and verbalising alternative strategies)
Unexplained Absences
Every fortnight Home Group Teachers at Riverside High School provide students with a report of any ‘Unexplained’ absences that have been recorded including late sign ins or early departures. Parents/Guardians are asked to please contact the school administration team on the above phone number to provide an explanation for the student’s absence. If this is not possible, a note or text message to the administration team is sufficient.
Letters are sent home to parents/guardians when students have more than five unexplained absences. Text messages are also sent to parents/guardians on the day of the students’ absences before 11.00am.
Getting children to school is not always easy. But being at school is the best place for our children.
If your child is unwell, they need to stay home. But if your child is well enough to attend school, they should be at school. Every day, Monday to Friday.
Reality of missing school
Data shows us that regular school attendance is one of the best things a child can do to set them up for success. But if they do not attend, things get harder for them.
Let us do the maths:
- If your child misses even just one day a fortnight, that adds up to 20 days of the school year. That is the same as missing four whole weeks of school!
- If they miss one day a week, that doubles to eight weeks of school they will never get back.
- Over the course of their childhood, that equals two and a half years of vital education they will never receive…
We mean it, every school day counts. It all adds up.
Bright futures begin at school
The data also tells us something else: the better a child’s attendance rate, the better off they will be. Their future will be filled with more opportunities.
School is where they learn and grow alongside their friends, and where they benefit the most. Going to school not only promotes academic success, but also helps build important social skills, relationships and confidence.
Helping your child regularly attend school will set them up with good habits for life.
If you or your child is struggling to get to school, help is available. Please talk to us at school about your situation.
If you have any questions regarding the above information, please contact your child’s grade leadership team.
Ms Jeanna Bolton
Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) includes four learning areas, namely Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business, Geography and History.
The Civics and Citizenship curriculum is all about ensuring students have the skills and values to become active and informed citizens. Students will investigate political and legal systems and explore the nature of citizenship, diversity and identity in contemporary society. The economics and business curriculum explores aspects of economics and business that affect daily life. Students learn about the role that individuals, businesses and governments play in the economy the way they make decisions about how to allocate resources and the effects of these decisions.
The study of Geography provides opportunities for students to investigate, analyse and explain the characteristics of the places that make up our world whilst History provides opportunities for students to investigate Australian and world history. Students develop knowledge, understanding and skills through their study of societies, events, movements and developments. There are opportunities to study the role of individuals and groups and their significance.
So far Year 7 students have been investigating the geographical concepts of space, place, interconnection, change, environment, sustainability and scale. From discussions, students created posters about the elements required to make a place liveable.
Year 8s have been studying Vikings and exploring whether stereotypes have clouded our view of who the Vikings really were, and how stereotyping still plays a large role in society today. They have also been examining Australian politics, discovering the origins of our political parties and their values, as well as simulating the democratic processes of elections and law-making.
The Year 8s are now commencing their Australian Road Trip. Students will plan a 14-day road trip around a part of Australia exploring landscapes and landforms. Through their exploration of places, they will consider First Nations connections, how the landform was created and the geographical processes that occurred, as well as the impact of tourism on the places they visit.
In Year 9 students started off looking at the development of the modern world with the introduction of the Industrial Revolution. A key focus has been on how people live and work and how the world transformed into what we know today. Through the eyes of children, a key focus has been on the working conditions for young people and how this affected their wellbeing. Students completed an in-class essay examining the advantages and disadvantages of children during the Industrial Revolution.
Students have recently commenced the much-anticipated World War 1 unit. They started by discussing the causes of the war and mapped these out in a flowchart. We also held a meme contest where students had to apply their learning in a creative and funny way.
The learning is now focused on Australia’s part in World War 1, including identifying the reasons why men enlisted and analysing propaganda posters to see how they were used to persuade men to enlist. Students are excited as it is nearly time for a film study, where we will be gathering notes to help us write letters or journal entries from the perspective of an Australian at war.
Grade 10 History is dedicated to the period from the end of World War 1 to the present time. A large focus so far has been on the Interwar Years, the causes of World War II and the events that took place during the war including the Holocaust and the War in the Pacific. As a culminating task, students had to address a specific event or research a significant person or group of people. They were given the task of creating an inquiry question to examine details and share specific events. In doing so, they had to share a timeline of 5-6 specific dates and offer two primary and two secondary sources to support their work.
Some of the inquiry questions include:
Josef Mengele: Scientist or Sadist?
Why appeasement? Was it worth it?
What was the importance of D-day?
How did the battle of Kokoda affect the result of the war in the region of the Asian pacific?
The Red Cross and nurses of WWII. Who are they and what did they do?
What was the involvement of women in World War II?
How did the atomic bombings alter the World?
Why did the Nazis steal and destroy art?
How was the defeat of Dunkirk successful?
What strategies and advancing technologies did the countries involved in WWII use?
Currently, the Year 10 classes are exploring the struggles for human rights in depth. This will include how rights and freedoms have been ignored, demanded or achieved in Australia and in the broader world context. Students will commence by reviewing the struggle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples for rights and freedoms before 1965, including the 1938 Day of Mourning and the Stolen Generations before studying the US civil rights movement and its influence on Australia.
HASS Teaching Team
RHS GOLD:
Results: In total RHS GOLD have lost six games and won four. They have conceded 30 goals and scored 45. With over 10 individual goal scorers so far, our biggest wins have been against a developing Cressy team with two wins producing 24 goals. Over the course of the season, the students have been focusing on adhering to the team rules, tactics and positional play that has seen the standard of play improve dramatically.
Highlights:
Round 8 saw us play Cressy at Birch Ave. With many regular students unable to play, the team recruited some enthusiastic AFL players to help out. And help out they did! Jesse scored five goals and Sam scored three with valuable support from Tristan and Seth. `
New additions: Jack in defence and Tristan in midfield. Both boys have made an instant impact on the team. It has been a pleasure to welcome two fine young gentlemen to the squad. Positive on and off the pitch, the boys have made the most of their time and continually give their very best to the defence and midfield.
Overall, the team has proven to be very coachable and have combined nicely over the course of the season. Each player has tried various positions as we looked for our best set up. The endeavour of each player has been huge. Finishing strong in every game has been a highlight. In particular, against Scotch Oakburn, where we found ourselves down 1-5 at half time our never say die attitude saw the result go our way 9-5. All players are to be congratulated on their efforts so far. With more games to come, I am excited at the prospect of more fun, development and team success.
Jesse Fyfe
Soccer 3rds 9/10
Terms 2 and 3 have provided me the opportunity to support Riverside High’s soccer 3rds team and it has been an awesome experience. The 3rds are predominantly a Grade 9 team and as such have worked together to find each other’s strengths within the team and to work together to produce results. One AMAZING example of this was a match earlier in Term 2 where we were limited to only eight players with no subs versus a team of 11 with two subs. The match had 30-minute halves so every player for Riverside had to give it their all for an hour and this was exactly what they did. Sharing the load so players could rest whilst all the time pushing forward to get the goals to win and then having to run back to defend a counterattack from their opponents - it was a real test of endurance, teamwork and confidence which resulted in a well-earned victory for Riverside.
Every match is different and sometimes absent players require different team strategies. One of the 3rds biggest strengths is the ability to adapt to the circumstances and play in new positions. This has seen opportunities for strikers to switch to goalies, and many other variations within the team often happening within the match itself. When someone is struggling in defence or midfield a quick reshuffling of the team finds the player’s strengths, turning a potential problem into an opportunity. This is exactly when the 3rds are at their best and it has resulted in a win for every game played bar one – a great success rate that the team will continue to build on in future matches and tournaments.
Justin Young
Following the success of the podcast release, City Mission Can Drive and Science Week around the start of term, the Prefect Board is planning many more events to come!
The Learning Prefects are pleased to announce the recent launch of Riverside High’s school podcast, Student Voice. We have worked closely with Ms Bolton on this project that we hope will connect our student body, enrich our school culture and highlight the diversity, talents and achievements within our community.
Listen to our first episode to discover the topic of our first series! Episode #2 will be released in Week 5. Staff and students can access the podcast by opening the Riverside High Student Voice group in their email inbox and following the link sent by Erin, Deputy Head Prefect. The podcast will be produced and hosted by the Prefect Board, with content driven by the student body. Stay tuned for ways you can contribute! Suggestions are welcome.
Over the past two weeks, the Prefects have been visiting home groups collecting non-perishable items for the Launceston City Mission Can Drive. The can drive provides food and hygiene products for many families and individuals seeking assistance at City Mission.
Riverside’s Can Drive was a big success, we collected over 1000 items for City Mission. A special shout-out to 7D, whose homeroom contributed the most, with over 500 items. We think this is a really great example of how young people in our community can make a difference with such important causes. A big thank you to the teachers for encouraging their homerooms and all the students for their generous donations. The items we donated will really help those who need it most.
This week, the Learning Prefects held Science Week in collaboration with the Science department and lab techs. This year for Science Week the theme was ‘glass: more than meets the eye’, and interactive activities were run every lunchtime in the multipurpose room. It has been great fun, with the highlight being guess how many marbles in the jar, where there was a new jar and canteen voucher up for grabs each day!
Next week Friday, 26th August, is the annual 40-hour Famine Challenge, which raises awareness for young people living in poverty. If participating, students will spend their weekend giving up something, such as furniture, technology, food and many others. This event will raise money through sponsorships, and we hope to see everyone participating.
My name is Jesse and I am a member of the Wellbeing and House Captain Portfolio. I have an interest in many sports mainly soccer, touch and football, I also enjoy mountain biking and skateboarding. I love hanging out with my friends whether that includes kicking the footy, going to the beach or playing with them on PlayStation. Half of my family live in Sydney and both my sisters were born there but I was born in Launceston. I go there a lot for holidays. I barrack for Sydney Swans and the West Tigers. I also love camping; I do that a lot with my family mostly at Bridport.
In my role of Prefect, I enjoy working and collaborating with a group of fellow Prefects which push me and make me strive to be the better version of myself as well as trying new experiences. I have also learnt many new things working in a team situation, it has been a great learning experience. Although COVID has restricted us as a Prefect Board we have had to adapt and change the way we go about things and we have many exciting projects on the horizon.
My name is Morgan and I am a member of the Learning Portfolio.
Over the past few years, I have been passionately involved in Drama, with the closest performance being a LYTE Production in late August.
When I am not busy with Drama or reading, (my current read being Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin) I try my best to write, usually to no avail. Something that I am slightly better at is my music, which I have been playing the flute for around seven years and am attempting to learn a new instrument with promising results.
While this year has been a difficult one with the struggle of COVID, it has shown the dedication and resilience needed to be a leader. It has provided an opportunity to adapt and create new ways of connecting with the student body. Being a Prefect this year alongside my peers has given me the chance to take on unique challenges and to test what I am capable of.
My name is Theo and I am part of the Wellbeing Portfolio. Whilst attending Riverside my love for music has grown. It has now become a hobby of mine and although I mainly play guitar, I like to experiment and attempt new instruments, such as piano which I am picking up for the upcoming Battle of the Bands. If I am not playing music, I am most likely trying to stay active by participating in regular exercise, playing sport or even swimming during the summer.
Being a Prefect has helped me build relationships with members of the Board and even the wider school community. Although COVID has presented many boundaries to the Board’s ideas, this obstacle has helped us grow, adapt and even better our relationships by facing these obstacles as a team. Being a leader hasn’t just helped me form relationships, but it has also helped build my confidence to share my ideas and put myself in uncomfortable situations.
My name is Lily and I am a member of the Learning Portfolio. I am a huge nerd, particularly when it comes to reptiles, and I own two lizards, Randall, the mountain heath dragon, and Rigel, the blue-tongued lizard. I am more than willing to talk about snakes for hours and have spent a concerning amount of time reading experiment reports about the learning capacity of red-footed tortoises (reptiles are amazingly intelligent.) I also love maths, have a terrible sense of humour and am trying to improve my juggling abilities.
The thing I am enjoying the most about my role as a Prefect is getting the opportunity to work with people with different ideas and approaches to problems to achieve a common goal. Although we have had many setbacks due to COVID, I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the school community, as well as the many life lessons that this role has taught me.
