Filter Content
- Principal’s Report
- Congratulations
- Attendance – Leaving school early
- Mid-year Reports
- Subject in Focus – Creative Writing
- Subject in Focus – Making Computer Games
- Sport in Focus – Hockey
- Bay of Fires Youth Prize – Visual Art
- All Schools Cross Country Championship
- Debating Finals
- Prefect Profiles
- Prefect’s Report for Term 2
- NAIDOC Week at Riverside High School
- NAIDOC Week 2023
- Regional Sport Coordinators
- Girls race too
As we near the end of a highly successful term, we would like to thank all of our students, staff and families for their exceptional work and support. The term has been extremely busy and productive and students have been given numerous opportunities to enhance their learning and wellbeing.
One such opportunity was provided this week as our Grade 7 and 8 students have been involved in wellbeing forums presented by headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation. This service provides tailored and holistic support to young people aged between 12 and 25 years of age. The sessions conducted at Riverside High School focused on where young people can go for support both in and out of school hours, the mental health continuum, how to maintain mental wellness and a healthy headspace along with the supports available to students in the transition to high school. On Thursday evening at 6.00pm, headspace also presented a parent/guardian session on supporting young people with their mental health. Thank you to the families who attended the session.
Pride Week
Thank you to the Prefects and the Diversity Team who coordinated lunchtime activities and events to celebrate Pride Week. It is most important that our students can embrace and celebrate diversity and create a culture of openness and student voice. The activities engaged students in Year 7 through to 10 and included a chalk mural, a flag treasure hunt, badge making and a jelly eating competition. Carolyn Saunders leads the Prefect board at Riverside High School, and we thank her for her continued support, encouragement and work with the Prefects in addition to our Social Worker, Laura Fitzgerald, for leading the Diversity Team.
National NAIDOC Week
National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year to recognise and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. At Riverside High School, we have a number of teaching and learning programs and events planned. Scott Darlow, a guest speaker and Aboriginal spokesperson, musician and former History teacher will again present a cultural performance to the year groups which focuses on intercultural understandings. The manina Kanamaluka group will attend a flag raising ceremony, there will be a smoking ceremony and Acknowledgement of Country at the school and a cultural art and foods program. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations’ cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.
Solar Funding Schools
Riverside High School will be one of the first schools to have solar panels installed. Over the Term 2 holidays, solar panels will be installed on the junior school roof with this funding being made available through the Renewable Energy School Program.
Teacher Professional Learning Day - Student Free Day
A reminder to families that Monday, 24th July is a Student Free Day – Teacher Professional Learning Day with students returning to school on Tuesday, 25th July for Term 3.
Gaga Ball Pit
We are excited to announce that works have been completed on the construction of a Gaga Ball Pit for students to use of a break time. The Gaga Ball Pit is a legacy from the 2021 Prefect Board and will provide a fun and exciting recreational game for students to play in break times.
Winter Uniform
Our school uniform supports a feeling of belonging, pride in the school and ensures students are safe and that they are easy to identify.
We thank parents/guardians for their ongoing support of the uniform requirements.
There are some reminders that we need to give students and we ask that parents/guardians could reinforce our message at home.
- The wearing of long t-shirts or hoddies under shirts is not acceptable.
- Sports uniform can be worn Wednesday for students involved in senior sport and Thursday for students involved in junior sport.
- Footwear: all black, substantial shoes.
- The sport uniform includes the RHS polo shirt, rugby jumper, navy trackpants and sandshoes.
Our Uniform Shop is open on Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30am – 11:00am during school terms for families to visit, please contact a member of the relevant Grade Leadership Team if you have questions in regard to uniform or require support. The school does have a supply of second-hand uniforms for families to access.
Exams – Mid Year 10
Grade 10 students will be completing their core subject exams during Term 3, Week 2. In preparation for these exams, students have been revising and studying during their core subjects. At Riverside High School, we believe that the setting of Grade 10 Exams constitutes an effective means by which to enhance our students' learning experience. These exams provide students with an opportunity to develop subject-specific exam skills as well as general skills such as time management and coping with pressure. Additionally, these exams support students in gaining confidence and familiarity with exam conditions.
Exams provide our teachers with a summative assessment task that allows them to evaluate student learning and progress. This information can be used to inform future teaching practices and curriculum content. The exams are akin to an assignment and will contribute to your child's end-of-year results. It is important that they do their best and study diligently.
Please find below the exam timetable for Term 3, Week 2:
| DAY | EXAM |
| Monday - 31 July | HASS |
| Tuesday - 1 August | Maths |
| Thursday - 3 August | English |
| Friday - 4 August | Science |
Ms Jeanna Bolton
Principal
Congratulations to the following students who are competing in the Nationals over the holidays:
 |
Lucas 10F - State U/16 Football Team |
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Sophie 9E - State U/16 Basketball Team |
 |
Olivia 9E - State U/15 Netball Team |
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Jenna 9G - State U/15 Netball Team |
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Finn 9H - State U/15 Football Team |
What should you do if your child needs to leave school early?
For attendance register regulations students are required to sign out at the Student Admin Counter if they have to leave school early for any reason. Communication from parents/guardians can be via:
- Phoning the Administration Office which is open between 8:00am – 4:00pm (6327 6333)
- Using the Schoolzine App.
- Sending an email to either the Home Group teacher or our school email address Riverside.High.Admin.Staff@decyp.tas.gov.au
- Sending a text message to 0418 140 427 (MGM OutReach)
- When LEAVING our school for an appointment, students must have a green leave form which has been signed by Admin Staff and/or Assistant Principal. The Leave Pass is preferably completed before school and must be left with a member of our Admin Team at the time of leaving. The student must also sign out at the time of departure. Students who sign out for appointments should sign back in at the Student Admin Counter on their return.
Following this process ensures that students meet their parents for collection promptly without interrupting classes.
We seek to inform you that all students’ Mid-year Reports will be distributed during a special Home Group session on Thursday, 6 July. This will be the second report that students have received this year and it is designed to provide a comprehensive picture of how students are progressing in each subject.
Students’ Core or Australian Curriculum subject reports will contain an overall achievement rating on the 9–point scale. Our option subject reports are assessed against the 5–point scale. Please note that, as per previous communication with specific families, some of our students who have individual learning plans will be assessed against personal academic and/or social emotional goals.
Our Mid-year assessments are based on work covered in the first part of the year. They show your child’s current progress and what they are ‘on track’ to achieve by the end of the year. The ratings on your child’s Mid-year Report may change in December.
The Mid-year Report will also include ratings on key attributes that are essential for learning in order to provide you with a clear indication of how your child is working in each learning area. Our Assessment and Reporting Attributes Rubric will be included with the report so that you are able to see how these ratings are determined, as well as information regarding the 9-point reporting scale.
On Monday, 28 August, a Parent/Teacher/Student Interview Evening will be held from 3:30 – 5:00pm in Building 2 (our Grade 9/10 Area, located directly above the Administration Area). Another Parent/Teacher/Student Interview Evening will be held on Tuesday, 29 August from 3:30 – 6:30pm in Building 2. These evenings will give both parents and teachers an opportunity to discuss how to best support students’ ongoing learning. Students are strongly encouraged to attend with their parents/carers. Interview appointments are for 10 minutes. Details on how to book a Parent/Teacher interview will be sent home early in Term 3.
Your child’s attendance records up to Friday, 30 June, will also be included with the reports for your information and review.
Alan Mowbray and Susan Matkovich
RHS Reporting Coordinators
Creative Writing is a full year option available for both Year 8 and 9/10 students. The subject caters for students to enjoy writing to expand their creative talents across many different mediums.
The Grade 8 class has recently focused on identifying themes in children’s books, interpreting meaning and purpose, and have written and illustrated their own children’s books. The students explored a variety of picture books including, The Water Tower by Gary Crew, The Magic Hat by Mem Fox, Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne and Magic Beach by Alison Lester.
Students studied a range of literary techniques used in children’s writing and adopted the creative writing process and narrative structure to write and produce their own children’s stories. They used the six senses technique to create imagery and evoke emotion in their stories and included at least two literary techniques such as rhyme, repetition, onomatopoeia, alliteration, personification, metaphors, and similes.
Next term the class will exploring poetry and are looking forward to the Poetry in Action performance towards the end of this term.
The Year 9/10 class started the year by exploring different strategies to generate story ideas and the importance of planning their writing. Activities included taking an historical event and rewriting it with a different outcome, using newspaper headlines to set the plot and writing story plans based on famous quotes or lyrics. A major assessment for Term 1 was the Frankenstein Story Generator where students listed five films and then had to use the setting from one, the protagonist from another and then the plot, the complication and the antagonist from the remaining texts.
The students enjoyed studying humour as a genre and wrote short stories based on personal anecdotes and short jokes. They also experimented with mixing their writing styles and language choices to address different audiences and purposes.
Term 2 had a focus on developing particular skills to enhance creative writing. This included effectively using dialogue to develop character efficiently using dialogue tags. The class explored examples of foreshadowing in storytelling and were challenged to write story sections that would foreshadow an established ending. Students then identified from texts the strategy of ‘show not tell’ and experimented with this technique in their own writing. Activities demonstrating the powerful imagery created by literary devices such as metaphor, simile and personification were a precursor to the current unit on poetry. In this unit, the students were challenged to write creatively within the structures of established poetry formats. This task encouraged students to make careful language choices in order for them to write poetry in a range of often restrictive poetry schemes including Haiku, Sonnet, Erasure/Blackout, Villanelle, Cinquain and Triolet.
I love the idea of a second chance.
I offered my hand to the shade-veiled man with glee.
He asked what I wanted, and with a determined stance,
“I love the idea of a second chance.”
He was plagued by death, the loss of a romance,
So when I asked, “How about we let your friends, my people, rise from the debris?”
“I love the idea of a second chance.”
I offered my hand to the shade-veiled man with glee.
Isaac Grade 9
Recall
When you were small
Your mother held you close
Now she observes with pride and love
Content
Eden Grade 10
Karen Dudley & Ben Gadsby
Our students have been busy creating digital games using a variety of tools, including GameMaker, MakeCode Arcade, Unreal Engine, and Python.
Students have been exploring game art and design processes, production practices and level design to create engaging and interactive games. After designing and programming their games, students have then programmed them to work on a GameBoy equivalent portable console or a high-performing PC. This has allowed students to see their creations come to life and be played by others.
In addition to learning about the technical aspects of game development, students have also been exploring the history of computer games. They have investigated large successful game companies such as Nintendo and hugely popular game franchises such as Mario.
We are proud of the hard work and creativity our students have shown in their game development projects and look forward to seeing what they will create next!
Alan Mowbray
The 9/10 Wednesday afternoon hockey roster has five school teams participating.
The Riverside team has had a very successful start to the year currently remaining undefeated in their matches.
We have a great mix of both experienced and first-time hockey players and the wonderful teamwork and support from all players has been pleasing to see.
Our numbers are strong and players have been extremely versatile and understanding – subbing off quickly and happily playing in any position on the field.
We are very hungry in the circle and are learning to open up the space and draw our defenders out wide, creating space for movement and allowing for some wonderful passing and shared goals to occur.
It’s a joy to coach this team.
Kelly Greatbatch
Congratulations to the following students:
Grade 9 – 12 Prize Winner – 1st Alice 10B
People Choice Secondary – 2nd Alice 10B
Indigenous Theme – 1st Annika 10A
Finalists Grade 9 – 12
McKenna 10H
Salem 10E
Ella 10D
Kate 10A
Amy 10B
Megan 9G
Ida 9A
Michayla 9A
The team are so very proud of these students’ talent and dedication to their work. Congratulations!
The Art Department
On Tuesday, 20th June, 19 of Riverside High School’s enthusiastic runners competed in the All Schools Cross Country Championships at Symmons Plains. Spirits were high all day and all students ran fantastically.
Two students in particular - Sophie who finished 4th and Lachlan who finished 5th.
Congratulations to all involved.
Georgia Rolls
On Tuesday, 20th June the finals of the Northern Debating took place.
Riverside High was represented in both the Year 7/8 and Year 9/10 matches.
In the Year 7/8 debate, Phoebe, Ethan and Chilli were facing a team from Launceston Church Grammar. The debate topic was ‘Pets are a waste of this planet’s resources’. Our team were arguing in the affirmative and pulled off a convincing win.
Pheobe was also awarded overall best speaker for 7/8 competition. Well done Phoebe.
The 9/10 team, Rhys, Max, Zoe and Jack faced a team from Scotch Oakburn. They were given the topic an hour before the debate, ‘Australia is still the lucky Country’. They had to oppose this statement and did an amazing job. The debate was very close, with the adjudicators taking over 20 minutes to decide the result. Scotch came away with the win, however, Max was awarded best speaker for the debate. Well done Max.
All students involved in the debating this year have shown great improvement, learned a lot and developed some really important and powerful skills. Well done everyone!
Shaun Osborne
We are Sungchae and Sophie. We, alongside Erin, Sophie, Zoe, Ned and Cassidy, represent Riverside High School’s core value of Respect as passionate and dedicated members of your 2023 Community and Fundraising Portfolio. Our role is to liaise with students, Prefects and staff alike to organise exciting events of all descriptions and, more importantly, to create a positive environment for everyone to feel confident in and enjoy their 2023 experience.
I’m Sophie, alphabetically, the third Sophie on the Prefect Board! My most valued attribute in myself and others is the ability to thrive within a team. Whether I’m participating in school-based events like Write a Book in a Day, working with my café colleagues, playing in my netball teams or acting in my LYTE drama group, I love the comradery and togetherness that working in a team provides. Earning the opportunity to represent the Riverside High School team this year has given previously impossible ideas their own chance to become possible. With the incredible team that is this year’s Prefect Board, I can’t wait to bring them all to fruition.
My name is Sungchae and I am thrilled to be serving as one of the Community and Fundraising Prefects for 2023. Originally born in South Korea, I embarked on a new journey when I moved to Australia at the age of two. Participating in numerous roles in my past years at Riverside High School, I have been a part of the Grade 7 and 9 Councils and was a Transition Mentor for the Grade 6s last year. Outside of my role as a Prefect, I have a wide range of hobbies that keep me engaged and inspired, including playing sports, reading, listening to music and travelling.
We are so grateful for the opportunity to represent Riverside High School and, its students and as the amazing first two terms quickly come to an end, we can’t wait for what the second half of the year brings to the school community.
Sungchae and Sophie
Term 2 has proven to be a busy and successful term for the Prefect Board.
To begin the term, in Week 2 we held a planning day, at the Door of Hope. This was a day where our board could plan for many events, talk about Sidefest and create stronger connections with each other.
On Monday, 15th and Tuesday, 16th May, the Prefect Board assisted with the Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews. We provided directions and refreshments and took this experience as an opportunity to bring our board closer to the community.
Then on Friday, 19th May, the board had a high level of involvement with the House Challenge Day. We raised $1000 for the Make a Wish Foundation, where we sold blue and white donuts and received student and teacher donations leading up to the day.
Our Wellbeing Prefects also hosted a series of fun events on the oval that got everyone involved and having fun in their houses.
In Week 6 of this term, all Prefects took part in a staff carwash, run by the Community Portfolio. On Monday, 29th and Tuesday, 30th May, members of the board stayed behind after school to wash cars for our teachers. This was a very successful event raising over $250 for our future endeavours and legacy.
On Friday, 2nd June, the Wellbeing Prefects were offered the opportunity to take part in the Tasmanian Youth Forum along with many other students from around the state. They were able to gain a greater understanding of influences upon the wellbeing of young people and developed a wide range of skills and knowledge through brainstorming sessions.
The Friday after the Youth Forum, the Prefects held an Orange-themed Free Dress Day to support World Vision and our School’s sponsor child, Nitin. During this year, the Prefects have managed to raise close to $500 towards World Vision with the help of gold coin donations and taking part in our numerous fundraisers. On this day, the Food and Enterprise classes contributed by hosted numerous stalls for the whole school to enjoy. The Grade 8 Council sold orange donuts and the Prefects hosted a barbeque.
Recently, our Wellbeing Prefects, in collaboration with Mr Fyfe, have begun holding sports in the gym for all grades to participate in. Futsal, volleyball and basketball have all been great activities for students to engage in and find new things to do at recess and lunch time. This has encouraged students to try something new in a fun, safe place resulting in a more positive school climate.
Last week, our school held many Pride Week activities. This has been a great success for the school. The Prefects worked alongside the Diversity Group and Grades 7, 8 and 9 Councils to produce a packed week of informative and hands on, fun activities. We held pride themed kahoots, badge making, spiders, chalk murals, pride flag hunts and crazy hair day and the famous jelly eating competition, making our Week 9 very busy.
The Board held a barbeque at Bunnings in Kings Meadows on Sunday, 25 June. Besides battling with the horrendous weather and trying to keep all Prefects warm, the Board stayed positive and in the end raised another $500 towards our legacy.
Upcoming this term is NAIDOC week, where the Prefect Board will be working with Ms Flakemore and the manina Kanamaluka group, including joining together at the NAIDOC Week Flag Raising Ceremony.
This Friday, the Prefect Board will be holding a veranda session where the school’s musicians performing at Battle of the Bands will show us a sneak peek of their work. The Prefect Board will also be selling fairy bread with the aim of raising money for our legacy.
The Learning Portfolio is returning the Student Voice Podcast. The episodes will begin being put up early next term. The podcast will primarily focus on learning at Riverside High School.
Sidefest is an important event that will be held on the Friday, 27th October and have a Halloween theme. The Grade Councils are brainstorming and proposing ideas for Sidefest and our expressions of interest will also be extending out to the wider community as we prepare for food and activities.
Prefect Board
