Term 1 Newsletter 2024

Principal Report

Dear Kingston High School community, 

The beginning of a school year is a time filled with anticipation, possibilities, and the promise of new opportunities for learning and growth. As the school’s new Principal, I certainly feel that acutely. I thank you for entrusting us with your young person’s education and for choosing our school. 

In the fourth week of the year, I am pleased to be able to report to you that the start to the year has been positive and productive. Students are settling into routines and engaging in more extra-curricular opportunities as they get underway.  

Your young people are so impressive. As I walk around the school during the day and visit classrooms and other spaces and interact with students, I often feel very thankful to be working here at Kingston High School. Those interactions and the indefatigable enthusiasm of staff motivate me to want to make an already very-good school even better. 

2024 school priorities: 

An emerging theme for the team’s work this year is around culture and connection. Staff will work together to further enhance the positive, safe and aspirational culture of the school and work to make connections to families and local primary schools. Within the throughlines of culture and connection, there are three priorities for 2024: 

1. High expectations for teaching and learning (for students and staff). Assistant Principal Sarah Smith leads this priority. 
2. High expectations of, and for, students to support a positive, safe and orderly school culture. Assistant Principal Steven Purse leads this priority. 
3. High expectations for systems, communication and connection. Assistant Principal Leif Shea leads this priority. 

By focusing on a culture of even higher expectations (with the necessary supports in place for those that need it), we aim to improve the overall culture of the school. It has been proven that students who experience high expectations have improved learning outcomes and are also more likely to have:  

• increased interest and motivation in lessons 
• greater attendance 
• more positive school behaviours 
• a higher likelihood of completing school. 

High expectations promote both students’ academic achievement and their wellbeing. Research shows that the expectations of teachers, parents and peers affect students’ self-esteem, feelings of self-efficacy and their academic motivation. These motivational factors are strongly linked to learning and achievement. 

Driving a culture of higher academic and behavioural expectations requires us to be clear about exactly what those expectations are, explicitly teaching them, intervening and supporting when they are not met and acknowledging/celebrating with students and families when they are.  

Driving a culture of higher academic and behavioural expectations means that we are consistent and sometimes insistent in what we expect from students. Doing so takes them out of their comfort zone and puts them into the learning zone. We would very much appreciate your ongoing support as we push ahead with this crucial work. 

 Whole school assembly:  

It was a pleasure to have Kingborough Mayor Ms Paula Wriedt, Charles Courtney (School Association Chair) and families join with all students and staff at our first whole-school assembly earlier this week. Following two excellent musical performances, the Mayor and I were then able to formally introduce 2024 Junior and Senior student leaders. 

Congratulations to our 2024 leaders: 

Senior: Huon W, Ava B, Callum M, Emily M, Maddy N, May N, Jemima C and Sophia P 
Junior: Hugh R, Rose C, Juliet J, Scarlett W, India W, Elsie W, Talara L, Macarthur B, Charlie W and Abby B  

Assembly Gallery

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As well as receiving their leadership pins, student leaders also signed a leadership pledge, which is shared here: 

I pledge to uphold the principles of integrity, responsibility, and inclusivity as a Senior Leader at Kingston High School. I will strive to foster a positive and respectful environment, lead by example, and work collaboratively to create a supportive community for all students. I commit to promoting diversity, embracing differences, and advocating for the well-being and success of my peers. In the pursuit of excellence, I will dedicate myself to the betterment of our school and the empowerment of every individual within it. I will be a voice and an advocate for other students and I will always conduct myself in a way that is consistent with the school’s values. 

School Association 2024: 

The School Association is chaired by Mr Charles Courtney and is an important part of the school.  

Participation in the School Association affords families and community members a forum for the sharing of knowledge and skills. The purpose of the School Association is to provide members with a way to participate and support the school. Rather than the fundraising focus you may be familiar with from primary school, School Associations support high schools more often by being a sounding board for ideas and for discussions about the school’s direction, policies and procedures. 

All parents and carers are invited to the upcoming general meeting: Thursday 21 March 2023 at 6pm in the main office. 

At this general meeting, a date will be set for an Annual General Meeting and those details will be forwarded to you. Please give some thought as to whether you may be able to make a contribution in this area. 

Charles Courney has kindly agreed to me sharing his email address with the school community: charles@bluesummersky.com 

Communication in 2024: 

Mr Shea (Assistant Principal) and I will work closely with our School Association throughout this year to check in regarding the effectiveness of our whole-school communications home. I would welcome any feedback you have about this, or they could also be forwarded to our School Association on the details above. 

I was pleased to hear feedback that the email contact from Community teachers in the days before students started have been well-received. You should soon be receiving contact from subject teachers, too, which will also include additional details for next week’s Meet the Teacher event. 

Please be sure to follow the school’s social media channels. This is a great way for you to be across the daily happenings in the school and to celebrate your young person’s achievements with them. Even though they may roll their eyes or not mention it, please do not underestimate the impact  sharing a post and tagging grandparents etc. has on your young person. 

Here are some of my favourite photos so far this year: 

Favourite Photo Gallery

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I hope you enjoy this first newsletter of 2024 – a bumper edition. When you scroll down you will find more information about our school improvement priority areas, operational information, further information on next week’s Meet the Teacher event, an insight into recent activities of our student leaders and a snapshot of first few weeks for our Grade 7 cohort.  

I am excited about the possibilities that this school year holds, and I look forward to celebrating the achievements and successes of our students with you.  

I hope to meet more of you next Thursday afternoon and as the year progresses. 

In partnership, 
David Bryant - Acting Principal 

Welcome BBQ - Meet the teachers

Save the date! On Thursday  March 7, Kingston High School invites parents and families to a welcome barbecue and ‘meet the teacher’ opportunity from 4:00pm – 6:00pm here on campus. This afternoon session will have several different events.

• Have a sausage on us at our free barbecue
• Meet your child’s teacher and ask any questions you may have about their learning
• See some examples of student work in a variety of subject areas
• Watch the school band show off their talents
• Attend an information session with Gabby, our School Health Nurse, and learn about the School Support and Wellbeing Team and how they can support our students
• Snr School parents can learn about Year 11-12 pathways right across the Hartz Collective, and also ask questions about TASC, TCE or even VET course opportunities at the 11-12 information session

Please see an email from classroom teachers for further information.

Vaping - resources available for families and students

Vaping continues to be a trend amongst children and young people and I know families are as concerned about this as schools are.

Electronic cigarettes, or vapes, are similar to smoking cigarettes, but don’t use tobacco.

Instead, vapes are a battery-operated device which heats a liquid. This liquid turns into an aerosol and is inhaled.  Like smoking cigarettes, vaping is highly addictive. Research shows that young people are three times as likely to start smoking if they vape.

While Tasmanian law says that a person under 18 can’t use, possess or buy vapes, we know that some young people are doing it because they believe it’s a safer option than smoking cigarettes.

It’s important to work together to educate them about the health impacts of vaping and the harm it can cause on their short- and long-term physical health.

The Department for Education, Children and Young People has a dedicated webpage with information and resources for teachers, parents/carers and young people.  This includes tips for talking to your children about vaping and how you can support them in quitting.  The attached fact sheet also has some useful information to help support you in with these conversations.

KHS Teaching and Learning Priority - Term 1 update

As we start the new year here at Kingston High School (KHS), we have been developing our priorities for 2024 to guide our School Improvement Plan. One key focus for this year is culture and connection including setting high expectations for teaching and learning. We have great teachers here at KHS who all have areas of expertise in different fields. Our goal this year is to use collaborative inquiry processes to guarantee all teachers learn together, and from each other, to ‘be like the best’. This will help to ensure the best learning outcomes for all of our young people.

What does this look like on the ground at KHS?

At KHS, we adopt a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) approach to teaching and learning. This is a tiered model of instruction and intervention that starts with high-quality classroom practice. The MTSS model has three tiers. The "tier" does not refer to the student, rather it is the categorisation of the support being provided.

Tier 1

Firstly, collaborative planning is core to the way teachers work together at KHS. This ensures that all teachers regularly meet, plan together and ensure lesson delivery and assessment is systematic and aligned between classrooms for subject and grade areas. Through this process, teachers engage with a wide range of student data and are guided by the following questions: What do they want students to learn? How will they know students have learned it? What will teachers do if they haven’t learned it? and, What teacher will do if students already know it? By working this way, teachers are in constant dialogue with each other about the best ways to ensure high levels of student learning.

In 2024, all teaching staff will be actively involved in a collaborative inquiry cycle where they use current student data to understand our student learning needs and explore a range of evidence-based explicit teaching strategies. Teachers will then work to apply this learning to their classrooms with rigor and assess the impact on student learning to share with others. We are just beginning this work in term 1 as staff and students settle into the new year and will really kick-off as the year progresses.

Tier 2

Tutorial was a flagship program initiated in 2023. For one lesson per week, students are placed in groups of similar learning needs and focus on developing core literacy skills. To prepare, staff have been busy upskilling in Misty Adoniou’s framework for teaching language in preparation for Tutorial to begin from week 4.

Tier 3

In addition to these actions, in 2024, KHS will be continuing the MacqLit Reading Intervention program that provides intensive intervention multiple times a week for some of our readers who need to develop their decoding and fluency skills.

NAPLAN

When: 13 – 25th March
Who: all Australian students in Grades 7 and 9
What: Writing, Numeracy, Reading and Conventions of Language (grammar and spelling)
Why: NAPLAN provides an opportunity for your child to demonstrate their understanding of essential Literacy and Numeracy skills.

The NAPLAN assessments are important for our school in two ways:

• The assessments allow us to see your child’s literacy and numeracy growth over significant time (Grades 3, 5, 7 and 9).
• The data allows our school to respond directly to the learning needs of students.

Our key messages to support positive engagement in NAPLAN assessments are that we:

• Have a growth mindset. We know we can improve, learn and get better.
• Opt into our learning. We give ourselves the best chance to show what we know and can do by actively participating.
• Do our best…even when it feels really challenging.
• Work hard for the whole time we are asked to.
• Represent ourselves and our school – we are respectful, we are responsible, we are learners.

If you are the parent or guardian of a student in year 7 or 9, you would have already received a letter and an ACARA information pamphlet from the school that provides further information about NAPLAN 2024.

A Focus on Reading

Reading is foundational to everything that we do and helps us to successfully engage in learning, work, and society.

From 2024 onwards, Tasmanian Government Schools are taking steps to support all young people to gain the reading skills they need when they leave high school.  The latest evidence into reading tells us that children aren’t born with natural skills in reading. They must develop pathways in their brain to master the skills. It is a complex process. As every stage, it is important students master all of the individual skills at each reading level before moving on to the next.

All teachers will be learning new skills about the teaching of reading based on the latest evidence. Teachers across Tasmania will be doing the same training to ensure that no matter where a student goes to school, they will be taught to become more confident readers.

At Kingston High School, our teachers will engage in the professional learning provided by DECYP and take part in a school wide inquiry to learn more about the specific needs of our learners here at KHS. From these actions, we will be able to tailor and apply the right evidence-based strategies to help our learners improve their reading skills with a particular focus on the ways we teach vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. We will continue to work collaboratively with each other and with our families to ensure that our learners are being supported.

In addition to these actions, in 2024, we will also be continuing our school wide tutorial program with a focus on reading for all students as well as our MacqLit Reading Intervention program that supports some of our readers to develop their decoding skills.

If you would like to know more, please visit 

Library News

Libraries Tasmania has a state-wide subscription to Studiosity, a free 24/7 one-on-one online student support service.

This service provides an extra layer of support for students and teachers. It gives students the kind of one-on-one study support that’s usually only available from private tutors.

Studiosity is a high-quality service used by more than 1.6 million learners in Australia and around the world.

It provides services such as study support in core Australian Curriculum subjects, CV, resume and cover letter support and much more.

Support methods via the Studiosity website or app include:

• Student Connect - voice or text chat with a subject specialist;
• Writing Feedback - upload a file to receive feedback within 24 hours about ;structure, language, spelling, grammar and use of sources; and
• Quizzes – hundreds of practice tests for individual use

It’s available to Libraries Tasmania members via the Studiosity website (Studiosity.com) or there is an app (check the play store or apple store).

If staff and students aren’t already Libraries Tasmania members, they can quickly join online. This online membership provides instant access to Studiosity (and a whole lot more) via the library membership number and password.

Senior Leaders Illawarra Primary School

Our Senior Leaders started the year with a splash, working in partnership with Illawarra Primary School to assist with their annual swimming carnival on Thursday the 22^nd of February. Grade 10 students Huon, May, Ava, Jemima, Callum, Maddy and Emily volunteered to help officiate at the Clarence Aquatic Centre, giving the students a chance to demonstrate leadership skills and engage with the local community. Once the carnival was underway, the students helped time swimmers, judge finishes, and keep track of scores and records. They also assisted the primary school teachers with marshalling students and keeping things running smoothly. Illawarra teacher Warren Iles worked closely with our Senior Leaders and said, “They all worked really hard, showed great initiative and were essential to the carnival running on time and effectively. They were awesome!!” We are proud of the efforts our young leaders showed and look forward to further opportunities to work with partner schools.

Illawarra Primary swimming carnival

Junior School

As we embark on this new school year, I am filled with excitement and anticipation for the opportunities that lie ahead. These first few weeks have been dedicated to supporting our students in making a positive start to their learning journey. We recognize that this period is crucial for providing them with the necessary information, establishing routines, and igniting their enthusiasm for learning. I am pleased to witness the energy and enthusiasm displayed by our returning students, coupled with the commendable attendance rates we have observed thus far.

One key aspect we've been focusing on is student engagement. We firmly believe that engaged students are more likely to excel academically, contribute positively to the school community, and develop essential life skills. To foster engagement, we have been working diligently to create an environment where students feel valued, challenged, and motivated to participate actively in their learning experiences.

Central to our efforts in promoting student engagement is the establishment of high expectations for behaviour. We firmly believe that when students know what is expected of them and understand the importance of meeting those expectations, they are better equipped to thrive academically and socially. Our goal is to cultivate a school culture where mutual respect, responsibility, and integrity are the norm.

As we continue this work throughout the year, I look forward to partnering with you as we shape a positive and enriching education experience for our students.

Steven Purse

Grade 7

Grade 7’s are off to a flying start here in E and F Pods. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know all our new KHS young people so far. We have seen resilience, bravery, and grit while we all learn our way around a new campus, with new teachers, new friends, and new expectations. The Grade 7 teaching team are incredibly proud of how our students have handled such a significant transition. 

Our Grade 7 Community focus for this term is around building connection and community within our Grade, while getting to know how we best learn. This has been evident in all classrooms as you wander around the pods, however it was particularly apparent at our Grade 7 Connection Day on Friday. Students worked collaboratively in classes to compete for the coveted Community Challenge Winner trophy, with a big congratulations going to 7E2.

The grade then walked down to Kingston Park, where we spent some time working and playing alongside our new peers, teachers, and school leaders. It was a fabulous day of connection building for all. 

We look forward to an exciting and busy first term of High School, filled with Goldies, celebrations, learning, and new experiences.

Morgan Parrott

Grade 7 Advanced Skills Teacher

Grade 7

Year 9 Camp Orana

The level of excitement is building around our grade 9 Pod this week as our students begin to discuss and plan for camp Orana, a unique opportunity for students to learn valuable life skills outside of the classroom. This year, our year 9 students will be spending two days overnight camping at Camp Orana situated approximately 20 kilometres from Hobart city centre on the Eastern Shore. The camp is established on 31 acres of natural bushland with direct access to the beautiful Roches beach.

School camps shift students and staff to new contexts; this can gift learners the opportunity to showcase different strengths and present new sides of their personality, which can in turn gift teachers the opportunity to see students in a new light and build better relationships outside the classroom to bring back into the classroom. And likewise, children get to see their teachers differently too: Who knew Ms Hayek was a pro on a paddle board? Or that the Miss Woodcock was so competitive on the playing field?

Over the course of the 2-day residential camp students will participate in many activities both land and water based, with the intention of placing students in an unfamiliar environment, placing a strong focus on building camaraderie, having fun and experiencing the thrill of overcoming new challenges.

Year 9 are very much looking forward to a fun filled camping trip making memories with friends and class mates that will last a lifetime !!!!

Camp Orana

Sign in / sign out Procedures Reminder

Registration to Work with Vulnerable People

As part of our ongoing commitment to safety and security within our school premises, we would like to remind all volunteers and visitors of our sign in / sign out procedures.

When attending onsite at our school, please ensure that you sign in at the front office upon arrival.  This helps us keep track of who is present on campus and ensures accountability in case of emergencies.

Additionally, all volunteers are required to produce their RWVP (Working with Vulnerable People) card for verification by our office staff.  This is a crucial step in maintaining a safe environment for our students and staff.

There are some circumstances where sign in / sign out and RWVP is not required, such as dropping off/collecting a child, delivering goods, or attending parent/teacher meetings.   If you are unsure, please ask our friendly office staff.

Safeguarding Training

The training is compulsory to help us all understand how to better safeguard young people in Tasmania.

If you are a volunteer or external service provider for the department, you must complete this training.

You will learn what to do if you believe a young person is being harmed and make sure you are doing all you can to prevent this from happening.  You will also learn what your reporting requirements are.

Training must be done as soon as possible, and you will need to complete it before you work with any young people this year.

Make sure to download and save your certificate to verify you have completed your training.

EdSmart

Our School will be switching over to a new messaging platform for communicating with you.  This will replace our current system MGM.

The new platform, called EdSmart is an Australian platform which is designed to improve communication in school communities by allowing electronic messaging i.e. SMS and emails. For now, it will be used to manage absences messages i.e. you will receive a SMS or email alert if your young person is absent from school requesting a response.  It will also allow us to send a communication message to all parent/carers.

The platform will, over time, be rolled out across all Tasmanian Government Schools and new features will be added. 

You will receive a text message and/or an email with further details.  Note, the text message sender will be a shortened version of our school’s name - Please keep an eye out for it!

Our school will ‘GO LIVE’ on 25/3/2024.