Welcome back to Term 3. I hope all children and families had a restful break and are now ready for a busy term ahead. I have been really pleased in the way students have started this term and the dedication shown to improving learning outcomes.

School Culture

At our final assembly last term, I talked about our school culture and how proud I am to work in a school that has developed such a positive environment. I truly believe that having high expectations in relation to behaviour and learning has been our most significant shift. The greatest lever for this was working with our school community to create our 4 school values.

The values outline the behaviour we expect to see from all our students, staff and families. We know that if everyone makes each other accountable to these values, we will continue to have a great school where everyone can reach their full potential. Our focus value for this term is Inclusiveness.

Kinmen Exchange Program

At the start of Term 3, we welcomed 9 students from Kinmen County, Taiwan to Reece High School for a two-week student exchange program. They were part of a larger group of 59 students on school exchange to Tasmania. Our students were fantastic in making the Kinmen students feel welcome. Reece High students had the opportunity to apply for a return exchange program back to Kinmen happening early in Term 4 and we have now selected 5 students. This is an amazing opportunity for our students to be part of an educational system in a different country and experience a different culture.

Matilda: The Musical - Junior

Wow! Just wow! For those who were able to make it along to Matilda, I’m sure you had the same feeling. Such a well-polished and professional performance. There were some individual standouts, but my favourite part was seeing the cohesion and everyone working together. An absolute credit to all involved. A huge thank you to the Production Staff. There were so many staff involved but I want to make an extra big shout-out to Mrs. Lutwyche, Mrs. Mihal, Mrs. Gossage, and Miss Lutwyche. Opportunities like these help us to achieve our vision of ‘Inspire Today to Empower Tomorrow.’

Something else that shone through for me in watching the shows was our Term focus value of Inclusiveness. The production gave so many students an opportunity to be involved, included, and connected. Thank you for making the most of this opportunity and I look forward to many more of you being involved in future productions.

Year 6 Parent Information Evening and Transition Program

Our Year 6 Parent Information Evening is being held on Thursday 15^th August from 6.00pm to 7.30pm in our school hall. Our prefects will have active roles at our information evening. It is a great night where we can showcase the wonderful things that RHS has to offer. It also gives us a chance to meet prospective students and their families. Can I ask current parents to encourage families of next year’s Year 7s to come along and learn about the education we provide at RHS.

On Thursday 5^th September, Year 6 students from our feeder primary schools (East Devonport, Miandetta, Hillcrest, and Spreyton) will be attending our annual challenge day at the Devonport Recreation Centre. This will involve a number of organised games and trust activities. It will give the students a chance to make connections with people from other schools and also form a positive relationship with our staff and Prefects.

We understand that Year 6 students will have many questions about high school and will be excited at the opportunities they have in the next chapter of their schooling.

We look forward to establishing ongoing relationships with all our new families. If anyone you know has questions about our transition program, please feel free to contact Reece High School by phoning 6420 8100 and talk to our transition team.

Harding Miller

Harding Miller Education Foundations Scholarship applications are now open.

The Harding Miller Education Foundation provides scholarships to girls in public schools who are experiencing economic disadvantage. Girls currently in Year 8 are encouraged to apply for Year 9 scholarships beginning in 2025.

The Harding Miller Scholarship is a toolkit of resources for girls to support their academic achievement from Year 9 through to Year 12.

The scholarships are valued at over $20,000 and include:

A personal coach

High-quality laptop with mobile broadband

Financial support for education expenses and tutoring

Online homework support

Career development and study skills program

Please see Mr Murray, Mrs Hess or Miss Reeves if you are interested in applying.

Years 11 & 12 at Reece High School

At Reece High School, our Year 10 students have started investigating what 2025 will look like for them. Reece High is working closely with Don College and the Mersey/Leven Collective to make sure that our students are well-informed about the course options available to them, so their transition is as smooth as possible. You are most likely aware of the Tasmanian government's plan for extending Grades 11 and 12 into high schools. We are working alongside  Don College, Devonport High School, Latrobe High School, Ulverstone Secondary College, and Sheffield School to investigate alternative programs for all students. These programs are personalised to the individual student’s needs and may include study at their high school. Work has begun, reviewing student data, to identify those students who may need additional support in order to complete Grade 12. The aim is to assist all of our students to complete their Tasmanian Certificate of Education or an alternate educational provision until they are 18. If you feel your child may struggle with the transition to Don College and might benefit from an alternative transition process, please contact Mrs Sarah Elliott (Year Level Coordinator) at school on 6420 8100 or alternatively, Miss Amber Loone (AST Year 11 and 12) on 6420 8100.

Second Hand Uniform Items

Our Second Hand Uniform supply is currently fairly depleted. If you have any uniform items that are no longer required and are still in a clean and presentable order, we would be very grateful if you could donate these to the office.

State and National Representation

Reece High School often has students who represent the state in academic, sporting or artistic endeavours and cultural events.  We would love to continue to recognise and celebrate our currently enrolled students in our newsletter with photos where appropriate.  Please inform the Administration Office if you and your child are willing to share success in our newsletter.

School Hours

Since the weather has become cooler, we have had more students arriving late to school. Please ensure that your child arrives at school no later than 8.30am, as this ensures that they are organised and ready for first block. If your child arrives after 8.40, they need to go to the office and collect a late pass; late arrival affects their overall attendance and impacts their learning. A reminder that staff are on duty from 8:15am and this is the time our duty of care starts. At the end of the school day, there are duty teachers at the bus area until the last bus arrives (approx. 3:30pm).

Music                            8.35am

Block 1                         8.40am to 10.20am

Recess                         10.20am to 10.40am

Music                           10.40am

Block 2                        10.45am to 12.25pm

Lunch                          12.25pm to 1.05pm

Music                           1.05pm

Block 3                        1.10pm to 2.50pm

During the holidays on Saturday 13th July Eva represented Reece High School at the Athletics Tasmania All Schools Short Course Road Race Walking Championships at Montrose Bay. Eva walked in the U16 age group doing a 3km race walk coming away with the win with a personal best performance time of 16:53.00, giving her a 53 second pb.

Kind Regards
Chantelle Parker
Proud Parent 

Snow Trip

Our annual snow trip once again took place over the term 2 school holidays. 28 students and 6 staff spent a week away in both Melbourne and Mt Hotham, getting a taste of city life and plenty of fun in the snow. Our time in Melbourne was filled with shopping (soooo much shopping!) and a game of football- thank you to the Western Bulldogs who provided us with free tickets! The rest of our trip was spent with students learning how to either snowboard or ski, with varying levels of success. We got to experience all the mountain has to offer weather-wise with sun, snow, rain and high winds over the five days on the mountain. It was a great trip with plenty of enjoyment, learning, bumps and bruises had by all. And most importantly, we made it back in one piece (minus about 25% of a front tooth).

Prefects

Prefects have hit the ground running this term with some major actions taking place. We have begun implementing some activities that are aimed at developing connections within the school, these being a staff vs students challenge and a lunchtime break room. The staff vs students challenge takes place weekly with a different activity each week pitting students against staff to determine who really runs the school! So far, we have had an eating contest and volleyball. Staff have certainly had the strongest start taking out both events- though the speed eating came down to the last bite (volleyball wasn’t so close). Our lunchtime room, starting next week, gives students an inside space where they can choose to relax, play board games, heat their food, and just chill out.

We have also begun planning our major small group/individual projects. These projects are fully devised by us and have the simple criteria of having to have a positive influence on the school community in some way. We are really excited about making our mark with these and sharing our progress during the term.

With year 6 to 7 transition starting as well, this has been another major focus for us. We have been visiting our feeder primary schools over the last few weeks and will be involved in transition night next week, as well as the upcoming challenge day.

Busy, busy, busy!

Daniel Franks

Senior School Assistant Principal

What a ride! Week 2 was exceptionally busy for our Production class, as our season of Matilda Jr. opened to the public.

We had 4 sell out shows over the course of the week and boy did we enjoy performing to our audiences! There were many memories made and we had lots of fun along the way. What staff have been most impressed by was the commitment, confidence, communication and care shown by the cast and crew, for each other, over the past 7 months.

Our rehearsals began in earnest in February and culminated with our closing night on Saturday 3^rd August. We are so proud of the efforts of all the students involved. We congratulate the cast and crew of Matilda Jr. 2024, and look forward to working with the next group of legends in 2026!

Josie Lutwyche

Director

We have a few items in our Lost Property area near the student window. Please come and check. They are not named.

If items are named we will be able to return back to owner.

Chloe and Miranda working hard on their Chocolate Winterfest - Cake Decorating entry. Mrs Butler has helped the girls plan, as well as teaching them piping skills to get their cakes looking fabulous.

Welcome to Term 3!

Year 8s have had a focus on attendance this year. We want to congratulate 8B who had the highest attendance for Term 2 – they celebrated their achievement in week 1 of Term 3 with a small celebration.

Classes have had a busy start to Term 3:

In English, we have started our new unit Art to Arguing. This is a persuasive writing unit. Students have been learning about rhetorical devices and their impact in visual and written texts. Students will be exposed to a variety of texts throughout the unit. We also look at the importance of writing to your intended audience.

In HaSS, we have started another new unit Landforms and Landscapes. Students have been looking at the different types of landscapes around the world and in Australia, and the landforms that exist in these landscapes.

In Maths, students are working on Algebra in maths, looking at solving algebraic equations.

In Science, students are doing a Chemistry unit that focuses on the periodic table and elements, compounds and mixtures.

Hayley Garner

Year 8 Teacher

Term 3 has started with a couple of new units in Maths. We have been introducing some simple interest concepts and how these apply to real-world loan and investment situations. We have also been progressing with our Algebra concepts to trinomials with an eye on quadratic functions and graphing.

In Science, we have completed the energy components of physics that include understanding Sankey diagrams to calculate energy efficiency and comprehension of the conservation of energy. We will now be moving back into our next biology unit which has a focus on reproduction and the difference between asexual and sexual reproduction.

The focus in English this term is narrative writing, with our current ‘Micro-fiction’ unit exploring the theme of hardship and adversity.  Students will explore the structure of micro-fiction and focus on displaying their understanding of language features within a creative text. In WINN lessons, students have been working on creating descriptive sentences and refining their understanding of grammar in order to utilise these skills within their ‘Micro-fiction’ assessment.

In HASS, students are learning about the colonisation of Australian and European imperial expansion. Our focus will be on understanding how historical reasoning and information from primary and secondary sources can be used to understand historical events. 

In addition to our normal classes, the year 9 cohort will also take part in a range of ‘Inclusiveness Activities’ throughout the term. These activities aim to promote group work and provide a segway into upcoming leadership opportunities.

Casey Allen - Year 9 Teacher

Term 3!

We started the term by welcoming 9 students from Kinmen County, Taiwan. The Kinmen students joined our Year 10 classes, with a few being hosted by a couple our Year 10 students. Our students were given plenty of opportunities to learn from our exchange students. Some of the interesting things they learned were:

• Their school day starts at 7:30 and ends at 4:05
• They do not have designated recess and lunch breaks, but instead have a study/nap break!
• They study both English and Chinese at school
• They do not like food that is too sweet, and they definitely do not like Vegemite! Furry friends and pickled onions were popular during our ‘taste test’ lesson.

What an amazing opportunity this was!

The topics that will be covered in classes for this term will be:

English – Film techniques and how these are used together to make meaning

HASS – Geographical inquiry into global democracy scores

Maths – Trigonometry – finding angles and sides of triangles

Science – Climate change

We encourage you to have conversations with your child about their learning and their assessment tasks. Letters with overdue assignments will be sent out later this week.

Sarah Elliott

Year 10 Team Leader

Lenovo Yoga 11e 5^th gen tablet Windows computer

11.6” Touch screen

Intel core m3-7Y30 processor

4GB memory

128GB storage

Windows 10 pro education installed.

USB-C charger included.

These would suit doing homework and browsing the Internet.

They will not  be any good for playing the latest computer games that require large resources