07 Jul 2023

Principal’s Report

Thank you to the outstanding number of families that responded to our survey. It certainly demonstrates your engagement and partnership in your child’s learning at home, school and in the community. Our new vision for Devonport High School is to challenge every learner in a safe and supportive environment. Our actions will align with our vision underpinned by our school values of courage, respect, aspiration and growth. Next term we will work with students to understand how we can impact their experiences and success as learners in the context of our vision.

In Week 6 of this term our Annual School Review was held. This is a Four-Year Annual Review process that applies to all schools and colleges and is in place to support principals and schools improve student outcomes. Our school was reviewed by an external panel. The panel consisted of a chair, selected due to their extensive experience in education and a panel of current experienced school principals. A number of staff, students and parents were interviewed and teachers observed over a period of three days to determine our strengths and the strategic direction of our school. Their report demonstrated a number of commendations. Commendations are complimentary, and are recognition of outstanding achievements.

The commendations were:

There is a sense of pride in the school expressed by students, staff and parents.
There is a sense of community based on strong relationships between student, staff and families.
There is provision of leadership opportunities and development for students.
There is a broad range of engaging options provided for students.
There are calm and orderly learning environments where students feel safe.
There is a collegial environment where staff support each other and there is an
outstanding physical environment that promotes wellbeing and learning.

It was so rewarding to hear how complimentary the panel was of our school uniform, respectful relationships, and orderly classrooms. This is  a real celebration for Devonport High School and it’s important to acknowledge our accomplishments.

Next Term Ms Travers will be sharing the role of Year 8 Leader alongside of Mrs McLachlan for the remainder of the school year. Mrs Haywood is embarking on an exciting journey overseas, she will be relocating with her family to teach in Vietnam. We also officially welcome Mr Shepheard to our staff.

It was fantastic to see so many families taking advantage of our face to face three way conferencing last week and parents and teachers working together as partners to support student learning. If you were unable to attend and would like to communicate with us about your children’s progress, application to learning and wellbeing please contact the school office.

Our 2024 Year 7 Parent Information Evening is fast approaching. This will be held in Term 3 on Tuesday 8 August at 6-8pm. I would like to warmly invite prospective parents and students. We are looking forward to connecting with our new students and their families. Our Assistant Principal Mr Simon Wilson will be making initial visits to our local primary schools to introduce himself to Year 6 students in Weeks 1-2 of Term 3. Further information will be provided at this visit. I encourage you to contact our office either in person or on 6424 9461 for any further information.

As from Term 4 students will be required to use their physical bank card or cash to purchase from the school canteen. Mobile phones will no longer be accepted. As per the DECYP mobile phone school policy, students must have their phones switched off and appropriately stored from the start to the end of the school day. We are investigating the use of an app for students to pre-order online from the menu before school at a convenient time that suits families.

Breaking News! We are proud to announce Jingjie has won the State Brain Bee Competition.

Term 3 will commence on Tuesday 25 July for students. Staff are attending a Professional Learning Day on Monday 24 July which is an approved Student Free Day.

Happy Holidays and stay safe!

Fiona Gaby, Principal

New online information hub for families

Some exciting news! The Department for Education, Children and Young People has recently launched a new online information hub for families with school-aged children in Tasmania. Our new website has information to help you navigate your child's education, from birth all the way up to 18 years of age.

Visit our new webpage at Welcome to your child's Tasmanian education - The Department for Education, Children and Young People Tasmania

Some of the things you’ll find include

• tips on how to support your child’s learning at home
• information to help you keep your child safe and well
• a guide to explore courses for the career they want
• school holiday and term dates.

We hope this website will be a valuable tool for you as you help your child navigate their education journey. We would love to know what you think of our new information hub for families. You can tell us by completing a quick survey on the webpage.

Science Year 8

Students in Year 8 Science have been investigating the elements, using a flame test to identify an unknown element.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Reading is a lifelong skill that is used in just about every aspect of our lives. Reading improves your all-round knowledge, your social adaptness and interactions, it improves analytical thinking, and it is a cornerstone for success in school for students.

This year there has been an extra and concerted effort in promoting reading throughout schools in Tasmania. Amongst other reading initiatives here at Devonport High School, this year we are participating in the Premier’s Reading Challenge. Beginning on Monday 26 June, the Challenge has been running for two weeks and will continue on for ten weeks, finishing on Friday 1 September.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge involves students initially setting a goal of how many books they will read over the ten-week period, and then challenging themselves throughout this period to better this reading goal and potentially read more books. Students will receive participation certificates, and if they read more than ten books, they will receive a signed certificate from the Tasmanian Premier. Devonport High School will be offering small incentive prizes throughout the competition, and there are also prizes available for students who wish to write book reviews.

We have over thirty students who have signed up for the Challenge so far. For those students who have not signed up, it is not too late – continue to read your books over the holiday break and record these books on the log sheet (see link below) – and contact me early in term three to sign up.

For more information on the Premier’s Reading Challenge, see the official web page:

Book log sheet: 

Rick O’Toole, Premier’s Reading Challenge Co-ordinator

Badminton

Recently in HPE lessons student have been learning the skills and duties involved in playing Badminton. This has given them an opportunity to improve their knowledge on the rules, refine their skills and learn what it takes to run a roster. They have had the opportunity to work out their own rosters, keep score and umpire badminton games.

In week 10 we had Lasse Bumdgaard visit the school to work with some Health and PE classes. Lasse has a long and successful history in Badminton including being and Olympic badminton coach and Australian National Badminton Coach. In these lessons students got to work with him to obtain some direct feedback on how to improve their technique. They also got to use a shuttle feeder, play doubles matches and some singles games as well.

Breaane McCall, Teacher

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Cross Country

Congratulations to our cross country team who placed 3^rd overall at the Inter High carnival. Amazing efforts by Asha and Mak  who placed well in their age group.

Special mention also goes to the Year 8 girls team and Year 10 boys team for coming 5^th in their age group. 

Health & PE Team

Girls Football

Last Tuesday saw the start of the Girls Football Roster with DHS vs SBSC in Round 1. It was a tough first game with SBSC coming away with the win. There were some great passages of play from our team showing some real potential for the remainder of the roster.

Round 2 was played on Wednesday 7 June and Latrobe High School travelled to play us on our home ground. Our team played very well coming away with the win. The final scores were DHS 106 def LHS 19.

The remainder of the roster will see us play Penguin, Ulverstone and another game against SBSC. We wish the team all the best in the remainder of the roster.

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Breanne McCall

Looking for a new sporting activity to try?

Visit the Regional Sport Coordinator website to find out about the latest school and junior opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. The website features opportunities in the following categories:

• Opportunities available in school hours
• Opportunities available after school or on weekends
• Grants for schools, teams or individual students
• Professional learning for students, school staff and parents/carers

A calendar of activities being held across the State. We promote sport and physical activity opportunities for students of all ages and abilities.

Visit our website to learn more – 

Subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter to get the latest opportunities direct to your inbox - 

Breakfast Club – Devonport Chaplaincy

Breakfast Club is on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays before school from 8:00am onwards. Everyone is welcome to come along.

Darra Boerma, Chaplain

Canteen

Healthy Cuisine a Division of Devonfield Enterprises Inc. will again be providing a canteen for students at school offering a variety of fresh and healthy food. Click here to view the menu.