Dear families,

As we come to the close of Term 1, I want to take a moment to reflect on what has been a wonderful and productive start to the school year:

Our students have settled in exceptionally well, and it has been a joy to see them engaging enthusiastically in their learning, building new friendships, and contributing to the positive culture of our school. From the first day back to now, there has been a strong sense of energy and purpose throughout our classrooms and beyond. At this school, students and adults genuinely enjoy each other's company and an ethos of care permeates all that we do. It is a pleasure to lead this school and to be a part of the community.

I’d like to thank our dedicated staff for their hard work and commitment to student growth, and to our families for your ongoing support and involvement in school life. I hope you and your family has a safe and restful term and Easter break and look forward to seeing students return on Monday 28th April.

Camps:

My sincere thanks to staff for organising and attending camps last week. I think there is something completely generous and impressive about staff who are willing to give up their time and be away from their families so that these important activities can go ahead. Students from Grades 4-10 participated in a variety of cultural and outdoor education activities across greater-Hobart and used this as an opportunity to build stronger connections with their peers and our staff too.

School Association:

I’m pleased to report that the first School Association meeting for the year was well-attended and that we have formed a committee. I thank our committee: Lauren Klomp, Michael Campbell, Meredith Lockheed, David Bryant, Laurindah Taylor-Hambleton, Megan Floris, Isobel Taylor, Lucy Powell and Claire Headlam.

I also thank those who have taken on office bearer positions and encourage you to reach out to them with any School Association business:

Chair: Lauren Klomp
Vice-Chair: Isobel Taylor
Secretary: Lucy Powell
Treasurer: Lucy Powell

Progress reports:

Simple progress reports will be sent home with students on Friday afternoon. Included in this package will be information about our reporting and evidence of learning processes and events for the rest of the year.

Adolescence:

You will see in this newsletter a response from the Australian Federal Police to the Netflix series, Adolescence. This series is raw, confronting, provocative, heartbreaking and a catalyst for important conversations in schools and families.

Congratulations Ms Webber:

I am grateful to see the enthusiastic and genuine way the whole school community has embraced Ms Webber in congratulations at her receiving the Early-Career teacher statewide award. Ms Webber’s class is a fantastic place to visit and students benefit from a class culture typified by warmth and high-expectations.

Local business acknowledgement:

I also want to take an opportunity to thank some of our local businesses for the donations they provide us each week, for free, for us to use in our breakfast club.  Thanks goes to Banjo's Bakery Cafe, IGA Campbell Town and the Campbell Town Health and Community Service.

We also appreciate Banjo's for partnering with us with a percentage of the cost of each Hot Cross Bun pre-ordered before Easter.

David Bryant,

Acting Principal

Our students proudly represented our school at the 2025 NMPSSA Athletics Carnival on Friday 28th March at the St Leonards Athletics Centre. Students were selected for the carnival based on our own school carnival results and competed in a variety of running and field events with determination and enthusiasm. It was fantastic to see so many students giving their best effort, demonstrating respect, aspiration, and courage throughout the day.

We had many students achieve great results, earning ribbons and celebrating personal successes, but more importantly, they all showed an outstanding sporting ethic and support for one another.

A huge congratulations to Jackson L, Thomas, Maddison, and Archie, who have been selected to represent the NMPSSA team at the PSST State Athletics Carnival early next term!

Well done to all our athletes - we are so proud of your achievements and the way you represented our school!

Ashlee Lowe

Teacher

Our latest Outdoor Education excursion took us high into Ben Lomond National Park, where we experienced stunning views and even found ourselves above the clouds! The climb was challenging, but our group showed incredible determination and resilience as we pushed through the steep and rocky terrain to reach our destination.

Along the way, we also expanded our outdoor knowledge, learning about the Scoparia bush - a very spiky plant that definitely kept us on our toes! It was great to see students much more prepared for trips this year, with improved fitness, organisation, and confidence compared to last year.

With one more mountain biking excursion to go before the end of term, it’s exciting to see how far everyone has come. Well done to all students for your effort, teamwork, and adventurous spirit!

Ashlee Lowe

Teacher

Our recent Secondary Camp at The Lea, near Kingston, was an unforgettable adventure filled with fun, connection and challenge. With its stunning bushland setting, The Lea gave us the perfect outdoor education vibe. Students participated in exciting activities like abseiling at kunanyi, low ropes, archery, gymnastics, and beach games – pushing their limits and showing amazing courage along the way!

There was something for everyone. Cultural highlights included a visit to MONA, the fascinating Mawson’s Hut Replica Museum, and some fun shopping time in Hobart city. Evenings were just as packed, with theatre sports, fashion parades, spotlight games and cosy campfires that brought everyone together.

It was great to see students stepping outside their comfort zones, supporting each other, and giving everything a go. The courage shown – whether it was stepping off a mountain, performing on stage or just joining in something new – was truly inspiring.

A huge thank you to all the staff for making this camp such a success, and to the students for their positive attitudes, enthusiasm and teamwork.

Amanda Lydon

Secondary AST

Grade 11/12/13 VET Agriculture have been out and about.

Students have begun their journey into learning about wool, its wonderful qualities and the process from the sheep’s back to a produced article. On the 19th of March we travelled to Waverley Woollen Mills for a tour of the factory, following the same path as the wool, from the clean wool being combed, carded and spun, through to dying and weaving. Much of the wool is sourced from local properties including Beaufront, Bicton, Kenilworth and Lovely Banks. It was interesting to learn that RM Williams and Country Road are the Mill's biggest customers. We saw beautiful rugs being made on new computerised looms from recycled fibres, alpaca and wool. A big thank you to Penny who took us through and explained the processes.

On the 26th of March students experienced the cold of the freezers at Tasmanian Quality Meats (TQM). This time we started at the packaging end of the process, watching carcasses being quartered and packed ready for export. We wandered through the hanging bodies to visit the offal rooms, the killing floor and the processing line. Finally, we visited the yards where stock are received and the skin salting area. Dylan, our guide, explained the changes that have occurred since last year and how this has improved the operation. As a major processor of meat (3600 per day) in our area, it is interesting to learn about the process (150 – 200 staff) and how there is very little wastage from the plant. I thank TQM for allowing us to see all aspects of this business and to Dylan for a brilliant tour.

After a brief donut..hmmm…toilet stop at Cressy we travelled out to the Hazell Bros depot for a look at the Midlands Irrigation Scheme. Thank you to Casey from the Beacon Foundation who organised this event. After the safety briefing we travelled to the location of the pumping station along Valley Field Road. Here several different people from Hazell Bros and Tasmanian Irrigation, involved in the project spoke to students about their roles, challenges and positives. There was an engineer who told us how the water reaches the pump station all the way from Poatina by gravity; the environmental officer spoke of water testing and field studies into the plants and animals disturbed by the laying of the pipeline; an excavator operator whose machine is a hybrid machine working with very fine limits by using GPS equipment; the apprentice labourer who was GPS locating the pipeline, joining the 20 metre lengths of pipe which weighed about 4 tonnes and had a 1 metre diameter, and the safety officer, responsible for the processes to ensure everyone goes home each evening. They spoke of challenges, including the changes in the weather or finding immovable rock sections which required redesigning and about the pride they all had in the completed job. A big thank you to Hazell Bros and Tasmanian Irrigation for organising a very interesting session and working with Beacon to provide us access to the site.

Last week we visited Wool Solutions at Breadalbane, a wool brokerage managed by Alistair and Rob Calvert. Rob was on hand to explain wool selling and show us around. Their offices have an incredible display of wool memorabilia with old sale and show catalogues. Rob showed students different types of wool and explained how the different qualities lead to different uses, from fine apparel and the best suits to industrial uses. Students learnt about the importance of thickness, tensile strength and yield. Lilly asked about the different colours of the wool and learnt this is an indicator of the place the wool has come from the and soil colour. Rob talked about stain and the importance of removing it from lines of wool. We walked through the large shed to ascertain just the amount of wool that was in the process of being tested in preparation for selling, waiting to be sold or waiting for transport to the buyer. Thank you to Rob and Alistair for this opportunity to continue our journey through the wool supply chain. Next term we are aiming to visit shearing sheds and learn about wool preparation.

Jill Bennett

VET Ag teacher

The Australian Federal Police recently shared information about the Netflix crime drama ‘Adolescence’:

The show deals with some uncomfortable themes, including the dark side of social media, the influence it can have on youth beliefs, behaviours and actions, and how teenagers experience and engage with the internet and the online world. It’s an important reminder to regularly talk to your children about their internet use and understand what they are seeing, doing and experiencing online, and how this could be influencing and affecting them.

It’s also vital to educate yourself. If you don’t know, or understand, what your children are doing online, ask them to show you and seek out more information. There are multiple resources available to educate adults and to help start these important conversations. Visit www.thinkuknow.org.au/resources-tab/parents-and-carers or www.accce.gov.au 

Together we can prepare, educate and help protect kids and ensure their safety online.

(Content initially published by the Australian Federal Police, 3 April 2025)