Montrose Bay High School Newsletter - Term 4 Week 9
Principal's Report
Dear Families,
Welcome to our last newsletter for the year. I’m writing this just prior to our presentation evening tonight and it is so fantastic to look through the program and see all the wonderful achievements your children have achieved in 2021.
As I reach the end of my first term at our school and review the year that was 2021 it is really heartening to see that even in a difficult year for our school, we have collectively made some great gains for our students.
Our attendance target for the percentage of students attending more than 90% of the time has exceeded the target set by the school at the beginning of the year.
Our overall attendance figure is sitting at 76% which is below the State figure of 80% but it is a target that we have set as our benchmark next year to proactively work towards.
Our student wellbeing data from Term Three 2021 shows that we are above the state in our students feeling connected to adults in our school and also in engagement in their learning. Our focus areas in 2022 will be around our school climate, school belonging and safety at school.
Pleasingly even though we haven’t changed our suspension policies, our term four suspensions this year are at a four year low as indicated on the graph below. This means that this term in comparison to last term we have had a 106% reduction in students suspended which is definitely the direction in which we will continue to head in.
As principal, I am really excited and looking forward to 2022 for us as a whole school community to build on the work of 2021 and have some clearly communicated priorities for all of our learners students and teachers.
Our 2022 School improvement priorities will focus upon:
1. Effective collaborative teams (CPT’s) in Core and specialist learning areas using a Data Wise approach to school improvement.
2. A wellbeing for learning priority that encompasses embedding our Term 3 and 4 priorities around SWPBS, Attendance, Governance structures, and the creation of our quality teaching and learning framework.
3. All learning areas will have clear scope and sequences that encompass the achievement standards, big ideas and links to common assessment tasks connected to our inquiry cycles in literacy and numeracy.
2022 SIP Priorities (School Improvement Plan)
- Wellbeing for Learning
- Numeracy – Number inquiry
- Literacy – Reading inquiry
In 2022 we will also be moving to our new four lessons per day structure which will see our lessons being 70 minutes long instead of 3 x 100 minutes. This will allow us to open up more specialist lessons for grade 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 students to choose from and over the week students will have 20 lessons per week instead of fifteen.
Our grade 7, 8 and 9 students will be bringing home course selection forms this Friday so that you can assist them in pursuing courses that they are passionate about next year rather than just choosing courses based on their friendship groupings.
Our last week of the year sees us engaged in lots of end of year celebrations as we farewell our grade ten students whilst at the same time start preparing for an exciting new year ahead.
This year we farewell some much loved staff members from our school and staff will be farewelling them officially next Friday. They are: Jane Robertson, Matthew Scott, Jo Lucas, Micah Kleinert, Kristy Pearson, Geoff Doig, Winnie Kapofu, Luke Polanowski, Emily Rushton, Emma Stubbs, Rowie Wilkinson and Nat Leahy who are moving on to new schools. We wish them all the very best for the future and look forward to them continuing a relationship with our school in some way.
On behalf of myself and all our fantastic staff at Montrose Bay, we wish you a wonderful Christmas and safe holiday break and look forward to welcoming you back in February 2022.
Duncan Groves
Principal
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Grade 7
On Wednesday December 1st, our grade headed off-campus for a “Summer Survival Day”. It began at Glenorchy Pool where students had fun in and out of the water, practising their swimming and aquatic safety skills and knowledge. We then headed to Long Beach Reserve in Sandy Bay for more fun. The day enabled us to interact with friends and peers outside of our classes and was a great opportunity to build our social skills and form new friendships in preparation for grade 8. Last week we held a celebratory grade assembly. This was a student run assembly, where a number of students got a chance to practise their public speaking or presentation skills by being a compère, sharing a report and work from a specialist subject or giving a drama performance. Several students from each class were awarded with staff gratitude prizes for doing the little things that make us all smile. A reminder that all student laptops should now be returned to our IT department for checking and updating ready for the 2022 school year. Also, permission forms for our Learning Celebration Activity Day on the last day (Thursday December 16th) should have been returned. Please remember to bring plenty of water, a hat and sunscreen and appropriate swim wear if swimming. The grade 7 staff would like to wish all grade 7 students and their families a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing everyone back in February for a fantastic year of learning in grade 8. |
Grade 8
In grade 8 we have been working hard to finish off all our work so that we are well prepared for the challenges of grade 9. Over the past three weeks, we have been completing our Teen Mental Health First Aid Course. We have been learning about what makes a healthy mind, the importance of helping a friend, looking for warning signs and where to access help if we need it. In Science, we have been learning about Biology. We were lucky enough to spend some time in the school vegetable garden with our lab technician John. John explained to us why the shape of fruit and vegetables change over time. Whilst we were down in the garden we were able to pick some garlic, beetroot, beans and a mixture of herbs. As a part of our Biology unit, we have also been dissecting and studying the reproductive parts of flowers. Understanding how plants reproduce is important for farmers, gardeners, botanists and anyone interested in growing their own plants. In Art, we have had the opportunity to glaze ceramic bowls & platters, draw and paint an Exquisite Corpse image, paint macro watercolour paintings and make watercolour christmas cards for family and friends. In MDT this term we have been creating pot plant hangers that we can hand indoor plants in. In the creation of these, we learnt some traditional wood joinery and hand skills. This term in Humanities we have been learning about Vikings. The Vikings were from Scandinavia and are well known for being fierce warriors. They were most powerful in the 700-1100 common era. The Vikings were champion shipbuilders, and their longboats voyaged all around the coasts of Europe and even to the Americas. Some of the voyages were violent raids, where gangs of warriors would attack towns and villages along the coast or by rivers. Other voyages were peaceful, as the Vikings explored new lands to live and trade-in. We created some of our very own longboats. |
Grade 9
Claremont College Taster Day
On Friday the 3rd of December all year 9s went to Claremont College taster day. We all had lots of fun and the electives were really interesting. My favourite elective was dance because we did stretches, and we danced until it was time to go home. All the year 9 team and students would like to thank Claremont College for having us at their beautiful school for the day and we all can’t wait to be in grades 11 and 12. Thank you so much for being amazing people and for making the day so worthwhile. I think everyone left the day feeling excited about their prospects at Claremont College.
Thank you again,
Lily Clark, 9C
My experience at Claremont college was a good experience, the classes were great as so were the staff, everything was organised and the campus was clean. All the classes I attended were really enjoyable and well taught, I did a defence force class, a media class and a music class. Personally, the whole day was a highlight, there wasn’t a moment better than the other, I enjoyed every second there. It was a great experience and would love to go again.
Tyler, 9B
Visiting Claremont College was one of the most enjoyable and pleasant experiences in education I’ve had. The staff and teachers were all kind and accommodating. They were always there and ready to help with directions and any questions we had about our future. The campus was beautiful and had areas for anything you could possibly want to learn. Though the campus was big, things were easily locatable with the black letters and the numbered doors. The entertainment during recess and lunch was amazing. The talented band and the activities we can do, e.g. ping pong tables, always made sure we had something to do. Claremont College was an overall good experience.
Abbey, 9B
Grade 10
Today we completed our last learning day in the classroom and look forward to the Grade 10 celebration week next week. During the week students may wear free dress that is appropriate for each days activities. |
Year 11 and 12
Students that are continuing in Years 11 and 12 at MBH have now completed their Transition Plans and course selections for 2022. We are offering courses to support the attainment of the Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE), allowing students to earn their literacy, numeracy and ICT ticks as well as 60 TCE points each year. Students have chosen a variety of programs – shared enrolments, online learning and our brand-new VET course, Certificate II in Community Pharmacy. We are looking forward to welcoming students to our Years 11 and 12 space next year. |
Virtual Learning Tasmania (VLT) provides online learning opportunities for all Year 11 & 12 students in Tasmanian Government Schools and enables schools and colleges to meet students’ personalised learning needs. VLT enables students to enrol in courses not offered at their school or college. Virtual learning courses are taught with the teacher and student being online at the same time. This combines the benefits of traditional face-to-face delivery with the advantages of delivering in an online environment.
24 Carrot Garden
We are proud to announce that we have now partnered with MONA starting in 2022 for the next four years as a 24 Carrot Garden school one of only four high schools in the state. We look forward to a fruitful relationship as we move into combining our garden, kitchens and the arts.
School Notices
All visitors to Montrose Bay High must sign in via our Visitor Sign in Book at the front office. You must include your mobile number for COVID tracing requirements. You must also scan the QR code(available in the front foyer) to stay safe with the "Check in Tas" app.
Student Absence
If your student is absent from school for any reason please notify us as early as possible. You can do this via:
- phone - 6208 2666
- text message - 0418 137 500
If you need to collect your student early for any reason our student admin staff would appreciate if you send a note in the morning rather than just before you arrive.
A reminder that students must not use their phones during the school day. If a student needs to go home sick please remind them to go and see their Grade Leader or office.
Canteen Payments
If your child is ordering food from the canteen, the payment MUST be made via either cash or card, we are unable to accept payment using a phone.
School App
Please sign up for our new school app ready for 2022. Below is a step by step instructions on how to download.
Term 4, 2021 - Dates to Remember
| Tuesday, 14 December | Grade 10 Celebration Dinner |
| Thursday, 16 December | Last day of Term 4 for students |