New Town High School

ISSUE: No. 2, 20 February 2015

2015 CALENDAR TERM 1

4 February to Thursday 2 April

World Challenge Training

Camp

21 to 22 February

Geoff Goodfellow Visit

Monday 23 February

School Association Meeting

Tuesday 24 February

School Photos

Wednesday 4 March

2nd Hand Uniform Shop

Thursday 5 March

8.30am to 9.30am

School Newsletter

Friday 6 March

Photo’s—2nd Shoot

Wednesday 11 March

Peer Support Camp 1

7D1+7D2

Monday 16 to Wednesday 18 March

Peer Support Camp 2 7E1+7E2

Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 March

Peer Support Camp 3

7H1+7H2

Monday 23 to Wednesday 25 March

Peer Support Camp 4 7J1+7J2

Wednesday 25 to Friday 27 March

Primary School Visits for Tran-

sition Program

Monday 30 & Tuesday 31 March

School Association Meeting

Tuesday 31 March

Moderation & Student Free

Day

Thursday 2 April

FROM THE PRINCIPAL On Monday morning, we are looking forward to celebrating the launch of our

new and innovative Game Apps Design Course. This program, developed by

Mr Chris Deeley, is attracting a great deal of local and national attention. The

Minister for Education and Training, Mr Jeremy Rockliff, will be visiting the

school to launch the course. We have a strong history in Digital Education

that is supportive of quality teaching and learning. The industry partnerships

that we have established through this program will provide our students with

direct links to the globalised world of Game Apps Design. This is a very excit-

ing educational initiative. Mr Deeley is to be congratulated for his work in this

field.

I am pleased to announce that our first phase of building re-development is

very nearly completed. The construction of our new toilet block facility, is defi-

nitely an enhancement for our overall school environment. We are now look-

ing forward to the second phase of development that will incorporate a signifi-

cant infrastructure build. As our school continues to grow, the additions of

our new administrative facility, Grand Entrance and re-allocated teaching spac-

es will be greatly appreciated. Plans have passed through council, and our next

step will be to facilitate a tender process. It will be a transformational year in

this regard.

I would like to thank all parents and carers who have assisted us to promptly

administer our validation and consent form process. All students have re-

ceived the required documentation, and we are hopeful to have all information

and consents consolidated within our systems over the next two weeks.

Again, we acknowledge the quantity of information required, but we are hope-

ful that in the long run, much time will be saved by addressing the required

needs in this manner. Please inform our office staff if you have not received

that validation and excursion consent information.

Finally, I would like to draw attention to our new Website. We have spent

over six months developing the presentation and functionality of the new site,

and we now believe that we have a first class professional educational site.

We believe that it is extremely important that our web presence reflects the

excellence that we continually pursue. We would welcome any feedback that

you may wish to forward to us regarding our website

http://newtownhighschooltas.org Sandy Menadue

GRADE 7 NEWS It is now the third week at New Town High for the

Grade 7 boys and we are very pleased with how they

have settled into an environment very different from

primary school. We thought it would be nice to get

two Grade 7 boys to write about their thoughts on

their first days at high school. Following, Thomas and

Sebastian talk about their start at New Town High.

The first few weeks of being at New Town High School

have been a very exciting experience and also a very big

change in my life but my experience has been slightly dif-

ferent to some of the other boys because I have had two

brothers previously at this school and lots of teachers and

senior students already know me! High school is so differ-

ent from primary school because it’s a lot bigger and you

have lots of teachers rather than one. Within the first few

weeks we have already had a home group soccer compe-

tition and we (7D1) won our first game! At high school

you have lots more subjects than you would have had at

primary school including some that you probably would

never have done or would have not done very much of

like MDT (Materials, Design, Technology) but you also

have some subjects like English and Maths that you would

have done a lot of in primary school. Thank you to my

old primary school for preparing me for the next four

amazing years. Thomas Beswick, 7D1

During my first few weeks at New Town High School I

have been involved in just some of the many tasks they

have to offer. During the first couple of weeks I have

been shown a range of new subjects and opportunities,

and have really been enjoying my time. There are a lot of

differences between primary and high school and from

what I have seen New Town High is more challenging and

a lot more independent than work at primary school. I

have taken part in a Home Group soccer championship

where our home groups play off in soccer games during

lunchtimes. 7E1 have played one game of soccer so far

and we were lucky enough to win our game 3-1. The

soccer games have been about everyone getting a turn on

the field and getting a kick. It was great. Currently we

are getting ready for an upcoming Peer Support Camp

where we will be going away to Roches Beach for

three days. We will be taking part in a range of group

activities where we will get to know our peers better.

Overall my first few weeks here at New Town High

have been a really great experience and I am very ex-

cited for my next four years to come here at New

Town High School. Sebastian Cock, 7E1

A reminder of upcoming events for Grade 7 boys

include Swimming Trials on Friday 6 March, Peer

Support Camps starting with 7D1 and 7D2 on 16

March. It was nice to see a parent call into the

grade supervisor office one morning this week to

inform us of a family issue which might affect how

her son behaves at school. Please, if there are any

issues parents believe us, as grade supervisors,

should know about, call in or contact us by phone

or email. Neil Harris & Suzie Jones

Grade 7 Supervisors

GRADE 8 NEWS The Grade 8s have made a fantastic start to the

term, with boys settling in to their new classes and

enjoying the transition to options. We have also

had a smooth transition from the paper diary to

the Ediary, which will be of great benefit to stu-

dents, teachers and parents. If you haven’t done

so already, remember you can access your son’s

diary via the school web page.

Lunchtime Sport to Begins Monday 2 March

We are currently organizing our first lunchtime

roster for the year. Representatives of the grade

have chosen futsal to be our first sport with the

competition to be held in the gym on Monday and

Wednesday lunchtimes throughout Term 1. Rep-

resentatives from each Home Group will be pass-

ing around a sign-up sheet next week so feel free

to jump on board.

Inter High Swimming Trials

Inter High Swimming Trials will be held for Grade

8 students at the Glenorchy Pool on Friday 6

March. Eight Grade 8 students will swim it off to

represent New Town High School at the Southern

Inter High Swimming Carnival to be held in a few

weeks’ time. Please remember to return all paper-

work promptly to Mr Lovell.

School Photo’s Wednesday 4 March

School photos will be taken on Wednesday 4

March. Please remember to wear full formal uni-

form on the day, regardless of whether you have HPE on

that day or not. Please remember to have returned your

photo form by Tuesday 3 March at the latest. Shaun Newbold & Sara Mullholland

AST Grade 8 Grade 8 Coordinator

GRADE 9 NEWS Grade 9 students have involved themselves in a range of

school activities so far this year. We have over fifty boys

who have signed up for the fitness program at lunch time

in the pavilion. We would like to acknowledge our AFL

Athlete Development members for 2015: Alex Speak-

man-Smith, Bailey Nelson, Bailey Walker, Caleb

Triffett, Lochie Bromfield, Matteo Paolini, Nicho-

las Baker, Sam Berry and Josh Jordan. Good luck to

all boys for 2015!

We have a number of Grade 9 boys involved in the fol-

lowing events taking place at various stages throughout

2015: World Challenge, French Trip, Central Australian

Tour, Ski Trip, and the Senior Concert Band trip to Mel-

bourne. Our students are extremely lucky to have such

experiences offered to them and we know that they will

represent the school admirably.

At the time of writing this newsletter, Home Groups are

involved in voting for School Representative Council

members. All students have the chance to apply and

must write and deliver a speech to their Home Groups

before all students in each Home Group vote.

The Head and Deputy Prefects addressed our first Grade

Assembly last week. It was an encouraging presentation

and Grade 9 students will, I am sure, be inspired by the

words of wisdom delivered by our Head Prefect, Blair

Woolley and Deputies, Sam Fros and Mitchell

Woolley.

Students have settled in well to subject classes and there

are many interesting units of work in progress. For ex-

ample, students in Mr Deeley’s Grade 9/10 IT class,

Game App Design will eventually be designing and creating

their own App. We look forward to the finished prod-

ucts!

Finally, the processes of finalising subject choices and

signing on to EDiary are almost completed. Thanks to

all students and parents for their cooperation and pa-

tience. We would like to thank Mr Harrison and Mr

Deeley as well as Home Group staff for all their

hard work in the coordination of these programs.

GRADE 10 NEWS

Our 2015 Prefect

Board started their

charity fundraising for

the year with a bang by

running our annual Pan-

cake Day event.

Mrs Weitnauer organ-

ised the Prefects and

taught them how to

make excellent pan-

cakes in preparation for

the day, and they soon

picked up pancake flip-

ping with style! Stu-

dents flocked to buy

the pancakes at lunch

on Tuesday.

We raised over $300 for charity, which will be

donated soon to a charity of the Prefects choice.

The Peer Support Leaders ran their first Peer Sup-

port session this week, meeting up with their

Grade 7 groups to conduct getting-to-know-you

activities. The Grade 10 leaders performed admi-

rably with their groups, handling the new experi-

ences well. There will be two more group ses-

sions before the boys go on Peer Support Camp in

March. Hayley Noonan and Nathan Heidenreich

Grade 10 Supervisors

NEWS FROM FOOD STUDIES

Thank you parents for assisting your son in their

preparation for Food Studies lessons. It is most

important that boys have a container for take

home food and that this container is named. If the

boys prepare food containing meats and dairy at

school we have space in the school’s cool room to

keep it chilled until the end of the day.

We welcome Ms Jane Miller to our Foods Depart-

ment this year, replacing Mrs Wendy Shelton who

has transferred to Taroona High School. Ms Mil-

ler is working with the senior students and they

are currently studying food safety practices. How

apt given the recent issues on frozen fruit in the

media! In practical food studies lessons, the senior

students are working with yeast this term, and will

be baking a range of yeast based products. Already, we

have some wonderful smells coming from the school

kitchens!

The junior classes also have started well, the Grade 7

students in 7H1, 7H2, 7J1, and 7J2 are learning the

school’s kitchen routines and preparing simple snacks.

The Grade 8 students who have selected this subject as

an optional short course are revising their food han-

dling skills and today have prepared a simple two

course meal (as pictured).

To help with the smooth running of our program, it is

most important for us to know if your child has any

dietary needs. It is not a problem to accommodate

these needs, as we regularly adjust recipes for vegetari-

an eating, gluten free or lactose free diets. Please con-

tact Mrs Karen Weitnauer if this is the case for your

son.

Ms Miller and I hope you do get to taste some of your

son’s food preparation in coming weeks. We encourage

all students to bake at home as well. Happy cooking!

Karen Weitnauer

HOD Food Studies

Meal prepared by

Tom Roberts—Grade 8

Billy Cutler - Grade 8

preparing fruit crumble

Team

Work

Ms Millers Senior Foods Class

Science@NTHS Looking for an extra challenge in your Science Educa-

tion. Check out the new Fronter room by clicking on

this icon in your Fronter rooms:

Warren Bounds

Science HOD

DEBATING NEWS New Town High School enjoys a strong and proud tra-

dition of debating and seeks to follow a successful 2014

season in the Tasmanian Debating Union’s Southern

Schools’ competition with a strong contingent of teams

in 2015. We would welcome all past debaters, and en-

courage Grade 7 students to join in our strong school

tradition in debating.

Last season, four of our five teams across Grades 7, 8

and 9 reached the Semi-Finals and three proceeded to

the Grand Finals. While there was no premiership joy,

our Novice, Grade 8 and Grade 9 teams certainly did

us proud and it is no mean feat for a school to produce

three runners – up from a total field of sixty teams. In

the absence of a Grade 10 team, the School’s Ian Mor-

gan Award for Debating was awarded to Mitchell

Woolley who has continued to refine and develop his

considerable skill for engaging audiences with his

speech. In January, Mitchell attended the Tasmanian

Debating Union’s Summer Debating Camp and will lead

a presentation for both our Junior and Senior debaters.

Debating is a mind sport which provides a num-

ber of educational benefits, such as the develop-

ment of self-confidence, public speaking plus log-

ic and critical thinking skills. Our students are

recognised with academic certification and it is

worth noting that the TDU is preparing for ac-

creditation by the Tasmanian Qualifications Au-

thority.

The Southern Schools Competition, organised by the

Tasmanian Debating Union (the State’s premier de-

bating organisation), is scheduled to commence in

early March. Debates are between teams from

Grades 7 through to College in three-versus-three

style debates, with one team supporting a proposition

and the other opposing it. Debates are held each

Wednesday evening at a nominated host school in

the greater Hobart area from March until the end of

second term. The competition is designed so that

each team debates once each fortnight.

Each team (of at least four members) meets regularly

with a coach to develop debating skills and techniques

and to prepare team cases. Workshops will be con-

ducted early in the year once teams have been estab-

lished.

While a high degree of commitment is essential, the

rewards are many and tangible. Students will be given

an informative letter regarding the Southern Schools

debating competition ahead of registration. We all

look forward to another great and enjoyable year in

debating. Grace Guerzoni

Debating Coordinator

ARTS NEWS Hello and welcome back to both parents and boys.

The Arts have been a strong aspect of New Town

High School for many years and this year is no differ-

ent in this regard!

We have had some small line-up changes in Music and

I warmly introduce and welcome Ms Jane Mason.

Jane has replaced Ms Harradance who took the

plunge and retired from the Education Department at

the end of last year. Sue’s guidance, especially in her

speciality of Woodwind, was superb. Many students

benefitted from her tuition over her years of service

to public education in this state. Sue’s warm, calm

and professional approach will be sadly missed by the

Music Department in this school, and, indeed in the

other schools she has taught at as a Music Specialist.

All of us at New Town High wish Sue a happy retire-

ment.

We can look forward to regular performances from

our Drama students this year, too. Tony has planned

a number of “One Night Only” shows in order to

showcase the theatrical talent of boys from both jun-

ior and senior grades. This is a wonderful opportuni-

ty for boys to apply their Art in a meaningful and

semi-professional setting. Tony is also in the early

stages of producing a musical of even greater scope

than the previous two shows he has produced with

our boys. This may happen next year. More about

this at a later date as things are confirmed.

Lastly, I welcome new parents, as primary participators,

within our excellent Arts programs at New Town High.

There are many opportunities throughout the year for you

to experience a full spectrum of Arts activities your son

and others will present to you. Being able to engage with

your son(s) within the Arts at his school is a very positive

thing. While I believe every human activity has weight the

one big marker of a society’s depth is its Arts. In a world

that regularly assigns importance to money, media expo-

sure or corporate sport, the Arts offer us a degree of so-

phistication and thinking beyond the surface, enabling us to

celebrate the everyday through home-grown entertain-

ment, imaginative thinking and global identity. Peter Young

Arts HOD

Music

In music we have had a great start to the year. Over the

next two weeks Grade 7 students will be able to choose

to play an instrument from a choice of over fifteen instru-

ments. May we welcome Mrs Mason (woodwind teacher)

to the Music department who has taken over from Mrs

Harradence. Mrs Harradence taught woodwind instru-

ments and conducted ensembles at New Town High

School for seven years. We wish her well in her retire-

ment.

Each year we have many new Grade 7 students who have

previously played an instrument. Ms Morris is in the pro-

cess of inviting all Grade 7 students who were involved in

the primary schools instrumental program informing them

of the Monday after school Grade 7/8 concert band re-

hearsal time. Any other Grade 7 student who has private

instrument tuition is welcome to attend the after school

rehearsals. All Grade 7 students who were part of the pri-

mary schools instrumental program are encouraged to at-

tend Monday after school rehearsals 3 to 4pm in the music

room. It is important that these students continue to play

their instrument in our Grade 7/8 concert band and parent

support is appreciated.

Our co-curricular band program will begin this coming

week with six ensembles for student participation. Ms

Morrs, Mr Sweeney, Mr Goldsmith (Brass), Mr Howe

(Acoustic Guitar), Mrs Mason (Woodwind) and Mr Cox

are all involved in conducting and supervising music ensem-

bles.

Monday after school

- the Grade 7/8 Concert Band 3pm to 4pm

Tuesday after school

- the Combined Senior Concert Band 3pm to

4.30pm (at Ogilvie High School)

Tuesday after school

– the Guitar Ensemble 3pm to 4pm

Wednesday or Thursday after school

– Stage Band 3pm to 4pm

Thursday lunch time

- Saxophone Ensemble

Friday before school

– The Brass Ensemble 8am to 8.45am

Other ensembles yet to be timetabled are the wood-

wind ensemble, vocal group and Grade 7 concert

band.

In previous years we have had a large number of stu-

dents attending all groups and as students improve on

their instrument they are welcome to be part of

these programs when they feel that they are confi-

dent with reading music and playing their instrument.

Students involved in the co-curricular program will be

involved in many public performances during school

time and out of school time. We are planning an

overnight music camp and a combined New Town

High School /Ogilvie High School music tour to Mel-

bourne.

Grade 8, 9 and 10 students are continuing on with

playing their instrument and improving their music

theory skills in reading and writing music. Our curric-

ulum has a strong focus on music theory. All grades

and classes are continuously taught how to read write

and count music. Instruments are available for over-

night borrowing and homework practice is an ex-

pected part of our curriculum. Andrew Sweeney/Catherine Morris

BYO DEVICES New Town High School over the past few years has

adopted a bring your own device (BYOD) computing

solution for our Grade 9 and 10 students. This has

shown to benefit student learning outcomes in our

classes and is a program that is important to the fu-

ture education of our students as it allows us to adapt

our educational strategies to better suit their needs.

In 2015 Grade 8, Grade 9 and Grade 10 students will

be expected to have a device capable of using our

schools Wi-Fi connection to the internet. This will

become an essential part of your sons learning re-

sources while at New Town High and teachers will be

expecting this to be brought to class on a daily basis.

As we use Office 365 at New Town High, students

are not limited on the brand of device they bring, as it

works on both PC and Apple devices. Students will

also be able to download Office 365 to their device

for free and have 1Terrabyte worth of space in the

cloud OneDrive.

While we are unable to provide devices for all stu-

dents, we will have a limited number of basic net-

books that students may lease for a payment of $50

per annum. Alternatively students may bring their

own device, (BYOD). The advantages of a BYOD

device is that as parents you will be able to access tax

incentives to cover part of the cost, and you have the

freedom to choose which device suits you and your

son’s needs best. The minimum requirements for such

a device are listed below;

Must support a Wi-Fi connection that works within

our system.

Have a screen size of ten inches or more.

Must be able to access the internet.

Android devices are not recommended as connecting

with our Wi-Fi system cannot be guaranteed.

An iPad is a good device, but an iPod or iPhone is too

small to create content and be used for an extended

period of time.

BYOD systems have operated in other schools within

the state successfully, and we are looking forward to

further expanding this option. We will also have some

computer deals to present from a few computer retail-

ers specifically for New Town High students.

If you have any further questions about BYOD please

contact Chris Deeley on

chris.deeley@education.tas.gov.au

Office 365

New Town High School is proud to continue to be a

pilot school for the Microsoft Office 365 project. This

provides every student within our school access to MS

Office on any mobile device and the ability to install five

(5) full copies of this software on any machines that

they own or have access to. This project is the perfect

productivity software to accompany our growing BYOT

program.

This program is open to all students. Students may ac-

cess this program by obtaining a parent consent form

from the school office and returning it the following day

to the front office once it has been signed by a parent

or guardian. Student accounts take 24 hours to be pro-

visioned for this system. Once this time has lapsed stu-

dents can log into office365.com.

Second Hand Netbooks For Grade 8 & 9

Students

We currently have a number of out of warranty net-

books which we are looking to sell to the Grade 8 and

9 students at New Town High to support the BYOT

program currently in place. These notebooks can be

used as a BYOT device for classes as they are able to

connect to the schools wireless network.

The notebooks specifications are as follows:

Brand: Acer

Model: D255E

Operating System: Windows 7 Starter 32-

Bit

Processor (CPU): Intel Atom N550

@1.50GHz

RAM (Memory): 1.00GB DDR3

Storage (Hard Drive): 250GB – 232GB

after OS install

Cost: $50

Here is the fine print:

If you would like one, pay to the office, and take

your receipt to the onsite IT support office. This

device can be used at school. It cannot be upgraded

or altered by our IT staff.

If you want to get Office 365, please fill in one of

the Office 365 forms

It comes with a bag and charger

One device per Grade 8 or 9 student only

If you take it home and it does not work- we will

replace it, otherwise no warranty

There are a limited number and it will be first in.

If you have any questions about this please email:

chris.deeley@education.tas.gov.au

New Town High School is excited to unveil our

brand new website. This website offers a refreshing

change to the older version and is easier to view on

mobile devices. This site will be a fantastic source

of information whilst celebrating our schools strong

history. The site will continue to evolve further

throughout the year as more exciting pages are add-

ed to this fantastic resource.

The new website link is: newtownhighschooltas.org

So log in and take a look.

Chris Deeley

HOD Information Technology

RISK AND EXCURSIONS New Town High School offers your son fantastic opportunities to be part of school organised excursions. These include

local trips of short duration, overnight camps, interstate and overseas tours. Depending on the type of excursions, they

all require parent consent. Included in your school validation package there is a minor excursion, major excursion/

medical and an aquatic form. The Department of Education require these forms to be completed to allow your son to

participate in off-site excursions.

Minor excursions are part of our school curriculum and most often occur during normal school time. They include ex-

cursions to local destinations and use different modes of transport to and from the venue. When the parent consent

form (in the validation package) for minor excursions is completed, separate permission for each minor venue will not be

sought. However, an information letter, email or SMS will be sent to you regarding your son’s excursion and require-

ments. Examples of minor excursion venues are as below

Extended excursions such as whole day, camps, state, interstate and overseas trips require separate parent consent for

each occasion. This may mean for some parents, they will be completing the same major excursion/medical form multiple

times throughout the year and these include as listed below.

Excursions that include water or aquatic activities parent will need to complete the aquatic activity form. Each aquatic

activity requires parents to indicate your son’s level of swimming capability. This year we have included six whole school

events where your consent is required for your son to participate in an aquatic based activity and these are

Aquatic

Based Activ-

ity

Grade 7

Swimming

Trials

6 March

2015

Kayaking Peer Support

Camp (grade 7 students

& grade 10 peer

support leaders)

16/3/2015 to

20/3/2015

Surfing Peer Support

Camp (grade 7students

& grade10 peer

support leaders) 16/3/2015 to

20/3/2015

Raft Making Peer Support

Camp (grade 7

students & grade

10 peer support

leaders) 16/3/2015 to

20/3/2015

Whole School Swimming

Carnival 8 May 2015

Grade 10

Beach day

16 Dec

2015

Minor Local Excursion Venues

Cross Country Trials (New Town High

School Walking Track)

Ogilvie High School

Inter-House Cross Country (New

Town High School Walking Track)

Local primary schools: Bowen Road, Goulburn Street, Moonah,

Lenah Valley, New Town, Campbell Street, Mt Stuart, Lans-

downe.

Aurora Stadium Hobart College

Museum Elizabeth College

University of Tasmania Rosny College

Cornelian Bay Hobart Concert Hall

Bike Track Moonah

Bike Track Oval John Turnbull Oval (Lenah Valley)

Domain memorial walk

Major Medical

Music camp (2 nights) Orana, Lauderdale

Music tour ( 3 nights) Melbourne

Outdoor Education – Bushwalking, Pool Swimming, Snorkelling, Kayaking.

AFL Development ( (2 nights) - Melbourne

Science Challenge (one night) Launceston

Japanese trip

Central Australia

World challenge

France trip

While the Major Excursion Form and Aquatic Consent Form forms may not apply to all boys, throughout the

course of the year, it is simpler for administration and timing purposes to obtain one copy now for the listed

whole school activities at the beginning of the year.

Excursions take a considerable amount of time to organise. Before any excursion is undertaken, the organis-

ing teachers complete a comprehensive risk management and medical assessment. On all occasions parents

are notified by school letter, email or SMS. It is the student’s responsibility to deliver excursion letters to par-

ents. It would be appreciated if you could complete excursions forms and return them as soon as possible. Andrew Sweeney

Coordinator

NEW TOWN HIGH SCHOOL PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM

The Peer Support Program is a long-standing aspect of New Town High School. The program assists Grade 7s

transition smoothly into high school and encourages positive behaviours and interactions. It also provides au-

thentic opportunities for student leadership to a large number of our Grade 10 boys.

During the extended Home Group session on the first day of the school year, Grade 7 boys were visited by

their Grade 10 Peer Support Leaders. The Grade 10s showed the younger students how to use their combi-

nation locks, explained their timetables to them, answered any questions they had and generally helped them

settle in and feel comfortable during their first days of high school.

Yesterday, all Grade 7 students participated in their first Peer Support Session under the guidance of their

Grade 10 Peer Support Leaders. Each Grade 7 Home Group is divided into three smaller groups of approxi-

mately eight students; each of these smaller groups is then assigned three Grade 10 Leaders from the same

House group. Yesterday’s session served as an introduction to the Peer Support Program, with the primary

goal being for all group members – 7s and 10s alike – to get to know one another. There was also time for

students to play some games and ask any questions they may have about the life of a student at New Town

High.

Two more Peer Support Sessions will be held over the coming weeks. The focus of session two is to work on

building communication and teamwork skills. Session Three will assist students in improving their organisation-

al skills. The Grade 10 Peer Support Leaders are positive role models for our new Grade 7 boys and, as such,

are actively involved in leading their Peer Support Groups. The Peer Support Program continues well beyond

the upcoming camps (read below); further Peer Support Group sessions will be held in Term 2 and Grade 10

Leaders also visit their Grade 7 group’s classes in various subject lessons to offer mentoring, in-class support

and assistance.

Peer Support Camp 1: 7D1 & 7D2—Monday 16 to Wednesday 18 March

Peer Support Camp 2: 7E1 & 7E2—Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 March

Peer Support Camp 3: 7H1 & 7H2—Monday 23 to Wednesday 25 March

Peer Support Camp 4: 7J1 & 7J2—Wednesday 25 to Friday 27 March

Camps allow Grade 10 Leaders to work closely with their Grade 7 Peer Support Group and, by holding them

at ‘Orana' (in Roches Beach, Lauderdale), mentor them away from the more formal school environment. A

minimum of seven teachers accompany and supervise each camp. A wide range of activities have been organ-

ised for the camps and Peer Support Groups are rotated through each session over the course of the three

days. Each group will take a turn participating in the Camp Catering activity, in which they will assist in the

preparation of camp meals. Except for morning tea and lunch on the first day, all meals are provided. The

cost of camp has already been covered as a part of the Grade 7 student levies.

More detailed information about the Peer Support Camps has been distributed to students by their Home

Group teacher earlier this week. The camp consent form, as well as the aquatic consent and medical infor-

mation forms previously distributed, will all need to be completed in full and returned to Home Group teach-

ers by Friday 27 February at the latest. Grade 10 Peer Support Leaders have also received their permission

forms; these need to be completed in full and returned to their Home Group teachers (or directly to Mr

Howard) in a timely fashion. If you have questions regarding the Peer Support Camps, please contact Mr

Howard on 6278 0400. Daniel Howard

Camp Coordinator

New Town High School

6 Midwood Street, New Town, 7008

Phone: 6278 0400

Absence Line: 6278 0499

Fax: 6278 1717

E-mail: new.town.high@education.tas.gov.au

Web: https://education.tas.edu.au/newtownhigh

https://www.facebook.com/NTHSTasmania

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS Parents and students should note that school photo-

graphs for this year will be taken on Wednesday 4

March.

All boys will be photographed on this day irrespective

of whether they are purchasing photographs or not.

The school photos are used for a variety of purposes

including the end of year magazine (COGS), student

files and medical alert information for staff.

Envelopes were distributed to all boys during Home

Group on Monday 16 February.

For this reason it is most important that:

All boys return their completed envelope to their

Home Group teacher by23 February.

Every student MUST complete and return their en-

velope (whether purchasing photos or not).

Parents should note that a separate envelope for a

family photograph is available from the office if re-

quired.

All boys must wear formal uniform on Wednesday

4 March, including a tie if they have one.

The photograph package is a pre-paid system. Each boy

will receive an order envelope from their Home Group

Teacher. Orders are made on the cover of the enve-

lope and the correct money is then enclosed in the en-

velope.

The photographs come with a money back guarantee if

you are not satisfied with the result.

A second shoot of photographs will occur for students

or staff who were absent on the first occasion. This

will occur on Wednesday 11 March.

Remember

Please include correct money, as no change is availa-

ble.

If paying by cheque, please make payable to MSP

Photography.

Family envelopes are available at the school office

upon request. Please collect prior to photo day.

Family discount form available at the office for 3rd

and subsequent children.

All orders received after photo day will attract a late

fee.

All boys will be photographed whether they order

photos or not.

FORMAL SCHOOL UNIFORM MUST BE

WORN ON PHOTO DAY. BOYS ARE ASKED

TO WEAR THEIR TIE IFTHEY HAVE ONE.

Ian Cordwell

Assistant Principal

SCHOOL IMMUNISATION DATES

FOR 2015: GRADE 7 Immunisation consent forms have been sent home

and are required to be signed and returned to New

Town High School by Monday 23 February at the

latest.

The following at School Immunisation Dates are

booked for 2015:

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Thursday 30 July 2015

Tuesday 10 November

The original starting date is a Student Free Day and

therefore has been postponed until September.

The new date is being negotiated with Hobart City

Council and parents/guardians will be notified as

soon as possible so that the students receive their

full at school immunisation.

The Hobart City Council regrets that it will not

accept late forms. However, they are offering a free

catch up school immunisation session on Wednes-

day 8 April 2015 between 11:30am – 12:00pm in

the Elizabeth Street Conference Room at the Town

Hall. Alternatively students can visit their own GP.

If you have any queries in relation to this infor-

mation or consent forms, please contact Pam Banks

-Smith or Simone Hayers on 6238 2715 at the Ho-

bart City Council. Jill Alexander

A/Assistant Principal

A message from O’Driscoll Coaches (New

Norfolk) - Regarding New Norfolk buses of an

afternoon—there is a second bus running to allevi-

ate overcrowding.

The boys will still get on the route 130 at Ogilvie

High at approx. 3.35pm. This bus will run from St

Mary’s College at 3.25pm then travel Argyle St/

New Town Rd to Ogilvie. The Route 139 to Ellen-

dale leaves Ogilvie High at 3.10pm.

UTAS Soccer is looking for new players. Preseason

training at Olinda Grove on Tuesday & Thursday

afternoons from 5pm – 6pm. We are aiming to field

teams in the listed age groups; U14 (includes U13s)

and U16 boys. All abilities welcome. Ideally we

would like sixteen players in each team.

Information is available on Facebook ‘UTAS Soccer’

and at www.utassc.org.au.

We look forward to seeing you all!

Contact:: Melissa Fraser 0439 528 713

Thomas Davies (Coach of the U16s) – 0438 576

498 or twdavies@utas.edu.au