Dear Parents, Carers and Community Members

I would firstly like to thank all parents, community members and staff for their support of our swimming carnival this week. A particular thanks to Mrs Lowe for her outstanding leadership of this event. We are all justifiably proud of the spirit of competition and inclusion displayed by our students in all events. I was particularly impressed by the courage shown by students who entered events they had not undertaken before and which were challenging for them.

The Department for Education, Children and Young People has a new strategic plan and a new set of values. These are Connection, Growth, Respect, Responsibility and Courage. These values guide us in planning for student achievement, wellbeing and in the way we interact with each other in our school each day. Students and teachers have already started work discussing how the values should be applied in their classes and in all interactions and endeavours in our school. We have ordered display materials to support our values work and these will become visible around our school.

We are planning a first term camping program for Years 4-10 this year. This is part of the development of the DECYP values in our school. We know that these kinds of activities early in the year will foster connection between students and an exciting program is being planned to facilitate student growth, courage and resilience.

Thank you to Rosa and Makayla who represented us at the recent War Animal Memorial Service. Our students always do an outstanding job when invited to local events and we highly value this connection to community.

Work has commenced on our new agriculture building. This is scheduled to continue throughout 2024 with the building being open to students at the commencement of 2025. The development coincides with the introduction of Food and Fibre as a subject across all grades. We are excited about the development of our school garden in partnership with some keen community volunteers. Our produce has already made its way into the kitchen. A great connection for students.

Our staff continue to have a strong focus on the evidence based teaching of reading and  developing outstanding teaching practices in all classes. Staff professional learning around these priorities is ongoing. NAPLAN testing commences for Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 on Wednesday 13th March. We will be preparing students by focusing on comprehension, growth and supporting student wellbeing and resilience. If you wish to support your child to prepare at home, you can access practice questions on the NAPLAN public demonstration site. NAP - Public demonstration site

Kind Regards

Mike

Our Kindergarten students have had a wonderful start to the year. They have been settling into new routines and exploring our new learning areas. Students have been busy learning to collaborate with new friends and discovering new skills. What an amazing few weeks we have had!

Mandy Freeman

Teacher

We are off and running in Year 11/12 in 2024! Welcome back to some former students and a new welcome to others. All students have settled back into the routines of learning and so far, have been willing to take on any challenge they have encountered. Students have already been out on various excursions completing activities to compliment their learning back at school. Students have visited the local golf club as part of the Sport and Rec class, as they build a picture of the different local sport and recreational activities available to them. Our Certificate 1 and 2 in Agriculture classes have visited Riccarton to complete a safety audit, a Student Hemp Education Day, held by The Tasmanian Hemp Association, Purefoods Poultry at Longford and their Kings Meadows sorting facility.  Most students have already completed their Ag Card!! Art students attended ART RAGE at the Launceston Museum and have used the work viewed, as an inspiration and springboard for the own pieces of work. In our workplace maths studies, students have begun the year with a focus on number and finance; exploring our decimal system, calculating wages, and the concepts of “interest free” and “buy now pay later” have been the basis of Maths studies so far this year. We currently have 2 students involved in a School Based Apprenticeship.

A big thankyou to our teaching and support team in 11/12; Jodie Clegg, Jill Bennett, Lenore Sanders, Mick Upton and Kellie Donaldson for supporting our students to transition into the 2024 school year.

Julie Howard

AST

What a day it was at the swimming carnival!  Elizabeth really brought their A-game, staying ahead of Macquarie all day to clinch a well-deserved victory. Congratulations to them for their stellar performance and participation across all grades.

One of the best things about the day was seeing everyone getting involved and giving it their all. It did not matter if you won a ribbon or not; what mattered was the effort and sportsmanship on display. A big shoutout to all the secondary students who participated and spent the day helping and encouraging younger students, you really showed what it means to be brave and have a go, but also demonstrate true leadership.

Congratulations to this year’s record breakers:

Grade 4 Boys 50m Back – Rupert

Grade 4 Girls 50m Back – Isla

Grade 6 Boys 50m Back – Tom

While winning ribbons is nice, let's not forget the real lessons we learn from events like these. It is not just about the ribbons; it is about being brave enough to take part and doing your best, no matter the outcome.

So, congratulations to everyone who took part and showed what they are made of.  Keep being brave, keep having a go and keep celebrating the spirit of sportsmanship that makes events like these truly special.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported the Swimming Carnival this year. CTDHS staff and community volunteers who worked tirelessly setting and packing up, timing, recording, starting races and much more, as well as the Midlands Magic Netball club for their wonderful canteen. 

Ashlee Lowe

HPE Teacher

On Friday 16th February students travelled to Fairfield, Epping Forest, for the Schools Hemp Expo. The day was spent learning about the different varieties of hemp grown in the trial. Hemp is a wind pollinated crop which has male and female plants. All the hemp plant can be used with the seed going for oil or food products and the fibre being used in construction (hempcrete), to make clothing, mulch or rope. Students had the opportunity to have a burger made with hemp for lunch.

Our aim for the day was as well as learning about the hemp industry, to learn about the variety of jobs and careers in the industry. Students did an excellent job of listing to different employment possibilities. Thanks to the Tasmanian Hemp Association for hosting the day and the very yummy burgers and chips.

Jill Bennett

Teacher

We have hit the ground running in Agriculture this year with our safety excursion to Riccarton undertaken in Week 2. Students met with Stuart Beams from Safe Farming to look for hazards and learn about farm safety. Stuart spoke about the frightening statistics for farm injuries and fatalities at work. Students had the opportunity to investigate hazards in the shearing shed, the chemical shed, machinery shed and around the silos. We looked at some of the ways they could stay safe and the importance of signage. Thanks to Sam Lyne & Stuart Beams.

Students are learning to be S.A.F.E. on farm. S – spot the hazard, A – asses the risk, F – fix the problem, E – evaluate.

The incubator is set up and we are looking forward to the hatch in Week 4.

Another big thanks goes to Libby Jack who has donated sheep head collars and grooming equipment to the school. Last week Shane & Ella L-B washed the collars and they have come up like new. All clean and dry, waiting the arrival of the wethers for the Schools Wether challenge in Terms 2 & 3.

Jill Bennett

VET AG Teacher

On Tuesday 27th February the VET Agriculture class headed off to learn more about egg production in Tasmania. On arriving at Purefoods Woolmers Lane farm, we donned the required PPE before looking at the machine which packs the eggs coming from the four caged egg sheds. Here a worker picks out any cracked or dirty eggs before they are packed onto a pallet to go to grading. Some of the eggs coming out where huge and not destined for the supermarket shelves.

From here we stuck our heads into one of the sheds which houses free range birds. We were lucky to see them all roosting or eating in the shed, before the doors opened to let them outside. The farm manager, Brad, let us out into the free range yard, and then opened the many doors which give the hens access to the outside area. It was great to see the birds coming out and making a beeline for us. They are very inquisitive and love visitors. It was hard to believe we were amongst thousands of birds.

Brad showed us the computers which run all the feed and watering systems, and also recorded the average intake for birds. Students also had the opportunity to look into one of the new free range sheds which has a different set up.

We also checked out the caged birds which are being phased out.  It was interesting to see the differences in egg sizes from the young birds who are just starting to lay, compared to the older birds.

From the Woolmers  Lane farm we travelled into Kings Meadows for a tour of their grading facility. Here the pallets of eggs (each one containing 720 dozen eggs) are unloaded, washed, weighed and packed into several different lines. Cracked or poor shell eggs are identified and discarded. The machine packs the eggs into cartons, which are put in appropriate boxes for distribution. Dan told us that a pallet is unloaded every 10 minutes.

It was interesting to learn about the levels of quality assurance which are required and the procedures they have in pace to ensure the product is free from contamination.

It was a very interesting day and much thanks goes to Brad & Dan from Purefoods for sharing their time and passion.

Jill Bennett

VET AG Teacher

Parents/Guardians will soon receive invoices in the mail for their child/children's 2024 levies.  The invoice/s will list various payment options.  If you would like to set up a payment plan please contact our School Business Manager, Lucy Powell, via the school office.

My name is Louise Hawkins, and I am pleased to be returning to Campbell Town District High School as your School Health Nurse for 2024.

The role of the School Health Nurse is to provide health education and health & wellbeing promotion to students and the school community. This includes health assessments for kindergarten students and engaging across all grades in lessons and group activities surrounding health and wellbeing. Examples of lessons and activities include education on nutrition, personal hygiene, oral care, sun safety, growth and development, positive mental health and mindfulness.

Vision and hearing screens for all students are also available on request if there is a specific concern. A consent form must be signed by a parent/guardian prior to all assessments, including kindergarten health assessments.

Just a reminder that parents/guardians must ensure that a Medical Management Plan and/or Medical Action Plan is in place for students requiring ongoing medical management and that this is communicated to the school.

Just a reminder that administration of medication must be authorised by a parent/guardian using the following DECYP forms:

• For non-prescribed medication, parent/guardian must complete the Authorisation for Administration of Student Medication Form A-non-prescribed.
• For prescribed medication, parent/guardian must ensure that Administration of Student Medication Form B - prescribed is completed by a doctor, pharmacist, or practice nurse and signed by the parent/guardian.

Parents/guardians must ensure that the completed form is supplied to the school at least annually, or earlier if circumstances change.

Please feel free to visit me for a chat or contact me via the school office on a Thursday and alternate Wednesdays if you have any concerns or questions regarding your child’s health or the role of the School Health Nurse. Alternatively, you may email at your convenience louise.hawkins@decyp.tas.gov.au

I look forward to meeting and supporting students, parents/guardians, as well as staff at Campbell Town District High School.

Kind Regards,

Nurse Lou 

Our Parents and Friends committee are looking for volunteers.  If you would like to get involved and assist with fundraising events please contact Lucy Powell via the school office.