No. 7

May 2001

With two weeks left before the end of Term one, parents and students now have an indication of progress in all subject areas. Parents will have received these reports at the end of last week and it is absolutely vital that any concerns at all are discussed with the specific subject teachers and/or the Grade Supervisors. Please contact the staff by phone to have a short "chat" or alternatively to arrange an appointment to discuss concerns in person.

Having read through all reports issued to Grade 10 students, it was particularly pleasing to see the very large number of boys who received a "perfect score", with straight "A’s" shown in the Personal Organisation section. There can be no doubt that the areas related to punctuality, homework diary, presentation and general organisation assist our students to achieve "success".

Academic success is not a matter of luck – it comes from hard work, good personal organisation and a determination to do well. We continue to encourage and work with all boys to enhance these skills and to value these qualities.

Last week the Australian people celebrated the Centenary of Federation – for most of us here in Tasmania this event was celebrated in a very low key fashion. It was great, however to see all primary school students receive a specially struck medallion to celebrate the occasion. Our primary schools set the foundations of civics and citizenship in our young children and these important understandings are a central part of the high school curriculum. Not only are our young people developing a clear understanding of our nation’s past, but are also developing a critical awareness of our future directions.

As we look forward to the next one hundred years as a nation, there are several factors which most people would agree upon. Firstly that our young people themselves are the greatest asset we have, and secondly, that the future will see our country continue to change as it responds to social, economic technological and environmental issues.

As a school we must ensure that our students have the qualities of flexibility and creativity – are able to respond and adapt to change and that they have the essential interpersonal skills of communication and co-operation to meet the challenges presented by the future. Our sense of community also demands that the notions of "fair go," tolerance and respect for self and others are central to our way of life at school.

For us at school the Centenary of Federation is just as much a celebration of what the future holds, as it is about understanding our past.

Finally this week we must thank a number of people. I would like to recognise the efforts of staff involved in preparing and leading two Professional Learning sessions for New Town High School teachers during the last week. The two half days of professional learning were held in after school hours and a great deal of outstanding work was completed by the staff. The small team of teachers involved in leading these programs must be thanked for their efforts in furthering the knowledge and understanding of their colleagues.

The topics on offer to staff were Word Processing (Mrs Neville), Powerpoint presentations (Mrs Goodall), Teaching Strategies for Students with Special Needs (Ms Olubas), Internet (Mr Cox & Mrs Gardam) and Web Page Design (Mrs Meijers) and the Student Assessment Module (Mr Dickenson).

This week, one of our two Outdoor Education classes spent three days walking into the South East Cape area to put some of their classwork theory into practice. Mr Staples is to be thanked for his efforts in working with the boys and particularly for his time and commitment over the three days. We must also give a special mention to Mr Fred Rawlings, who as a volunteer freely donated his energies to assist the class.

During the term Mr Trousselot has set up a new subject for 2001 for Grade 9 and 10 students titled Work Related Learning. His efforts have placed a number of students in work places throughout our community to experience various aspects related to the world of work. The students involved are glowing in their praise for this program and Mr Trousselot’s efforts in helping them to see how school is related to working life.

On Tuesday 29 May our next Parents and Friends meeting will be held at 7.00pm in the Main Staffroom. Mr Trousselot has been invited to speak to parents at this meeting about programs offered through our Learning Centre – the Work Related Learning Program being just one of them.

All parents are of course invited to attend. We would love to see you involved.

Mr Morgan will return from leave on Monday 21 May much refreshed from his four week break.

Please, remember to contact specific subject teachers or Grade Supervisors if you have any concerns regarding your son’s progress at this reasonably early stage of the year.

Once again New Town High School is participating in the Tournament of Minds. This year the enthusiasm has been pleasing and we will enter at least three teams in the competition.

Our current players are as follows:

Congratulations to the junior students for their eagerness to represent the school. We are still looking for more senior boys to make up the teams.

J. Alexander & P. Gayton

Sam Christensen and Scott Dacy attended MUNA on 12 – 13 May in Deloraine. The boys acted as representatives from Israel. They worked hard over the weekend debating for or against resolutions which would affect their elected country.

New Town High School and the boys would like to thank North Hobart Rotary Club for its sponsorship and support which enabled Sam and Scott to participate in the valuable learning experience.

J. Alexander

Congratulations to Michael Voss, Nick Fenton and Louis Howroyd who won their first debate last week and to Nick Fenton who won best speaker.

Thank you to Edward MacFie and Simon McGuire who stepped in at short notice to assist with Chairing and Time Keeping.

Congratulations also to Chris Commane who was runner-up in the recent Hobart Masters Ten Pin Bowling Championships. Chris will be competing in the State Masters Championships this weekend and we wish him well.

Congratulations to the following grade 9 students who are taking part in the school Production Ned Kelly:

Grade 9 student, Brody White won the main role of Ned Kelly.

The Grade 9 Hockey Team won their last match 5-0 against Kingston High School. Well done to the following boys:

This year’s social was a great success and we are hoping to convince Ogilvie to hold another social in third term. If a second social goes ahead, the general consensus is to find a better DJ.

Thanks to our go go guys, Edward Craig and Callum Garvey for showing us how it is done, dancing up the front all night. Mind you, your dancing had nothing on Ms Hunter’s.

Hey Chris Wass, how was your trip through the front of stage floor? Journey to the bottom of the hall.

Congratulations to our dance competition winners: David Page, Brody White and Matt Cashion.

The top dance demonstration award has to go to Choua Xiong for his incredible Break Dancing display.

Decorations were very well done thanks to: Tristan Holubnytschyj, Matt Cashion, Daniel Wylie, Martin Brown, Josh Simpson, Nick Page, Ben Paine, Nick Boron, Ross McCarthy.

And a very BIG thank you to the teachers who attended, Ms Neville, Mr A Young, Mr Dickenson, Mr Clifford, Ms Guerzoni, Mrs Meijers, Mr Fyffe, Ms Hunter, Mr Trousselot, Mr Gayton and Mr Cordwell. Without our teachers’ support there would be no social.

Thanks also to the Prefects who helped set up and cut up tickets and serve drinks.

The New Town White Eagles soccer team consists of a number of grade 9 New Town High students. They are: Ryan Oakley, Chris Jones, Michael Tomlin, David Page, Ben Malarski, Sam Ellis, Choua Xiong and Kosta Grillas.

The team is made up of: Bill Burton, Louis Elson and Jonothon Deal.

Well done to the grade 9 News Team made up of:

Charlie Eustace, Alex Howroyd, Jack Swann, Tim Bell, James Bracken, Luke Isles, Ryan Skeggs, Nathan Fitzpatrick, Johnathon Deal, William Burton, Ben MacIntyre, Daniel Wylie, Matt Cashion, Simon Clifford, Brody White.

A number of grade 9 students recently tackled the Pinnacle of Terror, an exercise designed to improve confidence and self esteem. Many boys pushed through their personal "terror barriers" to undertake the exercise. They all walked away with a sense of achievement, improved self confidence. Most importantly, they learnt to trust others more and trust in their own ability.

The Grade 10 Social will be on Thursday 24 May. It will be held in the school hall from 7.30pm – 10.00pm and will be Fancy Dress. Who will arrive in the best costumes? Only those boys who have attended dance classes and have paid the $17.00 will be allowed to attend the social. D. Hosken & K. Jones

After being cancelled previously, the 2001 championships were held on Sunday 29 April at Clifton Beach.

In waves which were not ideal, all of the boys gave their best and enjoyed some reasonable waves. Well done to the following boys:

Alex Hortle, James Hindley, Sam Boon, Ethan Wilson, Julian Buczek and Anthony Giblin for their efforts.

A special congratulations to James Hindley who finished 3^rd in division 1 bodyboarding.

Thanks to those parents who helped all boys with transport and support in the event.

The Grade 8 basketball team has come to the completion of the term one roster. Unfortunately, the boys were not as successful as they would have liked, but their defeat of Hutchins in their final game was a great reward for effort. Hopefully they can stay together and continue to improve.

The Southern Tasmanian Volleyball Association has started its new boys roster, with a grade 7/8 team and a grade 9/10 team being entered in this roster. So far, both teams are undefeated and showing good signs for the rest of the roster. Best of luck boys.

New Town High School was represented by Louis Elson (9D2) at the All Schools State Orienteering Championships held near Dysart on Sunday 6 May 2001.

Louis emerged a clear leader in the Under 15 age class. Louis will now be aiming to represent Tasmania in the National Schools Orienteering Championships to be held near Canberra in October.

B Williams

Two Grade 10 students, Adam Clifford and Simon Monk represented New Town High School in the Southern Regional Finals of the Rostrum Voice of Youth competition held on Saturday 12 May.

Rostrum Voice of Youth is a highly regarded public speaking competition for secondary school students throughout Australia. Students present prepared speeches of either six or eight minutes, choosing from one of five topics set by the organisers and short notice speeches of three minutes in order to gain confidence, share their ideas with others and promote effective communication.

In front of a large audience, Adam Clifford delivered an engaging, motivational speech on the topic "Reach for the Stars" and Simon Monk spoke with thoughtful conviction on "The Future of Science". Both students acquitted themselves very well in the short notice speech section where fifteen minutes is all that is allowed to prepare a speech on a set topic.

Adam and Simon were fine representatives not only of the school but of the state education system and have gained invaluable experience for the future.

ROSTRUM TEACHER

The Automotive Technology students would be grateful for donations of old rags, ice cream containers and any old four stroke lawn mower engines in working order.

S. Hadrill

Come and experience traditional Sudanese music with Ajak, Martin, Jane, Dirk, Adam, Nick and Tong in Wahida. Sudanese dance with Ely and the children Sounadous. Renowned South American band Aravcolibre.

The concert will be held at the Moonah Arts Centre, 65 Hopkins Street, Moonah on Saturday 26 May from 7.00pm – 9.00pm. Cost is $8, $6 concession.

Any enquiries please phone the Moonah Arts Centre, 65 Hopkins Street, Moonah, phone 62740318.

The Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) is held at Deloraine each year and involves pairs of Grade 10 students who come together from all over Tasmania to discuss and debate current world issues. Each pair represents a member country of the United Nations. Sam Christensen and I represented Israel.

The first session of the Assembly was somewhat confusing as nobody really knew what we were doing. Fortunately we picked it up soon enough and were eventually fighting to be made ourselves heard. As well as debating the motions made by each country members of the assembly had to encounter lighthearted bomb threats, outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and drug accusations, all of which resulted in a lively debate.

At dinner we joined up with our Ogilvie counterparts, and at the disco afterwards put aside any political differences to show off our brilliant and at times embarrassing dancing styles. We then returned to our billet’s houses after a long day of stiff competition and hot debate.

New Town was one of seven teams to be placed on the list from which the winners were announced, with the Ogilvie 1 team of Isabel Robinson and Lucy Bastick representating Latvia taking out the overall honours. They performed extremely well and won a trip to Canberra to contest the National finals later in the year.

Sam and I both had a great time and would like to extend a big thank you to the Rotary clubs who sponsored the Assembly and billeted us over the weekend. Thanks must also go to Ms Alexander who organised the New Town team and helped us with our preparation in the weeks leading up to the event.

Scott Dacy

I. Cordwell

Organisation of work experience week (August 13 to 17) for Grade 10 is a complex and time consuming task. We are indebted to both Mr Mark Dew, who works hard over and above his teaching commitments, to ensure all boys in Grade 10 are placed in a suitable workplace. Also our volunteer assistant, Mrs Kris Farmer, works many mornings a week at New Town High to secure placements for the boys. Without their commitment, the significant benefits for Grade 10 boys which flow from work experience would not occur.

Unfortunately, about 50 Grade 10 students, have not returned the information and permission form. This is making it very difficult for staff to organise this valuable program which needs to be finalised by the end of term 1.

It would be greatly appreciated if parents could discuss this matter with their sons and ensure the program has the support it requires. Forms are available from the main office.

Mr P Gayton

If you have an old iron that is a cast off would you please give consideration to donating it to the school. We need two electric irons in the Design in Wood area for repairing projects.

Any assistance in this area would be appreciated.

A. Young