What a year! We all started none the wiser about what this year would have in store for us all. There was a virus happening in China that we saw on the news but we thought that couldn’t possibly affect us here, surely not.

By midway through term one we started to realise that maybe this COVID-19 thing was going to be an issue for us after all. In the end the Pandemic this year has changed the world more in the last 8 months, than at any other time during my life.

We went from a school of 640 students to one housing only 25 by the end of term 1.

After our term break we returned, but to a completely different world. Online learning became the norm, submitting work in CANVAS and attending online tutorials became the new normal.

We still watch with concern the way this pandemic is playing out across the world.

Thank goodness here in Australia we have come out the other side, almost eradicating the disease, something that has happened in few places around the world. Classes have returned and the year, which for some of you seemed to be put on hold, has finished in almost a normal way.

A new normal that is, with physical distancing and hand sanitizer still being front and centre in all our lives.

I had the pleasure on Tuesday night of attending our Year 10 Graduation Dinner. I never believed during our COVID shutdown that I would have the absolute pleasure of farewelling our Year 10’s in the traditional manner. It was still a bit different than before but I think this year we all are.

Our Queechy Mission: To inspire and prepare all students for a positive future.

We are preparing our students for their future, not our past. We aim to ensure every one of our students leaves here with the skills necessary to excel at the next stage of their life and beyond. The mission of our school is the answer to the question, What are we here for?

The solution to that challenge is a joint one with all of us being responsible for meeting our mission, teachers, parents, students and the wider community.

Our vision: Queechy High School is a diverse and inclusive learning community. We are resilient, life-long learners.

We are fortunate to have an extremely diverse student population with our young people coming from many different backgrounds, countries, cultures and religions.

This is a strength of our school and a reason to celebrate who we are as a learning community.

Our vision is aspirational. We want to be the school that our vision encourages us to be. We want our students to develop their resilience and cope with anything their future life holds in store. Our ultimate goal is to make sure we set our young people up for a life of learning as completing year 12 is no longer the endpoint of their education.

At the Presentation Evening  we saw students who already live up to these ideals every day, in everything they do here at Queechy. We celebrated young people who have been positively influenced by the staff and other students during their time with us here at Queechy. Our students who received awards live the Department of Education values of Aspiration, Respect, Courage and growth in all they do.

Our work with our feeder primary schools of Waverley, Ravenswood Heights, St Leonards, Punchbowl, Norwood and East Launceston has been another highlight this year. Together as the Queechy Alliance we have continued our implementation of the QA  Instructional Model, a common way of structuring lessons that spreads across all seven of our schools. We are all working on the notion that all students in the Alliance schools are “our students” and we are all responsible for ensuring the very best learning outcomes for them.

Our whole school improvement agenda this year has been simple. Let’s focus on what matters most to improve student learning. As a result we now have clear documentation about what will be taught and when. Our learning is planned in collaboration with others and our student work is moderated to ensure consistency and quality of teaching.

Our units of work are all accessible through CANVAS with 24/7 student access for many.

We have cleared away distractions to learning, such as phones, and strive to create a positive learning environment for all students.

This year we have really set the groundwork necessary to launch into an exceptional 2020 with a focus on developing a Professional Learning Community culture across our school. We will also see the implementation of our Quality Teaching Framework that supports the learning of every student and teacher in our school.

Our satisfaction surveys have seen a positive shift with over 90% of staff and parent responses indicating that Queechy is continually looking for ways to improve. Over 90% of students agreed that their teacher always expects them to do their best. It is these high expectations about our young people that will help them be successful.

Our data has shown continued improvement across the school this year. We test all our students’ ability in the area of Reading each year and then compare us to Australian results. Our student improvement in reading is significant with an impressive gain in our year nine students whose improvement was twice the expected growth in comparison to all Australian schools.

Next year we are a pilot school for a new way of learning called “Packages of Learning”. We will have one combined Year 9/10 class that will be working on a direct pathway into the Community Services area. These students will have their core learning tailored to suit the industry area and opportunities for workplacments throughout the year.

A significant development for Queechy will be the implementation of Year 11 and 12. Our continued aim is to have all our students complete year 12 at either one of the two colleges, and that won’t change. Launceston and Newstead Colleges are ideally suited to delivering high quality, differentiated programs to the majority of students in the north of the state. For some students, however, the transition to college is a step too far. For those students we will have an appropriate program in place to ensure a positive outcome for them in 2021.

Kerri Kleinig will be leading our transition to year 11 and 12 at Queechy and has already enrolled our first year’s cohort, ready to begin in the new year.

We have also been successful in obtaining funding from the Department of Education for a new Year 11/12 facility. Work will commence on this during early 2021 and hopefully be finished well before the end of the year.

I am always impressed with the energy and enthusiasm of our School Association. This parent group gives me a vital link to the parent and local community, something that I value highly as principal. This year has seen the election of a brand new Executive and I look forward to working closely with them in 2021.

I thank all parents, staff and students for the ongoing learning partnerships we strive so hard to develop and maintain. It is these partnerships that give us the greatest hope of meeting the needs of all students at all times.

The partnerships that we form with parents are some of the best supports for your children that they can have. It is vital that your child see that you have a keen interest in their education and a strong desire to see them work positively in our school, all the time. These simple things that you can do have a huge impact on their future success.

I would like to thank all staff, both teaching and non-teaching who have played a key role in the growth and education of our year 10 students during their time with us. The biggest impact on student learning comes from our teachers. I wish to sincerely thank each and every one of you for the dedication to your role, every day here at Queechy. Our improvement journey has already been significant with more to come as we refine and embed the highest quality learning programs possible. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our students and their families.

Farewells

We wish to recognise the incredible contribution to our school of two long term staff members who will not return in 2021. Vicki Cox our EAL teacher will be heading off on Long Service Leave on then retiring after a long and distinguished career for the Education department.

Brendan Liddell has secured a teaching position at The Big Picture School in Invermay and will be there for the duration of 2021.

 

We wish both of these outstanding educators all the very best for their future and thank them for the incredible contributions they have made to our students here at Queechy.

Thank you.

Service to the School

Grade 7: Chloe Richards and Oliver French

Grade 8: Freya Gittus and Brodie Tuakura

Grade 9: Maddie Etchells and Ella Churchill

Grade 10: Colby Mathews (Jim Green Memorial Prize)

 

Lions Club of Kings Meadows Community Service Award

- Keylan Targett

 

Zonta Service and Advocacy Award

- Breanna Page

 

Subject Prizes:

Applied Technology – Bailey Smith-Daines

Metal Technologies – Bailey Smith-Daines

Art – Gabrielle Harvey

Building and Automotive Tier 2 – Luke Whelan

Catering – Nikitta Cox-Pregnall

Catering – Renee Duxbury

Digital Technologies – Wayde Blazely

Alice Kulla Memorial Prize – Amy Bochenek

Child Studies – Jardiah Spratt

Girls Materials, Design and Technology – Jardiah Spratt

English as an Additional Language – Morteza Ashrafi

English – Mali Crase

Mathematics – Mali Crase

Food Technology  – Tessa Davis

Health and Physical Education – Jazmine Lanza

Psychology – Jazmine Lanza

Science – Jazmine Lanza

History – Melissa Anderson

Legal Studies – Melissa Anderson

Music – Melissa Anderson

Maths Extended – Ryan Byard

Math Methods 3 – Yira Choe

Science Extended – Elijah Agaiava

Sport Science – Harrison King

Wood Technology – Leo Preece

Tasmanian Electrical Services Excellence in Work Placement Award

• Bailey Smith-Daines
• Nikitta Cox-Pregnall

Queechy High School Bursaries for Continuing Education

• Faeza Yousefi
• Jingyi Chen
• Mehdi Heidari
• Magnus McIndoe
• Ryan Byard
• Chloe Crawford
• Miranda Kelly
• Mali Crase

Sarah Courtney Further Education Award – Tahlia Jongschaap

Lions Club City of Launceston Award

• Tessa Davis
• Kias Dicker-Hadley

Rotary Club of South Launceston Award

• Tori Fruin
• Melissa Anderson

2020 University of Tasmania, Launceston City Council Springboard to Higher Education Bursary – Jazmine Lanza

Service to School Sport award – Tamzin Arnold

2020 Winning House Captain – Harrison King (Allan House)

The Australian Olympic Change-Maker Award – Zoe Wright

Grade 10 Advisor Awards

• Summer Jones-Dudgeon
• Pearl Pasaylo
• Jardiah Spratt
• Bronte Holland

The Spirit of Queechy Award – Rayen Contreras-Carrasco

The Minister of Education and Training Respectful Student Award – Lilliana Gatfield

Encouragement Awards

• Amy Bochenek
• Jane Duxbury

 

Consistency Awards

• Fatemeh Mirzaei
• Claire Middleton
• Colby Mathews
• Mali Crase
• Renee Duxbury

Andrew Cox Memorial Prize – Georgie Upton

Old Scholar’s Award – Ryan Byard

2020 SLB

• Elijah Agaiava
• Melissa Anderson
• Tamzin Arnold
• Francesca Barnes
• Joshua Belbin
• Ryan Byard
• William Charlton
• Rayen Contreras-Carrasco
• Mali Crase
• Tessa Davis
• Kias Dicker Hadley
• Tori Fruin
• Lilliana Gatfield
• Rosie Irving
• Lachlan Jackson
• Sita Karimi
• Harrison King
• Jazmine Lanza
• Colby Mathews
• Breanna Page
• William Prince
• Keylan Targett
• Zoe Wright

The 2019 Australian Defence Force Long Tan Youth, Leadership and Team Work Award – William Charlton

 

ADF Future Innovators Award – Elijah Agaiava

Michael Ferguson Young Leaders Award – Zoe Wright

IGA Future Leaders Award

• Brianna Thompson
• Magnus McIndoe

Newstead Capital Chemist Award – Lilliana Gatfield

Caltext Best All Rounder – Joshua Belbin

 The Elliot Wooley Prize for Leadership

• Ryan Byard
• Melissa Anderson

Dux of the School Award – Jazmine Lanza

Maths and Science

It has been a challenging year for all students, but in Maths and Science we have worked hard to support the continued learning of our students. We have been fortunate to have such a dedicated team of teachers and support staff that have worked so hard throughout this tumultuous year. Below are a selection of photos from some of the opportunities students have engaged in. We are looking forward to an exciting and engaging 2021.

2020 – What a year! Despite the challenges, a lot of work has occurred in the English and HASS Departments. Teachers have been involved in weekly collaborative planning sessions to review student work and create highly engaging teaching programs. Clear learning intentions, success criteria and feedback has enabled students to make informed decisions about their learning and develop clear goals to strive towards. Online performances, competitions, reading intervention and inter-disciplinary units have made for a fantastic year in English and HASS across all the grades.

 

Student voice -

• What English or HASS unit have you enjoyed the most this year and why?
• How did you feel about working from home during Term 2?
• What is one skill that you have learnt this year that will help you in the future?

Amy 10D - I really enjoyed the Dystopian Literature unit in English because it covered topics that I am interested in and the lessons were engaging. I loved working from home because I could sleep in and work at my own pace, in my own time. Time management is a skill that I have developed this year that will definitely help me in the future.

Luke 8G – The Feudal Japan unit was the best because it was interesting and had lots of cool facts. Working from home wasn’t great because all the screen time gave me a headache. I learnt how to write an essay this year and that will be something I will use in the future.

Presley 9B – I loved the WW1 unit in HASS as I already knew a lot about the topic so it my built on my knowledge. I enjoyed working from home because I could work at my own pace. Time Management is a skill that I have learnt and will use in the future.

Oliver 8C – I liked the Advertising unit in English because we were given choices and were able to be creative. I didn’t like learning from home because I missed being able to work with other people. I learnt a lot about essay writing this year and I think that will help me in the future.

Melissa 10A – I really liked the Poetry unit in English because I enjoy reading and writing poetry and it also gave us the opportunity to work with students in other classes. Learning from home wasn’t as engaging as being at school, and I found it difficult to read lots of information on a screen. Two skills that I have developed this year that will help me in the future are style analysis and spelling.

Eve 7B – The HASS unit on Ancient China taught me a lot of new information about history and Chinese inventions that we still use today. I didn’t like working from home as it was hard to focus and often difficult because the teacher wasn’t there to explain things. I have two sisters that needed help all the time too which was annoying! I think time management is a skill that I have had to learn this year that will help me in the future.

Bella 8G – The Advertising unit in English was interesting and funny. I liked that we had choices in that unit too. I didn’t like working from home because I kept getting side-tracked and it was hard to keep up with all the different tasks. Skills in essay writing is something that I will use in the future.

Jane 10D – The Freedom Rights unit in HASS was interesting, it helped me understand our history and what happened in the past. I found working from home very hard as it felt like a lot of work and it was difficult to balance it all. Being able to manage my time is a skill that I will definitely use in the future.

Tayah 9F – I liked the Romeo and Juliet unit in English because we got to watch the film and compare it to the play. I didn’t mind working from home in Term 2 – I did more work at home than what I would have at school. I think research skills is something I have learnt that will help me in the future.

 

We are looking forward to next year where we plan to add more excursions and in-school performances to our teaching program. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday and look forward to an exciting year of learning in 2021!

 

Student Absence SMS The main contact of the student will receive an SMS message if they are an unexplained absence during Tutor Group. If the student arrives after 9:00am and signs in you will still receive the message as they were absent from Tutor Group. Please reply to the message with the child’s name, date, and details of your child’s absence.  Parents are required to explain every absence. Parents have the option of messaging the school to advise of explained absences. Can parents please double check that our school SMS number has not been blocked in your phone settings. To avoid receiving an SMS please phone the school on 6341 4455 to advise of your child’s absence before 8:45am or leave a message on the Absent Student Message Bank 6341 4444.

Road Safety: A reminder to students crossing roads on their way to and from school, to be alert and aware of the dangers when in and around traffic.

Parents/carers collecting student/s during class time – Please allow extra time There are occasions when a parent/carer needs to collect their child from class during the course of the day, i.e. appointments, leaving early etc.  When this happens, the student has to be called or collected from the classroom. This causes disruption to your child, the teacher, the class and regularly to the whole school if the student has to be paged.  If your child has to be taken out of class time, where possible, we will avoid using the PA system and instead someone will collect your child from the classroom and this may take some time depending on where your child’s class is.  We value the learning of our students and therefore ask that where possible, you collect your child during the break times (times shown below) and in particular if you wish to take your child early in the afternoon, the best time is over the lunch break (1:10pm – 1:50pm) before the start of Block 4, i.e. 1:50pm. Recess 1 10:10am – 10:30am Recess 2 11:40am – 12:00pm Lunch 1:10pm – 1:50pm

Class Times

Who to Contact:

Principal:	Rob Fleming
Assistant Principals:	Caleb Turale Grade 7/8: Fran Smyth Grade 9/10: Heather Jackson
ASTs:	Grade 7: Nigel Bent Grade 8: Linda House Grade 9: Katrina Davenport Grade 10: Dan Ritchie Tier 3 Program: Donna Frankcombe 11/12: Kerri Kleinig
Grade Advisors:	Grade 7: Emmalie Baylis/ Ryan Innes Grade 8: Ben Van Est/ Catherine Attenborrow  Grade 9: Kim Anderson/ Scott Bent  Grade 10: Luke Tepper
School Business Manager:	Tanya Smart
School Psychologist:	Holly Bromfield
School Social Worker:	Alicia Hodge
School Nurse:	Mia Blair/ Penni Ives
School Chaplain:	Paul Burton
Aboriginal Education Worker:	Jack Spotswood-McDonald

2021 Term Dates

Term 1:	Wednesday 3 February - Wednesday 31 March
Term 2:	Wednesday 21 April - Friday 2 July
Term 3:	Tuesday 20 July - Friday 24 September
Term 4:	Monday 11 October - Thursday 16 December

2021 Student Free Days: 

Term 1:	Tuesday 2 February & Thursday 1 April
Term 2:
Term 3:	Monday 19 July
Term 4:	Friday 29 October