Transition to year 11

I am pleased to share that we will still be providing many transition opportunities for our current year 10 students to help them make informed choices about the place of learning and the subjects or courses they choose in 2023.

We are very lucky in Launceston to have two colleges and over 6 local high schools offering a multitude of subject and course offerings. During term 3 all our year 10 students will have the opportunity to visit both Launceston and Newstead Colleges as well as learn more about the specific courses on offer at all the local high schools.

We will be providing more detailed information about the local high school options as soon as schools are in a position to finalise their planning for 2023. This information comes out around the time our students head off for their orientation days at the colleges.

Over the last few years, I have noted that some students choose to visit either Launceston or Newstead College, not both. It is our expectation that all year 10 students attend both college days to ensure they have all the information they need to make the best choice for them in 2023. Our aim is to ensure the smallest number of course changes possible once students arrive at their intended destination.

Many students this year have taken advantage of dual enrolments to help create a blend of different learning sites and programs. We have students here at Queechy who complete two days of the Certificate II Community services, (Aged and Disability), and their remaining three days at either Launceston or Newstead College. It is vital that as parents you have access to the most up to date information possible to help your son or daughter negotiate this stressful time of change. We will be providing parent information sessions as well later this year.

If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact the year 10 team, Heather Jackson or myself.

School Association Update

I am pleased to announce that the office bearers for our School Association remain unchanged from 2021/22.

President:           Sonia Peck

Vice-President:    Mandy Brown

Secretary:           Rachel Kerrison

Treasurer:           Kirsty Crawford

The School Association is an invaluable group of parents, staff and students who provide important feedback on the way we improve our school or raise issues of concern for us to respond to.

Thank you to all members of the Association and those who have agreed to continue in their executive roles.

In year 10 Science this term we have been studying genetics. That means investigating all things DNA and genetic inheritance! Students have done some awesome learning by participating in activities like extracting DNA from strawberries, making model genetic crosses from vegetables and analysing their genetic traits.

It has been a very busy start to Term 2 for Year 9 English. Students began the term with two weeks of NAPLAN testing. Year 9 students participated in a series of English tests including Spelling, Language Conventions and Writing. All the staff at Queechy are very proud of our Year 9 students’ efforts.

In addition to NAPLAN testing, Year 9 students are currently in the middle of a Persuasive Writing unit. Students have engaged with Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous I Have a Dream speech so far. They have learned about the historical context of the speech and considered the rhetorical devices that Dr. Martin Luther King used to effectively engage his audience. In the coming lessons students will learn about the oratorical devices Dr. Martin Luther King used whilst presenting his is speech. Students will eventually write their own persuasive speech, a skill we are excited for our students to develop with the upcoming SLB nominations looming.

Student's in Year 7 have been learning about perimeter and area of 2D shapes. Upon completion of this unit they were able to apply it to real-life context by creating a floor plan for a house. Toward the end of the unit they are working with volume of 3D shapes, particularly rectangular prisms. They will be solving problems such as what power output would be suitable for a new heat pump for the classroom.

Students across year 8 have started Term 2 by looking at the Vikings during the Medieval times. The students looked at the social structure of Vikings and the roles and responsibilities of both men and women Vikings. We are currently looking at Norse Mythology and how the different gods were portrayed. The students will start their final assessment piece on this unit and then shift their focus to urbanisation.

This term we have commenced our focus on painting skills, using acrylic paints. We set up an old bike, which was from the ‘tip shop’, and attached a big white sheet in front of it.  Light was projected from behind and we were challenged to create a painting, on canvas, but only painting the negative space. Each student had to paint in the white light around and through the bike! We did three sketches from different perspectives and then enlarged one of the sketches to an A3 scale. The results were fantastic for all the students who put in the effort to this challenge – well done!

Students have created their own individualised shoulder bag- from a recycled T-shirt.

They have used the bag to store their equipment and ongoing projects. Students have had fun designing and creating a soft toy also.

The Street Art course always starts with an introduction to graffiti style lettering. Students have to apply what they have learnt by writing their name in a graffiti style of their choosing and then adding it to their journal cover. Lots of fun! We used acrylic paints, watercolour paints and paint pens for this task.

In year 9 at Queechy, students have had the focus of ‘Raising the Bar’ in everything they do here at school, being the best versions of themselves both in the classroom and the yard. Throughout the year so far, students have been nominated for various awards for going above and beyond in a variety of ways and when they do so, they receive a star for their efforts, which is displayed on the notice boards outside the year 9 offices. On Wednesday we had our first ‘Raising the Bar’ draw, where Lachlan and Marley were the lucky winners of this weeks prizes. Congratulations to all year 9 students who have been nominated so far, and keep up the great work!

On the 16th of May students participated in the Queechy High Cross Country.

The course had been altered from last year to better represent the distances that athletes participating at the Inter High Cross Country would be running.

It was a successful day that had been well planned and orchestrated by a number of staff. A big thankyou goes out to both Mr Hadyn Goss and Mrs Megan Pooley for all the planning and hard work that was done behind the scenes.

Participation was high amongst all grades which contributed to a competitive battle between all houses. At the end of the day after both the juniors and seniors it was Miller who finished in fourth place with 271 points, Grace in third place with 297 points, McLeod in second with 309 points and in first place was Allen with 336 points.

Congratulations to the following podium finishers:

Grade 9 Boys:	Grade 9 Girls:
1st Kie	1st Axi
2nd Lachlan	2nd Milla
3rd Oliver	3rd Ella

Grade 10 Boys:	Grade 10 Girls:
1st Oliver	1st Freya
2nd Jobi	2nd Ruby
3rd Oliver	3rd Lily

Congratulations to all participants who got in and tried their best and well done to those runners who made the Inter high cross-country team. The teams consist of the top 6 runners from all year groups in both male and female. The Inter High Cross Country will take place on the 31st of May at Scotch Park. Spectators are welcome to come along and cheer on all Queechy representatives.

Queechy recently competed in the Tasmanian MTB Championships on the trails around Trevallyn reserve. Each grade was represented with this year seeing the largest number of female riders taking part. Students raced against schools from around the state in two different MTB formats with the first being the traditional cross-country race and the second a timed event, where students raced against the clock down the Sidewinder track.

Queechy was represented by our students in the most positive way with some fantastic efforts by individuals while in the U17 female race, the girls took out the team’s title. The focus of the day though is all about participation and introducing students to exciting sport of MTB.        

Cakes and Biscuits- Monte Carlos Biscuits

Grade 7 – Pikelets and Pizza

Grade 8 Foods – Omelette and Egg Cups

Grade 9-10 Foods – Ham and Cheese Strata and Savoury Bread Cases

Sweets and Treats – Marshmallow Treats and Honey Oat Slice

Book your flu shot!

Don’t let the flu go viral

It hasn’t been out and about much lately, but the risk of flu is here. Keep yourself and your children safe by booking your flu shots today. The Tasmanian Government are running free community vaccination clinics. Or get in touch with your GP or local pharmacy.

It’s recommended for everyone over six months of age. It’s also free for people at higher risk including children aged six months to five years. For more information, please visit the Department of Health website.