Study in Terms 3 and 4, History has revolved around battles and their causes, from the resistance of Aboriginal people after 1788 to the involvement of Australians in World War One.

In November, Reconciliation Tasmania’s Youth Speakout gave students the chance to present a synthesis of Year 9 classes’ work on the struggles and achievements of Aboriginal people around Australia after the arrival of Europeans. Poppi, Heath, Alex, Archie and Miranda presented this work to politicians at Parliament House. Todd also presented his own piece of artwork on the experiences of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. They all did us proud, with the Premier describing them as “the wonderful Queechy students”.

Term 4 began with a look at the causes of World War One, which allowed some parallel investigation into warfare that is sadly taking place in current times. Students were required to use class notes to complete an in-class essay on causes of war. The completed work showed what can be achieved in a single lesson with adequate preparation and focus.

It was not all essays though. Our young ones have diverse interests and preferred modes of presenting work. Some students undertook negotiated studies based on questions they set about World War One.  The more mechanically minded students chose to investigate the evolution and effects of weapons. Others chose to look at the experiences of nurses; whereas Chelsea in 9B looked at ways in which animals were used to support soldiers. Some of the keen sportsmen in 9C chose to look at the effects of the war on Australia through looking at its impact on the VFL. Another keenly academic student presented the finding of her research into the effects of the war on the feminist movement as a piece of art. Some used the Australian War Memorial site to investigate experiences of family members, while Gabe in 9B worked on how ANZAC commemorations have changed over the years. We all learnt a lot from these students’ research.

Kobe

Teal

Over 3,000 Australian nurses volunteered to accompany the soldiers in WW1. The Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) had been made in July 1903 as part of the Australian Army Medical Corps, During the war more than 2,000 of its members served overseas alongside Australian nurses working with other organisations like the Red Cross and the QAIMNS (Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service).

During the term, grade 8 students have worked on algebra, statistics and probability. The Algebra Unit involved understanding the index laws and applying them to whole numbers. In addition, they learned to simplify simple algebraic expressions, followed by expanding and factorising expressions.

Students then progressed to the study of Statistics, where they applied their knowledge of the mean, median, mode, range and outliers to data sets. They finished this with an activity involving collecting data related to a series of questions of their own area of interest.

Students worked in small groups to analyse their data and then present this in a presentation to the class. After completing this unit students moved to the study of probability. This unit involves looking at the probability of an event or its complementary event occurring.

In the realm of Science, both grade 7 and grade 9 students have been actively engaging in exciting explorations. The grade 7 cohort have been immersing themselves in ecological science, unraveling the complexities of ecosystems and revisiting concepts in physical sciences as we approach the year's end.

Simultaneously, our grade 9 students have embarked on a captivating journey through the realms of light, soundwaves, and electricity. Having thoroughly explored the movement of light and soundwaves, they are now delving into the fascinating world of electrical circuits, voltage and amps.

As Term 4 at Queechy High School comes to a close, it's a great time to celebrate the achievements and progress of our students in the Digital Technologies course.

Throughout the term, our students have engaged deeply with the world of robotics, creating and programming NXT and EV3 Lego Robots. Their ingenuity and technical abilities have been truly inspiring.

In addition, our students have started exploring the capabilities of Excel for data management, taking their first steps in understanding and creating databases. These skills are crucial in our increasingly digital world.

As we conclude this term, we're not only proud of our students' accomplishments but also excited to see what the future holds. We eagerly look forward to welcoming students back to Digital Technologies next year for more exploration and innovation.

A special shout-out to our garde 10 students as they embark on their college journeys. Your hard work and dedication have set a fantastic example, and we wish you all the best in your next chapter.

During Term 4, grade 10 students have undertaken a comprehensive study of the dystopian genre. This has included exploring the difference between a utopian and dystopian world and identifying the key characteristics found in the genre.

Students viewed the films Divergent and The Hunger Games, with a focus on identifying how nine central dystopian elements are represented in each. They have completed a range of creative writing tasks based around dystopian themes and a comparative paragraph. To finish off this unit, students will be designing their own dystopian worlds.  

Below is Daniel's comparative paragraph.                                                               

The movies Divergent (2014) and The Hunger Games (2012) both showcase dystopian worlds in which the movies respective governments exert totalitarian control upon its populace, oppressing their populace and denying them their material and democratic rights through despotic control, division of society and poverty. Within Divergent, society is operated under a system of castes referred to as factions, each responsible for different aspects of society based on the faction member’s respective character traits. At the age of 16 people choose which faction they wish to join, beyond which they are restricted to social interaction and life within that faction for the remainder of their life. Abnegation exerts control over the state’s government, and those who don’t qualify for their chosen faction are forced to live in poverty. Over the course of the movie Erudite attempts a coup d'état with the support of Dauntless’ leadership to seize power from Abnegation through the use of mind control on Dauntless, imprisoning Abnegation in the process. The Hunger games on the other hand presents a more conventional form of governmental oppression in it’s setting. The country of Panem operates under a system of districts specialised towards different industries necessary for society headed by the Capitol, which operates in extravagant luxury at the expense of the outlying districts. The Capitol uses its military hegemony to oppress the districts which themselves live in poverty and squalor. The oppression of the Capitol is shown through the Hunger Games, an annual blood sport in which 2 randomly chosen adolescents from each district fight in an arena until one is left alive acting as both a source of entertainment and to dissuade dissent. This oppression encapsulates the capitols continual oppression of their subjects. Both Divergent and Hunger Games showcase different dystopian governments which oppress their populace through the division of their society, violent suppression, and induced poverty to maintain totalitarian control over society.

Daniel – 10C

Our Principal Rob Fleming is taking some very well earned long service leave and I am honoured to be in the Acting Principal position while he is away. So far things are flowing smoothly! There is certainly an exciting buzz around the Q as the weather warms up, final assessments are being completed and end of year activities kick off.

We have had some fabulous school events held over the past fortnight. Mrs Meg Pooley and Mr Darren Crawford took the Outdoor Education students on a 3 day camp over to the East Coast. This was a fantastic experience that involved camping, hiking, surfing and more! Thankyou to Waverley Primary School for the use of the bus for the camp.

The school has also been abuzz with two performing arts evenings. Last week the Music Showcase was held in the gym. The depth and breadth of musical talent was on show, and I thank Mr Michael Woods for the work involved ensuring the evenings success. Thankyou to all the parents, family and friends that came along to support. This week Mr Antony Butchart hosted the 9/10 Drama evening to a packed house! The series of student written skits were fantastic and it was wonderful to see the confidence, collaboration and fun that was evident.

Queechy is working to build a strong transition program. By exposing students to multiple transition experiences prior to the actual time for them to transition from either primary school into high school, or high school into college, we aim to improve retention rates and positive student experiences. Last week our grade 9 students had two transition experiences to the colleges.  They had a half day visit to Launceston College where they had a tour of the school site and they also participated in a full day visit to Newstead College, which was held in partnership with The Smith Family.  Students participated in a range of option subjects including musical theatre, e-sports, hair and beauty, chemistry and catering. The feedback was that it was an extremely positive experience and engagement was excellent.

Last week there was a whole school assembly with the theme of gratitude. Making space for gratitude and appreciation goes a really long way in maintaining our positive school culture. Dr Kerry Howells has some excellent research on gratitude in education. Creating an attitude of gratitude creates engaged learners- thanking builds thinking!!

On that note, I extend a huge thankyou to you all for your ongoing support of QHS staff and students as we move into the final few weeks of learning for 2023.

Kind regards.

Fran Smyth