WELCOME

Welcome to the start of the 2020 school year.  A special welcome to our new students and their families, especially our Year 8 students who have joined us for the beginning of their secondary school journey. 

STAFFING

We are also fortunate to welcome some new staff members to our team: Teacher Matt Gove (Design and Technology, and Mathematics), teacher Sam Owens (Mathematics), and SSO Connie Schrapel (Classroom Support).  Amy Evans is re-joining us as Director of Student Inclusion after her leave in semester two.

MEET THE TEACHERS NIGHT

It was fantastic to see families who took the opportunity on Monday this week to meet new staff and to catch up with familiar faces.  Meeting the teachers is a great way to make those initial contacts (or reaffirm existing ones) which make it easier to follow up on during the year.  As I said last night, please let us know if there are any concerns about your young person's learning during the year - it is much easier to get any concerns addressed early on. 

Last's night's event was also an opportunity for those parents and caregivers who hadn't seen our new STEM space yet to check it out.  Our next formal opportunity to talk to teachers are the three way discussions (parent/teacher/student interviews) in week 10 and 11, but please don’t wait until then to make contact if you have anything to discuss.

SITE UPGRADES

The construction of air conditioning in D block that began in Term 4 of last year continued in earnest in the holidays.  We have some classrooms back in use and are expecting the rest in about Week 6.  The new ceilings and lighting in these classrooms look great and the rest of the works are expected to take place in June this year into early next year.  Our new fence is also here and construction has begun this week. 

 REMINDERS

• The standard of the uniform has been fantastic on our return to the school, please keep this up.
• Because student attendance is an important factor in their success at school, the beginning of the year is a great time to set in place the habit of being at school on time each and every school day.
• Students are not permitted to leave the school to go down the street at lunchtime.  This is in the interests of the safety and wellbeing of our students. Students who truant from school (or from school off-site activities) put at risk their ability to participate in opportunities such as excursions and camps.
• DAYMAP is an important method of communication with families and we encourage all parents and guardians to make use of this service.  Instructions on accessing the DAYMAP program are attached to this newsletter, are available on our Facebook page and can be collected from the front office.  

NEWSLETTERS

RHS Newsletters will be published in electronic form directly to your email and the newsletter app (SZapp) every 3 weeks. They will also be made available to view via DAYMAP or on our Facebook page. If you would like to receive a hard copy, please let us know and a printed version will be sent home with your student. 

I am looking forward to working with students, staff, families and our community as we continue to make our fantastic school even better throughout this year.

Regards – Mat Evans

Learning Hub

Renmark High School now has a Learning Hub! Located in A block, we have developed and staffed a space to address some of the specific learning needs of targeted groups of students. Our initial focus is on students who fall just below or just above the Standard of Educational Achievement (SEA) in the Middle School. In this space we will be running research-based intervention programs to address the needs of a wide range of students. We will be using data (such as PAT and Naplan as well as diagnostic tools) to identify students and track their growth over a given time frame. This approach fits in with the school’s Site Improvement Plan focus and we are all very excited to see our students and teachers utilizing this space. The Learning Hub Team has given a brief overview of their roles below:

Differentiation

As the Student Support Coordinator, a part of my role is the support of students on alternate learning plans, now referred to as OCOP (One Child One Plan). I will be working in the Learning Hub to support students and teachers around the differentiation of learning materials. I am planning to use Lexia Online (a research based literacy intervention) with targeted students to help bridge gaps in literacy. I will also be working with the other staff in the hub to ensure SMARTA goals are in line with the student's One Plan. I am really excited about the development of this space.

Danielle Weeks

Academic Stretch

As the Literacy and Global Perspectives leader, a part of my role is to support students who would benefit from academic stretch. I will be working in the Learning Hub to support students who require academic challenge. I have already met with the year 9 students that I will be working with and we are all extremely excited about the learning opportunities available. I will target specific skills that require growth based upon individual data coupled with hands-on learning activities. Students have already been tasked with a job whereby they are expected to suggest areas for deep exploration.

Biljana Elliott

Literacy/English as an Additional Language

Literacy skills are fundamental for all levels of schooling. To become effective learners, students need to be confident and motivated to use their literacy skills broadly. 

As a part of the Learning Hub, I will be providing literacy support for identified students. This support will be based on individual needs with a Term 1 focus on reading, comprehension and vocabulary. Through the provision of literacy support I will gain an understanding of where students are and how to progress their learning journey through close monitoring of their progress and development. 

Tamara Hooper

Numeracy

Numeracy skills ensure students can use mathematics in a broad range of situations. Targeted numeracy intervention in the Learning Hub will focus on student’s ability to understand basic number facts and increase the number of student's able to think multiplicatively. During Term 1 I will work with small groups of students in years 8 and 10 to set SMARTA goals and improve their basic numeracy skills.

The Learning Hub will also continue to facilitate the Quicksmart Numeracy program. This numeracy intervention program targets 18 students identified as being just below the Standard of Educational Achievement. The structured lessons take place three times a week and focus on students developing basic number facts and problem solving.

Amy Evans

English – Low Stakes Writing

Students are engaging in low stakes writing during their English lessons. During this time images, short sentences or topics are announced to students and they are asked to write for a set period of time. Within one week some students have progressed from dot points and short sentences, to more complex sentences in the bid to improve their word count and idea generation from the previous lesson.

Research shows that writing by hand every day can benefit everyone, not only writers. It improves memory, builds vocabulary and refines communication skills. Not to mention that writing is very relaxing given the busy lives we all lead. I encourage you to have conversations with your child about how they are progressing with their writing.

Mrs. Elliott

Literacy and Global Perspectives Leader

NAMAWI PULGI

Welcome back everyone! It’s good to see so many of our students here and keen to get started. This year we have a significant number of year 12’s ready to finish their SACE. 

A few things happening this year:

We will be opening up Namawi Pulgi (D26) at 8:15am on Wednesday mornings for breakfast. We will also be running a ‘Strong Futures’ class with the help of Uncle Barney, just to name a few initiatives this year.

If you have any questions please contact the Aboriginal Education Team. 

Nukkan! - Daniel Giles

Making Music

As students return to Renmark High School for the new year, we are excited to hear the sounds of instruments coming from our Music room. The Year 8 students have stepped up to their section to become beginning musicians, learning basic music terminology, notes, beat and rhythms. Our Year 8 musicians will be working with Alan Geddie, Luke Heuzuenroeder, and Andrea Roberts; three Instrumental Music teachers from the Department, who will take students for Instrumental Music lessons each Tuesday morning, where they were able to choose from a variety of brass, woodwind, bass and percussion instruments to play. Last Tuesday, students began their musical journey, by getting hands-on experience, both in how to play their instrument and also in keeping beat and time. It looks like our students are excited to learn some new skills and by the end of the term, hope to have learnt enough music to play their instrument at a beginner’s level, as well as work together to perform as a class band.

And it is not only the Year 8s who are picking up instruments. It is exciting to see that students from Year 9 have also returned to continue their Instrumental Music lessons for the year. We know they will continue to impress us all with their musical knowhow, and look forward to seeing them perform later in the year.

If your student wishes to join Instrumental Music lessons, please contact the school. We look forward to showing off our skills by the conclusion of Term 1.

Alistair Ward - Music teacher

Independent Reading

Students in Year 8-11 visited the library during the first week of school to borrow a novel for Independent Reading. Studies consistently support the findings that there is a direct link between how much students read for enjoyment and reading achievement in the development of vocabulary, general knowledge, spelling and verbal fluency. Renmark High School recognizes this and English teachers allocate time during their English classes each week for students to read independently. In our library, we have recently organized our fiction collection into twelve genre collections in an effort to engage and support students in finding their next read. Students can also read novels from home or other sources during their independent reading time.

Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC)

The PRC started on the first day back at school, and all students can participate. Student Reading Records can be picked up from the library or downloaded from the RHS library website at http://renmarkhs.sa.libguides.com/books/prc.

The Book Club

The Book Club meets twice a term to discuss books and reading and is available to any interested students. Our first meeting is Wednesday 12^th February in the library at lunchtime.

Mandy Smith - Teacher Librarian

Welcome everyone to Term 1 and to beautiful weather.   I do sincerely hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the holidays whatever they were doing.

What a lovely lot of students we have in Year 8.   It is such a privilege getting to know them and I am so looking forward to doing lots of things with them this term. I was thinking about Gratitude and was looking at all the things I should be grateful for. When I got into it there was so much and so many things, people and life experiences …. I was reading that you can have a gratitude jar (which really helps create a positive mindset on days when things are just yuk!!)  to collect positive notes to yourself or to others.

“Being grateful is a really important skill for us to practise. It helps us focus on the good things in our lives rather than the hard or messy things. We can do this by filling up a gratitude jar.   You can write a note anytime and pop it in the jar and revisit it whenever you are feeling “blue”.   I think I am going to do just that.  So again, welcome to everyone and know that I am here to support you all in any way I can. Ring me at RHS on ext 122.  Have a beautiful week and smile and make someone’s day.   Cheers Pammy your PCW.      

Merit Ceremony

On Tuesday 4^th February Emily Pongrac and Jodi Long attended the Merit Ceremony at Government House. This ceremony celebrates the success of all students that received a Merit in 2019. Emily was presented her award by Lauren Thiel, founder of The Real Thiel. We congratulate Emily on the recognition and her outstanding achievements in her past 5 years at RHS.

RENMARK HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL RESULTS

February 7, 2020

After a drought breaking win by Chaffey in 2019, their team was looking strong and confident to take out this year’s event. The conditions were perfect and, as always the pool and surrounding areas looked great, full of colour with many students supporting their house. House Captains worked hard prior to the day to ensure their teams had every race filled but due to a variety of reasons (illness/injury and non-attenders) they were forced to make changes on the day resulting in a huge impact on the overall result.  

There were many strong performances throughout the day from each of the teams with regular score updates highlighting the close competition between Sturt, Chaffey and Murray. Tintra battled hard but the gap was too big for them in the end. They were lucky enough to win the Splash Bucket. It was pleasing to see that three records were broken on the day:

• Bailey W U14 Breaststroke 37.68 seconds (1992 L Strachan 37.97)
• Jordan W U16 Breaststroke 36.68 seconds (1994 unknown 37.00)
• Madelyn L U15 Freestyle 30.33 seconds (1996 C Wilkinson 30.53)

Other strong individual efforts throughout the day include Summer T, Paityn M, Georgie P, Tianna I, Dylan W, Darcy Orr, Jenna L and Damon K.

As highlighted earlier, it was neck and neck throughout the day with the final relay deciding the overall winner, STURT winning by 1 point over Murray. Sturt topped off the upset win by also taking out the Most Improved Shield.

Congratulations and well done to everyone who attended the day and supported their house. Well done to the many students who stepped up and filled in for events, especially the 4 students who were nominated by their captains as ‘Most Dedicated’.

The team is looking strong for both the Interschool Swimming Carnival (Monday 17^th February) and SSSSA Swimming Competition (Tuesday 3^rd March – B Grade).

Thank you to Kerri Donaldson / Remark Vitor Swimming Club and sponsors: BusBiz, Emmetts, AA Canvas and Shades, Renmark Hotel Motel, Renmark Club and Yates Electrical Services for your continued support.

NEW CANTEEN MENU

We welcome Grab n Go to our canteen this year and the students are raving about the fantastic new menu! Check out some of the goodies available throughout the week! Please make sure you download the Qkr! app to ensure you can purchase your menu preference. The canteen will also have specials, not included on the app, available on a daily basis. Please visit the canteen for details. 

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