We acknowledge that we are on the land of the First People of the Murray and Mallee.

We pay our respects to the Elders both past and present and honour the laws and customs that cross this traditional country, the ancestors who taught and still teach the knowledge that is embedded forever with the Aboriginal people today.

Friday Week 10 is a normal school day with lessons running until lunchtime. After lunch we will hold a school assembly and hand out Semester 1 reports to students in their Care Groups. This will also include their Semester 2 timetables.

School reports will not be posted home. Students must attend school to collect their reports. 

Students will be dismissed at 2:20 pm on that day.

Expo welcomes families into Remark High School to learn about the amazing opportunities and subjects RHS has to offer.

This year we will also welcome parents and families of Year 5 and 6 students who will transition to high school in 2022.

Children can have fun looking at each learning space by collecting stickers along the Yellow Brick Road, and families are invited to enjoy a sausage sizzle dinner from 5:30pm.

ENGLISH & GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Year 8 Debating

Students in Year 8 English recently completed a topic on debating and persuasive writing. Students were allocated groups and assigned a topic that they argued for or against. They learnt the formal debating structure and procedure, and delivered their debates in front of their peers.

I am extremely proud of the students who got up in front of the class to argue their position, despite their trepidation toward public speaking.

Selected students are currently participating in inter-class debating with a team chosen to represent each class. Teams will compete against the other two Care Groups in Year 8. From there, a team will be selected from each year level to participate against other Riverland schools later in the year, should restrictions be lifted.

Daniel Clark - English and H&PE Teacher

HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Year 9 PE for Girls

In the last newsletter I shared that our Year 9 PE for Girls had participated in a self defence course. The class has now moved on to learning how to become more in tune with their bodies and their minds, by participating in a yoga and mindfulness session led by Leanne Weigall.

The students have enjoyed this peaceful way of learning saying:

I liked the yoga and mindfulness sessions because it was very different and made me feel relaxed and calm - Tay-Lee S

I enjoyed the yoga because it was relaxing and I liked the different poses we did - Lily P

Mark Thiele - H&PE and Maths Teacher

Wendy Matulic - Drama, Hass and Food Technology Teacher

Year 12 Food and Hospitality

Year 12 Food and Hospitality students have spent the past few weeks working on their 'Catering Teams' assessment. Students worked in small groups and were required to produce a good quality dish to sell to students and staff. There were a number of criteria the students needed to meet including quality control, marketing, costing, roles of each team member, packaging and hygiene and safe food handling. Another target for the students to meet was to cover the costs of their expenses when selling their dish and hopefully, make a small profit!

The first group to cook included Te-Ra, Jasmine and Emma who made Burrito Bowls and sold them for $5 each. 

The end result looked and tasted amazing!

The second group included Bridget and Nickeeta who made Butter Chicken, selling each dish for $6.

They had some keen taste testers who gave their dish a thumbs up!

Congratulations to both groups who sold out within minutes of the lunch bell sounding.

Narinder Riar - Home Economics Teacher

In the Kitchen with Kristina

Year 10 Skillful with Food

This group of mainstream and FLO students has been working very hard in the kitchen. They were given the task of making Eggs Benedict without the use of a recipe! They sat together and watched a Jamie Oliver video on how to make the dish and were then given a list of ingredients. Students organised themselves into groups and worked with each other to create the dish.

FLO 

Kristina Kalkstein and some of our FLO students have been busy in the kitchen again, this time making and cooking Chinese biang biang noodles!

Senior Child Studies

Our senior Child Studies students spent the morning learning how to interact and teach younger children certain tasks. Unfortunately, due to the current climate, they did not have any children to work with however they compensated by explaining the tasks to the other senior students and their teacher! They made their teacher proud with their enthusiasm and excitement toward the project.

Kristina Kalkstein - Food, FLO and Child Studies Teacher

Stage 1 Outdoor Education

Bushwalk Expedition

After being in limbo (due to COVID 19) and unsure whether school camps could go ahead, we finally received some good news and locked in the Stage 1 Bushwalk to Mt Bryan (Burra) for Week 8.

Students utilised class time to develop and refine their map reading/navigation skills and complete the required planning documents (risk assessment, menu plan, equipment list, route plan).

With the recent cold weather in Renmark, staff and students kept a close eye on forecast temperatures. Around this time of year Mt Bryan is often cold and wet but we were very fortunate with the sun making regular appearances over the two days.

Here is what some of the Year 11 students thought of the trip:

I think the camp was a great, adventurous experience because who can actually say they have gone bushwalking before! - Tia

It was a good experience, definitely would do it again and encourage others to as well - Bree

It was a challenging and enjoyable experience - Morgan and Tom

I was able to develop my navigating skills and identify land features in an area that I was unfamiliar with - Mitchell

I found the trip enjoyable although I was quite tired and sore at the end of it - Mark

It was a fun and great experience in an area with unlimited scenery - Braidyn

Next semester the Stage 1 Outdoor Education classes will take part in both surfing and mountain bike riding.

Aaron Camplin - H&PE and Outdoor Education Teacher

TECH STUDIES

Year 10 Doorways 2 Construction

The Year 10 Doorways 2 Construction class was recently involved in a short course on safely deconstructing a non-load bearing wall in order to make more space to store senior projects in the Design, Technology and Engineering workshop.

The students also constructed trestle tables with two available for purchase at $15 each. Please contact the school for further information.

Stephen Cresp - Tech Studies and Maths Teacher

Year 9 Wood Tech

Mr Gove's Year 9 Wood Tech class have begun building architectural models. The plans have been scaled down and are being projected into a physical model. Working individually or in small groups, students are determining the layout of their structure.

Matt Gove - Tech Studies Teacher

ARTS AND DESIGN

The Year 9 Digital Media class has been learning how to create and illustrate a cartoon character by using the design process and Adobe Illustrator. Each student created and designed their cartoon character. With sketches completed and time spent on tracing the character with multiple layers in Illustrator, the characters were coloured and various Illustrator effects added. Each cartoon was accompanied with a description of their personality. We got to learn a variety of skills and had fun with creating a cartoon character of our own.

Alice Esam, Year 9 Digital Media Student

Year 11 Photography

SHUTTER UP!

Over this semester the Year 11 Photography Class has spent most of their lessons and home time creating and editing photos of their choice. Their first skills task was to discover camera control techniques. Students took an excursion early in Term 1 down to Murray Avenue and had the opportunity to capture photographs of their beautiful surroundings. Image manipulation was the second skills task, further developing manipulating skills, in skin retouching basics and Auto Mask, whilst having a theme to work with.

Throughout the course of Term 2, the biggest challenge for the Year 11 students was the product photoshoot, which showcased ideas and creativity of a product based on a chosen theme. Students had to take a range of creative photographs following a design and realisation process. They then chose five final photographs incorporating a variety of skills and techniques learned and used throughout the semester.

Thank you, Mrs. Atsaves, for making our photography class such a positive experience for everyone. With your contribution, patience and creativity, you made this class available for Year 11’s to enjoy. We all see what you do. The dedication and encouragement you have for the subject helps us realise that you are a great teacher.

Danielle Leonard, Year 11 Photography

Darija Atsaves - Art and Digital Media Teacher

Year 9 Digital Media

Another group of Year 9 students has been exploring and learning how to create videos using Premiere Pro. The criteria was to create an entertaining video based on the theme 'I'm Travelling to.....' 

Students were given the opportunity to include special effects such as using the green screen. 

Below are just a few of the fantastic videos that were created. 

Year 10 Enterprise

On Thursday 18th of June a group of Year 10 and 11 Enterprise students participated in an online version of the Shark Tank Venture Showcase. This involved students pitching the business concept they have been developing over the last semester to a group of judges. All seven teams delivered extremely professional presentations and the judges and other industry professionals were very impressed by their innovative ideas.

Jodi Long - Digital Media and Enterprise Teacher

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (VET)

Doorways 2 Construction

Doorways 2 Construction is a vocational pathway introducing our students to a broad range of occupations within the construction industry. Students learn a range of high quality skills to assist them in the transition from school to work. This week students learned how to put up scaffolding.

There will be an opportunity for Year 10 students to sample this course during the VET Come and Try Day on Thursday 2nd July. 

MATHEMATICS and SCIENCE

Year 8 Maths

Mr Owens' Year 8 Maths class has cleverly incorporated the new social distancing rules by doing some real world measuring to work out how many adults can socially distance in the library.

Sam Owens - Maths and Science Teacher

Being an adult is difficult and recently the Year 11 Essential Maths students finished an assignment called “How to Adult”.

The assignment explored what life might look like after leaving school. Students applied for hypothetical casual jobs and after recieving the good news, discovered they had an imaginary income. Although, after tax and superannuation, would it be enough?

Within their budget, they had to find accommodation in the region and soon realised how expensive renting can be. Luckily, many of them had friends who were also moving out and after working out how much their split of the bills and rent would be, decided to start living together in a share house. I hope they still like each other half-way through a 12-month lease!

Once they had flown the nest and gained their freedom, it was time to look at food. You can only live on 2-Minute-Noodles for so long, so meal plans were prepared and analysed for nutritional content. Healthy living was especially important as their casual jobs did not allow for any paid sick leave allowances.

It was at this time that most students in the class started to get a bit low on funds and looked for ways to boost their income. Some sought Rent Assistance or Job Seeker payments through Centrelink. One crafty little so-and-so accused me of not paying them enough! After a check with the Fair Work Ombudsman they indeed found evidence of my wage theft and threatened me with industrial action. After the classes collective admonishment and a quick recalculation of their pay at the proper award rate, they had some money to spare.

Money is for spending and so with their boosted incomes, it was time to shop for some big items. Some wanted TVs, computers, a new phone or even a car. Before getting too carried away, they each had to research personal loans from two banks, two credit unions, credit cards and the No Interest Loan Scheme (nils.com.au, seriously check it out!). They then compared a personal loan to just saving the money up front, then decided which was best for them and articulated reasons for their choice.

After making sure they still had enough money in their budget at each step, they also had to consider their lives as a whole and ensure that they had enough time to actually live! After hopefully achieving a healthy work/life balance, they looked back on their decisions and made some plans for how they might design their real futures.

Everyone enjoyed the assignment and got a lot out of it. The real test will come when they really do leave school and have to pretend to know “How to Adult” like the rest of us!

Year 9 Plate Tectonics

Year 9's have been investigating plate tectonics in Science. They have learnt about how Alfred Wegener’s idea of continental drift was laughed at for 60 years before Harry Hess and others found evidence to support it. They have also learnt how these moving plates can create earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes.

One of the final tasks involved groups of students creating a model of one of these phenomena. They then explained their model and reflected on their product and process.

Nic Tubb - Maths and Science Teacher

My Exchange Year in Germany

It almost feels like it was yesterday when I said goodbye to my family and friends, ready to board my plane to Germany, not really knowing what to expect but excited for what the future had in store for me. Now, I’m back at home, a little earlier than expected, with tonnes of memories, stories to share and friends from all over the world.

I’ve wanted to be an exchange student for my whole high school life. I read some brochures and decided to contact a local organisation called ‘Students of the World.’ Soon, I was applying for a 10-month exchange in Germany. I was so excited and happy to finally tell my friends and family that I would soon be flying out from Adelaide, awaiting the year of a lifetime!

I was placed with a host family from a small town called Gilching, just one hour from the capital city of Bavaria, Munich. I lived with my host Mum, Isabella, host Dad, Dag and a sister, Josi. I loved every minute spent with them, although there were days when I was very homesick, there’s no doubt about it!

I went to school at Max-Born Gymnasium, located in Germering, which was about 20 minutes from my home in Gilching. The German school atmosphere and language, of course, was still very new to me. The students and teachers were very welcoming and diverse, I had never met so many people with different backgrounds in just one place! On the first day of school, I was nervous just like any other foreign exchange student. I didn’t know anyone, I got lost in the school as it was huge, and it was hard for me to understand the German language, but it was something easily overcome with time. I loved answering questions about my home, school, friends and family back in Australia. I’d often get asked, ‘Have you seen a kangaroo before?’ and ‘Why is your English accent so different?’ I had the chance to take the following classes at school: German, English, History, Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Swimming and more. I quickly made friends with the other students and two other Australian exchange students attending my school at that time.

During my exchange program I made a lot of friends and met so many people from places like Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Italy, Mexico, Serbia, Brazil, America and even Australia! On many occasions, we all got together in cities throughout Germany and other surrounding countries. Everyone was warm, open and never hesitant in giving hugs. We formed a bond straight away because we were all going through similar experiences as exchange students, so we talked about the differences at our host homes, school and our home countries. I learned so many things about other cultures, and even got to share my own. I baked Pavlova, Lamingtons and other dishes and desserts that come from Australia, for my host family and friends. There was never a dull moment with any of them, and they were always there for me, helping me through the adjustments I had to make, such as school and learning the German language. I will forever remember all the fun times we had together!

I had the opportunity to visit different countries surrounding Germany with my host family, friends and exchange organisation. Some countries I visited included Austria, The Netherlands, France and Germany of course. One of my favourite places to visit in Germany was Freiburg, to see Valerie, an exchange student from Germany that my family hosted last year. I loved meeting her family and friends and seeing places she had talked about when she was on exchange in Australia. Valerie and I travelled around Freiburg, situated in the heart of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany. We went hiking in the Black Forest, visited cathedrals and walked the old medieval streets. Another city I loved visiting was Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. There, I met my American, Italian and Serbian friends. We visited the famous Van Gogh museum, Anne Frank house and cruised on the Amsterdam Canal.

It was originally planned that I stay in Germany for 10 months, as an exchange student. However, during March I received a message that I would be leaving the country the very next day, due to COVID-19. Still, being away for 8 months and living with a different family has taught me a lot. I have grown and my perspective has changed in ways I never would have imagined. I can now say that I am independent, appreciate my family and friends a whole lot more, open to new ideas, bilingual and more confident in myself. Having my own adventure, completely immersed in a new culture and language, has proven to me that anything is possible and that I can do anything. It was the best time of my life. I will always remember that deciding to go out and discover what the world has to offer was life-changing and will be something I will always cherish.

Written by Bree Lambert

Our Year 11 and 12 students will sit exams next week. Below is a schedule of exams for Year 12 students. All Year 12 exams will be held in the H Block (Old Tafe Building)

Year 11 students will sit their exams during their normal classes.

We wish our students the very best of luck for their exams!

On Tuesday 16th of June students from the Strong Futures class attended an excursion to Bookmark Creek.

Students collaborated to make fire and damper turnovers, something made by Uncle Barney as a young man. They explored the environment, the creek and the wetlands, looking at tracks, scats and the natural formation of trees.

Students spent two hours connecting with nature and it was amazing!

Martine Turnbull - Aboriginal Education Teacher

Daniel Giles - Aboriginal Secondary Education Transition Officer

LOST PROPERTY

There is a large number of jumpers and jackets which have been handed in to Student Services that are still looking for their owners. There are also a number of other lost items. If your student has misplaced anything during the term, please ask them to come and take a look. Any items still remaining at the end of the term will be donated to charity.

BUS NEWS

There are a number of students needing a bus seat particularly on the West/South bus which is administered by Renmark High School and is currently at capacity. If you no longer need your seat and have other ways to get to and from school please call Stacey in the front office to relinquish your seat.

Reminder: students who have eligibility should only be travelling to their approved stop. Any request for a change, should be made through the administrating school

Renmark High School – West/South

Renmark North – North/Chaffey & Cooltong

Renmark Primary – Paringa/Pike River/Murtho & Lindsay Point

Please do not assume you can get on or off at other stops, or allow friends to join you without eligibility. 

On Wednesday 3^rd June our first and highly anticipated SRC meeting was held to discuss our plans for the remainder of 2020. During this session students were separated into groups to brainstorm ideas of things the SRC could achieve this year. These included; music for the sound system, revision of the current school values, considering future subjects, upgrading the toilet/bathroom facilities, considering winter uniform options and improving the school grounds with the installation of recycling bins. Ideas will be prioritised, and a plan developed so some of these projects can be completed throughout the remainder of the year.

Our priorities for this year were decided as:

School Pride- maintenance and gardens

Learning

Values

We look forward to working with staff, Governing Council and the school community to ensure that students have a voice and future improvements can be made to RHS.

Written by Dana Hansen (Year 12 Head Prefect)

As the school prepares for next year's subject selections, there will be a VET (Vocational Education and Training) regional training day. This will be held on Thursday July 2nd and is available to any interested Year 10 students.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in one of the many varied VET course offerings. Courses are held throughout the region and are supported by a free VET bus for easy transport. This experience will allow students to decide if any VET courses may suit them as a Year 11 student in 2021.

Please note that some courses are very popluar and demand is high. Consent forms were sent home with Year 10 students last week and must be returned to Student Services as soon as possible. Priority will be given to students who return their forms first.

Below is a list of courses which may be available in 2021:

Students from Room 10 at Renmark Primary School visited our clay studio to create coil pots. This was part of their Hass lesson where they have been studying ancient Roman civilisation. These pots will be fired and later decorated by the students.

Year 10 student Tyler recently competed in a preliminary road race held by the Riverland Cycling Club, just getting over the line to finish in first place.

Thank you to the Murray Pioneer for allowing us to share your stories.

Staff were engaged in a Professional Learning day during the Student Free Day held in Week 6.

Teaching staff spent the day networking and collaborating with their peers centred around learning design, moderation and reporting. We were fortunate to have Lauren Haggis from Learning Improvement Division link in and deliver a session on learning design.

Ancillary staff were involved in Records Management and Information Sharing training, and finished the day with a Pain Free Desk Worker Clinical Somatics wellbeing session lead by Leanne Weigall.

The session included safe easy somatic (how the body feels internally) movements practised seated at a desk.

The practice was about releasing muscles that become chronically tight and sometimes painful due to sitting. It is a learning modality that engages the brain. The brain controls the muscles and retains information about the way your muscles adapt to sitting for long periods of time. This can become a problem when you sit in a certain way for long periods of time, the muscle tension is reset into a new normal and the brain forgets how to relax those muscles. We need to remind the brain often that our muscles can move in all ranges so we don’t get stuck in a pattern of contraction that can cause discomfort and pain. The movements are simple, body patterns that refresh the brain and also aid in creativity and stress reduction.

Leanne is featured in our 'Get to Know Our Staff' segment so be sure to have a read!

Sukhdeep creating gorgeous little chocolates

Cam, Lachlan & Jayden having fun with their solar car

Students making the most of the music room being open Wednesday lunch times to test out some instruments