We acknowledge that Renmark High School students, staff and community live, study and work on Erawirung Land. We acknowledge the First Peoples of the River Murray and Mallee as Traditional Custodians of the Riverland region and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We respect the deep connection Aboriginal people have with land, animals and waters. 

We honour the Lores and customs that cross this traditional Country, the Ancestors who taught and still teach the knowledge that is embedded forever with Aboriginal people today. 

Welcome to term 2. We had some great weather in the school holidays, but with the mornings getting colder and the daylight shorter, you can tell we are heading into winter. 

Parent Interviews

Thank you to all the parents and caregivers who attended the parent, teacher, student interviews recently. These are an excellent opportunity to discuss student success, areas of growth, and where to next. Please remember you can also contact teachers through Daymap or leave a message at the front office.

Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June

Renmark High School recognises the First Nations peoples of South Australia as the first people of our state. We also recognise the diversity of First Nations peoples, cultures and histories. The meaning behind reconciliation is important to all of us, whether we are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples or non-Indigenous, leaders, teachers, support staff or students. Reconciliation is an act of bringing together First Nations and non-Indigenous peoples, understanding and respecting each other’s perspectives, recognising the past and building a future together. Reconciliation can only happen where there is a true commitment to fair treatment and equal opportunities for First Nations peoples, and in places, like our school, that foster inclusion. As such, reconciliation needs to be embedded in our systems, our policies, procedures and the decisions that we make as a school. What we are working on as a school for all students, families and staff is building a sense of belonging, developing an increased awareness of culture, diversity and acceptance, and being intentional, deliberate and visible in what we do. 

As members of our Renmark High School community we show our commitment to reconciliation in our individual behaviours and our collective school culture. Reconciliation is a challenging journey; one that requires commitment and a willingness to challenge ourselves. To support this journey we invite you to a Reconciliation Week sausage sizzle at our school firepit to share some food and conversation, helping to build connections and the collective strength of our school community. We will be there on Tuesday 30 May from 5-7pm so please RSVP to the front office on 8586 6974 or dl.0794.info@schools.sa.edu.au

National Volunteers Week held on 15 – 21 May 2023

National Volunteer Week is an annual event celebrated right across Australia. The week-long event recognises the vital support that the millions of volunteers in our country provide to their communities and encourages people to consider volunteering. This years theme is The Change Makers and is a celebration of our power to drive change and ensure volunteering is inclusive of all members of the Australian community.

Renmark High School would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers in our wider community for everything they do to make our community a better place. We thank our school community volunteers, including those who help out as needed with sports carnivals, camps and excursions. A big thank you to our volunteers that assist us regularly throughout the year, including Ruth Strout who has played an important role in listening to students read, and to our volunteers in the Governing Council committee: Darren Bussenschutt, Sean Leesue, David Sims, Deanne Flaherty, Karen DiCerbo, Sally Kroemer, Andrea Logos, Megan Petersen, Laura Strout, Kimberley Wegner and Kerril Vowles. Thank you to all of our volunteers in being important change makers, benefiting students in our school.

Kind regards,

Mat Evans
Principal

Athletics

During week 10 of last term, approximately 80 students travelled to Santos Stadium, Adelaide for the School Sport South Australia Athletics Championships. After missing out on this event over the past few years, the selected team were keen to head down and do their personal best in the A2 division.

The goals for the day were to ensure every event had a competitor everyone enjoyed themselves, and that each student aims for a personal best in their event/s. This was achieved and it is a huge credit to the students that committed to their events and/or stepped up to fill other events. It was a great way to wrap up the busy term, with plenty of students making their way back  with a big smile on their faces as they achieved a PB or were very close. To see the fight and determination in many students during the end of their races meant that they were able to gain extra points for the team which was evident throughout the entire day.

Overall the RHS athletics team finished 3^rd (only 6 points behind 2^nd) with the girls finishing 4^th and boys 1^st in the A2s. This was a great achievement for the team and we would like to thank all of the students for their commitment in term 1.

Although there are plenty of other sporting opportunities (cross country and knockout cup sports) across the rest of the year, this event was a big step forward and students should have an understanding on what they can improve on before Interschool Athletics next year in 2024.

Cross Country

The annual Renmark High School Cross Country event is being held on Wednesday 17 May from approximately 11.00am – 1.30pm. This year the event will be held on at the Paringa Paddock, opposite the Big 4 Caravan Park. Every student is invited to attend the event and challenge themselves for their house while getting an extra run in for those that have started a winter sport. The SRC will be cooking a complimentary BBQ for those students who participate on the day.

After the event, a team will be selected to be a part of the Renmark High School team to compete at the Interschool Event which will be hosted by Renmark High School. This will be held on the Friday 26May starting at 10.30am. After some strong efforts in the long-distance events during athletics, we are aiming to put together a strong team which will challenge to bring the Championship Shield back to Renmark. Catering will be available on the day by our SRC and Little Miss Daisy’s coffee van.

Parents and caregivers are invited encouraged to come along and support their child. Other details will be updated on the school Facebook page over the next few weeks for both events. Who will take out the Interhouse Event? Will it be Chaffey, Tintra, Murray or Sturt?

Aaron Camplin
Leader of HPE & Sports

Our Renmark High School Concert Band has been practising every week to develop a repertoire of songs to perform to our school community in the near future. Our band leader Mr Heuzenroder, along with Mr Ward, have been working on musical arrangements for everyone to hear. If any students are interested in joining, please come and see Mr Ward as we welcome new members.

We cannot wait to share our music with you soon.

Our current band line up includes:

Alistair Ward
Music Teacher

In week 11 of term 1, Mr Files' History students were part of a very special occasion that saw a visit from a group of Riverland Vietnam War Veterans.

This group of students have all volunteered to enter the Premier's ANZAC School Spirit Prize and have been meeting outside of class time to discuss all things History! As part of this, the led up to ANZAC Day and their task for the ANZAC School Spirit Prize, the group of students desperately wished to meet with some veterans.

Vietnam War Veterans Tony Guster, Ray Hartigan, Grahame Pendle, Colin Short and Marianne Smith all generously gave their time to meet with and chat to the students. For over an hour the students were engaged and hanging on every word of the answers, stories and lessons provided by this group of inspirational veterans. This was a unique learning experience that included many personal experiences, deep knowledge and inspiring stories that only ANZAC Veterans can deliver.

Renmark High School would like to sincerely thank Tony, Ray, Grahame, Colin and Marianne for the insights, stories, knowledge, feelings and inspiration they provided students with. This was a moment in time that this group of students will never forget and an opportunity they are extremely grateful to have received as it inspires their future studies.

Miss Bor’s year 7 Science class recently had the opportunity to examine and draw scientific illustrations of stick insects, which helped them to understand the concept of species classification. By studying the physical characteristics of these insects and observing their unique features, such as their elongated bodies and distinct leg structures, the students were able to practise drawing scientifically, and start their thinking on how animals and plants are grouped together, based on characteristics. Overall, this hands-on experience provided the students with a deeper understanding of the process of classification and the diversity of the natural world.

On the last week of term 1, Mrs Papametis took the year 7 cohort to the Renmark Greek Orthodox Church in Renmark. They learnt about Greek traditions and listened to the chanter who conducted mutiple readings for students. Students wrote their thoughts on how the enjoyed the experience. 

I thought the Greek Church was pretty interesting and had good paintings. I might go to the Greek Church in the future. I did not understand their language, but it was still cool.
- Izaiah B

This was the first time I went to a Greek Church. It’s nicer and smaller than the other ones I have been to.
- Gabriella L

When I went in the church there was a lot of icons and people praying.
- Liam M

I liked the smell of the candle.
I liked the pictures.
I liked the singing because it was calming.
I liked the flowers.
I liked the theme of the church,
I saw a big bell.
I liked when we got to light the candles.
I liked listening to the bible.
I liked watching them put the flowers up.
- Cruz M

Today when I went into the church I could smell something nice and I could see lots of icons.
- Jemma E

When I went into church I saw many icons on the roof and walls. I noticed they all had the same shoes.
- Sarah W

The icons all over the walls where very interesting to look at.
- Piper E

It smelt really nice and the icons looked really cool. 
- Suevanna K-F

Today all of the Renmark High School year 7s went to the Renmark Greek Church and it was incredible. We sat down, and listened to the chanter and priest sing and chant. When we first walked in the church my first thought was ‘WOW, it smells like rosemary in here’. I loved all the icons and it was an amazing experience. I also loved and admired the old ladies decorating the coffin with flowers. It was beautiful! 
- Amalia R

Today all our classmates had a walk to the Renmark Greek Church. When we got there, we lit a candle and stuck the candle in a big bowl of sand. After that we were seated and we heard the chanter chanting and it smelt like flowers in church, then the priest came in and kissed the wooden god. After we listened to the Chanter speak Greek.  
- Chase W

When we walked in we lit candles and placed them into sand. There were paintings on the walls and ceiling; they looked really cool. The chanter chanted for a while then the priest came from the altar. The epitafio was covered and flowers were placed carefully. It was nice to see how everything worked.
- Emily D

It was cool to see the ladies decorating the epitafio for tonight’s procession for Greek Easter.
- Kali G

Ms Matulic's year 9 Drama students are studying Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed in Drama. This has mainly been on performing an Image and Invisible theatre which are based around social issues. These were quite powerful. Ours were around racism and abuse.

They found learning about the history behind Boal’s theatres quite interesting, especially the way people were treated back then. Performing an invisible theatre was quite entertaining. The audience didn’t realise it was a performance.

The Theatre of the Oppressed was a way to get people talking about social issues without being punished.

On the last day of term 1, the year 10 cohort participated in a year level fashion parade. In care groups, students put together an outfit using newspaper and tape to stick to their student model. Students were very creative with their outfit ideas. There were cheerleaders, a mermaid, a Hawaiian hula girl, a runaway bride and a knight to name a few. Two students from each care group paraded on the cat walk to impress the judges. Thank you to Mr Evans, Kerrie and Jed who volunteered as the judges. They awarded 10.2 as the overall winners and presented students with the annual Fashion Parade trophy.

Mrs Hooper’s Psychology class students put their forensic psychology skills to the test. They began working to solve criminal investigations and develop an understanding of criminal profiling and victimology. Students are looking forward to learning about some of the world’s most infamous psychopaths, the biopsychosocial factors that contribute to crime and psychological theories for criminal behaviour and rehabilitation.

In term 1, Mr Lindner's Stage 2 Physical Education class have been utilising the Fusion Health Club to undertake a performance improvement program, with a focus on resistance training. After 4 weeks of training, the students are starting to see some good results in their form!

Thank you to Fusion Health Club for allowing our year 12 students use your facilities during the duration of this time. 

In some of their downtime, the students participated in an Amazing Race in the city and enjoyed an evening at Bounce. On Tuesday night we ventured down to Glenelg for dinner and had an amazing experience of seeing Tyrone and Mr Owens busking in Mosely Square!

Alicia Thackray
Social Worker

Renmark High School has been able to successfully acquire an iFarm unit for their Agriculture block. The iFarm is a fully computerised interactive farm science research station designed specifically for Australian high schools. Its purpose is to improve student’s understanding of the resources required to produce food and fibre, and to stimulate interest in careers in agriculture and related fields.Students can do comparative trials, measuring and monitoring all variables such as water, fertiliser and plant growth.

iFarms have 8 individual growing beds with subsurface drip irrigation and overhead spray options, a 2000L water tank, moisture and temperature sensors, and an inbuilt digital touchscreen (but can also be operated remotely). iFarms are fully powered by wind and solar, they have their own weather station, a composting worm farm, and come with both summer and winter shade cloths. The outer skin of the iFarm is made from recycled plastic and it has fold-down perspex sides to view root growth.  It also has perspex covers over all the electronic componentry to help students view and better understand electrical design. The iFarm is a platform designed to capture the attention of students as it showcases a huge range of learning opportunities and future employment possibilities.

Designers and builders Steve and Kate Mansur came up with the concept of the iFarm after realising they wanted to help students learn about agriculture, science, maths and technology in a more exciting and engaging way, and also to make the job easier for teachers. Steve and Kate chose to set up their manufacturing business Manski Pty Ltd in Tamworth NSW to help create employment in a regional community and they use local suppliers wherever possible. iFarms are fully Australian designed, developed and manufactured. 

Over 50 high schools across the nation in every state and territory will be receiving their iFarm over the next 3 months. The iFarm project has been supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry as part of the Educating Kids About Agriculture: iFarm program. 

Raj Singh
Agriculture Teacher

During term break Phoebe H (year 12), Madison M and Tahlia P (year 10) along with Mr Singh attended the South Australian Sheep Expo 2023. The SA Sheep Expo offers young people a platform to develop a better understanding of the sheep industry, the opportunities it offers and to encourage the next generation to engage at a grassroots level within the industry. Inspired by the highly successful SA Junior Heifer Expo, the SA Sheep Expo provides an education forum for young sheep enthusiasts aged 12 to 23 years and enable them to build their knowledge and identify pathways to further careers in areas of the sheep industry.

Attending the Sheep Expo involves students staying in shearer quarters at the Royal Adelaide show grounds for the duration of 3 days and 2 nights and participating in range of activities. This year the expo focused on rams of different breed. Students were given opportunity to participate in a range of seminars and workshops on topics such as animal health, nutrition, genetics, and marketing designed around rams. Students were given hands-on experiences, including a young farmers competition and a young judges competition, as well as handling and showing sheep that they are allocated at the start of the expo. There were also chances to watch shearing demonstrations and see what happens to the wool once it has left the farm. The meals and accommodation are completely catered for.

Tahlia and Madison rated their experience as “a valuable learning experience” and something they will do again as this was their first ever sheep expo.

On the other hand, Phoebe H was able to achieve a second place in her intermediate handlers category and also received the Jamestown Show experience scholarship. This scholarship will give Phoebe an opportunity to access behind the scene activities at the Jamestown show, working with organisers, which will allow her to extend her show judging skill even further.

Renmark High School’s Agriculture program is extremely delighted with Phoebe's achievement as she will be able to help and support students intending to prepare and attend this year’s Royal Adelaide Sheep Show in September.

Raj Singh
Agriculture Teacher

In week 11 of term 1, Mr Singh’s year 10 Agriculture students visited CMV Farms in Loxton. Students learnt about the career pathways available in the almond industry and were involved in almond grading and yield predictions.

Thank you CMV Farms; we valued the time and effort provided on the day to educate our students about the almond industry in the Riverland.

Raj Singh
Agriculture Teacher

During the school holidays, our Social Worker Alicia took a group of year 12 students: Tyrone A, Hadlee H, Emily T, Sakina Q and Lachlan G to the live Q&A show hosted by the ABC at the Mildura Arts Centre. The evening was hosted by a panel of talk show hosts who discussed current world topics, where the audience was able to join in on the topics of conversation. 

The Renmark High School library website (https://renmarkhs.sa.libguides.com/library)

Students can access a variety of library services and information from our website. These include our latest new books, PRC information, digital reading magazines SpineOut and Good Reading, links to book review sites and databases. The library catalogue (available from the Quick Links box) can also be searched from home using the student’s unique barcode beginning with B0794 (no password required). This barcode is on both the student’s school diary and/or ID card.

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