Term 2 is in full swing, bringing plenty of opportunities for students to explore a wide range of post-school options. It’s also a crucial time for students to stay on top of their assessments and reflect on personal goals for the rest of the year.

Pathways and Programs

Flinders University Inspire Program

The Flinders University Inspire Program has officially kicked off this term. Students who signed up have been matched with a Flinders University mentor, meeting every two weeks either in person or online. These sessions cover a range of topics related to university life, including course choices, scholarships, accommodation, and more—whether students are planning to study at Flinders or not.

In addition to mentoring, students will come together as a group four times this term for extra support and guidance from the Flinders University team. We're excited to continue our partnership with Flinders following the successful university camp held in week 11 last term.

Road Accident Awareness Program

On Wednesday 11 June, all year 11 students will attend the Road Accident Awareness Program (RAAP), delivered by the Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS). This free and impactful session focuses on the importance of road safety, particularly for new and soon-to-be drivers. It will be held at 9.00am in the Elaine Balfour-Ogilvy Library. This is a valuable learning experience that speaks directly to the challenges and responsibilities of young drivers.

Australian Business Week

Week 10 (30 June – 4 July) will be a significant and busy week for our senior students:

• Year 11 students will take part in Australian Business Week, a hands-on program that gives them insight into the world of business and entrepreneurship. This is a compulsory week to attend and allows students to obtain 10 SACE credits at the end of the week.

• Year 12 students will be undertaking their mid-year exams during this time.

More details about both events will be shared in the coming weeks.

Career Pathways and Job Readiness

White Card Training – Friday 14 June

A White Card training session will be offered to students in years 10, 11, and 12.

• This certification is required for most trade and construction roles
• It is a lifetime qualification
• Students can sign up at the SSO
• Cost: $60 (with the school subsidising the remaining amount)

MAS National Visit

Last week, year 12 students had a valuable session in Beyond Tomorrow with Danielle Albanese from MAS National. Danielle shared information about local traineeship and apprenticeship opportunities currently available in our region.

Students who would like to explore these options further can book an appointment with Danielle at the MAS National office in Renmark at any time.

As new career opportunities arise, we’ll continue to share them through the student bulletin, school newsletter, and on the noticeboard in the Senior Study Space. Additionally, we’re supporting students with writing resumes and application letters to help them prepare for the world of work.

Job Board and Application Support

Chloe Rudd maintains an up-to-date job board in the Senior Study Space, sharing opportunities from local employers. Chloe also provides support with:

• Resume writing
• Work experience placement
• Job application guidance

If you have any questions about these programs or would like to know more, please don't hesitate to contact me at the school.

Senior Study Space

Senior students have access to a spacious study area and common room.

• Year 11 students are expected to remain at school during all school hours.
• Year 12 students with Home Study at the beginning or end of the day may sign out and leave school during those times. Year 12s may also use other school spaces to access help from specialist teachers.

I look forward to sharing more senior news and student success stories throughout 2025.

Marina Pater
Assistant Principal
Director of Operations

Students are currently exploring separation techniques in science. They are engaging in experiments focused on solubility, decanting, and filtering. For the final task, students mixed dirt with water and allowed it to settle until sediment formed at the bottom of the beaker. They then decanted and filtered the mixture to see how clean they could make the water.

Chris Blanden
Science Teacher

Students are currently learning about rocks. For this activity they were simulating mining, where the cookie was the mine and they needed to extract the chocolate chips as their resource. Before starting they needed to buy the mines, tools and time they needed to mine and rehabilitate the site. Groups supervised others mining; watching for contamination (touching with their hands) and negotiated the price of the mined resources, resale of used tools and how the site was rehabilitated. The final task was to calculate whether they had made a profit or loss.

Chris Blanden
Science Teacher

Year 7 and 9 Agriculture students spent a day touring the wineries in our regions recently which included a tour of Mallee Estate Wines in Renmark and Kingston Estate Wines in Kingston on Murray. This was organised by the Agri-Tech Education Team from Central Queensland University. The students had an excellent chance to gain valuable insights into the viticulture industry and explore potential employment opportunities within the sector.

Jim and Erika at Mallee Estate were fantastic in discussing the recent changes in the wine industry, the challenges of running a small-scale multi-enterprise business, and, importantly, the key attributes of a good employee. Students were engaged and asked thoughtful questions.

The Kingston Estate Winery tour was more focused on the business and operational aspects of vineyard management, offering a broader perspective of the industry. Overall, it was a valuable and enriching experience for students in our region to receive first-hand information from industry professionals.

Rajender Singh
Agriculture Teacher

Last Friday, our year 11 biology students journeyed to Monarto Zoo as a part of their ecosystems and biodiversity unit. They got to explore a range of species, including meerkats, Asian elephants, African painted dogs, giraffes, and more. The students were given a guided tour by one of Monarto’s education experts and deepened their understanding of the importance of conservation efforts for keystone species world-wide.

This excursion helped them find first-hand information regarding keystone species for the upcoming SHE assessment, and show them real-life examples of species and ecosystem diversity.

Rachel Dunn
Biology Teacher

Why was Pavlov’s hair so soft? Classical Conditioning.

Last week, Mrs Hooper’s Year 12 psychology class developed their understanding of Classical Conditioning by using each other as test subjects. The class were randomly allocated to the ‘experimenter group’ or ‘test subject’ group. The experimenters repeatedly ‘administered’ Wizz Fizz at the sound of bell in a bid to classical condition the test subjects to salivate. The students said that participating in the fun and frivolous experiment helped them to better understand the process of classical conditioning.

Tamara Hooper
Psychology Teacher

Last Sunday afternoon, Imogen and Oscar from the year 12 music class performed a gig at the Renmark Club as part of their music connections task. Over the past five weeks they worked together to organise, prepare, rehearse, and then perform a short music set. They developed real-world musician skills, by working with venues, setting up for a performance, and playing to a live and diverse crowd. Congratulations to them both; we can’t wait to see your next gig together!

Alistair Ward
Music Teacher

In week 3 of this term, our year 10-12 SAASTA students, along with students from Berri Regional Secondary College, travelled to Adelaide to participate in the SAASTA Power Cup. They participated in a leadership day, played other SAASTA schools in a football tournament, and were lucky enough to attend the Power v. Geelong football match and participate in the cultural dance pre-game and SAASTA awards.

Some highlights included our boys' team making it to the tournament grand final, playing on Adelaide Oval, and proudly receiving Runner Up medals. We are also incredibly proud of Mia S and Jocelyn G, who were selected to play with the Central Yorke Academy in the grand final, emerging as winners!

What an amazing experience for our SAASTA students.

Alistair Ward
Aboriginal Education Teacher

Last Wednesday, our year 7-10 First Nations students attended Nunga Screen, a curated program of short films by First Nations filmmakers including animation and documentaries to celebrate and amplify First Nations voices. They also viewed the exhibition EXPLORE! and spoke with Helen Stacey about her series ‘Was…still is…(Aboriginal Land)!’ and how it captures the land belonging to First Nations people and how their spiritual connection continues beneath the veneer of settlement.

Alistair Ward
Aboriginal Education Teacher

Deputy student leader, Anja recently attended the opening of the Twentyfirst Street Bridge along with other community members. Anja spoke with ABC Riverland about how the bridge affected her and her family for the two years the bridge was closed. You can listen to her interview here:

https://iview.abc.net.au/video/NU2506S136S00 (through ABC iview for which you need a free account) - at 4 minute mark.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-16/riverland-residents-welcome-river-murray-flood-report/105299796?utm_medium=social&utm_content=sf277301630&utm_campaign=abc_riverland&utm_source=m.facebook.com&fbclid=IwY2xjawKY09NleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFLWTlCcWNhYUo3djRKVG9uAR4crLkQI2gbY89zcaxVRum9qnNtQpDGh3LDkmfCadTR6reqkHjwuI_qAVi_gA_aem_qDp5FflT4aE72huQQcMxbw 

Renmark High School will be hosting students from France, who are arriving mid-term 2 and departing mid-term 3.

Experience a unique cultural exchange by hosting an international student! Share your home, make lifelong connections, and provide a supportive environment while learning about another culture. Enrich your family's life today!

For more information, contact us at dl.0794.info@schools.sa.edu.au

If you have any further general enquiries or questions, please contact our front office administration. 

From 1 March 2024 new regulations will extend the smoke-free and vape-free areas to within 10 metres of site boundaries.

This includes:

• school drop-off and pick-up zones that are within 10 metres of the school fence, gate or boundary
• school ovals and sporting fields and within 10 metres of the boundary of the oval or sporting field
• footpaths, roads, public nature strips and public recreation areas that are within 10 metres of a school boundary.

E-cigarettes

E-cigarettes, or ‘vapes’, are not safe for young people. They come in many shapes and sizes and can be hard to spot as they can look like everyday items including highlighters, pens, USB memory sticks or watches.

Key vaping facts

• Many e-cigarettes contain nicotine despite being labelled as not. Nicotine can cause long-lasting negative effects on young people’s brain development, including impaired learning ability and altered mood, and can increase the risk of depression and anxiety.
• E-cigarettes can contain the same harmful chemicals found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer and bug spray, which can lead to serious lung diseases.
• Young people who vape are 3 times as likely to take up smoking cigarettes.
• E-cigarettes are harmful to the environment as they contain single-use plastics and lithium batteries, cause pollution and can start fires.

The laws around selling e-cigarettes

It’s illegal to sell or supply e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18 years. Young people often purchase vapes online, from retail stores, or from friends and contacts on social media. There are a number of retailers who sell e-cigarettes to young people. This is a crime.

Talk to your child about vaping

It’s important to take the time to talk to your child about the risks of vaping. Try to start the conversation in a relaxed easy-going way, and remember your goal is to have a conversation, not deliver a lecture. Parenting SA provides a Parent Easy Guide on talking with children and young people about drugs and alcohol – visit parenting.sa.gov.au.

Get the evidence and facts about vaping at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/vaping.

Find out more about how we manage alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in schools at www.education.sa.gov.au/vaping