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As I was thinking about writing this article, I began to reflect on how grateful I am to be given the opportunity to speak to our Parklands community about all of the exciting opportunities our students have been part of and all of the opportunities our students have to look forward to in the coming weeks. Sometimes we are tempted to believe that only ‘lucky’ people receive the best opportunities; however, at Parklands we believe that opportunity comes from hard work and taking a growth mindset approach to our teaching and learning. Hard work and growth mindsets directly align with our school Core Value We have high expectations of ourselves and others.
The past fortnight has presented many opportunities for staff and students alike. One of the most significant being the opening of the Ten Days on the Island festival with the second mapali dawn gathering at West Beach. In the lead up to the event, our Aboriginal Education Officer, Guy Grey, and Art teacher, Emily Devlin, worked tirelessly with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) students to produce hundreds of clap sticks (a traditional Aboriginal instrument) and artwork, to support the festival opening. Many of our students accompanied Guy and staff to the dawn gathering, in what was a visually spectacular and moving event, a true celebration and acknowledgement of indigenous culture and country. I strongly encourage you to view the festival, if you were unable to be there – it is well worth watching.
Parklands staff have been extremely busy behind the scenes taking every opportunity to connect with our families through phone calls, parent meetings, creating individual student learning plans, and report writing to connect with families and provide a snapshot of student progress over the past 6 weeks. Last week, Mrs McDonald and Mr Hall were given the opportunity to learn about Literacy programs in action at other schools along the North West Coast. The ideas that Mr Hall and Mrs McDonald have brought back to Parklands will now be unpacked within our school context. Parklands High School is committed to continuous cycles of growth for both staff and students. This includes giving students the very best opportunities to learn and grow and be the best version of themselves. Our staff believe that every student can achieve at a high standard when given the opportunity to do so. Thank you, Mrs McDonald and Mr Hall, for looking at ways we can extend the quality opportunities provided to our students.
Our students embraced Clean Up Australia Day on Friday, both at our school and in our local community. Students took the opportunity to come together and make an impact by improving our environment for future generations. Some very simple, but effective ways that students, parents and carers can contribute to a sustainable Parklands environment are:
- provide students with a wrapper free lunch
- provide students with a re-usable drink bottle
- engage in conversations with students about the impact waste has on our environment
Thank you, Mr Hughes and Parklands staff, for embracing this day with our students.
Our Home Economics staff are proud to announce that we have a fully renovated (and very flash) Kitchen space for our Food students. Mrs Hine and Mrs Martin have been incredibly busy ensuring this space is clean from dust, building residue and well organised for our students. We are looking forward to the opportunity to support students in their cooking endeavours in this space in the very near future. Parklands has built a reputation for housing Master Chief contestants – the question is, when will the next celebrity chief reach our screens Mrs Hine?
This week has also been significant for the Health and Physical Education (HPE) staff and students. Finally, our very well-used basketball systems have been replaced and are now fit for our students and the likes of our HPE teacher and basketball extraordinaire – Miss Mariah Payne – to show us all what she is made of on the courts. Miss Payne is a true example of a person who has taken the opportunities in life that she has been afforded with both hands. Miss Payne began her basketball career in Burnie, was selected into the Tasmanian Institute of Sport (TIS), she worked hard and found herself playing for Australia. After several recruitment offers from college teams in the USA, and at just 16 years old, Miss Payne played basketball and studied at Minot State in America. After a very successful playing career, she returned to Australia as a qualified Health and Physical Education teacher and is now also Vice Captain of the Launceston Tornadoes. How lucky are our students to have the opportunity to learn and grow under Miss Payne’s guidance!
Bullying No Way Day is fast approaching and will be held at Parklands on March 19. Bullying No Way Day is a day designed to support school communities with delivering evidence-informed information and activities to students for a proactive approach to bullying education and prevention. This day will be an opportunity for our Student Leadership Group and Parklands staff to educate our students on appropriate strategies to use when taking action against bullying behaviours at school. We are looking forward to a fun filled day with the opportunity to grow our understanding and take away a profound message.
I would like to conclude by again acknowledging how hard staff at Parklands High School have been working over the past six weeks, by continuing to grow professionally and provide students with a multitude of opportunities at Parklands every single day. As our school community approaches the beginning of Week 7 and signs of learning fatigue creep in, I would like to remind everyone that if we fail to have high expectations of ourselves and others, we limit opportunity for ourselves and others to succeed. A wise person once told me to take the opportunities that life presents you with both hands and run with them as fast as you can. I think they are right.
Mrs Bianca Munday
Assistant Principal
On Thursday, February 25 we held our annual swimming carnival. Students elected to participate in the carnival prior to the day and we had a pleasing number of students competing. Despite some inclement weather, all students competed well on the day, earning valuable points for their house and trying to earn a spot on our Inter-High team. Overall house results for the carnival, as well as grade champions, will be announced at the upcoming assembly. As this was only the third year of our new carnival format, there was once again a large number of records broken. Well done to Sebastian Jongschaap, Ashtyn Thorn, Ava Crawford and James Frankcombe for their record-breaking efforts. Congratulations to all students who participated!
Inter-High Swimming Carnival 2021
On March 10, twenty-three eager Parklands High School students headed over to the Splash Aquatic Centre in Devonport to compete in the 2021 Inter-High Swimming Carnival. Students competed with courage and determination. Many of the students competed in multiple events, across different age groups, in order to score points for our team. Overall, we ranked seventh for the event.
OVERALL SCHOOL RESULTS
DIVISION A
1st Burnie 1,448 pts
2nd Ulverstone Secondary College 1,329 pts
3rd Latrobe 1,294 pts
4th Devonport 852 Pts
5th Leighlands 821 pts
6th Penguin 770 pts
7th Parklands 704 pts
Each Tuesday, The Hub room takes delivery of a wonderful selection of fresh produce from Loaves and Fishes, a non-profit organisation based in Devonport. Loaves and Fishes collect and distribute a wide range of fresh produce and food products, which are donated or surplus to coastal businesses.
The Hub students thoroughly enjoy inspecting the produce as each crate is unloaded; all students are given opportunities to be part of the process. Together we prepare bags, organise and divide a range of food for distribution to our families. The filled bags are placed in the school pantry and are available for anyone to take.
The produce is delicious; together we have made and eaten many different meals, including zuchinni fritters, spaghetti bolognese, potato bake and pickled beetroot, which have all been fantastic opportunities for our student to learn valuable life skills.
Feel free to grab a bag the next time you pop into the school.
Ms Julia Brown
Hub Teacher
This week our gym has been undergoing an exciting new development - new basketball hoops! We put together a team to test them out and they were very excited with this fresh addition; the court will be popular with students for years to come. Brody Jones said "I can't wait to use these hoops. I'm not great at basketball but my goodness I am keen to get a few sweet swishes."
Year 8 so far this year
Walking into this new year, we felt a little anxious and quite exited - with a wave of different emotions - and keen to get back into learning; seeing faces we have not seen for a while, friends, teachers and new students being welcomed. After the first few weeks enjoying time with our friends and peers, we hit it off with Crazy Sock Day. Sport seasons is starting soon, which includes Netball for girls, and football for boys. Four weeks into the term and we are preparing ourselves for the 2021 Swimming Carnival. We are jumping into it all with excitement and we are ready to get those participation points up for our houses. Two weeks came by and students are heading off to the swimming Inter-High in Devonport; swimming is awesome and the team will be giving it their best shot. Good job everyone, for partitioning in the swimming carnival and we wish our Inter-High team a fun fille and successful day. The term is going pretty well so far and we hope your couple weeks here have been enjoyable.
Sincerely; ELLA & BENITA
Class captains of 8D
Our Advanced Manufacturing class has been working on some STEM projects. We have made a windmill that charges an LED light, a cable car that carries an object, a solar powered car, a water filtration system and an hydraulic lift. All projects have been a fun way to learn the science and technology behind each concept and gave us some classroom displays at the end.
Ms Cindy Wescombe
Teacher
Year 10 recently had a visit from the Master Builder’s Association. Their representatives spoke about pathways Into the construction industry. The talk included information on construction jobs in Tasmania, the types of apprentices that are required, information about apprenticeships, where they can lead to, and insight from a second year carpentry apprentice who was sharing some of his thoughts on gaining an apprenticeship in the industry. We had a valuable question time and there were several students really keen to learn more. It was a very informative talk and very valuable exposure to the industry.
On the March 5, students from Parklands awoke super early for the dawn service of “mapali” marking the official opening of the Ten Days on the Island festival. At 5.50am we gathered on the beach, barefoot, absorbing the beautiful atmosphere of what was growing into an exciting, empowering cultural experience. Elder Dave Gogh retold the narrative of the palawa people and how they came to be. This was supported by locals, elders, dancers from reflections (including some of our students from Parklands), performers from Slipstream, drummers from local community groups, and artwork produced in collaboration with students from many schools including Parklands and an art company from Melbourne (GAS).
As Dave spoke, the narrative played out before our eyes, with large inflatable sculptures, lanterns and flags diverting our attention to different elements of the story. Fireworks directed our eyes to the sky, before performers and elders including our own Mr Grey lit the fires with the hand-made luwari sticks. Students followed the fire and elders across the beach braving the cold whilst taking in the awesome experience. Clap sticks, made by our students, Mr Cornwall and Chalky, sounded amazing as they echoed across the beach.
mapali was concluded with a welcome to country and a live band that welcomed the day as the sun rose. This was an incredible experience for all and we are so proud of everyone involved. Thank you to Mr Guy Chalky Grey, David Gogh, Nikki Brannigan, Mitchem, Maddie Korn and Morris from GAS for working with us and inviting us to participate in this biannual event.
After a fantastic morning and hard work, we arrived for homegroup after a quick McDonalds breakfast. What a great start to the day.
We hope everyone who attended was as amazed as we were and take the opportunity to attend other events offered as part of this festival or view the amazing artwork displayed at mapali at the Makers Market.
Miss Devlin
Year 8 Coordinator
This year Parklands has added some new subjects to its Year 11 and 12 scope, with students now able to enrol in subjects such as Workshop Techniques (woodwork), Art Practice, Essential Skills Using Computers and the Internet, as well as English Applied and Workplace Maths. The small group of students enrolled fulltime have made a positive start to the school year, enjoying the smaller class sizes and familiar faces.
The VET Health Services Assistance III class has also been very busy, with students being assessed on a Participate in Workplace Health and Safety unit in preparation for Work Placement next term.
Mrs Andrea Crawford
Year 11 & 12 Coordinator
A huge thank you to Stubbs Construction for the fabulous work completing our new beautifully renovated kitchen.
Dear Parents, Carers and Students
Our school carpark is a busy place before and after school and we would like to ensure the safety of all of our students, by reminding students that scooters and bikes should not be ridden on school grounds. Bikes and scooters are able to be stored in the bike rack outside our administration building during the school day. Thank you for your ongoing support with this.
In Science, Year 7 students have been working on achieving their Bunsen burner licences. Classes have also started working on Classification within the animal and plant kingdoms and have dissected plants, classified various animal specimens and attempted to grow fungi in a controlled environment.
Mrs Sushames
Teacher
Laptop Payments
Laptops are in the process of being issued to participating students.
If your child will not be participating, please notify the school office.
Levies
Invoices have been processed for 2021 levies.
Please contact the school office if you are unable to pay by the due date.