Dear families,

Welcome to our first newsletter of Term 2.

Term 2 is a special time in schools and a time for deep learning. There are fewer of those (important) disruptions to learning and staff and students know each other well. Classroom routines are well and truly established and students have developed the stamina to be able to engage in the learning expectations as they progress through their schooling journey. As we embark on catching up those students who are behind and extending those who are at or above standard, we don’t have a minute to waste. Please work with us to ensure your young person is at school every day so that they can take advantage of the opportunities and rich learning provided to them.

I want to thank you for your attendance at our Big Breakfast on the last day of Term 1. Staff were pleased to see so many families take up this opportunity and found the chance to connect very beneficial. You will have seen in the reporting package we sent home late last term a schedule for reporting for the rest of this year. This term you will be invited in for 1:1 meetings with teachers later in the term (23rd and 24th June) where there is an opportunity to unpack evidence of learning and discuss student progress with our structured approach to literacy. Please mark these dates in your calendar.

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in the school’s commemoration of ANZAC Day: those who supported students to attend the community service on the 25th, those who organised and participated in our school commemoration last week and for the rich learning taking place in classrooms. The service here at school was poignant, solemn and respectful and represents one of the traditions in this school which make it a very special place.  I also particularly acknowledge Zach from Grade 9 whose speech at the community event led to multiple people expressing to me how impressive it was.

These are the values of our school and Department: Responsibility, Courage, Growth, Respect and Connection. They represent the fundamental beliefs and principles that steer the way we go about our work in this school. They impact every aspect of our school, including how we make decisions and interact with each other and our environment. This term, we are working to further unpack these values into a statement of expected behaviours in our school. We have been working with staff on this and recently students and there will be an opportunity for parents and carers to be involved later in the term. Here are some of our lower primary students’ thoughts about what the value of Courage means to them:

• Going on the bus to school and home
• Leaving mum in the morning
• Trying something you haven’t done before
• Writing and reading tricky words
• Going to Cross Country
• Standing up for our friends if someone is being mean
• Believing in yourself
• Calling our unkind behaviour
• Talking or singing in assembly
• Being strong in new situations

I look forward to sharing the progress of this work with you as the year progresses.

Over the next few weeks we will conduct a fire drill. A drill is an important opportunity for us to test our emergency evacuation procedures and that everyone knows what to do in the case of an emergency. Shortly before the drill we will SMS all families and also post a notice on our Facebook page for members of the community to view.

I hope you adapting well to the change in seasons which seems to have come in a hurry. As always, please reach out if there is anything I can help with.

David Bryant,

Acting Principal

Last Thursday 1st May, Grades 4 and 6 went to Agfest.  

We entered our Radishes and Undies in the “Soil your Undies” competition which was held by the University of Tasmania and we were amazed to see that nearly 40 schools had participated as well. Our radishes were not the biggest or heaviest, weighing about 370g, the winning radish weighed over 1kg!  

Our undies were very soiled but fell short of first place by a shade or two of dirt, yes, the darker the dirt the better. 

The students enjoyed a Food and Fibre Scavenger Hunt and met Rum'un, our new AFL mascot. 

The scavenger hunt allowed the students to communicate with stall holders by introducing themselves and asking questions about products and services, taste a few treats, fulfil activities and collect a freebie or two. Meeting our heroic service officers in the Army, Police Force, Fire Service and Ambulance were highlights as students got close and personal with motorbikes and fire trucks. 

It was a truly successful day. 

Yvonne Albers

Food and Fibre Teacher 

Senior secondary students visited Agfest last Thursday to extend their knowledge of recreational activities in Tasmania.  Their task was to find at least 5 different recreational activities and answer a series of questions. Different activities they learnt more about included hunting, restoring old machinery, 4 wheel driving, playing instruments as part of a band, joining Girl Guides, Side by Side 4WD, camping, caravaning, fishing and boating. 

Students enjoyed the range of food on offer including amazing pork boa buns, dipping dots, soft serve ice cream with sherbet and Jodie finally got her long sort after dagwood dog. 

For Jodie, it was her first trip to Agfest and she was surprised by the diversity of the stalls and the range of recreational activities on display. 

The most enjoyable parts for students included; all the walking, exploring, watching the working dogs, the atmosphere, baby cows at the petting zoo and the range of fidgets available for purchase. 

Thanks Jodie for organising and exposing our students to the vast opportunities that are available here in Tasmania. 

Jill Bennett  

11/12 AST

With great excitement, 6 wethers arrived last Wednesday for the school wether challenge which will run for the next 6 months, through to the September Show day. 

All the wethers this year have come from the same property from Avoca. They were drenched, vaccinated, treated for lice and weighed before heading out to the 15 different schools participating this year.  

Unlike previous years, the sheep haven’t been freshly shorn and are already carrying 4 months wool. Our sheep weigh between 48 and 57 kgs. Some of the decisions students will make in the next few weeks are whether we aim for maximum wool return, meat return or a combination of both. They look forward to breaking them in to lead and learning more about merino sheep. 

The students from the secondary elective and Grade 6 are looking forward to mapping the growth of our sheep in the coming months. 

A big thank you to Lachie West for organising the sheep, to Avoca Farms for providing the sheep and to Winton for donating a large bale of lucerne hay. We are looking for some donations of grain please to help build some body weight, if you are able to help us out it would be greatly appreciated.

Jill Bennett 

11/12 AST

Campbell Town District High School is committed to helping students develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be safe and respectful users of technology.  

We are aware that students’ online experiences often move seamlessly between school and home, and are therefore aiming to develop, with your support, a whole-of-community approach to keeping our students safe online.  

We will be sharing a range of information, tips and resources for parents and carers from the eSafety Commissioner (eSafety.gov.au) that you can use with your family to help create positive experiences for your children online. We encourage all parents and carers to keep an eye on our school newsletter, website and social media channels for information you can use to build your knowledge, skills and understanding of online safety. 

The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety.gov.au) has released resources to help parents and carers from all backgrounds protect their families online.

The Online Safety for Every Family resources cover how to:

• get started with social media
• enjoy safer online gaming
• help your child if they are bullied online.

And to make sure more families can start a conversation with their children about online safety, the resources are available in English, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Burmese, Dari, Hindi, Nepali, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Swahili, Tamil, Tigrinya, Uyghur and Vietnamese.

Lyrae Rattray

Safeguarding Lead

As Term 2 kicks off, we wanted to share a timely reminder about the importance of school attendance.

We love seeing your child at school every day – it’s the best place for them to learn and grow. It’s a chance to be around their friends, learn new things (including life skills), spark their curiosity and have fun.

Term 2 is packed with exciting things your child won’t want to miss.

For tips on creating positive attendance habits, visit the Anything can happen website.

Please talk to us if you’re having trouble getting your child to school. We’re here to help and support is available.