Term 2 - Week 2 7/5/21
From our Principal
Welcome back to Term 2!
We are delighted to be re-introducing a regular newsletter with the intention of publishing in weeks 1, 5 and 9 each term.
Improved communication between school and families is one of my personal goals for this year and we look forward to using this to share successes, provide information about upcoming events and to discuss matters of importance to our school.
Readers are also able to translate into one hundred languages which we hope will support the many families who have a home language other than English.
It is intended to complement, rather than replace our existing communication methods so we still encourage you to follow us on Facebook and look out for emails and texts from our school.
Initial impressions
Term 1 was a busy one at Salisbury East High School and I hit the ground running as the new principal.
I’d like to thank staff, students and families for the overwhelmingly positive welcome and the way that you have supported me as I’ve learnt about the ways that we do things.
I’ve found students to be overall very friendly and the staff to be incredibly professional. They are here for the right reasons – wanting to see each and everyone of our students be successful.
There are so many things that our school currently does incredibly well with some ‘stand-out’ programs and processes. Additionally, there are also some opportunities to refine some of the ways we do things to ensure that we are continuing to provide a world class contemporary education for the full range of students and I look forward to sharing our improvement agenda in the months to come.
Keeping the focus on learning
At the end of the term I read every Year 8, 12 and Supported Learning Class report and wrote an individualised comment.
This term I will follow the same process for Year 9, 10, 11 and SEAL students.
At our whole school assembly in Week 3 we will recognise the achievements of students who have achieved high Grade Point Averages (GPAs) for term 1 but also those who have demonstrated outstanding attitude towards learning in all of their subjects.
Unfortunately, we do have some students who weren’t as successful and, in that context, both the Middle School and Senior School teams are currently in the process of connecting with relevant students and parents to make plans for turning things around.
Please continue to monitor your child’s progress through the Daymap parent portal and don’t hesitate to contact teachers if ever you have any queries.
This term…
On the first day of term Year 9 and 10 students had the opportunity to listen to a presentation from the Sammy D Foundation. Neil Davis, lost his son (a promising footballer) at 17 in a one-punch scenario at a party almost thirteen years ago and since then has been committed to raising awareness about the impact of violence. It was a very powerful presentation with a strong message.
For more information about the Sammy D Foundation, go onto their website sammydfoundation.org.au
There will be more opportunities to get involved with a lot of school sport but also an increased range of recess and lunchtime activities for students to try. These are all part of our goal of building school belonging and connection.
We will be celebrating the Arts (Music and Visual Arts) during this term with the Arts Showcase on 25th & 26th May. Look out for more information through our Facebook page.
We have set aside, June 24th to celebrate and learn about all the cultures that make up our school community through a Cultural Day. This will largely be student led by our newly formed Intercultural Advisory Group.
Advance notice – Student Free Day - Building Intercultural Understanding
Tuesday, June 15th is our scheduled staff professional learning day for Term 2. This is immediately following the public holiday on the Monday of that week.
Staff will be involved in a full day of learning about improving our intercultural understanding – including why it is so important for student engagement, how best to deal with stereotypical or racist comments, how to make the curriculum more inclusive for students from all cultural backgrounds, etc.
Staffing News:
Welcome to the following new members of staff:
Chloe Austen (Middle School English/HASS + Stage 2 Research Project) – replacing Amy Haskett who has returned to her regular role as one of our ‘top’ relieving teachers.
Emma Baker (Health and Physical Education) – replacing Jess Abell who has commenced maternity leave.
Melissa Hurrell (Reception and Facilities Management) – replacing Margret Harrett who is taking long service leave for this term.
Luke Will (FLO Case Management) – replacing Kara Walters who has moved into the Senior School Youth Worker position.
Materials and Services Charges:
Just a friendly reminder that Materials and Services charges for 2021 are now due and that reminder invoices will be issued soon.
While the bulk of our funding comes from the government, the parent contributions we receive make a huge difference to our budget bottom line and what we can make available to students.
We also offer the opportunity to pay in instalments and encourage you to take advantage of this either by completing the attached ‘Agreement to pay’ or direct debit form or directly contacting our Finance Officer, Jo Mibus.
At this stage it also appears that a number of our eligible families have not applied for School Card so encourage you to do this as soon as possible. Again, if you are having difficulty with this, please contact Jo for assistance.
Please see below the link to complete the on-line form.
Mobile phone policy – have your say:
Like all secondary schools, we are required to review our existing policy before the end of this term.
The Department for Education recognises that for a wide range of reasons, it is appropriate for secondary students to bring phones to school with family support. However, it is up to schools to determine under what circumstances should they be able to be used at school.
Currently at our school students are permitted to carry their phones with them at all times (ideally in their bages) but are not permitted to use without teacher permission during class time. If students are using them without permission, they get a reminder on the first occasion and then can have confiscated and securely stored at the front office until the end of the day.
Phones are certainly a temptation for many students and the level of distraction is something that many teachers are concerned about. Inappropriate use of phones can occasionally present difficulties if other members of the school community are photographed or filmed without their permission.
So what do you think?
Given that the government says that it is reasonable for secondary students to bring phones to school, what should happen to them once they are at school?
· Some schools require phones to be stored in lockers for the day or at least during lesson time.
· Some schools require phones to be stored in a special ‘high tech’ pouch for the day which means that students can have them in their possession but means that they cannot be used
· Some schools confiscate immediately the phone is seen in class – without giving a warning
· Some schools have different approaches for different year levels – eg tighter restrictions for younger students.
Over the coming weeks we will be gathering student perspectives but we want to hear from you as well. We will also send out a very brief survey to all families in the coming weeks.
However, we welcome your thoughts right now. Email your views to Kristen.masters775@schools.sa.edu.au.
Kristen Masters
Principal
International Jazz Day
On Friday the April 30th a group of Salisbury East Music students attended an excursion to the Adelaide Festival Centre as a part of the celebration of International Jazz Day. At this event, students worked with students from other schools and industry experts to study the Jazz genre and rehearse an arrangement of 'We Are Australian'. The day culminated in an impressive New Orleans style parade through the Adelaide parklands where students showcased their work from the day.
Cultural Festival
The Salisbury East High School Cultural Festival will be on the 24th of June to celebrate the rich cultural diversity here at our school. As part of our Intercultural Understanding Capability in the Australian Curriculum and the SACE, students will engage in activities to promote connectedness and belonging. Please keep an eye out on the school Facebook page for more information! Any members of our community who would like to get involved, please contact Christina Henriksson on christina.henriksson909@schools.sa.edu.au or call the school on 8258 2070.
Year 7 to High School
My name is Kate Mckinna and I am the Transition Leader for Salisbury East High School. My job was established late last year, to better support the year 7 and 8 students and families with the move into high school for the start of the 2022 school year. My goal for this section of the newsletter, is to update you with all thing’s year 7 to high school and transition for year 8 students.
SEHS is already in the depths of planning for our new year 7 students. In term 1, we held a planning day for all staff at SEHS to make changes to existing curriculum and plan new learning, which will suit the needs of our middle school learners. This was a very productive day, with all curriculum areas creating the ‘bones’ of their new subject offerings. Late in the term we also held our first open night for prospective families – with close to 90 groups through the school.
We have been in talks with the Department for Education about classrooms, staffing, class sizes and funding. Whilst these conversations continue, we do know that we will be capped at 175 students for both year 8, and year 7 enrolments. At this stage, we are planning to have a curriculum for year 7 and 8 students that involves the four core subjects – English, Maths, Science and HASS. We will then offer a range of subjects as a taster for students so that they can then have some more informed choices of subjects in the following year. Some of the elective subjects will include: Music, Design and Technology, Food Technology and Digital Technology, Art and Languages.
This term we have Year 6 STEM days for students from our feeder schools. The enrolment process also starts via the primary schools this term. The enrolment process will be online for families unless a pack is requested from the primary school front office. Looking forward, we have locked in our transition dates for the end of the year. These will be held on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd of December (Term 4, Week 8).
I am very excited for the year 7s to join us at SEHS. I think it will provide excellent an excellent opportunity for learning continuity and challenge for students. If you have any questions about the move to high school, or concerns you would like to discuss, please feel free to contact me on the details below.
Kate Mckinna
Phone: 8258 2070
Email: Kate.Mckinna122@schools.sa.edu.au
2021 Arts Showcases
NAPLAN Testing
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. At SEHS students in Year 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The assessment provides parents/carers and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. This year, the NAPLAN Online test window is 11 to 21 May.
Please click on the attachment below for more information
Year 9 WW1 Display
On Wednesday, Week 11 (31st March), classes 907 and 908 held a WW1 display of their propaganda posters and trench dioramas which are now in display in the Stem Centre.
