Dear Parents/Carers, Students and Friends of Prospect High School,

Beacon Foundation's Polish Work Readiness program

Recently Grade 9 students participated in the Beacon Foundation's Polish Work Readiness program. External presenters ran work-readiness workshops with students focusing on developing interview techniques and communication skills, personal presentation and first impressions, skill identification, teamwork and networking. Feedback from students included: I know more about how to get a job and the skills needed; it helped me realise not to get nervous and overwhelmed about interiews; and I’ve learnt so much about first impressions and how important they are! This important information was well-received by students and will assist with their future career planning.

Book Week

Book Week and Reading Expo were held this week. There have been awesome displays of new books that students have been able to browse. Students have also been able to enter many competitions that Mrs Williams has run. The theme this year for Book Week is Old World, New Worlds, Other Worlds. One of the competitions running was a Writing Competition where students were able to submit a short story, poem, PowerPoint, play script, or other written piece, based on one of the 'Worlds'.

Today, a Mad Hatters Tea Party was hosted in the library, where students were served by staff who were dressed up as Alice in Wonderland.

Thanks to students who supported and had fun with Book Week this week. A big thanks to Mrs Narelle Williams for her amazing energy and creativity.

Launceston College and Newstead College Productions

Students from our Arts programs and the Grade 9 cohort were given the opportunity to attend Launceston College production Grease and Newstead College production Legally Blonde. There were a number of students, who had previously attended Prospect High School, involved in these outstanding productions either on stage or behind the scenes. Congratulations to these students and congratulations to the production teams at Launceston College and Newstead College. Students who attended were excellent ambassadors for the school.

Grade 6 Parent Information Evening

Last night Prospect High School went live on Facebook with our online Grade 6 Parent Information Evening. Information presented by staff included enrolment, uniform, and office procedures, an outline of the Prospect High School School-Wide Expectations, subjects studied in Grade 7, student support services, and extension opportunities offered both curricula and extra-curricula. Students also spoke about their experiences at Prospect High School. Many thanks to the production team Mr Mario Bergamin, Mr Brendan Poke, Mr Tony Guiterrez, Mrs Rachel Harrop and student helpers. If you were unable to view this, please contact the office on 6344 4744.

2021 School Satisfaction Surveys

Each year the Department of Education conducts School Satisfaction Surveys in Tasmanian Government schools, to gain feedback on what you think our schools do well and where you think we may improve.

We encourage you to complete the survey about Prospect High School. Your feedback is very important to help us inform our school planning and decision-making.

You can complete the online survey at any time until Friday 17 September 2021. Survey link: https://ncv.microsoft.com/tcDaxMhBXx

All responses are anonymous and confidential with the survey carried out on a secure website.

Feedback is only accessible to the school principal and teachers and relevant Department of Education staff, in online summary report formats no individuals or families are identifiable.

For any assistance please contact Education Performance and Review by emailing: schoolsurveys@education.tas.gov.au.

Mrs Lee Barker
Principal

On Monday the 23^rd of August Prospect High School presented their specialised programs for the Senior Secondary @ Prospect for 2022.

High school students from Riverside, Exeter, Queechy, Kings Meadows, Launceston Big Picture School, Lilydale, and Prospect participated in a program of events with sessions on:

• Hands-on Hospitality (Cert I Hospitality and Food and Hospitality Enterprise, TASC level 2)
• Japanese (TASC Level 2 and 3)
• Complementary and Alternative Therapies - Personal Health and Wellbeing (TASC Level 2)

Students explored a range of topics and units covered and participated in some practical activities and workshops relevant to the area in which they were interested. We were also able to enjoy morning tea prepared by our potential hospitality students.

This was the first event in the Northern Urban Collective Senior Secondary calendar with Grade 10 students able to participate in similar open days during the week showcasing the specialist programs at Riverside, Queechy, Lilydale, Kings Meadows, and Exeter.

We are holding a Parent Information evening on Thursday, 2^nd September from 6.00 to 7.00 pm at Prospect High School to provide parents and carers with more information about the Year 11/12 offerings and other topics, such as shared enrolments, transport, and the dynamics of the programs.

Please see the flyer for event details, and for more information, please contact Jennifer Pollard on 6345 7405.

Special thanks to our helpers on the day - Charles, Riley, Katie, Myshayla, Land, Georgia, Mya, Sofia, and Alicia .

 Adrienne McMahon (with Jennifer Pollard, Jan Phillips, and Anh Quach)

We've been super busy in 11/12 space this fortnight. Jan ran another marvellous aromatherapy workshop where students enjoy the magic scents of oils and created soothing oil blends to treat insomnia, depression, anxiety and concentration. This workshop formed part of the Complementary and Alternative Therapies unit that students are studying this year. As so many students were interested in the subject, we opened the workshop up to Years 9 and 10 students. Continuing our understanding of Complementary Medicine, we've been studying the diagnostic approach of iridology and tongue analysis, and on Tuesday, renowned naturopath, Cherie Pash, will run a Naturopathy and Herbal Medicine workshop for students. In this session, students will learn about the ins and outs of being a naturopath, explore some of the diagnostic tools used by naturopaths, and have the opportunity to create their own, take-home herbal mixture to alleviate anxiety and worry. Interested students from Years 9 and 10 are again invited to attend. See Ms Pollard to join.

On Monday, we opened our 11/12 classroom and the Eagle's Nest Cafe to host the Senior Secondary @ Prospect Open Day. In Japanese, the students were able to test their skills in using chopsticks and become a language detective. In the kitchen, Hospitality students were able to demonstrate their superior flavour combination skills and magic up a biscuit and then style and photograph their creation. In all, it was a great morning, lots of fun, and the chance to meet some lovely students from the Northern schools. 

Enormous thanks to the 11/12 team of teachers - Adrienne McMahon, Jan Phillips, and Anh Quach for their outstanding efforts to make the Open Day happen and showcase our 11/12 space and the 2022 specialised course offerings. Thank you also to the Grade 10 leadership team - Steve Andrews, Carmen Slore and Sonya Matthews for assisting in providing administrative and logistical support. 

Thursday, 2nd September, we are hosting an Information Evening for parents and students to learn more about what 11/12 can offer students. The landscape of how and where to complete your years 11 and 12 is changing. There are so many options for students, a much greater range of support and study options, as well as specialised programmes. If you are interested in learning more, please come along to the Information Evening (6.00 to 7.00). We will start in the Eagle's Nest Cafe and enjoy a light refreshment during the presentation, and then explore the 11/12 spaces and the opportunities offered. For more information, please contact Jennifer Pollard on 6345 7405. 

In art, the 11/12 students are joining the 9/10 students and heading to Hobart to visit Mona Museum of Old and New Art on Friday, 27th August. The students are really excited to have the opportunity to build their understanding of art techniques, approaches and styles, and are hoping for inspiration for their final art project for Term 3. 

Jennifer Pollard

Jake and I had so much fun hanging out with your students. They were fantastic! The business mentors were really impressed with the engagement of students.

I’ve included a few comments from the feedback forms below for your newsletter/socials/reference:

Mentors:

“Great to meet the students and see how bright and engaged they were”

“Great bunch of eager year 9’s who were clearly motivated to make the most of the opportunity”

“Really great to work with students, understand their needs and give them some ideas from my experience”

“Important to give students a degree of comfort/confidence around the job interview process”

“Fantastic chance for students to hear real examples of different careers”

Students:

“This program was very interesting, and I learnt everything to be prepared for my future”

“It was valuable because it has taught us how to prepare for an interview and it gave me a lot of knowledge”

“Taught me some very valuable skills and ideas”

“Knowledge for future interviews and first impressions”

“The information given wasn’t too complicated, but it also went into great detail on how to succeed with our career path”

“It showed me how many different job opportunities there are out there. I think the biggest thing I took from today is that you don’t necessarily have to know what you want to do, you can experiment”

“This program was fun and extremely beneficial work-wise. The mock interviews were very useful and so were the skill sets spoken”

Grade 7

Piper is an amazing student!  This week during a health lesson Piper volunteered to assist me with explaining a health topic to her class without any preparation time.  Piper demonstrated extensive knowledge of the topic and spoke with absolute clarity.  It is not an easy task to have the confidence to speak in front of peers. Piper demonstrated courage, self-confidence, and an ability to convey the information in a way that students could understand and relate to.  I was so impressed by her ‘teaching’ that I called a colleague teacher to come and watch!  Piper, I was really impressed by your self-confidence and the way you engaged the audience. You have a real gift!  I am really thankful that you assisted me in my lesson and most importantly your peer group was in ‘awe’ of you.  As a teacher, these ‘golden moments’ remind us of why we do our job!  It made me really proud to be a teacher at Prospect High School!  I will be watching Piper’s leadership in the future.

Grade 8

8-3 Erik, Will and Abi – For their committed and consistent approach to their learning.

Grade 10

10-1 Charlotte and Josh for their dedication and application to their studies. They consistently show a high level of work ethic and endeavour to complete all tasks. They are helpful and work well with those around them. Well done Charlotte and Josh.

School Executive

Principal
Mrs Lee Barker

Assistant Principals
Mr Mario Bergamin and Ms Bonnie Hall

School Business Manager
Mrs Debbie Chancellor

Grade Teams

Senior Grade Leaders
Grade 7 Mrs Hannah Derbyshire
Grade 8 Mr Brendan Poke
Grade 9 Ms Sandra De Paoli
Grade 10 Mrs Carmen Slore
Years 11/12 Ms Jennifer Pollard

Grade Leaders
Grade 7 Mrs Katrina Dawkins and Mr Scott Brewer
Grade 8 Miss Kirsty Wilson and Mr Brad Colson
Grade 9 Mr Will Reynolds and Mrs Leonie Smith
Grade 10 Mrs Sonya Matthews and Mr Steven Andrews
Years 11/12 Mrs Jan Phillips

Support Staff

School Psychologist
Mr Gene Colgrave
(Mondays and Fridays)

School Social Worker
Mr Brendan Dixon
(Wednesdays, alternate Thursdays and Fridays)

School Health Nurse
Mrs Mia Blair
(Tuesdays and alternate Fridays)

Chaplain
Mr Lachie Unwin
(Tuesdays and Thursdays)

Aboriginal Education Officer
Miss Taylor Wigg
(Mondays and Fridays)