Dear Parents, Students and Friends of Prospect High School,

Welcome to first term of 2020, particularly to Grade 7 students and new students in Grades 8, 9 and 10 and their families.  It has been very pleasing to see students settled and engaged in their learning on my visits to classes. Thanks to parents and carers for your support with helping students begin positively by providing all necessary books and equipment, and encouraging students to look very smart in their uniform.

Thank you

I would like to thank and acknowledge the non-teaching staff for their tireless work over the holidays in preparing the classrooms, grounds and teaching resources ready for the return of students and teaching staff. Their work has greatly helped the term begin smoothly.

Staffing

Welcome to the following staff members

EFA Team – Ms Haileigh Wise

Grade 7 Team – Mr Brad Colson, Mr Kieran Hume, Mr Tony Gutierrez

Grade 8 Team – Mrs Anna Musovic (Senior Grade Leader), Ms Ellie Couch

Grade 9 Team – Ms Carmen Slore (Senior Grade Leader), Ms Tamieka de Jong, Ms Katie Mathews, Mr Tony Harrington

Grade 10 Team – Ms Helenna Winnberg, Mrs Danielle Davey,

Grade 11/12 Team –Ms  Jennifer Pollard (Senior Grade Leader),

Grade 11/12

Prospect High School is officially an Extension High School for a second year as we cater for both Grades 11 and 12 this year. Thank you to Mrs Derbyshire for facilitating the implementation, and to Ms Pollard for her assistance with timetables and administration.

New times of the day and communication with your child

Prospect High School has moved to a four lesson day.  Times are as follows:

Students cannot be contacted whilst in class, as mobile phones need to be stored in lockers. However, if you need to make contact with your child you can call or text them on their phone during break time (recess or lunch) or after 3.00pm. We cannot guarantee that students will receive messages at the end of the day.

Duty of Care

A reminder that staff are not on duty until 8.20am and that students should not be on school grounds or inside school buildings until this time. Prior to this students are the responsibility of parents and/or carers.

Attendance and lateness 

It is vital that students attend school every day. A sense of purpose and commitment is achieved with regular attendance. Every child has a chance of success with their learning when they attend regularly. Please encourage your children to value their education and help them become organised and attend every day. Please make appointments before or after school hours. It also important to get your child to school on time. The school day begins at 8.20am and Care starts at 8.40am. Students miss important information when they arrive late. Please do not let your child be late. This can develop into a poor habit that effects learning, when prolonged.

Uniform

Students are looking very smart in the Prospect High School summer uniform. Well done to students for representing the school with pride and thanks to parents for your support. A reminder that white socks (without logos or markings) are required to be worn. Failure to wear these may mean restricted participation in school activities and/or restricted movement in areas of the school. The uniform shop has a supply of white socks and other items of uniform.  I would like to remind parents of uniform requirements, and that no writing, logos or stripes should appear on any item (shorts, track pants, socks, long pants) except for the Prospect High School logo. Adidas, Nike, etc socks, shorts and track pants can only be worn for Physical Education lessons and sport. A reminder also that shorts should be mid-thigh length. The School Association have endorsed our uniform dress code and support the following reasons that full school uniform should be worn:

1. Sense of Belonging

When students are dressed in school uniform they all have a sense of belonging to the Prospect High School community.

2. Safety

It is easy to identify people who should not be on the school grounds if Prospect students are in full school uniform.

3. Judgements About Our School

We present a positive image to the wider community if all our students are in school uniform, and people are more likely to make positive judgements about our school and our students.

4. Social Equalisation

Students are not judged on the basis of what they are wearing if all students are in school uniform. Having all students in school uniform sends a strong message that we value all students equally.

5. Preparing for Expectations in the World of Work

Many workplaces have a uniform and most workplaces have a dress code, so we are preparing students for the world of work by asking them to be in the habit of wearing a uniform at school.

Welcome Barbecue

A reminder that the Welcome Barbecue will be held in the central courtyard on Monday 17^th February from 5.00-6.30pm. New and current families are invited to come along and meet new and current staff. Looking forward to seeing parents and students on Monday afternoon.

School Association Meeting

The first School Association meeting will be held in the D Block meeting room on Wednesday 19^th February. This is a chance for parents to have a voice in decision making with policies and initiatives for the benefit of students at Prospect High School. New members are welcome.

Finally, I am looking forward to working with families to ensure a year of continuous improvement, growth, achievement and success for all students.  Please do not hesitate to contact your child/ren’s teacher/s if you wish to discuss their learning, or if you have any concerns.

Mrs Lee Barker

Principal

Welcome to our new 'Schoolzine' format of the newsletter.

PHS's newsletter "The Prospector" is produced every second Friday of each school term.

If the child/ren in your care has excelled in any field outside of school, we would love to hear about it and celebrate their success by featuring them in the newsletter.  Please email information and photos to prospect.high@education.tas.gov.au

Please be aware, that if you have indicated 'no' to particular sections of the permissions of the Validation Form, we are unable to include articles which feature your child/ren.

For some students, we only have the email address of one parent on file.  If both parents would like to receive the newsletter by email, please contact the Admin office on 6344 4744, or email prospect.high@education.tas.gov.au or hit the "Subscribe to Newsletter" area at the top of the newsletter.

If you would like to download the Schoolzine app, for instructions, please hit the "Download the app" section at the top of the newsletter.  When prompted, please use the passcode 3377. This will send an alert to your device when the newsletter is published.

If you do not have a smartphone, please contact the Admin office on 6344 4744, as it is important you are able to access the newsletter so that you receive important notices and information.

PARENTS WELCOME BARBEQUE

Monday, 17^th February 2020

We would like to invite all parents/guardians of students to a welcome barbeque on Monday, 17^th February. This will take place at school in the Central Courtyard from 5:00 – 6:30p.m. The aim of the evening is to provide parents and friends with an opportunity to meet and chat with Care and other teachers, as well as Grade Leaders in a comfortable and informal setting.  

Our Pastoral Care system is an important part of the school life of our students. Care Teachers monitor each student’s overall progress and take a personal interest in their well-being. Prospect promotes an educational partnership between home and school with parents being encouraged to contact subject or Care Teachers when they believe it is necessary.

If you intend coming along to the barbeque, we would appreciate you filling in the slip below for ordering purposes; only one return required per family.

This form needs to be returned to your child’s Care Teacher by Monday, 17^th February.

Please note this is an alcohol and smoke free evening. We hope to see many parents at the welcome barbeque and look forward to meeting you.

WELCOME BARBEQUE - 2020

Monday, 17^th February: 5:00 – 6:30pm

 Please complete and return to your Care Teacher by Monday, 17^th February 2020

 Student:  ___________________________               Care Group:  ____________

Parent/Guardian Signature:  ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________________

If your child has asthma and an individualised action plan that you would like us to follow, please provide the school with the action plan.  For students who do not have an individualised action plan, in the case of an asthma attack, the school would follow national guidelines on treatment of an asthma attack.

Due to the risk to asthmatics, please be advised that aerosols, including deodorant are prohibited on school grounds. 

Scholastic Book Club

New Books in the Library - Come in and check them out!

Too Cool for School: A funny thing happened to Simon Sidebottom Book 2 by P.Crumble and Dean Rankine

Comical Fiction

Simon's (still) having a bad day. It’s the first day back at school and things are going from BAD to EMBARRASSINGLY BAD for Simon Sidebottom. Can things get any worse? Yes! Because YOU get to choose what happens next. Will Simon be undone by Principal Fart-Smells? Will his teacher, Miss Giraffe, meet a ferretty end? Will Simon have his hair vacuumed off by the creepy school cleaner?

Peter Lalor by Allan Drummond

The central event of the gold rushes to the Victorian goldfields was the Eureka Rebellion. And the central character in the Eureka Rebellion was Peter Lalor.  Did you know he lost his left arm as a result of the battle? That put an end to his gold digging days but led to his political career.

Hardy Boys Adventures – Into thin air by Franklin W. Dixon

Adventure Fiction

Daisy Rodriguez is missing. Just like that, gone without a trace. Her father, Hector Rodriguez owner of Funspot, Bayport’s local amusement park is frantic. He feels he’s to blame, since Funspot was recently the location of another disappearance. Could Daisy’s vanishing be somehow connected? Joe and Frank Hardy figured out the first Funspot mystery and are up to their necks in this one, too. Daisy doesn’t seem to have an enemy in the world and no one has a bad word to say about her. So who in Bayport wants this girl gone?

Science Comics – The Brain by Tony Woollcott and Alex Graudins

In this volume, a young girl named Fahama needs to learn about the brain as fast as possible in order to escape from the clutches of a mad scientist and his zombie assistant! How did the brain evolve? 

How do we remember things? What makes you, YOU? In The Brain, get an inside look at the most advanced operating system in the world . . . if you have the nerve!

Photo envelopes are to be returned to the photographer on 19 February, regardless of whether or not you are purchasing photos.  Thank you.

Canteen purchases can be made with cash, EFTPOS and Qkr.  Please click on the link below for more details and instructions on how to use Qkr.

.

School Executive

Principal
Mrs Lee Barker

Assistant Principals
Mr Mario Bergamin and Mr Greg James

School Business Manager
Mrs Debbie Chancellor

Grade Teams

Senior Grade Leaders
Grade 7 Mr Brendan Poke
Grade 8 Mrs Anna Musovic
Grade 9 Mrs Carmen Slore
Grade 10 Mr Scott Brewer

Grade Leaders
Grade 7 Mrs Katrina Dawkins and Mrs Hannah Derbyshire
Grade 8 Mr Will Reynolds and Mrs Leonie Smith
Grade 9 Mr Steve Andrews
Grade 10 Sonya Matthews

Support Staff

School Psychologist
Mr Gene Colgrave
(Mondays, every fourth Tuesday and Fridays)

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

School Health Nurse
Mrs Dani Seadon
(Mondays and alternate Thursdays)

Chaplain
TBA