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

We are fast approaching the end of the year and have much to celebrate. Grade 10 students have received invitations to activities in their final week, including the Graduation Dinner. Students are reminded these are invitations for students who have met all learning and behavioural expectations. It is hoped all students maintain excellent standards of behaviour and application to learning and, hence, retain their invitations so that they can participate in all activities and not forfeit any privileges. Dates for end of term celebrations are as follows:

Orientation Day

On Wednesday 24^th November, Grade 6 students, who will be commencing Grade 7 in 2022, spent the day attending classes at Prospect High School as well as experiencing recess and lunch. Feedback from Grade 6 students indicated that they had a great day enjoying the learning, getting to know teachers and meeting students from other schools. We are looking forward to having these students start in 2022. Thank you to Mr Bergamin and Mr Poke and the transition team for organising the day.

Inter-High Athletics Carnival

Prospect High School participated in the NHSSA Division 1 Athletics competition on Wednesday 24^th November at St Leonards. We competed against students from Riverside High, Brooks High, Queechy High, Kings Meadows High, and Exeter High. Our teams did exceptionally well, achieving 3^rd place in the Junior Shield (7/8) and 4^th place in the Senior Shield (9/10), and 3^rd place in the aggregate points. Teachers who accompanied the Inter-High team made the comment that the “effort, participation and teamwork from all students was wonderful”.  Well done to all students. Thank you to Ms Couch and the HPE team for supervising and co-ordinating students on the day.

State Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to the following students who were selected to represent Prospect High School and the Northern High Schools Sports Association in the State Athletics competition held last Friday at St Leonards Athletics Centre. These students were excellent representatives from Prospect High School, and there were many great personal achievements. Well done.

Grade 7 – Lilly, Nikki, Willow, Griffin, Tyane, Elijah

Grade 8 – Rowan, Will

Grade 9- Ruby, Zoe, Alex, Jakeb, Blake

Grade 10 – Alicia, Jai

Arts Evening

Congratulations to all involved with Arts Evening held on Tuesday in the Prospect High School Drama/Dance Learning Space. This was a fantastic display of Visual Art and Drama, Dance, and Music performances. Students were also involved behind the scenes with audio, lighting, and back-stage support. It was such a great opportunity to showcase so many wonderful performances from such talented students. Students certainly shone on this evening. Thank you to Mrs Derbyshire, Mrs Viney, Mrs Dawkins, and Mr Gutierrez for your tireless work in organising this event. Congratulations also to Mrs McMahon and the catering students for their delicious food on the night and creative Christmas goodies. Another wonderful display of initiative and excellence. Thank you to the many parents, friends and staff who came along to support this evening. It certainly was a proud moment for the Prospect High School community.

Looking forward to an enjoyable final couple of weeks of 2021.

Mrs Lee Barker
Principal

On Wednesday 30^th November, Prospect High School held ‘The Arts Work’ – an Arts evening designed to celebrate the amazing work that our students have been doing in Dance, Drama, Music, and the Visual Arts this year.

The evening began with a gallery walk at 5pm, where guests were able to view visual artworks from students in grades 7-10. Ranging in medium from chalk, pastel and pencil, right through to paint, multimedia and ceramics, there was a wide variety of pieces to explore. In true gallery opening style, the event was also catered by Mrs McMahon’s catering class, who, as always, provided fantastic fare. These students also worked in conjunction with her textiles students to hold a successful market stall. At 5:30pm, guests were invited to step into the Drama/Dance room and enjoy a sit-down spectacular of performance pieces.

The performance section of the evening featured students performing both solo and small group musical items, dance pieces, scripted scenes, and self-devised works. The evening was a great opportunity to draw together pieces and performers who have represented our school throughout the year in events, such as the Launceston Competitions and the Rock Challenge. We do not always get to see the accomplishments of our students in their different areas, and the ‘The Arts Work’ provided just this opportunity.

Of particular note was the spirit of positivity, enthusiasm and support amongst the students. Backstage and onstage students worked together to set and clear staging, help build skills and boost confidence and to cheer each other on. The same can be said of the works in the gallery where students enjoyed seeing the work of their peers on display and eagerly requested that the displays remain after the event. This was fantastic. There are so many individual students who deserve a mention – from stepping up to introduce their pieces, to taking on the responsibility for technical aspects, to coordinating others and attending extra rehearsals; it was a wonderful effort.

All of the arts students must be congratulated for their dedication and hard work, but also on the high level of skill demonstrated by so many. In addition to this, we must also recognise and thank Ms DePaoli and the incoming SLB for their assistance running the evening, as well as our amazing ancillary staff who we would be lost without. We would also like to thank PHS staff and leadership who supported this event by their warm wishes, offers of help, enabling students to attend extra rehearsals and by attending on the night. Thank you all for your contribution to the evening’s success.

Finally, a big thank you must also be extended to our visiting guests and family members – it was a pleasure to be able to celebrate the work of the students with you.

The Arts Teaching Team

On Wednesday 24^th November, the Grade 8 Playbuilding Class presented their self-devised production ‘Starting High School for Dummies’. The play explored the sometimes negative and sometimes positive feeling and reactions that student have when starting high school. Created as a wonderful mix of comedy and information, the play was presented as the final part of the Grade 6 Orientation Day. At its conclusion, the performance featured a question and answer session where the incoming students were able to ask the cast about their experiences of fitting in, making new friends, trying out new subjects, and figuring out their combination locks (among others)! The Grade 6s were a wonderful audience, and I really look forward to working with them in Drama next year.

I would like to extend a big congratulations to the Playbuilding class: Angelina, Eve, Ava, Jamisen, Learna, Imogen, David, Meika, Ila, Ella, Abi, Ally, Taylah and Tayla. It is not easy to plan, research, devise, write, workshop, refine, and memorise a performance – especially when it is in the Term 1 and Term 4 half year time slot! I was so impressed by the way that the class came together to create and present such a fun and engaging play. I would also like to give a special mention to the Grade 7 students Gabby, Keeley, Ariana, Erica, and Matthew, who joined us part way through the term, and yet, worked technical elements and performed on-stage alongside the Grade 8s with aplomb!

There were many people (staff and students) who helped to contribute to the success of the play, and I would like to thank you all for your support. Of particular note are Grade 9 students, Diesel and Summer, who operated the lights on the day; we could not have had such a successful production without your help.

A big well done to all involved,

Mrs Viney

Drama Teacher

On Monday 15^th November, I met with other students on the Working with Water Program at the IMAS building in Salamanca. There we were debriefed on what would happen over the course of the three-day program. We were spilt into two groups and spoke to two graduates of the Maritime College, one graduate speaking about the controls and engine room of a boat, and the other speaking about his job at Hobart’s Ferry Service.

We visited the CSIRO, learning about what it was like to work there, as well as how their equipment was used and built, before having lunch.

The next day we spoke to an Aboriginal abalone fisher who explained how wild fishing worked as well as the pros and cons of both wild fishing and hatcheries. He also spoke about the type of fish he had dived/fished for in his career before taking us on a tour of the docks to explain the different type of boats.

Afterward, Will Mure told us about what it was like to run a fish restaurant as well as what it was like to work at a factory before we went on a day trip on a boat. Towards the end of the day, we briefly spoke to four PhD students. We had five minutes to speak to each about their jobs and their roles and responsibilities. We were introduced to the different courses we could do, one being online and the other being a field course on Maria Island. The last thing we did for the day was to visit the Tassal feeding room to see how they remotely fed their fish.

On Wednesday, we boarded a bus for the Huon Aquaculture Hatchery in Judbury where we were taught how they raised salmon. Then we went on a Pennicott Tour boat to see where their salmon were kept before going back to Salamanca.

It was a wonderful, educational experience that I was grateful to have been a part of, as I wish to pursue a career in Marine Biology. 

Eb Blair -  Grade 9

Tuesday, 30th November saw a fun and vibrant grass-roots chess tournament combining Prospect (21) and Summerdale (14) students. For good measure, we also had two young visitors from Norwood Primary. Facilitator and Tasmanian schools chess coach, James Briant, gave students a taste of what an interschool tournament experience is like. Over five hard-fought rounds, the students were matched according to the Swiss draw used in interschool tournaments, which our budding Prospect team is building towards participating in next year. In this system, organised by the software program Tornelo, student games get tougher after a win and easier (in theory) after a loss.

The buzz of student engagement around the room was real as students participated with good spirit and willingness to improve their mind muscles. This process was strongly helped by James’ motivational coaching between each round, where he focused on smart end-game strategies, and even a few mind-bending puzzles (including the recreation of a famous ending based on one of the Harry Potter movies!). Timers were also used in each game and students enjoyed the experience. The tournament has been a step in the rebuilding of our chess team at Prospect, where enthusiasm is building and the future passion for the game looks bright (especially given the Summerdale contingent!). Many students excelled on the day, but leading the awards was John Park of Year 7, who emerged as tournament leader after five rounds, notching up an unbeatable 4 wins and 1 draw. Well done, John!

Thanks to all students for their involvement, including some Year 9s and 10s who returned to the Chess fold for the day. Thanks also goes to James himself, as well as Narelle Williams for official photography, and Mario for all the support.

Tom Leydon

23 Prospect High students participated in this year's Northern High Schools Triathlon held at Devonport. The students represented the school with great enthusiasm, pride, and endeavour. They were also incredibly competitive in all of the classifications throughout the day. We could not be prouder of how well the students represented Prospect High School. A big "thank you" must go to the parents, families and friends who helped organise the students for the event. Well done all! 

On Friday 26th November, Prospect High sent 14 enthusiastic athletes to represent the school at the State High School Athletic Carnival held at St Leonards Athletics centre. All athletes participated with enthusiasm and pride. Overall, the event was hugely successfully with some extremely pleasing results. To top of the carnival, the northern team were named winners. Congratulations to all that participated. The following are the results from those that participated on the day:

Alicia Hollingworth – 100m 3^rd, Triple jump 2^nd, Long Jump 2^nd, Discus 2^nd and Relay 1^st

Jai Whitehouse – Discus 1^st and Javelin 2^nd

Ruby Geach – 100m 2^nd, 400m 3^rd and relay 1^st

Zoe Casey – 800m 4^th and 1500m 2^nd

Kelei Dillon – High Jump 2^nd

Alex Cassidy – 400m 4^th and 1500m 4^th

Rowan Allen – 100m 1^st, 200m 1^st, 400m 2^nd, Long Jump 1^st and Relay 1^st *New Record*

Will Crawford – 1500m 2^nd

Lilly Brown – 100m 3^rd, 200m 5^th, Long Jump 5^th, and relay 2^nd

Willow McFall – Triple Jump 3^rd

Nikki O’Connor – 400m 4^th, 800m 4^th and 1500m 3^rd

Tyane Thomas – Long Jump 1^st ,High Jump 2^nd and Javelin 4^th

Elijah Murray – Triple Jump 2^nd

Griffin Poke – 800m 1^st and 1500m 1^st

Summer reading is an important, enjoyable activity that students can do during the holidays to help avoid the 'Summer Slide' in reading achievements gained during the school year.

“Studies have shown that children who read for pleasure from a young age are much more likely to do well throughout their academic life.” 

Students have access to borrow books 24/7. Your digital library never closes.

Grade 7

Gabby and Keeley Grade - for stepping up and performing in the Grade 8 transition play; these girls demonstrated both creativity and flexibility. Their skillful, enthusiastic and positive approach made them a pleasure to work with! 

Ariana, Erica and Matthew - These three students showed flexibility and resilience while working on the transition play. Not only were they Grade 7’s working on a Grade 8 play, but they also had to learn to use unfamiliar equipment and be responsible for all of the technical cues. A big undertaking. Well done!

Mr Bergamin’s 7-1 Health Class for displaying the learning disposition of "persistence".  The class was give a learning task to complete in a set time frame.  The challenge was hard for some, however, with persistence and effort, everyone worked together to achieve their goal.

Grade 8

Lani 8-3 is a motivated learner. Lani consistently strives to learn and improve. She always works hard and aims to do her best.

Cooper 8-3 is an independent learner. Cooper strives to take responsibility for his learning and use his initiative when faced with challenges.

Mia 8-2 consistently displays the learning disposition of being a resilient learner. She never gives up on tasks when they become difficult and overcomes any challenges that she is faced with, taking to time to try again.

Toby 8-4 displays the learning disposition of being a motivated learner. He strives to do the best he can, understanding that hard work takes time and effort.

Shae 8-1, Jeb 8-4, Shondra 8-1 and Summer 8-1 have been amazing showing their generosity and kindness in all aspects of the market stall, catering and HY fashion and craft. They showed learning dispositions of Optimism, Respect, Motivation, and Creativity.

Imogen 8-5 worked with skill, calm, and confidence to operate the lights during The Arts Evening where she also performed. In this task, she demonstrated creativity, flexibility and the ability to work collaboratively. Imogen also demonstrated these attributes when she led and facilitated the discussion at question time with the Grade 6s on orientation day.

Taylah 8-1 Performed in numerous pieces in The Arts Work. What was most striking about her performance was the complete commitment and energy that she gave to each piece. Taylah truly demonstrated the dispositions of a motivated and creative learner.

Grade 9

Brandon 9-2  has been a resilient and independant worker in Friday Eats.

Lily, Elina, Sofia, Hayley, Georgia, and Mya are motivated and respectful Learners for helping with event catering at the Arts Works evening.

Diesel and Summer were a great support this week when they stepped in at the last minute to operate the theatre lights for the Transition play (as the operator was home unwell). Diesel and Summer had a half lesson run through rehearsal, and then operated the lights for a 45min performance for the Grade 6s. This is not an easy undertaking and requires creativity, flexibility, resilience and the ability to work collaboratively to achieve group goals. The class would have been lost without their support. Well done and thank you!

Sophie 9-2 demonstrated the learning dispositions of flexibility, creativity, and collaboration as she agreed to take on an extra role in The Arts Work when a group member could not participate. This required Sophie to learn news blocking and script with just two lessons before the Arts Celebration Evening (as well as polish her own group piece). A phenomenal effort!

School Executive

Principal
Mrs Lee Barker

Assistant Principals
Mr Mario Bergamin and Ms Bonnie Hall

School Business Manager
Miss Kiara Daly

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 Allison Hay
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)