The big interview with…

Taylah

Genie and a Dancer of Agrabah*

1. Why did you want to be involved in this production?

I’ve been in productions since I was 5, so I’ve been in my fair share of shows and I’ve loved performing in all of them, so I really wanted to be involved in this one too.

2. Who is your favourite character and why?

Probably Genie or Aladdin’s friends Babkak, Omar and Kassim they’re all just really happy entertaining characters :)

3. What is your role in this production and what are you enjoying about it?

I’m the Genie on some shows and a dancer on some others and they’re both super exciting roles with a lot of energy, it’s all heaps of fun but practising ‘Prince Ali’ and ‘Friend Like Me’ for Genie and creating choreography as a dancer are definitely highlights.

4. What’s the biggest challenge been for you so far?

100% Covid, me and my friends are constantly sending frantic texts after rehearsals to update people on what we’re doing and where we’re up to, even though people are only off for a week or so it feels like they’ve been gone forever.

5. What are you most excited for?

I can’t pick one particular thing, it’s such an enjoyable show with an amazing cast so I look forward to working with them all more plus I can’t wait to see the costumes, hear the music and see more of the set. It’s all very exciting.

6. What’s been the most enjoyable thing about production so far?

I think it’s the team working on it, our production class is pretty big but every Tuesday and Friday everyone’s always ready to work and learn. There’s a real sense of teamwork in the class and we all really respect each other and what we each bring to the show. It’s really nice, you don’t get groups like this every production, I’m very lucky to be with these people.

7. What would you say to people who want to be involved in production in future years?

Absolutely go for it, the show this year is some of the best times I’ve had, it’s easily the class I look forward to most. It’s also a great experience even if you don’t like being on stage, there’s something for everyone, so why not?

*Did you know that we are using double casting this year?

This means that Taylah will play the Genie for the Wednesday Schools Matinee, Thursday Public Evening Performance, and Friday Schools Matinee; and a Dancer of Agrabah on the Tuesday Public Opening Night, Wednesday Public Evening Show and Thursday Schools Matinee.

This year marked the 120^th Anniversary of the Launceston Drama Competitions and what a fantastic competition it has been for our school!

Prospect High School drama students enjoyed a great deal of success, earning awards across many categories.

Our entries began on Sunday night when Grade 9 student Taylah was awarded with the First Place Trophy for the ‘9/10 Creative Individual Programme’. This is a demanding event where the entrants are required to devise a performance around a central theme that must involve at least two different arts. Taylah performed an entertaining programme exploring the character of Val in A Chorus Line through a monologue and self-devised dance piece.

Our next entries were held on Monday afternoon, where Grade 7 and Grade 8 students took part in the duo/trio scripted scenes. Each of the groups performed well and were praised in particular for their staging and attention to character. A special congratulations goes to Ella and Mia who won the section! Our other groups performed well too – all earning enough points to be awarded with placings: Zeke, Jaslyn and Tessa achieved second, Lani, Erica and Jasmine third, and Chloe and Ella were recognised with a highly commended. Each student who placed were awarded with medallions, while those who achieved highly commended were presented with ribbons.

On Tuesday dance had their competitions (please see the dance report) and then in the evening Taylah again performed, participating in the impromptu reading, winning the Grade 9 monologue class and receiving second place in the Grade 9 recital for Miss Bs Student Services.

On Wednesday we participated in our final day of the drama section of the Launceston Competitions. The Grade 8 drama Class gave a strong performance in the group speaking where they recited David Walliams prose ‘Improv’ and Judith Wright’s poem ‘Brother and Sisters’ here the adjudicator again emphasised their effective staging and script interpretation and awarded them first place. After this Taylah and Imogen presented their duo scripted scene and were recognised by the adjudicator for their clear and contrasting characterisation.

After a long road of rehearsals (and a special mention to Taylah, Imogen, Zeke, Jaslyn, Lani, Jasmine and Erica who volunteered many lunch times) our overall performance at the competitions was a wonderful conclusion. I feel so proud of each of these students. It was a pleasure working with them on their pieces. To those students who missed out on the day (Chloe, Aaliyah and Ava-Lee), I also offer my congratulations on the hard work and skill that you demonstrated in the lead-up. To Ava and Tessa who came to the rescue at the last minute (with literally 10mins notice in Tessa’s case), THANK YOU! Your support enabled the others to see their hard work come to fruition.

All students who placed will be recognised in their upcoming grade assemblies, where all certificates, ribbons and medallions will be formally presented.

Mrs Viney

Bike Doctors is a program at PHS where Grade 7-10's help fix and repair bikes for charity. The majority of the bikes are given to charity, but some are sold. All funds from purchased bikes and bike parts will go directly back into the program to help buy tools and parts for our Bike Doctor program. We appreciated the support.

FOR SALE

$30

CLOSE CONTACTS – The government has announced that close contacts do not have to quarantine for 7 days.

Student who are close contacts can come to school if;

• They take a RAT test straight away and it is negative
• They are feeling well and not showing and COVID symptoms
• They test negative each day before coming to school

You do not need to contact the school if your child is a close contact. You still need to let the school know about being away from school as usual.

 STUDENTS WHO ARE CLOSE CONTACTS SHOULD STAY HOME IF;

• They feel unwell or have COVID symptoms (even if they return a negative RAT test)
• They test positive
• They do not take a test in the morning

POSITIVE TESTS – Information for positive cases has not changed.

• Stay home for 7 days (stay home if you still have symptoms at the end of the 7 days)
• Notify the school and public health

 COMMUNICATION

During Term 1 we worked hard to ensure that information about positive cases was passed on to families.  During Term 2 information about a positive case in your child’s class will not be sent home.  This is inline with the Department of Education and Public Health guidelines.  Information will be passed on if there is an increasing number of cases in your child’s class.

LEARNING FROM HOME

Learning from home is still available through the Virtual Learning Centre for students who test positive for COVID. 

The Department of Education is working on all other student transitioning back to school early this Term.  The VLC will not be available as an ongoing support for long-term learning at home.

Our café supported by Cert I Hands On Hospitality Students, Tier 2 Barista and 9/10 Catering Classes continues to go from strength to strength.

The cooler mornings mean that hot drinks and coffees are appreciated even more and our students are honing their Barista and Customer Service skills by professionally serving our school community. Our Friday home-made jam donuts and scrolls are proving popular and the café buzzes with hungry students.

Our Hospitality students are working on Workplace Health and Safety, to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities and procedures and legislation to protect them as workers. Our ongoing work with Barista ensures coffee orders are made within industry timeframes- and yes I do get the stopwatch out! 

TIER Barista Basics remains popular and we have added an extra session on a Tuesday morning. This program provides an entry level hands on experience in customer service and espresso coffee making and gives students skills and confidence in these areas.

Our catering students are always busy preparing food and drinks for the canteen, functions, staff and other occasions. Last week we trialled a drop off coffee service to our parents waiting in the pick up zone- we will continue to do this on a Friday. If you are parked in the turning circle look out for our friendly students wearing masks and denim aprons ?

Next Thursday 19^th May we are once again holding an Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea event for school community members. This event is being organised by our Senior Secondary Enterprise at Work students as part of a group assessment task. Unfortunately due to covid restrictions our café will not be open to the public this time but students and staff will be able to participate by ordering platters and buying items from our cake stall. Please send your children to school with some gold coins so they can participate in our event (competitions, cake stalls and more) and raise money for a very worthy cause!

On Tuesday students from the Senior Secondary Hand on Hospitality and 9/10 Catering teams were invited on a tour of Federal Country Club Casino as part of the Beacon Foundation GrIPP. Students were able to view all the working  (and leisure) areas of the Country Club and ask questions of all the staff. Links Buffet was popular as were the very comfortable suites!. The scope of employment opportunities is vast and all areas are in need of quality staff- this tour gave the students much to consider in regards to their own future employment. We will continue to build on these sessions with Federal throughout the year. Thanks to Carmen Gill-PHS, Ebony from Beacon Foundation and Rachel and Audra from Federal Group for showing us around.

Another busy period for The Nest- keep an eye here and on social media for exciting future plans ?

Adrienne McMahon

Cert I Hospitality Trainer, Hospitality and Catering Teacher

Online Chess Tournament, 5 April 2022, PHS.

This week saw our burgeoning school chess team make its 2022 debut on the competitive stage – albeit online! The pandemic has affected our lives in every conceivable way over the past two years and chess is no exception. But thanks to the software program Tornelo, 20 Prospect students were able to compete online against fellow schools from northern Tasmania. Ages of competitors ranged from upper primary to College level.

Enthusiastically students gathered on Tuesday morning in the former Home Base space and after sorting out first-time technical puzzles they took part in a series of individual games – all via technology. Tornelo is a program which allows tournaments to happen seamlessly online, in conjunctions with Zoom. There was an automatic fixture dependent on how students’ games went; each game involved them playing another student at a similar place on the ladder. Features of the experience were: timers; stats and graphs; ability to replay games for analysis and coaching commentary from a moderator on the mainland, who oversaw the event. The dreaded stalemate – unfortunately for a few students – was also part of the deal! This symbolised the “crash course” nature of the day in tournament-level pressure. 

All students enjoyed the half-day event and look forward to a further two qualifying tournaments (Terms 2 and 3), before finals take place in Term 4. Many ‘punched above their weight’, led by our skilled Year 9 contingent. Special mention is made to Marco who lent his skills to the setting up of students online. All students are thanked for their participation which took place in good spirits. We look forward to the next one!

Due to unforeseen circumstances the Annual General Meeting scheduled for 5^th April was cancelled and now rescheduled for 17^th May 2022.

The Prospect High School Association Annual General Meeting, followed by a Committee Meeting, will now be held on Tuesday, 17^th May in the school meeting room from 5.00pm and all are welcome.

There are three parent, one community and one staff vacancy to be filled on the Committee. Positions are for a period of two years. We encourage you to nominate and consider being an officer bearer (President, Secretary and Treasurer).  The nomination form is attached to this newsletter. 

PLEASE NOTE – successful nominee must provide evidence of vaccination.

The School Association is made up of the parents, staff, and community members of a school.  The School Association is an important part of the school, working with the Principal to achieve shared outcomes for learners attending the school and for the benefit of the whole school community.  The purpose of the School Association is to provide members with a way to participate and support the school. The following people are automatically members of the School Association:
- parents (parents or guardians who have children or young people enrolled at the school).  Should you wish to be exempt as member please notify the School Association in writing.
- staff (permanent and fixed-term employees at the school)
- the Principal who is an automatic member of the School Association.
- community members can apply to be accepted as a member. 
All members of the School Association can nominate to be involved in the Committee.

Nominations for the School Association Committee are now open. 

Please complete the attached nomination form and return no later than 3:00pm on 17^th May 2022. 

Nominations can be forwarded to the Returning Officer, Debbie Chancellor, School Business Manager via email to prospect.high@education.tas.gov.au or the school office.

The School Association Constitution provides further information on the election process and the timings of the School Association Year. ** A member of the Committee who is to retire, or who has retired, may nominate for re-election as a member of the Committee. What is the School Association Committee?

Being part of the Committee also provides an opportunity to be actively involved and engaged in the school. 

(Masks and Physical distancing apply)