Written in the style of Dr. Suess

In Grade 8 English, what fun we've had,

Creating companies, oh so grand!

We learned about ads, and how they play.

With logos and slogans every way.

In Term 2, we journeyed far and wide,

To Nottingham with Robin Hood as our guide.

We explored his traits, from the good to the sly.

In "Outlaw" Morpurgo, oh me, oh my!

Term 3 brings a new quest, oh so neat,

With Dr Suess's, "The Lorax" to read and greet.

We'll dive into sustainability's call.

And see how it's presented in texts big and small.

In Term 4, we'll explore recounts galore,

From different perspectives, and learn even more.

We'll research a rescue and present with flair,

In a graphic info-text, showing we care.

From ads to forests, and tales so bright,

Grade 8's English is pure delight!

This term, our Grade 9 Science students delved into the fascinating world of light refraction and reflection. Through hands-on lessons, they explored how light behaves when it passes through different mediums and interacts with surfaces.

The unit culminated in an exciting final assignment where students were tasked with designing their own experiments to demonstrate these concepts. Among the impressive projects were holographic projectors, created using simple materials like plastic sheets and smartphones. These devices showcased students' understanding of light refraction and reflection by producing stunning 3D holographic images.

Other students explored traditional experiments with prisms, mirrors, and lenses, allowing them to observe the bending of light and the creation of rainbows. These activities not only deepened their understanding of the science behind light but also honed their skills in experimentation and scientific inquiry.

We are proud of our Grade 9 students creativity and dedication in this unit and look forward to their future scientific explorations.

Grade 10 History students have had a very busy year so far and with exams not too far away they will be putting all of their knowledge and skills to the test. Since the beginning of the year, they have been exploring some important events of the Twentieth Century. Starting off looking at the events that followed World War One, including The Treaty of Versailles, Hitler’s rise to power, events that led to the outbreak of WW2, major battles and turning points and The Holocaust. This culminated with students watching the incredibly powerful film “Schindler’s List”. In the second part of the year they will be exploring human rights and how Australia changed post WW2.

Grade 7’s have been introduced to the concept of Algebra including writing expressions, solving linear equations and the concept of graphing.  While this was a new concept for most students, they quickly got the hang of it and have been engaged throughout their learning.

With the Algebra unit coming to an end, students will be building on their knowledge of decimals.  Students will be learning how to add, subtract, multiply and divide decimal problems and will be able to apply these skills to a range of practical problems.

In Design and Technology all students in their respective grades are firmly entrenched in their current projects of Wood, Metal and Graphic Design.  

This term we have welcomed four new groups of Grade 7s into Woodwork and we are pleased to see them all excitedly engaged in their current projects. All other grades are now busily continuing on with existing projects while others are at the design and planning stage of new projects. 

We are pleases to see each student build on their current knowledge and skill base and look forward to watching projects come together in the days and weeks ahead. 

I want to start this fortnight’s newsletter by thanking everyone in our school community for the way they have continued to work together over the past couple of weeks. Staff illness has affected us here recently, but I have been so impressed in the way that our students have simply gone about their learning in a mature and settled way. This reflects the calm and orderly environment we have worked so hard to create here at Queechy High School and I also wish to thank our teachers and teacher assistants for their continued dedication to ensuring students learn in these settled classrooms. It is a credit to everyone within our amazing school community that our school continues to operate in such a highly productive manner.

This week we held our Grade 9 and 10 celebration assemblies to acknowledge all of our students who received Letters of Commendation, Academic Achievement and Academic Excellence in their recent reports. Parents were invited to these assemblies which were followed by a celebration morning tea in the library. It was so pleasing to see so many of our students being recognised for their hard work and dedication to their learning.

I would like to share with the school community some excellent news of how our students have performed in the 2024 NAPLAN testing. As we all know there are '5' NAPLAN domains being Reading, Numeracy, Writing, Spelling and Grammar and Punctuation. Our Grade 9 students have achieved some exceptional results in both Reading and Writing. In Reading 80% of the Grade 9 cohort achieved medium to high gains 5% above the collective Tasmanian result and also 80% of the cohort achieved medium to high gains in Writing 5% above the Tasmanian result as well. This is an amazing acievement and a credit to all of our teachers and students for their hard work.

This week we have had our feeder primary schools attend a transition day at Queechy High School to have a taste of what being a high school student at Queechy is like. All of the students had the opportunity to work with other students from different primary schools with the assistance of some excellent Grade 9 students. All of the students enjoyed the activities, and I would like to thank Mrs Pooley and Ms McKay for their work in organising the day.

In continuing to celebrate the outstanding student achievements, we as a school are proud to share with the community that six of our grade seven boys have been selected in the U14 Club National Basketball team. Nick, Harry, Austin, Theo, Prince and Milo will all compete on the mainland in early October. What an outstanding achievement and we wish the boys all of the best.

Attendance at school is something that I regularly mention, and it is one of the most significant factors in ensuring that students are successful both in the school setting and in the wider community. It is vital that students are at school every single day that they possibly can be. If a child develops poor habits in relation to attendance, their academic and social development is severely hampered. Students also need to be prepared for life outside of school, too, and in the workforce, attendance isn’t something that is optional. Therefore, developing good habits in relation to attendance is vital for people to be successful in life. If you are finding it difficult to get your child to school, please contact their Grade Leaders to discuss strategies and supports that are available.

On Tuesday 6th August Mr Tepper & Mrs Milner were accompanied by 16 students from Grades 9 -11 to represent Queechy in the RecLink Netball Gala Day. Students played in a round robin format consisting of 5 roster games where they won 4 of these games and had a draw as well. Queechy made the grand final against Launceston Big Picture School where we ended up winning and taking home the trophy. A special shout out to Grade 11 student Matayia for being selected for a full scholarship with Netball Tasmania following the event, a huge achievement!

On Thursday 7 August, wulya wulya students and our 9D Commemoration Group held a ceremony to plant the Banksia tree presented to Queechy at our NAIDOC assembly.

Bella presented the following speech:

Thank you to everyone who showed up today to witness this tree planting. This tree planting is special, it is to commemorate the struggles of the Palawa people, the ancestors who fought their whole lives for a better future. And the Elders and Aboriginal communities today who continue to fight for a better future. Like this tree, their history and culture are rich. Their strong roots guide their growth. And they stand tall, and proud. We plant this tree to commemorate the sacrifice and the pain, endured by first nations. We plant this tree to reconciliate with them, to take a step towards righting our wrongs of the past. We plant this tree not only to commemorate their losses but to celebrate their culture, their triumphs- to celebrate them. We plant this tree for them. The Palawa people of Lutruwita.

Following planting, wulya wulya student Tristan concluded:

We gather here today to commemorate the struggles of the Palawa people, by planting this native tree, to signify our gratitude to fellow Tasmanians. We hope this tree is protected and cared for by the future community to be able to stand the test of time.

Our upcoming Year 10 Family Information Evening will be a great opportunity to learn more about our courses, programs, culture and student support services. 

When: Tuesday 27 August, 7 pm

Where: Newstead College Auditorium, 30 Cypress Street, Newstead

RSVP: https://forms.office.com/r/0fGEw86zg6