4 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

Musician, Emily Hewitt with Prefects, James Spaan, Abigail Lemar (Head Prefect) and Marisha Hughes following our ANZAC Ceremony

From Our Principal

ANZAC ASSEMBLY

On Tuesday, we brought our school together for a special ANZAC assembly.

At this assembly, students were reminded of the significance of ANZAC Day and had the opportunity to listen to two soldiers’ stories – presented by Year 10 students, Jack Meldrum and Georgia Flavel.

With bugler, Emily Hewitt, from the Army Reserves, Prefects were involved in a flag raising ceremony and all students and staff observed a minute’s silence as we remembered the contributions of Australian servicemen and women.

KHS Prefects and student representatives attended community ANZAC Day dawn services in Kapunda and Wasleys.

Prefects, Sophie McDougall, Abbey Trotta, Courtney Loffler (Deputy Head Prefect) & Sean Dempsey at Kapunda’s dawn service

PARENT/TEACHER/STUDENT PROGRESS INTERVIEWS

Hopefully your child has passed on a letter with details of our forthcoming interviews – Tuesday, May 8 at Freeling Primary School and Wednesday, May 9 at Dutton Park in Kapunda. Please see detailed information further in this newsletter.

This is a great opportunity to sit down and discuss progress with your child’s teachers – whether they are doing really well or whether they are struggling. Experience has shown that when schools and families work together in partnership, students have the best chance of success.

We strongly encourage students to be involved in these conversations – not just as listeners but as active contributors to discussions about their progress. They have much to offer about how teachers can work with them to help them to achieve their personal best.

We would especially like to see all Year 12 students and their families participate in this round of interviews. Year 12s are approximately one-third through their school year and it is important, if there are any concerns, that they are addressed sooner, rather than later.

The online booking system is very simple but if you have any difficulties, please contact our reception staff.

Remember, bookings close on Monday, May 7.

YEAR 12 HOLIDAY SEMINARS

I would like to acknowledge the teaching staff who offered their students the opportunity to come in and work at school at various times during the holidays – providing individualized and small group support.

Similarly, I would like to congratulate the students who made a decision to attend a holiday session here at school and/or attend a school funded seminar conducted in Adelaide.

Last year, 98% of students completed their SACE at Kapunda High School with 98+% of results being A, B or C’s.

These results do not happen by accident; they are result of much hard work by students and staff.

YEAR 9 NAPLAN

Across weeks 3 and 4, Year 9 students will participate in NAPLAN online tests.

Unlike previous years, the tests will be staggered over nine days and the online environment means that only one class will undertake a test at a time.

By the time students get to Year 9 there can be a “what’s in it for me?” attitude from some.

At Kapunda High School we greatly value the data we receive – both on a whole school level as well as individually. It enables us to see where our students have strengths and where we need to have greater emphasis.

For students and parents it is a really great insight and snapshot ahead of the senior years. In fact, as part of their Personal Learning Plan in Year 10, students reflect on their literacy and numeracy skills as indicated by their NAPLAN results.

Interestingly, students who are absent for NAPLAN tests are viewed by the Education Department as not having demonstrated the Standard of Educational Achievement (SEA) for Year 9.

That is why we strongly encourage full attendance through the NAPLAN ‘season’.

FORTHCOMING PUPIL FREE DAYS:

Our Governing Council has, to date, approved the following Pupil Free Days for 2018:

Kristen Masters
Principal

Parent/Caregiver, Student & Teacher Interviews

The online appointment booking process will be open until Monday, 7 May. To book an appointment, follow the links from the Kapunda High School website labelled ‘Parent Teacher Interviews’

To log on you will need to enter the unique code for either parent teacher location (see above table).

Simply enter the code and press ‘Go’.

Enter your details.

Select the teachers you wish to see.

Select the appointment times that suit your family best.

When you click FINISH, your interview timetable will be emailed to you automatically. If you do not receive your email immediately: Check your junk mail folder AND make sure you have spelled your email address correctly.

You can change your interviews at any time until the bookings close on Monday, 7 May.

UPCOMING OPEN DAY

Our annual Open Day will be held on Sunday, 6 May (end of week 1, Term 2) and prospective families and interested others are welcome to visit, attend an information session and view various displays at the school.

STATEMENT ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY AND PERMISSION TO PHOTOGRAPH AND FILM

Our school takes the privacy and safety of all our students very seriously, especially when it comes to social media sites and other public platforms.

We understand that some families, for a wide variety of reasons, do not want their children’s images to be placed on social media sites or used in a way the parent has not control over.

As such, on enrolment, parents complete a media consent form which enables us to use a variety of images in our newsletter, Facebook page and other promotional material.

This consent is only for school use.

It is important that students and parents (attending school events) do not take photographs of other students or staff members without their express permission.

Some students may be the subject of confidential court orders expressly prohibiting photography. To take photographs of other students and then post on social media (even if your own child is in the photograph) could be contravening this.

JAPANESE HOST FAMILIES REQUIRED

We are seeking another four host families this year to accommodate a boy each from Hachioji Junior High School in Japan. Hachioji students will arrive Wednesday, 25 July and leave Friday, 3 August 2018. Host families in the past have truly valued this experience.

‘It really was an invaluable experience for our family. We learned some of their language and culture and also shared our lifestyle and experiences with them.’ host family 2017

If you are interested in hosting a student or have any questions please contact Dani Ryan on 8566 2203 or via email Danielle.Ryan489@schools.sa.edu.au

Fundraiser - Entertainment Books

Get your Entertainment Membership to support Kapunda High School - $13 of every membership goes to the school.

Materials & Services Charges - Keeping Up With Payments

Options for payments

Payment may be made by cash, cheque, EFTPOS, Visa, MasterCard or by Direct Bank Deposit (see details below) Students are to make payments prior to the start of the school day (8:50am) to avoid carrying around large sums of money through the day. Parents/caregivers may make payments anytime from 8:30am to 3:30pm.

Have you considered scheduling payments using online banking to meet this financial obligation? Some families have found that being able to set the amount and regularity suits their needs well.

Instalment options – remaining due payment dates:

Homework Policy – Years 8-10

Kapunda High School hopes that parents and caregivers will encourage and support their children with a homework routine. Students who study more and self-manage their learning tend to be more successful in their education.

Homework is set by teachers to:

• Reinforcement or revision of work done in class
• Completion of work started during the day
• Preparation for the next lesson
• Preparation for tests or other assessments
• Working on long term assignments
• The development of an independent, self - managed learner.

The homework timetable for 2018 has changed slightly from previous years in that the hours undertaken for each year level is now recommended to be completed across a week rather than per day. This means that students do not need to be doing a set homework period each day and that teachers and students can vary the homework and manage larger tasks.

A guide

The time spent on homework each day will depend on individual students.

Timetable showing lessons for assigned homework

Monday to Thursday, will have homework set for Lessons 1 – 4. Where there are ‘double’ lessons; students will be set one homework allocation. Friday will have only one allocation of homework set for Lesson 3 and 4.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Defence Force Work Experience Placements

The Work Experience Liaison Officer from Defence Forces Work Experiences Program has advised of possible work experience opportunities available to our students. Defence Forces offer work experience on set dates only, which do not coincide with school work experience dates. Hence work experience placements are undertaken on top of ‘normal’ scheduled work experience placements for Year 10 students and some Year 11 students.

Work Experience placements with the Defence Forces are competitive. If a student is not successful in their first application they may be considered in the next round. Where students are successful - please advise the school of the placement dates; seek approval from their Year Level Manager (they will check to ensure the student is up to date with all work) and complete and submit an exemption form so that all teachers are notified of the dates the student will be absent, and can plan accordingly.

Please find below details of work experience opportunities for students aged 15+ with Army and Air Force in South Australia.

Please take particular note of the STEM opportunities as this will be an ever-growing area of employment in the near future – ADF are keen for interest from students who are doing well in maths and sciences and interested in STEM subjects.

Students interested in these placements can find out more about them and should apply online at the Defence Work Experience Program:

If you have any further career queries, please contact me at school via email ( Penny.Chancellor315@schools.sa.edu.au ) or leave a message via school reception with a suitable time to return your call.

Career Pathways and Work Experience – Year 10

During Term 1 students undertook online training to learn about being safe, feeling safe and not being bullied or discriminated against in the workplace.

Having completed their training and received their certificate, it is now time to start organizing their work experience placement. It would be great if Year 10 students and their parents/caregivers could watch the 15 minute video (link below) to understand some of the expectations around work experience and find out ways to go about organising a placement. Should you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Girls Leadership

Penny Chancellor
Flexible Pathways Coordinator

SANTOS Athletics

This year, our team participated as C2 grade and were successful in coming second in boys, second girls and second overall. Following this achievement, our 2019 team will go up a grade to C1.

Casual Day – dress in 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s clothing