15 November 2019

Newsletter Articles

Maths teacher, Tony Gabb with year 9 students.

From Our Principal

Moving Forward with our Numeracy and Literacy Priorities

Our Department for Education has a goal of becoming a world class education system and at the centre of this is a focus on literacy and numeracy improvement in all schools and pre-schools.

NUMERACY:

This year, we have sought to improve the number skills of our students through a focus on the Big Ideas in Number, in Year 8. These are the ‘foundation stones’ that underpin number skills from Reception through to Year 10. Without a strong grasp of each ‘big idea’, students find it difficult to progress with their learning.

What we have found in recent years is that students who do not have the big idea of ‘multiplicative thinking’ really struggle with secondary school mathematics.

Multiplicative thinking and reasoning is a capacity to work flexibly and efficiently with an extended range of numbers and the relationships between them. These understandings and skills are generally developed from Year 4 upwards.

This year, Year 8 students have worked in ‘big ideas’ groupings one lesson per week. From testing in the early weeks of the school year, it was evident that some students were still struggling with the first big ideas – ‘trusting the count’ and ‘place value’ (usually acquired in the early years of primary school). Some still needed to consolidate their multiplicative thinking, while others were ‘up to’ the later big ideas of partitioning, proportional reasoning and generalising.

Across the year, the Maths teachers have seen most students develop their understanding of ‘big ideas’ and therefore be in a better position to show achievement against the Year 8 Curriculum Standard.

LITERACY:

Our focus in literacy is about improving our students’ writing skills. In all SACE Stage 2 subjects, students need to be able to write sustained piece of writing of over 1000 words and do so in a clear and coherent manner, using appropriate language conventions and subject specific vocabulary.

To support this, all of our teaching staff have been involved in professional learning about teaching subject specific vocabulary in an explicit manner and have been trialling this approach with at least one of their classes during Semester 2.

Teachers have observed that students are thinking more deliberately about vocabulary and their confidence levels have increased as they have developed a better understanding of key language for their subjects.

Additionally, our Year 8 students have been involved with diagnostic assessments in English and HASS to support them to improve their skills in two specific genres: narrative and persuasive. Teachers use the ‘Brightpath’ assessment to ascertain strengths and areas for improvement.

Staff Development Day – Monday, December 2 – Advance Notice

Our Governing Council has approved the date for the final staff development (aka Pupil Free) day of the year. The focus of the day will be on collaborative moderation of year 8-10 assessment tasks, further work on our literacy focus (explicit teaching of vocabulary) and a showcase of the work of our 2019 professional learning communities.

Presentation Evening - Monday, December 9

All members of our school community are cordially invited to attend the annual presentation evening on Monday, December 9 in the school gymnasium. Guests are asked to be seated by 7:15pm for a prompt 7:30pm start.

The main purpose of the evening is to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of our Year 8 to 12 students.

A significant number of students will be the recipients of prizes recognizing effort and achievement. There are also a range of prestigious awards and scholarships presented on the evening.

Special guest for the evening is former student, Ellen Ruggeri (nee Mace), who is now a pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force.

As one of the most important events on the school calendar, it is expected that all students receiving awards and certificates be dressed in full school uniform, including footwear.

The night promises to be a great one with entertainment from the concert band.

Materials and Services Charges 2019

Governing Council has set the Materials and Services Charge at $460 for 2019. This is the equivalent of $2.30 per school day. Currently, families are being polled about making this legally enforceable.

While the funding from the Government covers the major items of expenditure, contributions from families are very important in balancing the budget.

This year, the families of approximately 150 students were eligible for School Card, which supports low income families.

BYOD in 2020 – Long Term Loans

If you wish to be considered for a long term loan of a school device, you need to complete an application form by Friday, 29 November.

Please note the priority for long term loan devices is for those families experiencing financial hardship.

Eringa Award

Nominations are open for the prestigious Eringa Award. This award acknowledges the outstanding contribution from a student, staff member, parent/caregiver or community member and will be presented at our Presentation Evening.

Nominations for this year’s award can be made by completing the form below or emailing Kristen.masters775@schools.sa.edu.au. – maximum of 250 words. Nominations close on Friday, November 15.

Canteen Arrangements in Final Weeks of School

As our senior students finish school early, following SACE exams and final assessments, the Canteen will have different operating days. Additionally, in the final week of school, there are a number of alternative activities off site for Year 8 and 9 students. As such:

• In Week 7 and 8, the Canteen will be open on Tuesday to Friday. (ie Monday will be closed).
• In Week 9, the Canteen will be closed all week.

Staffing News

This week, we farewell Felyka Leske, our Pastoral Care Worker. Felyka is only weeks away from giving birth to her first child and we wish her and her husband well at this exciting time. Felyka has value added to our school in so many ways in recent years – many thanks to her.

Kristen Masters
Principal

Well Being Week

Hot weather unfortunately put a dampener on planned Well Being Week activities last week, but students enjoyed Zumba and Pilates sessions in the gym

Year 12 Remaining Events Calendar

Year 11 students going into year 12 in 2020

The deadline for ordering polo tops and a hoodie is on Friday, 15 November. Families who are yet to order garments may visit the Devon Clothing website by clicking the link below. This link goes directly to the year 12, 2020 order section on Devon Clothing’s website – the web page will cannot be accessed using the usual KHS Devon Clothing web link below.

The polo tops will arrive at KHS the week before school returns in late January. The estimated time of delivery for the hoodies is week 5, term 1.

There will be a second opportunity to order year 12 items through Devon Clothing, which will be during week 1, Term 1 in 2020. The polo tops will arrive around week 4 and the hoodies, towards the end of term.

Year 12 KHS broad-brimmed ($15) and bucket hats ($12) are currently available from the school Reception office, as are House colour hats ($9).

Year 12 SACE Results

Year 12 SACE Results Release 2019 will be from 8:30am on Tuesday, 17 December. Students can access their results on the link below through the student’s online portal. Ms Masters and Mrs Warner will be at KHS on that day, if you have any questions.

SATAC will be informing students of first round offers for all preferences on Thursday, 19 December 2019. Offers will be sent via email to students who have attained an early offer by 5:00pm. A second round offer will take place in early January.

The Year 12 Formal

The Year 12 Formal is on Wednesday, 20 November. Families are welcome to take photos at Gomersal Winery from 6:00pm until 6:30pm as their student arrives at the venue and walks along the red carpet. A bus will be available to transport students from the venue at 10:30pm with stops at Roseworthy (across from the Hotel), Freeling (the post office) and Kapunda High School.

School Bus Bushfire Procedures

On days of forecast catastrophic fire danger rating for the Mid-North district:

• Kapunda High School will remain open.
• All school bus routes travelling to Kapunda High School will be cancelled.
• Parents/caregivers of students who travel on school buses will be contacted via an SMS message to their mobile phone or a direct call to their landline (where a mobile has not been given to the school). This will generally occur the night before.
• Kapunda High School will additionally ‘broadcast’ using Facebook to remind families of bushfire procedures.

If a bushfire is reported in the area during the day:

• Affected bus runs will not leave the school until the roads are declared safe by emergency services authorities.
• Parents/caregivers will be notified and students will be supervised at school until buses can run, or until parents/caregivers are able to collect their children.

If during a bus run, the bus driver sights a bushfire and there is concern that it may affect the routes ahead, then the bus driver:

• Has the authority to abandon the bus run and return to school, or
• If safer to do so, drive to one of the pre-planned emergency areas (or CFS safer places) and activate the emergency bus procedure.

To support student safety, parents/caregivers are requested to:

• Ensure that Kapunda High School is informed of any changes to phone numbers
• Follow weather announcements through the media.
• Ensure that they do not put themselves at risk when coming to collect students from school.

Change of Name?

At KHS, we try to accommodate those who wish to be known as a name other than the name that appears on their birth certificate. This may be achieved by adding a ‘preferred’ name to our school data base, which informs DayMap. However, there are some instances where the student’s legal name must be used. Forms of formal identification, such as ID cards and ID letters (used when applying for a driver’s licence) must show the legal name eg name that appears on the birth certificate or change of name change of name certificate.

If your child has had a change of name this year, you should contact the school, and provide a copy of the legal change of name certificate to ensure that school records are correct.

Year 8 Immunisation Session 2

Year 8 students will have their second dose of Gardasil (HPV) on Tuesday, 19 November. Students should eat breakfast and bring their drink bottle for water.

Year 7 to High School Parent Update

DFA Work Experience

Congratulations to Ella Leggett who received great feedback during her Work Experience Placement with the Defence Forces.

Ella was lucky enough to be involved in activities with Armoured Regiment (tanks, armoured vehicles), Combat Service Support Troop and 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (infantry).

If you are interested in undertaking work experience with Defence Forces check out the information at their link below:

Yours truly, need to apply for work experience through Defence Work Experience Program and let the VET Coordinator know that you have lodged an application. It is a competitive program with limited positions offered to students across the state. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Penny Chancellor
Assistant Principal (VET, FLO, Careers)

Kapunda Combined Schools’ Art Exhibition

Community Notices

TAFESA Information Evening

The Adelaide Youth Leadership Conference is a one day youth conference run by youth, for youth. It is designed to inspire, strengthen and empower our future leaders. It is an action packed day for students in secondary schools from all across South Australia to connect and hear from impressive speakers and engage in workshops. The key topics of the day include communication, leadership, entrepreneurship and team building.

LinkSA Fare Increase