SECONDARY NEWS 

From the Assistant Principal 

FAMILY CONFERENCES

Thank you to all the families who joined us for our Family Conferences over the past two weeks. It was wonderful to see so many families engaging with our teaching staff to discuss student progress and set goals for the remainder of the semester.

These conversations are a vital part of our school partnership. We believe that when the school and home are "on the same page," our students have the best possible foundation to succeed.

If you were unable to attend or have further questions following your meeting, please feel free to reach out to your child’s subject teachers or Miss Bailey via Compass.

Semester 1 Progress Reports

Thank you for your patience and understanding with the delay. Compass has resolved the issue, and Progress Reports for Years 7–11 are now available via the Reports tab on Compass. Term 1 Progress Reports focus exclusively on a student’s Approach to Learning. Updated descriptors are outlined below.

Student Wellbeing: Addressing the Vaping Trend

At our whole-school assembly last Friday, Miss Bailey presented some information regarding the health, social, and legal realities of vaping. As part of our ongoing commitment to student wellbeing, we wanted to share some key insights with our families to facilitate open conversations at home.

The Current Australian Landscape.

While social media often makes it seem like "everyone is doing it," the latest 2025 Generation Vape data shows a significant shift:

• 85% of Australian teens (aged 14–17) have never vaped.
• The "cool factor" is fading, with more students reporting that they find vaping "cringe" or a sign of being manipulated by big companies.
• New laws mean that any vape sold outside of a pharmacy is unregulated and often contains toxic chemicals like formaldehyde and heavy metals.

Start the Conversation 

We encourage parents and carers to use the assembly presentation as a "way in" to talk with your child. Rather than a lecture, you might try asking:

• "What was the most surprising thing you heard in the assembly on Friday?"
• "Do you think the statistics they showed about most Aussie teens not vaping match what you see?"
• "How are people at school handling the pressure to fit in when it comes to vapes?"

Support Resources 

If you are concerned about your child or would like more information, the following Australian resources are excellent:

• The Royal Children’s Hospital - Vaping Fact Sheet
• Quitline (13 7848) - Offering non-judgemental support for young people.
• The "MyQuitJourney" App - Specifically designed for Australian youth.

A PDF of the slideshow presented to students is attached below, along with links to some short clips.

Respect Your Brain

https://player.vimeo.com/video/888901017?h=f7d7e696eb

What's Really in a Vape?

https://www.health.gov.au/vaping/resources/videos/whats-really-in-a-vape

CONGRATULATIONS

Head On Photography Festival 

Students in Years 7-11 were invited to submit a photograph for consideration for entry to the prestigious annual Head On Photo Awards. This is one of Australia’s leading photography festivals, attracting submissions from across the country. Four students' photographs were successful and selected for entry in this competition. The collection of photos sent through for consideration captured life in rural NSW, showcasing colourful sunsets and beloved animals and pets. I would like to congratulate Cruz Taylor, Riley Key, Emily Halloran and Bella McAllister, who were successful in gaining entry into this photography competition. 

GOOD LUCK

Good luck to the HTS Show Team. They are heading to the Bingara Show on Friday. We look forward to hearing about their success!

Year 10 Geography Field Trip to Lake Inverell

As part of their studies of Environmental Change and Management 10E Geography undertook fieldwork last Thursday. The students, accompanied by Mrs East and Mr Jeffery, visited Lake Inverell to investigate the health of the Macintyre River system. Mr Andrew Walsh from Local Land Services joined us and shared his knowledge and expertise with us in this area.

The students gained valuable insight into how the health of a river system is determined and participated in water quality testing and a water bug survey. Management strategies to maintain healthy waterways were also discussed.

We would like to thank Mr Walsh for giving up his time and providing this valuable learning opportunity for the students.

Health Careers Forum

Several Year 10 students attended the Health Careers Forum last Tuesday in Tamworth. The University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health (UONDRH) will conduct the annual Health Careers Forum (HCF) for North West New England Secondary schools. The forum focused on Year 10 and 11 students who have a clear interest in a career as a health professional. Mr East and Mr Uebergang will be accompanying the students.

Year 10 White Card Success!

Congratulations to the Year 10 students who successfully completed their White Card (General Construction Induction) course last week.

This is a significant achievement and a practical step forward for those looking to enter the workforce or pursue trades. We were also incredibly proud to receive postiive feedback from the trainer, who commended our students on their high level of engagement, respectful behavior, and positive attitude throughout the day.

Well done to all involved for representing the school so well while gaining this valuable qualification!

NAPLAN Testing Update

NAPLAN testing commenced last week and concluded for the majority of our students today. For any students who were absent, Mr. Koch will be coordinating catch-up sessions throughout the remainder of the testing window.

Our students are to be congratulated on the mature and focused manner in which they approached their tests. In particular, we would like to commend our Year 7 students for their exceptional patience and resilience during the nation-wide technical delay at the start of the testing period last week.

YEAR 10 PATHWAYS - HNEH NURSING SBT

Contact Mrs Townsened for more details.

RATE A MATE IN WEEK 8 

This week, students will get a chance to Rate a Mate. Sometimes good deeds do go unnoticed, and at Holy Trinity, we would like to change this.

Students are offered the opportunity to say thanks and recognise peers for the good things that happen all of the time.

Students were encouraged to let us know about someone who has followed our 'Rules for Living'. 

This could have included many things - they may have made someone feel safe, valued, respected and cared for, helped someone in their learning, or always show commitment to their learning.

The acknowledgement is anonymous and collected via Google Forms. 

Study Skills Seminars

Elevate Education will return this year to deliver study skills seminars to students in Years 7 - 10. They will be here in Week 8.

The focus for the sessions will be as follows:

• Year 7 - Study Skills Kickstart
• Year 8 - Junior Time Management
• Year 9 - Memory & Mnemonics
• Year 10 - Study Sensei
• Year 11 
  • ACE Your Exams and 
  • A1 and Study 1 & 2.

Study Skills Tip – 5 reasons not to put off starting assignments

Here are 5 reasons you can give your child as to why they should start working on their assignments immediately.

1. GET YOUR BRAIN THINKING ABOUT THE TOPIC:

Even if your assignment isn’t due for weeks, start thinking about it immediately. At the very least, answer the key starter questions on the day you get your assignment. Even if you are not thinking about it directly, your subconscious will be hard at work.

2. FIND LIBRARY RESOURCES:

Although the school or local library will probably not be your main source of reference, you should drop in soon after receiving the assignment. Your teacher will probably have alerted the school librarian to the assignment and reference books, magazines etc may well be displayed. These will disappear quickly if the whole class has the same assignment. Books, periodicals, magazines can sometimes be a useful general overview for an assignment and they help to clarify a direction as you begin to immerse yourself into the assignment topic. It is not a good idea to only use Google!

3. DISCOVER OTHER RESOURCES:

You could also ask your local librarian for any additional direction on where to look for resource material for your assignment. Librarians are often your best source of information. They know how to help people access relevant and appropriate information, in books, the Internet or computer based references. One of the challenging aspects of Internet based searches for school students is the complexity, language and purpose of websites, not to mention bias and reliability.

4. STARTING EARLY MEANS MORE TIME TO EXPLORE & ASK FOR HELP IF NEEDED: 

If you do some initial research on the assignment points you’ve identified through the library, references your teacher may have given you, school textbooks, and general internet search engines, you could find yourself having more direction in your research. For example: Perhaps there isn’t enough information, or perhaps you find you don’t understand important concepts, or perhaps you need to speak to your teacher to get further clarity. If you find this out early, you will still have plenty of time to plan, research, write and present your assignment. Imagine if you didn’t start your assignment for a week or so, and then discovered you needed more guidance. You could easily run out of time.

5. CREATE A SAFETY NET:

Starting your assignment immediately will give you a safety net in case you get sick, or something unexpected happens. Assignments usually require a large amount of time; students must plan a strategy or schedule to ensure they are completed. You should always have a schedule that allows for the unexpected.

So get started today!

Ready2Learn

Pastoral Care teachers will be checking in with the students in their class each morning to ensure that they are Ready2Learn. All students have received the information below and were encouraged to show their families and discuss how to be Ready2Learn each day. Pastoral Care teachers will be able to help students start the day in a positive way. Please ask your child about this and support them to be Ready2Learn.

Students are being asked to ensure that they understand these elements and have all their equipment and uniforms by the start of Week 6. The infographic also outlines what to do if there is a problem with doing this and who you can go to for assistance.

Pastoral Care Teachers

 Year 7:    

7J – Mr Jack Jeffery

7M – Mrs Veronica McCormick

7R – Mrs Katrina Richardson

7W – Miss Lisa Wilson

Year 8:  

8K - Miss Kristina Majetic

8M – Mr Ricky Muggleton 

8T- Mrs Jane Taylor

8W – Mr Sam White 

Year 9:    

9C – Mrs Claudia Marshall

9E – Mr Jeremy East

9G – Miss Lauren Green

9M – Mrs Christine McLachlan

Year 10:  

10E – Mr Peter Ehsman

10G – Mrs Hannah Graham/Mrs Nicole Simpson

10S – Mrs Kristen Smith

10U – Mr Blake Uebergang.

Students and parents are encouraged to approach the relevant Pastoral Care teacher for assistance.

Contacting Staff

We ask that all correspondence with staff is via the Compass portal.

Living Well, Learning Well 

Student Wellbeing

Check In Tuesday with the Pulse Wellbeing App

Pulse is a tool for measuring the week-to-week wellbeing and engagement of all our students. It tracks the wellbeing of an individual so that the school can respond if needed. It also tracks engagement with the school so we can make intervene if necessary.