From the Principal

A huge congratulations to our Science and Engineering Challenge team who qualified for the State Final in Launceston next week. This was a wonderful achievement.

Our Primary students have been off to the Huon and Channel Cross Country today and the Secondary students to the SSATIS Cross Country event. We look forward to hearing about their day. Tomorrow, some of our Primary students are off to the Hobart Eisteddfod for the Junior Choir section. We wish them well and hope they enjoy the experience.

It is wonderful to see the array of opportunities available to students in a small school.

Last night was our Senior Secondary information evening. Year 10 students were invited to learn more about Senior Secondary pathways and courses and our Year 11 students were encouraged to attend as a ‘refresher’. Ana and Angus, two of our current Senior Secondary students, spoke about their experience at SCC this year. One of the things they emphasised was the importance of having a close community to support them and how their teachers adapt instruction to meet the specific requirements of the students.

I spoke to the students about the challenge of maintaining self-motivation and being responsible for their own learning. Often the biggest challenge during these final years of school is not the complexity of the learning but of being able to manage the workload. That is why we encourage students to select subjects that align to their interests, rather than to those their friends might be choosing or their parents might expect (sorry, parents). It is much easier to persevere when internally motivated by the learning area. The exception is those subjects that are likely to be needed as a prerequisite for further study post-school. Many university courses will have pre-tertiary English or Mathematics as prerequisites.

Across the Secondary, we have been emphasising the importance of students being responsible for learning and for their actions. There is more information on how this relates particularly to assessment in the Secondary section of the newsletter.

Our student Code of Conduct emphasises the following:

Being responsible for our actions and our learning helps us to make the most of learning opportunities.

A responsible learner will:

Come ready for class in the correct uniform, with all necessary equipment, including stationery and a charged laptop
Be punctual
Submit tasks or assignments on time
Maintain focus on the learning and resist distractions
Use personal and classroom equipment appropriately
Readily take ownership of their actions and the impact on others
Do the right thing, even when no one is looking
Report concerns or inappropriate behaviour

A responsible learner will not:

Come unprepared or late for class
Ignore or disobey teacher instructions
Be off-task or distract others from their learning
Make excuses
Intentionally damage or misuse personal or school equipment

Jodie Bennett

Principal