SECONDARY NEWS 

From the Assistant Principal 

Welcome to Term 4!

Welcome back to all students; the year is certainly passing very quickly. Students are reminded that, in addition to regular homework, the assessment week is scheduled for Week 5 for Years 7-10. It is essential that each student apply a serious and committed effort to all areas of their work in this final semester. This should ensure that each student achieves the best possible results in their end of year report.

Term 4 is going to be very busy with students involved in a myriad of activities in addition to the day-to-day lessons. It is essential that students employ effective time-management skills to ensure that all tasks are completed on time, regardless of their participation in these activities.

NEW & RETURNING STAFF WELCOME – MRS GEORGIE ROGERS & MISS CLAUDIA CUSH

We welcome Mrs Georgie Rogers, our newest member of staff. We also welcome back Miss Cush.

Celebrating ANOTHER Major STAGE 6 Milestone: WELCOME TO YEAR 12!

Our Year 12 Mathematics Extension 1 class at 8.00 am on Tuesday morning was officially the first Year 12 class at Holy Trinity.

2026/2027 SRC Elections

Today, the first part of the SRC election process began. Students in Years 8-12 voted for the 2026/27 Year 12 Student Leaders. The nominees delivered a short speech to the student body last Friday at assembly. Congratulations to the following students who were nominated. They are all very worthy nominees, and we thank them for putting themselves forward to form the first Stage 6 SRC team.

• Halina Huynh
• Hannah Sanderson
• Laura  Cameron
• Lilly Johnson
• Sasha Bryant
• Aksel Hutchings
• Alexzel Cleary
• Harry Bennett
• Jed Emery

Year 11/12 Family Conferences

Year 11 End-of-Course Family Conferences will be held on Monday 26 October from 4.00 pm - 5.45 pm in the Hall. Bookings can be made via Compass.

Stage 5 2027 Elective Information Evening

Year 8 and Year 9 students have received a link to the Stage 5 Elective Handbook, which is now online only. This is a guide to the elective courses of study available to Year 9 and Year 10 in 2027. Please note that printed subject selection guides are no longer provided. You can access all details in the online Elective Information Handbook using the link below (originally shared last term):

Stage 5 Elective Choices

• Date & Time: Tuesday, 20 October | 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
• Location: Holy Trinity Hall

Year 11 2027 Pattern of Study Family Conferences

Thank you to all the Year 10 families who have already met with us for our 2027 Year 11 Pattern of Study Family Conferences. It has been valuable to connect with around 32 families so far and engage in positive, meaningful discussions about the varied learning pathways and subject options available for 2027.

As a reminder, these conferences are a compulsory part of each student's transition into Senior School. If you haven't booked a session yet, don't worry - additional appointment times will be made available. We look forward to speaking with the rest of our Year 10 families soon.

Year 10 Work Experience

The optional week of Work Experience is earlier this term in Week 7. This means that the paperwork must be returned to Mr Koch by Friday 31 October (Week 3). Students who return paperwork after this date will be ineligible to attend Work Experience in Week 7. Please see Mr Koch if you have any questions.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Mrs Townsend and the Year 9 members  of the Show Team who took cattle to the North Coast Nationals last week. The team had another very successful outing and were excellent ambassadors for the school. 

Good luck

Layla Mair - Rotary Public Speaking Competition

Congratulations to Layla for proudly representing our school in the first round of the Rotary Public Speaking Competition. Layla will now represent the local Rotary Club in the regional final in Walcha this weekend.

ACS Cricket in Gunnedah (Week 3)

Good luck to our cricket team who will compete at the Diocesan carnival in Gunnedah on Wednesday 28 October.

Attendance Matters

Research indicates that:

• Regular attendance at school is fundamental to student learning. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to achieve educational success and increase their career and life options.
• Student attendance has been identified as an important aspect of a student's wellbeing, and failure to receive an education has been identified as a risk of harm factor.
• Poor attendance patterns place students at risk of not achieving their educational, social, and psychological potential and disadvantage them in the quality of choices they can make in later life.
• Communities benefit from students who regularly attend school and are achieving. These benefits include greater student safety, community wellbeing, and a sense of connectedness for all.
• Schools, families, and communities can work together to send a strong collective message about the importance of going to school. 
• Promoting the benefits of regular attendance to students, teachers, early childhood centre staff, parents, and community groups will help create a culture where regular school attendance is the norm.

Whole-day attendance is very important, as is punctuality for school and classes.

GOOGLE CLASSROOM GUARDIAN SUMMARIES

Years 7 - 9 Assessment Handbook

Years 10 - 12 Curriculum Handbook (including Assessment Policy)

Please note this also applies to Year 9 Elective Subjects.

https://sites.google.com/arm.catholic.edu.au/htsstudentcurriculumhandbook/home

Ready2Learn

Pastoral Care teachers will check in with the students in their classes 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 Georgie Rogers/Mrs Nicole Simpson/Miss Claudia Cush

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.