SECONDARY NEWS 

From the Assistant Principal 

Week 5: Years 7-10 Family Conferences

In Week 5, on Monday 17 August, Years 7 – 10 Family Conferences will be held in the Hall. This will enable parents to check on their child’s progress; in particular, they will have the opportunity to follow up on any issues from the first meeting this year and from Semester 1 reports. The interviews will be held in the Hall from 3.45 pm – 7.15 pm. If you are unable to attend, please contact the subject teachers you would like to speak with via Compass.

If you are having difficulty booking, please contact the Front Office, and they can assist.

 Bookings will close on Friday 14 August. 

Bookings are essential, and appointments cannot be made on the night.

Year 11 Family Conferences

Year 11 Family Conferences will be held early in Term 4.

Year 11 End-of- Course Examinations

Year 11 End-of-Course Exams will be held from Monday 14 September to Monday 21 September.

Exam timetables will soon be visible on the Curriculum Handbook Site. 

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

Students will also receive paper copies and be emailed the exam timetable. 

The exam procedures and expectations are clearly outlined in the timetable, and students and families are asked to read them carefully and direct any questions to Miss Bailey.

Year 11 2027 Family Meetings

In the coming weeks, Miss Bailey and Mr Baldwin will be holding Stage 6 Family Meetings to discuss Year 10 subject selections and pattern of study for Year 11 in 2027. 

This meeting is an essential opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of the pathways available for senior school. We will cover key information regarding course structures, prerequisites, and how to make informed choices that align with your child's strengths and future aspirations. Mrs Townsend will be available if students have questions about VET subjects.

Meeting times will be 20 minutes and can be booked through Compass. Please access the booking system to secure your preferred slot. If the available times do not suit your family, please contact Miss Bailey, and we will do our best to arrange an alternative. It is important to note that these meetings are in addition to the usual Family Conferences, and we strongly encourage attending the conferences to gauge current progress in all subjects.

Please note that attendance at this meeting is a required step for all students intending to continue into Year 11 in 2027. Your participation is vital in ensuring a smooth and well-informed transition into senior studies.

We look forward to meeting with you and supporting your child through this important decision-making process.

Please contact Miss Bailey if you have any questions or concerns.

A NOTIFICATION WILL BE SENT VIA COMPASS WHEN THE BOOKINGS ARE OPEN.

SAVE THE DATE: SECONDARY PUBLIC SPEAKING FINALS

Classes are in the process of completing their speeches. Students selected for the finals will be notified, as will their families.

When: Monday 31 August

Where: HTS Hall

Time: Starting at 11.40 am

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.

EKKA

Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Townsend for their continued outstanding success at EKKA last week. All students acquitted themselves exceptionally well and were excellent ambassadors for the school.

Congratulations!

• Australian Geography Competition: Well done to all students who received their certificates last week.
• Netball NSW Cup: Congratulations to our 7/8 girls, 9/10 girls, and 9/10 boys netball teams for representing the school with great spirit last week. A special shout-out to our 7/8 girls team, who came away victorious and advance to the next round. Thank you to Miss Majetic, Mrs Simpson, and Mr Ehsman for coaching and supporting the teams.
• ACS Athletics Carnival: Congratulations to all our athletes who competed in Tamworth last week - we had many excellent results. Thanks to Mr Myers and Mr Baz for supervising the students on the day.
• Online Chess Competition: Well done to our chess team for advancing to the next round of their competition. Thanks to Mr Muggleton for coaching the team and organsiing their competitions.

Good Luck!

• Rugby League (Northern NSW Knights Premiership Competition): Best of luck to our U13s and U15s teams playing this Thursday at Kamilaroi.
• Rugby League (Small Schools' Cup): Good luck to our U16s team heading to Bathurst in Week 5 for the finals

Thank you to the staff and parents involved in coordinating these events. We wish all participating students a successful few weeks!

GOOGLE CLASSROOM GUARDIAN SUMMARIES

STUDY SKILLS TIP

HELPING OUT A STRESSED CHILD

Many parents feel powerless to help when their child is stressed and overwhelmed about their schoolwork. It is not just senior students who experience this level of stress, research indicates that for some students this starts as early as Year 7.

If your child is experiencing stress and anxiety related to their schoolwork, here are some strategies you can try.

1. FIND OUT MORE: Try and discover what it is that is causing the most anxiety. Does your student feel anxious about tests or assignments? Are they struggling to plan and manage their workload? Are they finding a particular subject difficult? It is very difficult to address the issue until you really uncover what the issue is. If they do not want to discuss with mum and dad, you may find asking a teacher who they like and respect to talk to them may lead to a better outcome. 
2. LET THE SCHOOL KNOW: Next talk to your child's Pastoral Care teacher. You can either ask the school to investigate further and even take action to address the issue, or you can ask them to keep it confidential as you are just wanting to make them aware of the issue.
3. DECIDE STRATEGIES: Once the problem is clear, next step is to decide what strategies to try (and you may need to try multiple strategies over time). You may have some ideas of things your child could try, or you may need to talk to teachers to learn from their expertise. 
4. DON’T GIVE UP: If a strategy doesn’t work, then try something different.      Different people will have different suggestions so google or talk to lots of teachers or other parents about the issue and see if they have other ideas you could try. 
5. CONSIDER EXTRA SUPPORT: Your child may need additional support. For example from a school counsellor, or a psychologist or a tutor. Make sure you are clear about the issue so you can find the right person to provide the additional support your child needs.

Years 7 - 9 Assessment Handbook

Years 10 - 11 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 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.