SECONDARY NEWS
From the Assistant Principal

Miss Kim Bailey
kbailey@arm.catholic.edu.au

Good Luck...

EKKA

The Holy Trinity Show Team is in the final stages of preparation for EKKA. They leave early on Saturday morning for a very hectic week of competition. We wish them the best of luck.

Mrs Townsend, Mr Townsend, Mr Squire and the students have put countless hours into getting ready for this prestigious show. Many schools from the eastern states will be vying for prizes in the school categories. Holy Trinity School has a well-earned reputation in this competition, often outperforming much bigger schools. We look forward to hearing about this year’s event in coming newsletters.

Australian Mathematics Competition

Good luck to all students who are participating in the AMC this week.

Rotary Public Speaking Competition

Good luck to Hannah Bourke and Maryann Otieno, who will be representing Holy Trinity on Thursday night at the local round of the Rotary Public Speaking Competition. Both girls are accomplished speakers, and we wish them all the best.

Diocesan Athletics

Good luck to all Holy Trinity students who will be competing at the Armidale Diocesan Athletics Carnival in Tamworth on Thursday.

Congratulations...

U16s Rugby League Team

Congratulations to the U16s team, which defeated Nygan High School last Wednesday. They will now progress to the next round in Bathurst.

Year 7 and 8 Semester 2 SRC Changeover

Thank you to those students who were on the SRC in Semester 1. Congratulations to the following students who have been elected to the SRC for Semester 2.

7E - Hamish Rattray

7M - Ella Walford

8G - Indy Johns

8M - Sam Mitrega

8T - Max Sweeney

Legislative Assembly Public Speaking and Youth Forum

Congratulations to Maryann Otieno.

NAIDOC Celebrations

Secondary students had a great day today participating in several activities as part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations. These included designing and creating message sticks, decoding, traditional games and ochre and dance. Thanks to Miss Higgns, Mr Boney, and Ms Adams for organizing the events and to Alex Alexander for the dance sessions.

SAVE THE DATES:

Public Speaking Finals

The Secondary Public Speaking Finals will be held in the Hall from 9.15 am on Monday August 12. We would like to thank Mr Peter Champion for adjudicating the finals. Families are welcome to attend.

Congratulations to the following students who have made it to the finals.

Year 7

Chloe Worgan

Ryan Hill

Ella Walford

Lachie Tindall

Year 9

Josie Harvey

Halina Hunyh

Charlie Parella

Year 8

Kate McBean

Seth O’Neill - Yee

Kobe Butcher

Bethany Pearse

Lily Foley

Year 10

Will Zhao

Eliza McNamara

Jess Hill

Elkie Sargeant

Hannah Bourke

George Taylor

Family Conferences

In Week 5, on Monday 19 August and Tuesday 20 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 on both nights will be held in the Hall from 3.45 pm to 5.45 pm.

Please contact Miss Bailey or your child's Pastoral Care teacher if you cannot attend the Family Conferences and would like to arrange an alternative time to speak with teachers.

Families can book via Compass on whatever night suits them best.

Year 10 Term 3 Calendar and Assessment Outline

Year 10 were given a calendar and assessment outline for Term 3. It is a busy term, and this may help their time management and planning. They were given a hard copy, and an electronic copy was emailed. The schedule was also posted to Compass for both Year 10 students and families.

Year 10 T3 Calendar & Assessment Outline 2024.pdf

Uniform Reminders

Thank you to those students who regularly adhere to the expectations regarding uniforms. However, some students are not in uniform. The following issues are causing concern at the moment:

Students not wearing ties.
Students not wearing the correct socks.
Students not wearing their school shirts underneath hoodies.
Students are wearing black Canterbury tracksuit pants on Thursdays.

Class teachers, Pastoral Care teachers, and the Leadership Team monitor uniforms regularly. If a student is not in the correct uniform, a dated note from the family advising when the uniform can be rectified is required. This note is to be given to the Pastoral Care teacher (Secondary) in the morning.

Where the school can assist, we will endeavour to help the student correct the uniform, e.g., provide an elastic hair band, provide a container for excess jewellery, and give a spare school outerwear garment.

Many lost property items are in the secondary staffroom. Please check if you are missing any clothing. All students are advised to label their belongings, allowing lost or misplaced items to be returned.

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 patterns of attendance place students at risk of not achieving their educational, social and psychological potential and disadvantage them in the quality of choices they are able to make in later life situations.
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.

STUDY SKILLS TIP

PROOFING YOUR ASSESSMENTS

As you gear up for your next assessment, mastering the art of proofreading is key to ensuring your hard work shines through.

1st Proof:

To begin, consider relocating to a fresh setting for a focused proofreading session. Find a place that is not your usual study space where you can concentrate on refining your work. Bring along the assessment criteria and question prompts to guide your review. Your initial proof should encompass the following key factors:

WORD COUNT: Confirm that your assessment aligns with the specified word limit. Identify any excess words that may need trimming to meet requirements.

SPELLING / GRAMMAR: While spell check can be helpful, don't rely solely on it. Look out for common errors like 'form' instead of 'from' that may slip through automated checks.

SOURCES: Verify that all sources for visuals, examples, and quotes are properly cited and listed to support your arguments.

CRITERIA / QUESTION ANSWERED? Review the assessment criteria and ensure that your responses directly address the requirements. Tick off each criterion as you confirm its coverage in your work.

REPETITION: It’s easy to repeat points, double check you haven’t done this.

USEFUL INFORMATION: It’s not uncommon to write unnecessary information. Do you have points that don’t really answer the question? Have you written clearly? Is there any information you could leave out? Is there any information that you realise needs to be added?

REINFORCE: This is where you need to finalise which words you will bold, highlight, underline, etc., so your assignment clearly identifies the main points. Bolding can let the teacher see clearly that you have covered all the parts of the question, that there is a sequence of ideas and you have organised the information well.

2nd Proof:

The next day, repeat the above steps, but this time - READ YOUR ASSIGNMENT OUT LOUD! If you didn’t print your assignment to proof the first time, now could be the time. Reading and hearing the words spoken in different mediums can sometimes give a new perspective to your writing. Note down any changes you need to make.

3rd Proof:

It’s always a good idea to ask someone to proof your assignment after you have proofed it first. It is common for the writer not to pick up typos or silly mistakes because they know what they meant and see the words they intended to write, and not the errors. So recruit a proofreader (parent, relative, older sibling or friend, etc.) to gain fresh insights.

Remember, meticulous proofreading is a valuable skill that can elevate the quality of your work and set you on the path to academic success.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR LEARNING

Learning is not just what you do in the classroom. Study is not just what you do the night before a test. Both of these are ongoing activities that are enhanced by the correct pre and post activities. See which of these 5 Ps you do.

PREPARE: This is the stage where you ensure you have all of the materials you need for learning and have completed any pre-tasks such as reading sections of your textbook in advance or any other activities your teacher asks you to complete prior to the class.

PARTICIPATE: Engaging in your learning is the best way to start to embed it in your memory and ensure you understand. Having the opportunity to discuss and interact and complete different styles of learning activities really helps your brain to process what you are learning.

PLAN: Take the time to look at the assessments for the course and plan when you will start, work on and complete tasks. Anytime you are asked to complete work for class, plan when you will do it and, even better, write your plan into your diary or online planner.

PRACTISE: One of the best ways to learn is to do practise questions. When you apply what you have learnt to actual questions, you will engage retrieval and cognitive pathways in the brain and reinforce your learning and uncover areas that need extra study.

PINPOINT: After a test or assessment is returned to you, celebrate your successes but also use it to pinpoint areas of weakness. This allows you to then spend time building your strengths in these areas without the pressure of an exam looming.

REMEMBER to accept the invitation to Google Classroom Guardian Summaries

Device Policy

Students are not permitted to use their devices unless instructed by a teacher. This includes both the classroom and the playground. The students are aware of this policy and receive constant reminders in Pastoral Care and their teaching classes. There are also many posters displayed all around the school.

If a student needs to use their device, they must first seek permission from a teacher and use it in an area designated by the teacher. This is usually under their direct supervision or outside the Secondary staffroom.

If students cannot follow this policy, their phones are confiscated and placed securely in Miss Bailey's office, where they are collected by the student at the end of the school day.

Teachers record each time a device is confiscated. After it is confiscated for a second time, it remains at school until it can be collected by a parent or carer.

Making Contact with Teachers in the Secondary

If you have any questions or concerns about your child's learning or wellbeing, please contact Miss Bailey, your child's Pastoral Care teacher or their subject teacher. We are only too happy to assist.