HOLY TRINITY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

SECONDARY NEWS 

From the Assistant Principal 

Parent Teacher Meetings

Save the Dates:

Years 7 and 8 will be held on Monday 25 March and  Years 9 and 10 on Wednesday 27 March.

 

Notes with more information will be distributed closer to the dates.

HSC Minimum Standard Literacy and Numeracy Tests

Literacy and numeracy skills are essential for success in learning and life after school. This is why students are required to show they have met a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy to receive the Higher School Certificate from 2020.

 

There will be multiple opportunities for your child to show they meet the HSC minimum standard by passing online tests of basic reading, writing and numeracy skills. These tests can be taken when your child is ready – be that this year, in Year 11 or 12 or after the HSC.

 

For more information and flyers about the online tests and what they involve, visit the NESA website: https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/hsc-minimum-standard.

 

We will be undertaking these tests at school over the next few weeks before the end of the term.

 

A note will be sent home with Year 10 students this week - if you DO NOT wish your child to sit the trial online tests please return the slip on the note.

Staying Safe Online

We have had a report that there was a ‘fake’ Instagram account set up by a student. The account owner was then contacting other members of their class. Miss Bailey spoke with all of the Secondary about this and reminded them of the importance of the digital footprint they are creating through such actions. We encourage our students to be responsible digital citizens and ask that parents also have conversations about this.

 

ThinkUKnow (http://www.thinkuknow.org.au/site/) is a website that provides information for parents and students about cyber safety and the responsible use of technology. Understanding how young people use the internet and what they enjoy doing will help you to recognise any suspicious or inappropriate behaviour. It will also help you to talk with your child about their online activities if they think you understand the online environment. The fact sheet for parents this week refers to Instagram.

Instagram Parents Factsheet.pdf

Science and Engineering Challenge

Last Friday 32 students from Years 9 & 10 competed in the annual Inverell Science and Engineering Challenge organised by the local Rotary Club.

 

The Science and Engineering Challenge is a day-long competition designed to provide Year 9 & 10 students with a positive experience of science and engineering. A maximum of 8 schools per day compete against each other at one venue.

Each school 'team' is divided into eight groups of between 2 to 4 students per group. Each group will then do either one full-day activity, or two half-day activities (i.e. one activity in the morning session, and a different one in the afternoon session).

Students are awarded points for each activity and the school with the most cumulative points at the end of the day is declared the winner. The highest scoring winning schools from each region/zone will subsequently compete against each other for a place in the state and - perhaps - the national final.

Congratulations to our Holy Trinity team who was successful on the day and were overall champions. Thanks to Mr Gaias for supervising the students last Friday.

Uniform

It has been very pleasing to note the efforts that most students have made regarding school uniform and it is important that this effort is maintained. Students are reminded to protect themselves from the sun with the school hat and sunscreen as the weather continues to be very warm and shade is limited in some areas of the school.

 

Students must be in full sports uniform if they wish to represent the school in any competition. Failure to be in the correct sports uniform will result in the student being withdrawn from the team. 

 

Please contact Miss Bailey or Mrs Rainger if you require any assistance with regard to the correct sports uniform.

Stage 5 Assessment Guidelines

This week Year 9 and 10 students will receive their assessment booklets, which outline the assessment guidelines for the year. This important document contains vital information regarding the RoSA, Record of School Achievement. It would be appreciated if parents could read the information contained in the booklet and discuss the issues raised with their children.

 

 Please return the slip to school indicating that you have received a copy of the booklet. The assessment process is similar to that which the students will encounter in Stage 6 as they prepare for their Higher School Certificate.

Inverell Show Report

The Holy Trinity Show Team  performed to perfection at this year’s Inverell Show. The students had a large team and successfully exhibited 12 animals. There were some outstanding results across their entries in the cattle section.

 

Below are our achievements for the show:

  • Champion Open Led Steer – “Salt” Murray Grey cross Charolais/Limousin steer bred by Brian Grogan and Noeline Bull of Tenterfield.
  • Champion School Led Steer - “Salt” Murray Grey cross Charolais/Limousin steer bred by Brian Grogan and Noeline Bull of Tenterfield.
  • Reserve Champion and 2nd  Open Led Steer and School Led Steer – “HTS Nebula” a black Limousin steer bred by Holy Trinity School – Limousin Stud “Willow Glen”.
  • 3rd School Led Steer – “Pepper” a Limousin/Limflex cross heifer bred by Casey and Nigel Wieck, Delungra.
  • 3rd Open Led Steer – “Neptune” a black Limousin steer bred by Holy Trinity School – Limousin Stud “Willow Glen”.
  • Champion and Grand Champion Junior Murray Grey Bull bred by Mr Bob Lea.
  • Champion Junior Limousin Bull  and Grand Champion Limousin – “Willow Glen Notable” a black Limousin bull bred by Holy Trinity School – Limousin Stud “Willow Glen”. He is a real carcass bull and is currently for sale.
  • Champion Senior Limousin Female – “KST Una” owned by students Kate and Sarah Townsend.
  • Reserve Champion Junior Limousin Female - Willow Glen Sophie M45 bred by John and Val King
  •  Reserve Champion Senior Female - Willow Glen Una bred by John and Val King
  • 2nd Junior Limousin Female – KST Nigella bred by Kate and Sarah Townsend
  • 4th Junior Limousin Female - Willow Glen Sophie bred by Holy Trinity School – Limousin Stud “Willow Glen”.
  • 2nd Junior Hereford Female – Mountain View owned by Jindalee Hereford Stud.
  • 4th Junior Hereford Female – Jindalee Loyalty owned by Jindalee Hereford Stud.
  • 3rd Junior Judge Sarah Townsend. We had several students make the final with some impressive scores.
  • Numerous place getters in the Junior Paraders competition.
  • The School Spectacular Feature event incorporated a school ambassador talk, herdsperson class, heifer fitting challenge, junior judging and paraders with the students gaining points across all the classes. Our student team of Lachlan Anderson, Bella O’Brien and Sarah Townsend placed first in the speech section. Overall, we placed second by 1 point. It was a very close competition.

The Show Team achieved some excellent results over the two days of competition. The students from Years 7 to 10 worked together extremely well and were very supportive of each other. It was fantastic to see the more experienced team members mentoring the less experienced students.

Thank you to the following people for their assistance:

  • The parents who supported our team.
  • Mr Bob Lea, Eunice and Angus Vivers for supplying animals.
  • Bob and Sue Lea for your continued support of the Ag team.
  • Mr Townsend the ever-loyal Ag Assistant. The students, parents, school and I truly appreciate all the extra work you do for the Agriculture Department.
  • The students for their interest and passion in exhibiting the cattle.

The students who participated in the Inverell Show were:

Year 7: Annalisa Collins, Bella Thompson, Max Pianko

Year 8: Nick Tindall, Clarry Tombs, Bailey King, Sarah Townsend

Year 9: Bella O’Brien, Lachlan Anderson, Bridie Kennedy, Emma Page, Kristabelle O’Brien, Grace Thompson, Shania Bell, Abigail Kingsley

Year 10: Dan O’Brien, Korey Candy

The Armidale Show

Over the weekend our two steers “Salt” and “Nebula” won Champion and Reserve Champion steers at Armidale Show. The two steers will have their final competition at the Sydney Royal Show in 4 weeks time.

Year 8 Student Sarah Townsend competed in the Zone final for Paraders and qualified for the F002 State Paraders final to be held at the Sydney Royal in April. Congratulations Sarah and we wish you the best in the state final at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

HOTmaths

All students in the Secondary department have a subscription to HOTmaths for 2019. Each student will soon have an individual log in, enabling them to complete set work or revise content they need assistance with. It also allows their teacher to set work and track progress.

 

What is HOTmaths? It is an interactive online maths teaching and learning program for students based on the NSW curriculum.

 

In a few words HOTmaths is:

  • Connecting students, parents and teachers with each other and the world
  • Making maths more meaningful and engaging
  • Building confidence through success in learning
  • Providing curriculum based teaching, learning and assessment material
  • A first-rate learning management system
  • An effective and inexpensive home tutoring system
  • An online resource accessible 24 hours a day

Students in Years 7 to 10 are encouraged to use their HOTmaths subscription. The program is a very effective tool for revision and consolidation of lessons taught in the classroom. We encourage all students to utilise their subscription and hopefully gain greater confidence in this subject. If parents have any queries regarding this they will be able to discuss the matter with their child’s Mathematics teacher at the Parent/Teacher meetings.