Dear Parents/Carers

I find it hard to believe that we are at the halfway point in the school year. Where has the term gone? Term 2 has certainly been a positive one for our school and there have been so many great opportunities for our students to be involved with. Thank you to everyone who supported the barbeque and baked goods sale or who braved the cold and wore their shorts on Shorts Day, Monday 23 June in support of SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY. 

Thank you to those parents, carers and students who attended progress conferences this Monday and Tuesday afternoon and evening. While these conferences are not compulsory, they do provide a valuable opportunity to meet with teachers to discuss your child’s learning progress in greater detail. This can help answer questions, deepen understanding and also, perhaps most importantly, enable parents/carers to support their child to establish some future focussed learning goals to improve their learning progress moving forward into the second half of the year. Afterall, we know learning is best supported through a strong partnership between parents/carers, school staff and the student. When we are all working respectfully and constructively together this will support students’ growth.  

This Friday, we will conclude our term with our second whole school assembly for Term 2. While all our assemblies contain a component of recognition and celebrating student success, the theme for this assembly centres around NAIDOC week, with the celebrations officially occurring from 6 July to 13 July. Our guest speaker for this assembly is researcher and author, Dr Nicholas Clements who will speak about Tongelongeter and his story. Tongelongeter was an Aboriginal man and resistance fighter during the Tasmanian ‘Black Wars’ of 1823-31. His message certainly provides some insights into the history of Tasmania and some sombre points for reflection. Some of you may have also seen the article on the front page of The Examiner newspaper on 12 June whereby our art students had been working with Aboriginal Elder Aunty Dawn and Art Teacher, Jess Crawford in painting an Aboriginal mural around three walls of our Art Room.  Thank you to all concerned as it not only looks fantastic but it is a recognition and celebration of indigenous and first nations people in our school community.

Recently, I have been reading about the important of resilience in our young people, including the power of gratitude. According to The Resilience Project, practising gratitude for 21 days can rewire your brain to see the positives around you. It can also make you three times more likely to notice positives in life. Whether you are a teenager or an adult, life sometimes presents us with challenges. Most of the time resilient people can get through the challenges they face. As parents it is often natural to react to prevent and protect our children from challengers because of the strong emotional bond that exists between parent and their child. This is human nature. While there are no doubt serious, sustained or life-threatening events that do require protection and intervention, many challenges in life can be seen as necessary to build resilience and the ability to cope when things do not go perfectly or to plan.

Resilience is best defined as the ability to thrive despite risk. There are five key characteristics that identify resilience in young people.

• They have an appropriate mix of pride and determination.
• They demonstrate a never give up attitude.
• They understand the temporary nature of most struggles.
• They know that most who succeed need to persevere.
• They have extensive support networks.

Everyone can play an important role in developing a young person’s resilience. A highly resilient child strides confidently into the schoolyard, and indeed into the world, capable of handling many of the challenges that life throws our way.

I am pleased to report that we have strong stability in our staffing moving into Term 3.  This provides continuity, certainty and generally contributes positively to our school community. We currently have an Education Facility Attendant position in the process of being filled. Similarly, teacher Richard Goss is currently on leave as he is standing as a candidate in the upcoming election. Should Mr Goss be elected that will mean some changes which will be determined in due course.

At our most recent School Association Committee meeting we welcomed Rachel Riley to the team as a parent member. At the time of writing, I am unsure if our school will be used as a polling booth for the upcoming election. However, assuming it is as has been the case in previous years, the School Association is considering running a barbeque fundraiser on this day. If this eventuates, I encourage you to get a long and purchase a ‘democracy sausage’ on election day on Saturday 19 July.

I hope all our students and teachers have a wonderful holiday break. I look forward to seeing students back at school for Term 3 on Monday 21 July revitalised and ready to focus on their learning and contributing to our culture in a positive way through embracing opportunities and accepting responsibilities.

Regards

Cary Stocks
Principal

As part of our Positive Behaviour Support Program at Kings Meadows we will be acknowledging students who have been contributing positively to our learning environment.  This means that they have been supporting our school-wide expectations.

Respect for others, self and environment

Organisation

Commitment to learning

Keeping safe

Sensible behaviour

We would like to acknowledge the following students:

Year 7:

Amir – For always putting his best effort into all the work he does, no matter how challenging.   

Samson – For his organisation, positive attitude and contribution to class discussions. 

Year 8:

Matilda (8C) – For her enthusiasm and commitment to the reading program. It is an absolute pleasure to watch her growth in this area. Keep up the awesome work, Matilda!  

Zoltan (8C) – For his engagement and contributions in the reading program so far this year. Keep up the great work, Zoltan – your fantastic results are a testimony to your commitment!  

On Friday 20 June, the Year 7’s had a grade based day. This involved some focussed work around belonging and resilience where students and staff were able to spend some quality time fostering relationships and connections. Students also completed a task that has become a lovely tradition at KMHS – they wrote a letter to their future Year 10 self. These will be kept safe by the Grade Team and opened as part of Leavers Activities in December 2028!  After this students were able to select a wellbeing activity of their choice – sport, dance, mindfulness, quizzes and Games Club were enjoyed by all. Lastly on this day was time for our ‘Class of Kings Competition’.  Our student leaders, along with Ms Graham hosted a rotation of ‘Minute to Win It’ style activities with each class teacher group vying for the most points.  On the day it was 7C who beat 7F by just 5 points to claim victory!  Total points for the year so far are:

6^th Place – 7B (388 points)

5^th Place - 7E (578 points)

4^th Place - 7A (622 points)

3^rd Place – 7D (679 points)

2^nd Place – 7F (722 Points)

1^st Place – 7C (780 points)

Well done to all students for engaging in the day's activities with enthusiasm and commitment.

Recently KMHS Year 7 groups were lucky enough to obtain a Sporting Grant.  This money was used to fund two trips to Launceston Lanes Bowling for each line of HPE.  7ABC on a Monday and 7DEF on a Wednesday.  This was a fantastic excursion for students to participate in friendly competition with their peers and enjoy something different than regular HPE at School.

Term 3 subject changes – A reminder that this week is the final week of half year options for Year 7 before they start their new rotations at the start of Term 3.  Students undertaking Food Technology will need to remember to bring a container weekly to transport cooking home.  Families of Year 7’s starting MDT will look forward to projects such as camp toasting forks, wooden chopping boards and desk tidies coming home! 

7A: Food Technology, Drama and LOTE
7B: Food Technology, Art and Drama
7C: Food Technology, Art and Music
7D: MDT, Drama and Art
7E: MDT, LOTE and Music
7F: MDT, Drama and LOTE 

Term 2 Learning Topics:
Maths:  Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
English: Persuasive Essays
Science: Forces, Separating Mixtures Practical
HaSS: Ancient Civilisations
HPE: Bullying and Respectful Relationships + Dance 

Please feel free to contact your child’s teachers for more information. 

This term the Year 8's had some fun times— this could include, but is not limited to, the Cross Country, where for the boys Luca came first, Blair second and Chase came third. For the girls Kiara came in first, Alex second and Olive third. More competitions include Mrs Howard’s Drama class coming second in their Drama Competitions, the Year 8 group also had students participate in the Dance Competitions with some placing.  Students also participated in Girl on Track and the Junior House Captains helped rename the YMCA!

During this term, the students learnt many new things— including what happened during the Viking and Middle Ages, how advertisements are made and how body systems work.

At the start of term, in HaSS, students studied Vikings and how they shaped the way for weapons and for boats. They learnt how they pillaged villages for weapons, food, gold, etc. and how William of Normandy won the Battle of Hastings, becoming the King of England. Towards the end of term we focused on historic events that happened during the Middle Age, first focusing on the Plague and then moving towards huge events that affected the world we know today.

The students in English learnt about advertisements, how many different companies use persuasive texts, alluring phrases and perfect imagery to draw people in. Learning about how advertisements have changed over decades, focusing on ads in the 1950s and then looking at the current ads in 2025, to then making their very own ads.

In Science we first learnt about the differences between living things and non-living things. We then started leaning towards the human body and it's functions, learning exactly how the body stays alive. Next we focused on the digestive system; how the body absorbs nutrients through the food humans eat, as well as what the different organs in the digestive system do and how they function. Then we went on to the respiratory system, learning how the body breathes and what the two muscles do to help the body take in oxygen.

On 20 June, students in Year 8 had a grade-based learning day. They began the morning with an introductory grade assembly and then moved on to writing resumes. This proved to be a novel experience for some students, who learnt valuable skills for future employment.

In the third block of the day, opt-in subject lessons were available. Students chose between HaSS, Maths, English, Health and Job Readiness. Opt-in lessons had a strong focus on future growth, as well as time to complete assignments.

In Block 4, students took surveys to assess their values, skills and interests to get the cogs turning on their future career paths. Ultimately, key aspects of jobs were applied to the student’s survey results, like business, creative and people skills.

At the end of the day the prestigious “Gamesmaster” Mr Chatwin, ran a cryptic scavenger hunt full of puzzles and activities. Once a team had acquired all the teachers’ signatures, they had to rush back to E Block and have their names put into a lucky draw for a grand prize— eight free hot Milos from the Gamesmaster to share between themselves. Well done to our winners - Lailah, Zayliah, Indy and Thasnim.

The whole day was a great opportunity for everyone involved and proved enjoyable.  We wish everyone a safe holiday and look forward to seeing everyone again in Term 3!

Report by Alice, Evie and Luca (8C)

YEAR 8 CONTACT DETAILS:

As Term 2 comes to a close, it’s important to take a moment to celebrate the fantastic work being produced by our Year 10 students. Their dedication, growth and positive attitude have been evident across all areas of school life.

College Open Days – A Great Success
The recent College Open Days at Newstead and Launceston Colleges were a great success. Student behaviour was exemplary and we commend all those who attended for representing our school with pride and maturity. These experiences are a valuable part of the transition process and help students make informed decisions about their future pathways.

Shorts Day for Speak Up! Stay ChatTY
A huge congratulations to our Student Leaders for organising a successful Shorts Day in support of Speak Up! Stay ChatTY. The event was a vibrant and positive celebration, with a wonderful array of colourful shorts on display across the school. It was fantastic to see so many students and staff getting involved to raise awareness for mental health and show support for such an important cause.

Thank you for your continued support as we wrap up a productive and positive Term 2.

YEAR 10 CONTACT DETAILS:

Last week Kings Meadows High School hosted the annual Challenge Day, operating this year over two days. With approximately 400 students from Glen Dhu, Longford, Evandale, Perth, Norwood and Youngtown Primary Schools present, the value of connection was at the forefront. Challenge Day is an opportunity where students in Years 5/6 experience a day at Kings Meadows High School, with the aim to assist in the transition phase into secondary education.

Students were exposed to an array of curriculums, ranging from Drama, MDT, Art, Foods, HaSS, HPE and Science. Feedback from the students involved was positive with many discussing the opportunities available at KMHS in the future.

Thank you to the primary schools involved, who continue to invest in the transition of their students into secondary education, together with the staff at Kings Meadows. A special mention also to the Year 7 Transition Leaders, who were able to play an active role in supporting students over the two days.

Our goal for 7/8 soccer this term was to create a positive environment where success isn't measured by wins and losses but by the small things such as helping a teammate off the ground, celebrating the little wins on field and being respectful to the opposition.

After spending the first three rounds in Division 1, our team suffered defeats to Brooks, Prospect and Riverside. A restructuring of the divisions saw the team move to Division 2. The team has gone from strength to strength in Division 2, losing to Prospect in a much tighter game where the team also scored their first goal!!

Our first win was recorded against Star of the Sea where the team won 8 to 2. What was more impressive to see was the attitude and effort of the students playing. An improved defensive effort from the whole team led by Saxon at center back and Max in goals gave the team the confidence they needed to take the ball forward. Lincon and Ella were both impressive up front, both scoring multiple goals.

Congratulations to all players for their first win of the season. Being able to see the team gain confidence and improve their skills the last few weeks has been really good. Let's bring on Term 3!

Will Fox UTAS prac student

Students in Years 8 and 10 participated in a rebranding project of the former YMCA building, now managed by Vinnies. Students were briefed on how their top three or four names will be considered by the committees who manage the site and then recommended to Council staff for final consideration. Thank you to Sarah, Oscar, Sam and the Launceston City Council/Vinnies for co-ordinating this authentic learning opportunity.

Our Outdoor Education full-year students had an exciting visit to Paringa Archery in Trevallyn. They learnt archery techniques, practiced their aim and enjoyed friendly competitions.