Montrose Bay High School Newsletter - Term 2 Week 10

Message from the Principal

We are drawing to the end of Term 2 which signals the time for mid-year reports and parent/teacher/student conversations. We are excited to share with parents and carers the progress students have made in the first half of 2025. Please see student reports for more details on how to book the parent/teacher/student conversations.

Staffing – To begin Term 3 there will be some small staffing changes to support approved leave of teachers. Sam Ross will take 4 weeks leave at the start of Term 3 and be replaced by Rhiannon Lloyd. Rhiannon is an experienced HPE Teacher who has taught at both Dominic and Cosgrove. At the end of Sam’s leave Rhiannon will then step into Alex Last’s role as he will be taking paternity leave for the remainder of 2025. We are excited to welcome Rhiannon to our school and the HPE Team.

Racial Inclusion Program – Throughout 2025 our school has been involved in an Education program focussed on racial inclusion. This week over 30 of our students and around 10 staff members had a full day workshop where they undertook training to engage and construct school practices to support this topic. It was great to see our staff and students engaged in this program and we are excited to see what the next steps might be after the latest session.

Tasmanian Student Learning Commission – This week 16 of our student leaders attended the inaugural Tasmanian Student Learning Commision. This is the first of its kind in Tasmania and is based on a very successful program launched in the Northern Territory around 10 years ago. At this session our students engaged in MBHS data and worked through an inquiry focus to support an area of our school. Moving forward, our Learning Commission students will focus on attendance. We are excited to support their journey on improving this across our school.

Parent/Teacher/Student Learning Conversations – These conversations will take place in week 2 of Term 3 on Tuesday 29 July and Wednesday 30 July. In 2025 we are using a new booking system (School Interviews) and details on how to access the booking system will be in student reports which were posted home this week. We will also email families and share on our Facebook page.

School Association – Due to ongoing sickness and busy times, we have made the decision to not reschedule our Term 2 meeting. We are proposing our Term 3 meeting to be on Tuesday 19 August at 5.15pm. At this meeting we will catch up on any business from Term 2 and continue our positive conversations around building improvement at MBHS.

I would like to thank our whole community for their support in Term 2 and wish everyone a restful break during the Term holidays. Our staff will be working hard behind the scenes to ensure the learning opportunities continue in the second half of 2025.

Tim Nicholas
Principal

School Association

Our next School Association meeting will be held on Tuesday 19 August at 5.15pm at the school.  If you're interested in hearing about the teaching and learning at MBHS or having a say on school matters, please join us at the meeting or contact the school for more information about the Association.

Year 9 - Term overview

HPE

In HPE we have had a practical focus on volleyball and a health focus on harm minimisation, relating specifically to alcohol consumption.

We have learnt about alcohol's effects, reasons for use, and harm minimisation strategies. Harm minimisation involves making safer choices, supporting friends, and understanding alcohol's impact on the brain and body. Reasons for use include coping, conformity, pleasure, and socialising, influenced by personal, social, and cultural factors.

In practical sessions, we have developed volleyball skills such as dig sets, communication, calling, tactics, and player positioning. We've grown in our teamwork and strategic thinking to enhance our game performance. Effective communication and calling ensure coordinated plays, while understanding tactics and positioning optimizes our team dynamics and success on the court.

History

This term we have been learning why there were different perspectives about giving women the right to vote in post-federation Australia. Reflecting on different perspectives helps us understand why some people have different opinions. This unit has also required students to develop their explaining skills, which will assist them on their future essay about the White Australia Policy.

Science

We have been covering two small units of work related to Biology. In the first half of the term, we looked at homeostasis.  In the second half of the term, we are learning how organisms reproduce.

A component of both these units is learning how to improve our science communication. Science can often be a dry and complex topic, so being able to communicate it effectively in a way people can understand is important.

We are working toward giving verbal presentations about how a species reproduces at the end of this term.

Inquiry

In Year 9, our Inquiry question this term is - How does the explicit instruction of morphology, combined with chunking and reflective tools, impact students’ reading development and their agreement with ‘when I found something hard, I tried another way’? Teachers have collected data on student understanding and designed explicit teaching lessons to support improving their reading and engagement.

Engagement

In our Engagement priority lessons this term, Year 9 have been discussing strategies to improve academic achievement. We have been learning about Morphemes which are the smallest units of meaning in language. We have also been learning about engagement strategies teacher use to make learning more fun.

Reading

In our Reading Priority lessons this term, we have been learning about Morphology and Morphemes. A morpheme is the smallest meaningful part of a word. Studying these morphemes is called morphology. This learning supports our Year 9 Inquiry. Students have been learning about how we can break down words into their meaningful parts. Students have been building their understanding of affixes (prefixes and suffixes) and how they can change the meaning of a word. This is helpful because we can use our knowledge about morphemes to identify the meaning of unfamiliar words in texts.  

Year 10

Throughout Term 2, Year 10 students have had a focus on their future pathways. On Fridays, people from a range of occupations have been visiting our assemblies to share information about possible educational and career opportunities for our students. These have included Claremont College, Hi-Vis Army, Tasmanian Building Group Apprenticeship Scheme, TasTafe and UTAS. Students also attended the Jobs Hub Careers Expo at Mystate Bank Arena in Term 1, have participated in the Claremont College Taster Day and have been working in their Engagement lessons to complete their Transition Plans alongside their teachers. As the year continues, students will also attend the Fearless Festival, a Careers Expo targeted at females, and have the opportunity to participate in work exposure initiatives supported by the Smith Family and Beacon Foundation.

We have recently accepted applications for students to join the Year 10 Celebration Committee. It was pleasing to see high quality applicants from all classes in Year 10. This committee has been finalised, and the team will commence their work planning the students' final week. We will be sending more information about leavers' week home to families in week 10. This letter will include costs associated with the week and expectations of our students to support their participation. 

Reports, Learning Conversations & Exams

Mid-Year Reports
Your child’s mid-year report will be posted home before the end of the school term.
The report will show your child’s learning achievement on a 9-point visual scale (ACF subjects) and a 9-point or 5-point visual scale for some Specialist/Elective subjects. The scales show where your child’s learning achievement is against the expected standard for their year level. If your child has been assessed against their Learning Plan, their achievement has been assessed against their Learning Plan goals and will be represented on a 5-point scale.

Parent/Teacher/Student Learning Conversations will be offered in Term 3, week 2. These are a great opportunity to discuss how your child is progressing with their learning as well as their wellbeing and attendance. 

Parent-Teacher-Student Learning Conversations 
We warmly invite families to attend Parent-Teacher-Student Learning Conversations. These will be held on Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th July from 3.15pm to 6 pm (last booking at 5.45pm). Bookings for this can be made online on the School Interviews website. Details about how to book have been sent home with your child’s report. If you have any questions, please contact the school on 6208 2666.

Year 10 Exams
In 2025, Year 10 students will sit an exam for English and Mathematics. Students will also sit a third exam – Science, HPE or History. Exams will take place from Wednesday 24th to Friday 26th September. Students will be provided with some preparation time prior to exams. Further information about exams has been sent home with your child’s report.

Student Early Departures

If your child ever needs to leave school early, please send a note with your child, email us at montrose.bay.high@decyp.tas.gov.au or call the school on 6208 2666 in the morning to advise time of pickup/departure and reason. We will then provide a school leave pass to your child so they can easily leave class at the required time.

Dates to Remember