Montrose Bay High School Newsletter - Term 2 Week 5

Message from the Principal

Term 2 has continued to see our school align our work with our School Improvement Goals of reading and engagement. This week will see MBHS host all Derwent Collective Schools (Cosgrove High, Claremont College, New Norfolk High, JRLF Senior School, Glenora District School, Bothwell District School and Oatlands District School) for Moderation on the student Free day this Friday. All teachers come together to moderate student work and ensure consistent practice across the state in public schools. We are excited to host these schools and work with teachers from a range of different settings.

Staffing – Over the past few weeks we have had some staff changes that I would like to share with our community. Eli Luttmer was recently successful in securing an Assistant Principal role at Claremont College. This is an acting position for the remainder of 2025. We wish him all the best and look forward to continuing to work with him through the 10-11 transition program. Nagaela Hall has also departed our school to pursue a language position with the Australian Navy, this is an exciting challenge for Nagaela and we wish her all the best. Frances Hey has also recently departed our school to begin maternity leave, she is expecting her second child shortly and we wish her and her family all the best with the impending birth. Frances will return to our school in 2026. Kumudu Stewart has also recently been successful in a short-term Principal role at Blackmans Bay Primary, for the final 4 weeks of Term 2. This is a terrific opportunity for Kumudu and a great example of leadership building at MBHS.
I would also like to welcome some new staff members who have joined our school recently:
Luke Sullivan – Luke has replaced Frances as an Assistant Principal in Year 7 and comes to us with a wealth of experience in leadership roles.
Snow Pi – Snow joins our school as a Year 8 Maths/Science teacher and has previously worked at Taroona High School.
Akala Whittleston – Akala has stepped into Nagaela’s Year 7 English/HASS role. Akala is very familiar to our school through her relief teacher experience at MBHS.

Attendance – I am delighted to share the progress we are making with increased student attendance at MBHS. Our staff and students have had a positive focus on this area and have developed several initiatives to highlight the importance of attendance at school every day. From our ‘5 from 5’ initiative to improved parent/carer communication and positive rewards we have seen an increase in attendance across all year levels.

Extra curricular activities – Our staff and students have been involved in a number of exciting initiatives inside and outside of our school recently. Students have been representing our school in sporting tournaments focussed on AFL9s, netball, cross country and volleyball and we have seen some outstanding performances and efforts. One event that had a large number of students competing was the City to Casino fun run. Other events that our students have been involved in include the reconciliation breakfast at MyState Arena and the Post Fossil Bath house project where our students are turning cars into hot tubs and saunas. These projects are very exciting, and we hope to share more information and photos across our social networks soon.

Feeder Primary Schools – Over the past 2 weeks we have been engaging with our Primary feeder schools (Windermere, Austins Ferry, Collinsvale, Glenorchy, Rosetta and Goodwood). Student Leaders and myself have visited each of these schools and run a session outlining what MBHS can offer and sharing a day in the life of a MBHS student. This is an initiative to support our connection with primary students and their transition to high school.

School Association – We have a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday 10 June at 5.15pm. I would like to encourage any families or community members to attend and support decision making across our school.

Tim Nicholas
Principal

School Association

Our next School Association meeting will be held on Tuesday 10 June 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 7 - General Update

Term 2 Begins with Purpose

We’ve had a fantastic start to Term 2 following a well-deserved holiday break. The positive energy and strong sense of community built during the end-of-Term 1 camp have carried over into the classroom, creating an encouraging and focused learning environment.

This term, our Year 7 cohort is embracing key values that support both personal growth and a respectful school culture. We are focusing on:

•    Being upstanders, not bystanders
•    Arriving on time and prepared for learning
•    Listening actively and responding respectfully

Students have also been participating in SASS (Sexual Assault Support Service) sessions, which highlight the importance of consent and respectful relationships. These sessions are an important part of our commitment to fostering a safe and supportive school community.

As we move into the term, we also say a warm farewell to Mrs Hey, who is beginning her maternity leave. We thank her for her dedication and wish her all the very best during this exciting time. At the same time, we are pleased to welcome Mr Sullivan to the Year 7 team and look forward to the energy and experience he brings to our community.

We’re proud of the way our students are stepping up and look forward to a term full of growth, learning, and positive connections.

Liam Rice
Year 7 AST

Year 7 Science

This term Year 7 have been learning about the different states of matter. Students have been making model representations to demonstrate the solid, liquid and gas state. They have also engaged in experiments to study the different states of matter.

Year 7 HPE

Students started the term developing their endurance skills and developing their confidence with the cross-country course. They have been learning about puberty and how their body changes in this time. In PE we have been learning new skills with our expert coach from Touch Football Tasmania. In these sessions they have been developing their passing and communication skills. Students are also gaining knowledge of the rules and strategies associated with playing Touch football successfully. 

Year 7 Visual Art

Students have been learning about the artist Tom O’Hern and how he uses oil pastels to create imaginative and quirky prehistoric-style sea creatures. They have explored different examples of his work and learned about his use of composition, exaggeration, line, and texture.

In this task students are creating their own sculptural piece. How great are the final artworks! 

Year 8

Our Year 8 group has had a fantastic start to Term 2.  They have embraced leadership, sporting, and academic opportunities and have continued to show their maturity and responsibility.

Our big focus points for Year 8 this term are the following values and positive behaviours from the Montrose Mindset:

•    Courage: Be your best self.
•    Responsibility: We are accountable for our actions and do the right thing, even when no one is watching.
•    Respect: Engage in restorative conversations to fix our problems.

Assemblies have been a great way to promote a positive culture in our grade by celebrating these positive behaviours, as well as student learning and achievements.  We have been super proud of the way class leaders have stepped up to run assemblies and share work they have been doing in class in front of the whole grade.  Our Home Group Trophy for our weekly assembly mini-challenges was won by 8E in Term 1 making Mr King a very proud class Teacher; 8C is currently in front with a narrow lead over 8A in the race for the Term 2 trophy.  

We have had excellent representation from the grade in a number of extra-curricular events this term, including the cross-country, history competition and geography competition.  We also have students embracing leadership within the school by putting themselves forward to be on our Student Environmental Project Team and be part of Racial Inclusion workshops.

HASS classes have been a bit of a hit this Term, with classes learning about the black plague.  They enjoyed being ‘Doctors’ – diagnosing historical diseases and prescribing some very interesting courses of treatment that were used at various points of history.  Science has also been popular, with homemade marble runs being used as a way to learn about energy transfer and transformation.  Our classes are nearing the end of their first semester arts and tech subjects (drama, media arts, MDT and music) with students looking forward to the swap-over next term.

Well done Year 8; we look forward to seeing your progression throughout the rest of the year.

David Watkins
Year 8 AST

Cross Country

Our school Cross Country carnival was run on Thursday 15 May.  Well done to all students who participated in the Cross Country/Fun Run, whether you ran or walked the course, it was fantastic to see you out there.

Congratulations to Sienna T, Owen B-J, Mia G, Jamie B-J, Taylah C, Trey W, Layla F and Darcey R for winning their races, and to house team Faulkner for taking out the event.

Free Parenting Course

Our school psychologist, Bec, has recommended a new, free course by Dr Laurie Santos called The Science of Well-Being for Parents. The course explores strategies to support parents/carers with the following -

1. Managing Time
2. Prioritizing Self-Care
3. Navigating Negative Emotions
4. Fighting Stress
5. Navigating Academic Pressures
6. Technology & Social Media

Through short video lessons and parent Q&As, you'll learn practical strategies you can implement right away. You'll also get access to expert advice from other leading parenting experts. Plus, you'll see that by prioritizing your own well-being, you won’t just be helping yourself — you'll be better equipped to show up for your kids and to create a happier, healthier family life.

To learn more or enrol, click on the link below -

Student Early Departures

If your child ever needs to leave school early or be collected before the end of the school day, please send a note with your child or call the school on 6208 2666 in the morning and advise time of pickup/departure and reason.

Claremont College Information Evening

Dates to Remember