Term 2 has started with a range of activities for students, starting with NAPLAN testing for year 7 and 9 students. Testing was held in Week 3 with catch up sessions organised by Mr Mawer for students who missed the original testing date. All tests were done online, and results will be returned in coming weeks. Thank you to Mr Mawer for his work in this area.

School Photos

It was pleasing that we were able to have school photos taken this year both individually and as a class group. Parents and guardians like the historical record and to see the changes as their child moves through the years of schooling,

The whole school photo was taken again, and it is interesting to see students looking at these and tracing their journey through the school.

RYDA Program

Year 10 students were once again given the opportunity to attend the Rotary Youth Drivers Awareness program at Camp Clayton recently. This initiative by Rotary is a great opportunity for students to experience what responsibility comes with having a licence and driving on our roads safely.

Grade 7 Team Building (Paton Park)

Last Thursday Grade 7 students attended Paton Park at North Motton for a Team Building and Activities Day. Students enjoyed the opportunity to work in teams and undertake outdoor activities with a chance to meet more students from their year. A big thank you to Mrs Leonard, Mr Conkie and the year 7 team for their organisation of the day.

Musical Theatre Festival

Last Friday and Saturday, Ms Paterson and Miss Harvey took a group of students to the Musical Theatre Festival in Launceston. Students were exposed to a range of activities to build their knowledge and skills in the area of the Arts. Thank you to the students and the staff who gave up their Saturday to pursue this learning opportunity.

Mountain Bike Championships

Thank you to Miss Clark for taking a committed and excited group of students to Launceston last Friday for the School Mountain Bike Championships. Students enjoyed the experience of competing against other schools.

Cross Country

On Wednesday we held our school Cross Country at the Recreation Ground in the afternoon. We have some keen and talented runners, this provides them with an opportunity to shine at what they are good at. Well done to all champions on their success and the Bass House for taking out the shield.

E Safety

Issues with social media online bullying are being felt by some students and this ultimately affects their ability to cope with social situations and in some instances can affect their ability to attend school.

I would encourage parents, brothers, sisters and friends to report inappropriate posts to the provider in the first instance. Attached is a flow chart poster to help with this process if you need some assistance.

Two weeks ago Ms Maine left to go on Maternity Leave and we eagerly await the arrival of her baby in the coming weeks.

Mr Fairbrother has retired as an EFA at Ulverstone Secondary College after 39 years with the Department of Education. Thank you, Mr Fairbrother, for commitment to our school and the staff over this period of time. We wish you well in your caravan adventures into the future.

Mrs Strickland our Library Technician has resigned and will finish up on Friday 3 June. Mrs Strickland commenced in 2008 and has run the library over this time ensuring everything was ship shape. We wish her well with her future endeavours.

 Please don’t hesitate to contact me on (03) 6425 1433 if you have any concerns or questions.

Friday 3 June - Fight MND casual clothes day

Friday 3 June - Year 7/8 Badminton Gala Day

Tuesday 7 June - USC School Association Meeting

Friday 10 June - Fight MND Ice Bath Day

Friday 24 June - Drama Comedy Workshop Year 7/8

Grade 7 report

The Grade 7s have had a busy start to Term Two, not only learning in their regular classes, but also having the opportunity to have some guest speakers and be involved in some extra activities. In Week 2, we had Constable Leesa Poulton talk to our Grade 7s about the ripple effect of assault. This was an informative, educational session where students had the opportunity to ask questions about consequences and what happens if an assault is reported. In the coming weeks, we also have a performance which the Grade 7s will attend as part of their English curriculum which we are sure they will get a lot out of.

Wednesday was the Cross Country Carnival, and it was great to see people out there giving it a good go. One thing we always say to our students is that it is not about coming first but being a part of a team and giving their best effort. I am sure the students had a wonderful day experiencing their first Cross Country.

The Grade 7 Leadership Team is working hard behind the scenes to get a few ideas together for some initiatives to drive this year. The Leadership Team are currently asking for donations of small toiletries so we can create some care packages. Currently, we are thinking these will be sent to the areas that have been affected by the floods. Listen out too for our next drive, which will be a Winter Jacket Appeal.

Congratulations to the following students who have received good noted this term:

7B: Taron, Seb, Corben,

7C: Dayna, Jake W., Luka, Hayley, Rory, Charissa, Gracie,

7D: Jarod, Olivia, Rhys, Emily,

7E: Chenoa,Ava, Abbey, Bradley, Arianna, Tarran,

7F: Rubi, Roxy, Khatijah, Jack, Jaxon

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child, please contact us via email or the school’s number.

Wendy Leonard and Shaun Conkie

Assistant Principal and Grade Coordinator

Grade 7 ‘Challenge Day’

On Thursday 19 May, Year 7 students participated in an awesome ‘Challenge Day’ at Paton Park. We all went up on buses in the morning and arrived at the large campground which had tons of equipment and was surrounded by nature.

We started off the day with all the usual protocols and then we were separated into teams. Each homeroom was split into two teams e.g., team 7D1 and team 7D2.

 After we sorted out the teams, team names, and team colours, we headed to our first challenge. It was an eating competition, but before we did that, two people from each team were nominated to do an ‘Oreo from forehead to mouth’ challenge for bonus points. It was so funny to watch people manoeuvring their faces like crazy.

After that challenge we commenced with the eating competition.  The order of the foods were; watermelon and the rind, a mushroom, pickled onion, tuna, baked beans (not cooked), pickles, yoghurt, olives, feta cheese and liquorice. It was so good to see all the people there having a go at eating different foods.

 We all had our recess then split into our groups. The groups went off into 2 activities. All the ‘Group 1s did a find the sign and answer the question task (orienteering) which took us through the bush to find the signs. Then we switched activities. So, group one then did a building challenge where we had to use resources from around the camp like sticks and leaves to create a waterproof shelter for our team. We also got one bin bag to help make it more waterproof. Then after 25 minutes of building, a teacher would throw water on our shelters to test how waterproof they were.

For lunch we had a sausage sizzle and finally the last big challenge we did was the obstacle course. We went through tunnels, up hills, over rivers, in the water and did lots of running. This challenge gave teams lots of points. But then a plot twist… there was one more challenge for bonus points. We had to get water from one bucket to another with a little cup and depending on how full your team’s bucket was depended on how many bonus points your team got.

 Overall, it was a great day to bond with other Year 7s and to practise our team skills. We would like to thank our peer leaders and teachers for helping on the day and the overall winners were… The BRITs team 1 from 7D.

Olivia Lyons 

Rostrum – Voice of Youth Competition

Congratulations to Rori and Bailey on their recent entries in this competition held at Marist Regional College. Rori won the Senior Section and will now compete in Launceston in June. Bailey was awarded an encouragement award for her speech.

Senior Leaver’s Jumpers

A reminder to our Year 12 students to complete the order form and pay for this through the main office. The senior leaver’s jumper is an excellent way for students to remember their final year of school at Ulverstone Secondary College. We are hoping to have orders in the next few weeks so that students can be wearing their tops in Term 3.

Senior Formal: Save the date – 23 September

This year’s Senior Formal will be held on the 23 of September. Invitations to all Year 11 and 12 students will be handed out later in the year. It would be fantastic to see lots of Year 11 and 12 students in attendance this year.

Mid-Year Assessment: Monday 20 June to Friday 24 June

Mid-Year Assessment is coming up shortly for our Year 11 and 12 students. Please see the schedule below that outlines mid-year written examinations for our pre-tertiary students. The schedule also includes other assessments occurring during the week. If you have any questions in relation to written exams or other assessments, please contact Kate Reynolds or your student’s teacher.

Tips for Exams:

Please see the document below from TASC in relation to preparation for written exams for our Level 3 students.

This program has now been re-scheduled to occur on Wednesday 1 June. Year 12s will be out all day.

This is an exciting program organised and funded by the Beacon Foundation to provide students with essential advice and skills from mentors regarding employability skills and future work pathways. This program supports young people to feel ready to take up employment opportunities. It explores personality styles to grow self-awareness. Volunteer business mentors share career insights and facilitate small-group workshops on topics such as elevator pitching, resumes, interviews, networking, conflict resolution, and goal setting. Perform offers a rare and exciting opportunity for young people to practice communicating with professional people in a non-threatening environment.  We look forward to following up with students about what they have learnt from this day in Career and Life Planning throughout Term 2. 

Managing COVID-19 in schools

This term, there will be some changes in how COVID-19 cases are managed in schools.

Our school will continue to work closely with Public Health to safely manage any COVID-19 cases, with a focus on testing students and staff who have symptoms.

The number of students and staff with COVID-19 will be closely monitored, and we will work with Public Health to respond as needed. If there’s an increase in cases, Public Health will tell us what we need to do and what actions families will need to take.

Parents and carers will no longer receive a message every time there is an individual case in a class or grade – unless students or staff are medically vulnerable.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our school office.

For more information about COVID-19, please visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website or contact the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738, or Department of Education COVID-19 Support Hotline at COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au or on 1800 816 057.

If you need support translating or interpreting this information, contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

School social media post

This term, there will be some changes in how COVID-19 cases are managed in schools.

Our school will continue to work closely with Public Health to safely manage any COVID-19 cases. If there is an increase in cases, Public Health will tell us what we need to do and what actions families will need to take. Families will no longer receive messages every time there is an individual case in a class or grade.

Any questions or concerns, please phone the school office.

Cross Country Carnival 2022

On the afternoon of Wednesday the 25 May, Ulverstone Secondary College held its annual School Cross Country down at the Ulverstone Football Ground.

What looked like a showery afternoon scheduled, we were lucky enough to have a clear day and what ended up being great running/walking conditions for all.

Each and every year the only unknown or variable of our cross-country course is when students make their way through to the beach at Buttons Creek to see where the water level is at. This year we had low tide however students would have to manage their way through plenty of obstacles including large logs, streams of water and debris to make their way onto the hard sand for a clear running path. This made for some extra complaints from students having wet socks and shoes.

It was great to see some students really put in the extra effort this year, with a lot of students surprising themselves with how well they competed this year compared to last. There were many new additions into our Inter-high team for 2022, which is looking to be a strong team to compete.

Placings for the day:

We congratulate all students who attended on the day, even those students who walked the course had a lovely afternoon spent in the fresh air chatting with friends catching some vitamin D on their journey around the course. We can only hope next year other students can see this as a fabulous opportunity to be a part of their school.

A huge thanks to Emily Hardstaff who organised the day, without her efforts the day would not have run as smoothly as it did. The House Captains should also be commended on their efforts raising funds for MND via Sponge the Teacher and the selling of Zooper Doopers.

The final results of the day were largely impacted by those students who just participated. The final results were:

• 1 – Bass 536 points
• 2 – Furneaux 388 points
• 3 – Finders 296 points
• 4 – Tasman 251 points

We wish the Inter High team all the best, who will be competing in a couple of weeks’ time.

Even though spectators weren’t allowed at this years event we hope that next year will bring an increase in participation and we would love to see a crowd back around the Ulverstone Football Ground again.

Meg Graham
Head of HPE

Futsal

On Friday 6 May we had a group of 18 students travel to the Devonport rec centre to represent Ulverstone secondary in the North-West high school Futsal Championships.

The day started off with the girls playing their first game at 8:55 against Leighlands coming out with a win. The boys played their first game later in the day, but unfortunately couldn’t come out with a win.

We each played 3 more games during the day.

Overall, it was a good day for both teams with the boy’s coming 2^nd in their pool and the girl’s coming 3^rd.

Congratulations to Lachlan Simpson and Jhett Holling who’s performances were recognised by Futsal Tas and have been invited to represent Tasmania in the national championships to be held in Brisbane later this year.

Thank you to all students and staff who came along on the day and made it possible.

By Connor Emmerton and Kaitlyn Riley.

Fight MND

The House Captains have been very busy organising various activities and events such as, selling Zooper Dooper ice poles, Sponge the Teacher and an Ice Bath Day for the staff of USC. All money raised will be donated to the Fight MND charity. Any donations from the community will be greatly appreciated and go a long way towards getting more staff in the freezing bath of ice on the Ice Bath Day on Friday 10 June. 

Hear from Cybersafety expert, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg as he explains how to support teens who are receiving  or posting rude and offensive online content.

How do I help my child manage people being mean online?

eSafety for parents - Cyberbullying 01 - YouTube (1 min 29 Seconds)

How do I help my child if they have posted inappropriate content?

eSafety for parents - Inappropriate content 10 - YouTube (1 min 21 seconds)

Reach out/  Report

Reach out, report, #PlayItFairOnline - YouTube (41 seconds)

Australian Musical Theatre Festival

On Friday 20  and Saturday 21 of May, Miss Harvey and Ms Paterson took 16 lucky people to the Australia Musical Theatre Festival located in Launceston. On the Friday we had a spectacular acting class with James Millar. James has had roles in Home and Away and he even played Miss Trunchbull in Matilda the Musical. We also had a fantastic dance class with Cameron Mitchell who is a choreographer. He has choreographed the popular kids show Hi-5, as well as working with amazing artists like Natalie Bassingthwaite and Kelly Rowland.

On the Saturday we went to the Musical Theatre Festival concert, and it was amazing. They had performers sing “The Wizard and I” from Wicked to “Shadowland” from The Lion King. Overall, the weekend was amazing and enjoyable.  By Brianna S.

JUNGLE FANTASY REHERSALS

Tuesday 31 May 6.30-8 pm MPA

Singing: All Chorus S

Dancing: Who needs a Man – Queen & Cats & Bongly Dance Chorus

Please see Ms P if you cannot attend.

Reminder that all contracts are now due in.

Tuesday 7 June  6.30-8 pm

Singing: All Chorus S & Queen (for a bit)

Dancing: Who needs a Man  & A troubled Heart – Queen & Cats

Reminder that all contracts are now due in.

Please see Ms P if you cannot attend.

Total Eclipse of the Heart: Tickets to see this performance (featuring songs & Skits about love and loss) by the Performance Arts and Musical Theatre 2 class are now on sale. This will be held in the MPA on June 23 at 7pm. Gold coin donation, at the door. Limited tickets available. Don’t miss out, book online: https://www.trybooking.com/BZUIZ   

On Friday 13 May it was ‘Do it for Dolly Day’.

‘Do it for Dolly Day’ is a day to celebrate and promote kindness as a way to combat bullying. Dolly was a 13 year old girl who, after experiencing relentless bullying at boarding school, took her own life. This year the SRC decided to make a kindness paper chain to raise awareness about bullying and promote kindness. The paper chain will be hung in the student centre for students to see.

 This term the SRC will be planning different lunchtime activities each week. So far this term, we have held a board game session, a basketball competition and a mindfulness colouring in session. Next week we are hosting a game of Mafia in the MPA. Please look on the student notes to see what activities are being held each week. Thankyou.

 Sarah and Eadie

SRC Secretaries