For all upcoming events please see:

Ulverstone Secondary School Calendar

I hope you have been surviving the cold and staying safe over the very chilly past few weeks!

Thank you to those who took the opportunity to meet with teachers during our recent reporting phase. If you missed the 3-way student-parent-teacher conversations, I would encourage you to seek contact with any of your child’s teachers to discuss their progress, achievements, and future focuses for 2023.

Speaking of achievement (one of our core values), it has well and truly been on display this past month, none less so than:

• Memorable Moments in Movies and Musicals presentation
• Option classes Learning Showcase
• Song and Dance Night at the Leven Theatre
• Mid-Year Achievement Assembly

All four events were incredibly well attended to see the products of students’ learning on display. Thank you to those that were able to come along and congratulations to students and staff involved with organising. Finally, a huge pat on the back to all students for the effort (and grit) they have applied to their learning so that such events are possible.

In my last report I spoke about the importance of our college uniform. Not only does it bring a sense of pride and belonging, but it is also an important safety tool by being able to easily identify students and other members of the public. Since then, students have been lobbying me for a new uniform item, prompting a mini review of all aspects of our current uniform expectations. This has been an excellent example of student voice contributing to the ongoing improvement of our college.

As we continue to review and strengthen our policies and procedures that support our college to be safe, inclusive and engaging, I want to thank you for your support with our recently adjusted mobile phone procedures. As of today:

• 80% of students have followed our policy all term (not requiring their phone to be confiscated)
• Less than 7% of students have required their phone to be confiscated more than once this term

All students will have their ‘confiscation strikes’ reset to zero at the start of next term, so here’s hoping for the percentages above to be even better at the end of Term 3.

I want to wish everyone a safe and relaxing break and look forward to seeing you next term, on the dates below:

• Years 7-10: Tuesday 25 July
• Years 11-12: Monday 24 July

Simon Dent

We would like to welcome potential members of the Ulverstone Secondary College community and invite you to our Year 7 Information Night which will be held on Wednesday 9 August at 7.00pm in the Gym.

The Information Night provides an opportunity to meet staff, have questions answered and take a tour of our school. Parents and students will also receive a Parent Information Pack, Ulverstone Secondary College Student Handbook, Expression of Interest Form and School Policy documents.

Mr Matthew Deegan is the Year 7 Coordinator for 2024. Throughout Term 4, Mr Deegan will visit our feeder primary schools to introduce himself and answer any questions students have regarding high school life.

If you would like further information about 2024 Year 7 enrolments or the USC Transition program, please contact the main office on 6425 1433 or email fiona.paterson@decyp.tas.gov.au

The Year 8s have stayed on track and worked well during Term 2. This term we have been focusing on our school value RESPECT and we have seen some great examples of this. The majority of the year group have grown in maturity, and this has been evident in the way students are relating to both their peers and their teachers.

A big shout out needs to go to the Year 8s who were involved in last week’s ‘Song and Dance Night’. It is a fabulous night where students get the opportunity to showcase their skills in the Arts. We know some students were nervous about performing, but they did themselves proud by giving their best effort and working as a team. Well done.

As we are coming up to the holidays, we thought it would be nice to get a few words from our year group. We asked them what they have enjoyed the most this school year and what they are looking forward to in the holidays.

Have a lovely break.

Miss Leonard and Mr Conkie
Assistant Principal and Year Co-ordinator

From the Year 8s…

• I am really enjoying MDT this year and I’m looking forward to hanging with my friends in the holidays. Tom
• I loved being a part of Song and Dance Night and in the holidays, I am looking forward to celebrating my birthday. Hayley
• I am enjoying having more freedom in Year 8. This holiday I’m looking forward to a rest. Tarran
• I am enjoying my electives this year, and in the holidays, I will be hanging out with Piper. Georgia
• I like all my fitness subjects and I’m looking forward to relaxing these holidays. Lachie
• I have lots of friends in Year 8 and in the holidays, I am going to NSW. Dayna
• In Year 8, I have enjoyed my electives and Song and Dance Night. In the holidays I’m going to Hobart and will be hanging out with Georgia. Piper
• This year I have enjoyed choosing my electives and, in the holidays, I am looking forward to Miss Leonard not asking me to take off my hat. Lincoln
• In Year 8, I like having more choice of subjects and in the holidays, I will be sleeping in. Matilda

This term Year 10s have completed a range of learning activities in Reboot and at other times to support them with their understanding and thinking. Activities included:

• What is Vocational Education and Training (VET)
• What is a TASC course
• Completing activities in the My Future website
• Developing a two-year plan for 2024 and 2025
• University of Tasmania spoke to students about university pathways and the Schools Recommendation Program

During Term 3, the main focus for Year 10 students is to draft their transition plans. A Transition Plan is issued to Year 10 students at Government, Catholic and Independent schools to acknowledge a student’s commitment to reaching their goals through further education and training. After receiving a transition statement, young people must continue to participate in education and training by choosing to stay at school or undertaking other education or training options.

What is a transition plan? The Transition Plan - YouTube

Year 10 students have the following education and training options for beyond Year 10. Or a combination of these options if the provider/s allow:

• Keep going with their studies in Years 11 and 12 at any government or non-government school, or college, or another secondary school provider
• Schools and colleges can offer a range of TASC and VET courses to suit their interests and aspirations
• Students can also consider an Australian School-based Apprenticeship or Traineeship (ASbA), which allows them to gain employment and training, as well as attending school/college
• Or start an apprenticeship or traineeship with an employer

You can find out more about Transition Statements here.

In Term 3, the following days have been organised to further support Year 10s:

If you would like to organise a time to have an individual pathways discussion during Term 3, please contact Kate Reynolds through the main office or via email kate.reynolds@decyp.tas.gov.au

We have had a great Term 2 for our science learning and opportunities.

Science Engineering Challenge

At the beginning of Term 2 a group of students went to Marist Regional College to compete in the UTAS Science and Engineering Challenge. We were put into teams based on the different challenges that interested us the most and had to work together on a number of hands on activities.

Each group participated in two challenges, except for those involved in the bridge building competition. The challenges encompassed a wide range of exciting projects, such as designing a Mars rover capable of surviving in the harsh conditions of Mars, exploring communication through light coding, creating a functional bionic hand for everyday use, constructing earthquake resistant buildings, and many more. 

At the end of the eventful day all of the schools gathered together to watch the bridge challenge be put to the test. Ulverstone did extremely well throughout the day, coming second by only 9 points. We would like to thank Mr Mattarocchia and Ms Ghea, for coming along and giving us the opportunity to participate in the fun day.

Kirra and Zara
Year 10

Big Science competition

We were really pleased to see there were so many students who were keen to participate in this online quiz based on the Australian curriculum. Students will receive results and certificates next term. 

Curious Minds – empowering girls who are passionate in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

We wish Joely all the best for her trip to Canberra in the first week of the holidays. She will be working with girls from all over the east coast of Australia exploring STEM and working with female mentors. This will be a fabulous experience and we cannot wait to hear all about it when she returns.

If you have a daughter currently in year 9 and you would like to find out about how to apply for Curious Minds, you can look this up here - Curious Minds | Igniting Brilliance or contact me kylie.waters@decyp.tas.gov.au

Transdisciplinary Science 2 and 3

Year 10 and 12 students in this class have been working hard on their investigations (see the photographs below). The questions they are inquiring about are varied and diverse, but all relate to the water links of the UN Sustainable development goals. For mid-year assessment students made presentations about the context of their investigation locally, nationally and globally as well as exploring the development of the science ideas, relating to their topic, through the development of new technologies and collaboration of scientists to develop the new understandings.  We are looking forward to the students presenting their Quad charts at the end of Module 2 and then finalizing their investigation in Module 3.

We are really grateful to have had Michael Braunack our STEM Professionals in Schools mentor working with us. It is great to have his years of science experience especially with the soil.

Science week is coming up in August

There are plenty of events happening this year for Science Week both locally and across the state. We would like to encourage you to look them up and register to become involved – information is available here - Home - National Science Week.

The Science team

On Wednesday 21 June we celebrated the achievements of our students in their Options classes, particularly Visual Art, Music, Food, Photography, Legal Studies, Textiles and MDT. During the Showcase there was also a Music Soiree. This event was held in our MPA and Art Gallery.

The options team congratulate all of the students for their hard work this semester. 

Song & Dance Night was held on Thursday 29 June at the Leven Theatre to a packed house. It was a very entertaining night, with students performing a variety of dance styles and songs. For some students it was their first performance on stage, in front of a large crowd. We are looking forward to seeing what is in store for our second semester Song and Dance Night to be held in December.

Trevor and Mason planted a pink Queen Elizabeth Rose. 

The first bloom of the season will go to Mason’s mum.

Some of our students at USC experienced a Variety Kids Sports Day in Devonport on Tuesday 13 June.

They participated in ParaQuad Basketball, GKR Karate, Softball and AFL.

They were kept busy rotating around the four activities and had a fantastic morning. Hopefully we will attend another session in Term 3.

From Monday 29 May to Thursday 1 June, 11 students participated in a special program to take a firsthand look at the lifecycle of a potato, from the farm gate through to a diner’s plate. This program was provided by Industry Training Hubs and TasTAFE.

On Monday they spent the day at TIA Vegetable Research Facility at Forthside learning everything they needed to know about the life cycle of potato crops thanks to Nathan Cox. Anne-Maree, Kathryn and Anthony were amazing hosts and we all enjoyed their company and digging the multitude of different kinds of potatoes they had on offer!

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent at the Burnie Campus of TasTAFE and Freer Farm.   Penny made learning about Biosecurity fun by providing hands-on practical activities, followed by a walking tour of Freer Farm to see if we could find any hazards.  It goes without saying that the students really enjoyed learning how to ride a quad bike safely. It was amazing to see their progress throughout the day.  Thank you to Leigh for his expertise and for being my personal chauffer. 

On Thursday students spent the day at Drysdale Cookery and Bakery in Market Square, Devonport.  To start the day, Ossie gave the students a VegNET Career Presentation which was very informative.  Students were then let loose in the kitchen. Chloe set them a Mr & Mrs Potato Head challenge to get them warmed up before moving on to cooking several different varieties of potatoes in different ways to see their individual characteristics. Masterclass followed, with students cooking Pommes Duchesse, Potato Croquettes and Potato Gnocchi. 

I would like to thank the following people for making this worthwhile and engaging program possible:

• Damien Peirce from Industry Training Hubs
• Troy Robbins and Eamonn Doherty from TasTAFE
• Ann-Maree, Kathryn and Anthony from TIA
• Nathan Cox from TasTAFE
• Leigh Bellchambers and Penny Williams from TasTAFE
• Ossie Lang from RMCG
• Chloe Rosendale from Drysdale Cookery and Bakery

Belinda Gillard
Workplace Learning Coordinator

On Thursday 15 June members of the Ignite class participated in the Polish Program which was provided and facilitated by the Beacon Foundation. 

This program is a powerful and practical program that gives students an understanding of transferrable skills and how to present themselves at an interview.

Some of the students commented that:

‘It gave me a better understanding of how to choose what career I wish to achieve and gave me a clear path on how to reach this goal and helped me feel more confident.’

‘I really enjoyed the mentoring lunch because I learned how to get my career easier and how to stay on the right path to achieve that.’

‘I was surprised with how much I learned throughout the day, although some activities pushed me out of my comfort zone I now feel prepared to step into work and know how to behave during an interview.’

We would like to thank the six amazing business mentors that took time out of their busy schedule to join us:

• Raj Vyravipllai from Caterpillar
• Nathan Hall from Disruptive Packaging
• Penny Clemons from Saputo
• Danieka Dewar from Mission Australia
• Melissa Budgeon from Central Coast Council
• Kat Parker from Tas Police

On Tuesday 20 June Libby and Olivia ventured to Symmons Plains to partake in the All Schools Cross Country. It started off a very chilly morning with icy puddles and a cool breeze. As the day went on the sun began to emerge and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Libby had a very strong run and finished fourth in the under 14 women’s event. This means Libby will represent Tasmania later in the year in Canberra. Olivia had a competitive race and finished forty ninth in the under 15 women’s event. A big congratulations must go the these two students and a thank you to them for representing Ulverstone Secondary College and the North-West High School Sports Association (NWHSSA).  Overall, NWHSSA finished second on the day.

Well done to our Year 8 Netball team who just feel short by 4 points in their Grand Final.

Vapes can contain harmful chemicals that are found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer or even bug spray.   

To learn more about vaping, visit

https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/about-us/projects/child-student-wellbeing/vaping/ 

Please click link for more information: Hive Tasmania | A celebration of community and culture.

Beaker Street Festival, where science meets art in a celebration around nipaluna/Hobart and beyond, 4-13 August 2023. 

Please click link for more information!

2023 Program - Beaker Street