What an amazing two weeks we have just had. The results at MNSEC Swimming last Tuesday were absolutely fantastic and such a credit to the whole team with all of our events filled with many students picking up events at the last minute. The team spirit was so positive and I believe there were a few hoarse throats afterwards, from all of the cheering. Congratulations to Max Smart on winning the male champion , Jaxon Brand on his 2nd and Isaac Smart for coming 3^rd and to Casey Cleggett for being the runner up female champion. Quite a few of our team members have been selected to now represent MNSEC in Adelaide on Monday and we wish them all the best. It is such an achievement to be selected in the team.

A very big thank you to the sports committee involved in team selection and all of the organisation. We are very fortunate to have such a supportive staff who all pulled together, helped out as needed and ensured the evening went smoothly.

This week Year 8 students and five staff members participated in the annual Aquatics Camp at Port Augusta. It has been very pleasing to hear such positive reports from the staff about the participation and engagement of the students.  The camp is largely focussed on allowing all of the Year 8’s getting to know each other in a different environment after their transition from the different primary schools.

Governing Council held their AGM last week and Kathryn Hansen has been elected as Chairperson for another year. We do still have 3 vacancies on the committee and we are very keen to fill these vacancies. If you have been thinking that you might like to be involved please contact the school and let us know.

Next Friday is Athletics Day. Parents and families are welcome to attend and to come and cheer on the students. If anyone would be prepared to help out on the day please let the school know as we always need volunteers to help run events.

Tyler Hogan

The Year 8s spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week on the Aquatics Camp in Port Augusta. It was a busy (and windy!) few days but we all had a lot of fun and food.

Camps like this involve a lot of organisation and time for the staff involved. We would like to say thank you to Miss Wright, Miss McAllister, Mr Cocks and Mr Gillard for all of their time in the lead up to camp and attending for the three days. Thank you to Barry, Leon and Digger for driving the buses. We are very lucky to have such a great team of admin support staff at the school who help us to coordinate consent forms, health care information and catering. Mrs Davis’ Camp Box (and her brain!) contain just about everything we need J

We were also fortunate enough to have some delicious Bolognese, sausage rolls and muffins prepared by 8A in Home Ec with Miss Roberts. Thank you again to all of the parents who baked or donated food items.

Kate Seidel - Middle School Coordinator

Below are some recounts and highlights from the students.

Monday: We took the bus from Gladstone all the way to Port Augusta. We got there and we were straight on the water. First we had sailing and we went through everything we needed to know. Then we were on! We just sailed around on a boat. We did that for one hour then we switched to surf skis. When we did kayaking and surf skiing we played Frisbee. They taught us all the paddling strokes. All the instructors we had were really nice. Surf skiing and sailing were really fun.

Tuesday: We had a lot more things to do on the second day. We had canoeing first and that was really fun as we got to do tug-of-war. Next we did snorkelling and that was ok. First we went through all the rules and stuff. We put on wet suits and that took a really long time – I couldn’t get my foot through! When we finally got the wetsuit on we went in. OMG it was cold! We had to swim around the pontoon. The good things about it were that we got to do a duck dive and we got to see fish. 8A Recount by Isaac Smart:

 “Two Stars and a Wish”

I liked making friends with the other Home Group and trying out new things like sailing and wind surfing. I didn’t like the sleeping place or the time we got up” Skye (8A)

I enjoyed making friends with the other Home Group, trying out new activities, group activities in the afternoon and free time outside. I didn’t’ enjoy snorkelling.” Hannah (8A)

My favourite thing about camp was sailing. I wish we had more time and wind to do more! Jed (8B)

I liked the catamarans with the instructor Drew and then going off by ourselves. It was also really fun when we went canoeing and capsizing twice. If I could change one thing, it would be where we slept” Eliza (8B)

I liked going on the catamarans. I liked shopping for grapes and tomatoes. I would have liked to do more Kayaking. Liam (8B)

I got to spend time with friends. I liked getting to know more people. I would have liked to do more windsurfing and kayaking. Chloe (8B)

I enjoyed doing windsurfing and the catamarans. I would have liked to be able to see more while snorkelling. Nicki (8B)

I liked the sea stuff a lot. The land stuff was pretty cool but I wish there was more sea stuff for us to do. Sam (8B)

A special thanks to all staff that helped with the setup of the day, the Gladstone swimming pool for hosting and running the canteen. Also a special mention to the sports committee for their efforts organising the day and to Mrs Davis and Mr Martin for their organisation prior to the carnival.

Physical Education Teacher - Luke Bartlett

The MNSEC Swimming Carnival was held on Tuesday the 16^th of February at the Booleroo Centre Swimming Pool. It was overall a very successful day taking out the overall shield for the day. This was mainly due to student’s willingness to fill events and some outstanding performances on the day. Throughout the whole carnival there was only one event that we did not fill as a school.

The scores for the overall shield are below:

It was also pleasing to see our feeder schools take out the year 6/7 shield aswell.

We also managed to take out the pennants for all age groups on the night apart from the U16s. The scores for these are below:

U14:      Gladstone - 33, Orooroo - 31, Booleroo - 30, Jamestown - 17, Quorn - 15

U15:      Gladstone - 54, Orooroo - 46, Quorn - 43, Jamestown - 33, Booleroo - 22, Peterborough - 5

U16:      Booleroo - 49, Gladstone - 40, Orooroo - 31, Jamestown - 4, Quorn - 1

Open:    Gladstone - 107, Orooroo 102.5, Booleroo 74, Jamestown 51, Quorn 23.5

We also experience some great individual student success with three male students in the top three male swimmers with Max Smart coming first. Jaxon brand finishing in second place and Issac Smart coming equal third. Casey Cleggett finished second overall in the female champion swimmer standings.

A massive thank you to the sports committee for all their hard work in organising the carnival and motivating our students. Another huge congratulations to all students that participated and gave their best on the night. It was pleasing to see the students experience some success and cheer each other on all evening. Thank you to all parents and caregivers for transporting the swimmers to the event and helping with timing.

We now turn our focus toward the GHS Athletic's Carnival which will be held on the 5^th of March.

Physical Education Teacher - Luke Bartlett

The Home Ec and textiles rooms have been a buzz of energy throughout term 1 and the past few weeks with all year levels creating some exciting products.  

The year 8 Home Economics classes has been busy learning about Kitchen Safety whilst busily preparing a whole range of food including Sausage Rolls, Pasta and Muffins to take on Year 8 camp. Years 8's have also begun looking at the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating in the quest to develop a greater understanding of the food they consume.

Year 9's have also begun the year looking at healthy eating learning about Homemade Vs Takeaway foods and analysing the sugar content in foods we consume on daily basis. This topic is designed recognise the dangers large consumptions of these foods can have on the human body. 

Stage 1 and 2 Child Studies has really taken off this year with the year 12’s focusing on creating gender inclusive toys and aids for children with special needs in textiles. Students have begun making sensory books/ mats, games and puzzles that are suitable for all children (See below images).

This is just a snapshot of the exciting things that have been happening in Home Ec, with plenty more exciting things still to come. 

Home Ec Teacher - Miss Roberts 

Resilience is a topic that we are focusing on right across Gladstone High School this year, especially during our Pastoral Care time. The following article is a helpful tool in promoting and developing resilience in our students.

https://www.generationnext.com.au/2012/02/top-tips-on-how-to-teach-kids-resilience/

Wellbeing Coordinator - Kate Cameron