8 June 2018
Newsletter Articles
PRINCIPALS REPORT
“While it is the teacher's duty to try to achieve the aims which the community desires to promote, the teacher must be free to use his/her professional knowledge and experience in selecting the methods of teaching and controlling his/her students. We must equally claim for him/her the privileges of a profession, and draw a sharp line between the domain of the lay authority and that of the teacher.” - Unknown
School Calendar
BLUES COMPETITION
Outstanding success for Music Students Georgia Buckingham, Lochie Aulich and Angus Hodge who came second place in their category in the Launceston Competitions Blues Award, held at Newstead College on May 24th. Georgia entered the trio during the holidays after her tutor Peter Cornelius suggested it would be a worthwhile experience. Supported by parents and a few ex SMDS students, they performed two instrumental pieces, Eric Clapton’s ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ and ‘Red House’ by Jimi Hendrix. Understandably the three were extremely nervous backstage but within moments of starting to play you could sense the crowd was mesmerised by their talent, especially after the huge applause they received from a crowd of predominantly strangers. They certainly won some fans that night and look forward to future public performances.





TOUCH FOOTBALL
On Wednesday 23rd May, Des from Touch Football Association conducted clinics for some Primary classes at St Marys Campus. Students were very excited by this new sport and quickly became involved.





CAMPBELL TOWN SHOW
On Friday 25th May, Fingal Campus students travelled to Campbell Town to see the annual Agricultural Show.
Below are two pieces of writing by Bianca Freeman and Lily Woods about their day at the show.





PRIMARY ASSEMBLY 1ST JUNE 2018
CERTIFICATE WINNER
PREP – ONE WILLS
Cohen Piscitelli-Cole |
Cooper Sweet |
Judd Wilson |
Oliver Hibberd |
Grade 1-2 BENNETT
Steely Zorn |
Jack George |
George Austin |
Lochie Miller |
Emily Gillies |
Halle Gillies |
Grade 2-3 GRAY/STANDORD
Rowan Smith |
Jesse Smith |
Dakoda Davenport |
Maddison Eyles |
Grade 3-4 HODGE/COOK
Malika Butwell-Blair |
Bradly Hoskinson |
Dalton Cordwell
Grade 5-6 WILLIAMS
Olivia Bonner |
Scott Barnes |
Jessica-Lee Squires |
Jacob Cottrell |
CLASSY KOALA AWARD
VALUE CARD WINNERS





GRADE 5-6 NARRATIVE WRITING
Grade 5/6 Williams have been working on narrative writing this term. We have developed strong characters and settings. Here are some examples where students have used great descriptive writing techniques to start their stories.
Introduction by Amelia Mason
Allie May pulled her favourite bright red hair band out of her curly, golden locks. It was a beautiful sunny summer’s day, all of the trees were bright green along with the grass that was also a lush green colour.
The Sunset by Mia Gillies
The sun was setting in beach paradise. The sun glistened on the water like a rainbow. The sky faded from blue to pink to orange to red. The clouds were a fairy floss pink colour. The trees were a black colour from where I was standing. As it got darker, the sky turned blue with silver shimmering stars.
Character description by Jessica-Lee Squires
Jeremy was a dad of two living with his wife. Jeremy liked sitting near the window in his olive coloured arm chair feeling the sun against his face. When his son Bob would misbehave, Jeremy’s dark eyebrows would turn arch shaped, his whole face went red like an overripe tomato and his smile would turn upside down. His eyes would show the fury like a raging fire that wouldn’t stop, his wrinkles would turn to anger, his grey hair would stand on end, his mouth would open and Jeremy would yell like there was no tomorrow. Jeremy shared his angry thoughts, thoughts that are now words, he needed to teach Bob a lesson. Bob’s nose would twitch, his eyes were wide open with fear, with worry.
7/8 SCIENCE – An introduction to Chemistry
All students in 7/8 have started learning about Chemistry in Science. To introduce the topic, students investigated how fireworks are made by conducting the flame test. This involved the students to set up Bunsen Burners for the first time this year. In small groups, students burnt metal salts, allowing a diversity of colours to be created. This allowed students to learn how different colours can be created in fireworks. It was a great way to introduce Chemistry, fostering curiosity; nurturing science lab skills, including student safety.
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SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CHALLENGE
On Friday the 1st of June, twenty five Grade 9/10 students competed in the Science and Engineering Challenge at the University of Tasmania, Launceston. This required students to collaborate in groups of 3 or 4, working together to problem solve in a particular scenario. Some students worked on a bridge or catapult for the whole day. The rest of students completed two half day activities, which ranged from connecting electricity to a city, creating a hand out of straws, creating a way of communication through lights, generating energy through a water turbine, connecting a railway between cities and creating earthquake resistant housing.
Well done to Laura, Charlotte, Lochie and David who took out confounding communications, working well to create a code using lights. They cracked the code in less than 2 minutes! This resulted in a first place during the afternoon session. This group also took out second place with the water turbine during the morning session.
We came third with the catapult whole day challenge, with Moochie, Leo, Fraser and Liam getting 3 bullseyes. An excellent result, all because of testing and modification throughout the day.
All students did an amazing job, working well and enjoying the day. Well done with your achievements.





A SNAPSHOT OF LEARNING IN 1/2 BENNETT
- Making slime with the 5/6 Papworth
- Writing up a storm
- Getting our garden up and growing





NOTICEBOARD
Table Tennis - Community Group - St Marys School Gym
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