6 November 2024

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

I acknowledge, with deep respect, the traditional custodians of this land, the mumirimina people and pay my respects to Elders past and present, to the Aboriginal people with us today and to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community who continue to care for Country.  I stand for a future that profoundly respects and acknowledges Aboriginal perspectives, culture, language and history.

Our School Values

Our Commitment:  In partnership with community, we provide a welcoming school of choice that inspires and supports all learners to succeed as connected, creative and curious thinkers.

Carnivals

Carnival season is well underway at Sorell School, and our students are diving in with enthusiasm! From athletics and swimming to basketball and more, these events have provided plenty of opportunities for our students to shine. The common thread throughout has been the incredible care and support students have shown for each other.

Sorell School culture is truly alive and thriving. Hearing students cheer each other on, take chances, and work hard to earn points for their houses—all while having fun—is a testament to the vibrant community we’ve built together. As carnival season continues, we look forward to seeing more of this remarkable spirit and teamwork.

Congratulations to all participants on the way you participated and represented our school.

Satisfaction Survey

The family survey data is trending upwards with an overall 5% increase in satisfaction. My child’s learning needs are being met has increased by 6 %, student behaviour is well managed has increased by 8%, and families have opportunities to participate in decisions about my child’s learning has increased by 7%. The overall improvement in the survey data is incredibly important for the school to gauge our responses and work with our incredibly important partners to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students. Thank you to families for taking the time to complete the survey.

Reading focus

As mentioned in previous articles, improving reading outcomes for each and every student is a key priority for Sorell School. We have recently received highly positive reading data, indicating improvement across the school. This improvement has been a direct result from the reading inquiry currently underway. Our focus is to embed the four fluency techniques Kindergarten to Year 12 to best enable every student to indicate and self-select key techniques they need to best understand a reading passage from nursery rhymes to manuals being used in our VET courses.

Reporting to Families

Teachers are busy implementing term 4 units of work to ensure the key concepts of the curriculum have been covered for the year. These last units of work will start to inform the overall rating (on balance judgement) in each discipline. It is a really exciting time of the year to see the growth and achievement of each student.

Planning for 2025 is well underway with finalising of staffing and class lists. The construction of class lists is a highly collaborative and well considered process to best enable every student to succeed in their new class. Your child’s class allocation will be added to your child’s report. Families will receive reports week 9.

Kelly Dyer
Principal

https://www.facebook.com/SorellSchool
Email: sorell.school@decyp.tas.gov.au
Phone: (03) 6269 1100

ECE CAMPUS

We’re excited to share some updates to improve our ECE Campus environment. You may have noticed our newly installed tall fence along Walker Street. This addition borders our grassy play area, giving students more freedom to kick their soccer balls and enjoy active play while keeping the balls (and our students) safely off the road. We’re hopeful that this will enhance their playtime and prevent those occasional ball rescues!

We are also enjoying a bountiful harvest from our raised veggie garden beds. The prep students have been caring for and now reaping the rewards of harvesting a range of vegetables that they are snacking on during break times.

In other news, we recently welcomed Surf Lifesaving Tasmania to our campus for our annual Beach to Bush presentation. They engaged students in a valuable conversation beach safety, covering topics like the importance of swimming between the flags and understanding surf conditions.

Looking ahead, our much-anticipated Athletics Fun Day is just around the corner! This event will be a fantastic opportunity for students to connect and celebrate the spirit of friendly competition. Our house teams-Hart, Davis and Bridges are starting to buzz with excitement. This term, our community lessons will emphasise connection and belonging, reinforcing the unity and teamwork that our houses represent.

Teresa Spinks
K-2 Assistant Principal

YEARS 3 – 6 CAMPUS

Staff and students dressed up in pioneer clothing and participated in bush sports and dancing in Heritage Day 2024. Congratulations to Jensen Wiggins, Tyla Bearman, Lola Latham and Inala Pickrell who won the Pioneer Cup for 2024. It was great to see Heritage Day supported with a strong turnout from parents, carers and the wider school community watching students participating in events and buying items from the various stalls. $2500 was raised on the day and this money will be used to improve and maintain facilities in the Pioneer Village. A huge thank you to Jayne Nielsen for her hard work in organisation and running Heritage Day.

Our first assembly for Term 4 was held last week where 5/6 Mathias showcased their learning on alliteration and Alex Harmon from 3/4 Ashlin shared his successes presenting Alpacas at Agricultural Shows around Australia. Congratulations to those students who demonstrated one of the school values of Respect, Courage, Connection, Responsibility and Growth, and received a class award.

The Interschool swimming carnival will be held on Wednesday the 6November where our team will compete against other schools at the Doone Kennedy Aquatic Centre. Good luck to all our competitors.

Trent Sproule and Jamie Harwood
3-6 Assistant Principals

YEARS 7 – 9 CAMPUS

In Grade 7-9 there has been a flurry of activity with both learning and extra-curricular activities. We enjoyed an outstanding Athletics Carnival at Pembroke Park on Wednesday 30 October, organised by the HPE Team and supported by the South East Districts Little Athletics Centre. The community spirit is alive and well and we look forward to strengthening relationships with the Jets and other clubs and organisations in the years to come. The level of participation and engagement at the carnival was a joy to watch. Many students dressed in house colours and enjoyed the opportunity to put their learning in HPE into practice at the carnival. Keep up the great work!

Grade 7s are preparing excitedly for their upcoming camp to The Lea on Monday 18 November. Please keep an eye out for permission and medical forms and return them to the school as soon as possible. Grade 8s and 9s have the opportunity to complete some MDT for the rest of the term in addition to their current learning programs. It has been pleasing to see so many students, particularly in Grade 8, put their hand up to have a go, either as a new subject, or an extension to their previous work in this subject. Grade 8 and 9 students are also about to make selections for their 2025 Specialist subjects. Keep and eye out for the Choice Form coming home soon.

Lauren Clements
7-9 Assistant

YEARS 10 – 12 CAMPUS

Students in years 11 and 12 are currently completing their last week of schooling for 2025. We will be welcoming back many of our year 11 students into the new year and wishing our year 12’s the best with their future endeavours. Our celebration lunch was a huge success with students enjoying a great afternoon celebrating the years achievements at the Royal Tasman Golf Club.

Student in year 10 are heading into their last few weeks of school, many classes are busily working towards their exams. The exams are a great opportunity for students to boost their ratings, improve on earlier assessments or undertake a practice for future exam like assessment conditions. We all know exams can be a daunting experience, please encourage students to do everything they can now to feel well prepared and confident on the day. Students enrolling into Rosny College next year should also keep an eye on their school email address, we are expecting confirmation emails to be sent directly to students this week, this will confirm the enrolment and selected subjects for 2025.

Luke Hamilton
10-12 Assistant Principal

Tasmanian Model Solar Challenge

On Saturday 2 November, a small group of students represented Sorell School for our first year competing in the Model Solar Challenge. The Tasmanian Model Solar Challenge is the state level of the national competition which was hosted this year by Hobart City High School. It was a long day for the students, departing from school at 7am and returning at 4pm, and well worth the effort!

We entered the competition quite late in the year and the students worked hard to get cars ready to compete. There are several build requirements, and the learning opportunities include areas in design, electronics, sustainable energy, physics and engineering. The cars were very competitive and the students were challenged throughout the day to constantly monitor the solar intensity and adjust the gears accordingly, make ongoing adjustments repairs and modifications.

We were lucky with the weather, and it was a brilliant day. The students gained lots of valuable experience and insight throughout the day and will put that to use during the Solar Boat racing on the 2December.

School Calendar of Events