Monday 22 July | Student Free Day
Tuesday 23 July | School Recommences
Friday 6 September | School Closure
Friday 27 September | Term 3 concludes
For more Term 3 Calendar dates: download the pdf version here
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Welcome to our last newsletter for Term 2. Reflecting back to the start of this term, I am very pleased with all the achievements by our students and staff over this very busy and packed term.
Year 11 and 12 Exams
The mid-year exams for Year 11 and 12 students took place during Weeks 8 and 9. The exam results for Year 11 students will determine their eligibility to continue with the subject in Year 12. For most subjects, students will need to achieve a grade of C+ or higher. Year 12 exam results provide students with an indication of their understanding of the concepts taught and highlight any areas needing attention in preparation for their final exams.
Gardening
On Friday, 28th of June, students from the Special Options and Pathway classes, with the support of the Governing Council Chair, Mr Martin Crabb, their teachers, and SSOs worked tirelessly to transform an unattractive strip of land into a beautiful garden bed. It was delightful to see the students’ excitement and genuine pleasure in planting and working together. A heartfelt thank you to Mr. Martin Crabb, all the teachers, and SSOs for not only supervising the students but also for being excellent role models by actively participating.
End of Term Reports
A reminder that the Term 2 end-of-term reports will be published on Daymap today. I encourage you to discuss your child's results with them and to reflect on their achievements together. Support them in considering strategies to improve their grades for Term 3, which is particularly important for Year 12 students.
Subject Selection and Parent-Teacher Interviews
Subject selection and student led conferences will take place on Tuesday 20th August. Starting in Week 2, during home group sessions, all students will work with their home group teachers to start exploring subject selections for the following year. As part of this process, students will spend time considering various careers and subjects that may be relevant to their interests. For students in Year 7, 8, 9 and 12 as well as considering subjects for the following years, they will spend time reflecting on their learning and complete a presentation which they will share with their parents on the day. More information about the process and how to book a time for selection and the presentations will be sent home early in Term 3.
Farewell
Modbury High School says farewell to Mr Tim Hankin, Mrs Mary Fisher and Mrs Helen Thomas who after many years of teaching have decided to retire. Over the years they have supported many students and staff and I am sure will be missed by the Modbury High School community.
We also farewell Mr James Dundon has been successful in winning a leadership position at another school and has commenced in his new role at the start of the semester. Mr Dundon has led the Science faculty for many years and supported the implementation of the STEM program at the school. He too will be missed by his students and colleagues.
Ms Nianix Li, who has been with us replacing Mrs Kanter while on leave, is also leaving at the end of this term. We wish her all the best for the future and thank her for supporting our students.
Wishing everyone a relaxing, restful and happy holiday.
We will see you all back here all refreshed for another term on Tuesday 23rd July.
Ms Joanne Costa
Principal
Modbury High School Year 11 student Charlotte Bland has had a busy start to 2024 representing both South Australia and Australia at Rifle Shooting.
In January Charlotte was selected to attend a Junior Air Rifle Tour of Austria and Germany where she competed in 4 competitions. Charlotte went on to win The Meyton Cup in Austria where there was a field of 50 competitors.
February saw Charlotte compete at the first Australian Olympic selection trial in Sydney where she shot a new Personal best Score and finished in first place.
In March she shot at the National Championships in Brisbane and came away with 1st place in Women’s 10m Air Rifle, 50m Junior prone and State teams Air Rifle.
Charlotte was then selected to represent Australia at the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship in Rio, Brazil. She finished 79th Individually and 18th in Mixed pairs. This was the final domestic selection shoot for the Olympic Games in Paris and Charlotte finished in first place for the Australian leaderboard.
9 days after returning from Brazil she again represented Australia at the ISSF World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, finishing 69th Individually and 26th in mixed pairs.
Then in May Charlotte attended a World Cup in Munich, Germany, which was the final opportunity to qualify for the Olympic games and an extremely large competition with 148 women competing in the Air Rifle, Charlotte managed 90th Individually and came 35th in the mixed pairs.
Charlotte’s goal for the remainder of 2024 is to compete at the Junior World Championship in Lima, Peru later in the year. Good Luck Charlotte! We are so proud of you and will be cheering you when you are in Peru!
Friday morning, 28th June, members of our Special Options and Pathways classes met with an expert landscaper to learn how to set up a garden. After a safety briefing and planning session, we set to work moving 6 tons of organic dirt and 8 cubic metres of mulch.
We learned about designing gardens, laying drip feed water pipe, spacing colourful plants, and layering dirt and mulch. Mr Martin Crabb shared his passion as he taught us about design and the processes to follow to complete a garden from scratch. We used shovels, forks, buckets, wheelbarrows, blowers, and our gloved hands to create a beautiful space from a barren garden bed.
It was great to work as a team to complete the whole job in one day, with the weather threatening to turn on us into the afternoon. To celebrate, we enjoyed some hot chips from a local store and viewed part of a movie related to the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which we finished reading earlier this term.
A huge thank you to Martin for his passionate expertise, Ms Costa for allowing us to show what we can do, and for helping on the shovel when she could, the staff and students of the Special Options and Pathways classes. Watch this space as we continue to work towards a few more projects in our various programs.
Congratulations to Year 8 student, Benika Kaundal, who has won third place in the secondary school category for the SA Refugee Week Youth Poster Awards! Benika’s work was one of 85 selected to exhibit from 340 entries and 55 schools.
Benika was invited to attend the exhibition launch today and to receive her award & prize.
“The artwork represents an Australia welcoming people and refugees from other countries with open hands. It shows the diversity of multi-cultures coming to Australia, adapting to new change, contributing towards the Australian community, and feeling as if they belong” – Benika Kaundal
SA Refugee Week is led by the Australian Migrant Resource Centre over 16th-22nd June and offers a range of programs, events and activities celebrating and connecting the refugee community with established communities.
While attending the Careers and Employment Expo this year organised by Ms Stamati for the Year 10 students. one of our students, Sienna, entered the competition that was running at the Expo. The competition encouraged students to engage and have conversations with several Automotive exhibitors about potential career pathways in the industry. The competition card said “The more stickers you collect the greater your chance of winning multiple prizes”. Dr Katerin Berniz, Pathways Advisor Schools Support notified Ms Costa and Ms Stamati one off our students had won multiple prizes including the first prize. As below.
“I’m very happy to announce that Sienna Peck was the diligent student who did this and as a result, has become the ‘first prize winner’.
The first prize is a voucher for V8 Front Seat Hot Laps at Mallala Motorsport Park + Sienna also won a $100 Repco Voucher!
Congratulation Sienna!
Congratulations to former Modbury High School student Lara Somfai for winning a gold medal at the u18 basketball Asia Cup this week. Lara was placed in the all-star 5 for the competition for her excellent play throughout the week.
It is amazing to see the hard work and dedication that Lara has put into basketball paying off on the big stage! She is currently playing basketball in the United States, with her next stop being to College basketball.
We wish Lara all the best with her future in basketball, and look forward to watching her grow even more as a person and a player.
The mural was a collaboration between Modbury High School, Modbury South Primary School and Modbury Special School. Young people came together to brainstorm ideas for the mural project. They wanted to tell the story of our journey, how each school is interconnected, walking together proudly side by side, to form a community spirit that is built on respect, safety for each other, responsibility, one that is strong in culture, strives for a positive learning attitude and acknowledges our history.
The artwork incorporates elements that were important to the three school communities.
There are many people sitting around the gathering places. Each school community is identified by the size of the people sitting. The circle to the right shows students from MSS, the next circle shows students from MSPS and the circle at the left shows students from MHS. Each school is on a journey to the middle circle that represents a meeting place where all three school communities come, sit together to share stories, knowledge and ideas, building on our strong collective spirit that will guide us into the future.
The star symbolises our ancestors watching over us, guiding us and protecting us. The shield symbolises that we are working and learning on Kaurna Country and that we recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land. The hills above symbolises strength and pride and the waters below symbolises deep feelings of community and connectiveness.
We believe in a culture of achievement in a respectful and rigorous learning environment
