March 17, 2023 | updates

Term 1: Update 2

Adelaide Botanic High School students engage in learning tasks which are about connecting, creating, communicating, co-ordinating and collaborating.

March 17, 2023

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EMBRACING YOUNG PEOPLE’S CURIOSITY

Update from the Principal

The first student free day for 2023 was both purposeful and productive, with our staff development centered on ‘Literacy to Thrive’.

Cartoonist, Simon Kneebone, observed and documented the day

I was able to set the scene for the day with a presentation about the importance of students developing skills in oracy.

The term ‘oracy’ in short, is nothing more than being able to express yourself well. It’s about having the vocabulary to say what you want to say and the ability to structure your thoughts so that they make sense to others.

The development of oracy helps students grasp and analyse written language, which is a crucial aspect of literacy and improves reading comprehension. Students who have strong oracy skills will also be better able to organise their ideas, express them clearly, and communicate them effectively in writing.

I challenged our team to explore how we build onto our dialogic classroom approach at Adelaide Botanic, harnessing the power of talk, where learning takes place through dialogue. Where students can learn to evaluate evidence, consider different perspectives, and develop their own opinions based on evidence and reasoning through discussions and debate.

Teachers were also involved in a series of workshops to collaboratively design a unit of work that includes explicit teaching of reading and writing. As a staff, everyone reflected on the high achievement and literacy levels of many ABHS students and the importance to support their growth to thrive!

An engaging and thought-provoking presentation during the afternoon provided information for staff about Chat GPT and other AI applications. Teachers were encouraged to explore the many AI applications that are now very much a part of the landscape in schools and to identify ways that they might be used in learning.

Staff are looking forward to continuing to meet the goals of the ABHS site improvement plan to develop literacy and numeracy skills and capabilities for all the school’s learners. The goal is to ensure every learner reaches their potential through high quality targeted teaching that is informed by evidence-based literacy and numeracy practices, with a focus on explicit and targeted approaches across learning areas.

Alistair on behalf of our whole team

Upcoming Dates - Terms 1 & 2

TERM 1	Thurs 13-Fri 14 April WEEK 11 Senior Melbourne Art Experience
Tuesday 21 March WEEK 8 Sports Day	Thursday 13 April WEEK 11 Year 7/8/9 Studio Reports released to parents
Wednesday 22 March WEEK 8 Yr 11 & Yr 12 Spotlight on SACE + Medical Pathways	Friday 14 April WEEK 11 Last day of term (normal dismissal time)
Wednesday 29 March WEEK 9 ABHS Open Night	TERM 2
Thursday 30 March WEEK 9 Year 8 Immunisations	SAVE THE DATE WEEK 2 Learning Conversations Years 7 – 12
Fri 7-Mon 10 April WEEKS 10/11 Easter Long Weekend	Friday 9 June WEEK 6 Year 12 Reports sent home

Three Adelaide Botanic students selected to represent young people in SA

Adelaide Botanic High School students, Olivia (Year 12), Madison (Year 10) and Josie (Year 10) recently found out that they had been successful in their applications to join the South Australian Student Representative Council (SA SRC) in 2023. They will be three of a total 150 SA students providing a voice for young people in policy and decision making.

Our news story explains more about what this means and what has motivated these passionate students to get involved.

Read Story

Year 7 student Nishtha wins young adult microstory competition

The Adelaide Writers’ Week Microstory Competition, supported by Hello SA, invited young people aged under 18 to submit a microstory of 50 words or less. Adelaide Botanic High School student, Nishtha (Yr 7), entered this year’s competition and won!

The theme for the story was Truth Be Told (also the theme of Writers’ Week in 2023). You can read more about the theme in this message from Writers’ Week Director Louise Adler.

The prize for winning this competition was a $500 gift card courtesy of Hello SA and a YA book pack courtesy of Writers’ Week.

Congratulations Nishtha on this wonderful achievement.

Stage 1 Biology

On Tuesday, 28 February, the Stage 1 Biology students travelled to Port Noarlunga for an immersive ecology experience. Students first undertook a dune walk, outlining various human impacts and observing native flora, and then enjoyed a little bush tucker snack of muntries.

The walk through the dunes ended at the Onkaparinga river bend where everyone kayaked, observing and learning about various ecological niches. The day concluded with an incredible reef snorkel, where things such as zonation and stratification of the reef system were observed, as well as some of the unique species present.

The trip supported students’ understanding of the complex interactions within ecosystems, and applied to their first summative assessment in which they had to demonstrate their understanding of ecosystems in the context of the local reef.

Natalie Bland
STEM Teacher

SchoolTV - Supporting Student Wellbeing at ABHS

SchoolTV is an ongoing resource that is available to all members of the ABHS community, offering a fresh approach to the growing issues and pressures faced by Australian youth. In this Update, Adelaide Botanic High School would like to share some new resources through SchoolTV.

Topics shared in this update cover the following which might be of interest to parents and the ABHS community include: Resilience, School Refusal, Sleep and Body Image. Each section features a variety of resources from fact sheets and books to podcasts and expert interviews.

You can access the SchoolTV archive by clicking on the Student Life section of the school website in Engagement & Wellbeing. Alternatively, links will be included in each Update for easy access.

If you would like to know more about SchoolTV or you would like to speak to someone from the Wellbeing team, you can contact Nina Tanner or Justin Mitchell via the SchoolTV page or by contacting Student Services.

Nina Tanner and Justin Mitchell
Student Engagement and Wellbeing Leaders

SchoolTV Featured Wellbeing Topics

Resilience

Resilience is important for a child’s mental health. It is their ability to bounce back from failure, challenges, adversity, and stress. It’s not something that kids have or don’t have but a skill that kids develop over time as they grow. Building resilience not only helps a child deal with current difficulties, but it also helps develop a resilient mindset that will help them deal with challenges later in life. All children are capable of working through challenges and coping with stress, but they require guidance and support from an adult role model.

> Resilience | Resources

School Refusal

Though many children will refuse to go to school at some stage in their lives, school refusal is very different to truancy. It is a more serious condition than separation anxiety and often stems from a child’s anxiety about school. They may be worried about their school work, interacting with other kids, dealing with teachers, playing sports or being away from family. School refusal is a behaviour that can also be accompanied by sadness or depression, physical symptoms and social isolation. This condition is equally common amongst boys and girls, from all socioeconomic groups and across both primary and secondary levels.

> School Refusal | Resources

Sleep

Children these days seem to be going to bed later and later. Distractions such as TV, computer games, internet, texting friends and social media are all having a negative impact on a child’s sleep time. Sleep is vital to a child’s wellbeing. When children sleep well, they are more settled, happier and ready for school the next day. Sleep also strengthens their immune systems, supports overall development and their ability to function properly on a daily basis. Children who do not get enough sleep show increased levels of aggressive behaviour, are less attentive and are much less active. Trying to catch up on sleep on weekends is not the answer and can still lead to severe sleep deprivation. Recent studies have shown than many children, especially teenagers, are missing out on vital REM sleep, which is particularly important for memory and learning.

> Sleep | Resources

Body Image

A child can form an opinion of their own body at a very young age. Research suggests that children as young as three years old can have body image issues, and there are many things that influence them. Parents play a critical role in helping children develop a positive body image.

Today’s media can negatively influence our young people on what is the “ideal” body shape and size. The problem is, a “perfect” body doesn’t really exist. Although body image issues are mostly associated with girls, boys are also affected. A negative body image can trigger eating disorders in some children and parents need to be aware of the signs. Their child’s eating habits and language around appearance can be an indicator. Parents and teachers need to help kids understand that appearance does not equate to an individual’s health or success.

> Body Image | Resources

SchoolTV Special Report: Harmony Week

Harmony Week is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, and the successful integration of migrants into our community. The message of Harmony Week is everyone belongs. It is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

Harmony Week starts in Week 8 from Monday 20 March to Sunday 26 March.

Did you know?

Nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was.
We identify with over 300 ancestries.
Since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia.
85 per cent of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia.
Apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi.
More than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia.

Access the special report from SchoolTV on Harmony Week via the link below.

Special Report

Year 11 & 12 Spotlight on SACE + Medical Pathways

This week, parents of Year 11 and 12 students were sent an Edsmart email inviting them to attend two Spotlight Information Sessions at Adelaide Botanic High School on Wednesday evening, 22 March. Parents may attend one or both of these sessions.

SPOTLIGHT on SACE: This session will provide details about the SACE and learning in the Senior School. A recording of this session will be made available to all Year 11 and 12 parents afterwards.

SPOTLIGHT on Medical Pathways: This session will be presented by the University of Adelaide, detailing the entry options and pathways into Medicine.

With limited seats, it is requested that only one parent from each family attend. Please refer to your Edsmart email to RSVP by Monday, 20 March.

Stage 1 Nutrition

In Nutrition, students have been learning about the macronutrients carbohydrates, lipids and fats.

In a recent activity, students investigated the fat in different brands of potato chips. The aim of the practical was to identify which brand of potato chip was the most greasy.

Students used a rolling pin to breakdown potato chips onto graph paper and then counted how many squares went transparent from the greasiness of the chips. They graphed the potato chip fat content versus the number of greasy squares to investigate the relationship. Suffice to say, there were many greasy squares and many pulverised chips.

Sylvia Charalambous
STEM Teacher

Another successful WOMADelaide wraps up

In what continues to be a special relationship with WOMADdelaide, ten of the school’s senior students were accepted as volunteers for specialised roles at this year’s festival, working in either Taste the World or Planet Talk events.

Taste the World volunteers were involved in either food preparation and serving or AV support while students on the Planet Talks stage managed the set up prior to each event and the roving mic during question time.

This is a unique experience, usually only open to people over 18 with considerable event experience, and is an example of the relationships that ABHS have grown with precinct neighbours.

Year 7/8 3x3 Basketball Competition

The Year 7/8 boys had a successful day at The Arc Campbelltown for the 3×3 basketball competition. ABHS had 13 teams in the competition who went up against three other schools. There were lots of great games, some of which were victorious and some of which experienced a minor loss.