We welcome all students of 2023 to Don College. We extend a special welcome to our  recently arrived International Exchange students who have travelled thousands of kilometres to join us at Don College. We introduce our exchange students later in this newsletter.

 Don College is an exciting place to be. Daily, 800 students, aged 16 to 19, attend classes to develop their knowledge and skills and create opportunities for their individual futures. We know that the most successful students are the students who attend all lessons and complete all tasks. Successful completion of year 12 increases individual choices and the likelihood of long-term employment throughout life. Completion of apprenticeships also has similar lifelong benefits.

It is important that our students feel welcomed and they “belong” to our school community. By listening to individual students and different interest groups we can better cater for student needs. There is a range of opportunities for students to be heard. This includes student surveys, informal conversations with staff, formal conversations and participation in student leadership groups. Students are invited to visit a trusted staff member and share their ideas for college improvement.

We congratulate our graduates and award winners from 2022. Many students on a pathway to university aspire to achieve an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR). Don College students' median ATAR was close to 85. This means that half of our students who achieved an ATAR were ranked 85 or above. Half of our ATAR-achieving students were ranked in the top 15% of Australian students. Congratulations to our staff and students on this sensational achievement. Some of our high-achieving students from last year are celebrated in the following pages.

We look forward to working with students and their families to improve achievement by all. Our staff are motivated by growth in students and successful outcomes. We wish all students of 2023 a happy and successful school year.

John Thompson

Don College Hospitality students had the opportunity of a lifetime on Saturday when they were a part of the Ghost Rock Wines - Concert in the Vines.

The students were involved with the serving of food in the premium section of the concert. They had a great time honing their hospitality skills while listening to Pete Murray and Jon Stevens.

What a great event to be involved with. A big thank you to Ghost Rock who are always great supporters of our hospitality program.

Don College welcomes our newest students here to experience life in Tasmania. 

Hanna from Argentina would love to learn about the different places in Tasmania and get into some hiking whilst here. Hanna has found it interesting how     early Tasmanians typically eat dinner, as at home it is usually served about 9pm, opposed to 6-7pm. 

Samanta would love to learn how to surf, meet new people and try a larger range of subjects, as at home there is not such a variety for choice. In Italy, you would usually find Samanta playing volleyball. 

Octavio also a student from Argentina, enjoys playing golf and surfing back at home. 

Huong is from Vietnam, and has aspirations of swimming in the ocean for the very first time, learning to cook and meeting new people. 

Sofia likes playing football (more like soccer) and handball back in Argentina. Sofia would love to visit different places in Tasmania whilst here. 

Lucia would like to try surfing whilst here from Argentina. Lucia enjoys cooking with family at home. 

Sara is from Italy, enjoys going to the gym and would love to dive into the ocean whilst here. 

A HUGE congratulations to the twenty staff who received their Mental Health First aid certification at the end of 2022, through the “Mind Your Head’ programme.

This certificate helps staff to learn skills to be able to intervene early and recognise signs of mental health problems in our students. Providing a holistic approach to mental health empowers both students and staff to speak openly and honestly about mental health.

This year Don College has a UniHUB located within the Careers space of the Library.

The UniHUB is a place where students can speak to Don’s UniHUB Co-ordinator, Andrea Crawford, about post-Year 12 educational pathways, particularly those offered by the University of Tasmania. If you have questions about course options, scholarships, how university works, assistance with applications or anything university related, come and have a chat with Andrea in the UniHUB. Andrea will be organising a range of immersive experiences and small group sessions targeted at student interest.

Andrea will be availble at Don College on Mondays and Tuesdays, and students are welcome to drop in any time, or can make a booking at the entrance of the careers space.

We are pleased to announce an exciting new development at Don College this year! 

A voluntary student leadership group has formed to help develop a strong sense of student culture within the school. The seven new members have contributed some great ideas so far, including ways to get students socialising, ideas to enhance the Razz, and fundraiser suggestions. Today, they stepped into their leadership roles at our first Gathering on the Lawn for the year. Well done to all involved! 

Feel free to say hi to them around the college and let them know if you have any ideas you might want to pitch to them about student life at the college! 

Here are three student profiles. Keep your eye out in the April Newsletter for the remaining leader profiles. 

Contributed photos from @Basketball_Tas and @simonsturzakerphotography. You can see full collections of the state competitions on Instagram 

Don College students, Ronan Parker, Kye Savage, Macey Crawford and Ella Tuit travelled to Geelong, Victoria to compete in the 2023 Australian Under 20 Basketball Championships.

Ella Tuit, who was a member of the women's under-20s state team shared her experience: 

How were you all selected? 

We were selected to represent the state after a series of trials held late last year.  

What was it like playing at a national level? 

Playing at that level proved to be a challenge as there is an evident gap in many aspects of the game compared to local competitions in Tasmania. The games are much faster-paced due to the high athletic ability of the opposing players. The games themselves are also longer as they are fully timed, meaning the clock is stopped every time the whistle is blown, and continued when the ball is passed back in court. As well as being challenging, it was also awesome to be able to come up against the best players in Australia for the age group.  

What were the results after the week-long championships?

The Tasmanian women’s side proved to be highly competitive from early in the tournament. After winning 2 out of their 4 first games they progressed to the quarter finals. This game against Western Australia was extremely physically and mentally tough and ended up in a defeat by 16 points. The girls then defeated the Australian Capital Territory team which progressed them to the 5th place playoff against SA. This game resulted in a loss which placed Tasmania in 6th. The women were especially recognised as a strong side after the winning team, New South Wales only defeated Tasmania by five points earlier in the week.  

While the Men were competitive, they had a tough start to the week losing their first four games. Persevering, they turned it around at the end of the championship winning their last two games against Victoria Navy and the Northern Territory. These winnings placed them in 9th position.  

What are some of the challenges of playing at this level? 

As mentioned, it was difficult playing at such high intensity. The week also was very physically and mentally draining. Our bodies became sore as the week progressed, but we had to stay mentally locked-in to push for the best results. Another factor adding to this challenge was the heat. With days reaching above 35 degrees, it was extremely difficult to play and perform once or twice in a day.  

What were the highlight of playing at a national level?

The highlight for me personally was getting the opportunity to not only play at this level but also challenge the most competitive sides in the tournament. I also appreciated spending time with the girls and creating fun memories. As a team we had a close bond, and they are friendships that I value a lot as they have been forming over many years through junior basketball.  

You can check out photos of the amazing achievers on Instagram: instagram/com.basketball_tas/

Above: Aoife Buckley  from Sonia van de Wolfshaar's class working on a large scale charcoal drawing, and Sarah Hagan's journal entry from Lisa Garland's class. 

It is currently all the go in the Don Art Department.

Art Students are currently discovering the benefits of using charcoal as a medium to make art.  This medium is magic for ‘instant’ tonal changes and is lots of fun. This is often the first time students have made art works larger than an A3 page, they are amazed with the results. On the other side of the art room, second year Studio Practice students are busy making their own individual spaces and starting their first major pieces. Already, exciting paintings are jumping off the canvas, full of unique ideas.  it is exciting for Year 11 students to see this innate energy and enthusiasm for all things art.

Photography students have been introduced to the exciting world of darkroom photography.  Each student has been making photograms in the red light environment, students are using silver gelatin paper and making images using white light and opaque objects. This project is predominately about light and form to make photographs. The 'single lens reflex camera' is the camera of choice.

Graphic Design students, as the title suggests, have been busy pulling apart the word ‘Design’.  This is all about analysing colour theory, pattern and form, all housed in the very important student journal. Photoshop is the tool of the trade.

Phew! 

A big thank you to our Art/Photo/Graphic Design students and all the motivation you have bought to the Art Department over the last four weeks.

During the first four weeks of Term One, Craig Gilmore's Chemistry 4C class has been focussing on quantitative analysis, and on the identification and minimisation of any sources of error during experimental data collection.

In industry, having a degree of confidence in the accuracy of the data collected is very important if trends are to be identified, and claims about the purity and the effectiveness of chemicals as treatments and reagents are to be deemed as valid.

The students have looked at equipment selection, the minimisation of any random errors associated with measurement techniques, and how to incorporate into their calculations the percentage uncertainties associated with each piece of equipment that are inherent in every measurement made.  

They have used their understanding of precision, accuracy, and the appropriate selection of volumetric equipment to test the manufacturers’ claims that Brunnings Lawn Food contains 17.5% sulfur, and that Homebrand vinegar contains between 4-4.1% w/v ethanoic acid. The experimental skills, error identification, and analysis techniques will form an integral part of all of their practical investigations throughout the year and will allow them to have confidence in future data sets collected at a tertiary level, or as they move on to industry or research opportunities in any field of science.  

Don College school nurses have set up activities on Monday and Wednesday as part of a new initiative at school to get students off their devices.

Games, puzzles, arts and crafts are offered in the southern common room every Monday and Wednesday at lunchtime. 

School nurse Ceinwen said it started as a way for students to be more conscious of the way they interact. 

"We would like to encourage our students to think about their digital wellbeing and how they manage their socials."

After a school wide survey was released at the end of last year, staff across the college, especially the wellbeing team, have been trying to find new ways for students to feel more satisfaction in their lives. 

"We know the digital domain can be a tricky beast to manage but by reducing your usage you’ll free up time to spend on other things and it will help you to be more focussed on family, friends, and schoolwork."

Tech free lunchtimes are happening every Monday and Wednesday in the southern common room, as well as table tennis in northern common room anytime!               

 If that’s not your jive, try any of the following ideas to help you  manage your socials.  

1. Keep apps out of sight so they’re out of mind, turn off ALL notifications.
2. Use apps to help you limit your time on social media.
3. Spend an hour a week on at least one screen-free hobby.
4. Enjoy a phone-free dinner.
5. Leave your phone outside the bedroom and classroom.

General Levy Invoices

Invoices for the General Levy of $420 have been processed and posted. Invoices can be paid via BPAY, Centrepay, or at Service Tas. We also accept cash or credit card payments via the College Office and credit card payments over the phone. Upon receipt of your invoice, please make contact with our Business Support Officer, Rachel Applebee, if you require a payment plan.

STAS Eligibility

The Student Assistant Scheme (STAS) provides assistance to low income families towards the cost of levies for students enrolled in school from Kindergarten through to Year 12. If you have already been approved for STAS, you don’t need to reapply unless you have recently become an Independent student. If you are a current concession card holder of one of the following:

• Centrelink Health Care Card
• Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card
• Pensioner Concession Card
• Department of Veterans Affairs Pensioner Concession Card

you can apply online at https://stasonlinesubmission.education.tas.gov.au

You will receive a letter confirming the outcome of your application approximately two weeks after it has been submitted. Please notify the colleg by phoning 6424 0200 once you receive your approval letter. If you need access to a hard copy application form, you can collect one from the college office,  or email stas@decyp.tas.gov.au or phone 1800 827 055. 

It appears that using e-cigarettes or vapes is a growing trend in a small minority of students. Don College, like all Tasmanian Government sites, is a smoke free zone. Vaping and e cigarettes are included in the Tasmanian Public Health Act.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices used to inhale nicotine or other chemicals as a vapour (known as vaping). The liquids used in e-cigarettes can contain nicotine, but also flavourings and harmful substances such as heavy metals, volatile organic compounds and cancer-causing chemicals.

International evidence is emerging of a possible link between the use of e-cigarettes and lung disease. Even the use of e-cigarettes has resulted in significant lung injury. For more details visit E-cigarettes | Tasmanian Department of Health

We encourage all staff and students and broader community members to maintain a smoke/vape free life.

If you require assistance to stop smoking please talk with our Student Support Team or visit Quitline

Contact Quitline for help to quit smoking. You can call the hotline on 13 QUIT (13 7848), to talk to a counsellor or request a call back. The Quitline offers an online chat service and has resources for health professionals. Visit their website for more information.

137 848

 Quitline