Term 3 Issue 1
- Principal's Message
- NAIDOC WEEK ACTIVITIES
- NAIDOC WEEK FLAG RAISING CEREMONY AND ASSEMBLY
- Visual Arts News
- Young Archies Awards 2025
- HaSS Exhibition: A Celebration of Student Learning
- Dover District School's Sport Leaders
- New Sport Activities with our New Equipment and Line Markings.
- National Science Week
- Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey
- Parent, Teacher and Student Interviews
- Barriers To Attendance
Principal's Message
It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through the term! It has certainly been a very busy Term 3, full of rich learning opportunities and exciting extra-curricular activities for our students.
I am very pleased to report that along with our priority focus of Literacy, we have been focusing on creating more opportunities for connection and physical activity during recess and lunch times. Each year group now has access to its own sports equipment bag, and we have also opened the gym each lunch break for organised sporting competitions and activities. The response has been excellent, with many students across K-12 taking part, along with the enthusiastic support of our Teacher Assistants and Teachers.
This term has been filled with highlights, including our Book Week celebrations, including the Parade, Book Fair and Special Persons Day, and it was wonderful to welcome so many parents, carers and families into the school. In the coming weeks, our students have the opportunity to represent Dover District School at the interschool chess tournament, take part in the official opening of the new IGA and we are excited to welcome Huon FM Radio who will broadcast from our school. Students across the school have also been involved in a range of excursions, transition activities for Year 7 and Year 11/12 students, tree planting day and a visit from Sustainable Timbers Tasmania and a variety of other experiences.
We are very excited to be moving back into our newly renovated classroom spaces in the bottom corridor of the main building. These areas will soon be home to our High School English and Year 5/6 classrooms. Looking ahead, redevelopment work will soon begin on the existing Year 3/4 classroom and hall, which marks the next step towards creating our new library and community hub.
As many of you are aware, the end of Term 3 will also mark the end of my tenure as Principal at Dover District School. My time here has been thoroughly rewarding, and making the decision not to continue in the role was incredibly challenging. I have greatly enjoyed working with our students, staff and families, and feel privileged to have been part of this community. At the same time, I am very excited to be welcoming Mr Steve Barratt as Principal at the beginning of Term 4. I know the Dover community will welcome him with the same warmth and generosity that you extended to me.
I look forward to seeing as many families as possible at our upcoming Parent, Teacher and Student Interview evening, and also at our School Association Meeting on Monday 1st September.
Thank you once again for your ongoing support of our school and our students.
Warm regards,
Sam Jesney
Principal
NAIDOC WEEK ACTIVITIES
On Tuesday, July 22, our students from K-10 came together to celebrate NAIDOC Week with an On Country afternoon. It was an event that honoured First Nations culture and deepened our connection to the land we live and learn on.
Students rotated through four stations: gathering materials for heuristic baskets, painting for the baskets, games and participating in On Country activities led by the wonderful SETAC rangers. These included a cleansing ceremony, cultural painting, and gumnut stringing. Each activity offered a rich opportunity to learn, reflect, and connect.
Throughout the day, our students truly embodied our school values of caring, connected and curious. We were able to fully appreciate the natural surroundings and the significance of being On Country. A heartfelt thank you to the SETAC rangers for their generous guidance and cultural sharing.
NAIDOC WEEK FLAG RAISING CEREMONY AND ASSEMBLY
On Thursday, 23rd of July, Aunty Libby and Kate Jackson led a welcome to country and cleansing ceremony for the whole school. This was followed by an assembly where Tara Gordon presented each class with a heuristic basket. These baskets contained some of the natural materials gathered by students during the On Country activities.
Karen Burgess presented prizes to the winners of the bookmark competition.
Kristy Harrison announced the winners of the People’s choice awards from the recent HaSS exhibition.
The Year 3-4 class presented an item about the rainbow serpent.
Visual Arts News
We have some amazing artists here at Dover District School. With the wonderful guidance of our Art teacher Kylie van Klink, please see their work below.
The students of Years 1 / 2 created hot air balloons using water soluble oil pastels.
The students of Years 5 and 6 have been building their skills in developing tone, line and perspective to create self-portraits.
The Year 5/6 students also created some whimsical landscapes, experimenting with secondary and complementary colours, perspective and curvy lines, as well as a collaged landscape using ripped textured paper and chalk pastel pencils.
The students of Years 3 and 4 created landscapes using acrylic paint. They experimented with various brushstrokes and applied white in particular areas to create tone.
The Prep/1 students created happy people watering their plants. they used acrylic paint and black oil pastels.
Our gorgeous Kindergarten students created colourful lions using warm colours and cool colours.
The Year 3 / 4 students were inspired by the contemporary Australian artist, Janine Daddo. They used acrylic pains and soft chalk pastels, with a strong focus on, line and tone. They have been enjoying experimenting with primary and secondary colours to create complimentary colours.
Young Archies Awards 2025
Congratulations to all our incredible students who have created a portrait last term. After much deliberation, the following student artworks have been selected to represent Dover District School for the 2025 Young Archies Awards:
Prep – Sammy, Hazel, Evelyn and Elena, Year One/Two – Leah, Lewy, Finn and Nell, Year Three/Four – Alanah, Heidi, Ned and Piper Young, Year Five/Six – Tyler, Alex, Oliver and Jemeelah.
If you would like to have a look at the Exhibition, please see details below:
UTAS School of Creative Arts and Media - Hunter Street, Hobart
Dates: Thursday 25 August - Friday 7 September 2025
Opening Times: 11:00am - 4:00pm
HaSS Exhibition: A Celebration of Student Learning
In the final week of Term 2, Dover District School hosted a HaSS Exhibition at the Port Esperance Sailing Club, showcasing the incredible work of students from Year 7 to Year 10. The exhibition featured a range of topics from the history curriculum, with Year 7 students exploring Ancient China, Year 8 diving into the Renaissance, Year 9 examining Colonial Australia, and Year 10 presenting on World War II and the Holocaust.
Students produced amazing pieces that included PowerPoint presentations, essays, and artworks, reflecting their deep engagement and creativity. The exhibition was a resounding success, drawing a wonderful turnout from the community and earning a feature in the Huon News.
A highlight of the event was the People's Choice Awards. In the Year 7/8 category, Zayn Newton was the runner-up for his work on the Scientific Revolution, while Ebony Morrisby took the top honour with her presentation on the Printing Revolution. In the Year 9/10 category, Jordan Joseph was the runner-up for his exploration of weaponry in World War II, and Cherish Walker won for her moving piece on the Kindertransport.
The HaSS Exhibition was a fantastic celebration of student achievement and historical inquiry. A heartfelt thank you to those who helped make it a success, particularly Port Esperance Sailing Club and Huon Valley Council.
Dover District School's Sport Leaders
Congratulations to the following students whose application, along with their commitment to their schooling and our school values, Caring, Connected, Curious has awarded them as one of our 11 successful Sports Leaders for 2025.
Dakoda H, Phil M, Precious R, Addison D, Alicia D, Zayn N. Absent in the photo are - Jordan J, Dustin P, Jayda Z, Julia R and Tiana B.
As part of this program, our Sports Leaders will be undertaking training with Mr Tuttle and Ms Jesney on Monday 25th August. After completion of the Sports Leaders training, students will be required to assist in the following activities as part of their leadership role:
- Daily PE for each of our primary classes (each leader will be allocated a grade class with a partner to lead the primary school class in 15 mins of activity 2-3 time per week).
- Lunch time sports activities in the gym.
- Assist in the set up and pack up of athletics, cross country and swimming carnivals and assist with the running of these events when not competing themselves.
- May be asked to assist at Primary School interschool carnivals, where school sports leaders are requested to assist in the running of events, e.g. timekeeping, measuring field events etc.
- General positive conduct in all areas of school life, but in particular enthusiasm and a leadership role in the PE Dept at Dover District School.
We look forward to having our students working with our younger grades and increasing daily exercise, which is fantastic for our health and wellbeing!
New Sport Activities with our New Equipment and Line Markings.
Students from across the school have thoroughly enjoyed the new sports equipment bags and line markings that have added activity and vibrance to our yard and oval areas. Each class/year level has received a sports equipment bag with a variety of balls, frisbees, vortexes etc to give students the opportunity to participate in games and sports at recess and lunch. Our wonderful TA Tamara has also been busy painting new four square and hopscotch areas in the yard and we look forward to seeing new basketball keys and other exciting additions to these areas. We have been able to open the gym every lunch to all students with organised activities being conducted each day. Sports such as basketball, indoor soccer, badminton and volleyball have been a huge hit for students and staff alike! The equipment bags, gym activities and line markings have been very well received, and we look forward to watching our students utilise these throughout the remainder of the year.
My New Gallery
National Science Week
National Science Week 2025 was held from 9th to the 17th August. Dover students engaged with classroom science as well as award-winning Science films from Scinema including Dr Karl: How Things Work: Toilet Paper and Arctic Shifts. Others tuned into Mission: Space webinars hearing from space engineers and communications experts.
Staff shared a Science-themed morning tea of Moon Muffins, DNA Twists, an Anatomy Platter, Rocky Conglomerate Crackles and Molecule Lollies while puzzling over a very tough science trivia quiz. Top scorers were Mrs Price, Miss Arundell and Mr Cooke. It was a lovely way to wind down a week of science together.
My New Gallery
Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey
Attention: Parents and Carers of students in [Years 4 - 12)
Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey
At Dover District School the wellbeing of our students is a top priority. We want to hear directly from our students about how they’re feeling and what’s happening in their lives.
Students in Year/s [4–12] will soon be participating in the Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey. This important survey helps us build a clear picture of our students’ current wellbeing and identify ways we can better support them to thrive and engage in learning. The more students who take part, the more meaningful the insights will be.
This survey is part of the Department’s Child and Student Wellbeing Strategy.
Survey Details:
When: Monday 1st September 2025
Who: Years 4 - 12
What do I need to do: You and your child don’t need to do anything. The survey will be done in class time and will not require your child to prepare in any way.
A letter with more information has been shared with all Year 4 - 12 parents. This includes a list of Frequently Asked Questions and a form to return if you do not want your child to participate.
If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Dover District School on 6298 1312 and ask for Mandy Yorke.
Thank you for supporting our efforts to ensure every student feels safe, supported, and ready to learn.
Parent, Teacher and Student Interviews
Our parent teacher and student interviews will be on Wednesday, 17 September, commencing at 3:30pm and finishing at 6:00pm.
The interviews will be held in the hall for Kinder to Year 6 and in the 11/12 block for all high school students.
A letter has been sent home with more information. Please see the link below to book your interview or the QR Code on the letter.
Barriers To Attendance
