30 April 2025

Principal’s Report.

Dearest Emerald State High Community,

Welcome to Term 2 to all of our new and returning families at Emerald State High School. I trust that you had a great Easter break with family and friends. It has been wonderful to see our students, parents and staff on school’s return. I have really enjoyed listening to the students recount their holidays. It has been a very calm beginning to the term with staff and students focusing on re-establishing expectations and routines.

We started the term with a very meaningful and though provoking ANZAC Day service, which was held in our UCA last Thursday. As usual, I was enormously impressed with the respect shown by our students on this most meaningful occasion. My thanks to Leanne Ross for her work in making this service something really special and to all the staff and students who assisted her.

Some great student news to start the term…

Congratulations to Jodi Lawn for being awarded one of four Endeavour Scholarships at the Avalon International Air Show 2025. Jodi will be part of Mission Team Australia, earning herself a fully funded trip to Washington DC and Space Camp USA. This is an outstanding achievement - well done Jodi!

Term results are in with all year levels doing well. Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 in particular have all broken some records. Rates of As and Bs are particularly impressive, totalling 51.9% of all results. Effort and behaviour results across the school are also very high. Well done students!

Guidance officers play an invaluable role in supporting students and school communities across Queensland. At ESHS we are lucky to have Ms Erin Lee and Ms Valda Fitzgerald as our Guidance Officers. This Guidance Officer Week (Monday 28 April to Friday 9 May) we celebrate their contribution in providing counselling, advice and leadership across the areas of educational, behavioural, vocational, personal, social, family, mental health and wellbeing. School staff play a vital role in recognising the early signs of students' stress or struggles. If you think your student may benefit from support, please reach out.

Attendance at school is one of the biggest impacts on student outcomes and is something that has not been one of our 'highs' however; we are sitting at an average attendance rate at the moment of 83% which is far below where it really needs to be. An attendance of 90% should be the very minimum we should be seeking. Even 90% equates to one day away a fortnight which is enough to have an impact on student results.

One of the most important days (if not the most important day all year!) Sunday the 11th of May. I hope that all students make every effort to impress and to make their mothers feel extra special.  Happy Mother’s Day!!

“Things work out the best for those who make the best of how things work out.”

• John Wooden

Regards
Mr. Troy Sanson
Principal

From the P&C.

Welcome back to Term 2! 

We hope all members of the ESHS community had a restful holiday and are ready for another busy term.

Thank you to everyone who attended our ESHS P&C AGM in Term 1. We welcomed several new members, and it was wonderful to see many familiar, returning members as well. We value all members’ contributions and, as a volunteer with ESHS P&C, your contribution to the P&C can be as large or small as you can manage. Thank you also to ESHS Bites for catering for our meeting. It’s always delicious and is enjoyed by all who attend.

A special thanks must go to our outgoing Vice-President, Helen Chivers. Helen has been a valued ESHS P&C member, and we thank her for her support.

ESHS P&C Executive for 2025 are:

• President: Michelle Botma
• Vice-President: Duncan Stewart
• Treasurer: Amanda Farrell
• Secretary: Lesley-Anne McDowall

During our 2025 AGM, ESHS P&C presented Life Membership Certificates to Renee Firth and Karen Bray. Both these ladies have given long and meritorious service to the ESHS P&C Association and it was wonderful to be able to acknowledge this and show our appreciation for the years of exceptional service these ladies have dedicated to support ESHS P&C and ESHS community to provide every child, every chance. We thank them for all the work and support they have provided.

ESHS P&C encourages all members of our school community to attend our monthly meetings which are held on the second Thursday of each month during the school term. The meetings start at 5:30pm in the school’s resource centre and will be finished by 7pm.

ESHS P&C Meetings for Term 2:

• Thursday 8th May
• Thursday 12th June

ESHS P&C are currently making some uniform changes and upgrades. Please come along to our meetings to learn more about this and to offer your input.

A reminder that ESHS Bites Tuckshop offers catering options to the wider Emerald community, including family-sized dinners to go.

Regards
Mrs. Lesley-Anne McDowall
P&C Secretary

From the Industry Liaison Officer.

Year 10 Work Experience

In Term 1, our Year 10 students engaged in a week of work experience as part of their Certificate II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways. From this program, a number of our students were offered future employment with their hosts! Congratulations and thank you to our students for representing our school with the 3Ps during their placement.

I would also like to thank all the local businesses that hosted our students and provided them with opportunities to gain industry knowledge that will help shape their future career choices. The program continues to make meaningful connections between students and industry and could not exist without your support. Thank you for your help in my first year in helping with this, I look forward to working with you again and making improvements for next year from your feedback!

Kestrel NextGen Immersion Program

During the school holidays, Kestrel Coal Resources held their first Kestrel NextGen Immersion Program to provide an immersive 3-day experience for local Year 10 students who are interested in tertiary pathways into the mining industry (engineering, environment, sustainability, HST, commercial, strategic sourcing and more).

Seven of our students were selected to attend and all reports have marked it as a success! A big highlight of their time there was being taken underground and seeing the different career opportunities that exist in mining.

Due to the success of this program, Kestrel Coal Resources will be holding a school holiday program for Year 12 students later this year. More information TBA.

Post-School Industry Career Talks

This term, we have the opportunity to access a range of information sessions with Industry Professionals regarding post-school careers:

• 29th April – ‘Girl Power’ Energy QLD Female Apprenticeship Program (Year 12)
• 30th April & 1st May – Energy QLD Apprenticeship Program (Year 12)
• 7th May – Glencore Apprenticeship Program (Years 10-12)
• 16th May – CQU Careers Expo (Years 10-12)
• 20th May – Australian Defence Force Trade/Careers (Years 10-12)
• 20th May - JCU Raising Aspirations in Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health Careers for Indigenous Students (Years 10-12)
• 6th June – CQU Destination Doctor (Year 10)
• 26th June – AgriFutures STEM Student Conference (Years 10-12)
• TBA – Kestrel NextGen Immersion Program (Year 12)

For more information on these sessions, please keep an eye out on our Facebook page and Student Notices or feel free to contact me!

School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships News

Emerald State High School would like to congratulate the following students on their achievements in securing a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship:

• Finlay – VIPR Industries
• Janke – Emerald Aquatic Centre
• Conner – Nogoa Electrical
• Michael – Antz Antennas
• Charlie – Emerald Aquatic Centre
• Matthew – Highland Meats
• Alex – VIPR Industries

Follow the Emerald State High School Facebook page for all school-based apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities.

If you would like to know more about taking on a trainee or apprentice, please feel free to contact me for assistance.

Regards
Ms. Ellie Noy
Industry Liaison Officer

From the SLC.

Term 2 has already started off busy for the SLC and it will only get busier.

Week 1 the SLC helped organise the school’s Anzac service. Due to the basketball courts being out of action we had to reduce the service so the senior and junior students could attend their own services during period 1. We were lucky this year to have Glenn Mallyon as our guest speaker. Mr Mallyon saw service in Afghanistan and was able to share those experiences and what he learnt with our students. We also had the newly formed Emerald Army Corps form our catafalque party.

Term 2 also means it’s time for Shines. Auditions will be held at the start of Week 4 this term. If you can sing, dance, perform or play an instrument we would love to see you try out and compete on our UCA Stage. It’s always a fantastic night with students and staff competing for the overall prize and trophy.

The SLC, consisting of both junior and senior school captains, SRC and House Captains meet every Tuesday in C8 First Break. Although it is a meeting for leaders we encourage other students interested in attending meetings if they are interested or wish to apply for leadership roles in the future.

Regards
Ms. Leanne Ross
SLC Coordinator

From the Interact Club.

Our school’s Interact group has had a very busy start to the year. Our membership numbers continue to increase each year, as does our partnership with Emerald Rotary. Several members went on a leadership camp in Term 1, and we learnt how lucky we are as an Interact group to have such a close relationship with our sponsor clubs. Unlike many other Interact groups in the region, we have two fantastic sponsor clubs who help us. Sunrise lets us use their club house for our movie marathons and we work closely with Emerald and their various community events.

This Easter we were asked to man the gates and clean up after the Rodeo. It’s fantastic to work so closely with the community and one heck of a learning curve as each year the numbers attending seem to increase. We’ve got the job again in July, but we hope this time that someone won’t steal the cans before we get a chance to collect them.

This term we have a car wash coming up in Week 8 to raise money for a local charity. We hold two car washes a year at the school’s bus stop and run a BBQ at the same time while people wait for their cars to be finished. We’re also discussing getting involved in an international project this year – embracing Interact’s motto of “Service Above Self”.

Meetings are held every odd week on Wednesdays during First Break in C8. We’re trying something different this term by playing Heads and Tails at the end of the meetings with the winner receiving a prize from the tuckshop. All students are invited to join.

Regards
Ms. Leanne Ross
Club Coordinator

From the Positive Behaviour for Learning Team

At Emerald State High School we are:

• Polite,
• Prepared, and we
• Participate.

Behaviour Focus

Our current behaviour focus is “Be Polite: Use language that is not hurtful or offensive.”