16 February 2017

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Welcome to our second newsletter for 2017. Already much has occurred in the first few weeks. Our Swimming carnival went off very well and special congratulations to Mr Currington, Ms Comallatti and the HPE staff for all the work they put in to prepare and clean up. Tuesday last week we also held our senior leader induction with a strong parent turn-up and a special thanks to our Mayor Kerrie Hayes for presenting our leaders. Thank you so much to the catering students led by Mrs Carter for supplying a wonderful morning tea.

Our student assessment calendars were published this week and our junior school students commenced setting their goals. School photos have also been completed and so we are right into the academic achievement component of the year with the first rounds of assessment coming up in the next few weeks.

Coming Up Soon

• P&C this Tuesday at 5.30 pm
• Year 8 Camp at Kinchant Dam 20-24th February.
• Central Highlands sports trails continue for the next month

Special Mentions

• A genuine congratulations to all the students who have gained selection in the Central Highlands sports teams from boys and girls Rugby Union, league to netball, basketball and others. As requested a special mention also to Matt, Josh and Nick who won selection in U/18 CH Rugby.
• Thank you to the student council for being so active in the first month of the year. Well done!
• Special thank you to our tuckshop ladies, Melinda, Claudine and Cathy. They are a genuine gift to our school.
• Congratulations to former student, Mandi Edwards, who won the ABC’s Heywire competition for Emerald and attended the Heywire Regional Youth Summit in Canberra.

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” – Les Brown

Have a great weekend,

Ray Clarke
Principal

From the Head of Department – English

Welcome to the 2017 schooling year. I hope you all had a festive and enjoyable Christmas. It has been great to see so many new students this year throughout all cohorts. I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new families as well as the new staff who have joined our English faculty this year.

Mr Graham Frandrich and Mr Peter Sanson will be teaching in our junior and senior classes throughout this year. If you get a chance to meet either of these gentlemen then you will see how enthusiastic and passionate they are about their teaching and the welfare of their students.

At ESHS we are committed to providing the best learning opportunities for all students. This year we are able to provide our students with a number of new and exciting opportunities to assist them with consolidating concepts or extending their learning.

In 2017, we are able to provide an avenue to extend student learning with the introduction of two Year 10 Board English classes, catering for those students who are wanting to pursue an academic pathway. Year 10 English Essentials classes have also been created to support those students who are focussed on pursuing a work pathway. This subject allows for the revision of fundamental literacy concepts and skills, while preparing them for the workforce.

In Year 11 we have established a new support program called Literacy for Life. This program provides hands on, real life literacy based content and skills. Students will be aware of how important literacy is in everyday life. Students will learn how to read and complete essential forms such as voting forms, drivers licence applications, tax file applications, and write cover letters and resumes.

Term One Overview

Year 12 English Communication students attended an excursion to Fairbairn Dam and participated in team building activities. This excursion was fully funded by our English Department as the excursion will assist them in completing their assessment task. A big thank you to those staff who organised and attended this excursion. Year 12 English students are currently reading their novel The Book Thief in preparation for constructing a novel intervention. Students are analysing characters, scenes and elements on history which relate to this particular point in history as well as following the characters through their own personal triumphs and tribulations. Year 11 English Communication classes are currently looking at various health issues confronting teenagers. Students are constructing multi-modal presentations which will serve as a community activism project to make the community more aware of their chosen issue. They have just recently been reading and discussing issues surrounding animal rights. Year 11 English classes are reading the novel Jasper Jones in preparation for writing an intervention. Students have been examining how events in history may affect the characters. For example: Vietnam War and the White Australia Policy.

In Junior Secondary English, years 7, 8 and 9 are focussing on narrative writing, within the contexts of Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction respectively. Students are enjoying deconstructing the elements of stories; looking at plot, character, conflict, theme and exploring what it takes to create imaginative, exciting and enthralling pieces of writing. If you would like to support your student to achieve at their potential, encourage them to read at home. This will help build not only their vocabulary and improve their spelling, but also exposes them to a variety of sentence structures, ideas and different styles of writing. Year 7 and 8 students in Extreme Literacy have been doing individual assessments and testing in preparation for the commencement of the Corrective Reading Program. This program is designed to target reading skills and provide strategies to those students who struggle to read and will be delivered during Extreme Literacy classes.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Until next time,
Terri Weatherley
Head of Department - English

From the Head of Department – Mathematics

Welcome to the 2017 schooling year. For those of you who I have yet to have the pleasure to meet, my name is Nahroon Nazim and I am the Head of Department for Mathematics.

My approach is to work collaboratively with all teachers and students to provide the best learning opportunities and translate them into meaningful outcomes. As a department we have already planned ahead, namely creating units of work, assessments, and year plans. We are now looking into data to discuss best ways to differentiate learning. This will enable more tailored learning experiences for our students.

We welcome our new teachers to the Maths Department and continue to value the contributions made by our more experienced staff. Together they are an enthusiastic group looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

Curriculum News

The year 7-9 cohorts have been going through PAT Testing. This is a diagnostic test. The results provide valuable information to the teachers and students about our strengths and weaknesses. These then help us to create those targeted learning goals for our students.

For the first time, our year 10 Maths has been split up into four different Maths classes. These are Essential Maths, General Maths, Maths Methods and Specialist Maths. This proactive approach will ensure easy transition for our students when we get into the new syllabus. This new syllabus will be implemented by the education department in the near future. We are already beginning to see the benefits of this split via the increased engagement of students with the syllabus.

Our year 11 students are beginning to get a feel for their chosen subjects. We have processed only a handful of change of classes as most students have settled in well.

The year 12’s have a big year ahead. They are already getting busy with study and those assignments that are almost due! We wish them the very best for this year.

I am looking forward to a challenging and productive term. If there are any concerns please do not hesitate to contact me. I am available for contact via the school phone or alternatively send me an email at nnazi1@eq.edu.au.

Regards,
Nahroon Nazim
Head of Department – Mathematics

From the Head of Year – Year 7

The Year 7 students are off to a great start at Emerald State High School. At a recent whole school parade event Year 7 students beat all the other grades in a war cry of our 3 Ps: polite, prepared, participate. Their teachers have also confirmed that Year 7 students are capably demonstrating this behaviour in the classroom. Their exemplary behaviour was also evident at the swimming carnival where many year 7 students participated and supported their sporting houses.

A few reminders to parents:

• Students were recently given an immunisation consent form, which must be returned to the school as soon as possible. Any questions parents may have regarding the immunisation should be directed to our school health nurse, Josie Bridgeman.
• Last year a note went home to parents regarding the year 7 camp which will be held in week 10 of term 1. Letters will be sent to parents closer to that time outlining payment requirements and deadlines for that camp.

Please feel free to contact me at the school if there are any issues regarding your child that I can assist with.

Regards,
Mia Gibson
Head of Year 7

From the Head of Year – Year 12

The Year 12 student leaders were formally inducted last Tuesday at our whole school formal assembly. I would like to congratulate all our Year 12s who have taken on a leadership position this year. The list of our school leaders are below:

SENIOR SCHOOL CAPTAINS: Courtney Moana & Jacob Firth
SENIOR SCHOOL VICE CAPTAINS: Katie Tebbatt & Alexander Parker

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL EXECUTIVES:

PRESIDENT: Britney-Jayne Smith
VICE PRESIDENT: Abbi Ryan
SECRETARY: Dinah Tu’ihalangingie
TREASURER: Heloise Fouche
PUBLICITY OFFICERS: Alex Cavanagh and Hayley Pike
JUNIOR SCHOOL CAPTAINS: Dani Challacombe & Alexander (Eddie) Cunning
JUNIOR SCHOOL VICE CAPTAINS: Shara Van Hees & Tyla Whittaker

SENIOR LEADERS: Mackenzie Bean, Chaente’ de Lange, Jessica Donnelly, Maddie Edmonds, Chloe Kelly, Theo Lalieux, Isabella Lee, Jandre Raubenheimer, Leigh Robinson, Alex Wade, Georgia Weatherley, Keith Wells.
JUNIOR LEADERS: Eli Cabrera & Grace Taylor

SENIOR HOUSE CAPTAINS:

JUNIOR HOUSE SUPPORT LEADERS: Holly McLean, Bianca Rapp & Chelsea Rolfe
SENIOR INDIGENOUS LEADER: Nebraska Poke

The Student Council is busily preparing their first official fundraiser of the year by selling chocolates, roses and a love song for Valentine’s Day. The proceeds from their first fundraiser will go to The Heart Foundation.

Students also received a comprehensive outline of their senior assessment schedule on Monday; this should also be accessible via the schools homepage. It is hoped this will allow our students to develop a good study routine and be able to effectively manage their time to complete their assessment. It is imperative that students who are unable to hand in assessment on due dates due to illness or any other reason follow the school’s assessment policy to ensure equity for all students. This means seeking extensions when necessary and providing appropriate supporting documentation such as a medical certificate.

Many of our students received their senior jerseys last week and they look great. These can be worn as a part of their normal school uniform. Students will also be able to purchase a senior jersey if they did not do so last year or wish to purchase another. All payments must be received no later than week 6 of this term. We will not order a jersey if payment has not be received up front. All payments are to be made to the front office.

As a part of our year 12 calendar, students will have their senior formal on the 15th of November. Please note this is a celebration for students and their parents. Emerald State High School has a closed formal meaning no outside students are invited to our formal proceedings. Students are also expected to meet attendance requirements of 92% to be eligible to attend the formal. Formal and senior jerseys are a reward and recognition for the hard work that students have put in throughout the year, so please ensure your child is attending each and every day as this assist them to get the best possible outcome academically.

Regards
Kaz Van Hees
Head of Year 12

Arts News

The Arts department is in full swing with rehearsals for our musical “Battle of the Bands” in term two. We are encouraging parents to get involved any way they can. An Arts camp is also on the agenda with further dates to be announced soon. In week 9 we will have a “Music on the Green” event which will be a lovely cultural event for our students to get involved with and perform for our community.

Our senior Art students are working hard on their respective assessment pieces. The Visual Arts students are working on “Sense of Place and Memory” and the Visual Arts in Practice students are making their own puppets in this unit. Here are some photos of students’ sock puppets with many more exciting one’s to be made.

Humanities News

Living History

Recently, the year 9F history class went back in time while studying the history of Australia. Students were able to wash their clothes using authentic equipment, wore convict pants while looking at convict bricks and playing with a replica whip.

From the Guidance Officer

Resilience

For people, the ability to be able to adapt and bounce back from difficult experiences and changes is generally regarded as resilience. It is a trait that most of us are generally able to demonstrate. Adolescence is a time that can be overwhelming and stressful with lots of difficulties being encountered for the first time. If we are looking to support our teenagers build resilience, varying strategies are needed as individuals respond differently to stressful life events and situations. The following information from the Australian online youth mental health service ReachOut.com focuses on positive coping skills to maintain long-term well-being or resilience.

Teenagers who are resilient have:

• emotional awareness and the ability to regulate their emotions - Resilient people are comfortable with their emotions and express them appropriately. Although they may sometimes feel scared or sad, they don’t get stuck in feeling that way or allow those emotions to stop them coping with a situation and moving on from it.
• control over their impulses - Impulse control can be learned through the following four-step process: 1. Stop and think (delay your response). 2. Take deep breaths. 3. Before you say anything, think of three possible responses. Choose the most constructive response. 4. Respond.
• an optimistic mindset - Learning how to be optimistic can help protect against depression and anxiety. It’s about knowing that life can be difficult and that you will encounter challenges, but feeling confident that you’ll be able to cope with whatever comes your way.
• flexible and accurate thinking - Being resilient is about being flexible. Being able to see a situation from different perspectives and to check if what we’re thinking is in fact correct helps us to build resilience. Flexible and accurate thinking allows you to come up with alternative solutions to a problem and is a vital aspect of being resilient.
• empathy towards others - Empathy is the ability to recognise another person’s feelings and to respond accordingly and respectfully. It helps develop positive relationships with others. You are helping your child to develop empathy when you say things like, ‘How would you feel if…?’
• believe that they can achieve things – The psychologist Albert Bandura defined the term self-efficacy as a person’s belief in succeeding in situations or accomplishing specific tasks. To develop self-efficacy parents can ask teenagers about tasks that were completed well and how the teenager felt.
• willingness to seek help and support – Encouraging teenagers to ask for help and seek support when times are tough will develop resiliency.

Resiliency can be taught by practising positive coping skills resulting in benefits for all. For more details see “Teach your teenager to be resilient” via the link below:

Sports News

Swimming Carnival

ESHS held their swimming carnival on the 3rd of February this year with all students attending having a great day not only in the water but also participating in games of volleyball and cricket. It was great to see so many students getting involved in the competitive races but the day was won through points earned from participation in the house crawl. After a few years at the top Topaz has slumped to 4th this year with Sapphire in 3rd, Zircon came a close 2nd with Garnett managing to claim 1st position by only 30 points. Age Champions for boys and girls were:

U12 – Jade Morgan & Jett Williams
U13 – Sophie McKenzie & Harlan Corbett
U14 – Arni Barnes & Eduan Ruthven
U15 – Gabby Firth & Clay Catip
U16 – Brooklyn Schulz & Lleyton Cave
U17/U18 – Fiona Stevens & Jacob Firth

CH Sport

Congratulations to all those students who have participated in CH sport trials so far this year. We have had great feedback from coaches that our students have been very competitive and displaying great sportsmanship and this is evident in the number of students getting selected to represent our school in CH teams at the Capricornia trials. There are still a number of sports with CH trials coming up over the next six months so it would be great to see our school’s level of representation continue to grow.

Instrumental Music News

The Instrumental Music department is in full swing, with a busy start to the year. We have welcomed over 20 new students to the program. Many new students are learning instruments for the first time and are keen and enthusiastic.

The Symphonic Band had its first performance at the Senior Leader Induction Day. The students played well considering we only had one rehearsal before this performance.

The Symphonic Band has welcomed 10 new members. I am very encouraged by the dedication and enthusiasm of all of the new students, and hope they all have a fun and rewarding time as being members of the music program.

We have a number of students accepted to attend the regional ‘State Honours Ensemble Program’ (SHEP) to be held at Rockhampton in March. I congratulate these students on their achievement in being accepted into the program. I know they will learn plenty at this exceptional program.

There are still vacancies available for any student who would like to learn an instrument. Please come and see Mrs Jones in K Block on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

Being in the band is great fun and has many benefits. Believe it or not it is a proven fact that music helps in all other school areas.

“Remember you don’t have to be smart to learn an instrument but you will be smarter if you do.” Joneda……(famous conductor)

Dana Jones
Senior Instrumental Music Teacher/Band Director

Study Club News

Study club is back again this year on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3-4pm in the Library. We are fortunate at ESHS to have so many dedicated and enthusiastic staff who volunteer their time to help our students with their studies. Students are encouraged to come along and get some free help and tutoring from their teachers. We look forward to another year of hard work and great results.

From the Library

Library Lovers Day

February 14th may be best known as Valentine’s Day, but it’s also Library Lovers Day. Students and staff members took the opportunity to record their love of libraries on post-it notes with the title of a book that they’ve enjoyed. They were also rewarded for borrowing from the library by receiving a bookmark.

Student Representative Council News

Waitangi Day

The SRC recognised Waitangi Day last week with a game of inflatable soccer. New Zealand students challenged the Australian year 11 and 12 students with a game that ended in a draw with neither team able to score.

School Fee Payments

The school office now has access to Centrepay online. If you are interested in having your school fees deducted directly from your Centrelink payments, collect a form from the office.

Sport Sign-ons

Community Events

Positions Vacant

Emerald PCYC are seeking 2 x Casual Branch Support Officers 2-15 hours/week. Hours are evenings only primarily after 5pm and the successful applicants must have a Drivers licence. Applications can only be accepted online by following the link available on the Emerald PCYC Facebook page.