21 June 2017

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Welcome to this fortnight’s newsletter. Well this is the last newsletter for the term, and I hope our students have a well-deserved rest over the winter break. By the time you read this, our Athletics carnival will be completed and our reporting period will have begun. This is an intense time for all our teachers to “burn the midnight oil” and meet reporting deadlines. At the same time, they are commencing new work for the coming term. It is always a time I signal to students to “look out for their mates” that is if you see a friend doing something really stupid, jump in and rescue them from making a foolish decision. I know, when you are tired, and overloaded after an intense term, it is easy to have a “brain explosion”.

I can say I am really proud of how our students have behaved in public and they have impressed me with our term focus of being polite. I promise you, I really enjoy wandering the grounds and talking with them. Sure I might have to spell out some rules, but wow, our students have great stories to tell about themselves and their achievements. You should be proud of them.

Upcoming dates

• 21st June – Athletics Carnival
• 22nd June – Religious Education
• 23rd June – Last day of term 2
• 10th July – Term 3 commences

Special Mentions:

• Congratulations to four students: Britney Smith, Heloise Fouche, Keith Wells and Teisaki Lohia who have been selected to attend a fully funded Spark Engineering Camp at University of Queensland (St Lucia Campus Brisbane) over the winter break. Well done students!
• Congratulations to Jett Williams and Eduan Ruthven who have both been selected to represent Capricornia School Sport in the State championships. Well done lads!
• Congratulations to Mrs Wilson, she is a genuine “hero” who inspires me and many of her students.
• Thank you to Ms Wilcox and Mrs Weatherley who don’t get enough sleep but offer great opportunities to our kids. They have been busy making a huge difference for our students.
• Congratulations to Mrs Shelton, Mrs Galea and Mrs Ross for putting together our show display.

“A good vacation is over when you begin to yearn for your work.” Morris Fishbein

Queenslander!!!

Ray Clarke
Principal

From the Deputy Principal – Middle School

Congratulations one and all for a fantastic and super busy term. This term our students have been involved in an amazing range of activities. Some of them that come to mind are:

• ANZAC Day with an outstanding number of students representing the school.
• Readers Cup with a team of Junior Students representing the school (See Readers Cup below).
• Our Year 10s participating in another round of work experience with the majority of our students representing the school with pride. A massive thank you to all of the business that continue to support our school by hosting these students.
• The Emerald Show where many of our students demonstrated their unique talents. Some of the students I had the pleasure of seeing were:
      - Alex Dangerfield with his award winning ANZAC Biscuits
      - Tiarna King and Connor Mathies performing music numbers.
• Year 12 Geography Camp who went to Brisbane and among other things looked into sea turtle rescue.
• The ever popular Biology Camp at Great Keppel where students studied the corals and sea life.
• The Arts Camp which exposed our students to a range of professional performances and opened their mind to the possibilities of studies and careers in this field.

It has been an amazing term extra curricula wise and we still have the Athletic Carnival that is taking place Wednesday this week.

It has not only been a frenetic term extra curricula wise, all of our students have been rigorously engaged in their studies. All our students have persevered through the stress of exams and assignments and made it to the end of the term. I hope that when students and parents receive the report card this week, these will be emailed Friday, they will feel the results are representative of the effort the students have put in.

Last week our students of the week were Harlan Corbett and Phoenix Albert.

This term the staff at Emerald State High School have been refining our definitions of behaviours that we will work together to reduce their impact on learning. We would appreciate any feedback into the behaviour matrix bellow so that we can take it to the next Parent and Citizen meeting on 18th July, 2017 as an improvement on our current behaviour management plan.

Have a happy and safe holidays.

Brendan Shannon
Deputy Principal – Middle School

From the Head of Department – Health & Physical Education &Languages Other Than English

Athletics Day

It’s time to dig out the colours and costumes again and warm up the cheering voices for week 10 Wednesday’s Athletics Carnival. Students are encouraged to wear their house colours on the day and give all the events ago. There will be novelty events running as well as both track and field events. There will be a BBQ running on the day so the tuckshop will be closed.

Girls Rugby League

Congratulations to the 45 girls who went to Rockhampton to complete in a round robin competition against Rockhampton, Mackay and Gladstone. The year 9,10 team and the 11,12 teams both made it to the finals but unfortunately were beaten. The year 7,8 team went down in their last round and were knocked out of the finals. Congratulations to all the girls for the massive effort they put in.

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it - then I can achieve it.”

Japanese

Year 7

This term the students have been working hard on learning their self-introductions and learning about animals and colours. The student will be presenting their self-introductions in class this week. They will then have the opportunity to partake in some cultural activities for the last week.

Year 8

Students have been learning about daily routine and have looked at the differences between an Australian teenager’s day and a Japanese teenager’s day. The students have learnt to explain what their day looks like using different days, times and actives in Japanese.

Bek Comollatti
Head of Department: HPE/LOTE

From the Head of Department – Science

Curriculum News

The grade 7s are currently working on their biological control assignment poster. They will finish this term studying the impacts on ecosystems. The grade 8 students are doing their energy efficiency exam this week while in year 9 the students are working on their volcanoes assessment. In the senior school, both the grade 11 and 12 Science in Practice students are working on their assessments on food webs and adaptions of both plants and animals. The year 11 Biology students are currently completing their scientific reports with annotated bibliography while the year 12s are finalising their reports on biodiversity and water quality. In Physics the year 11s are compiling their extended response tasks on bridge physics while the students in grade 12 Physics and Chemistry classes are in the process of submitting their final scientific reports on their own choice extended experimental investigations.

Volcano practical

Field Trips

During this term, the grade 12 Biology students went to the North Keppel island to study water quality of the reef, and how impacts from the catchment areas can be managed to reduce their effects on the reef.

Biology Camp

The year 11 Science in Practice students went for an excursion to the Fairbairn Dam to collect samples of water containing macro-invertebrates. They used probes to test the quality of the water they collected, in particular, for the dissolved oxygen and nitrogen contents. The students used the classification guides to identify the different types of macro-invertebrates found. During term 3, the year 9 Robotics and Coding students will take part in CQ Junior Robotics Competition which will be held at the Central Queensland University Rockhampton Campus. The QMEA Energy for the Future day will be held at Blackwater State High School in August.

Spark Engineering Camp

Four students (Britney Smith, Heloise Fouche, Keith Wells and Teisaki Lohia) have been selected to attend a fully funded Spark Engineering Camp at University of Queensland (St Lucia Campus Brisbane) from the 3rd to the 8th of July. This camp is based around engineering and structures. Throughout the week students will attend lectures, take part in hands-on practicals, and socialise, similar to a university student. Some of the most popular activities include the Story Bridge Climb, keynote speeches from prominent engineers, the disco, and the powering cities workshop.

Aneel Dewan
Head of Department: Science

From the Head of Department – Arts

Term 2 has been nothing short of eventful for the Arts Department. We kicked the term off with our Arts Camp, which as you saw in previous newsletters, was a huge success. After finalising all of our costings, students have the opportunity to claim a reimbursement of $25. Students will need to collect a form from me in G003, complete it, and return it to the office.

Our Pie Drive fundraiser this term was a huge winner, especially since we are coming in to the cooler months. Our students sold a total of 200 pies. Our top merchants were Corey Strike who sold 41 pies, Dani Challacombe who sold 33, and Caitlyn Plumb who sold 29 – well done! Thanks to all of the families who supported this event. We raised a total of $400. We look forward to using this money to subsidise future excursions and activities.

Our bi-annual musical is coming around quickly. We are excited to announce that Battle of the Bands tickets are now on sale at the front office as well as through Emerald Office Supplies. We are moving in to our polishing stages of preparation with a full weekend rehearsal last weekend and another one on the last weekend of holidays. Please refer to the schedule below around rehearsal times and places as we are leading up to show week.

From the Head of Year – Year 10

Our term is almost at an end as all assessment has been completed and teachers are finishing up reports. Students will be receiving their report cards at the end of week 10. On Wednesday in week 10 our sports carnival will be held with our juniors having practicing their events over the period of the term. Year 10s have been on work experience again during week 9 and the school has received lots of positive feedback about students. It’s great to see students working hard in work place environments preparing them for the ‘real world’.

PBL Focus – Polite

We have been focussing on being polite and complying with teacher’s instructions and the expectations of our school. In both Wellbeing and Workplace practices classes students have been gaining insight into what it’s like to follow instructions promptly. Teaching students explicitly about our school’s expectations will give them a better idea of standards they need to comply with.

Uniform

As term 3 starts the weather will cool down, I would just like to remind students and their families about our correct Uniform Policy (which can be found on our website or in the student diary). Emerald State High School Jackets OR plain black jumpers are to be worn. School jackets can be purchased from the Tuckshop during the hours of 10:30am – 1:00pm on Monday to Friday. Another reminder that only plain black jumpers are to be worn with no slogans, logos, patterns and prints and no hoods. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation as it is not only a means to ensure our students look good, but also a security precaution.

If for whatever reason, your child is unable to wear the correct uniform (shorts, shirts or jacket), they are expected to bring a signed note from home explaining the reason. If a child does not supply this note, they may be asked to go to the Deputy Principal to discuss the matter further.

Blue Notes & Attendance

Our expectation of our students is that they will have an attendance rate of 91%, although we do understand that this is not always possible due to medical, family, sporting etc. If your child is unable to attend school, please contact the school to inform us of the absence. If your child will be missing a considerable amount of school, please contact either your Head of Year or child’s teachers to collect any work that they may miss. If your child receives a blue note (which has identified the days your child has been away), please return it to the school as a matter of urgency. This is particularly important as unexplained absences will be displayed on report cards which could affect students further down the track. I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing all the students refreshed for term 3.

Adam Heath
Head of Year 10

Health & Physical Education News

This term in HPE, our junior school students are participating in a range of sports. The year 7 students are enjoying playing kicking games, for example AFL and Soccer. Most students are thoroughly enjoying these high intensity activities. The year 8 students are participating in invasion games which include touch football and Endball. The year 9 students are playing bat and ball games. Our year 10 students are enhancing their skills in touch football, and the year 11 and 12 students are enjoying improving movement patterns and gameplay strategies in the sport of Netball. As part of our wellbeing program junior students are also developing their skills in athletic events in the lead up to our athletics carnival. The events include; discus, high jump, shot put, 1500m running, javelin and sprinting events.

For their theoretical component this term, the students in junior secondary are completing an assessment on making good decisions about drugs (year 7), a brochure/flyer for adolescent changes and transitions (year 8), and a research project on promoting health for body systems, for example the respiratory system (year 9). This is accompanied by our wellbeing and our positive behaviour for learning units which aim to prepare students for the challenges they face during adolescence and encourage behaviour that promotes a positive learning environment for all. The senior students are learning about Figueroa’s Framework and how various barriers affect access and equity towards participation in sport, particularly Netball in the CQ Region.

A reminder, our athletics carnival is fast approaching (Wednesday week 10) and we are very excited to see the students perform and enjoy themselves throughout the day. As the term draws to a close, it is imperative that students continue working hard to achieve the best they can. John Dewey once said “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself”.

Industrial Design & Technology News

With recent changes to programs, there has been a lot of progress and change made in the ITD department. You will find that all students will have more theoretical/written work to go along with their practical work. This includes more designing and testing for the junior students, and more planning, logging of work and evaluating activities for the senior students. This is being phased in more as the year progresses as a lot of the work is new ground for some classes. Ultimately, it will lead to students having a better understanding of the processes that lead up to the products they make and hopefully give them a greater understanding of what goes into making the objects around us.

In engineering, the Year 12s are still continuing work on their major assessment item for the year and will start the final welding and assembly stages soon. It is a pleasure to see them striving to make a product of a high quality that they will keep for many years after they graduate. The Year 11s are working their way through the Blue Dog training course that we have started delivering this year. It is a predominately digitally delivered course, except for the practical aspects which are all photographed and uploaded online, giving students a nice digital folio of work on completion of year 12.

The Year 11 and 12 furnishing students are just completing their dartboard cabinets and directors’ chairs. The 11s have been taking advantage of our new CNC milling machine and the results are looking spectacular.

The Year 7s and 8s have had a busy term missing days due to public holidays however many have come and caught up during lunch breaks to ensure their work is completed and to a high standard.

The Year 9 Human Powered Vehicle students have been working hard as well, doing a lot of fundraising for their end goal of getting two Human Powered Vehicles into the Maryborough Tech challenge this year.

On a final note, we would like to remind parents that students will not be able to bring home any of their completed projects unless course fees are paid or they have gone onto a payment plan with the school.

Learning Support News

It has been a busy semester in the Learning Support Department, with all staff working with the classroom teachers ensuring that the needs of all our students from years 7 to 12, including our Individual Curriculum Plan (ICP) and English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) students, are being catered for in their classroom learning and assessment.

Specifically, the year 7 to 10 students on an ICP for Mathematics and/or English, are provided with support for their learning and assessment such as modified class work and assessment, small group work, extra time for planning and exams, and teacher aide help. Their ICP will carry over into Semester 2 as it continues to be monitored and reviewed throughout the year through consultation with their classroom teacher about their learning and assessment progress.

For year 7 and year 9 students that are in the upper two bands of NAPLAN, we have continued working on improving their writing skills by providing intensive literacy support lessons. Term 2 had a persuasive writing focus. We are looking at providing this support to year 8 students for Semester 2.

Students in years 7, 8 and 9 in the Extreme Literacy classes have been participating in the SRA Corrective Reading Program this term. This program has had success in a number of high schools within Central Queensland and we are excited to see the benefits this will have for our students. There are two strands to the program, Decoding and Comprehension, and they are covered in 4 different student levels. The strands address important reading components such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. The 4 levels cater for students from a year 3 to year 12 standard and our students have been grouped in their classes according to their tested level. Students who have problems with reading may exhibit some of these signs:

• May read words correctly in word lists but makes mistakes in reading connected sentences;
• May add or omit words when reading;
• May get confused when reading high-frequency words such as ‘what, that, of, and, the, for’ in a sentence context;
• May read a synonym for a word eg. saying pretty instead of beautiful; and
• May confuse words with similar spelling eg. stuck, struck, stared, starred.

The Corrective Reading Program aims to teach students effective reading skills with continual practice in oral reading to recognise and pronounce words, reading words in connected sentences and passages, and reading to improve fluency and comprehension. We look forward to seeing the progress of our students throughout the year.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s support needs please do not hesitate to contact the Learning Support Department 

Library News

ICAS

The English & Mathematics ICAS competitions are coming up. Each competition assesses students’ knowledge across a range of topics within the subject. They were multiple choice and only take 1 lesson. They are considered extra-curricular activities and students will receive a certificate for their participation. If students would like to do one or both, they need to see Mrs Galea for a letter in the library this week.

Readers Cup

On June 8th, 7 Emerald State High School students formed 2 teams to participate in the Year 7 & 8 Capricornia Readers Cup. They travelled to Blackwater State High School along with 13 other teams of Year 7 & 8 students from 8 other schools, from Blackwater, Rockhampton, Yeppoon, Gladstone, Tannum Sands and Biloela, to answer questions in a trivia-night format about 5 books that they'd been set to read. Since March 31st, students have been working as teams to read through the 5 books, which covered a range of genres & styles with both male and female protagonists. It was a closely contested event, with 1 point separating the winning team, The Cathedral College, and the runner up. However, all students enjoyed reading and participating, which is the real focus of this event.

Uniforms

Research request

Managing Type 1 Diabetes in Children: A Parenting Perspective

Being a parent of a child with type 1 diabetes can be extremely stressful. The University of Queensland is seeking parents of children with type 1 diabetes to take part in a research study that will explore factors that could help or hinder parents in managing their child’s diabetes. If you are a parent of a 2- to 10-year-old child with type 1 diabetes, we would love to hear from you! By sharing your experiences (confidentially) you will help us identify better ways for health care professionals to support parents and families. To complete the online survey, please go to the link below. For further information about the project or to request a survey to be posted to you, please email Jade Grambower at j.grambower@uq.net.au or call Dr Amy Mitchell at the Parenting and Family Support Centre at The University of Queensland on (07) 3346 1202. Thank-you!

Community Events

Through the Student Representative Council, our school supports Our Rainbow House.