Emerald State High School
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Old Airport Drive, P.O. Box 419
Emerald QLD 4720
Subscribe: https://emeraldshs.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: the.principal@emeraldshs.eq.edu.au
Phone: 07 4988 2222
Fax: 07 4988 2200

8 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Welcome to this fortnight’s newsletter. Well we are into the heart of the year, the term where our Year 12s work as hard as they ever will and all the other year levels have a clear job to do to achieve at the highest level they can at this point in time. Last fortnight our intrepid seniors returned from their study tour of the universities in what was a fantastic and worthwhile trip. Last week we celebrate NAIDOC week with a special assembly on Monday and our Elders Luncheon on Tuesday with Indigenous games throughout the week.

Our amphitheatre will soon be finished and they have almost finished installing the new sound system and projector in the school hall. The best news is that our J Block toilets will soon be refurbished, and we have commenced developing plans for long term upgrades of the toilets across the school.

Special Mentions

  • Congratulations to Brady O’Connor for People’s Choice Award and Mikaela Long for getting a highly commended in the Youth Section in this year’s Emerald Art Awards. Well done!
  • A huge thank you for The Irish Village for providing a free bus for the Emerald State High School netball team to travel to Rockhampton to compete in the Vicki Wilson Netball competition and Mr Geoffrey Eri for volunteering to drive the team.
  • Special thank you to Mr Van Hees for commencing the transition visits to our primary schools.
  • Special thank you to Mrs Paton, Ms Aubry, Mrs McKeon and Mr Grierson for helping to run the Indigenous Elder’s lunch.

Parent/Carer School Opinion Survey 2018

All families from year 7 to year 12 are invited to have a say about what Emerald State High School does well and how we can improve. The Parent/Caregiver Survey form with your online access codes were sent home last week with the eldest student of your family. Your responses are completely CONFIDENTIAL. The Online Survey opens Monday 30st July and Closes Friday 24th August. If you do not have online access at home, you are most welcome to complete the survey on an Emerald Staet High School school computer. Survey queries, requests for translations and requests for access to school computers can be directed to Gai Van Hees on 4988 2222.

2018 Next Step – Early School Leavers survey

The Queensland Government is conducting its annual statewide survey of Year 10, 11 and 12 students who left school in 2017 without obtaining Year 12 certification. The Early School Leavers survey is a short, confidential survey that collects information about what young people are doing the year after leaving school. Between August and September, students who left school early in 2017 can expect to receive an invitation to complete a web-based survey or a telephone call from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office to complete the survey. Please encourage them to take part. For more information, visit the link below or telephone toll free on 1800068587.

http://www.qld.gov.au/nextstep/

Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another”.Erma Bombeck

Have a safe weekend,
Ray Clarke
Principal

From the Senior School Deputy Principal

QCE (Queensland Certificate of Education) – Is your child on track to receive a QCE?

At the end of last term students received a semester report card. The report card provides information to inform the school and parents if a child is on track for to achieve a QCE. For students to receive a QCE students must meet the following four conditions:

  1. Literacy – students must pass a semester of English subject (either English or English Communication);
  2. Numeracy – students must pass a semester of a Maths subject (Maths A, B or C or Prevocational Maths);
  3. 20 credits – students accumulate credits by banking 1 credit per subject each semester where a “C” grade or better is awarded; and
  4. Core Credits – 12 of the 20 credits must come from 3 subjects studied continuously (throughout year 11 and year 12).

For parents of students in the senior school you can assess your child’s eligibility by looking at the report card and checking:

  • have they passed their Maths and English subject (C or better) and
  • have they passed 5 of their 6 subjects (5 subjects x 4 semesters = 20 credits)?

If you have answered no to any of these then your child is at risk of not receiving a QCE and it is important that the situation is reviewed. Please contact the school to make a meeting time with me to discuss this situation.

QCS test – How best to support your child through this?

On the 4th and 5th of September our eligible students will sit the Queensland Core Skills (QCS) test. The QCS test is a common state-wide test for year 12 students in Queensland. The test does not test specific subject knowledge. It tests achievement in the 60 Common Curriculum Elements. Students sitting the test will undertake 4 papers over the 2 days. Students aren’t able to study for the exam but they can:

  • become familiar with the CCEs and how achievement in them might be assessed,
  • experiment with various forms or genres of writing to see which are their strongest,
  • develop skills in writing clearly, simply and economically,
  • become aware of how much space 600 words of their handwriting takes up,
  • review concepts such as percentage, ratio, angle, power of ten notation, and elementary algebraic procedures,
  • practise using an approved calculator, and
  • find out the meanings of the key terms used in the testpapers, to help understand the most effective type of response to provide.

The school will support the students during this time by giving the students breakfast on both days and have activities to keep them active during their lunch break. I have attached 3 brochures that may be useful for parents and students.

Year 12 – OP predictions

Mrs Fitzgerald and I have now met with most of our year 12s looking to gain an OP. At the meetings we are reviewing university prerequisites and past OP scores. Students were given their OP prediction within a 3 point range. It was a pleasure to meet with these students to hear what their future plan is and to see what mature adults they are becoming. I loved hearing how beneficial the Aspiring Leaders tour was from those who attended.

If you have any concerns or issues relating to the senior school please contact me at the school.

Tanya Shaw
Deputy Principal – Senior School (Acting)

From the Attendance Officer

CHANGE OF DETAILS FORM

Semester 2 is a great time to check that your Parent Contact Details are accurate. If circumstances have changed such as you have a new email address, moved house, replaced a mobile and so on, please update your contact details via QParent or complete the attached form and return it to the office.

QParents

Registering with Qparents

https://qparents.qld.edu.au/

You can register for QParents only after you have received an invitation email or letter from your child's school, containing your unique invitation code. You can register only by using a PC with the web version of QParents, not through the QParents app. Once successfully registered, you may then use the QParents App to login and manage your account. You will need to supply an email address (that you check regularly) in order to create a QParents account.

Which devices can I use to access QParents?

You can access QParents through a: smartphone (mobile browser, or users can download the QParents app from the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store), tablet or a personal computer.

Help and contact information

If you require more information about QParents, help with using QParents, or would like to express interest in using QParents, please: check the help page, call 13 QGOV (13 74 68) or use the ‘Give us your feedback’ tab available on all pages of the QParents portal.

Everyday Counts

Education Queensland continues to push Everyday Counts and have asked that schools share the following messages with their parent communities.

It is important that your children attend school every day.Taking a day off because the fish are biting, or you want to go shopping on your birthday, is not an acceptable reason to miss a day of school. If your child is sick you should contact the school as soon as possible with an estimation of how long your child will be away from school. If your family has to travel away for family or cultural reasons, and expect to be away for more than 10 days you will have to apply for an exemption from Compulsory Schooling. Exemptions should be applied for and approved by the Principal of your child’s school BEFORE you travel away. (The school does not have to provide school work for children with an exemption ) It is not acceptable to take your children out of school for holidays. Families should plan their holidays to coincide with school holidays. You can find more information about exemptions at

http://education.qld.gov.au/studentservices/inclusive/exemptions/index.html

Absences

Please try to be specific advising the nature of your child/ren’s absence. If you just tell us that your child “will not be at school today: or “is absent” we will be recording that as a ‘holiday’. If your child is sick or at dentist appointment please say that in the message, so it is not recorded as a holiday.

If your child is late for school

Please be reminded that if your child arrives late for school, they must report to the office to receive a Late Note. Our rolls are marked electronically and if the teacher has already marked the roll, which is done at PC 8:50am in the morning, and you child is not there, they will be marked absent. If this is not corrected via the entry of an approved ‘late note’, you will receive a text message after 10am advising your child is absent.

From the Head of Department – Humanities & Honours

HUMANITIES NEWS

Students in years 7-9 have all rotated their humanities subjects this semester so that by the end of this year all students will have completed both Geography and History.

Our big push at the end of last term across humanities was encouraging students to manage their time and submit drafts to ensure detailed teacher feedback to allow students the best opportunities to produce work of a high standard.

In years 10-12 our senior students have been very busy with some exciting projects including continuing work on the school’s museum which is housed in the school library as part of their Modern History studies.

In Ancient History students have been participating in a mummification project as a part of looking at the funerary practices in Ancient Egypt. It was definitely interesting to see their mummified chickens wrapped in hieroglyphic bandages that were created by the students.

Another exciting development for our humanities students is the opportunity to visit Vietnam as part of a school tour group in September 2019. This is open to all students who study a humanities subject in grade 10-12. It is particularly relevant to our Modern History students who will study Vietnam as their compulsory unit of study in preparation for their external assessment in 2020.

HONOURS NEWS

Our honours program has provided our students in grades 7-12 with some exciting opportunities so far this year. In term one students were involved in a forensics day here at the school.

In other exciting news, this year our previous 7-9 honours students saw their hard work from the 2017 Literary Festival come to fruition with the delivery of our very first published anthology of short stories titled “Imaginings”. Well done to all those students who had their short stories published in this book. These books are for sale at the front office for $10 each.

Our next Literary Festival is on the 8th of August for all our Honours students in grades 7-9. This is a compulsory component of our Honours program and an excellent way to provide an extension opportunity to our students. Notes have gone home for permission to be given for your child’s story to be published in this year’s anthology and we would like these returned to their classroom teacher on or before the 8th of August. All students will also be able to purchase novels on the 8th of August from the authors who will be running workshops with our students.

Regards
Kaz Van Hees
Head of Department – Humanities & Honours (Acting)

From the Head of Department – Vocational Education & Training (VET)

Workplace Practices

For all year 10 students the completion of the Certificate II in Workplace Practices is of high importance. This term is the third and final opportunity for these students to complete work experience and log their hours towards the course’s 80 hour requirement. Students can also log hours completed at their part time job or work experience completed outside school hours. It is important to note that in previous years students have been able to complete these requirements during year 11 and 12. This is NOT the case this year as this training package is no longer available and completion is required before the end of the year. If your student requires help to meet the 80 hour course requirement they should see myself or Ms Wills in the library as a matter of urgency.

Sustainability in action

Home Economics and Hospitality students are putting all they are learning about sustainability into action. Students have begun composting and worm farming in the kitchen gardens. Year 8 Home Economics even turned old T-shirts into carry bags.

Year 11 and 12 Hospitality

Our hospitality programs focus on preparing students for industry. As part of this focus students are expected to participate in catering events as part of their assessment. Upcoming functions for assessment for year 11 and 12 students include:

Year 11 Cert II Hospitality – QCS breakfast catering Tues 4th and Wed 5th September.
Year 12 Cert II Hospitality – Coffee shop function in the School restaurant “Moustachio’s” during week 9 assessment block (parents and guests welcome to come along).
Year 12 Hospitality Practices – Arts Showcase catering Fri 7th September 4pm onwards.

If you require any further information regarding what has been discussed, please do not hesitate to contact me through my email: acart163@eq.edu.au or via phone on 4988 2222.

Kind regards,
Annette Carter
Head of Department – Vocational Education & Training (Acting)

From the Head of Year – 8

A big ‘WOO’ and hello to all year 8 students and of course the whole community at Emerald State High School. For those who might not be aware, my name is Caitlin Ross (formally Royal) and I am Year 8 Manager having taken over the role from Mrs Gibson who is now our acting Head of English. I know that I have big shoes to fill and I am very excited for the year ahead. It is my job as Year Manager to monitor student attendance as well as student welfare. It is my aim and hope to see all Year 8 students, not only attend school daily but to strive to do the best they can in school every day – big or small.

Since taking over the roll at the end of last term students have shown that they are being prepared for school by making sure in that on the cooler days that they are wearing a school jumper or a plain black jumper (no logos or hoods). If your student is out of uniform please make sure you provide them with a note so they can get a pass for the day. If you have any issues or queries around the school uniform policy, there is information provided in the school diaries and on our website.

Most of our students are gearing up for a busy term and I look forward to seeing the many amazing things they will continue to do over the term.

Some key things to look out for this term:

Week 5: CQ pet rescue pet food drive begins.
Week 6: Book week, on the 24th of August there will be a dress up parade in the library
Week 7: Pet themed cupcake day, they will be on sale outside the tuckshop
Week 8: Presentation of collected items and donation to CQ pet rescue. Wellness and wellbeing event in the UCA. Students and staff will have the opportunity to play with pets from CQ pet rescue.
Week 9: ESHS colour run by the P & C and SRC
Week 10: Jeans for Genes day (Last day of term).

Have a great term 3!!
Caitlyn Ross
Head of Year 8

From the Guidance Officer

The following excerpts and adaptations are originally sourced from an article written by Ellen Wallwork that appeared in the UK Edition of the Huff Post on the 11/06/2018.

Gaming Addition

Gaming addiction, also known as gaming disorder, was recognised as a mental health condition by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in January. With games like Fortnite and Minecraft only growing in popularity among teenagers, how can parents know if their child’s gaming has become a problem that needs addressing?

What is gaming disorder?

According to the WHO a person who has gaming disorder will have difficulty controlling their gaming – i.e. they give increasing priority to gaming so that it takes precedence over other interests and daily activities. They will also continue to devote time to playing “despite the occurrence of negative consequences” – such as the impact on school work and friendships. For a gaming disorder diagnosis, the behaviour pattern must be severe and affect a person’s family life, social life, education, work or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months.

How can you tell if your child is addicted to gaming?

A teen developing an interest in gaming is not cause for alarm, as studies suggest that gaming disorder affects only a small proportion of people who engage in digital- or video-gaming activities. However, parents should be vigilant for signs that gaming is becoming a compulsion. “Gaming can be a very positive experience but like most things when it comes to the online world it’s a matter of proportion,” explains Internet Matters ambassador and psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos. “The problem arises when children and teenagers start to neglect other areas of their lives in order to play online games, or when the only way they can relax is by playing games – as over time a child may start to turn to video games as a way of coping with difficult life issues.” Dr Papadopoulos says signs your child is becoming dependent on gaming include:

  1. Talking about their game incessantly, they play for hours on end and get defensive or even angry and aggressive when made to stop.
  2. Daily needs like food and sleep are being disrupted. Physical symptoms might even arise from spending too much time online such as dry or red eyes, soreness in the fingers, back or neck, and complaints of headaches.
  3. They appear preoccupied, depressed or lonely, as some games can be quite isolating.

If you question the fact your teen is spending hours on end playing video games, you are likely to be met with the response, “But everyone else is doing it”. Check the habits of your child’s friends. Somebody who has a tendency to addiction, is likely to carry on when their friends or peers have stopped and they’re more likely to be playing with people they don’t know. Gamers may experience common symptoms of addiction, such as getting a “buzz” from playing and experiencing “withdrawal reactions”, such as feeling agitated, anxious, irritable or angry if they have to stop. However it has not become a gaming disorder if gamers can control their behaviours.

What should you do if you suspect your child has gaming disorder?

Tackle the issue sooner rather than later so that healthy, moderated use of online games may result. To seek professional help, start with your GP and ask for a specialist referral. Although games are rewarding there may be other reasons that gaming develops into an addiction.

Can you prevent a child developing gaming disorder?

Internet Matters offers the following advice to help prevent a child’s interest in gaming become a problem:

  1. Put parameters down when it comes to how long children play screen games and discuss screen time limits together.
  2. Do not allow kids to have tech in their rooms after lights out.
  3. Ensure they have alternative activities whether they be sports or clubs that help them to engage with their peers offline.
  4. Seek the help of a professional counsellor if you still have concerns.

It is really important to establish good habits and boundaries when getting agreement on family screen time before allowing students access to these devices. Start early, the sooner the better.

Arts News

Happy Term 3 – we are halfway through the year and the Arts department have many fun and exciting events coming up. We’re in a busy time for all art students with Eisteddfods, Festival of the Bands and Arts Showcase.

Our year 10, 11 and 12 students would love to perform to an audience so please come and support them on Friday 7th September from 4pm to 6pm. The hospitality students will supply food before and during the event.

The drama students are going to perform the scripted text Snagged, which explores relevant themes and issues. This play text was developed in consultation with young people throughout Central Queensland and appeals significantly to students living in the country.

For the past 9 weeks, the senior music students have been focusing on the unit My Island Home which has been based around concepts of Australian music and how it relates to our land and culture. The music students will be showcasing their musical abilities through performing songs that relate to Australia or by a well-known Australian artist.

The Visual Arts in Practice students just completed their first unit. This unit provided students with the ability to express their own artistic intent in the creation of a vessel in any medium of their choice. The new unit will focus on crafting for the community. This unit offer students a unique opportunity to create a marketable item and present it for sale at our annual showcase event on the 7th of September. Students will be involved in the making of items, set-up of the stall and selling these on the night.

There are loads of exciting events coming further down the track. For example the MUSICAL! Be sure to watch this space for updates.

Computing News

Year 7

A new group of Year 7s have commenced Computing. They are learning to use Kudos software to terraform a landscape and create water features, hills and mountains. They then need to build a course and race their cars around the course.

Year 10

The Year 10 Digital Technologies class developed a magazine cover in Term 1 and developed Project Plans during Term 2 for the development of websites during Term 3. The websites being developed in Term 3 are for the mythical school of Gryffindor State High School. At present only basic links have been included in the websites, however students are encouraged to use their imagination in relation to additional website content for this school of magic.

Year 12

The Year 12s are developing the yearbook. They will be asking teachers and some students for information, funny stories, etc to include in the Year Book.

Sports News

On Tuesday Emerald State High School sent a team to Rockhampton for the Vicki Wilson Netball tournament.

Congratulations to the following students who were successful in qualifying for the Central Highlands Athletics team to compete at the Capricornia trials on 20th and 21st August at Marist College Emerald.

Curtis Bennett

Douglas Bennett

Isabell Bennett

Jacqueline Brady

Daley Catip

Samantha Dudman

Ethan Edwards

Georgia Ellerton

Lacey Flynn

Nicholas Gakowski

Rave Greentree

Paxton Hayes

Ethan James

Mikaela Long

Nat Mackay

Dekoda McGhee

Grace McKay

Brayth Moore

Jade Morgan

Brady O’Connor

Dylan Obst

Clay Reimer

Richard Polt

Cora Potter

Kaden Renwick

Lawson Ryan

Morgan Serek

Amelia Smith

Bella Wass

Patrick Whipp

Jett Williams

Congratulations to Hayden Walsh who was selected in the 10-12 years Boys Central Highlands Cricket team to compete at the Capricornia Trials in Rockhampton on 9-11 September.

Instrumental Music News

Our students are continuing to work well and had a very busy and successful term 2.

Major activities for term 2 were:

Band Camp

45 students attended a very successful and fun camp at Yeppoon. During this camp students rehearsed new repertoire with a total of 15 hours in rehearsal during camp. We were fortunate to have the renowned music clinician Jeanette Douglas work with us. Jeanette was very impressed with our Symphonic Band, both with our students’ behaviour and musical ability. Other activities included afternoon beach games, lunch and singalong at Ferns Hideaway, talent quest and shopping. We certainly packed a lot in.

Fanfare

Fanfare is the biennial band competition for all Instrumental Ensembles in Queensland state schools. Our Symphonic Band and Jazz Band both competed at the regional heat held in Emerald. Symphonic Band received GOLD and Jazz Band SILVER. Dr Ralph Hultgren was very impressed with our students. Over 100 ensembles competed in the Central Queensland region with our Symphonic Band making it into the top 5 in Central Queensland. A great result for our school.

Hot Curry Cool Jazz

Our Instrumental Music Department along with ESHS P&C hosted the very successful Hot Curry Cool Jazz night held at the newly refurbished school hall. What a wonderful night this was. Entertainment was provided by ESHS Jazz Band, Emerald Town Jazz Band and Emerald Academy of Dance. This was a wonderful evening which would not have happened without the support of so many people. Thanks must go to our wonderful band parents who help me in so many ways, ESHS P&C who were very supportive in every way, our Home Economics department who provided food service on the night, Emerald Academy of Dance and Emerald Town Band for their wonderful collaboration. Thanks to everyone who attended.

Dana Jones
Band Director

Library News

Bookweek

BOOKWEEK is coming! August 20-24 Emerald State High School will be celebrating Children’s Book Council of Australia’s book week. The theme for 2018 is Find Your Treasure. We will be having different activities in the library during first break each day, with a dress-up parade on AUGUST 24TH. Last year the turnout was brilliant with a range of book characters coming to life through the involvement of both staff & students… let’s see if we can do even better this year!

Word Mania

All students in Years 7-9 have been given their usernames & passwords to participate in Word Mania. This is a 3-minute word building game that students can play at www.wordmania.com.au or by downloading the free LiteracyPlanet Word Mania app on Apple or Android. Students are currently in competition Round 2 until August 10. Hopefully our students will do well & be able to compete in the final round on August 15-17. In previous years we’ve won board games for the library based on our high number of student participation. Our Year 9 students topped the Central Queensland leaderboard for participation in the practice round!

Community Events

Anzac to Armistice

The Emerald RSL Sub branch is running a competition open to all students from years 4 to 12. They are asking students across the region to create a poster based on a poem entitled Men from Australia by John Watkins. First prize is $500 for the student. Every participating entry will receive a limited edition medallion. Posters can be either hand drawn on no larger than A3 paper and scanned, or produced digitally and sent to lross71@eq.edu.au. Copies of the poem can be collected from Mrs Ross in F Block.

Could the NDIS benefit your family?

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a new way to support Australians with disability, and make sure everyone has the support they need to enjoy an ordinary life. If you or someone in your family is living with permanent disability, you may be eligible for support through the NDIS. The NDIS helps people with disability achieve their goals. That can include becoming more independent, building strong social networks, and participating in the community and the workforce. Carers Queensland is your NDIS Partner in the Community. We can help you find out more about the NDIS and guide you through the planning process, learning the system and using your NDIS plan. If you’re not eligible for funding, we can help you find support, services and activities available in your local community. We can also help you learn new skills and find resources. We’ll be working to increase awareness of the issues people with disability face, and building a more accessible, inclusive Central Queensland where everyone is welcome and valued. To discuss how the NDIS could work for you, contact your NDIS Partner in the Community Carers Queensland on (07) 4994 1600 or
rockhamptonlac@carersqld.com.au.

Emerald State High School turns 50 in 2019 and we want your help!

The jubilee committee have commenced work on a book of memories from the last 50 years. We would like to invite you to submit your recollections for possible inclusion in the book. We are calling on past and present administration, teachers, teacher-aides, ancillary staff, tuckshop volunteers, bus drivers, P&C members, students and parents to contribute their memories. The first cut-off date for submission swill be Friday the 21st of September 2018. Contributions don’t have to be long, perfectly written or correctly spelt. All contributions will be subject to editing to fit into required spaces and we can’t guarantee inclusion of each and every item. Photos are also very welcome. Scanned and sent by email is preferred but please let us know if we can help you in this process. Please also include the year/s you were present and any names and former names of individuals in your memories/articles. We may also be putting together a short video presentation so please let us know if you have video footage. Please don’t hesitate to contact me by phone or email, if you would like further information or guidance.

Yours sincerely,
Samantha Elsden
Jubilee Secretary
emeraldshsjubilee@gmail.com