20 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Welcome to our fortnightly newsletter. Much is happening right now at the school. We are about to launch into end of term assessments and reporting. Student progress reports will come out in the first week of term 2, to be followed by parent teacher interviews on Tuesday Week 2.

In addition, our library building has shut down for a major renovation so that it will be shining at our 50th Jubilee celebrations. A temporary library is operating out of F Block and A10.

On top of this, there is an abundance of sporting and cultural activities being offered to students every day when the student notices are read out. Parents I have emphasised to students on parade, they must listen and follow up on these notices if they want to participate. For students who are late, the day’s notices are always posted on the school admin block.

There will be more maintenance work during term 2, as C block will be painted and air-conditioning systems across the school will be either replaced or repaired.

Reminders:

• Work Experience for all year 10s is next week
• Last day of school is Friday 5th April
• First day term 2 is Tuesday 23rd of April

Special Mentions

• Congratulations to Tegan Sprought who has won selection in the Capricornia 13-19yrs Swimming Team to compete in the QSS State Championships at Brisbane.
• Thank you to Mr Deffner and the HPE department for running a well organised athletics carnival so early in the year

New cyber safety resources launched

New resources are available to help manage cybersafety incidents and promote positive online behaviour.

Schools and staff can check their digital footprints and remove unwanted posts. Secondary students can complete an online course while the Cyber Heroes teach primary students safe and positive online behaviour.

“Goals are dreams with deadlines.”
Diana Scharf Hunt

Have a cool weekend,

Ray Clarke
Principal

From the Deputy Principal – Senior Schooling

Hi all – there was an issue with my article last newsletter. Below is what should have been published. Thanks

It is always amazing how quick a term goes – we are half way through term 1 already. I have been encouraged by the work our senior leaders have started this year – induction, Valentine’s Day and Clean Up Australia Day. Most students are now settled in their subjects and engaged in assessment tasks.

Support Services

The school is very lucky to have a number of support services available to students and parents to assist them in the areas of academic, emotional and personal issues.

Students have access to the School Based Youth Health Nurse, Guidance Officer and Chaplain through Support Worx. Students can also access the Heads of Departments with any queries regarding their curriculum studies.

New QCE (Year 11)

The year 11 students are currently working through unit 1 of the new curriculum. Most comments I am receiving from both students and teachers is that the new system moves faster through the curriculum. In week 2 students were given a lesson on studying with Elevate. The students were given a booklet to work through – please ask to see it and have a conversation around it. I have attached for you an article from Elevate on how to make a study timetable with your child. At the end of Unit 1 we will be reviewing student results to ensure that are in subjects that they will have success in. Students will be able to monitor their progress through “myQCE”.

With the introduction of the new QCE we now have more stringent procedures to follow regarding extensions and what used to be called “Special Consideration”. I have attached a letter for year 11 parents to read through around this. Where we once were able to give extensions for many occasions we not allowed too now. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact me.

Assessment

All students have now received a copy of their assessment calendars. These must be used to plan effectively their time outside of school. Students should put this up somewhere visible. It gives an overall view of the extra busy times so they can organise and prioritise around them. At a minimum students should be at least reading over their notes from their work that completed that day. I am currently in the process of creating the term 1 exam block timetable for Year 12 students. This timetable should be out to students in week 7. Students in year 12 will only be expected to attend school during the times they have their exams. If a student is unable to make an exam we would be expecting a medical certificate to explain the absence.

Attendance

It is an expectation that our senior school students are present at school for 90%. As of week 5 the year 12s as a cohort are at 93% and the 11s are at 92.1%. Attendance at school is a vital to success.

Important message for Year 11 Parents – Changes to QCE

As you are aware, your child in Year 11 is in the first cohort of our new QCE program. As we are now if week 6 students are well underway with their assessment requirements for unit 1. One of the big changes in the new system is “access arrangements and reasonable adjustments (AARA)” which was called special consideration. In the old system, the school made decisions on what was fair and equitable and what was needed to meet syllabus requirements. The new system is much more prescriptive. Below is exerts from the QCE handbook from QCAA regarding AARA:

The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) recognises that some students have disability, impairment and/or medical conditions, or experience other circumstances that may be a barrier to their performance in assessment. Access arrangements and reasonable adjustments (AARA) are designed to assist these students.

AARA minimise barriers for eligible students to demonstrate their learning, knowledge and skill in assessment. Schools use the information in this handbook to inform their decisions about appropriate adjustments and arrangements for Applied, Applied (Essential), General, General (Extension), Short Course and Senior External Examination (SEE) assessments.

Access arrangements are action/s taken by the school so that a student with an eligible impairment that may not be covered by the definition of disability can access assessment.

Reasonable adjustments are action/s taken by the school so that an eligible student with impairment as a result of disability and/or medical conditions or experiencing other circumstances creating a barrier to the completion of assessment can be assessed.

Eligibility for AARA

AARA are provided to minimise, as much as possible, barriers for a student whose disability, impairment, medical condition or other circumstances may affect their ability to read, respond to or participate in assessment.

These barriers fall into three broad categories:

1. permanent
2. temporary
3. intermittent.

Ineligibility for AARA

Students are not eligible for AARA on the following grounds:

• unfamiliarity with the English language
• teacher absence or other teacher-related difficulties
• matters that the student could have avoided (e.g. misreading an examination timetable,
• misreading instructions in examinations)
• matters of the student’s or parent’s/carer’s own choosing (e.g. family holidays)
• matters that the school could have avoided (e.g. incorrect enrolment in a subject).

For our school, if a student requires an AARA we will liaise with them, parents/carers and staff to determine eligibility. We will then complete the required documentation and communicate with parents on outcomes. If you have any questions regarding this process please contact me through the office.

Regards
Tanya Shaw

From the Deputy Principal – Middle Years

ARE YOUR CONTACT AND EMERGENCY CONTACT DETAILS ACCURATE?

There has been a number of occasions this year, when we have been unable to contact parents, either by mobile or by email. Should your information have changed, please complete a change of details form (see attached) and return to school. Communication can only be effective if we are each able to do so efficiently. Email addresses are particularly important for reporting and in emergencies. We also use Facebook as a way of communicating to parents’ important events and reminders.

Reporting and Parent-Teacher Interviews for Term 1 2019

Teachers are currently entering reporting grades for all students. These will be finalised and emailed to parents on Friday 5 April (last day of term). These reports are interim reports and will have grades for Academic, Effort and Behaviour only. There will be no comments on these reports and as such Parent-Teacher interviews will be conducted on the Tuesday of the second week in Term 2 (30 April)

All bookings for this are done online and I have enclosed a “how-to” guide in this newsletter. Bookings will not open until Tuesday 23 April and will close on Monday 29 April at 3pm.

Year 10 NEWS

Last Wednesday was a QMEA toolkit day held at CQU Emerald Campus. A small group of our students attended this and enjoyed learning more about jobs in this sector.

On Wednesday 20 March, Try-a-trade day is on at CQU Emerald Campus and a group of year 10s have signed up for this. Students are to meet Miss Kelly Lawton, our Guidance Officer in the sign on area.

Congratulations to this group of conscientious students who have all completed paperwork for placement for their upcoming work experience. This is the first time that ALL students have been prepared for this and as such there will be no year 10s at school during week 9(25 – 29 March) Thanks must go to Mrs Alarna Wills and Mrs Annette Carter for all their work in getting the students placed. But mostly we would like to thank all the businesses who readily take our students in order to give them this experience.

School Photographs

If you ordered school photographs, your child will have them given out during PC on Monday morning. If you have a concerns, please contact MSP Photography directly by phone 4921 3355 or email schoolphotos.cq@msp.com.au.

STUDENT ID CARDS

As school photographs have arrived, we are now able to produce Student ID cards. These cards can be invaluable especially when travelling as they are a photo ID. They are also useful in enabling students to open their own bank accounts. If you have paid SRS fees or are on a payment plan, then these cards will be issued to students. If your child is absent on the day they are handed out, these can be collected from the office.

STUDENT DIARIES

When visiting classrooms, I have noticed a higher than usual number of students who have not collected their diary from the office. Please ask your child to collect their diary if your fees are up-to-date.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR LEARNING (PBL)

Each fortnight we have a focus based on data that we collect on student behaviour and anecdotal observations.

Week 7 and 8 the STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL (SRC) have led the school in the national campaign of TAKE A STAND – WE SAY NO TO BULLYING. The students proudly wore armbands that made the statement of “Take a Stand”. Due to the athletics carnival being on Friday 15, the national day of action, we at Emerald SHS had our day on Thursday 14 March. Mrs Caitlin Ross, year 9 Head of Year painted up a canvas and student leaders took this out to the school population to sign. A photo of this was on our Facebook page and is proudly displayed in our office foyer.

Yours in education,
Gaye

From the Head of Year 9

This year has been off to a busy start with the year 9’s as students start exploring their different academic pathways within their electives. Our Junior School Leaders have been very busy in assisting the seniors in their many SRC events such as Valentine’s Day, NO WAY to bullying day and the Sports Carnival. We had a good turnout for the carnival on Friday and may of the students participated well until we received a surprise from the much-needed rain. The year 9 leaders showed their leadership skills in assisting teachers to gather the students into the undercover area. For those students that signed up for an event and missed out they will be holding catch-up for those events this week.

As we are coming into the assessment period, I want to remind all students to make sure they are on top of their time managements by accessing their study planner that was e-mailed to them. They can do this at home via MIS webmail using their school login with @eq.edu.au on the end and their normal password. A reminder that the study club is still running for the remainder of term on Monday’s and Wednesdays 3-4pm in B Block. If students need assistance from a specific teacher, they need to make sure they are asking that teacher to attend. I look forward to seeing the great results that I know our students are tirelessly working towards.

Caitlin Ross
Year 9 HOY.

From Head of Department – Technologies

Wecome to Emerald SHS Technologies Department. My name is Mr Noel Cavanagh and I am the Acting Head of Department for the department in 2019. It is an exciting time for the Technologies Department as we transition from the old curriculum to the new. Under the Technologies umbrella there is Design and Technology and Digital Technology moving away from the titles of Manual Arts, Home Economics, Graphics and Computer Studies from past years.

New extension to Shed

With the start of 2019 the Technologies Department saw the extension of the Engineering Shed (P Block). This has benefitted the learning by opening up space within the workshop area, and being able to secure materials. The funding from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund (GCBF) was greatly appreciated to ensure students at Emerald State High School has every opportunity to partake in a safe learning environment.

HPV

Christopher Platell is getting teams ready for the 2019 Grillex Qld HPV Super Series that consists of events across Queensland. The series is for single seat, multi-track HPVs, which comply with the Queensland Human Powered Vehicle Specifications. Mr Platell with students across various year levels, will design and fabricate a vehicle that will be involved in the time trials. Permission letters have been handed out to students who are interested in joining and are needed to be return to finalise teams.

Robcup

Mr Mitchell Peace is also getting teams ready for the Moranbah Science and Engineering Challenge. The Science and Engineering Challenge (SEC) is a nationwide STEM* outreach program presented by the University of Newcastle in partnership with communities, Rotary clubs, universities and sponsors. Through the SEC, students experience aspects of science and engineering which they would not usually see in their school environment.

QMEA Toolkit4school kids

Ms Kathleen Weis from the Technologies Department took 11 students from Year 10 to the QMEA Toolkit4schoolkids at the Emerald CQU this week. Students had the opportunity to talk with industry experts, get information and advice on transition from school to work and/or further education. The crew got to participant in hands-on activities that orientate them into different workshops/work environments. QMEA Director Katrina-Lee Jones who ran the event stated that “Programs such as this are essential to ensuring students make informed career decisions, while encouraging young people to consider the range of career opportunities available in the resources sector, for both career professionals and skilled tradespeople,”.

New staff member

Emerald welcomes Mr Peter Corke to the school as the new Digital Technology teacher.

Noel Cavanagh
Head of Department for Technologies

Learning Support News

My name is Cresta Richardson and I am the current Learning Support Teacher.

Individual Curriculum Plan

ICP’s are operational in year 8 and 9 for students requiring them. Year 7 ICP investigation will commence in the next couple of weeks in preparation for next term.

NAPLAN

The cycle for NAPLAN testing is upon us again for our year 7 and 9 students. If you would like to have your child exempted from the tests, please email Ben Van Hees on bvanh2@eq.edu.au; or call the school on 4988 2222 to speak with Ben. For example, if your child suffers significantly from exam anxiety, maybe an exemption might be something to consider.

READING DECODING

Reading decoding for students in years 8 and 9 has begun. Testing for some students in year 7 will commence this term. The program will commence next term.

YEAR 9 SUPPORT

Students in year 9 have begun some support in both reading and writing. They are participating in Socratic Circles. The purpose is to deliberately enhance persuasive devices, thoughts and ideas. From there, they are writing in response to a chosen text and inquiry question.

Cresta Richardson
Learning Support

English News

It’s that time of year again! Drafts and assignments are coming in fast. This can be a stressful time for students. Ensure that they have checked their assessment schedule, written important dates in their diaries and designed a plan of attack! When completing assessment in English grammar, punctuation and spelling is paramount. Students are encouraged to proof read and edit their work. This is an important skill for students to practice for future schooling. In regards to presentations, students are encouraged to practice their speech before the due date. This will ensure students can read fluently, as well as having the confidence to make eye contact and gestures throughout their presentation. This will help improve their overall grade.

Tess Doherty
English Teacher

Hospitality and Early Childhood News

Hospitality

The home economics and hospitality classes have had a busy term one, learning new skills in the kitchen.

Year 7 home economics are learning about the concepts of healthy eating and making healthy chicken burgers. Year 8 home economics are exploring food traditions around the globe and their influence on Australian cuisine. They will be developing a savoury parcel influenced by food cultures around the world. Year 9 home economics are learning about different methods of cookery used in the kitchen. They are designing and producing a pork salad. Parents, please ensure students have returned their signed permission forms to participate in practical classes.

The Year 10 Introduction to Hospitality have completed their first assessment preparing a Chicken and Posh Ham dish with a salad of their choice.

Year 11 Hospitality Practices are running their first catering function, which is a takeaway meal service where students are preparing Moroccan Chicken, Pesto and Italian Sausage Lasagne and Vegan Jackfruit burrito bowls. Yum! They will focus on food hygiene and customer service aspects of taking orders. Year 11 Cert II Hospitality students are holding a Salad Bar function during week 8 in ESHS Moustachios Restaurant.

Year 12 Cert II Hospitality are holding a coffee shop during assessment block on Tuesday 26th March. Lastly, Year 12 Hospitality Practices are holding a two-course lunch function on Wednesday 27th March at ESHS Moustachios Restaurant. Parents are welcome to attend. Please book by emailing Mrs Carter (acart163@eq.edu.au).

Early Childhood Studies

Year 11 Early Childhood studies students have just completed their fourth excursion visit to Borilla Community Kindy. Students engaged with the children during their free play time. Thank you to Borilla Community Kindy for facilitating this fantastic partnership.

The year 12 Early Childhood Studies class start their visits to Emerald North Early Development Centre on Friday of week 8. Parents, please ensure you have seen and signed their permission notes.

Jess Dekker
Hospitality and Early Childhood Teacher

Year 10 Skills for Work News

Our Year 10 students are venturing out for the first time next week to complete 5 days (20 hours) of work experience in local businesses of their choice. This gives students the opportunity to see what the industry of their chosen field is like to work in and will assist with choosing the subject they would like to study over years 11 and 12 later in the year.

This work experience one unit that is required for the completion of the Certificate II Skills for Work. Once students complete all units in this certificate to a competent standard they will gain 4 QCE to go towards the 20 total needed to graduate in Year 12. An additional short course is also being undertaken that provides a further 1 QCE point upon completion.

Due to the two courses being run within the one subject, report cards will reflect this by also having two reporting grades. The short course grades will be from A-E, with the normal pass grade being a C, while the Certificate will have a working towards competency grade that will appear on the student’s report card until successful completion of the certificate in Term 4.

This term students are currently completing a learning journal that endeavours to highlight the skills and attributes of each individual student. Furthermore, students are designing an interview or survey which will be taken with them on work experience, as to fully get an understanding of what business want in their employees.

Overall these assessments are striving for students to consider future pathways, both within school and within the workplace.

Amy Case
Skills for Work Teacher

School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships News

Emerald State High School would like to congratulate the following students on their achievements:

Riley Tetley
Triple Torque Cert III Engineering

Montanna Whipp
Roses & Beans Cert III Commercial Cookery

Clay Caban
Bill White’s Electrical Cert III Electrotechnology

Aimee De Lange
Emerald Hospital Cert III Business Admin Medical

Shayvon Saunders
Emerald Hospital Cert III Health Support Services

Skills for Work: Work Experience Year 10

Term 1 will see our year 10 students enter the workforce for the first time as a part of the new Skills for Work program.

Emerald State High would like to thank the Emerald and surrounding communities for their ongoing support to our students.

Below is the new 2019 student log and assessment booklet for parents and students to peruse before work experience commences.

Students have received their insurance agreements and are encouraged to return as soon as possible with the first 3 signatures completed.

I will have Mr Clarke sign all insurance agreements once returned.

Alarna Wills
Workplacement/SATS Coordinator

Attendance and Participation

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher interviews for this year are scheduled for reports following each mid-semester report (ie after Term 1 and Term 3 interim reports)

After Term 1 interviews will be held from 3.30 – 6.30pm on Tuesday 30 April, 2019.

After Term 3 interviews will be held from 3.30 – 6.30pm on Tuesday 15 October, 2019.

Interviews will be conducted in D and F blocks. We encourage you and your child to attend the interview session to discuss your child’s progress.

In the Semester 1 Report teachers have requested an interview with you if they feel there is a matter of importance which should be discussed, however, we encourage all families to attend. Please refer to your child’s Report to view parent/ teacher interview requests.

To make Parent/Teacher interviews simpler and to increase parent control of the process, bookings can be completed online. The booking system can be accessed by clicking on the link on our School’s homepage under the quicklinks banner. Bookings will open on the first day of term 2 (or 4) and will close on the Monday before the interviews.

When you enter the booking system, you will be prompted to enter your email address - this is your unique identification. Additionally, you should enter your name and a contact number.

When you register your student (please use full name), you must also specify the year level. It is this year level that automatically identifies the interview dates that have been scheduled at the School, along with the teachers that are available for interview sessions. You can then select a time that best suits you.

If you are unable to access the internet or require further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the School on 4988 2222. We look forward to seeing you at our Parent/Teacher interviews.

Everyday Counts

What can you do to support your child in attending school? Parents can support their child in attending school regularly by:

• attend school events in order to develop a relationship with the school and your child’s teachers
• read the school newsletter, follow ESHS on Facebook
• supervise homework
• ask your child about their day

Are you having problems getting your child to attend school for some of these reasons?

• staying up to late at night
• difficulty getting out of bed in the morning
• unable to find their uniform, school bag, books, etc.
• slow to eat breakfast
• failure to complete their homework
• assessment is due
• watching TV
• they want to go shopping
• it’s their birthday

If so, a set routine can help:

• attend school events in order to develop a relationship with the school and your child’s teachers
• read the school newsletter
• supervise homework
• ask your child about their day
• have a set time to go to bed and get out of bed
• organise their uniform and school bag ready the night before
• set a time for starting and finishing breakfast
• set a time for daily homework activities including assessment
• speak about school positively
• be firm, send your child to school each and every day

From the Minister for Education

School Contact Information

SOBS

Over the holidays the SOBS link for parents access has changed.

The URL to access SOBS as a parent is now:

From the Positive Behaviour for Learning Team

Behaviour Focus

Our current behaviour focus is “Bullying – No Way!”.

Student of the Week

Week 6

Jordan Schulz (7D) for being a positive ambassador for the school.
Jacob Job (8F) for consistently engaging in all classroom activities and being a positive member of the community.
Dylan Obst (9E) for consistently following the key values of the school and being a courteous class member.
Maddison Caban (10B) for consistent participation and effort in all of her lessons.
Kaylah Edwards (11D) for being polite, prepared and always participating to the best of her ability.
Sophie Gibson (12D) for being a great role model for other students.

Week 7

Telitha Osborne (7F) for being a polite and helpful student in and out of the classroom.
Lochlan Elliot (8F) for being polite in responding to questions and thoroughly participating to the best of his ability in class.
Trinity May (9B) for ensuring she is prepared and polite in her interactions with staff and students.
Logan Stanton (10E) for always trying her absolute best in class and following all instructions.
Molly Bolland-Green (11C) for being polite and dedicated every single lesson.
Jeremy Simmonds (12A) for displaying a great attitude towards his participation in class.

Community Notices