23 July 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear friends of Emerald High

It has been an absolute delight to be back on the Central Highlands which is very much home turf for me, having commenced my teaching with a seven year tour of duty in Blackwater in the 1990s. I am very excited to be here and am looking forward to leading a truly sensational school in a fantastic community.

I have been very impressed with much that I have seen over the past week.

Firstly, I have been deeply impressed by the quality of our young people who are truly living the mantras of “We are Polite, Prepared and we Participate”. I have enjoyed the many conversations with students who have taken the time to approach me, introduce themselves and tell me their stories and dreams of the future. I have found their courtesy, cheeriness and energy invigorating.

The quality of our young people was very clearly demonstrated last week during NAIDOIC celebrations, led by our Indigenous students under the guidance of Lucy Ferrara, Lega Hall and Charmaine McKeon-Parlett. A range of activities were planning and conducted, culminating in a cultural dance presentation at lunchtime. It was fantastic to see the confidence and pride in our young indigenous people.

I have been equally impressed by the quality of our staff at our school, the quality of learning experiences that are happening in our classes and the way they are prepared to ‘go the extra mile’ to help our young people along their journey. Rarely have I seen a staff who give so much to our kids and are supporting them so well. Our students are receiving a quality education as evidenced by our academic results.

One example of this is the fact that out Science HoD , Aneel Dewan, has been selected as one of only two Australian teachers to travel to Geneva, Switzerland to visit the CERN Laboratories, a place at which some of the most exciting discoveries in physics have been and are continuing to be made. This is a remarkable achievement and testament to the quality of Mr Dewan as a teacher and the science program at the school.

I have also been no less impressed with the passion and dedication of our parent body through our P&C and the work they have done to make our school environment welcoming and engaging. I came in on the weekend to do some work and was surprised (and delighted) to see many parents busy watering, planting and maintaining our sensation gardens. This is very clear evidence of a strong and vibrant school community working together for our kids. (as an aside, I must say that our tuckshop is nothing short of amazing!)

Some news. The school and P&C are submitting an application for funding to support the construction of a bus interchange area in the front left area of the school which aims to provide a much safer and organised system for buses to drop off and collect students form the school. We are working with Department of Transport and Main Roads, CH Regional Council and State Government to develop the application. I have been delighted with the support and collaboration from all groups and are very hopeful that our bid is met with success. A copy of the proposed plan can be seen below.

Proposed Bus Interchange

Finally I would like to acknowledge the sensational leadership that Ray Clarke has provided to our school over the years and I thanks him sincerely on behalf of the whole school community for his dedication and contribution. He has made a difference in the lives of many. Thank you, Ray, from all of us!

Nothing is worth more than this day.
You cannot relive yesterday.
Tomorrow is still beyond our reach.
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Have a fantastic fortnight!
Sean Maher
Principal

From the Deputy Principal – Junior School

Welcome back to term 3. Firstly a thank you to all those students who have already been enrolled for year 7 next year. I have included some information I sent out in my last newsletter article: We have another enrolment night coming up next term on Thursday 15th August 2019, 4:00pm till 5:30 is the first session and 5:30 till 7:00pm is the last session. It would be great to have all students coming to ESHS enrolled by this time. Even if your family is unsure if you will be in Emerald next year or which school you are attending it is best to enrol early and you can cancel an enrolment early next year if circumstances change. Our SEP is also running a transition program that will occur every 3 weeks, starting on 31st July from 9:00am till 11:00am – please contact Dee Lucht on 49882222 for more information.

Last week we promoted a very successful NAIDOC week I had the opportunity to attend the Elder’s Luncheon – it was a great experience and our Indigenous students really showed some great leadership and organisation skills on the day. It was good to see so many members of our community come together with us for the day. I had the opportunity to participate in a game of “Itter” (essentially tag but in reverse) as part of our Connection Culture Program. We had some fun and it was excellent to see students such as Tyrell, Marcus, Sarou, Shayvon and Angelina getting involved and assisting with organisation. The culmination of the week saw a group of indigenous dancers perform a traditional dance in traditional dress. Hundreds of our students gathered to show their respect and support. Many walked away with a piece of cake and sausage on bread best of all an increased understanding of indigenous culture. This is hands down of the best things I have seen at the school in years that helps to improve cultural relations in our diverse school community. Thanks to Lega Hall and Lucy Ferrara for all their efforts in organising the events.

If you have any questions regarding year 6, 7 or 8 students please don’t hesitate to contact me at bvanh2@eq.edu.au.

Thanks
Ben Van Hees
Deputy Principal – Junior School

From the Head of Year 7

Dear Parents and Carers.

I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable break. This year is flying by and it is hard to believe that the year 7s have already completed their first semester in high school. It is great to see the cohort settling into the routines and processes of high school.

In addition, semester 1 report cards would have provided some information in regards to how your son or daughter is progressing at school. I encourage you to have conversations with your son or daughter about their report card and use the teacher comments to address areas to improve. It is great to focus and celebrate some of the positives and look at what students can do to improve too. At year level parade in week 1, I encouraged the cohort to use this feedback as feed-forward. Students should reflect on their progress and endeavour to improve over term 3. There are some great events coming up this term with the musical at the end of week 3. There are many opportunities for student engagement through extra-curricular activities so please encourage students to participate in these activities. A final note is the pet food drive that begins this week for CQ Pet Rescue. Please bring in any food items suitable for cats and dogs to support the amazing work CQ Pet Rescue does.

Peter Sanson
Year 7 HOY

From the Head of Year 12

The year 12 students are beginning another important and busy term. Term 3 is considered to be the most significant for students’ academic grades. Many senior leaders are involved in our upcoming Spirit week, bringing students from all grades together to participate in a range of activities promoting school spirit. Our year 12 students have been fantastic role models for our younger students by displaying great leadership and participating in extra-curricular events.

Towards the end of this term, in week 8 Tuesday and Wednesday, some of our senior students will be completing the QCS exam. Students have completed two practice exams and two lessons a week in preparation for this exam. A breakfast will be provided for students partaking in the QCS exam before school on both Tuesday and Wednesday. This can be a stressful time for our students but has hopefully been somewhat negated through a thorough preparation.

Many of our students are looking ahead to the end of their school year where events such as the formal and graduation will take place. The formal is on the 13th of November and is at the Emerald Town Hall, as it has been in previous years. Students have been made aware that they must meet the behaviour and attendance expectations of ESHS if they wish to attend the formal. Each student may bring their parents but partners from outside the school are not invited to attend. As the formal draws closer there will be more information passed onto students and parents.

Please keep encouraging and pushing students to achieve highly, and if you have any concerns contact the school.

Adam Heath
Year 12 HOY

From the Head of Department - English

We are straight back into the mix of things in the English department. Already some classes have received their first assessment item, and are working hard to complete this.

Year 7s are reading Black Snake, which is about Ned Kelly. They will construct an argumentative essay about this. Year 8s are studying songs and will construct a presentation, which analyses this for language features and context. Year 9s are reading 12 Angry Men. After visiting the different classes they all seem very engaged with this text!

Year 10 Essentials are starting the Literacy Short Course. This will give them credit towards their QCE. Year 11 Essentials students are looking at heroes, and will construct a multimodal response based on this. Year 10 and 11 English are writing creative short stories, using poetry as their inspiration. Finally our Year 12 English students are studying The Crucible, while The Year 12 English Communication students are reading The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

As the Semester progresses a number of classes will begin their English novel. In order for students to access this text at school and at home we ask parents to support the school’s Textbook Hire Scheme. Otherwise it is expected that you purchase a personal copy of this text so that your child can engage with it. The texts are listed below:

Year 7: Black Snake (novella) and Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief (novel)
Year 8: Wonder (novel)
Year 9: 12 Angry Men (play) and The Hunger Games (novel)
Year 10 English: Romeo and Juliet (play)
Year 11 English: Jasper Jones (novel)
Year 11 Essentials: The Happiest Refugee (novel)
Year 12 English Communication: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (novel)
*Please note that Year 10 Essentials and Year 12 English have completed their novel studies already this year

If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to make contact with me.
Gabrielle Hunt
English Head of Department

From the Head of Department - Maths

Firstly, I would like to thank parents/caregivers for their valued support to our school so far.

The year has certainly flown by. We successfully completed semester 1 and now are quickly going through semester 2.

The last few weeks of semester 1 saw our students and teachers finalise all assessments. The report cards were sent home last term and should have been received by all.

Please review your child’s results. The semester results provide an opportunity to assess progress together with identifying focus points.

This is an opportune time to review and set new goals.

The extract below sheds some light on the importance of goal setting:

“ Research has uncovered many key aspects of goal setting theory and its link to success (Kleingeld, et al, 2011). Setting goals is linked with self-confidence, motivation, and autonomy (Locke & Lathan, 2006). A 2015 study by psychologist Gail Matthews showed when people wrote down their goals, they were 33% more successful in achieving them than those who formulated outcomes in their heads.

Children learn to be resourceful through the practice of being goal-directed. In similar ways, parents teach resourcefulness when they walk beside children through the everyday practice of being goal-directed rather than attempting to set objectives and problem-solving for kids.”

NEW QCE SYSTEM NEWS ( Year 11)

The new syllabuses have now been implemented at Emerald State High school.

We are committed to a smooth transition into the new system. The Maths department now runs a Maths club on Tuesdays (first break and second break), where students can come in for extra help.

Emerald State High school is well placed to successfully manage this transition. The Maths department is fortunate to have four QCAA endorsers, whose role is to quality assure assessments for all schools across the state.

Other News

Thursday week 3 of this term, select students will be competing in the Australian Mathematics Competition. This gives students a chance to pit their skills against students across the Asia-Pacific region.

Subject selection for our years 9 and 10 for next year is coming up this term as well. We will keep everyone updated as soon as the dates are finalised.

Building on the success of last semester we are very confident that we will keep making progress going forward.

Here’s to a positive semester 1 and greater successes for the rest of the year.

Mr Nahroon Nazim
Head of Department - Mathematics

Technology Department News

Busy, busy busy… mid-semester holidays are over. In one breath welcome back and there is much to do. This term Year 10 Digital Technology and Year 12 Certificate 2 IDMT students will be creating websites while Year 11 SATE Information and Communication Technology Skills students are tasked with producing a magazine. We are keeping the latter’s theme under wraps as year 7 and 8 students may expect a visit in the coming week to gauge interest and guide content development.

Students watch out this week if you are around the tuck-shop. You may find yourself inadvertently an extra in the short film Year 12 are producing on the social issue of bullying. All facets of script, production and portrayal being expertly managed in house by the class.

With so much to do time management is critical. Time is a valuable commodity. Plan yours wisely. Mr Cavanagh (HOD Technology) has also placed into morning notices this week that computer games are not an acceptable Learning Intent during class time. The school wishes parents to please help support with this expectations to ensure that the valuable resources available are used for learning outcomes.

The B1 computer room will again be open at lunchtime and I expect patronage to again be high. The Library upgrade has increased the number of computer rooms in the school with AV05 becoming a computer hub. This along with B04 computers being upgraded means that Emerald SHS will be able to provide increased access to technology resources to students.

Peter Corke
Computing Teacher

Attendance and Participation

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. All PC rolls are marked electronically at 8:50am if the teacher has already marked their PC Roll and you child is not there they will be marked absent. If this is not corrected via the entry of a ‘late note’, you will receive a text message after 10am advising your child is absent.

Change of parent details

• Do you have a new mobile phone and number?
• Do you have a new job?
• Is your child/ren’s medical information current?
• Have you moved house?
• Using a new email address?
• Have any of your contact numbers changed?
• Are your “Emergency Contacts” current? Especially if you are leaving the country and your children are staying with a family member or friend.

Please fill out this “Change of Parent Contact Details Form” email or drop it off at the office Admin will update OneSchool so your records are current.

OR EVEN BETTER…Want to check your Emergency Contacts on OneSchool? Ref Qparent attachment. Communicate 24/7 and update contact information at your own leisure it is a fantastic tool. Did you know you can access all of your child’s report cards from Prep to Year 12, assessments due, forthcoming excursions plus much more?

Hard copy “Blue Notes” are no longer sent home via your child/ren. In the past they used to be handed out in their PC Class each Friday. We now email these notes each week.

Please remember to contact the school if any of these details change

Every Day Counts

Parents can you please check your junk mail box in case they are being directed there and not to your inbox?

It is easy to create a web based email account for free. This might be a great option if you are still post only.

If you don’t receive an email “CONGRATULATIONS” your child/ren are attending “Every School Day” or all absences are explained. Thank you for your cooperation it is greatly appreciated.

School Contact Information

SOBS

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 “Be On Time!”

Student of the Week

Week 2

• Ursula Van Den Berg (7C) for being on time to class each lesson and following 3Ps.
• Mae Lee (8E) for always coming to class on time and participating to the best of her ability.
• Josh Davies (9A) for being polite and attending school for 100% of semester 1.
• Madison Iles (10F) for having 100% attendance in Semester 1.
• Flynn Durrant (11F) for continual engagement in classwork and for being a consistently polite and well-mannered student.
• Peter Watson (12D) for always participating in extra-curricular activities and representing the school with pride.

Community Notices