10 September 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear friends of Emerald High

We are nearing the end of a term that has passed very quickly. Term 3 is traditionally a very busy term in schools and this year has proven to be no different.

Again, so much has happened that it is difficult to fit it all in.

Last week, a number of our Year 11s attended the annual Senior Leaders’ Camp at Camp Fairbairn. The camp provided our next generation of leaders with an opportunity to get to know each other better and develop leadership and team work skills that many will need next year as they step into leading roles in the school.

I visited the camp on the first night and was deeply impressed by the spirit of teamwork and positivity that flowed through the camp. The students arranged their own roster for the cooking of meals and other routines around the camp and did this sensationally well. I was further amazed when not one of them fell asleep during one of my boring stories. They are an impressive group of young people and I very much enjoyed their company – the leadership of Emerald High in 2020 is in safe hands! My very sincere thanks to Mel Prior and her team for organising and conducting an excellent experience for our Year 11s.

More of our amazing students were seen in action last Thursday night at the Eisteddfod where, under Dana’s inspiring leadership, our Instrumental Band and Jazz Bands each secured second places in a very competitive environment. I have watched both bands in rehearsal and at the Eisteddfod, and have been delighted with their energy, teamwork, perseverance and good-humoured support of each other as they prepared and performed. They are another very impressive group of young people (we have so many at Emerald!) Thank you to Dana Jones and Jacinda Fehlhaber for their truly outstanding work in leading a quality music program.

Last week saw the very last QCS Tests conducted in Queensland, with the new process coming into play next year. I was greatly impressed by how well they were prepared for the test and the support that wrapped around them on the day and in the lead-up. Aneel Dewan did an outstanding job of organising the conduct of the test itself and Kate Hume’s preparation of the students and ongoing encouragement on the day (“Remember, complete EVERY question!”) was first rate. Our Hospitality Team and Tuckshop prepared sensational breakfasts and lunches for the students and Adam Heath conducted a range of activities between the tests to keep the students relaxed, but mentally on their game. Well done everyone for supporting our kids as well as you did—I haven't seen it done better anywhere!

Our NAPLAN results were very pleasing indeed, particularly in Year 9. All domains in Year 9 have shown an improvement from last year, and an ongoing trend of improvement over the past 7-8 years. Spelling, G&P and Writing have punched through the State Mean barrier with Reading and Numeracy following. This is a great outcome and again a great base to continue this upwards trend.

Although Year 7 results were not as strong as those in Year 9, I am still pleased with where they are sitting. My very sincere thanks to all teachers for the work they have done to strengthen literacy and numeracy across the school in recent years.

We do indeed have a sensational school. I hope everyone has a super last few weeks of term as we head towards a well-earned break.

Have a fantastic fortnight
Mr. Sean Maher
Principal

I avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.
Charlotte Brontë

From the Deputy Principal – Junior School

It is that time of term again, assessments are due and lots of hard work and study needs to be put into practice. NAPLAN results for Years 7 and 9 are back, and I visited each of the Year 7 English classes to distribute the NAPLAN results and explain how to interpret them. There were some great results from Year 7, and many individuals have really improved over time. We have seen some significant improvement over time from our Year 9 students as well, and teachers and students deserve to be congratulated for their efforts. If you child did not receive their NAPLAN report, it is available from the office, and once you have read these reports, please discuss your child’s results with them. Also, a timely reminder that our Honours classes are fluid and that students move in and out of them throughout the years. If your child is in a non-Honours class and receives good results on their NAPLAN test (band 8 and 9 for Year 7, band 9 and 10 for Year 9) and their academic results are good as well, then you can request to join the Honours class. Please email Mrs. Van Hees at kvanh4@eq.edu.au if you have any questions about Honours.

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

Regards
Mr. Ben Van Hees
Deputy Principal – Junior School

From the Head of Year 10

What a busy time of year it is for our students!

The Year 10s have been busy planning subjects for their transition into Year 11 in 2020. Students should have received important information about their Subject Selections and been working on this in their Skills for Work class. This information will relate to their upcoming SET P process early in Term 4. The SET P process is the Senior Education and Training Plan, which plays an important part in shaping students’ education, career and training aspirations during their final phase of high school study. Students will be asked in the last week of Term 3 to nominate a time that will be most convenient for you and your Year 10 student to be able to have this 30 minute interview. Mrs Gaye Saunders had detailed this in the last school newsletter. The times that a member of the Senior Leadership Team will be available for interviews are: 7:30am -11am and 3pm – 7pm on Monday 14th, Wednesday 16th and the morning session on Friday 18th.

Please ensure that your student knows which times would best suit. If you are not aware of your roster during the last week of term, students will be given an opportunity to let us know the best time on first day of Term 4 (Tuesday 8 October). If they are absent – please ensure that you let Mrs Saunders know the time that best suits you (along with your child’s name and PC class). Her email is gsaun25@eq.edu.au.

On Thursday 19th September, the entire Year 10 cohort will be attending the Love Bites workshop at school. Love Bites is an extremely successful school-based Domestic and Family Violence and Sexual Assault prevention program that evolved on the Mid North Coast of NSW. Love Bites is based on best practice standards for education programs as recommended by the Federal Government funded Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearing House and other leading academics in the area of violence against women. Over 100,000 high school students throughout Australia have participated in this interactive and innovative program aimed at 14-16 year olds. Love Bites promotes an integrated partnership approach to prevention, and generates local ownership of the program. Local service providers facilitate the Love Bites program. Professionals such as sexual assault workers, domestic violence workers, youth workers and police facilitate the program.

All students should have received a permission form for Love Bites, however, if they have not received a permission form, please see Miss Fehlhaber ASAP, as attendance will not be allowed if the permission form is not signed and returned.

As we near the end of the term, it is important that students continue to focus on their assessments and class work. If any concerns arise, please do not hesitate to contact me on jfehl8@eq.edu.au.

Regards
Mrs. Jacinda Fehlhaber
HOY – 10

From the Head of Year 11

This term the aspiring leaders in Year 11 attended the Leadership Camp at Camp Fairbairn Outdoor Education Centre. Here, students challenged themselves individually and as a team to achieve great results.

A highlight for many was the ‘High Y Challenge’, which is similar to high ropes in that it is high up off the ground and uses ropes and harnesses. However, the big difference is that the ropes, when you look up at them, form a Y in the air and climbers rely on their team’s collective strength to keep them off the ground. Once in the air, the two climbers work together to make it to the other side. With the support from their team, students are able to complete the course; a challenge that would not be possible without the team’s support.

The students were reflective on what leadership looks like and what effective leadership entails. At the end of the camp, the group decided on the recipients of the three camp awards. A special mention goes to Shara Van Hees, who was voted to receive ‘The Challenger’s Award’ for the person who challenged themselves the most; Dalton Bean who was voted to receive ‘The Encourager Award’ for the person who encouraged others to achieve; and Kirsen Gowlett who was voted to receive ‘The Initiative Award’ for the person who used initiative to help the group achieve.

All students at camp worked well to support each other and I commend them all on the mature way they represented Emerald State High School.

It is important to acknowledge that attendance at Leadership Camp does not guarantee a leadership position in 2020, just like not being able to attend camp does not mean that a student cannot nominate for a leadership position. All students in Year 11 are eligible to nominate for a leadership position, with nomination forms due to me by Friday of Week 9, Term 3. Student Leader booklets with information about leadership roles and the application process are available from me in C6 staffroom.

Regards
Mrs. Mel Prior
HOY – 11

From Supportworx – School Based Traineeships/Apprenticeships

School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships News!!!!

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

Sage Potter Cert II Horticulture CHRC

Bianca Rapp Cert III Hairdressing Chitchats Salon

Brayden Weise Cert III Engineering Brennan’s welding

Congratulations to the following CQ Uni Students on the completion of their Certificate II Electrotechnology:

• Jai Beasley
• Clay Caban
• Jye Hughes
• Nick Parker

All current school based apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities are posted on student notices and the school’s Facebook page.

With school holidays commencing in two weeks, it is a great time for students who are wanting to pursue a school based apprenticeship to complete work experience. Please see Alarna Wills for an insurance agreement if you are interested.

Regards
Mrs. Alarna Wills
Work Placement

From the Head of Department - Arts

Term 3 has been another busy term for our Arts staff and students at ESHS. Subject Selection for 2020 is an important process for all students, and when deciding on what Arts electives to take, students should consider the following:

• Studying an Arts subject (Music, Visual Art, Drama and/or Media) in Year 8, if they enjoyed an Arts subject during this year’s Year 7 Arts subject
• Studying an Arts subject (Music, Visual Art, Drama and/or Media) in Year 9 or Year 10, if they have not studied an Arts subject this year
• Studying an Arts subject (Music, Visual Art, Drama and/or Film, TV and New Media) in Year 11, if they have enjoyed studying an Arts subject in previous years
• Continuing to study their Arts subject/s next year because they enjoy the Arts.

Involvement in the Arts teaches students how to try new things, manage risk, and handle failure. The Arts provide students with a multitude of options for expressing and communicating their ideas, and students learn to think about problems from a broad range of perspectives.

Students studying Year 9 – 12 Music and Drama attended an incursion activity, presented by Youth Touring, on Tuesday 10 September. The incursion activity, Kitch Culture, was a unique musical experience combining cultural arts and storytelling, with music technology.

Congratulations to all the students who competed in the CH Eisteddfods this year! Well done to our Symphonic Band and Jazz Band for receiving 2nd Place in their respective sections!

Always remember… Creativity never goes out of style!

Regards
Miss. Lucy Ferrara
HOD – Arts/Indigenous Education

From the English team.

Students in years 7, 9, 11 and 12 are currently well underway with assessment.

Year 7 English students are enjoying the myths, legends, gods, goddesses and monsters of the ancient Greeks, through their reading of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.

Year 9 English students have just finished the Twelve Angry Men unit, where they had to explore an ethical issue that the characters of the play wrestled with, which is still relevant in society today. We are now engaging with the dystopian world of The Hunger Games, where students will explore themes of power, deceit, trust and rebellion against authority.

In Year 11 Essential English, students have just finished a unit on understanding how the media constructs identity. In class, we are now are reading The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do, to explore how different perspectives, values and beliefs are communicated through the textual representation of a personal experiences.

Year 12 English Communication students have been focusing on issues around empathy and apathy. Students are in the process of creating a multimodal oral presentation on extreme circumstances in today’s society that focus on people demonstrating apathy. They have been able to explore a range of issues and discuss whether it is acceptable or unacceptable to demonstrate apathy.

Regards
Miss. Crystal Brunetto
Teacher – English

From the Maths team.

This has been an exciting term for the maths department. In Week 4, we ran the Australian Maths Trust’s (AMT) Australian Maths Competition for the first time. This is a tough exam, open to any student around Australia and the Asia-Pacific. A total of 20 students from Years 7-12 were brave enough to test their mathematical mettle, and with the results to be released shortly, we are excited to see how they all performed on a truly global stage!

A bit closer to home, the department also ran the local round of the 2019 QAMT Year 7/8 Maths Quiz. Teams of three students from Emerald SHS, Capella SHS and ECC came together one Monday evening in Week 5 to battle it out. Students had to estimate quantities, answer maths questions verbally, complete an exam and answer general knowledge/history of maths questions. What’s more, they had to do it under severe time pressure! At the end of the night, Team-pi from Emerald State High School took home the win.

A very big thank you to all the staff who made the event possible, and congratulations to Jacob Job (8F), Ella Job (7F) and Lucca Santos (8F) for being the winning team!

Regards
Mr. Rajiv Bhar
Teacher – Maths

From the HPE team.

A quick reminder from all the sport teachers: All students still need to have a hat and a water bottle for practical classes, as we are heading into the hotter part of the year. Please ensure that your student has these for their classes. If your student is unable to participate in sport, please ensure you have contacted the school (including a note with the student’s name, an email or a phone call) to inform their teacher of the situation.

Inter-school rugby league

We played against Marist with a junior team made up of Year 7/8 students, and middle school team of Year 9/10 students. Our junior team played some really good attacking football and won comfortably. Unfortunately, our middle school team was beaten by a better team. Many of the students across both schools knew one another from club rugby league, which meant the games were played in good spirit, with some friendly banter being passed amongst both teams.

School Cricket

Recently, our cricket team played against Marist in the T20 game. We batted first and made 150 runs. We then bowled them out for 67. The team captain and the boys played well within the spirit of the game and supported each other in the field.

Our team is meant to play in a “battle of the bush” match in Term 4, as we ran out of time to continue on to the next round.

All the best for the end of the term and a safe holiday from all the in sports department.

Regards
Mr. Leon Coromandel
Teacher - HPE

From the Positive Behaviour for Learning Team

Behaviour Focus

Our current behaviour focus is “Complete Drafts and Submit Assessment On Time”

Student of the Week

Week 8

Emma-Rose Don 7E For being positive ambassadors for the school in the community

Josh Russell 8F For looking out for others and showing helpfulness every day. A pleasure to teach.

Tori Kavanagh 9F For being a polite and courteous student to both students and teachers.

Tyrone Paplauskus 10C For working consistently hard, displaying all the Ps and producing excellent results.

Reid 11D For consistently applying effort to his learning and contributing to the success of lessons.

No Media Permissions 12D For consistently displaying the 3Ps and being a role model for younger students.

Week 9

Macey Horstman 7D For her enthusiasm and eager participation in curriculum tasks.

No Media Permissions 8A For participating in every lesson, and arriving on time to class with all her equipment.

Mohammad 9F For being a positive student, his participation and encouragement in class is outstanding.

Sebastian 10F For looking out for others and being helpful.

Alyssa Lavell 11F For consistently being prepared for her learning and for striving to achieve her best.

N/A Students on exam block.

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