26 July 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report.

Dear Friends of Emerald High,

Semester 2 is well underway with students now back into their studies. Semester 1 student academic outcomes were the highest we have seen over the past three years and the rate of As and Bs were the highest we have seen for many years. 'Effort' levels recorded on reports were also the highest we have recorded for a long time. These results are a tribute to our amazing students and staff and the great work they are doing, along with the support they are receiving from home. It is indeed a team effort.

Student behaviour was down a bit from last year and we have done a number of things to support this, including some key focus 'blitzes' from our PBL team on topics such as 'Following staff instructions'. We have also adopted a more holistic approach to monitoring and tracking student behaviour. Previously, individual faculty HoDs have monitored behaviour in their own faculties. Hence a student may have been managed by up to eight HoDs, and you as parents may have received contact from as many as eight HoDs.

Under the new approach, one HoD will case manage a sub-group in the school, based around house groups. Each student will therefore be case managed and supported by one HoD, rather than a number, and as parents it will also mean that you will have contact from that one HoD. We have also grouped students in the same families together, to further minimise the number of people that families may have contact with. This approach will result in much tighter and effective student support.

Attendance is also down a bit from last year. This is to be expected to a degree, as parents are keeping students home when they are ill (and I thank you for that), however I still encourage parents to ensure that students are at school as often as possible. Every second of every lesson really does make a difference!

We have welcomed some new staff to our school this term and I extend a warm welcome to Slade Blunt who joins our Maths/Science/HPE Team, Jack Rynsbergen in HPE and English, Anshu Sharma in the Home Ec/VET faculty and Jess Zygaldo joins of Cooee Corner team. Pam Pulford starts as our new Absentee Officer and Lisa Card starts as Teacher Aide in Cooee Corner.

I also congratulate Jacinda Stefaniuk who has commenced as our HoD Home Ec/The Arts.

We were very lucky to welcome NRL star, Scott Prince, to school the other day to speak with our Indigenous students. His talk was most inspirational and I thank Marissa Roberts, Lucy Ferrara and Charmaine McKeon-Parlett for their great work in making this opportunity available.

Our School Band also participated in their band camp to Yeppoon in the final week of last term and I thank Dana Jones for her ongoing leadership of our sensational band and for leading this opportunity.

We are continuing a focus on our school uniform and ensuring that we continue to present a public face that models the quality of the school that we are. A reminder that students may wear plain black jumpers to school, provided they have no logos or hoods. We have rung around and have confirmed that many of the stores in town do have suitable fleecy polo neck and crew neck jumpers in town for between $12 and $20. Students in incorrect uniform will be required to change into one of the pool of spare uniforms that we have available, all of which are washed before being loaned out.

The processes of changing does take resources away from teaching and learning however, and the best way for everyone is if students present in their correct uniform every day.

Thank you to all of those who have already completed the Parent/Caregiver Survey. If you have not had a chance to complete the survey yet, please note that the online surveys will remain open until Friday, 30 July 2021. This is your opportunity to provide feedback about what our school does well and how we can improve.

To have your say, check your email for an invitation from the Department of Education titled School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2021.

Can’t find your invitation? If your family has more than one parent/caregiver, check that they haven’t received the invitation and/or check your junk email folder.

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
Mr. Sean Maher
Principal

From the Deputy Principal – Senior School.

For me, this term is one of beginnings and conclusions. For our 12s we have formal and mock exam blocks, for our 11s, leadership camp and for the whole school subject selection for the following year. It is always a big and busy term with many rewards.

Formal

I would like to thank Jacinda Stefinuk for the work she has done over the past years as Head of Year for our Year 12s. Whilst we are sad that you are no longer in this position, we are excited for you to be taking on your new role as Head of Department VET. I would like to welcome Jaksen Brose to the position and know with his experience as Year 12 HOY in 2020, we are in good hands moving forward.

We are currently putting together the finishing touches to make the formal a memorable event for all. In the coming weeks, eligible students (90% attendance and fees paid) will receive a “save the date” invite for formal. For those who don’t receive the invitation all is not lost. I will meet with them each individually to set a goal for them to work on, to receive an invitation to formal. If you have any questions regarding formal please send me through an email.

Year 11 Leadership

I am very excited that a record number of our current Year 11s have expressed an interest in a leadership position for 2022. Those students who are able to, will participate in the leadership camp at Camp Fairbairn during Week 4. Students who are not able to attend are still able to apply for leadership positions. Students should see Miss Prior for more details.

Mock exam block

To help our Year 12s prepare for their external exams at the end of the year, we will again hold our mock exam block in Weeks 8 and 9 of this term. Feedback from last year’s cohort was that they wish they had put more effort in these exams so that they could get feedback from their teachers. Many students were ill prepared – not bringing their equipment and attending late. These exams are important, as they help our teachers plan what revision and tuition will occur in the weeks leading up to the external exam. Results from the exam can also be included on their last report cards.

Subject Selection 2022

As you may be aware students in Years 8, 9 and 10 will need to choose subjects to study in 2022. Students in Years 8 and 9 being their elective subjects, whilst our Year 10s will choose all their subjects. At the end of Week 2, subject selection books were emailed to students and will be available on the website. Those requiring a hard copy can request this through the office. Heads of Departments will be speaking to students in Week 3 and 4. Our Subject Selection Evening will occur of Tuesday 3rd of August. To help prepare, it would be great if you and child can discuss career paths, subjects that they like and subjects that they do well in. You can also go to our “Careers Website” to investigate careers and post school options. More information will be sent home via email.

Regards
Mrs. Tanya Shaw
Deputy Principal – Senior School

From the Head of Year 7.

It is crazy to think that the Year 7s have been at high school now for more than 20 weeks. I have seen our students truly settle in and flourish into the high school life.

At the end of last term, parents and caregivers would have received the semester report where students were awarded an academic, behaviour and effort grade. It was fantastic to see students performing so well across all of those areas. A reminder that if your child is struggling or would like the extra assistance, study club occurs every Monday and Wednesday afternoon from 2:50 – 4pm in the library. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s progress, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

As part of our 3Ps at Emerald State High School, I would like to remind you that as we enter the second semester, that your child is coming prepared to school with the correct equipment and uniform. It is the expectation in Year 7 that our students are bringing a book and pencil case to each class, that has all of the necessary equipment (pens, pencils, ruler, glue, scissors, etc). As winter is still upon us, it is important that our Year 7 students are wearing the correct uniform, meaning the correct jumper. If a student is wearing the incorrect uniform, it is the expectation that they will follow the school process by going to the uniform room.

Participation from our Year 7s in a range of curricula and extra-curricula activities has been fantastic to see, with a large number of our students representing the school proudly in the arts, sporting and academics. I have seen a large number of our Year 7s joining in in the lunchtime clubs, school or club sport, instrumental music, debating, just to name a few. I look forward to the many more exciting opportunities this semester will bring for our Year 7 students to be involved in.

This week’s fortnightly PBL focus is “Use Manners” in the sense of saying please and thankyou or even good morning/good afternoon to teachers, peers, family members and members of the community. As I walk through the school grounds, it is always so lovely to receive a good morning/afternoon from the Year 7 students and for them to tell me about their day. I ask that you have a discussion with your child this fortnight regarding manners and the importance of them when being polite.

Lastly, our Year 7 assemblies are held every second Friday morning (odd weeks) in PC group in the UCA. It is important that all students are present at school by 8:45am to commence assembly promptly at 8:50am. During this assembly students are given important notices and are introduced to the fortnightly PBL focus. We have also been given computer labs twice a week that our PC groups are rotating through in order to complete the PULSE surveys. They have received an email from me regarding this.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s welfare please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards
Miss. Bridget Ryan
HOY – Year 7

From the Head of Year 8.

Welcome back to the second half of the year! Boy how time flies.

At the end of last term, parents and caregivers would have received the semester report where students were awarded an academic, behaviour and effort grade. It was awesome to see students achieving performing highly across all areas. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s progress, please don’t hesitate to email or call the subject teacher for clarification.

The first half of the year has seen many of our Year 8 cohort participating in a wide range of extracurricular activities, including our lunchtime clubs, school and club sport, the musical and instrumental music, just to mention a few. A enjoy watching students thriving in something they love and I can’t wait to see what our Year 8s can do in the upcoming Emerald Shines and Western 7s competitions!

This term we will begin preparing students for the junior school leadership process, for selecting our junior leaders for 2022. This year, I have organised for an external organisation, YLead, to deliver leadership workshops to the entire cohort on Monday the 16th of August. Students will participate in a number of practical workshops which explore leadership, develop their confidence, enhance their toolkit and create action plans, whilst working together in a positive and inclusive environment. YLead’s philosophy is that “leadership is more than a badge, it’s about the action that makes the work I touch a better place”.

I look forward to seeing students engage with the leadership process and I hope students are able to perceive just how awesome being a leader can be.

Regards
Miss. Maggie Pembroke
HOY – Year 8

From the Guidance Officer.

Social Media.

Many of us have a love-hate relationship with social media. Most teens really love social media and feel deprived if they have restricted access. It can help them remain socially connected to their friends and learn a lot about world issues outside their own environment. For a small percentage, due to the effect on the brain, social media can become an addiction that reduces time and effort spent on other areas of life. Additional negative effects that may be problematic for health and social well-being include cyberstalking, cyberbullying, impractical expectations and anxiety. To support students to navigate this environment parents can make informed decisions about social media by understanding the platforms students are using.

Any digital platform, system, website or app that enables people to create and share content, and connect with each other is regarded as social media. The following tips from ReachOut Australia (online mental health service for youth) help parents stay up to date with social media trends and privacy settings:

• Check the e-safety website it lists all social platforms, what they do, and how they are used.
• Ask Google. Seriously. It might sound simple, but searching for 'popular social media platforms Australia' will give you a detailed list of popular and new platforms, and what they do.
• Talk to your kids! Just ask them which apps or programs they use, and why. Questions to ask:
  - Who uses the app? Who do you talk to on there?
  - Ask them to make sure they are protecting their identity and being safe.
  - What kind of information or articles do they share?
• Ask them to be the expert and show you how it's used.
• Talk to school teachers about what the students are using.
• Staying on top of privacy settings.

With each new platform comes a new space and a new set of guidelines for you and your teenager to familiarise yourself with. Remember to check-in with the e-safety commissioner website for regular updates on new platforms and their privacy settings.

Changing your settings once is not enough:

It’s pretty common for platforms to reset your settings when they make an update to their privacy policy or management tool. Try and have a look every month to see that your desired settings are still in place.

Talk to your teenager about their settings:

Help them learn how to manage their own accounts. Get them to check their settings and change their passwords every time you do it. Below you will find some tips for staying up to date with some popular social media site’s privacy settings.

Facebook

Facebook changes its privacy settings regularly, but you can keep up to date with current settings and how to customise them on the Facebook support page. Their comprehensive support service is always updated with the latest information. It’s a great idea to explore the privacy and safety section and familiarise yourself with the settings. Things to think about:

• Ensure posts you make are set to send to ‘friends only’. If you want to change who can see a post after you have sent it, you can!
• Set your image settings so that any tagged pictures or posts need to be approved first
• Make sure all your profile information (like email addresses and phone numbers) is set to ‘only me’.
• Use the ‘privacy check-up’ to easily access basic privacy settings on Facebook.
• Reset your password every 6-8 weeks.

Instagram

Instagram has very simple privacy settings, here's what to look out for:

• You can choose to have a public or private account. If your account is set to private, only people you approve will be able to see your content.
• Instagram adds images to a location map. This means that your location will be visible to all of your followers on a map linked to your profile if you select 'include image location' when making a post. It's recommended that you turn this function off by going into the settings on your smartphone and disabling location access for Instagram.
• Keep your details to a minimum if you have a public account. The only information you must provide publicly is your username, which means it’s fairly simple to keep your other details private.
• Reset your password every 6-8 weeks.

Snapchat

Snapchat can seem a little confusing at times, but luckily their privacy settings are not too complicated.

• Snapchat has an easy to use support centre to help you keep up to date with settings.
• Like Facebook, you can limit the audience who see your snaps and who can send you snaps.
• You can block users or report inappropriate content. There is a misconception that Snapchat is used solely to send inappropriate and illegal content. This platform is easily moderated by reporting content that does not fit the community guidelines.
• Reset your password every 6-8 weeks.

TikTok

Some considerations around TikTok’s privacy settings include:

• Choosing to make your account private allows you to approve or deny followers and restrict your uploaded content to followers only.
• Even if you have a private account, your profile information will be visible to all users. Make sure you do not include personal information in your profile.
• Enabling Restricted Mode will limit the appearance of content that may not be appropriate for all audiences.
• Reset your password every 6-8 weeks.

Did you find what you needed?

• Yes - Read more about social media and the impact it has on teenager's self-esteem.
• No - Learn more about looking after your privacy and staying safe online.

Regards
ESHS Guidance Officer

From the SRC.

The SRC had the privilege of handing out the first recipients of the Ripple Awards this term. The PBL focus was to celebrate success and this term the members of the ESHS bands who went to Yeppoon were nominated as the first group recipients of the Ripple Award which recognises students for meeting the fortnightly PBL focus.

This term, the SRC are also running Shines – a talent show, open to all year groups and talents – in Week 5. We will be holding auditions at the end of Week 3 and tickets will go on sale in Week 4. If you have a talent, put your name on the sheet in the library. We are looking for anyone who can sing, dance, play and instrument, present a comedy act or give a dramatic reading then we can’t wait to see you perform. All the money raised will be going to support our Rainbow House student.

Regards
Ms. Leanne Ross
Teacher

From the Positive Behaviour for Learning Team

At Emerald State High School we are:

• Polite,
• Prepared, and we
• Participate.

Please see the attached power point of the lesson taught on parade and throughout Weeks 1 and 2 of this term.

Behaviour Focus

Our current behaviour focus is “Celebrating the successes of others”.

Student of the Week

Week 1

Lincon Renwick For being an enthusiastic student who is always eager to learn.
Elliana Colaivalu For being a diligent student who completes all set tasks to the best of her ability.
Evie McKay For excellent achievement and being a positive ambassador within the community.
Hayley Shaxson For being a helpful and supportive member of the class towards both teachers and students.
Will Challacombe For bringing a great attitude to class everyday and producing awesome work as a result. Keep it up!
Bailey Whitehead For being an active and enthusiastic member of the class and always displaying the school rules.

Week 2

Hermione Colley For her 'can do' attitude and helpful nature. She is a top worker and is always following the 3P’s in class. Keep it up!
Sebastian Blackley For always having a positive attitude. Seb is a hardworking student who always arrives to class prepared and ready to learn.
Lachlan Smith For always following the 3 P's and never giving up even when it gets difficult.
Kai Pout For his enthusiastic attitude towards all curriculum tasks. Kai is always prepared and ready to learn.
Mae Lee For her positive engagement and participation across her classes.
Ashley Leeson For showing a positive attitude and always following teacher instructions.
Kyal Prewett For working diligently in class and always being prepared.

Community Notices