16 February 2022

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Friends of Emerald High,

We have had a fantastic start to the year with lots of engaging, inclusive and challenging things happening in our classes. I have been very pleased with the calm and productive tones in our classes. Well done everyone!

A wonderful piece of student news to share. One of our amazing Year 10 students - Jonti Withers - has won an international modelling competition and is now travelling to Paris, London and Rome modelling for UK Fashion week. She is the only Australian to be selected! Fantastic work Jonti - good luck!!

Like probably every school in Queensland, we have had some students away ill or in isolation. A reminder that if students are ill, they are not expected to be working - their job is to rest and get well again. Please note that we will be understanding of their situation and the impact that this will have on their assessment.

I spoke regularly last year with the students about the things that make a real difference to success at school. Ability is helpful, but the things that really make a difference are Effort, Attitude and Attendance.

The following things in particular are important:

• Attending school as regularly as possible
• Putting in a quality effort in class - using every second of every lesson to do our best
• Completing homework and studying at home to consolidate out learning
• Being organised and ready to learn (PREPARED)
• Getting involved in learning (PARTICIPATE)
• Maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle – exercise, relaxation, friends, diet
• Maintaining quality relationships with teachers and friends (POLITE)

Regular attendance is particularly important with the following attendance rates providing a guide to the impact on academic success - I say this with the understanding that COVID will have some impact on attendance, but hopefully this impact can be ironed out over the year.

• 95% attendance = 1 day a month (minimal impact)
• <90% attendance = 1 day a fortnight (noticeable impact)
• <85% attendance = 1.5 days a fortnight (very significant impact)
• <80% attendance = 1 day a week (critical impact)

With the P&C AGM coming up next month, it is timely to thank our P&C for the outstanding work they have done over the years supporting our young people. The quality of our tuckshop and the various facilities projects that have popped up around the school are evidence of this.

We are always seeking the involvement of our parents with our amazing P&C and I invite anyone who wishes to be involved to attend the AGM on Thursday 10 March or get in touch with our P&C at: secretarypandceshs@gmail.com. We would love to see you there!

A final note - whilst we encourage contact with our families, a reminder that our teachers are not expected to answer emails on weekends (we need to give them a break too).

Have a fantastic fortnight and a super 2022
Mr. Sean Maher
Principal

From the Deputy Principal – Junior School

It has been great seeing the Year 7 and 8 students excited to be back for 2022. When I have visited classes over the first week, I noticed lots of great work and students taking pride in their learning.

All the Year 7 students have now done a lesson on Positive Behaviour for Learning, Bookwork policy, Diary and Timetable information, ICT orientation, and Classroom Routines and Expectations. All the students have now had the chance to log on and have their user name and password. If they are still unsure of their user name or password they are able to ask their PC teacher for this.

All Year 7 students received an immunisation form last week, if you wish for your student to participate in this immunisation program these need to be returned ASAP.

If you require uniforms at all you can order through Online Ordering available via Qkr APP or purchase at the tuckshop.

If you are seeking any information about Years 7 and 8 please contact Ben Van Hees on 49882222 or bvanh2@eq.edu.au.

Regards
Mrs. Rebekah Pillay
Deputy Principal – Junior School

From the Head of Year 8

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to 2022. It has been an interesting start to the year, however our resilient students have settled into their classes well and there has been some positive learning happening.

All students have been issued with a diary and should be using their diary to record important dates, including homework and assessment. Please check-in with your child to see if they have any assessments coming up soon. In addition, assessment calendars for all students will be made available via QParents, so you can keep track of your child’s upcoming assessments. These will provide parents and students with information for semester one in relation to assessment dates. If you are unable to access the assessment calendar, please contact the office staff.

Finally, I would like to congratulate Jaya from 8F on receiving student of the week for “Always being prepared and participating well in class”.

If you have any questions, I am contactable via email (lxcor8@eq.edu.au)

Regards
Mr. Leon Coromandel
HOY – Year 8

From the Head of Year 9

First of all, what an interesting ride these first few weeks of 2022 have been! Students were able to have an extra-long holiday and were welcomed back to school in some new classes. Change can be hard and walking around PC classrooms on their first day back, I saw a lot of mixed emotions. Some happy, some sad, and for some, a little bit of worry. But, we never underestimated how resilient these kids are and as the week progressed there were definitely a lot more smiles, with students settling into their new class groups.

My name is Rickilee Venardos and I would like to introduce myself as the Year 9 Head of Year for 2022. This will be my third year at ESHS and having taught predominantly junior year levels for the past two years, I have spent a lot of time with this awesome cohort of students. I’m really looking forward to working with the incredible leaders of Year 9 and kicking some big goals that these students have already set.

As mentioned earlier, 2022 has come with a complete mix up of the classes. There were many reasons for this much needed change and feedback from students, staff and parents have been very positive. It has been great to see so many students in Year 9 receiving VIVOs for being prepared and having their correct equipment as well as demonstrating a positive attitude towards school. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Sonny Bray (9E) getting Student of The Week for “engaging and participating in learning activities in the classroom”.

I look forward to supporting this cohort in 2022 as they adjust to the differing demands of High School. Should you have any concerns regarding the welfare of your child please do not hesitate to email me: rvena7@eq.edu.au

Regards
Ms. Rickilee Venardos
HOY – Year 9

From the HPE team

We’ve had a busy start to the HPE year with our sport program, Central Highlands and Capricornia trials in full swing. Well done to students who have been getting involved and signing up at J block staff room.

Our Year 7 students are learning about adolescents and going through their teenage years, whilst nutrition is being learnt in Year 8. All junior school students are participating in Bat and Ball games for their practical lessons. Year 10s are enjoying their topic of Gridiron; they are getting better every week. In Year 11 PE the students are learning about motor learning and applying their findings to Netball. In Year 12 Sports and Recreation students will be visiting the pool throughout the term.

Finally, we would like to congratulate all the students getting involved in sport and encourage them to bring a hat, water bottle and appropriate footwear to their practical lessons. Sunscreen is always available and we promote sun safety in all of our lessons. We are looking forward to another term of HPE with our classes and our cross-country carnival taking place in Week 7 (Tuesday the 8th of March).

Regards
Mr. Louie Beatty
Teacher

From the Maths team

It has been a busy start to the school year regarding Maths at Emerald State High School. All classes are off to a great start, getting stuck right into their learning for the year.

Our Year 7s have all made good starts with their first real taste of high school Maths. All classes have been working through the unit of work, which this week is calculating the area of rectangles, triangles and parallelograms. The Year 8s have been learning the ins and outs of integers, more precisely the four operations. The Year 9s have been learning how to calculate direct proportion and rates, whilst the Year 10s have been discovering the joys of algebra. Senior Maths classes have all been making good head way on their learning in their respective classes.

This year the junior classes have started a new homework system called ‘Maths Mate’ which is very exciting. The Maths department have decided to do away from ‘Mental Maths’ and choose a more productive and efficient method. ‘Maths Mate’ is designed s students are completing one set of homework tasks each week at home, then checking them in class every Friday. The team hopes to see large benefits and returns from this new homework system.

Regards
Mr. Mathew Sweetnam
Teacher

From the Arts team

2021 End OF Year Exhibition – ‘One Story Isn’t Enough’

The opening night of our Emerald State High School end of year exhibition, ‘One Story Isn’t Enough’ was held at the end of 2021, Week 9, Friday 3rd December. It was a huge success with over 200 people in attendance to support our talented students ranging from Years 7 to 12. Thanks to the E.S.H.S. Student Representative Council and Burger Vibes, ‘Viewer’s Choice Awards’ were voted for and presented on the evening. The successful recipients were: Tori (Senior Winner), Logan (Senior Runner Up), Hannah (Junior Winner) and Millie (Junior Runner Up).

On behalf of The Arts Department and our wonderful students we would like to thank everyone who assisted with this event, it would not have been so successful without your efforts.

VISUAL ART

Year 7/8 Visual Art

• Students are currently engaged in a Portraiture unit and will be commencing their Experimental Folio next week. This will be followed by the exam and finally their resolved artwork.

Year 9 Visual Art

• Students are exploring the concept of ‘Self’ in preparation for the creation of their Experimental Folio.

Year 10 Visual Art

• Students have commenced their first unit for the year which is focused on Street Art. They begin their Experimental Folio task next week.

Year 11 & 12 Visual Art

• Students are currently working on the first assessment task in response to their authentic experience, which will guide their making task.

Year 11 & 12 Visual Art in Practice

• Students are currently investigating children’s story books and storyboarding the development of illustrations for an existing book.

MUSIC

Year 9/10 Music

• The Year 9 and 10 Music students will be focusing on Popular Music this semester. They have begun looking at the musical elements and will apply these to creating their own popular music composition for their Term 1 assessment.

Year 11 Music

• The Year 11 Music students have ventured into the world of senior music and will be focusing on Unit 1: Designs to begin with. Their first piece of assessment will be performing a piece of music of their choice to communicate meaning to an audience.

Year 12 Music

• The Year 12 Music students are on their final stretch to the end. They have already begun their preparation for their first piece of assessment which will be a performance to showcase innovative practices, either of the instrument in which they have chosen to perform on or within the genre of the music.

DRAMA

Year 8 Drama

• Students are learning about the Elements of Drama before their first assessment, a performance of 'Boy Overboard' by Patricia Cornelius.

Year 9/10 Drama

• Students are learning about Australian Theatre with a focus on Indigenous perspectives in WW1. Students are completing devising tasks this week to immerse themselves in the context of the play 'Black Diggers'.

Year 11/12 Drama

• Students are underway with rehearsals for IA1. The Year 12s are doing Absurdism texts such as 'Waiting for Godot' and 'Opening a Fuzzwollops Frame of Mind'. The Year 11s are working hard on their performance of 'Fly-In, Fly-Out'.

Regards
Miss. Amy Cochram
Teacher

From the LOTE team

Welcome back Minna-san to school in 2022!

We trust you had an amazingly long and eventful holiday as always, especially with the 2 extra weeks! This term, languages classes will be back as per usual, and our focus for Weeks 3 and 4 is ‘come prepared to class’, so ensure that you are prepared with all your necessary equipment and on time for every class! As you all might have known, we also have a new Japanese sensei, Lamb-sensei and McClean-sensei, who are joining us at Emerald State High. Please make them feel welcome and greet our new sensei in your best manners when you see them around the school!

The Languages program this term has students studying a variety of topics across Years 7 – 12. These include:

Year 7 – “Meeting new people”

• In this unit, students will learn how to introduce basic information about themselves to others, whilst discovering the differences between Japan’s culture and tradition versus Australia. Additionally, they will also be learning the Japanese alphabet (Hiragana and Kanji) as part of their studies.

Year 8 – “What’s for dinner”

• In this unit, students will discuss eating habits and practices in Australia versus Japan, as well as giving their opinions on healthy eating. Students are also expected to create bilingual recipes for various types of food and explore borrowed words used for international cuisine.

Years 9 and 10 – “What are life stories?”

• Students will analyse and create a biography for a famous young person of their choice

Year 11 – “My world - Family/Carers/Friends”

• As the name of the topic suggested, Year 11 students will explore a range of sources that focus on discussion around the concept of family, carers and friends and how it connects or contrast in relation to themselves.

Year 12 – “Travel, Technology and Media’

• Year 12 students on the other hand will explore a range of sources that focus on discussion around the concept of travel, technology and media in the 21st century! How exciting!

At this stage, assessments for LOTE are given within the start of Week 7 and are due in Week 9 of this term.

The best way to improve achievement is short but regular review of vocabulary. It is recommended that you also use your spare time to learn Japanese writing symbols and new vocabulary, by regularly using Quizlet. Additionally, book work is important as always! Neat handwriting and well organised notes are the greatest way to best achieve a desirable outcome.

Have a great Term – we look forward to seeing everyone back in class!

Regards
Mr. Huu Nguyen
Teacher

From the Humanities team

HUMANTIES

Our Year 12s have already started their Internal Assessment items and are encouraged to ensure they have set themselves up a study schedule as exams approach. Our 12 Ancient History students will sit their IA1 Monday 22nd of February. Our Modern, Legal, Tourism and Geography students all have assessment due towards the end of this term.

Our Year 11s are all settling in well and are reminded that should they wish to make any class changes, they need to make this decision early on and follow the correct procedure for class changes.

Parents of our Year 11 students, please place in your calendar our Year 11 Humanities tour which will occur in Term 3. The dates for this are the 24th to the 27th of July, COVID permitting. We generally fly to Brisbane and stay at the YHA. This is an invaluable learning experience for our Humanities students with opportunities to visit QUT and UQ university, Boggo Road Goal, Lawyer Talks, Courthouse visits (was truly a highlight for our legal students last year), Spatial Technology workshops for our geography students, the Police Museum and 2 separate field days for the Geography students as a compulsory part of their assessment.

The cost for this is generally around $480-$500 including airfares, accommodation, chartered bus, all activities and breakfast each day. Students will only be required to pay for lunch and dinner.

The tour is compulsory for all Geography students, as the field work is used for their Year 11 and Year 12 assessment, however it is voluntary for our Legal, Modern and Ancient History students. A permission form will be sent home later in the term and a deposit to cover and secure student airfares will be due Week 2 of Term 2.

HONOURS

A big welcome to our two new Honours classes in Year 7, after record numbers of applicants last year! A reminder to all Honours students it is an expectation that you have a BYOD device in good working order and that this being brought to school each day. All your textbooks can be loaded to your devices to cut down on the number of books you will need to bring.

Our IMPACT project will begin Thursday the 17th of February with students from both Year 7 and 8 participating in a 12-week project that is administered by the Brisbane School of Distance Education.

LIBRARY

Textbooks are being distributed over the next week with students receiving their Math and Science texts in particular. Students with outstanding loans will not be able to borrow until these books have been returned or paid for.

Senior students who wish to receive digital access to their textbooks are to see either Mrs Van Hees or Mrs O’Brien in the library. Should they choose digital access, they can then return the hard copies of the textbooks to cut back on the number of books they would have to carry around. If using the digital access students will need to have their own BYOD device.

Regards
Mrs. Kerrie-Ann Van Hees
HOD

From Euphonix

For the last two years, Emerald State High School has run Euphonix, a glee club, which has been invited to perform with Troy Cassar-Daley, as well as the Town Show and Australia Day in the Town Hall.

This year, Euphonix is changing from a glee club to a more formal choir and therefore students will be taught more explicitly the finer skills of singing. Euphonix members will learn pitch and control as well as being divided into parts. Mrs Jarvis will be leading the group this year and is looking forward to arranging the music to be taught.

The first performance for the reinvented Euphonix will be Anzac Day on the 22nd April in school. It is hoped that Emerald High will also participate in the Eisteddfod. Euphonix will also be performing at the annual Shines competition. If students have any particular music choices they would like to learn, then they will be encouraged to share them with the choir.

If you wish to be a part of Euphonix and not only represent the school, but also build on your own skills – perhaps in preparation for scoring one of the lead roles in the musical to be held next year – then come join our club every Monday at First Break in K1.

Regards
Mrs. Leanne Ross
Club Coordinator

From the Interact Club

Emerald State High School was the first school in Emerald to create its own Interact Group and it is a proud tradition that we continue this youth organisation into 2022.

Interact is Rotary International's service club for young people aged 12 to 18; therefore, it is open to all students within our school. Students are elected into leadership roles and organise different events throughout the year. One of our annual events is the Haunted House during Mental Health Week, which is open to the whole community to attend. This year we are also hoping to run Christmas in July, as well as smaller fundraising efforts throughout the year.

The goal of Interact is to support local, national and international charities and work in conjunction with the Rotary Clubs of Emerald. As a result, being a member of Interact provides not only important leadership skills, but being the member of such an internationally recognised organisation looks good on any resume.

Meetings are held throughout the term at school, but as they are not held weekly, it will be up to your child to listen to the notices. We will be holding our first meeting in order to elect our 2022 student leaders in Week 5.

Regards
Mrs. Leanne Ross
Club Coordinator

For the Chess players

It is with great pleasure that I can let everyone know that ESHS welcomes all chess masters to come play a round in the library during lunch breaks!

Chess is a fantastic sport which develops the grey matter, rather than the muscle matter. Played by millions of people worldwide, chess is a two-player strategy board game played on a checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. Play involves no hidden information, with the objective being to checkmate the opponent's king by placing it under an inescapable threat of capture. To this end, a player's pieces are used to attack and capture the opponent's pieces, while supporting one another.

Studies conducted over decades, by Harvard and Brainscape have shown that aside from being a fun sport to play, chess also has real-world health benefits for players, including:

1. It can raise your IQ.
2. It helps prevent Alzheimer's.
3. It exercises both sides of the brain.
4. It increases your creativity.
5. It improves your memory.
6. It increases problem-solving skills.
7. It improves reading skills.
8. It improves concentration.
9. It grows Dendrites (the neural pathways and connections in the brain).
10. It teaches planning and foresight.

As such, I would encourage everyone interested in developing their chess skills to come along, to see what all the fuss is about, regardless of your skill levels, beginners and masters are welcome to play a game during their breaks between classes!

Regards
Mr. Graham Fandrich

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 3 and 4 of this term.

Student of the Week

Week 4

Year 7: Nihan Erkan 7F For being a supportive peer and a friendly face to the new students to ESHS! Great work Nihan.

Year 8: Jaya Poe 8F For always being prepared with the correct equipment and participating in class.

Year 9: Sonny Bray 9E For engaging and participating in learning activities in the classroom.

Year 10: Gus Van den Bos 10A For engaging with all set activities and participating enthusiastically in class discussions.

Year 11: Tina Taylor 11D For being engaged with her online learning and consistently showing great effort in English and History.

Year 12: Damon Weber 12C For his consistent effort to improve.

Community Notices