21 November 2022

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report.

Dear Friends of Emerald High,

Well, our Year 12s have departed the stage and are off to their big life adventures. We wish them all the very best and are confident that they will do well. My sincere thanks to Jaksen Brose and Tanya Shaw for the amazing work they did in leading a super graduation. Thank you to the many staff and students who also contributed to making this event special.

This Friday we farewell our Year 10s and 11s for the year and sincerely wish them a safe and relaxing Christmas break.

Our Years 7s, 8s and 9s will have a further two weeks to go after this week and will be doing meaningful classwork right to the end. As we have done in the last few years, there will be no 'alternate' program in the last week.

Awards night was also held last week (it was a big week!!) and it also was a fantastic occasion. Thank you to Ben Van Hees, Cristal Dougan and a cast of dozens who all worked to make this event a wonderful celebration of the academic achievements of our kids.

It is interesting to note that we had almost 100 more students receive awards this year than last year (with no change to the criteria).

Some more super student achievements to acknowledge.

The Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art recognise and promote excellence in senior visual art education throughout Queensland state and non-state schools. This year there were 504 nominations from across our state and 51 submissions from our Central Queensland region. This year, two of our very talented Visual Art students, Miesha and Mariella, received commendation awards for their skilful and thought provoking entries. Within each region, one excellence award, six commendation awards and one encouragement award are selected, so our students should be very proud of their efforts.

Meisha’s Artist Statement - The work aims to commemorate and communicate knowledge about soldiers, from the Gemfields regional in Queensland who enlisted in World War One. The 20 postcards explore the tales of these soldiers through purposeful imagery on that fronts that reflects their fate: return servicemen, discharged, dead or missing person. The backs provide additional details about these individuals: rank, job, family situation and so on, to allow viewers to connect with these men on a personal level. The projected image of the men, is a reminder that these individuals existed, their service to our country mattered and they will not be forgotten.

Mariella’s Artist Statement - Every nightmare has a silver lining, shines light on the condition of sleep paralysis and prompts viewers to look past the widely understood view that sufferers only experience traumatic episodes and take on a new way of thinking. The condition is most often associated with frightening experiences featuring demons or intruders and while I have experienced such situations, through controlling my thoughts I have been able to manipulate my episodes to achieve comfort, creativity, and excitement. These experiences have been pieced together like a puzzle and brought back to life on bed linen which is placed on a child-sized bed.

Some more sensational student achievements…

Year 11 student Isaac Jansen was recently appointed as an ambassador for the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA), one of only 20 students in the state to do so. This is a great achievement for Isaac and follows on from the QMEA 'Oresome Minds Camp' that Isaac and his brother Caleb attended earlier in the year. Isaac will be travelling to Brisbane on 1 December to attend the QMEA End of Year breakfast. Great work Isaac! Thank you to Mr Bhar for his work in making these opportunities possible.

We are still masters of our fate.
We are still captains of our souls.

• Winston Churchill

Have a fantastic fortnight
Mr. Sean Maher
Principal

From the Deputy Principal – Senior School.

2022 Year 12 Graduation

On Friday we farewelled the graduating class of 2022. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with these students over the past two years and see the great outcomes they have achieved. I have loved hearing the excitement in their voices when they tell me of the jobs they have already secured or the early offer placements for university. I am sure they will do great things and I wish them all the best.

2023 School Leaders

During this term I have had the pleasure of reading applications and interviewing our future leaders. It is with honour that I can let you all know that are senior leaders for 2023 are:

I am sure that like past leaders they will do great things.

2023 Timetable

For the next two weeks my focus will be on finalising our 2023 timetable. Once complete I will email all parents of students in Years 8 and 9 the elective subjects your child has been placed in. Please be aware that some subjects are now full and students wishing to change into them will have to be placed on a waiting list.

Regards
Mrs. Tanya Shaw
Deputy Principal – Senior School

From the Head of Year 10.

It has been another fantastic term for the Year 10 cohort. I wanted to congratulate all the Year 10 students who received an award at the recent awards night. It is extremely encouraging to see students being recognised for the amazing effort they show towards everything they do at ESHS. In addition, it is important to recognise the incredible work of parents and carers who continue to support their children to have success across all aspects of their schooling journey. Parents play an integral role in supporting their child whether that be through sport, music, academic or community events and it is great to work with such caring and supportive parents.

The PBL focus for the most recent fortnight has been ‘look out for others’. This important focus encourages students to look out for their peers and ensure, if they are feeling overwhelmed, that support is available. The end of term can be a stressful time and it is important we keep an eye out for each other.

Furthermore, students participated in the ‘Love Bites’ workshop on Tuesday 22.11.22. This is a great opportunity for students to understand the legal world and the importance of acting in a safe and responsible way. Students participated in activities throughout the day.

Finally, if you are going away for the holidays, I wish you all a safe and relaxing holiday and I look forward to seeing you all in 2023.

Regards
Mr. Peter Sanson
HOY – Year 10

From the Head of Year 11.

And that’s a wrap on 2022 and Year 11. Congratulations to all students who received academic awards or special awards at the annual awards night. I am so proud of all of the students who have excelled in their first year of senior schooling. It is a big transition, however they are now all set up ready to complete their final year of schooling.

Congratulations also goes to all of those students who have received a leadership position for 2023. May your Year 12 be a year you will never forget!

Even though students will have some study to complete over the holiday period, please encourage your student to have some downtime, relax and unwind after a stressful year.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas period full of food, friends and fun. See you in 2023 to complete this high school journey.

Regards
Mrs. Lauren Jarvis
HOY – Year 11

From the HPE team.

In the Health and Physical Education realm, we recently held our annual sports awards night. This night was a great success, and it was fantastic to see our talented students be recognised for their sporting achievements this year. Notable awards were Toby Bretherton with Junior Sportsperson of the Year, and Jason Lilje with Senior Sportsperson of the Year. Well done!

With the end of Term 4 comes the heat. We will ensure that students are less exposed to this by giving more regular drink breaks during class time and utilising the air conditioning in the UCA. Our senior assessment is all finished for the year, and at the end of Week 8, all junior assessment should also be wrapped up, excellent!

The HPE faculty wishes everyone a great holiday and a merry Christmas!

Regards
Mr. James Fitzpatrick
Teacher

From the Arts team.

As always, the Arts are buzzing! There is always a lot on the go.

The musical rehearsals are going really well, my goodness we have some talented young people in our school. Students will be receiving their permission note for the full school musical rehearsal very soon. Staff and students alike are looking forward to our full run through of Act 1 in Week 10. Mark your calendars for Week 2, Term 2 of 2023, as you will not want to miss out on seeing our production, Rock of Ages: Teen Edition.

Sadly, we farewelled our Year 12 students from across the Arts on Friday during the graduation ceremony. We wish these students all the best with their future endeavours.

The Years 7 – 11 students in the various Arts subjects are now working towards completing their assessment before going on holidays for a very well-deserved break.

Works by Visual Art students from across Years 7 – 12, will be scrutinised over the coming weeks, as the art teachers select the cream of the crop to include in our end of year art exhibition. This year our showcase will take place after the holidays, commencing on the 16th of January and closing on the 17th of February. The opening night will be held on Friday 3rd of February, Week 2 of Term 1, so be sure to come along and support your peers at the Central Highland Regional Council Emerald Gallery. The Viewer’s Choice Awards for both senior and junior will once again take place, with the prizes kindly being donated by our school Student Representative Council (S.R.C.) Thank you to the S.R.C. members, Mrs Ross and Miss Whybird for your support.

Regards
Miss. Amy Cochrane
Teacher

From the LOTE team.

Konnichiwa minna-san!

I want to give a huge congratulations to our Year 12 Japanese students – They have been an absolute pleasure to teach, and I am proud of them all. Our seniors have put in a mammoth effort, and I look forward to hearing of their future endeavours.

The Languages program this term has students studying a variety of topics across years 7 – 12, including:

Year 7 – “Memorable places”

As the name suggest, students will be learning about the beauty of travelling and what makes a place memorable in relation to themselves and others around them.

Year 8 – “What is community celebration?”

In this unit, students will discuss and explore different types of celebration all over the world. This in turns will open up many valuable learning opportunities for students to understand how a community come together to celebrate an important event and its purpose.

Year 9 and 10 – “What is global connection?”

Students will discuss and analyse how Japanese stand-up comedy (AKA Manzai) promotes the connections between different culture and how comedy connects the world together!

At this stage, assessments for LOTE were given at the start of Week 7 and are due in Week 9 of this term. Although Year 10 have been given their assessment earlier due to finishing end of Week 8.

The best way to improve achievement is short but regular review of vocabulary. Particularly, 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.

Regards
Mr. Riley Neill
Teacher

From the Humanities team.

With the year swiftly drawing to an end, most year levels are finishing off their assessment. Some interesting activities occurring in the junior school include:

• Year 7 Geography have been taking measurements in and out of shaded areas of windspeed heat radiation and shaded areas to assess how we can improve our school grounds for students without contributing to the ‘urban heat island’ effect. This involved analysing maps taken by drone and completing questions online to gather survey data. Some students have come up with great solutions such as misting fans to lower the temperature naturally.
• Year 8 History have been learning about the Black Death of the 14th Century and the massive difference between handling a pandemic then as compared to in 2019. The fact that it upset the medieval feudal system was a blessing in disguise. Students will complete an exam in Week 9.

The Humanities subjects continue to draw students in, engaging them with their relevance and amazing stories from which we can make this a better world today. I still have several replicas of Viking axes and villages of Norse-people made from Lego. These works of art are evidence of the many ways we engage students in a hands-on way in the subject.

Regards
Mrs. Vicki Hawkins
Teacher

From the Technologies team.

In the near future Emerald State High School will be upgrading the technology device program to enable students the best opportunity to learn using technology. The new program does not supersede our existing BYOD program at the school. The ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD/X) program allows parents and carers to provide students with a family-owned device or purchase a new device of their choice that meets the minimum requirements of the school (please visit our website for more details). BYOD is an efficient and effective way of ensuring students take advantage of a personal device for learning.

With the BYOD program students are responsible for caring for and maintaining their devices, ensuring they are ready to be used when needed. This would require students to:

• Bring their device to school each day
• Ensure that it is fully charged and ready to last all day
• Have the appropriate software to meet the requirements of their subjects
• Contact the IT support team, whenever they need help.

Use of digital devices requires critical thinking skills, an awareness of the necessary standards of behaviour expected in online environments, and an understanding of the shared social issues created by digital technologies. Or alternatively: digital literacy = digital tool knowledge + critical thinking + social engagement. This allows students and teachers to use a range of technology to enhance the learning experience to personalise learning for students and to connect students to learning opportunities.

From the benches of the Design and Technology classes, students are finishing off their projects for the term. Year 10 students have completed their Tool Carryall, and are progressing with the Garden Ordainment Unit.

Year 9 Design and Technology classes have started their Step Stool and should complete their final Unit for this year by Week 10.

Year 9 and 10 Technology and Engineering Systems classes are trouble shooting their ideas for the Catapult Unit (Year 9) or Perpetual Motion Unit (Year 10).

With Year 12s finished inside the workshops, Year 11s have been busy with completing their units in both Engineering and Furnishing. Below is Josh Russell whose Engineering Project of the Tool Box was finished to such a high standard that it was warranted to share in the Newsletter. Along with such a high finish product, Josh’s theory notes are easy to read yet very detailed. His set of notes covers all the relevant content required to ace the course.

A REMINDER to all Engineering (ESK) students that Workshop Lockers were to be cleaned out by the end of Week 7. Please ensure these valuable items of safety clothing are maintained and not disregarded.

Regards
Mr. Noel Cavanagh
HOD

From the SRC.

Emerald State High School has lit up a rural property near Pentland in North Queensland, Lolworth Station. This was due to the generosity of the community and the efforts of 2022’s SRC during the annual Shines talent quest earlier this year. The Royal Flying Doctors delivered the lights last month to the owners of the station.

Shines raised almost $1400 and this was enough to provide kerosene filled light kits, which the owner can now use to light up their entire private airfield. Lolworth Station is an 8000 head cattle station located about 600 kilometres north of our school. Like other rural properties in North Queensland, it has its own airfield which is used throughout the year for everything from deliveries to emergencies. The Guiding Light Project attempts to provide these stations with lights that are not only easy to use, but also cheap; solar lights are not used as they are too dull and LED lights are too expensive. It is wonderful to think that our school was able to provide an entire airfield with what could be a lifesaving facility.

Lighting an entire airfield is a remarkable legacy left by the leaders of 2022, and hopefully future leaders will continue to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctors Guiding Light project.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the SRC in their fundraising efforts during the year.

Regards
Ms. Leanne Ross
SRC Coordinator

From the Interact Club.

Earlier this month, the Central Highlands Interact Group based in Emerald SHS, donated $2000 to the Royal Flying Doctors Service. During the course of the year they were able to raise this money through the Christmas in July light display and haunted house fundraisers.

This money will go towards the Rotary led RFDS fundraiser which is attempting to raise funds for a centre at the Airport. The RFDS provides emergency aeromedical evacuation services, medical consultations and supplies, and dental and mental health outreach services to rural and remote Australia. The RFDS relies on sponsorships and donations to bridge the gap in its operational funding (their ‘flying intensive care units' cost more than $7 million each).

Central Highlands Interact is the only Interact school group and its membership has increased during the year. The current members are looking forward to building on this next year, as well as running other fundraisers that will support other local and international charities. This is a remarkable achievement for our group and a great legacy to leave to our community, especially for such a worthy cause.

This month, our club also said goodbye to Daniel Roussounis who coordinates Interact in the region. He has been a massive support to our group for years and although it is with sadness that he is leaving, we wish him all the best in Bundaberg. Before he left, we presented him with one of our new club shirts, which were donated by Emerald Rotary.

Regards
Ms. Leanne Ross
Club Coordinator

From the Premier’s Prize challenge.

Every year the Queensland Government and RSL send eight students from across the state on an all-expenses paid trip to the World War One battlefields in France and Belgium. It also includes three site seeing days in London, Paris and Versailles, and a cruise in Bruges in Belgium. Only 8 students are chosen from across all State, Catholic, Independent and Private schools throughout Queensland. The 2-week trip culminates with the Dawn Service at the Australian Memorial to the Missing at Villers Bretonneux in France. (Click on https://youtube/heBDFoBTJB4 to view a video that was made in 2018 by recipients of the award.) All recipients are also gifted with a full tour uniform which includes t-shirts, hat, scarf and wet weather jacket. This is the first time the trip has been run since 2019 due to COVID-19.

We had four applicants from our school apply this year and Anastasia Maher (in Year 10) was selected to represent not only her State, but her school, overseas next year. Ana is following in the footsteps of her father, who was lead chaperone in 2017; both following in the footsteps of their grandfather who was a gunner in World War One. This is an amazing opportunity for her, as she will get the chance to visit the nationally important sites such as Pozieres, Fromelles and Bullecourt. She will also be given the opportunity to lay a wreath at the Menin Gates in Ypres in Belgium.

Of course, there is still work to complete with eulogies to be written on soldiers that the group will later visit during the trip, as well as services the group will conduct during special stops in Europe, but she is more than capable to fulfilling these roles in her role as State and school ambassador.

The competition is open to all students in Years 8-11. We will be running a lunch time club next year in Terms 1 and 2 in order to start our research and movie creations, which address the importance of the Anzac Spirit to a contemporary generation.

Congratulations Ana and enjoy this amazing opportunity.

Regards
Ms. Leanne Ross
Premier’s Prize Coordinator

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 7 and 8 of this term.

Student of the Week

Week 7

Year 7: Cooper Jones For always working hard and having the best positive attitude! He is a pleasure to teach.

Year 8: Jai Matheson For working hard across various subjects and being recognised for his effort.

Year 9: Alex Powell For always applying himself in class. Alex works hard to complete all tasks to a high standard.

Year 10: Brianna Weeks For consistently displaying a positive attitude towards her learning. Brianna is an ambassador for the school.

Year 11: Libby Bougoure For always participating and being the first to volunteer when asked.

Week 8

Year 7: Annalise Huddy For always being polite, prepared for class and actively participating in all class activities.

Year 8: Georgia O' Neill For always being polite to peers and teachers in the classroom and around the school.

Year 9: Brooke Shannen For always displaying a positive attitude to all that she does. Brooke is a delight to teach.

Year 10: Lacey Hoskins For the determination she shows towards completing assessment. Lacey is a role model for her peers.

Year 11: Ryan Hare For always being polite and willing to assist.

Community Notices