15 June 2016

Newsletter Articles

Principal's Report

Welcome to the final edition of the newsletter for Term 2. Traditionally in a school term, two and three are extremely busy, and I must say this has certainly been the case for Charleville State High School.

Student Opportunities

One of the things that I admire most is the opportunities that we can provide our students at Charleville State High School. Being in a rural and remote location should never mean that our students miss out on opportunities that are available to students at much larger high schools. Last week two such trips took place. Our Under 15 Rugby League tour was a great success and even though the boys did not win their games they certainly enjoyed the experience and learned lots of new skills that will enable them to play better as a team. I would like to thank Mr Webb, Mr Barrow and Mr Jensen for their organisation and running of such a wonderful trip for our boys. This trip would not be possible without the generous support of our community through our trivia night which directly supports our boys to attend this week.

The other trip that took place last week was the Beyond Year 10 Camp. This is a great camp as it offers our students to experience university life and also some of the other career opportunities that are available upon successful completion of schooling. Thank you to Mr Kohli and Mrs McDonald for accompanying our students last week. From all reports, our students certainly learned lots and enjoyed themselves.

Attendance

I must say that Attendance has not been of a standard that we normally pride ourselves on recently. During recent times, the school and our parents and community have partnered well to improve the attendance of our students. The last couple of weeks have unfortunately been below our target of 92%. On recent assemblies, I have been talking to students about one of my favourite quotes, "If it is to be, It is up to me". This resonates with our students because as the quote suggests each and everyone of our students are in control of their destiny and to give themselves every chance at success they need to be attending school each day (especially Friday) to ensure that gaps do not develop in their learning. I thank you again for your continued support of our students together in partnership we look at ensuring that our students are maximising their outcomes.

P and C Appreciation Day

This Friday we are celebrating the great work that our Parents and Citizen do for our school. As part of our newly established "Highway Café," we are inviting our P and C along with other parents to experience morning tea supplied and served by our Year 10 hospitality students. The P and C are very well led by Mrs Julie Frousheger and her hard working team and in partnership, we have been able to see great achievements both big and small which benefit our students. On behalf of Charleville State High School, I would publicly like to thank the P and C for their contribution to our school.

Beacon Foundation

Last week we had the Beacon Foundation visit our school and community. The Beacon Foundation is a not for profit organisation that has been operating for 27 years, and its main aim is to work with schools to improve job readiness and ensure that all students have a pathway upon successful completion of formal secondary education. The Beacon Foundation have Charleville State High School as its only school in Queensland to pilot a new online forum which will provide students with information and real time examples of future careers and skills. While in town the Beacon Foundation got to talk to our students, teachers, parents and citizens association as well as key business and community contacts. The Beacon Foundation are currently drawing up a partnership agreement for the next three to five years with our school.

Cyber safety tips

The education department has been alerted to the fact that online predators are now using "Instagram" to contact students. The following tips have been shared with students this week in form and maybe worth discussing to ensure students safety while online:

1. Only use social media forums that you know are safe and that your parents allow you to use.
2. Only be friends with people online who you know in the real world. It is alarming the number of students in the state that are friends with people that they have never met face to face.
3. If something doesn't seem right then, it probably isn't right, and they need to either talk with their parents/caregivers, YLC, Guidance officer or teacher they trust.

New learner driver app

A new free app allows learner drivers to record their driving hours using a smartphone or tablet device. The Queensland Learner Logbook app enables learners to electronically submit their completed hours directly to the Department of Transport and Main Roads for processing, saving learners time and money mailing their completed logbook in for processing.

Every day counts

Even though we are coming to the end of the term, I wish to remind our school community that we will be teaching up until the very last day of term. Our students need to be at school during the last two weeks to ensure that they experience the required learnings that will occur in the last week which will position them well as they enter term three.

Student success

I would also like to congratulate our students that gained selection in the Outback Queensland Rugby League team with trials held in Winton. Congratulations to Olivia Aitken, who was selected in the under 16 side and to Warren Draper, Jack Baker, Ben Richards and Allan Muller, who gained selection in the under 18 side. We wish these boys all the best at the upcoming games on the 25th and 26th of June.

Also a congratulations to Watjerra Briggs who made the Central Crows Under 14 team who will now go onto play at the state championships. Just last weekend Watjerra was playing for the South West Mustangs and has gained selection into the Central Crows team. Congratulations Watjerra.

Reports and Parent/Teacher Interviews

Semester one reports will be posted out next week, and parent teacher interviews will be held in the first week of school. All information regarding upcoming Parent/Teacher interviews will be included with your child's report.

Happy Holidays

As I said at the start of my article this week, it has certainly been a busy term and one which has seen our students gain many great opportunities. I would like to wish our school community a safe holiday break and I look forward to welcoming our students back to school on the 11th of July for term three.

If you require any further information regarding anything in the newsletter or any aspect concerning your child's education, please do not hesitate to contact us at school.

Marcus

Teaching and Learning @ CSHS

What has been happening at CSHS?

Learning comes in all shapes and forms. At CSHS we continue to offer a range of experiences to students. As you can see from the following examples, our students are provided with many experiences.

Yr 12 Safe Driving Course: Our Year 12 students participated in a Safe Driving Course, run by Austrail Training Services, fully funded by Hand Heart Pocket charity. Students participated in a three (3) hours theory session on June 1st, while those students with a learners licence also completed a three (3) practical session at the Showgrounds on Saturday June 4th.

This was an amazing opportunity provided to our students and from all accounts they learned many valuable lessons, including how dangerous it was to text and drive as well as how much more control they had of the vehicle when they drove at just 5 kms/hour less. If this experience saves lives then it is all worth every cent and minute.

Year 12 Safe Drivers

One Punch Can Kill: Our Year 12 students were provided with the opportunity to hear from Paul Stanley, father of Matthew Stanley, who unfortunately passed away due to violence at a party. The Matthew Stanley Foundation seeks to promote non-violence and mutual respect among young people and responsible behaviour in the adult community.

Students heard the heartbreaking story of Matthew's incident whereby in September 2006, Matthew Stanley lost his life after being bashed outside a teenager's party aged just 15.

After an outpouring of community grief, Paul and Kay responded by joining forces with other community members to form the Matthew Stanley Foundation (MSF).

The Matthew Stanley Foundation partners with individuals, community groups, businesses and elected representatives to promote youth safety initiatives. These initiatives have included the Party Safe and One Punch Can Kill campaigns and the new WACO (Walk Away Chill Out) Campaign.

Another thought-provoking opportunity for our students who are not far off transitioning into the world of work. Thank you to Paul, James and Sarah for their time.

Beyond Year 10 Camp: Our Year 10 Students have spent the past week exploring USQ in Toowoomba, finding out about a range of jobs and possible study options for the future. As in the past, this opportunity has provided our students with a range of options to explore. Thank you to Mr Kohli, Mrs McDonald and the staff at USQ for their time in helping our students explore their futures.

How can all students help to achieve their best results and focus on the finer details?

• Attend school and classes regularly (must be a minimum of 92% - unexplained absences will incur 2 points per absence as a part of the SSAP, and possibly lead to a cancelation of the enrolment due to a lack of engagement with the educational processes provided and course coverage)

• Plan ahead - use the assessment dates and planner given out each semester to help organise your time for the rest of the term and map out when you will need to work on assessment
• Attempt all work, at school and home, set by staff
• Seek feedback and ask questions about all tasks – see your teachers before or after school, during lunch breaks or in class if there are opportunities to do so
• Submit full drafts when required
• Submit all tasks on time – including sitting exams and presenting oral tasks
• Talk to staff if there are any concerns well before the due date
• Attend study / homework club for further help (need to have submitted a permission form – collect one from Mr Kohli if you want to participate)
• Apply for an extension (at least a week before the due date) if there is evidence to support the application. See Mr Kohli, Head of Department Senior Schooling, if you need to request this option.

Tuesday Afternoon Study Club

One way for all students, including our senior students, to help their studies is to attend the Study Club on a Tuesday afternoon. Between 3:15-4:15pm all students can access each member of staff in D3 and D4 for additional help with their studies. How can students access this opportunity? All students need to do is collect a letter from the Office or Mr Kohli (E Block) and returned the consent form attached to the letter. Students can then speak to their teachers and ask if they can access extra assistance from them at the Study Club.

It is important to remember that students are not limited to Study Club to access their teachers, they can work with their teachers at other times during the school day. All they need to do is ask.

Support networks (apart from the classroom)

There are many avenues to support students at Charleville State High School including:

Guidance Officer : Kate Trulson
Heads of Department - Sebastian Kohli (Maths/ Science)
Cassandra Kohli (English/ Humanities)
Sabrina Goodingham (Junior Secondary/ HPE/ LOTE/ The Arts)
Bernie Matthews (Technology/ VET)
Year level coordinators: Year 7 – 9 Katherine Goult and Sam Barrow
Year 10-12 Leighton Webb and Jemma Day
Careers/ Transition advice: Sue McDonald
Youth Support coordinator: Jenny Peacock
School based Youth Health Nurse: Jen Sellin
Chaplain: Les Penrose

Thank you for your continued support of your student, the school and the educational process. If you would like any further information regarding the topics above please don't hesitate to contact the school. Together we can make a difference in the lives of our future leaders.

Regards
Donna

STUDENT SERVICES NEWS

STUDENT SERVICES- UPCOMING EVENTS

TRANSITIONING FROM SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES- Cheryl Auchter has advised eligible Year 12 students about an information session for them and their family to discuss post school options. This will occur at the High School on a date to be advised.

TACKLE FLU- All eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have now received a Tackle Flu vaccination. This has been organised by Queensland Health and nurses from the RFDS will administered the injections. The second of these clinics occurred Monday 13th June and all students who received the vaccination have also received a free Tackle Flu t-shirt.

CWAATSICH HEALTH MUSTERS- 26th and 27th July- The final Health Musters will go ahead at the end of July. Most students have now participated in the musters. If you have not returned your forms and would like your child to be seen by a variety of health care providers please get them back to the office as soon as possible. It is not too late to be included regardless of what year level you are in- we will make sure every student who has returned a form has an appointment. If you would like another permission form or want to check if your child has returned their forms please contact Mrs Jenni Peters.

EAL/D SERVICES

The Regional Support teacher for English as an Additional Language/ Dialect, visited our school last week. Kath Symmons is based in Toowoomba and spent time with our EAL/D students in both an informal setting and in their classrooms. Kath spoke with the students about the great things they experience at school as well as their challenges. The students came up with a few great ideas to look at rolling out over the year and impressed Kath very much with their innovative thoughts. Kath will return early Term 3 to meet with the students again and progress their ideas.

Kath also met with staff and has left many great resources and ideas for us to support our EAL/D students.

OUR TEENS- Explaining why they do what they do

Almost every day I speak to parents, students and teachers alike about why our kids are making the decisions they are when in the past it would be a decision that is totally out of character. Why are our teens no longer listening to us and suddenly only care what their peers think? Why is it that they seem to go from rational and obedient children to out of control teens?

Teenage brain development: the basics

Children's brains have a massive growth spurt when they're very young. By the time they're six, their brains are already about 90-95% of adult size. But the brain still needs a lot of remodelling before it can function as an adult brain.

This brain remodelling happens intensively during adolescence, continuing into your child's mid-20s.

Some brain changes happen before puberty, and some continue long after. Brain change depends on age, experience and hormonal changes in puberty.

So even though all teenagers' brains develop in roughly the same way at the same time, there are differences among individual teenagers. For example, if your child started puberty early, this might mean that some of your child's brain changes started early too.

Inside the teenage brain

Adolescence is a time of significant growth and development inside the teenage brain.

The main change is that unused connections in the thinking and processing part of your child's brain (called the grey matter) are 'pruned' away. At the same time, other connections are strengthened. This is the brain's way of becoming more efficient, based on the 'use it or lose it' principle.

This pruning process begins in the back of the brain. The front part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, is remodelled last. The prefrontal cortex is the decision-making part of the brain, responsible for your child's ability to plan and think about the consequences of actions, solve problems and control impulses. Changes in this part continue into early adulthood.

Because the prefrontal cortex is still developing, teenagers might rely on a part of the brain called the amygdala to make decisions and solve problems more than adults do. The amygdala is associated with emotions, impulses, aggression and instinctive behaviour.

The back-to-front development of the brain explains why your child's thinking and behaviour sometimes seem quite mature, and illogical, impulsive or emotional at other times. Teenagers are working with brains that are still under construction.

The combination of your child's unique brain and environment influences the way your child acts, thinks and feels. For example, your child's preferred activities and skills might become 'hard-wired' in the brain.

How teenagers spend their time is crucial to brain development. So it's worth thinking about the range of activities and experiences your child is into – music, sports, study, languages, video games. How are these shaping the sort of brain your child takes into adulthood?

You are an important part of your child's environment. You mean a lot to your child. How you guide and influence him will be important in helping your child to build a healthy brain.

You can do this by:

• encouraging positive behaviour
• promoting good thinking skills
• helping your child get lots of sleep.

Here are some tips for encouraging good behaviour and strengthening positive brain connections:

• Let your child take some healthy risks. New and different experiences help your child develop an independent identity, explore grown-up behaviours, and move towards independence.
• Help your child find new creative and expressive outlets for her feelings. She might be expressing and trying to control new emotions. Many teenagers find that sport or music, writing and other artforms – either as a participant or a spectator – are good outlets.
• Talk through decisions step by step with your child. Ask about possible courses of action your child might choose, and talk through potential consequences. Encourage your child to weigh up the positive consequences or rewards against the negative ones.
• Use family routines to give your child's life some structure. These might be based around school and family timetables.
• Provide boundaries, and opportunities for negotiating those boundaries. Young people need guidance and limit-setting from their parents and other adults.
• Offer frequent praise and positive rewards for desired behaviours. This reinforces pathways in your child's brain.
• Be a positive role model. Your behaviour will show your child the behaviour you expect.
• Stay connected with your child. You'll probably want to keep an eye on your child's activities and friends. Being open and approachable can help you with this.
• Talk to your child about his developing brain. Understanding this important period of growth might help teenagers process their feelings. It might also make taking care of their brains more interesting.

Teenagers are often passionate about their interests, especially ones that give them opportunities to socialise. You can help your child develop skills and confidence by supporting her interests, activities and hobbies.

Risk-taking behaviour

The teenage brain is built to seek out new experiences, risks and sensations – it's all part of refining those brain connections.

Also, teenagers don't always have a lot of self-control or good judgment and are more prone to risk-taking behaviour. This is because the self-monitoring, problem-solving and decision-making part of the brain – the prefrontal cortex – develops last. Hormones are also thought to contribute to impulsive and risky behaviour in teens.

Teenagers need to take risks to grow and develop. You can support your child in choosing healthy risks – such as sports and travel – instead of negative ones like smoking and stealing. All risk-taking involves the possibility of failure. Your child will need your support to get over any setbacks.

Until next time,
Jenni
Deputy Principal- Student Services

Junior Secondary Update

It has been a busy, but exciting term in Junior Secondary, with our 7's and 9's participating in NAPLAN, our 7's making memories on camp, our 8's cooking up a storm in Japanese, and our 7's to 9's participating in the Football Tour and Fanfare over the past few weeks. It is great to see our students putting 100% into their education. It is also great to see so many junior students taking advantage of our Homework Club every Tuesday afternoon – particularly at the moment in the lead up to assessment.

Next term will only get busier for Junior Secondary with the beginnings of planning for 2017 to start, Year 9 Camp information being distributed, The Charleville Mates program being extended to St Mary's, and we even have an artist coming to visit and share her talents throughout the Art classes.

Life Beyond the Beyond Year 10 Camp

There are many special things about the number 15. Fifteen is a triangular number, a hexagonal number, and a pentatope number. It also has 4 factors, those being 1, 3, 5 and 15 itself.

There are, of course, many more factors that will influence the career pathways of the 15 year 10 students who attended the Beyond Year 10 camp last week.

This immersive 3 day experience, provided and hosted by the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) is now in its sixth year. This camp gives students a taste of what it is like living in one of USQ's residential colleges.

With the focus on future studies and careers, the students hear form industry experts and leaders, and tour industry sites across Toowoomba. Students had the chance to learn about studies in Medical Science, Creative Industries, Law, Nursing and Healthcare, Education, and Aerospace Engineering just to name just a few. With their multitudinous options for entering further study spread out before them, students could appreciate just how many pathways they may choose from in the near future.

Industry visits gave students the chance to see a courtroom in action, observe the training of nurses, and get some hands on experience suturing wounds and plastering broken arms. All were in awe at the new at Brisbane West airport, with questions flying thick and fast about the possible jobs on offer in this international transport hub.

Our thanks go to the dedicated team of USQ educators, and their generosity that sees almost a thousand students attend this camp and Careers Day each year.

We look forward to future involvement of our students in this inspiring experience.

Update - Charleville Mates Program

Our junior secondary transition program has started off with a bang, with students and teachers from both Charleville State School and Charleville State High School all having a fantastic time. Over the past three-weeks, we have had eleven of our Charleville State High School students participate in the program. All students involved have had a ball, and have thoroughly enjoyed the experiences and friendships they have developed so far. Over the last two-weeks our students have participated in literacy activities across all Year levels at Charleville State School. It is wonderful to see our students caring and nurturing nature while assisting students to read and comprehend information. Our students have been only too willing to take some time out to spend some quality time developing friendships with students during their playtime, and a few students have even recreated old memories. Below are a few photos from the past two weeks, they are sure to bring a smile to your face!

Sabrina Goodingham
Head of Department