Charleville State High School
PDF Details

Newsletter QR Code

Corner of Partridge and Hunter Streets
Charleville QLD 4470
Subscribe: https://charlevilleshs.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: admin@charlevilleshs.eq.edu.au
Phone: 07 4656 8888
Fax: 07 4656 8800

17 August 2017

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

NAPLAN

Hi everyone. Initial NAPLAN results have now become available to the school. These initial results allow us to look at how our Year 7 and Year 9 cohorts have gone in regard to the NAPLAN strands. It also allows us to see the “relative gain” of students since their previous NAPLAN test, but we still do not have individual NAPLAN results for students.

Overall, the results are quite pleasing and show some excellent gains and improvements, particularly for our Year 9 students. Our Year 9 cohort have exceeded our school targets for NMS (National Minimum Standards) for Reading (90.5%), Spelling (95%) and Numeracy (97%). These are excellent results and show a significant improvement from the 2016 results in these areas.

Once all data is received by the school, students who have shown significant improvement in their NAPLAN data and/or have shown outstanding results by reaching the U2B (Upper 2 Bands) in these tests will be presented with a certificate, rewarding them for their outstanding work. The school will also receive individualized reports for each student in the near future, and these will be posted home when they arrive.

RE-DEVELOPMENT OF THE JUNIOR PRECINCT

The School continues to work with BAS around the development of a plan for the Junior Secondary Precinct improvements, in an attempt to get the best “bang for our buck”. We are very close to a final agreement on the proposal, which will include new drainage, new concreted area, a 21m x 12m covered area, an Astro-turfed area, and the provision of seating for the students. This is the second part of the project from the funds provided from the “Smart Schools Subsidy Scheme”, following on from the re-development of the tuckshop earlier in the year.

Once signed off on, the project should commence on the September holidays and be completed mid-term in Term 4.

BEYOND BRONCOS

It has been confirmed that the program “Beyond Broncos” will commence in the school in Term 4 2017. This program entails a group of support staff coming out once a term to present to our Indigenous female students, to set goals with them, and to reward those that have met their goals around attendance and engagement.

It will also involve a support person employed by the Broncos, who will work with the students within the school for 15-20 hours every week. An advertisement will be placed in the local paper in the next couple of weeks for this position, and an interview process will occur soon after this to employ a local person in that position.

The support people who come out to work with the students include ex-Bronco players Scot Prince, Justin Hodges, and Jharal Yow Yeh.

As part of this process, the school is required to provide a space for them to work with the students. To this end, the school is proposing to create a “support services hub”, where all of our support services will be located, so that resources will be shared for all student’s support needs. Plans are currently underway to re-develop a section of C Block for this purpose.

GET STARTED VOUCHERS

I would like to make all parents aware that Round 10 of the Get Started Vouchers program is open and vouchers are available. Under the Get Started Vouchers program, vouchers of up to $150 are available to eligible children and young people, which can help pay for the cost of sport or recreation club membership, and/or participation fees through registered Get Started Vouchers clubs. This video explains how to apply:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b6dTCs9LYg

If the child/young person or their parent/carer/guardian holds a valid Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, they can apply straight away online. In this case, there is no need to worry about having a recommendation from referral agents.

Please note: The vouchers are issued on a first come, first served basis. Once they have been allocated, the round closes. Applications close when fully allocated or, at latest, 27 September 2017. If your child is involved in club sport, I would strongly recommend applying for this.

DENTAL VAN

The Dental Van has now arrived at Charleville State High School. They will provide a FREE service to all students for many dental procedures (for all Year 7-10 students, and for all Year 11-12 students with a current Health Care Card).

All students have had a form sent home so that parents can book a time for their student to have a check-up at the school. Students will then be given an appointment time at school for the check-up, with the Dental Van staff contacting parents if there is any further work suggested for the students. If you have not received a form, please contact the office for another. Please look to take advantage of this FREE Queensland Health Service. It has been pleasing to see how many students have already taken advantage of this service. The dental van will remain at the school for as long as their service is required.

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

The School Athletics carnival was held on Friday 4th August. This was a fantastic day, with the students getting right into the dress up theme of “childhood memories” and having a great day combining competitive and fun activities. It was great to see so many students involved on the day. Congratulations to Tobruk for their hard fought victory on the day, and to the Year 12s for their leadership and involvement throughout the event. Congratulations also to all of the age champions and to all of the competitors that have now qualified to compete at the Regional trials in Chinchilla later this month. Special thanks to Mr Brad Lines for his amazing work in organising and running the event on the day.

YEAR 7 2018 INFORMATION NIGHT and UPCOMING TRANITION DAY

Thank you to all the parents and carers that came along for the information night on August 1st. Parents were given a complete overview of the Junior Secondary School program at the school, and presented with a lot of the processes and dates for the rest of the year for transition program to assist in the students move from Primary school to High School.

They were also informed about the new class being introduced into the school, the MESH program (Maths, English, Science, Humanities), that will see the highest achieving Year 7 and 8’s in a class together, and the highest achieving 9 and 10s in another class together. These classes will still study similar concepts as other classes, but with a focus on higher order thinking and learning skills. Students will be nominated for this program based on a variety of data gathered from their Primary schools.

The next important day in this process will be the Transition day on Tuesday August 22nd, from 9am to 3pm. On this day, all Year 6 students from the Primary schools will be coming to the High School to participate in a number of activities and high school classes.

Information regarding this has been sent to your child’s Primary School and they will inform your child and you of the processes for getting to and from the High School on the day.

Matt Samson
Principal

Deputy Principal Senior Schooling Report

School Opinion Survey

The School Opinion Surveys are undertaken each year by the Department of Education and Training to obtain opinion information from parents/caregivers, students and school staff. The surveys are designed to help schools identify what they do well and how they can improve. The School Opinion Survey suite is comprised of five individual surveys:

  • Parent/Caregiver Survey
  • Student Survey
  • Student Survey for Special Schools
  • Staff Survey
  • Principal Survey.

Opinions on the school, student learning and student well-being are sought from a parent/caregiver in all families and a sample of students from each state school.

All of the information you provide will be treated confidentially. Selected families will be posted an information and instruction sheet within the next week. The School Opinion Surveys will close 5pm Friday, 25 August 2017.

Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test

Each year, the QCAA conducts a common statewide test designed for Year 12 students. The test is also available to other eligible candidates.

The QCS Test contributes information for the calculation of Overall Positions (OPs) and Field Positions (FPs), which are used to select students for tertiary entrance.

A student's individual QCS Test result is not used on its own in the calculation of their OP — instead, group results are used as part of the statistical scaling processes. A student's individual result on the QCS Test (from A to E) is reported on the student's Senior Statement or Statement of Results.

The QCS Test does not test particular knowledge of specific Year 12 subjects. It tests the Common Curriculum Elements (CCEs), a set of generic skills identified in the Queensland senior curriculum.

The test assumes that candidates have basic levels of general knowledge and vocabulary and a Year 10 knowledge of mathematical operations.

The QCS Test consists of 4 papers — a Writing Task (of 600 words), a Short Response paper and two Multiple Choice papers. The results achieved for each of the 4 test papers are combined into one grade, ranging from A (the highest grade) to E (the lowest).

Those sitting the test are asked to respond to a variety of stimulus materials, such as prose passages, poetry, graphs, tables, maps, mathematical and scientific data, cartoons and artistic works.

QTAC

The Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) operates a centralised tertiary application service for:

  • publicly-funded Queensland universities
  • Bond University Medicine
  • TAFE Queensland
  • Australian Maritime College
  • some courses at publicly-funded universities in Northern New South Wales
  • some private tertiary education providers.

These institutions have complete control in determining their own entry requirements.

QTAC assess applications using these entry requirements and then make offers to successful applicants during the offer rounds.

As well as managing applications for the above institutions, QTAC publish course information for some institutions that accept their own applications directly.

QTAC Applications open on the 3rd August 2017 and close on the 26th September 2017. The application fee cost is below.

Traineeships

We have a number of traineeships and apprenticeships available at the moment, including Certificate III Hospitality. Please see Ange Vetter for more information on how to apply.

Thank you to all our local businesses that support our students with Work Experience, Traineeships and Apprenticeships. You offer our students valuable time and experiences within the workplace.

Cheers
Vanessa Moller

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL JUNIOR SCHOOLING AND STUDENT SERVICES NEWS

Junior School

Welcome to Week 6. Please ensure that you can access the assessment calendar for junior students. This will help you in supporting your student to plan carefully for the assessment they will have in the next few weeks.

Timetable

Due to number of reasons, there have been a number of necessary changes to the timetable. We have attempted to keep the changes to a minimum and thank you for your understanding in this matter. One of the reasons that staff are away is that they that they have the opportunity to participate in a number of Professional development opportunities. This week we are continuing the Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) development at Charleville State High School. We are in our third year of ensuring that reading is a focus in all subject areas and we are extremely pleased to see that the dedication of staff in this area is reflected in the 2017 NAPLAN results.

Contact Details

Are your contact details up to date at the school? Please call Nadonna at the office or send a note if you have had a change in address or phone number. It is important that we are able to contact you at any time.

Parent Information Evening

On Tuesday 1st August, parents attended a Parent Information Evening. This presentation was directed for parents of students entering Year 7 in 2018. However, all parents and community members were invited. There will be the first Transition day for future year seven students on 22nd August. We look forward to meeting the students of 2018 and am sure the opportunity to experience high school life will make the transition from primary school to high school stress free.

Uniforms

Although we are experiencing an unusually warm winter this year, students are still wearing jumpers, coats and hoodies to school which do not abide by the school uniform guidelines as written and supported by the CSHS P&C. Please refer to the back page of the student diary for details on the correct school uniform. As we are now in the month of August students have had plenty of time to access a school coat or a black jumper/hoodie. Please support the P&C and us by ensuring your student has correct uniform every day. If your student consistently is out of uniform a year level coordinator will contact you.

Who can support your student at CSHS?

There are many people who can help your student if they need it. Below is a list of some options should students not know who to see for help. Please note that there are a number of staff on leave in term 3

Class Teachers

Have a list of emails to be able to contact staff or ring the school to have a chat or organise a meeting.

Head of Departments

Science/ Maths/Ag/Senior Secondary – Mr Sebastian Kohli
HPE/Junior Secondary – Mrs Sabrina Goodingham
Technology/ VET – acting Mr Barry Wastie
English/ Humanities/LOTE/Art/Reading - - Mrs Cassandra Kohli

Year Level Coordinators

Yr 10-12 - Mr Leighton Webb and Miss Lauren Butler
Yr 7-9 – Mr Sam Barrow and Miss Katherine Goult
Guidance Officer – Mr John Anderssen
Youth Support Coordinator - Mrs Jenny Peacock
CEC – Jolene Russell
School Based Youth Health Nurse – Jen Sellin
Chaplain - Mr Les Penrose (Chappy)

Deputy Principals

Senior Schooling – Ms Vanessa Moller
Junior Schooling and Students Services – Mrs Narelle Webb
Principal - Mr Matt Samson

Student Services

IMPORTANT – Please Read
Mobile Phones at Charleville SHS

The inappropriate use of a mobile phones is often reported to the school, however the majority of times the mobile phone is used outside of school hours. If there is evidence that a student has used their phone inappropriately at school, the student is directed to leave their phone in the office, which they may collect after school.

There has been research on the use of mobile phones and young people. I would like to urge parents and carers of junior school students to have students leave their phone at home where the responsible adult can carefully monitor the use. However, when there are times that students need to have their phone in their possession I would recommend that the students hand their phone into the office before school begins, they can collect them at 3:00 pm each afternoon. Too often people are using their phone rather than having valuable social interaction with their peers.

Recently, I visited a school where students are not allowed to use phones during school hours including breaks. The positive social interaction I observed was impressive. Too often digital technology is used as a “false social opportunity”. Yet, too often messages are misinterpreted by the reader or the message can be outright hurtful or aggressive.

Please carefully consider your young persons’ best interest and the amount of time they use digital media.

Boys Toilets

Currently, the boys’ toilets are locked during class times. This procedure is to ensure the health of all boys. Events have occurred that caused the boys toilets being an unhealthy environment. We take the health and safety of students very seriously and until we can guarantee that all boys’ health is not at risk these measures must be taken.

We have explained to the students even before the closure that three breaks during the school day is more than most schools provide and it is during the breaks that the students should be visiting the toilets. However, in the rare cases the students need to use the toilet during class time the boys may use the toilets in the office.

Outside of School Hours on School Grounds

Unless supervised, children including students of Charleville State High School are not allowed on the school grounds outside of school hours. Dedicated staff are often at school outside of school hours and are concerned that these children are not adequately supervised.

Immunization for Meningococcal

All young people aged from 15 to 19 are eligible for a free immunization for Meningococcal. All year ten students will have this service offered at school this Friday 18th August. However, if your student is not in year ten then you may take them to your local GP for this free immunization.

Forms have been be sent out to every year ten student. Please ensure the forms are returned to the school as soon as possible. The year tens will be immunized very soon.

Hearing Screening

Unfortunately, the agency offering the free hearing screen at Charleville State High School are unable to offer the service this year. However, once a term we have visits from Clarity to test hearing. Please contact us if you have concerns about the hearing of your child. Alternatively, you may take your child to your doctor if you have concerns.

Year Nine Camp

Students, parents and teachers are working towards the organizing of the Year Nine Camp to Moreton Island that takes place in Term 4. Last Wednesday, a number of year nine students worked with Mr Baeck and myself to serve Hot Dogs and refreshments to the people attending the Charleville’s Got Talent evening. Every little bit of help is very appreciated as this is a very worthwhile trip for our students.

Until next time,

Narelle Webb
Deputy Principal
Junior Schooling/Student Services

STUDENT SERVICES

Hearing Awareness Week - Week 7, 21st-25th August

Week 7 is Hearing Awareness Week. Students will be learning about hearing loss (in particular noise-induced hearing loss) and noise reduction methods. Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is on the rise among school-aged children and is linked to excessive levels of sound. For our students out west it's likely to be gun shots, industrial noise on properties, motor bikes, listening to music through headphones etc.)

PROTECT MY HEARING

Keeping your hearing healthy is largely about knowing how much loud sound you’re exposed to. A ‘noise diet’ can protect your hearing from future problems. Most cases of deafness are caused by damage to the tiny hair cells in the inner ear. This damage can be the result of too much noise, and it’s permanent. Noise-related hearing loss is usually irreversible. It is important that we all take steps to prevent noise-related damage. The key to keeping your hearing intact is to avoid loud noise.

The louder the sound, the less time you can safely listen to it. Just because a sound isn’t annoying doesn’t make it safe.

Noisy occupations, such as working in factories or on roadworks, used to be the most common cause of hearing problems. Nowadays it’s also recreational loud noise, especially from MP3 players, such as iPods, and noisy clubs and music gigs. That's thought to be why hearing loss is increasingly affecting younger people.

ARE YOU EXPOSED TO TOO MUCH NOISE?

You can lose some hearing after being exposed to loud noise for too long, for example by standing close to speakers at a nightclub. Or hearing can be damaged after a short burst of explosive noise, such as fireworks. If you work or frequently spend time in a noisy place or listen to loud music a lot, you could be losing your hearing without even realising it.

The best way to avoid developing noise-induced hearing loss is to keep away from loud noise as much as you can. Here’s a guide to some typical noise levels (measured in decibels, or dB). The higher the number, the louder the noise. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says noise levels above 105dB can damage your hearing if endured for more than 15 minutes each week. But lower levels, such as between 85dB and 90dB can also cause permanent damage if you're exposed to them for hours every day.

Normal conversation: 60-65dB
A busy street: 75-85dB
Lawn mower/heavy traffic: 85dB
Forklift truck: 90dB
Hand drill: 98dB
Heavy lorry about seven metres away: 95-100dB
Motorbikes: 100dB
Disco/nightclub/car horn: 110dB
MP3 player on loud: 112dB
Chainsaw: 115-120dB
Rock concert/ambulance siren: 120dB

HOW LOUD IS TOO LOUD?

The risk of damage to your hearing is based on two factors: how loud and for how long. Experts agree that continued exposure to noise at or above 85dB over time can cause hearing loss. You’ve been listening too loudly or for too long if you have ringing in your ears or dull hearing after listening to loud music. However, you may still be damaging your hearing even if you don’t have these symptoms. If loud music ever causes pain in your ears, leave the room or turn it down immediately. Without noise measuring equipment it is impossible to tell what noise level you are being exposed to. So, a handy rule of thumb is that if you can’t talk to someone two metres away without shouting, the noise level could be damaging.

TOP TIPS FOR SAFER LISTENING

  • Turn down the music
  • Use the 60:60 rule. Listen to your music at 60% of the MP3 player's maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes a day.
  • Turn down the dial. Turn down the volume on your TV, radio or hi-fi a notch.
  • Use earplugs when you’re listening to live music. They can reduce average sound levels by between 15 and 35 decibels.
  • Don't put up with work noise. Talk to your human resources department.
  • Wear ear protectors
  • Be careful in the car. Listening to music in a confined space increases the risk of hearing damage.
  • Don’t listen to music too loud for too long.
  • Give your ears time to recover after they’ve been exposed to loud noise.

(Source: Deafness Forum of Australia – Fact Sheet)

12 Hospitality

This term the hospitality students have been working on their culinary skills and expanding on their international cuisine knowledge. The students have been learning about a variety of cuisines including the history behind them and what makes them popular in today’s society. These students are applying their newly learnt knowledge to their cooking and exploring their cuisines through cooking a range of dishes each week.

Junior Ag

Junior ag science is in full swing this term here at Charleville State High School with the students undertaking a program brought to us be Dairy Australia. Cows Create Careers – Farm Module is a community, education and industry partnership. This program is designed to increase awareness of the dairy industry and possible careers to school students. Originally established in 2004 in Victoria, with the support of Dairy Australia, numerous dairy farmers and other sponsors the program has now grown to over 200 schools across Australia with 11,900 students completing the program in 2016.

The program provides the students with a very hands on working experience. Students are educated by being provided with two three-week old calves at school, (ours are named Lamington and Nesquick), and the school is provided with dairy industry curriculum and resources including milk powder, grain feed and bottles at no cost. Each school has an industry advocate that visits us and acts as an information source throughout the project. Each school has the opportunity to meet with the dairy farmer that provided the calves for us and learn first-hand how to feed and monitor the calves over their stay here at the school.

The other exciting news happening this term is the junior ag science trip to the Royal Brisbane Exhibition (the EKKA). Students will take part in a 3 day trip to Toowoomba and Brisbane to see for themselves the premier dairy this region has to offer. Thursday will consist of a trip to the Wilsonton Agricultural Field Studies Centre, where students will undertake practical activities with the centre staff. Friday will see Charleville students meet up with Centenary Heights State High School and head to the EKKA for the day. Here students will have the opportunity to see all there is to offer. There will be live milking and cheese making, stud beef and dairy judging, sheep dog trials, and not to mention the monster trucks and fireworks. On Saturday morning, students will travel to Hodgsen Vale, 30 minutes south of Toowoomba, to visit the working dairy that supplied us with our calves for the cows Create Careers project. Here they will see a dairy farm in action and have the chance to be shown around by an expert in his field, (quite literally in his field).

Below is a picture of our 2 calves Lamington (black and white) and Nesquick (brown) that are having a holiday here in the west for the past month.

Community Education Counsellor

So far this year our Indigenous students have participated in a number of programs, camps, community events as well as students thriving to improve their attendance all the time. Take a look at what we are doing at Charleville State High.

Community Education Counsellor
VIEW GALLERY
Community Education Counsellor
Click images to enlarge