8 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

At Charleville State High School, we strive to provide opportunities for students to experience a variety of activities and events. The last couple of weeks have seen a great number of our students involved in opportunities that I know will provide them with lifelong memories.

These opportunities only occur due to the planning, commitment and selflessness of the passionate and hard- working teachers of Charleville State High School.

NAIDOC WEEK

NAIDOC week was celebrated in week 2 of the term – and the commemorations and celebrations that took place during the week were certainly highlighted and accentuated by the amazing dancing of our student dancers.

Seven Charleville State High School students performed at a number of events including the High School ceremony, the NAIDOC March presentations, as well as the NAIDOC fashion show. The students also worked with the Preps, Year 1 and 2 students of Charleville State High School to pass on the knowledge and skills they had learned. The students involved were: Laquita O’Neil, Marni Briggs, Anastasia O’Neil, Jasmine Steer, Sophie Saffy, Peta Russell, and Quintel Bloomfield.

It was an amazing effort by these students, and I would like to personally thank them for the amount of time and effort they put in over the week. I would also like to thank Jolene Russell and Amiee Dolman for all of their work with the students.

As a special thankyou to the girls, CWAATSICH, the Murweh Council, and the HOPE foundation have funded to have the girls travel to Brisbane to watch the nationally acclaimed Bangarra Dance Company perform – an amazing experience for the girls, but one that is very much deserved.

Thank you to all of these groups for their incredible support of the dancers.

REWARDS TRIP

Charleville State High School continues to have high expectations for student behaviour; we are continually working with the students in regards to our 4 expected behaviours and 4 values. Positive behaviours of students are reinforced through the starbucks system, and students with the most starbucks for Semester 1 were rewarded with a trip to Movie World.

The students had an amazing time and all came back with some great stories and memories of their visit to this iconic theme park.

Thanks to Sarah O’Brien for her work in organising the trip, and for William Kok, Amy Roughan and Emma Cameron for assisting with the excursion.

YEAR 11 CAMP

Last week, our Year 11 students travelled to Maroon Dam Outdoor centre for their leadership camp. From all reports, the students had a great time, learnt a little about themselves, about their classmates, and about leadership and working as a team.

Thank you to Mr Sebastian Kohli and Ms Lauren Butler for their organisation and time in making this camp possible and such a memorable experience for all of the students present.

YEAR 1O SET PLANS

All Year 10 students, accompanied by their parent or guardian, met with a senior teacher last week to discuss their future and their subject options for year 11.

The new ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) system starts in 2019, and the changes that are occurring in the senior school due to this, have made making the correct decisions about subjects selected even more important to get right the first time.

These decisions are essential so that students start in the right subjects in year 11 to ensure success in these subjects, and to ensure that they remain on track through their senior years to achieve their QCE (Queensland Certificate of Education), as well as receiving their ATAR at the end of Year 12, if this is the path they choose.

If any parents or carers have any questions regarding this, they should contact Mr Sebastian Kohli, our Senior Schooling Head of Department, or Ms Vanessa Moller, our Senior Schooling Deputy.

YEAR 10 PISA TESTING

Our Year 10 students were also involved this week in the International PISA tests. Schools, and then students, are randomly selected across the globe to sit these tests so that educational leaders can compare the state of education across the world.

So effectively, our students sitting this test were representing Australia on the world stage, comparing them to students from all over the world. A unique and special opportunity when you think about it. Thanks and well done to all of the students who participated and gave these tests their best shot.

Can I thank all parents for ensuring that students are coming to school with either a school jumper or jacket, or a plain black jumper. There has been a vast improvement in this within the school since the start of term.

CENTURIONS

Student attendance remains one of the most important determinants of student success in their education. We cannot teach them, and they cannot learn if they are not consistently at school. It is essential that students are at school every day if possible to ensure consistency of their education.

Those students that do achieve 100% attendance each semester receive a certificate from the school as “Centurions”. These students were also rewarded for this outstanding effort by attending a morning tea put on by the school to celebrate this achievement. Congratulations to the following centurions:

Jack Andrews-Torres, Jake Collins, Son Duong, Amber Hinz, Elijah Hinz, Azaria LeLeca, Zachora Leleca, Duncan McDonald, Jeramhel Mazo, Ballie Malano, Thando Mpofu, Anh Nguyen, Patrick Rowland, Lisa Vo.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• ALL SCHOOLS VOLLEYBALL COMP – THURSDAY 9 TO MONDAY 13 AUGUST
• SCHOOL ATHLETICS CARNIVAL – FRIDAY 10 AUGUST
• UQ CROMWELL COLLEGE VISIT – TUESDAY 14 AUGUST
• YEAR 7 2019 PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT – WEDNESDAY 15 AUGUST
• CULTURE TRAIN MUSIC PERFORMANCE – TUESDAY 21 AUGUST

Thanks

Matt Samson
Principal

Deputy Principal Senior Schooling Report

Think the Drink

On Tuesday 24th July, Michael Redden from Queensland Health’s Drug and Alcohol education unit, hosted the ‘Think the Drink’ sessions with our Year 12 students. The day was conducted at the RSL Memorial Club and included sessions by Red Frogs, QAS and Fire and Rescue. The QAS did a CPR demonstration. The students concluded the day with a demonstration of the Jaws of Life by Charleville Fire and Rescue.

PISA Test and Survey

On Monday 6th August 2018, selected year 9, 10 and 11 students participated in the PISA Test and Survey. Students and schools are randomly selected and forms part of the National Assessment Plan.

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. Randomly selected families will be posted an information and instruction sheet within the next week. The School Opinion Surveys will close 5pm Friday, 24th August 2017.

Indigenous Education Community Meetings

Charleville State High School holds an Indigenous Education Community Meeting once a month. This Committee provides a link for our indigenous community/family to share knowledge, celebrate and be involved in the education of the children enrolled at Charleville State High School. If you have a child/grandchild attending Charleville State High School who identifies as ATSI or you are interested in the education of ATSI children in our community then we welcome and encourage you to attend our meetings.

In 2018, these meetings will be held in the school Professional Library, situated in the school office, and will occur on the second Thursday of each month. If you wish to discuss a particular topic please forward your agenda item to jruss336@eq.edu.au prior to meeting day.

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.

QCE Tracking

Mr Kohli and I are busy closely monitoring our senior students, to ensure they are on a pathway to successfully gain their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE). If any students need to change subjects to help them toward getting their QCE, they need to see me. We will also be organising parent/student interviews with those students who are ‘at risk’ of not gaining their QCE, so we can form an action plan.

VET News

We have a number of traineeships and apprenticeship opportunities coming up.

If your student is looking for the opportunity to be involved, please contact Ange Vetter at the school on 4656 8888.

Thank you to all the businesses that support our students and our school. If you have an opportunity within your business to employ a school based trainee or apprentice, please contact Ange Vetter on 4656 8888.

Cheers

Vanessa Moller

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL JUNIOR SCHOOLING
AND STUDENT SERVICES NEWS

Junior School

Welcome to week 4. Once again the weeks seem to be moving very quickly. You should now have been able to 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 term 3.

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 Wednesday 15th August parents are invited to attend a Parent Information Evening. This presentation is directed for parents of students entering year 7 in 2019. However, all parents and community members are invited. Please see the flyer for more information. The first of the Transition days which give current year 6 students their first experience at high school is Thursday 23 August, followed by the second day in term four on Tuesday 23rd October, 2018.

Visit from Cromwell College, University of Queensland, Principal

On Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th August, the Principal of the residential college at the University of Queensland, Mr Ross Switzer will be visiting Charleville. He will hold a COMMUNITY meeting on Monday afternoon. I urge anyone who is considering sending his or her student to any university to attend this meeting. Ross will be a wealth of information on what is required to send students to university. Anyone is welcome to attend this meeting at the High school at 5:30 pm in the Administration building.

On Tuesday, Ross will be presenting to all interested year 10, 11 and 12 students during their Pastoral care lesson. Other students will be welcome to attend a similar presentation during first break. If you are interested in making an appointment to speak to the Principal privately, please contact me at the school.

Uniforms

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 us and the P&C by ensuring your student has correct uniform every day.

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/Art/Junior Secondary – Mrs Sabrina Goodingham
Technology/ VET – acting Mr Barry Wastie
English/ Humanities/LOTE/Reading - Mrs Cassandra Kohli

Year Level Coordinators

Yr 10-12 - Miss Lauren Butler and Ms Nancy McKinnon
Yr 7-9 Mr Daniel Baeck and Mrs Kate Jackson

Guidance Officer – Mr John Anderssen

Youth Support Coordinator - Mrs Jenny Peacock

CEC – Jolene Russell

School Based Youth Health Nurse – Jen Frazer

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

There is a disturbing increase in the amount of inappropriate use of mobile phones among teenagers. I would like to emphasise to parents/carers of students under the age of sixteen that you are responsible for what is stored on their phone and how the teenager uses their phone. As a responsible parent/carer you should be checking phones for what is being received and what is being sent via their phone. Should your child receive inappropriate material via their phone, it should be reported to the police immediately.

I have spoken to the students of years 7, 8 and 9 about this topic and have made it very clear that every parent/carer has the right and obligation to check their teenagers’ phone on a regular basis. I have spoken to the students that once a picture and/or comment is posted on any social media site is never disappears. Many students appear to think that Apps such as SNAPCHAT are safe to use as it disappears after a certain amount of time. Sadly, this is not always the case. Please have responsible conversations with your teenagers on the correct use of mobile phones and social media.

On occasion inappropriate use of a mobile phone is 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, then the student can be prevented from bringing their phone to school.

Stymie

This week, we are very fortunate to have a visit from Rachel Downie from STYMIE visit Charleville. Rachel will be addressing every student in the school. Rachel will also be holding parent information sessions on Wednesday afternoon. These sessions are not for students. Guardians and Parents only.

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. Please note that students are not to arrive to school before 8:00 am.

Hearing Screening

We are working hard with outside agencies to offer the free hearing screen at Charleville State High School this year. Forms will be sent home with students when we have a date.

Year Nine Camp

Students, parents and teachers are working towards the organizing of the Year Nine Camp that takes place in Term 4. At the Charleville Debutante ball, a number of year nine students worked with Mr Baeck and Mrs Jackson to serve meals. 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

What a trip!

After months of planning and collecting StarBucks, our semester one rewards trip went off without a hitch. This year as part of our PBL rewards trip, 39 students and 4 teachers braved the 10 hour bus ride to Movie World (with a quick stop over in Toowoomba). The long journey began early Thursday morning with students arriving at school earlier than usual to secure the back seat for their group. Much to their dismay there was no back seat. Off we set from school at 6 in the morning with most people still too sleepy to be too excited. Once the sun came up everything changed; students started to chatter and the long chorus of “are we there yet” echoed through the bus.

On arrival at Toowoomba we headed straight to USQ where students were treated to a tour of the campus and the accommodation on campus by a familiar face Miss Kidman, who came to Charleville earlier this year as a pre-service teacher. Koojarewon Youth Camp was our accommodation for the night with students being treated to a campfire on a not so cold Toowoomba night.

The next morning was the quickest I have ever seen students get ready and pack up as everyone just wanted to get to Movie World. The trip from Toowoomba was quiet; I do not think many students slept well due to the excitement of the next day’s events. As we turned into the Movie World carpark there was a lot of “wow” and “that looks awesome” comments going through the bus. After the last instructions were given, the students were free to roam around the park. I managed to find myself with the daredevils. The first stop for us was the Superman Escape ride with a maximum speed of 100km/h. Myself and Ashtyn managed to score the front row and this is something I will never do again as my legs were shaking for a long time after. Next off the checklist was the DC Rivals HyperCoaster, with a max speed of 115km/h. This is no regular roller coaster; it is the tallest, longest and fastest roller coaster in the southern hemisphere. It features an 89 degree drop, loops and twisting much like the helix of DNA. Myself and the extreme daredevils lined up and each time the line moved were getting more and more nervous. For luck, we ripped up a StarBucks card and each took a piece. All students apologised to me in advance for any inappropriate language that was said in fear while on the ride, but luckily, none was heard. While lining up we saw what looked to be a 10 year old on the coaster and his face said it all - he was scared. Our nerves went into overdrive and all the students wanted to back out but when Kaylee pointed out that if a 10 year old could do it so could we.

All was made better when we saw the 10 year old at the end of the ride with a huge smile on his face. Our turn was up, 10 of us got in our chairs and locked ourselves in, some wanting their seats double-checked. Some prayed, some started chanting there new found team phrase “pick up 18” which was adopted after a game of Uno the previous night where Henry was the unlucky player who had to pick up 18 cards. We were off all strapped in slowly heading up the first incline at a slow pace, we all knew what was coming… a 89 degree drop and then for the rest we would be travelling at 115km/h. I did not hear much for the ride just a lot of screams and what sounded like a lot of screaming and “oh no” or “no, no no”. Like the 10 year old by the end we all had smiles on our faces, the first thing we all said was (you guessed it) “let’s do that again”. However, our legs were shaking and our whole body sore from tensing for the minute of the ride. We gave it a rest, the daredevils opted for a nice cruise down the Wild West Falls, a much tamer ride, most went around the ride multiple times as there was no line up due to the amount of carriages running.

Before long we ended up back at the thrill rides on the Arkham Asylum Coaster. Once again another coaster that went really fast with a lot of loops. This ride was probably my least favourite and the one that made me retire for the day. I went to bag duty where I watched the phones, bags and souvenirs, while the students and daredevils united and used the last of their 6 hours in the theme park going on their favourite rides for the last time.

Before leaving most grabbed a sweet treat to finish the day; most opting for a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, a sugar filled delight to get them through to dinner. It worked because once on the bus the students were buzzing with sugar. The sound of skittles rolling down the aisle and plastic wrapping being opened for students to eat their fairy floss, fizzers and lollypops was a sound the bus driver and teachers got used to for the first few hours of the trip home. It’s safe to say all students enjoyed themselves, even those not too keen on going on the rides, many enjoyed the stage shows, shopping, movie characters and new experiences or just being able to spend this time with friends or making new ones.

Home Economics Happenings

Following a very successful semester 1, students in Home Economics certainly have a lot to look forward to over the next six months.

Both year 8 and year 9 students will spend term 3 focusing their attentions on a Design Challenge – year 8’s are designing and producing a hessian based item for use in the home, garden or workshop, while year 9’s are using Japanese Shibori dyeing techniques to design and produce an item for personal use, or for use in the home. In term 4, textiles makes way for another cookery unit, where basic skills from term 2 will be enhanced and improved, hopefully resulting in confident and independent young cooks, more than capable of preparing dinner at least once or twice a week.

Year 10 Hospitality students are continuing to make progress towards the successful completion of their Certificate I qualification and, this semester, are honing their cookery skills, heading towards a brunch function at the end of the year. This follows on from a very successful Bake Sale at the end of last semester, where students not only had to plan and produce a variety of delicious cakes, biscuits and slices, but also had to interact positively with customers, and handle money correctly.

Year 11 and 12 Hospitality students are spending the rest of the year investigating takeaway foods, and how to make these very popular dishes much healthier than they normally would be. This is in direct contrast to last term’s function, which involved a High Tea event, to which staff were invited, and students had to plan, produce, present and serve both food and beverages to their customers. This was a very successful project, which received rave reviews from all concerned.

I look forward to seeing just what all students in Home Economics can produce this semester. If last semester is anything to go by, it will be worth waiting for.

Sue McDermott

Energy, Drones, Science!

Term 3 MESH Science

Our study of the physics of energy and motion has started with an exploration of the types of energy and the ways in which energy is transferred. Of conduction, convection and radiation, it is the electromagnetic spectrum that can be the hardest to visualise so a range of demonstrations have shown students a few ways that light can be produced across the spectrum.

Over the next week we will explore Newton’s Laws of motion, and use drones to exemplify a range of energy transformations, as well as balanced and unbalanced forces.

The assessment will focus on reducing the kinetic energy of an impact and explore the relationship between mass, surface area, and terminal velocity.

Town Netball

Family Support Service

Confidential Support and information on a wide range issues that families may face.

• Parenting – can facilitate Bringing up great kids individually or in groups. Even if you have great kids this program can help you add some new ideas or tools to the mix!
• For all ages – its never too late to learn some new tips.
• Cooking quick budget friendly meals for the family and the dreaded lunchbox.
• Household routines , Goals, Time and stress management

Budgeting

• Liaise with School if your child is refusing to go, has issues with bulling or has been suspended or expelled.
• NILS- no interest loans for white goods and essential household items.

• Comprehensive parents Library of books and DVDS on parenting, relationships, divorce, grief and loss, nutrition, cooking, gardening and self-sufficiency.
• Advice and referral to other services, and so much more!
• Covering the four shires of Murweh, Paroo, Bulloo, Quilpie. Charleville Neighbourhood Centre Melissa Vaggs- (07) 4654 3324 familysupport@charlevillenc.org.au

Youth Support Service

A Service based in the town of Charleville to help young people aged 12-18 facing issues such as disconnection with school, family or friends.

• Advice and referral on a wide range of challenges that teens may face such as-
• Bullying, drugs and alcohol, self-harm, problems at school , accessing tafe courses available locally, writing a resume.
• Resilience skills to cope with issues at home, school or within the wider community.
• Skills to improve capacity to develop independent living and improve overall health and wellbeing.
• Informal counselling and mentoring to build self-esteem, resilience and involvement in the community.

• Support to youth activities such as youth council and general information sessions.
• Particular focus on bringing together workable solutions between schools, Parents, and youth to be either learning or working towards employment by sourcing certified training or structured work experience. Charleville Neighbourhood Centre Melanie Connolly (07) 4554 1345 ydw@charlevillenc.org.au