11 November 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Note

Welcome to Week 6 of Term 4, the time is absolutely flying past now! The past few weeks have been an exciting, slightly nerve wracking time as we navigated the Year 12 external exams. Credit to the students, staff and of course parents as the process has gone very well for the most part, only the occasional bout of nerves from students to add some spice!

We have also completed work experience for our Year 10’s, the Year 11’s had an amazing time on their leadership camp and our Junior Secondary children have been hard at work preparing for exams and competing diagnostic testing for reading and mathematics to give us up to date information to support planning. Junior students will also be participating in the leadership process, either as candidates or to vote, during the next week or so and we look forward to confirming the successful applicants.

Upcoming celebrations

As is always the case as the school year draws to a close we continue to have some important milestones to recognise. As mentioned above the Junior Secondary leadership positions will be confirmed, our Junior Certificate of Education ceremony will be held on Monday the 30th of November and the Year 12 Graduation Ceremony will be on Friday the 20th of November. Invitations to parents for the graduation event will be coming out shortly.

Focus on Improvement

Currently we are seeing some very pleasing initial results from the diagnostic testing for reading (PAT – R) and mathematics (PAT – M). One example is in Year 9 where an improvement of nearly 20% has been achieved in the number of students hitting benchmarks for reading.

This is a very encouraging, particularly as one of our key focus areas in terms of the school improvement journey is to improve reading levels for our students. We will continue this focus in 2021 and look forward to sharing more success stories.

9 Month Check in for School Review

The external review team, consisting of Mr Stephen Bobby (External Improvement Branch) and Mr Reid Thompson (Assistant Regional Director), will be visiting us again on Tuesday November 17. This will consist of a one day visit where a number of staff and students will meet with them to discuss our progress so far in implementing our action plan. Our plan focuses on two key areas and that is continuing to build staff capacity through our coaching programs and nurturing supportive learning environments as a positive behaviour for learning school.

The review team choose who they interview and will also be looking to have conversations with parents and caregivers. I am very much looking forward to this process to gain very valuable feedback on how we are progressing and to support continued improvement.

Uniform for 2021

School uniforms provide a sense of belonging and greatly improve our ability to monitor who is on our school site at any given time and I am pleased to say that the uniform standard has continued to improve across 2020. We are now reflecting on our uniform policy (P&C) and the processes around encouraging appropriate choices when attending our school. For 2021 we will re-focus on following through with uniform expectations with students and applying appropriate consequences for students who repeatedly fail to wear the uniform.

We have a range of supports in place to help students with obtaining uniform items and ensuring that every child has access to the things they need to successfully attend school. For students that repeatedly choose not to wear the uniform we will attempt to clarify the reasons with the student and their family and provide support in making good decisions. If this continues then consequences may be required to re-inforce our school uniform policy, which is determined through consultation with the P&C.

Some particular focus areas for improvement will be wearing blue jeans to school, non-school jumpers and wearing hats in class. Another aspect for discussion at the next P&C will be wearing black tights or leggings and their suitability for a school environment. Please consider attending the P&C meeting, on Wednesday November 11 at 5.00pm, to share your point of view or contact one of the executive to discuss.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)

Our focus for the week for PBL continues to be data driven and aimed at aligning with our drive to provide a positive learning environment. This is the second week of “Be Respectful – Behave in a way that allows others to learn” and is supported through explicit teaching during our PPP lessons, visible in every class every day and on assemblies.

For this fortnight lessons have been tailored to relate directly to assessment time to support students in understanding how to engage in the learning to allow themselves and their class mates to do their best when being assessed. It is very pleasing to see the students use this approach and to do their best during tests. As always the encouragement and support that parents and caregivers provide is so valuable in promoting the best possible outcomes for our kids, my sincere thanks for this.

New Student Free Days added to Term 4, 2020

As you are probably aware there has been a change to the end of school year date. The addition of 2 Student Free Days at the end of the school year now mean the final date for school attendance for Year 7, 8 and 9 students is Wednesday, December 2. The final day for attendance for Year 10 and 11 students remains as Friday, November 27.

In closing

As we move into the final few weeks of 2020 I am encouraging all students to finish strong. This means continuing to following the expectations and guiding principles, such as the 4 B’s, to ensure we have the best possible results both academically and behaviourally, to inform and drive our journey into 2021. I am confident that this is already in place, look forward to sharing some of the outcomes achieved and using this information to confirm our strategic planning moving forward.

All the best,

Barry Wallett

Senior School

Final Week For Year 12 Students

Rapidly approaching now is the final week for our year 12 students. It has been one very busy year with a lot happening however the students have kept on with their studies and are now at the final stage of their high school life.

In week 7, students will be expected at school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday where they will complete a range of activities and courses that are designed to assist in the transition from school. Students should have received a permission letter for lunch on the Thursday and an afternoon at the pool. This will need to be returned to the school on Tuesday so numbers can be finalised.

Friday morning (November 20) will be the senior graduation and then our students will head off onto their next big adventure. Hopefully they remember to stay in contact and let the school know how 2021 goes for them whether they head into work, training, the military, TAFE or university.

Work Experience

The majority of our year 10 students completed a week of work experience last week and were very successful in their placements. A short survey will be sent to businesses who took on students and students will be surveyed to get some feedback about how this week went and how it could be improved in the future.

Year 11 Camp

Camp at Maroon Dam was a fun and exciting experience. A little bit on the hot side given how late in the year it was, the students very much appreciated every opportunity to go for a swim of to get out on the water in their canoes. The students worked hard on developing their team work and overcame a range of challenges throughout the week including hiking, a leap of faith, rock climbing, canoeing, skipping ropes, spiders, waking up early in the morning, putting up their own tents and looking after their equipment.

All and all, it was a pleasure to spend the week with the students as they pushed themselves and grew as a group. While it wasn’t always easy, the students came through almost every activity still smiling and still singing the same two lines of a song that had gotten stuck in their heads.

Hopefully the lessons they learned about working together don’t get forgotten now that the students have returned to school and are starting their roles as leaders.

Students enjoying camp

Cassandra Kohli
Deputy Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL JUNIOR SCHOOLING AND STUDENT SERVICES NEWS

JUNIOR SCHOOL

2021 Timetable

Students in years 8 and 9 received letters regarding their elective subjects for 2021. Those students who handed in their forms on time, I am pleased to advise that the majority have received their first preferences. In the final weeks of the year students will be able to confirm which elective they have been allocated.

Contact Details

Please contact the office if you have had a change in address or phone number. It is important that we are able to contact you at all times.

Transition Day

Charleville State High School has had two excellent transition days. We have received excellent feedback from the students as well as the staff involved. We are looking forward to welcoming our year 7 students in 2021.

Year Six Interviews

Enrolment interviews are currently taking place. Please call the office on 4656 8888 to book an appointment. Students will be enrolled once they have an interview. We look forward to working with our future year 7 students.

Junior Leaders 2021

The Junior Leaders for 2021 will be announced at the Junior Certificate Ceremony on November 20th. I am looking forward to working with our Junior Leaders in 2021.

STUDENT SERVICES

Mobile Phones at Charleville SHS

Year seven, eight and nine students are not allowed to have phones at school. Older students are permitted to have their phones in their possession, however cannot use them during school hours. The inappropriate use of a mobile phone at times 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 at school, then the student is required to hand their phone to the office, a parent will be contacted to arrange collection. It is the parents and carers’ responsibility to ensure that the student is receiving and sending legal and only age appropriate material at all times.

Diagnostic Testing (PAT R and PAT M)

At Charleville State High School, we have an excellent three-tiered reading plan. All students in Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 are given a diagnostic Reading Comprehension test in term 4. We use this valuable data along with the academic and teachers’ anecdotal notes to plan for the future to ensure that students reach their potential.

Students are also given a diagnostic (PAT M) test for mathematics in term 4. We will examine this data to assist us in planning for 2021.

Attendance

At Charleville State High School, our goal is for all students to attend school 92%. Every term letters are sent to individual families whose child’s attendance in the junior school was less than 80%. If you received a letter, please ensure that your child attends school every day unless there is a valid reason. If attendance does not improve then the next step in the process of reaching the goal of 92% is to send an official Education Queensland letter requesting an interview to discuss why attendance is at such a level.

Student Support Centre

We have a well-established Student Support Centre. C block houses our CEC, Mrs Jolene Russell, our YSC, Mrs Katie McLeod, our SBYHN, Miss Jen Frazer, our Chaplain, Mr Les Penrose as well as our Beyond Broncos staff member, Mrs Lisa Creevey. Students have a large, welcoming area to access the support offered at Charleville State High School. Part of supporting the students is to provide nutritious food to those who are unable to supply their own.

Bullying at Charleville SHS

Charleville State High School has a coordinated effort to encourage students to report if they are being harmed or know of someone being harmed. Bullying is a term that has been used widely in the media. There numerous definitions of Bullying.

• When someone says or does something unintentionally hurtful and they do it once. That is rude.
• When someone says or does something intentionally hurtful and they do it once. That is mean.
• When someone says or does something intentionally hurtful and they keep doing it – even when you tell them to stop or show them that you are upset. That is bullying.

There are occasions where a student feels too uncomfortable to report an issue. This is when we encourage the use of the Stymie website. Students are able to anonymously report concerns. This report is taken seriously and is acted upon immediately.

Use of technology outside of school

There is numerous research on the amount of screen time a young person should have before it affects their welling. Parents need to monitor carefully their teenager especially when they are in contact with others online. Phones and ipads etc should not be in the bedroom prior to sleeping. It is evident that a number of students have disturbed sleep patterns and consequently affects their ability to concentrate at school.

Who can support your student at CSHS?

There are many people who can help your student if they need it. Emails to contact staff are a good choice if you do not require an immediate response or ring the school to have a chat or to organise a meeting. Below is a list of some options should students not know who to see for help:

Class Teachers
Heads of Department (HOD)
Year Level Coordinators
Guidance Officer – Ms Sharon Grosskopf
Youth Support Coordinator (YSC) - Mrs Katie McLeod
Community Education Officer (CEC) – Jolene Russell
School Based Youth Health Nurse (SBYHN) – Jen Frazer
Chaplain - Mr Les Penrose (Chappy)

Deputy Principals
Senior Schooling – Mrs Cassandra Kohli
Junior Schooling and Students Services – Mrs Narelle Webb
Principal -Mr Barry Wallett

Until next time,

Narelle Webb
Deputy Principal
Junior Schooling/Student Services

Year 10 Work Experience Week

Last week our year 10 students participated in work experience week.

The work experience week allowed students to gain deeper insights into the work force, and assisted students to clarify their thinking about their future pathways. Many of our students finished the week off with a much clearer path on their future careers.

Students were lucky to benefit from some great placements ranging from education, hospitality and health to electrical, aviation, veterinary, legal and justice. We have had fantastic feedback from the employers and are extremely proud of how the students handled themselves during the week.

Cookie Mining in Year 8 Science

The students have been learning about different types of rocks and the rock cycle in year 8 science. From this knowledge, we are now moving to applying it to the mining industry and the value of resources. In our Friday lesson, we did an activity where students had to “mine a cookie”. Students had money to play with to “buy tools” and also for fixing the land after mining.

I enjoyed watching the students’ problem solve how to extract the chocolate chips with different tools as well as the team work within the classroom. We had a great lesson and I really enjoyed the discussions that we had about the mining sector and how it applies to our daily lives.

Miss Taylor

Term 4 in Ag with Ms Taylor

This term has had a few changes with Mrs Bailey going on maternity leave and Ms Taylor stepping in. We have been busy in the Ag plot over the past couple of weeks as we prepare for the summer holidays. The year 10’s worked hard to build not one, but two new raised garden beds. This was with the help of our wonderful grounds men, Jay and Chatter. The kids learn valuable skills about measuring before cutting and how to safely use power tools.

The year 9’s have been enjoying the fruits of their labour from last term. We recently harvested cherry tomatoes and are just about ready to harvest the sweet corn. We have been preparing garden beds and are now ready to sow the summer crops of basil, chillies and zucchini. There is also a sunflower growing competition happening and the Year 9’s are definitely beating the Year 10’s!

Visual Arts Year 11 – Liz Ramsdale

Dead Tree created by Ahn & Apple created by Na

Year 7 Japanese

With Thursday afternoon taste-testing becoming a bit of a tradition this term, our class have been quite eager to participate in the Term 4 food unit. The term started out with a Treasure Hunt where students had to race around the oval trying to locate pictures of different foods and then match them to the Japanese words on their worksheet. Students showed some great teamwork and it was exciting to see them using their vocabulary knowledge to complete the activity.

Our class have been comparing Australian and Japanese diets and creating food diaries that they will be presenting to the class later this term. Many were surprised to find that a traditional Japanese breakfast often includes fish and rice. So far we have tried ONIGIRI (Japanese rice balls), NORI (seaweed) and AME (Japanese sweets). Most students have been using the adjective ‘OISHII’ (delicious) so far, even for Matcha–flavoured Pocky. However, it will be interesting to see how they react to NATTOU (fermented soy bean) and WASABI.

It has been so impressive to see students being active learners by working diligently on their assessments in class. I am looking forward to seeing students present their final product.

Students working hard on their assessment task.

Nicole Capper
Japanese Teacher

Murweh Youth Council

On 4/11/20 Murweh Youth Council members from Charleville State High School and Charleville State School visited the new SQRH building for a special Murweh Youth Council meeting for term 4. We were lucky enough to talk to the Director of SQRH Geoff Argus via ZOOM using the new conference room facilities. After our meeting, Interprofessional Practice Coordinator Toni Murray was so very kind to us and showed us around the building.

Murweh Youth Council Meeting

We saw beautiful landscape pictures taken from Mt Tabor that were placed along the hallways, got to test out the soundproof telehealth rooms and visit the mannequin patients in the health prac rooms..

Big thank you to SQRH and to Jenny Peacock from the HOPE Program for having us, and also to Mr Mohr, Katie and Chappy for getting us there

Youth Council is open to anyone that would like to have a voice and have their say, suggesting things for the youth in our community. Next year we will be working on a goal statement for the Youth Council, to look at what are we trying to achieve as a committee, so if students have any enquiries or ideas please feel free to contact a member of the Committee.

The next meeting will be held in Week 5, Term 1 2021.

Tahlia Stewart, Media Officer

Murweh Youth Council Executive Committee 2020:
Junior Mayor: Emmerson Mitchell
Deputy Junior Mayor: Ruby Burns
Treasurer: Laine Dennis
Secretary: Molly Toms
Media Officer: Tahlia Stewart

Crazy Sock Day

Thursday 26th November

Socks available at the school office $5 a pair.

Money raised goes to The Kids Cancer Project.

Dolly’s Dream – The Peace of Wellbeing

White Ribbon Bowls Day