12 October 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Note

Welcome to Term 4! Students and staff have moved quickly into focused teaching and learning with no time to lose in a 9-week Term, even less for our Year 10 and 11’s (8 weeks). Of course, there are also our Year 12’s who finish their schooling journey on the 19th of November, a very special day which includes our Graduation ceremony.

There are a range of important events that take place over the next couple of months; Formal, Graduation, external exams, school-based assessments and JCE ceremony to name a few. Through this time the focus remains on supporting students to achieve the best possible learning outcomes with the celebrations a recognition of these achievements.

Farewell to Chappy!

For our first assembly after the break we recognised the amazing service of Les Penrose with a “Farewell to Chappy” event to say thanks and all the best for over 10 years of exemplary service to the school and wider community. The students created a wonderful video with some heartfelt thanks and an impressive rap by Archie McDonald, who certainly appeared to enjoy making this contribution!

My heartfelt thanks on behalf of the school and personally go to Les for the contributions he has made during his time at Charleville SHS, so very appreciated and will be very much missed. We wish Les and Teena all the best as they move into the next phase of their lives and hopefully enjoy some well-deserved “down-time” where they can focus a little more on themselves after so many years dedicated to community.

Semester 2 Interim Reports

Prior to the holidays students received their Semester 2 Interim reports via email or in some instances as a hard copy. Overall results are again pleasing with some significant gains in A-C%’s for Junior Secondary; since Semester 1 in 2020 Science is up by 14% points (88.3%) and English moved another 2 percentage points higher. Maths is also performing well, sitting around 78% which is above both State and Region, fantastic results!

Our Senior students continued their strong performance in English results, with 82% of students achieving in the A-C range. The Year 12’s remain on track to successfully complete their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) and we remain committed to all of our students achieving this outcome. A reminder that any Year 12’s who do not receive their Block Exam Passport will be required to attend school during weeks 4, 5 and 6 to ensure they are eligible to receive their QCE and formally graduate.

I am exceptionally pleased to report that our behaviour data is also maintaining a positive trend. Suspensions, measured on a scaled score to provide comparability with changing numbers of students, are at the lowest level since 2016, a reflection of the hard work that staff and students have put into living the 4B’s and 4V’s through consistent expectations in and out of the classroom.

In Term 3 Junior Secondary students continued to achieve noteworthy results for their behaviour and effort. The overall A-C results for students was approximately 92% for Behaviour and 83% for Effort, again very pleasing results. Senior students also maintained a high level of behaviour and effort, over 96% A-C for behaviour and 87.2% for effort, both a clear improvement from Semester 1, particularly with effort.

These results do not just happen, they reflect the efforts of the school community in creating a positive learning environment with Parents and Caregivers an integral component of this. Congratulations to all and the focus now is to finish strong!

In closing

As we move into the final Term of the school year the overall focus is around “finish strong”. Each student would be very familiar (perhaps a little weary…) with my consistent message of “your best is absolutely good enough”! I thoroughly believe in this message that if we give our best then the results look after themselves and we can have a sense of pride in outcomes achieved. Each and every year 12 that graduates should feel a great sense of pride in their achievement as it is not always easy to stay the course and finish positively. Students who successfully transition to work or vocational study should also feel this sense of accomplishment and pride in their efforts to make their way into post-school life.

I look forward to celebrating along with parents, staff and the broader community the many successes of our students in the coming months. “Success is a state of mind. If you want success start thinking of yourself as a success”. (Joyce Brothers)

All the best,

Barry Wallett

Senior Deputy

TJ Ryan Memorial Medal and Scholarship

The TJ Ryan Memorial Medal and Scholarship recognises educational achievement in Queensland. The award acknowledges students who demonstrate outstanding leadership qualities with their school and broader community as well as academic excellence through their achievements in year 12. It also provides financial assistance to those successful students toward their tertiary studies. Across QLD there are 10 Scholarships available, 5 high commendations and 20 Certificates of Merit. In 2020 Charleville State High School was very happy to receive the news that our nominated student was successful in receiving a scholarship.

A school may nominate one student for the TJ Ryan Memorial Medal and Scholarship. The student must be completing year 12 and be receiving an ATAR at the end of year 12 and be applying for entry into a recognised undergraduate degree program to commence in 2022. More information can be found:

Year 12 students who would like to be considered for the school’s nomination should email an expression of interest to Mrs Kohli. Please outline in your email how you have demonstrated leadership and academic excellence.

Year 12 Exam Block

The QCAA External Assessment will be completed according to the exam schedule commencing October 22 – November 15. A full copy of the schedule is available from the QCAA:

Students will receive a modified version of the timetable that identifies exams that will be held at Charleville State High School (see below).

For this period of time Year 12 students will only be required to attend school when they have a scheduled exam if the conditions of their Block Exam Passport have been met. Parents you will receive a letter on Friday that provides more detail about the exam block and the exam passport conditions.

Please ensure that year 12 students who have a scheduled exam are attending school and arriving prior to their exam (equipment needs to be checked and students may need to speak with staff). Should an unexpected and unavoidable situation occur (such as illness or accident) please contact the school as soon as possible and ensure a medical certificate or similar document is provided.

Students in year 12 cannot sit an exam at a different time.

We wish our students well during the exam period and look forward to their return for their final week, their formal and the graduation.

Year 12 Exam Timetable

All exams will be held in E Block.

Year 11 Exam Block

Charleville State High School will run an exam block for year 11 students during term 4.

For this period of time Year 11 students will only be required to attend school when they have a scheduled exam if the conditions of their Block Exam Passport have been met. Conditions of the passport include that all other assessment and certificate course work is up to date.

Parents will receive a letter with more information and students will receive their passport and exam timetable on Friday.

Year 11 Exam Timetable

All exams will be in D Block. Classrooms are indicated on student version of the timetable.

We wish our year 11’s well.

Students are reminded that once they begin year 12 they will not be able to change subjects.

Year 10 Exam Block

Charleville State High School will run an exam block for year 10 students during term 4, however students are required to attend school for the entire week.

When there are no scheduled year 10 exams, students will be supervised in classes and completing either supervised study, completing work toward a certificate course, or engaged in other curriculum related study.

Parents will receive a letter with more information and students will receive their passport and exam timetable on Friday.

Year 10 Exam Timetable

All exams will be in D Block. Classrooms are indicated on student version of the timetable. A reminder: Year 10 students must be at school even when they do not have a timetabled exam.

We wish our year 10’s well in their first formal exam block.

Cassandra Kohli
Senior Deputy

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL JUNIOR SCHOOLING AND STUDENT SERVICES NEWS

WELCOME TO TERM 4

The first week has passed at a rapid rate. I am so pleased to see most students working extremely hard in their classes and encouraged by the learning that is occurring every lesson.

JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS

An integral part of our school pedagogical framework is that every student is informed of his or her Learning Intentions and Success Criteria. It is the expectation that each student writes the Lesson Objective in their books. As a parent, it is recommended that you ask your student to show you their four Lesson Objectives for each day. It would be a great conversation starter for parents to ensure that their students know what the learning objective is and prevents the often-short response to the question: What did you learn today? Response: Nothing. By discussing the Lesson Objectives each day, it helps the student remember the valuable learning that occurred in their classes.

Our staff are a wonderful group of dedicated professionals. In the past weeks at their faculty meetings, they discussed the data already collected on every student. This included their most recent NAPLAN, PAT R and PAT M data as well as Academic data. This data is useful to plan units, lessons and support for each student. It is a method of Putting Faces to the Data and valuing each student as an individual.

Immunisation Clinics for Years 7 and 10

Almost all year seven and year ten students will receive their final scheduled immunization for the year in the next few weeks. I would like to thank the team from Queensland health who carry out this important service to ensure all of our students are well protected.

STUDENTS WITH MEDICAL NEEDS

A reminder to parents/carers to notify the school about your child’s health

If you receive a referral form from the school with regard to your child’s medical needs please return them as soon as possible. If your child requires an ACTION PLAN for a medical diagnosis please supply the school with an up to date plan as discussed with your doctor.

Year Six Transition day

The second transition day for year six students in term 4 will occur on Friday 5th November. The students were excellent during the first transition day and we look forward to working with our future year 7 students. Thank you to the HOD of Junior Schooling, Amy Roughan and the staff who made the first transition day successful.

Junior Leaders 2022

Nominations for Junior School Leaders will be called soon. Nominated students will give speeches for the positions of 2022 Junior Leader, and Junior House Captains. The nominated students will go through an interview process with the leaders announced at the Junior Certificate Ceremony on Wednesday 1 December.

Junior Certificate of Education (JCE)

In the last week of school, Wednesday 1 December, students in year nine who have gained enough points to achieve a JCE will be formally recognized in a ceremony at school. Parents are welcome to attend and invitations will be sent to families. This ceremony will acknowledge the hard work the year nine students have done over the three years in the junior school and their movement into the senior school. Students in years 7, 8, & 9 who achieve an Active Learning Awards will also be presented on Wednesday 1 December.

MOBILE PHONES

We have had a very positive and supportive response from the community regarding the changes to the Charleville SHS mobile phone policy. Year seven, eight and nine students are not allowed to have a phone at school. Years 10 to 12 students are allowed to have a phone in their possession but not use it in school hours. This includes listening to music both in the classroom and during breaks. Almost all students have been very responsible and have not used their phones in school hours. Those students who use their phone irresponsibly are required to hand the phone into the office. A parent will be contacted and must make arrangements to collect the phone. There has been the occasional situation where a student needs to use their phone (contact employer etc). THEY ASK PERMISSION FROM A TEACHER AND WITHIN SIGHT OF THE TEACHER USES THE PHONE. The same situation applies on school events off campus. A Teacher may give permission for a student to use their phone within the teacher’s supervision (eg. music on the bus during a school trip). Strictly no social media is allowed.

The inappropriate use of a mobile phones has been reported to the school, however the majority of times the mobile phone is used outside of school hours. Please carefully consider your young persons’ best interest and the amount of time they use digital media. I urge all parents to know what your student has stored on their phone, what they receive and what they send. As the students are not allowed to sign contracts until they are 18 years of age it is the parents’ responsibility to monitor all digital use.

There are methods to monitor your child’s mobile phone use. There are apps in which a parent can responsibly control the times in which the phones can be used. Our Pact is one example of the numerous apps available. If you are aware of other such apps that will help support the students to safely use social media and mobile phones, I would be more than happy to share the information with others.

Until next time,

Narelle Webb
Deputy Principal

Awards Night 2021

Our annual Awards Night is fast approaching next Wednesday 20 October 2021 in our school hall. Doors open on the evening at 5:30pm for a 6pm commencement. Please ensure you allow time for all guests to check-in on arrival using the Check In QLD COVID app. On the evening, all students receiving awards are expected to be in full school uniform.

Last week, award recipients received an invitation and RSVP letter to attend this event and are required to return the RSVP letter to the school confirming their attendance along with the number of guests attending on the evening. As we continue to be mandated by COVID regulations, attendance to the 2021 Awards Night again will be by RSVP to ensure we comply with the regulations surrounding school events in QLD and the number of people within an indoor venue. If your student received an Awards Night invitation and RSVP letter, please ensure your RSVP is returned to the office by this Wednesday 13 October stating whether or not students and guests will be attending. Thank you for your support with this.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me: sxand9@eq.edu.au. We look forward to acknowledging and celebrating our students’ academic, sporting and cultural achievements with you next Wednesday night.

Stef Andriolo
HOD Senior Schooling

Blue EDGE

Charleville State High School has partnered with the Queensland Police Service and the Queensland Blue Light Association to run the Blue EDGE program in Term Four. Blue EDGE (Educate, Develop, Grow, Empower) is a program of physical training designed to extend a young person’s mind and physical capability. The program also includes career education, motivational speakers and mentoring with a view to having youth actualise their potential. Outcomes include building personal relationships and rapport between Police, volunteers and the young people and their families. The intention of the program is for these students to grow and develop the skills and attitudes young people need to take part in society, now and in the future.

The Blue EDGE program kicked off bright and early in Week One – please enjoy some photos below from their first session, which concluded with a delicious hot brekky cooked by Chappy and QPS staff.

In the last week of the program (week 8 of term), there will be a graduation day known as the Final EDGE, where students, their families and special guests are all invited for one final challenge, BBQ and award presentations.

Stay tuned for more information about the Final EDGE later in the term!

Blue EDGE First Session

Remote Community Connector

Charleville Cricket

Self-Care Festival