30 March 2022

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Note

Welcome to Week 10 of Term 1. The Term has moved past so very quickly with staff and students working particularly hard to complete learning activities. Even with the adjustments made to the units of work, catering for the later return of students after the Summer Vacation, it has been a very busy time.

We have also had a very challenging period to conclude the Term, significant absences of staff and students due to ill-health have increased the complexity of finishing assessment and reporting. The Leadership Team is reviewing progress with this on a daily basis and currently we are still on track to release report cards early in Term 2. If there are any adjustments to the timeline or process for sending home report cards we will advise the school community as quickly as possible.

Throughout this time, I have been exceptionally proud of the staff of Charleville State High School, with many instances of people going above and beyond to support colleagues, students and school operations. This is very reflective of the great culture that is evident in our school. Staff absolutely care for our students and take the time to invest in supporting them to the best of their ability.

This is also very evident in the support we receive from many parents and caregivers. Seemingly small things like collecting children from school when they report as unwell, interacting with teachers to support learning outcomes and generally being positive about our school make a significant difference to the learning environment of our school, thank-you!

Year 7 Camp

Unfortunately, we have had to postpone the Year 7 camp that was due to take place this week. This is very disappointing for the many students and their families and also to the staff who had worked so hard to put this camp together. The decision was made primarily due to concerns about staffing capacity for the camp as well as at school along with the high chance of students becoming unwell and requiring collection from Fairbairn.

We are negotiating with Camp Fairbairn to determine if a suitable time later in the year is available and will provide updated information as soon as possible.

Thanks to the families impacted by this decision for your support and understanding, it made the process far more manageable and was very appreciated.

ANZAC Day – School Ceremony and Community March

To commemorate ANZAC Day we will be holding our school ceremony on Friday the 22nd of April at 2.00pm in the School Hall. This will be followed by the Community March on Monday 25 April with students and staff assembling at 9.20am in front of the Historic House.

We have a proud tradition of honouring those who have served and are looking forward to both these occasions to pay our respects. Further updates will be provided in Week 1 of Term 2.

P&C Membership and Meetings

One of the most important and valuable groups in supporting our school is the P&C. We have a dedicated group who work to provide vital aspects such as parental voice, promoting the school and conducting essential support services like the school tuckshop.

The AGM, followed by a General Meeting, will be held on Wednesday 30 March, 5.00pm in the Administration building. Would love to see any interested parents and community members come along to contribute to our P&C, such an important aspect of our school community.

In closing

As we negotiate the conclusion of Term 1 I have often reflected on the importance of continuity and consistency in learning. It is such a vital element of education and at times can be very difficult to enable. Over the past weeks I have seen so many examples of students and staff working determinedly to overcome obstacles and continue to focus on teaching and learning, the absolute focus of a school.

It is often informative to see how we respond to challenges, easy to do the right thing when everything is going well, much harder when it is not. I am confident that at Charleville State High School we do try and do the right thing and that most students are absolutely on board with this.

For all members of the school community I hope you have a thoroughly enjoyable and well-deserved Autumn vacation break. School will re-commence on Tuesday, 19th of April and we look forward to a productive and “normal” Term 2!

All the best,

Barry Wallett

SENIOR SCHOOLING

It has been a very busy end of term 1 and the term has ended with some unexpected disruption. Teachers are continuing to deliver lessons in class and students who are absent need to contact their teacher to ensure they are catching up on work missed.

For those senior students who have needed to isolate, please contact Mrs Kohli via email or contact the school office so that the application process for extensions and other arrangements can begin. All students who have been affected by COVID or have needed to isolate as a Close Contact will be eligible for some kind of arrangement regarding completing assessment however the application process will need to be followed. Where possible, a medical certificate should be provided however if you are unable to obtain one locally, please contact the school so that we can discuss the situation and organise appropriate support for your student.

Hopefully term 2 will be less disrupted for our senior students. In order to be prepared, students should be looking at their assessment calendars now and making a plan for the following term. Students should also be reflecting on their progress in term 1 and considering what they can do to improve in term 2. Do they need to consider:

• Making a more detailed study plan at home
• Attending homework club on Thursday afternoon
• Starting assessment earlier and contacting their teachers (either via email or meeting them at their staffroom at break) to ask questions
• Ask for help from your teacher after class (ask for help from the YLC, HOD, GO, YSC, etc)
• Submitting completed drafts to get more feedback
• Something else…

While there are some things that are outside of the students’ and schools’ control, having a plan and taking control of the things they can (such as having a study plan) will ensure students continue to progress throughout the year and are able to succeed in 2022.

Students in year 11 may be considering a subject change after their first assessment piece. It is important that these discussions happen as soon as possible and involve the student, their parent and myself as DP of Senior School as subject changes will potentially have an impact on ATAR eligibility or a student’s QCE. If you have a year 11 student who is concerned about their current subjects, please book an appointment to see Mrs Kohli at the beginning of term 2.

Parents and carers of students who are struggling or at risk across a number of subjects will be contacted to organize an appointment for early in term 2.

SET Plans – Year 10

Year 10 students will complete their SET Plans in term 2. This information will be used to begin planning for 2023 and should also help the year 10 students to focus in on reaching their goals. Whether students intend to continue on to senior school or are working toward organising a traineeship, apprenticeship, or preparing to enter the workforce next year, all students should be ensuring that they are using their time in year 10 wisely.

Students in year 10 are reminded that their work experience block will take place at the end of term 2. This is a valuable learning opportunity for our students and for many may provide connections which can help them should they wish to transition to work or a traineeship. Students will receive more information about this early next term.

Reporting

Reports will be emailed home to parents. Parents without an email will receive this in the mail. A reminder term 1 is an interim report intended to give the parent a guide as to how the student is progressing so far this semester.

Parent-teacher interviews will be held next term and parents will be able to use the link provided in reporting to book an appointment or can contact the school to book one. Should you not be available on the evening, you are welcome to contact teachers via email to organise a time for a phone interview at a time that is more convenient.

We look forward to seeing parents at the school in term 2 for parent-teacher interviews.

Cassandra Kohli
Deputy Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL JUNIOR SCHOOLING AND STUDENT SERVICES NEWS

WELCOME TO WEEK 10

Timetable for Term 2, 2022

There will be limited changes to the timetable for term 2. Students will be given a new timetable on the first day, Tuesday 19th April, 2020.

Reading Program

If your child is part of the LLI program you will have been contacted by the school. At this stage we are focusing on students significantly under the Regional reading benchmark. It is essential that if your child is part of this program that they fulfil all the criteria of the program - otherwise their progress will not be reflective of what could be achieved.

The criteria include 100% attendance (except for extenuating circumstances) and the completion of the set homework. If you have any concerns or questions regarding the program please don’t hesitate to contact Ms Sue McDermott at the school. There is a waiting list to enter the program and therefore students who fail to meet the criteria will be exited so as to ensure the best results for all students.

Another level of reading intervention is a commercial program known as MultiLit (Making Up for Lost Time in Literacy). If your child is part of LLI and/or MultiLit you will have been notified.

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Currently Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) staff are planning explicit lessons/activities to address the Learning Expectations at Charleville State High School in term 2.

MOBILE PHONES AND INTERNET USE

I urge all parents and carers to know what is on the phones of young people and what is being shared by social media. It is up to the adults to ensure that young people are protected from viewing inappropriate images. It is also important that empathy is taught at home and for young people not be desensitized to such graphic images.

We have had a very positive and supportive response from the community regarding the Charleville State High School 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. A Teacher may give permission for a student to use their phone within the teachers’ supervision. Strictly, no social media is allowed during school hours.

The inappropriate use of mobile phones is occasionally reported to the school. As the mobile phone is used outside of school hours, we recommend that you contact the police if you have concerns.

As responsible adults, 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/electronic devices, what they receive and what they send.

IMMUNISATION

The first round of immunisations occurred in week 9. Tackle Flu program will be conducted in term 2. We are hoping to give every student over the age of 15 to have the opportunity for influenza immunisations. We will update you when we have more news.

STUDENTS WITH MEDICAL NEEDS

A reminder to parents/carers to notify the school about your child’s health. Students with ongoing medical needs should have an ACTION PLAN (eg asthma and anaphylaxis) supplied to the school.

Until next time,

Narelle Webb
Deputy Principal
Junior Schooling/Student Services

Literacy Links

There is no doubt that being literate is important, not just in school, but in life as well. We continue to focus on the importance of reading and reading comprehension in 2022. Writing sensibly, accurately and with increasing complexity is a major focus this year as well.

2022 WEEKS 8, 9, 10

As we are now in assessment cycle, students have the opportunity to use the reading and writing skills we have been focusing on all term. All assessment requires students to demonstrate the ability to understand the task, and write robust, cohesive sentences that achieve the purpose of this task. These strong sentences then become strong paragraphs, which, in turn result in a better piece of writing over all. IF THE BUILDING BLOCKS (THE SENTENCES) ARE NOT SOLID, THE ENTIRE END RESULT WILL BE FLAWED.

One of the most important end results of student assessment is that teachers can discover exactly what students can and can’t do independently, and can plan what skills still need to be reviewed and reinforced. Following marking and moderation, teachers will be able to focus on designing lessons that contain opportunities for any reading and writing issues to be addressed.

How can parents support their child's literacy?

• Make an appointment at the upcoming parent/teacher interviews to discuss your child’s strengths and weaknesses in literacy;
• Liaise with your child’s teachers to find out unit topics, assessment requirements, weekly homework tasks;
• Provide a quiet area, away from distractions, for your child to complete reading and writing homework activities and assessment tasks;
• Monitor reading/writing homework; encourage your child to give his/her best effort;
• Ensure that your child completes homework, or revision of class notes, every day of the week;
• Read with and to your child (listening to them read out loud is fantastic);
• Talk about what your child is reading (What is happening? When is it happening? Where is it happening? Who is involved? How do you feel about the events or people involved? What is the message of the book? How is this message important?)
• Support your child to complete homework neatly, accurately and using complex sentences.
• Challenge your child to use joining words other than ‘and’.
• Get your child to read any book, magazine or newspaper and find the joining words – you could even make it a scavenger hunt!
• Ask your student to read their writing OUT LOUD, taking notice of punctuation. If it doesn’t sound right, it needs some editing.

Creating literate children is a team effort; be part of the Charleville team.

Year 7 Cross Country

Last Friday the Year 7’s competed in their cross country. See below for some pictures.

2022 Yr7 Cross Country

Harmony Week

In week 8 (14th-18th March) we celebrated Harmony Week to formally recognise diversity, and that everyone belongs – not just here at Charleville State High School, but also within our wider community. Harmony Week concluded with a free dress day on Friday 18th March, also representing the blue and yellow colours of this year’s Bullying. No Way! Day and showing support for Ukraine.

Our school was very proud to stand with St Mary’s Primary School and many businesses within our local community on this day to raise a combined total of over $2700 for UNICEF to help the people of Ukraine. Thank you very much to Kirsty Lines and the St Mary’s community, Mrs Webb and our Charleville State High School student leaders, Leith, Chrissy and Tracy from the Tuckshop, and everyone else involved in supporting this important initiative.

The importance of persisting when things get tough

Sticking at something when the going gets tough is an essential skill. As parents, there are things you can do to help your child learn how to persist in the face of challenges – a skill that will help them achieve their goals at school and beyond. Help your child to understand that we all face challenges and that when they find something hard, persistence – or refusing to give up – will give them the best chance of reaching their goal.

Check out the Spark their Future website for tips on developing your child’s persistence ‘muscles’.

Chess Tournament

Thursday 14th April at 9am at Healthy Ageing

All welcome to challenge Father Warren.

Morning Tea provided.

Phone: 4654 7950 or Email: Deb.Alick@health.qld.gov.au

Remembering ‘The Selfless’

There's an interesting parallel at this time of year. We like to remember many things from the past; fun holidays, friends that have moved to a different town and childhood memories. We remember important people who have done remarkable feats, but most of all we seem to celebrate people who have done amazing things for others at their own expense.

One such person was a young man who worked on boats, in a coal mine and on Queensland cane fields, yet he was a recipient of admiration, applause and fame, five medals and people still remember him as a hero today.

Another had poor parents, and as a young adult learnt a trade as a chippie by building things with timber, travelled from town to town helping people, and is still remembered and revered by many each year.

What did these two men do to be so admired and remembered? Both are described to have been either quiet or gentle, kind, and compassionate. Both are claimed to have acted to save the lives of others, walked up a hill shortly before dying, been targets for some time before being killed intentionally, and used a donkey in the time leading up to their death. Both will be remembered just one week apart.

ABC News reported more than 10,000 people attended the 2015 ANZAC day service at ANZAC Cove where Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick was buried after being shot on a mission to retrieve an injured soldier. His donkey lived on. Past and present Defence Force members will be remembered in their mission of securing Australia's physical freedom from opposition.

Regardless of our own traditions at Easter and ANZAC day, something we can all appreciate is that people remember those who are compassionate and do things for others. Perhaps we should stop and ask ourselves each day: how can I do something selfless for someone else today?

CLEANER – CASUAL

If you are interested in casual cleaning at Charleville SHS please contact Jillian Bussell on 4656 8888. You must have a current Suitability Card from Working with Children (Queensland’s Blue Card system).

We have casual hours that will be available in 2022 with possibility of permanent hours in 2023.

KEY DUTIES: Contribute to the efficient and effective operation and environment of the school by providing a high level of cleaning support.