12 October 2022

Newsletter Articles

Principal News

Welcome back to term four. As I mentioned in my previous newsletter article, term four is a jam-packed term as well as a very special time of the year. This term is filled with various celebrations as we recognise the achievements of many students at the Awards Night, as well as reflect and celebrate with the graduating year 12 students at their formal and graduation ceremony. I am very much looking forward to these events and the opportunity to share them with students, parents and members of the community.

Year 12

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our students in year 12 who study general subjects the very best in the upcoming external exam block. From week four through to the start of week seven, our year 12 students will join with all the other year 12 students studying general and general extension subjects in the state to sit their final exams. These exams will be the culmination of two years of work and I am sure that students who have worked hard, and consistently during this time will produce results that they can be proud of and celebrate. Students studying applied and VET courses will be completing their final assessment over the coming weeks and I wish these students the best of luck as well. All students are reminded that they must have completed all outstanding assessment items, including VET modules, to enable them to leave school during the exam block. Ms Andriolo will provide further information to year 12 students around this.

Year 10 and 11

Week four will see students in year 10 and 11 enter their exam block. I would like to encourage all of these students to continue to work to the best of their ability to ensure they achieve the best results possible for them. Following this, in week five, students will commence work on the subjects they have chosen for 2023.

Year 7 to 9

Students in years seven to nine should continue to focus on their school work during this term and not be distracted by the changes occurring in the higher year levels. It has been pleasing see that the majority of students in these year levels have returned to school this term in a positive mindset and have settled back into their school work quite well.

Attendance

Once again, I encourage all students to attend school unless they are unwell. With the shorter nine week term, it is important to maximise attendance at school to ensure continuity of learning and to maximise student chance of success.

Uniform

It has been pleasing to see that the majority of students have started the school year off well in regard to uniform. Please ensure the full school uniform is worn properly each day. Should anyone need assistance in providing the full school uniform for their students please contact the school office.

Parent Participation

The next Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Partnership Meeting will be held on Wednesday 26th October and I encourage as many people to attend as possible. Likewise, the next P&C meeting will occur on Wednesday 9th November. This will be the final P&C meeting for the year.

Senior News

Welcome back to term 4 students and parents/carers. This term in the senior school always seems to be our busiest with years 10 – 12 having their own specific set of priorities requiring completion prior to the end of year. With this said, and amongst the whirlwind this may bring, it is always enjoyable once we make it to the end of term whether it be graduating for our year 12s or final week of school for our years 10 and 11. There are a number of events coming up in the senior school. Please see below for more information.

Year 12 External exams

The QCAA External Assessment (EA) 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. They will receive this timetable this week. It will also be available to download off our school Facebook page and website once available.

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 this week 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.

All year 12 exams will occur in E Block. Students in year 12 cannot sit an exam at a different time.

The myQCE website has published further information for students and parents/carers in regards to preparing for the external exams to which you can find here:

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 10 & 11 Exam Block

Charleville State High will run an exam block for year 10 and year 11 students during term 4. This will occur during week 4 of this term.

For this period of time, Year 10 and 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 this week and students will receive their passport and exam timetables on Wednesday.

If students catch buses or have not been able to meet the requirements of their passports, there will be a supervised study room available for these students. Given years 10 and 11 are senior students, we would like to hope that they use the time at home during this block exam period to study in between exams.

All exams will be in D Block. Classrooms are indicated on student version of the timetable when they receive them this week. If you have any questions regarding year 10 and 11 exams, please ensure you make contact with your students’ teacher, Senior school HOD, Mr Lines or myself as soon as possible.

We wish our year 10 and 11 students well during their exams. Year 11 students are reminded that once they begin year 12 they will not be able to change subjects.

Special edition timetable – Year 10

As of week 5, and once exam block concludes, year 10 students will commence the Special Edition timetable. What that means is that they will start their year 11 subjects prior to 2023. This is an excellent opportunity for students to have a taste of the subjects they selected during their SETP subject selection meetings earlier this year. It also gives students an opportunity to make changes to their senior learning program once trialling the subjects as it will be the last opportunity for students to make any changes prior commencing year 11 in 2023.

During this time, please chat with your students about their subjects and encourage them to seek support from their teachers to help make informed decisions regarding their senior subjects. If you and your student have decided to make changes to their 2023 senior subjects, they will need to see me at the office for a subject change form which will require parent permission to do so. Thank you for your support with this.

Awards Night 2022

Next Wednesday, 19 October 2022 from 6pm (doors open at 5:30pm), we will be holding our annual Awards Night for 2022. This is a time to celebrate the successes and achievements of students over the course of the year both academically, vocationally, musically and within the sporting arena. Students receiving awards were sent home an RSVP letter on Friday to ensure their attendance on the evening. We would like to invite our entire school community to this event with details regarding the evening on the invitation. If you are not receiving an award (you would have received this letter last week), you do not need to RSVP as there will be plenty of seating for all.

We would like to continue to thank all families/carers and the extended Charleville community for their continue support of our students in 2022 and look forward to celebrating student achievements on the night.

JUNIOR NEWS

Welcome to term 4. As always, there is lots happening in the Junior School, but the major focus of every student should be working to the best of their ability in order to achieve well in all of their curriculum subjects.

NAPLAN 2022

Students in years 7 & 9 who participated in this year’s NAPLAN testing will receive their results very shortly. These have arrived at the school, and will be posted out this week. Overall, there has been a pleasing improvement in student results, in particular with writing. The school continues to work towards improving student literacy and numeracy on a daily basis, through curriculum work as well as a variety of whole school, year level, small group and individual programs.

DEADLY CHOICES TOBACCO EDUCATION PROGRAM

All students in year 7 will have the opportunity to participate in the above program every Thursday during period 3. It is a 6-week program, commencing this Thursday and finishing in week 7 of the term. This program will be facilitated by members of the Deadly Choices team, and assisted by classroom teachers. Students and staff who participate in the program will receive a Deadly Choices jersey, featuring the NRL’s North Queensland Cowboys team.

YEAR 7 CAMP

In week 8 of this term, year 7 students will finally be attending their year level camp, which was postponed earlier in the year due to Covid-19. Permission forms have already been given out, and students are reminded to get their parent/guardian to fill these out and return them to the school ASAP. I know that the students who attend camp will have a fabulous time, and I sincerely thank those staff who have been involved in the planning for this, as well as the staff who will be spending the week with the students on camp.

SOME IMPORTANT REMINDERS

Students continue to be reminded of the following:

• Fully closed in shoes must be worn at all times at school. Students who are wearing inappropriate footwear (thongs/slides/socks/etc) will be required to sit in the office during all break times, and they will not be permitted to participate in practical classes, such as science experiments/sports/cooking/woodwork/metalwork. These students will be given alternative theory work, which may need to be completed in the office if it is unsafe to do so in the classroom. Students who refuse to complete this alternative work will be required to complete it during lunch breaks with their teacher.
• Wearing of appropriate school uniform is expected all day, every day. Students who are not able to comply with this requirement need to obtain a Uniform Slip from the office before school. Unless a parental note or phone call is received to explain the reason for the uniform violation, students will be required to attend lunchtime detentions, monitored by the relevant Year Level Coordinator.
• Soft drinks and energy drinks, such as Mother/Red Bull/V/etc are BANNED at the school. These beverages are NOT for sale through the school canteen, but students are purchasing them at other venues and bringing them onto school grounds. Students who choose to bring these to school will be instructed to hand them in to the office (collection to occur after 3pm). Please note: the drinks will not be stored in the refrigerator.
• Mobile phones are banned at school for students in years 7, 8 and 9. Students are reminded that they must hand their mobiles in to the office upon arrival at school. If students are seen using their phones during school time, they will be required to take their device to the office, where it can be collected by parents after 3pm.
• Swearing and threatening others, including teachers, is not acceptable. Students who threaten others or use inappropriate language can anticipate consequences for this behaviour, including possible suspension from school.
• The most important reason for students to be at school is to be in class, participating and learning. Students who choose to avoid classes, or whose poor behaviour means that they can no longer be in the room, still need to gain new knowledge and develop new skills. For this reason, students who truant or who are exited from class will be expected to complete their class work during break times under supervision of their classroom teacher/HOD or Deputy Principal.

News from our Guidance Officer(s)

Over the last two and a half years I have called Charleville home. During this time, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with students, their families and the wider community. Thank you to everyone who welcomed me with open arms. This decision was not an easy one for me, however I am heading home to support my family. Being a Guidance Officer in Charleville has been rewarding and it has allowed me to grow within the education profession. This isn’t goodbye, it’s just ‘see you later’.

My name is Lauren Waldron and I am looking forward to continuing the great work Sharon has done in the Guidance Officer role at Charleville State High School. After being a teacher at Charleville High for many years (I was Miss Butler Sharon and back then), I am excited to return to the community to advocate for young people in the area. I am looking forward to seeing many familiar faces and meeting new ones.

Charleville Cricket