28 June 2019

Newsletter Articles

SW Athletics leads to State Championships

Seven of our students from Year 7 through to Year 12, attended South West Athletics in Roma on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 June.

They were Chelsea Beardmore (shot put), Bella Cubby (200m and 800m), Stavrianna Purcell (long jump, 100m) Bobby-Jo Tattam (javelin), Kelly Whitaker (discus and shot put), Sarah Whitaker (triple jump) and Lachlan York (discus). I can say that all of these students represented St George State High School with pride and sportsmanship with most of them achieving a PB in their sport. Congratulations to Chelsea Beardmore who has made the South West team for shot put. Chelsea will now be travelling to Cairns later in the year to compete in the State carnival.

Netball State Championships

Year 7 student, Emalie Hams has participated in the SW team at the State Netball Trials held in Bundaberg last week. Over the four days from 20-24 June she played 11 games. Congratulations Emalie on your achievements!

Farmfest in Toowoomba

From the 3-5 June the Show team, Taylor, Tilly, Sharon, Oscar, Kaise, Bronte, Lachy and Haley attended Farmfest in Toowoomba. Over the three days we showed off our three cattle in junior leading and parading competitions. The students had a great experience washing their show cattle and fitting for other studs. One of the highlights of the show was Kaise receiving 6th place out of approximately 80 students in the junior judging competition. The team was also lucky to receive 4 Droughtmaster Embryo donations from David McCabe. The team has since received another generous donation of 10 Droughtmaster cows from Doug Slack and Sons. With assistance from others the team will start artificial insemination process in the next few months.

Year 8 Mini Markets

Monday 24 June was the inaugural Year 8 Mini Market day. With the support of Mrs Dowling-Manns and Mr Basile, the Year 8 Health and Well Being classes began organising this very special event in Week 4 - culminating with the main event today.

Over the course of this term, the students had to form a group, design a market stall, and publicise their idea to the school. Some of their ideas were ball competitions, running competitions, kicking and flicking football competitions, hot Milo, lolly stalls, tattoos and crazy hair.

The students had a lot of fun organising their groups and operating their stalls. Overall, we raised $155 for the Student Council.

Thank you to all the parents and carers who assisted their children to participate by donating prizes and goods. Thank you also to all the staff that purchased tickets and congratulated the ‘team effort’.

A HUGE thank you to all the Year 8 students who didn’t forget that we had a market day despite it being a cold, Monday morning, the day after a terrible loss in the State of Origin, and the last week of the term. The school is very proud of your efforts.

CONGRATULATONS!

Mrs Louise Dowling-Manns

From the Principal – York McFadzean

Priority School Review

As many people will be aware, a priority school review was recently conducted. I am pleased to announce that the report of this review has now been completed. A copy of the Executive Summary can be found in the documents section of our school website.

The four major recommendations of the panel were:

• Collaboratively develop, implement and monitor a systematic and consistent whole-school approach to managing student behaviour.

• Collaboratively analyse school performance data trends to identify a narrow EIA agenda that clearly articulates desired, measurable improvement in key student outcomes, to which all staff are committed and share accountability.
• Develop consultative, well-understood and routine processes to match the experience and capability of staff to student needs in the deployment of teachers and teacher aides to classes.
• Develop a well-owned, systematic and differentiated program that allows teachers to receive useful and valued feedback that enhances their classroom practice

We are in the process of developing an Action Plan around these recommendations and I invite you to email me at the school with your ideas and input so we can work together on this important improvement journey.

Mr York McFadzean

From Acting Deputy Principal – Chris Smith

Uniform

Winter has well and truly come to St George and the temperature has been regularly in the single digits. Please take some time to check that your child has adequate warm school clothing for the school day. As the days often warm up it is suggested that your child have layers they can remove throughout the day.

When checking this please make sure that the uniform meets the school Dress Code and Uniform Policy. If you are providing your child with a jumper, jacket or track pants that were NOT purchased from the P&C, please make sure that it meets the below criteria:

• No undergarments or logos should show outside or through the school uniform
• They must be solid colours of white, maroon or grey.

If your child is unable to wear an approved uniform item, please provide them with an explanatory note, including the expected time when you will be able to provide them with one. The school will be able to lend a jumper/jacket to your child, through the front office, until it can be rectified.

Students who wear an incorrect jumper or jacket will be asked and expected to swap it for a maroon coloured jumper supplied by the school. Their jumper will be returned to them when they return the school-loaned jumper.

Thank you

My time as Deputy Principal will conclude at the end of this term, with Nicole Hyland commencing in the permanent role next semester. I look forward to working with Ms Hyland and continuing to lift expectations and build positive relationships across the school community.

I want to say a big thank you to all the parents, students and staff of St George State High School for all the support they have given me over the last nine months. I can truly say that, despite the upheaval last year, the school has made some big steps in the right direction and I am proud to say I work at St George SHS.

I am returning to my substantive position as Head of Department – Junior Secondary and I relish the opportunity to have a renewed focus on the Junior School. I want to also thank Mr Chris Delroy for his work this year in my role and wish him all the best on his return to Brisbane. Semester Two, 2019 will see preparations for Year 6 Transition and the Junior Secondary Leadership positions will be opened for 2020.

Mr Chris Smith

From HoD Senior Secondary – Deborah Addison

It is hard to believe that we are halfway through the year. I would like to congratulate the many senior students who have worked exceptionally hard during the term and acted as excellent role models to the younger students in our school.

Exams and Assessment

Year 12 students have had exams this week, some which have been longer than 70 mins on Wednesday through to Friday. Year 10 students who have not completed assessment are asked to finalise that during this week. Year 11 students have had varied success for Unit 1. For students completing General Maths and Science subjects they may be able to get their grades up during the end of year exam. This is an important year for Year 11 students as every unit that is successful adds to their QCE points.

Year 10

Year 10 Work Experience is happening this week and I want to encourage all students to achieve their best as they try out some different career options.

Also due this week is the deposit for Year 10 camp. This year we are heading to Emu Gully Leadership camp so that the students can show their skills. This will be one of the final school camps for students to attend as the school is streamlining the timing and amount of camps.

For any questions or concerns you may have regarding your Senior Secondary students please email me at daddi4@eq.edu.au or call 4620 8205.

Mrs Deborah Addison

From Acting HoD Junior Secondary – Chris Delroy

As the Semester comes to an end I would like to thank the St George SHS staff, students and community for all your support. In addition, I would like to thank all the primary schools in our cluster for all your support and guidance to support our children in the community.

How can I get my teenager to go to school and engage in their life-long learning journey?

Many teenagers seek independence and think they know best. Being a parent is hard work.

Talk to your teenager openly and honestly about the importance of showing up to school every day being like turning up to work in their future. Work with your teenager to develop daily routines and study and work habits.

Support your teenager to have the correct uniform as most jobs in their future will have a Code of dress policy like our school. It is essential to be prepared for school. Help your teenager have all their exercise books, text books, calculator, diary and pencil case. I am yet to have a plumber turn up to complete their job with no equipment.

Talk to your teenager. What are their feelings about school? What interests them at school? Have a number of options to future careers.

Encourage meaningful extracurricular activities that your teenager enjoys, such as sports and clubs. Remember all teenagers are individuals too and the activity should make them feel good. We all need to have a happy place.

Set clear parameters around part-time work. It’s all about balance.

Take Care.

Mr Chris Delroy

From HoD Teaching & Learning – Amy McKenna

Last week, several teachers travelled to Roma to continue work on our literacy continuum project that we have been trialling in Year 7. The Literacy Continuum is a document that links the Australian Curriculum to reading and literacy demands that students will need to meet for their year level. Year 7 teachers have been working on using the reading and literacy demands to inform their teaching within the classroom. In their session in Roma, the teachers did some hands on, practical learning about how to identify reading and literacy demands in assessment and units of work, and apply this to their teaching practices.

Miss Amy McKenna

From the Guidance Officer – Kelly Lawton

As we come to the finish of the first semester, for many of our seniors (not just Year 12s) it is a time of reflecting on subject choices and in turn, career pathways. It is important that our students make informed choices when making decisions and that they take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and resources both within our school and externally.

Any student wishing to discuss subject choices and career planning are welcome to make an appointment with me through the office.

Important Dates to keep in mind:

• 20 & 21 July: Tertiary Studies Expo + QLD Work & Skills Expo, Brisbane Showgrounds
• 27 July: Australian Catholic University Open Day, Nudgee
• 11 August: Griffith University Open Day, Brisbane
• 28 July: Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
• 18 August: University of Queensland, Gatton
• 18 August: University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba

For more information and open days please visit at the link below.

May you all have a happy and safe holiday!

Miss Lawton

Reading Program at the high school

This semester, Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) has been a success, with most classrooms across Years 7-10 implementing this time for ten minutes a day. Students have been engaging with their reading time, some bringing books from home or borrowing books from the library, and others using the classroom stash already there. We are always welcoming donations from the community, particularly books aimed at young adults (10-16).

Year 7 students participate in explicit reading lessons every Monday morning. This group is listening to an audio book version and following along with the text.

Year 7 study the Moon Cycle

During this term the Year 7 students have been learning about the Earth, sun and moon.

Did you know?

• Solar Eclipse - the next solar eclipse is on the 2nd July, 2019.
• Lunar Eclipse - every 2.5 years. Next lunar eclipse is on the 26th May, 2021.
• Moon Phases - there are 8 phases of the moon.
• Tides - high and low tides are approximately 50 minutes later each day.
• Moon conditions - due to the low gravity on the moon, you weigh only one-sixth of what you weigh on Earth.

HOME ECONOMICS REQUEST

If you have any empty ice-cream containers, with lids, you would like to donate to our Home Economics department please bring them to the office. These will be used for students to take home their cooking. Your assistance will be appreciated.

Mrs Julie Worboys, Home Economics

P&C News

The St George State High School P & C has registered for the Container for Change Scheme run locally by the Lions Club of St George. If you want to make a donation to the P&C through this avenue please use our registered scheme number: C10189097.

Please email any correspondence to pandc@stgeorgeshs.eq.edu.au

Scott Brimblecombe, President

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