26 July 2019

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal – York McFadzean

Welcome back for Semester Two! It is my pleasure to welcome to our school two new staff, Ms Nicole Hyland as the substantive Deputy Principal at the school and Ms Anna Medeiros who is working in the English and Social Science faculties.

I have sent out this week invitations to parents and carers of students who have achieved success following the completion of the Semester One reports cards. Our next Celebration Parade will be held on Monday 29 July where we will recognise those students who have been successful in a range of aspects of school life over this first semester.

These aspects include the facts that 63% of our students have attended school for at least 85% of the time last semester. This is a vast improvement over last year and all families, staff and students are to be congratulated for turning this important part of student life around.

In terms of student behaviour, my research indicates that over 62% of all students have less than 5 behaviour entries recorded which indicates to me that for the majority of students at school, they are focused on their work. This again needs to be recognised and acknowledged.

Recognition of great student work also can be found when one looks at the positive records that have been made for students this last semester. 158 students have been recognised for 504 episodes of positive work being done. Congratulations to all these students! Additionally, 10.9% of all students have received at least an “excellent” rating in all but one of their subjects for “effort”, and 23.3% have received the same result in terms of their “behaviour” in all their subjects.

In terms of academic improvement from Term One to Semester One results this year, 39.3% of all students have improved their performance when we look at performance across all their subjects and 28.6% have maintained their previous level. Again these are fantastic results.

The Semester One reports were sent on Wednesday with students. Part of our commitment to the school community is to have a second parent-teacher afternoon so parents and staff can discuss their student’s performance. These meetings will be held on Tuesday 6 August from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. Parents are able to book their own times by booking online at the link below:

Finally, this is the time of the year when the Department of Education conducts their annual School Opinion Survey. Year 8 and Year 11 students will be asked to participate in this survey as will all staff and a randomly selected group of parents and carers. Can I ask that if you have been selected to participate in this survey that you complete this important process? It is important for all stakeholders to have the opportunity to “have their say” in how they feel we are working at school. This information informs our decision-making each year so I encourage everyone to use this process to provide us with accurate data on which our next set of actions can be based.

Mr York McFadzean

From the Business Manager - Ben

Student Resource Scheme – Final Payment Now Due

With commencement of Term 3, the third and final instalment for 2019 Student Resource Schemes are now due (due date 26/07/2019).

Payment options include cash, cheque or EFTPOS via the school administration office, Credit Card online or phone through bPoint (see statement or invoice for details), CentrePay (contact office to arrange) or Bank Transfer.

If you still have amounts outstanding for Student Resource Scheme or other events and are unable to make payment in full, please contact Ben Lawson, Business Manager, to arrange a payment plan.

Mr Ben Lawson

From the Deputy Principal – Nicole Hyland

This is my second week in St George and my opinion of this town and school is nothing but positive. I have spent my teaching career to date in the Far North Queensland Region from Malanda and Atherton, to Cairns, Innisfail and Cooktown. I look forward to my permanent appointment in St George. I passed through St George almost exactly two years ago on my around Australia trip and am happy to be living here now.

I have high expectations for the education of all students and as I have told them, my job is to assist all students in attaining a high level of education so that they can pursue their chosen career path. This means ensuring students in the junior school have the required literacy and numeracy skills to be successful in the senior school. Attendance and behaviour play a large part in this success story and I will be working hard to ensure that all students are given the opportunity to learn.

I look forward to meeting you all in the future. If you have any concerns about your students’ education please feel free to contact me at any time either by phone or email. I am a strong believer that education can only be successful if there is a strong partnership between parents, the school and the wider community. I look forward to working with you all.

Ms Nicole Hyland

From the HoD Senior Secondary – Deborah Addison

This Term the attendance has been quite poor from all students. In senior school, especially in Year 11 and 12, it is not only recommended but required for students to have 85% attendance. This is the amount of time that senior students require to have a chance to succeed. It is so difficult for teachers to continue to push the curriculum when there are always one or two students away from class. Please remind your student that attendance at school should be their main priority in order to succeed. This will be helped by family not taking holidays during the school term.

Please use this link to an extremely interesting article on how attendance effects academic achievement.

The Year 12 students are working on plans and invites for the formal which will be out shortly. Students will have access to tickets for 6 guests. There will be more information to come on this.

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

Mrs Deborah Addison

From the HoD Junior Secondary – Chris Smith

On 21 July, 1969 at around 1pm Australian time, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon and forever changed human history. Over the last few weeks, significant attention in the media has been paid to the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing. I have been reflecting upon this achievement, and pondering what learnings can be applied to education and learning and I shared these thoughts with students at parade on Monday.

When outlining his vision for mankind to land on the moon, President John F Kennedy said, “We choose to go to the moon, not because it is easy, but because it is hard.” For me, this quote provides great inspiration for all educators and students. When Kennedy laid this challenge out to the American people, the goal of landing on the moon was impossible. For all of human history, it had lived in the land of science fiction not science fact.

For many of our students achieving better results and lifting their expectations for effort and behaviour may seem impossible. They may have struggled their whole schooling life to obtain a pass in a subject. It took 400,000 people, almost 10 years to land a man on the moon. Our job as teachers is to help our students achieve the impossible. There are some 30 teachers and many other ancillary and support staff working every day to help your child reach their goals. I laid the challenge down to all students to set a goal that may seem impossible and work to achieve each and every day.

Mr Chris Smith

From the HoD Teaching & Learning – Miss Amy McKenna

As we begin a new term and a new semester, it is a great time for students and staff to start afresh and treat Semester 2 as a fresh slate. With report cards issued Wednesday, it is also timely to reflect on our achievements, and just as importantly, the effort that we put into everything we do. The report card is a document that staff and parents can use with students to talk about their strengths and their challenges, and set goals going forward for the last half of the year. It is great to see so many students have improved in either their effort, behaviour, or achievement, and it is a testament to their work and the work of their teachers.

This semester, we will continue our focus on reading, with students participating in daily reading and teachers being upskilled in the explicit teaching of reading. Year 7 is also continuing their focus on the literacy continuum, with teachers participating in professional development with the Centre for Learning and Wellbeing (CLaW) to learn how to use the document to improve literacy outcomes for students across all curriculum areas. Staff are also busily working on curriculum documentation to be ready for the full Australian Curriculum rollout in 2020.

Miss Amy McKenna

From the Guidance Officer – Kelly Lawton

Don’t forget if your child is wanting an appointment to see me, please do this through the front office.

Important Dates to keep in mind:

• 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 the link below:

Miss Kelly Lawton

From the School Based Youth Health Nurse – Ms Jodie-Lee Lawless

Hello, my name is Jodie! I have recently started as the School Based Youth Health Nurse at St George State High School. I would like to thank everyone from students, staff and parents for being so kind and welcoming me into the school community.

I come from a small town in the South Burnett region, near Kingaroy Qld. I grew up in the South Burnett area and attended University in Toowoomba. Following University I nursed in a number of rural hospital settings (including St George, Surat and Roma). I have been nursing for a number of years in rural and community settings including Mt Isa, Cherbourg, Murgon, Gayndah, Kingaroy and Nanango areas. I have nursed in the school setting before in Kingaroy, Nanango and Yarraman High schools. I have returned to school nursing now that our 4th child has hit the terrible two’s!!

I am really looking forward to working with the school community to promote health and wellbeing for students, staff and parents. I am able to provide information on a range of health and wellness topics including healthy eating and physical activity, healthy skin, relationships, smoking, alcohol and other drugs, sexual health, growth and development. The service that we offer is a confidential service and as such, this right to confidentiality will be respected.

If you would like to come and see me when I am in the school please make a time through the front office on 4620 8222.

Mrs Jodie-Lee Lawless

SCHOOL OPINION SURVEYS

The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted from 29 July to 23 August 2019. All families, school staff and a random sample of students will be invited to participate. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what our school does well, and how we can improve.

Access details for the Parent/Caregiver Survey have been posted home today. The survey can be completed via computers, tablets or smart phones with internet connection.

Parents/caregivers who do not have access to the internet at home are welcome to complete their survey online at the school. Please phone the school office on 4620 8222 if you require access to a school computer.

Survey queries can be directed to Deputy Principal, Ms Nicole Hyland on 4620 8222 or email admin@stgeorgeshs.eq.edu.au

NAIDOC CELEBRATIONS

NAIDOC Celebrations at St George SHS this year started on Monday with a special school parade with visitors and guests from the community. We then held a Community Morning Tea with cutting of the NAIDOC cake. The whole school enjoyed a BBQ lunch which all the students appreciated. Thank you to all the visitors and guests who made time to join us for this event.

Tuesday our local Sport and Rec Officer Shaun Lacey visited to participate in Indigenous games with all the students. The students participated in the games and enjoyed learning more about these Indigenous activities.

Throughout the week we also had Arts and Craft in the library with students learning how to make indigenous key-rings and necklaces.

Thank you to everyone involved in making this another great NAIDOC week in our school.

The Staff vs Students netball games continue to be the crowd favourite. On Wednesday 17 July it was on again and from the get go, students came out firing, scoring the first and only goal for the first-half. In the second-half the teachers fired back scoring their only goal for the game, making the score 1 all. Competitiveness struck both teams as the game was coming to an end. Students were lucky enough to shoot the second goal of the half, ending the game 2-1 to the students. Thanks to everyone involved.

ASDAN Project

Last semester, students involved in ASDAN delved into big events that shaped our world, specifically the September 11 tragedy in New York. I'm sure you can remember the exact moment you saw it on the news all of those years ago. The ASDAN students enjoyed making model replicas of downtown New York to visualise what it looked like prior to the Twin Towers falling.

YEAR 11s TOUCH TOURNAMENT

On 23 July, the Year 11 Recreational Studies class held a touch tournament for Years 7 to 12. Overall the whole tournament was a success, with great fun being had. The competition was held at both morning tea and lunch, with four teams of 10 students being involved. All participants received orange slices for participating in the event and the winning team received a prize. It was a good experience for the Year 11 students to learn how to referee with the hand signals and how to organise other students for an event.

Year 11 Rec Class

DEADLY RECRUITS AND BLUE LIGHT SHEARING CAMPS

The last week of Term 2 saw seven students and three staff head off to Cunnamulla for two very different camps.

Lachlan Kable and Sarah Whitaker joined other students from Cunnamulla and Charleville to continue their practical components for the Certificate II in Rural Operations that will be completed by the end of next year. This involved the students travelling to “ABGINGBONG” (about 30kms from Cunnamulla), sleeping in shearing quarters and working on the farm. Lachlan and Sarah spent the week shearing sheep, learning to wool class, doing work as roustabouts and completing booklets.

On the other side of Cunnamulla Sam Waters, Laith Webster, Ashton Dyball and Tyrell Draper embarked on an enduring camp run by a company call TRYP. Deadly Recruits is a camp run by Uncle Col Warego and members of the Australian army. This camp is to help encourage Indigenous culture, identity, respect, leadership and resilience. The boys travelled to “TINNUNBURRA” (100kms down the Burke highway) and joined other students from Cunnamulla, Charleville and Quilpie in the five day adventure. This consisted of teams walking kilometres every day carrying their own packs, setting up camp every afternoon and sleeping in hoochi’s. This was challenging to say the least as there was a couple of mornings that dropped below zero and sleeping under a tarp was a world away from their electric blankets. By all accounts the boy’s favourite activity was “lidats” which was laser tag out in the scrub one night. Thank you Ms Bronwyn Knee and Mr Towney for accompanying the students on these camps.

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

FLASHING LIGHTS NOW ACTIVE AT ST GEORGE STATE HIGH SCHOOL

On 23 July flashing light school zone signs were installed on Victoria Street. St George State High School was nominated to receive these new signs as part of a Queensland Government commitment to improve school road safety.

You will notice that the new signs look similar to standard school zone signs with the addition of a red flashing ring around the speed limit as well as two flashing yellow lights at the top of the sign. The installation of flashing light school zone signs is proven to improve visibility of school zones, serving as an active reminder for motorists to slow down.

So next time you’re dropping off or picking up your child, keep an eye out for the new signs and make sure you stick to the signed speed limit.

P&C NEWS

The P and C have had a nice couple of weeks off for the holidays but back into it last week.

Fund-Raising

Catering for the Cutting Horse Futurity held at the St George Showgrounds was a great night and thank you to all who assisted. It was made even better with everyone enjoying the BBQ and Pig on the Spit. I’m sure that once we have final figures we will have boosted our fund raising total.

This week we had another two-day catering job for a small teachers conference being held at the skill centre.

Cotton Donation

Some cotton that was donated in a “Busted Bale” program, run by the P and C has not only netted solid funds for us, but has resulted in some cotton seed for the Ag Plot as well. A huge thank you to Ben Suttor and Queensland Cotton for their generosity with helping with the processing and matching the seed generated, essentially doubling the seed to the Ag Plot for the sheep and cattle currently on hand.

Casual Position

The St George State High School P and C are currently looking to fill a casual position as Tuckshop assistant. The right person must have/or be able to attain the relevant Blue Card and Safe Food accreditation to work in the Tuckshop. Anyone who can work well unsupervised, with other staff and with the students of the high school should send a resume to PandC@stgeorgeshs.eq.edu.au by 16 August 2019.

School Opinion Surveys

The suite of School Opinion Surveys is undertaken each year by the Department of Education to obtain opinion information from all families, school staff and a random sample of students. The surveys will help our school to find out what we are doing well, and how we can improve.

This year’s School Opinion Survey will be conducted from 29 July to 23 August 2019. Links to the surveys are available on the School Opinion Survey website:

All families will have the opportunity to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey. Survey access details will be sent home to every family in the school. The survey is anonymous, and the results are not reported in ways that an individual’s response can be identified by the school.

Parents/Caregivers are encouraged to complete the survey online. The survey can be completed via computers, tablets or smart phones with internet connection.

For Parents/Caregivers who do not have access to the internet, school computers/tablets can be available by phoning the school office on 4620 8222. Alternatively Parent/Caregivers can complete the survey over the phone by calling the Survey team on 1800 067 971 and providing the access codes from their invitation letter.

It’s important that as many parents/caregivers as possible complete the survey, so we would appreciate if members of this committee would raise awareness of this survey with other parents/caregivers.

Survey queries or requests for translations can be directed to our school contact Ms Nicole Hyland on telephone 4620 8222 or email admin@stgeorgeshs.eq.edu.au

Next Meeting

The next P and C meeting will be held in the St George State High School library at 6pm on Monday 19 August. All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

With Thanks

Mr Scott Brimblecombe, President

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