10 December 2021

Newsletter Articles

From Acting Principal

1. Currently the Year 9 students are all attending work experience for the week. The purpose of this is to prepare the students for Year 10 where they have to seriously start considering their future career pathways. More time will be spent with these students next year developing a path for their future.

The majority of Year 9 students are being supervised and supported by St George businesses and organisations for their work experience. I would like to take this opportunity to formally acknowledge and thank these businesses for supporting our students in this endeavour.

2. All of the report cards have been posted home to families. If you have any questions about these, please contact the office in the first instance.

3. Congratulations to the student leaders for 2022:

4. The Education Department has requested that all schools prepare for the possibility of the start of next year being impacted with COVID as the borders reopen again. This means that schools have to think about how they will continue to support students in the event of a lockdown, for example, or other emergent issue. St George SHS will communicate with parents any changes that will occur to the operation of the high school.

5. A number of teachers will be leaving us at the end of this year. We would like to thank them for all they have done to support the students of St George SHS.

These teachers are:

Luke Basile (teacher)
Kaila Basile (teacher)
Max Fisher(teacher)
Anna Medeiros (teacher)
Anne Brimblecombe (teacher)

A special mention has to go to Anne Brimblecombe. Anne started working as a teacher at St George SHS in 1983. In this time she has taught generations of students. Her specialty subject area was Mathematics and Physics. Anne has also played a large role in mentoring younger teachers. We wish Anne all the best for her retirement years ahead.

6. York McFadzean will be on leave in Term 1, 2022. Mr Rob Nowlan will be the Acting Principal for this time. Mr Nowlan is currently the principal of Injune State School.

7. BYOD/x (Bring your own device eg laptop) is the process where students are able to bring their own device to school and allow it to be used at school and connected to our computer network. BYOD is unable to be started in Term 1 next year as a number of technical issues still need to be resolved. One of these is an increase in the school’s bandwidth. Regional office will not be able to rectify this until next year. At this stage, the introduction of BYOD will not occur until at least Term 2 or possibly Term 3.

Term 1 next year will be used to iron out all of the technical issues associated with BYOD and develop a plan for its roll out. This will likely mean that the Year 11s and 12s will be the first cohorts invited to be part of the plan. Other year levels will then be considered to be part of BYOD.

8. The timetable for next year has been completed and all students allocated to classes.
“Extension” classes have been added to the junior timetables. These lessons, usually one lesson a week, have been allocated to extend students in the areas of literacy and numeracy. If students are going to be successful in the senior school, they will need the literacy and numeracy skills they have developed in the junior school. Therefore, it is very important that there is a strong focus on supporting the development and extension of these skills in the junior school.
If your student, for example, excels in English, they will be given the opportunity to develop in this area further. An example of this might be to enhance or extend writing skills beyond their year level.

9. The first day of the school year for 2022 is Monday 24 January. I look forward to seeing all of the students on this first day of the new school year.

10. My sincere thanks to all the families and friends of the school who support what we are doing at the school and who appreciate the good times as well as the more challenging over the last year.

I acknowledge the work of the P&C and tuckshop ladies who do an amazing job for the students and staff. They ensure that all students are fed and clothed . Thank you.

Finally, I wish all St George SHS families a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope you all have a very festive and safe break from school and look forward to meeting up with everyone again next year.

Nichole Hyland

Public Health Direction

On Tuesday 30 November, the Premier announced a new public health direction requiring mandatory vaccinations for workers in schools and early childhood settings.

This means that all workers entering our school will need to have at least one vaccination dose by 17 December 2021 and be fully vaccinated by 23 January 2022.

Who is required to be COVID-19 vaccinated under the new directive?

Anyone who works in, undertakes an educational placement in, or volunteers in a school, early childhood centre (such as a kindergarten) or childcare centre is considered a worker in an education setting.

This includes:

• teachers
• teacher aides
• cleaners
• administration officers, business managers, schools officers, IT staff, agricultural assistants, and all school support staff
• an employee of a company that supplies services to an education setting, such as plumbing, electrical and building services
• a contract teacher or early childhood instructor engaged for relief work
• volunteers who assist in delivering support activities and services in education settings such as tuckshop, reading programs, etc.
• chaplains, entertainers or support workers visiting education settings
• university students on practical placement, school work experience or traineeship in education settings including early childhood education and care settings
• psychologists or therapists providing support for individuals in education settings
• a dentist in a school dental clinic
• identified staff within regional and central offices who are required to be present in a school as part of their work duties, i.e. where attendance at a school is necessary to fulfil the requirements of their job.

Schools are considered high risk environments in terms of COVID-19 and as such this new direction applies to a broad range of work arrangements (e.g. contractors, volunteers).

Our school is required to ensure that any workers who come on-site during school hours have evidence of their vaccination status and report to the front office for check in purposes upon arrival.

I trust this information assists you and your organisation prior to entering our school. Please don’t hesitate to contact the principal if you would like any further information or would like to discuss arrangements.

We look forward to working with you in 2022 and wish you a safe and merry Christmas break.

Nicole Hyland

Merry Christmas From The Front Office

It has been a very busy but tiring year. We are welcoming the holiday break to spend some quality time with family this Christmas. We wish and hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year! Farewell to Mrs Anne Brimblecombe as she starts her long service leave, you will be greatly missed. The front office will be open the week of Monday 17 January from 8 to 4.

Farewell to the following staff members as we wish them well on their new adventures.

Anne Brimblecombe - I came to St George in 1983 and taught Maths and Science full-time for 5 years before leaving and having children. I returned part time after about 13 years and again taught Maths and Science as well as a few extension and literacy classes. At this point I have no plans but won’t be leaving St George and definitely hope to enjoy 6 months of Long Service leave before retiring. I would like to wish all staff and students an enjoyable holiday and hope that any staff who are leaving do so with fond memories of St George.

Max Fisher - I am transferring to Wavell State High School, a school in North Brisbane and am teaching Maths and Science next year. I’ve been teaching here for 3 years, but I first came in 2018 to do my prac – 4 weeks in August and 4 weeks in October. I’ve taught mostly Maths and Science, but dabbled in HPE and DigiTech. I have loved my time in St George and will miss the people here very much. A few highlights of my time include playing sport with the students at lunchtime when I could and watching the first students I ever taught graduate at the end of 2021 – it is very special to me that I was given the privilege of teaching those senior students. Thank you to everyone who has helped out, just said hello, or had a chat during my time. I wish all of you the best and good luck for the future, you may just see me here next year Battling on the Balonne.

Egypt Hair – I have been working in a Teacher Aide role for the past 3 years and will be moving back closer to family in the North Brisbane area. I have loved my time at St George State High and will miss everyone.

Luke Basile - I am transferring to Pacific Pines State High School starting in 2022 teaching HPE and English. I’ve been teaching at St George State High School since 2018 and it has been a journey filled with many amazing experiences. I have had the privilege of coordinating sports for the past few years and seen our student participation rise in physical activity. I still firmly believe two of my highlights at my time here was watching our rugby league boys go undefeated at the Arthur Beetson Carnival and win the title for a second year in a row in both age groups that we took away. My second highlight would have to be the army of students we had show up to training for athletics week in week out leading up to the South-West athletics carnival. I’m looking forward to the new adventures that await me on the Gold Coast, and will cherish the memories and relationships I’ve built here. I can’t wait to see the graduating class of 2022 at formal next year, and wish the staff and students at St George State High School the absolute best moving forward into the new year. I will truly miss you all.

Kaila Basile – After 4 years at St George State High school I will be moving on to the Gold Coast where I will be teaching Year 7 HPE, Year 8 Humanities, Year 10 HPE and Year 11 Sport and Recreation. I have enjoyed my time here in St George. I have been very lucky to have been a Year Level Co-ordinator and helped so many students achieve their goals. This is definitely a community that has a lot of heart! Thank you to everyone who welcomed straight away. I will always remember my time here in St George.

Lucille Acton – Lucille was contracted at the school for Term 3 and 4 2021. Lucille will hopefully be seen around the school and town in 2022.

Eleanor Blanch – Eleanor worked at St George State High School in 2021 and will move back to St Patricks Catholic School fulltime in 2022.

Anna Medeiros – Anna joined the High School community in July 2019 as generalist teacher and has returned to family in Brisbane.

Tracee Pesudovs-Ward – Tracee arrived at St George State High School part way through Term 3 this year in a District Relief Role and will now move from St George to take up a position as a Guidance Counsellor in the SW DD District.

New Staff For 2022:

Welcome to Samuel Holloway, April McLaren, Ben Murphy, Jeremy Synot, and Georgia Tathan-Joyce We hope you enjoy your time at St George State High School.

Nichole and Sally

Acting HOD Senior School

Just a few reminders for our senior students. Year 12s remember that you will be able to access your Year 12 results next Friday on December 17. Make sure you have checked you can login to your learning account prior so you have no problems accessing your results on the day. You have all worked extremely hard this year and should be very proud of all that you have achieved.

Congratulations to the following students who were elected as House Sports Captains.

Leichhardt:

Mitchell:

Nixon:

I’d just like to wish all our students and families a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.

Cheers
Ange Garner

From The Guidance Officer

As we approach the school holidays, we ask that you take time to engage in support and to take care of your physical, emotional, and mental health. Spend time doing activities that connect and nourish you and making the effort to notice and check in with yourself and others. Should you or someone else you know need a bit of extra support over the holidays we encourage you to get in touch with any of the below services:

Headspace have some information to support young people and their families on the link below. A new Headspace service has opened in Roma. It is important to check in with a health professional if you are concerned about yourself or someone else.

The holidays can be a time where students spend more time on social media and with devices it is essential to be aware of the content they are accessing and to be mindful of internet safety.

Please enjoy a safe and restful holiday.

Annette McLean
Guidance Officer

ITD

Term four has been busy in ITD. The last group of Year 8 students have out done themselves with great ideas and designs for their truck and trailers while Year 9 and 10 students have been learning about recycling and pallet furniture.

Kylie Whitaker

Home Economics News

In their last few weeks, Year 9 Home Ec students used one of their class lessons to make milkshakes for other Year 9 students and several lessons to offer hot and cold drinks for sale to staff – a job they really enjoy. For Enrichment Week, two of the Year 7/8 groups made quiches for sale. With my personal donation of ingredients and using student labour, a donation of $350 has been sent to the SALVOS Christmas appeal. The students had made their own quiches as part of the cooking unit in Terms 1-3 and did a great job of remembering kitchen safety, hygiene rules and techniques needed to produce this recipe again. Well done students for your efficiency and your willingness to help people who are struggling this Christmas!

Students studying Home Economics in year 10 next year will do two textiles projects. For the unit called “Sustainable Textiles” they will use existing or recycled fabrics to make a recipe book cover and an apron to use for Terms 2, 3 & 4 cooking units. If you have time over the holidays, see if you (or family and friends) have any fabrics that might be suitable or pop into an Op Shop to see what’s available. Please DON’T purchase new fabric and don’t be concerned if you don’t have anything suitable. Our storeroom has a range of existing fabrics and local Op Shops also will have supplies next year when we begin work.

Thank you to parents and students in this Years 9 & 10 Home Ec classes for being organised with supplying ingredients and other requirements for the course. There are some very capable cooks that should be able to take over dinner duties, at least on some days. Happy holidays.

Mrs J Worboys

Year 9 Work Experience

The Year 9 Students were out and about in the community this week on Work Experience. Thank you to the below businesses for giving these students your time and allowing them to experience your work environment.

Ella Beeson – NCC Childcare
Braydon Bella – Cubby Group
Hayley Blank - Golders
Ella Bradley - Golders
Brigitte Brunner – Hair By Sam @ The Hair & Beauty Hutt
Alexander Cawaon – St George Chemist
Adele Chandler – Shea Beauty
Coby Cherry – S&S Timmer Constructions
Molly Davies - SGSHS
Chris Gaston – Maranoa Meats
Emalie Hams – St George Family Dental
Logan Hart – Warwick Paint & Panel
Jacob Hiles – Wippells Kitchen & Cabinets
Kaise Mawhinney – Precision Aerial
Mackenzie McGowan – Balonne Shire Council
Baily Newton – St George Foodworks
Taylah Nicholls - Lifeline
Kallum Oliver – McNamara’s Maintenance & Repair
Sharon Pearce – Hair & Beauty Hutt
Stavrianna Purcell – St George Veterinary Practice
Seth Ryan - CGS
Amdes Saunders – O’Brien Toyota
Jack Sullivan - Moonrocks
Aaden Taylor – St George Freightlines
Iesha Turnbull – Maranoa Tyres
Emma-Leigh Turnbull-Bennett – Safeway Excavations
Jake Twidale – DMC Plumbing
Dominic Walters - Vanderfields
Kelsey Weribone – Goondir Big Buddy Program

Leisa Mulholland

Calendar

Community Notices

Learn French

TAKE UP SHORT FRENCH COURSE this Summer. Fun and enjoyable. Cost $5/hour. Starting soon. Call Salvador Fernandes 0428304318 / 46253021 or email: salvador.f@rediffmail.com , St George.

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