12 May 2017

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Parent Teacher Interviews were held with large numbers of parents meeting with their child’s teachers and discussing their performance and looking at ways which they can develop their ratings even further. It is very pleasing to see so many parents take advantage of this opportunity, while many other parents meet with teachers during the term as well. This communication is very valuable from a teacher’s perspective also to grow the learning partnership for the student. If you were unable to meet with one of the teachers, you can contact the office and the teacher will make contact to arrange a time. Our next scheduled Parent – Teacher interviews are after Term 3 reports are issued.

At the end of April, our P&C AGM was held with a new executive to be elected. At this stage the position of President has not been filled, so this will endeavour to be filled at our next meeting, with other positions filled for 2017. Special thanks was extended to Lea Arnold, who has been a very supportive member of the P&C for several years now and has regularly held executive positions.

Our Junior Secondary Leaders were recognised and awarded their badges for 2017. Congratulations to these young leaders who will also participate with older students as members of a Student Council in 2017. They will be mentored by some of the older students as they follow their leadership pathway. As we see every year, many of these Junior Leaders progress to Prefects and Senior Buddies in later years. It was great to see so many of the parents and family members attend to make the event even more special for the students.

Across Australia this week, students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 have undertaken the NAPLAN test to gauge levels of Literacy and Numeracy. These tests are based on the National Curriculum levels for the designated Year level and students receive individual feedback in mid-year on their individual performance. Parents and students are reminded that this is a single test, while the School Report covers assessment across several modes and across the whole year. Schools receive student, class and cohort NAPLAN performance data to assist in guiding their learning further.

Currently at our school, there are three major fundraising drives occurring to assist students involved in upcoming tours. In September, the Rugby League Academy students (25 students) will travel to England in their bi-annual tour during the September holidays. Our Arts students are also undertaking a tour to Sydney to visit and participate in a range of Arts and Drama activities/ experiences for about 50 students. The third event is for students from the Cattle Show Team planning and fundraising for a visit to the 2018 Ekka to participate in the cattle judging and visit the UQ Agriculture Science site at Gatton. If you can assist with one of these projects, please support these students and staff.

In June this year, a troupe of our students and staff will present HOODS, a drama performance in the school theatre over three evenings. Parents and staff wishing to attend should purchase tickets at the office soon, as they will be sold out early. The students and a number of staff have been committing many hours on weekends since mid-term 1 in practice to provide a quality show. Younger students in Drama groups will be given a matinee performance to show them their future pathways.

This term we welcome Michelle Regan as Guidance Officer replacing Lindsay Hains for rest of this term and Troy Twomey as Business Services Manager replacing Marg Brown for remainder of the year, while they are on leave and secondment respectively.

Applications are currently being sought from students in Year 5 interested in joining the Academic Excellence Academy CADET program in Semester 2 this year. Check with your child’s school teachers or Mrs Bryan if you are interested in applying.

Mr Steve Paulger
Principal

FROM THE DESK OF A DEPUTY

School Report Cards

If your student was absent when our Term 1 Report Cards were distributed then please direct them to the school Office to collect it.

If you are a parent of a Year 7 student then remember our email testing day coming up on the 19th May – ahead of us emailing report cards to you at the end of this Semester.

Year 11 News

Year 11 Report Card Monitoring:

As Year 11 students are part of the post compulsory school cohort it is essential that satisfactory attendance, subject progress and effort expectations are maintained. After our Term 1 Report cards, some students have been identified for follow-up contact from senior school staff. Identified students have presented difficulties with meeting these expectations. For these students an information letter will be sent home, requesting a parent interview. Other students, having difficulty with only one or two subjects may be encouraged to make a change. A request for parental approval will be sent home in these cases. The window for subject changes for Year 11 students narrows throughout the year, if the student is to remain capable of meeting their QCE requirements.

If you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s report card then I encourage you to start a conversation with one of our school staff. We appreciate and benefit from your support in striving for the best outcomes for our students.

Year 11 RAAP Presentation:

On Wednesday 17th May all of our Year 11 students will participate in a presentation from Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) called RAAP (Road Attitudes and Action Planning). Firefighters will discuss important information about road safety and the first hand perspective of the dangers that many road users encounter on a daily basis.

The presentation will run for a single lesson in the afternoon and Support Staff will be available, if required.

JUNIOR SECONDARY NEWS

General News

Junior Secondary Leaders

We recently held an induction ceremony for our Junior Secondary leaders. 17 students nominated and were chosen to represent the interests of the junior body.

Leadership takes many forms, it takes energy, passion, pride and commitment, and RELIABILITY.

Everyone is aware of our prefect body - some of our Year 12 students chosen to share leadership within the school. Why do we elect prefects? Why do we promote Junior Secondary Leaders, buddies, sports captains? Why do we promote any form of student leadership? What do we ask of each and every student with respect to leadership? What does it look like each and every day??

My message is always simple and follows a common theme. Don’t expect others to look after you!! Don’t expect others to do your dirty work!! Don’t expect your mum or dad to clean your room. Each and every one of you needs to show leadership and ownership in your classrooms!! Don’t blame someone else for your inaction.

It’s all about taking responsibilities, helping each other, standing up for yourselves, and although it may sound a little corny at times, making/helping you take more ownership of your surroundings.

I’m happy these students have had the courage to stand up and be counted. It is also a learning opportunity for themselves and their peers who will work with them. I call upon all members of the school community - staff, students, parents, other leaders - to help ensure our Junior Secondary Leaders have every opportunity for success this year and into the future with our leadership programs.

Our Junior Secondary leaders for 2017 are:

NAPLAN

NAPLAN has come and gone for another year. Life goes on. The world still spins. We get on with the real job of education until NAPLAN raises its head again, or we spend more time "practicing" it. The myriad of views on the worth and nature of NAPLAN often create some volatile views amongst politicians, teachers, parents, students, media etc.

Such is life…

Many thanks though to the staff and students for the hard work they do put in to representing the abilities of the school during NAPLAN and throughout the year. Thank you also to the team who make the actual exam happen. It doesn't just "happen". There is an enormous amount of effort that goes in to assigning rooms, staff, creating rolls, distributing and tracking papers etc etc etc.

Dodgeball continues….

It's great fun!

Student News

Our new Student Council is continuing to meet fortnightly. We have decided to undertake a number of school and community projects during the year, and will continue to look at ways of developing more student based leadership and involvement in Mackay State High School. I'll provide more detail during the term. Again, I am counting on the school and wider community to support student council initiatives.

Thought of the Newsletter

"A man's errors are his portals of discovery."
Irish novelist James Joyce (1882-1941)

Matt Skinner
Head of Junior Secondary School

AQUATICS – KINCHANT DAM EXCURSION

On Tuesday 2nd May Year 11 aquatics students travelled to Kinchant Dam. Mr West’s and Mr Jackson’s classes were taught techniques on how to canoe in tandem. This included several types of strokes and peer organisation. By the end of the day the students were able to canoe around the dam successfully with the help of the instructors from the Kinchant Dam Outdoor Education Centre. The classes also got to spend half their day tubing across the dam, which was great fun. The students would like to thank Mr Jackson Mrs Wooding and Mr West for organising and supervising the day, as it was enjoyable for all involved.

By Lauren Owen – 11C1

THE ARTS

HOODS

Each night two hoods ride a train to a wrecking yard on the outskirts of the city.
Here, in this cemetery of stories, they are storytellers with the power to fast forward, pause and rewind.
Tonight, they tell the story of three kids left in a car.
Rewind. It’s Friday, KFC night and the last day of school before Christmas.
Kyle, Jesse and baby brother Troy are waiting in the car for their mum.
As night approaches the car park takes on a dark and sinister aspect filled with strange and familiar characters.
The shopping centre closes, Mum still hasn’t returned and the baby won’t stop crying.
Hoods is a suburban tale of survival and solidarity against the odds.

The cast of HOODS have now had two weekend consultation visits from Danger Ensemble artistic director, Steven Mitchell Wright to develop their characters and the world that they inhabit.

Audiences will be treated to an edgy exploration of suburban life through a video game aesthetic. Audience numbers are limited to 60 per show to enhance the overall experience of intimacy. Secure your tickets promptly to avoid disappointment.

Ticket prices $10.

Available NOW from school office. Selling fast!

Pre-show drinks and snacks available from 6pm.

(Mature themes – suitable for a secondary school and adult audience)

IGNITE!17 ARTS TOUR

We now have 50 students participating in the Arts tour to Sydney from September 15 to 22.

Congratulations to these students!

Arts staff have been working closely with the galleries and higher education institutions in Sydney to put together a challenging but very exciting series of learning experiences for our arts students. These include:

• NIDA
• Museum of Contemporary Art
• Brett Whitely Studios
• Belle Shakespeare
• Australian Institute of Music
• Australian Film School
• Sydney Theatre Co.

Plans for fundraising are well under way with a very keen group of parents working with Mr Perry Hobdell and Mrs Anita Pritchard to plan and host a series of events. This will help to subsidise the cost of the trip for participating students. Thank you to those parents and students who have pledged support for fundraising activities. Please contact Perry Hobdell at phobd2@eq.edu.au or Anita on aprit30@eq.edu.au if you missed the meeting during Week 2 (Term 2).

Thank you for the generous support provided through donations received from several businesses and parents. These include goods, gift vouchers, time and expertise for fundraising activities. We appreciate the help of:

• Let the Children Play Toyshop
• Ashveen Ali
• Shawna Starlett
• Ma’s Pizza
• Neung Muay Thai Gym

ARTS Tour Pastizzi Drive

What is a Pastizzi?

A traditional and popular pastry from Malta, containing a sweet or savoury filling wrapped in a gourmet pastry.

The ARTS Department is running a Pastizzi Drive to help raise funds towards the ARTS Ignite Tour 2017. There are 8 flavours to choose from – Sweet flavours include Apple and Chocolate, Savoury flavours include Ricotta Cheese and Spinach, Ricotta Cheese and Bacon, Beef and Peas, Vegetarian, Chicken and Vegetable and Curry Chicken. All packets of pastizzis consist of 12 pieces, except for chocolate, which contains 10 pieces. Packets are $10 each, if you’d like to purchase please contact a member of the ARTS Department. Orders close Wednesday May 17th, with a delivery date of Wednesday June 7th.

Mrs Glenda Hobdell
HOD The Arts

AGRICULTURE HAPPENINGS TERM 1

Year 7

Classes visit Agriculture

Last term Year 7 science classes went to the agriculture department to look at the organisms in the soil and to find out if the soil is healthy.

They took samples from two different areas high and low traffic. They found that there were more organisms in a low traffic area but overall the soil is heathy.

While there they also had a look at the new born baby bull that was born earlier this month.

By Novella Koch 7C1

Year 9

Ag visited bee hives Term 1. We extracted a massive 40 pots of honey.

Addition to Mackay State High family

Our bull calf ‘Slate’ was born on the 29th January. His first measured weight was 40 kg. He and mum Ruby are doing well.

Our big bull ‘Mica’ was sold on 14th February in Rockhampton. He weighed in at 842kg.

Brothers say their last goodbyes……………..

NEWSLETTER WEEK 4 TERM 2

This sports report will look at wrapping up the end of Term 1’s Mackay District School Sports and Capricornia selections. Some of the information for Term 2 has also been included. Further reports will follow finalising student’s progressions other sporting fields.

The following students were selected at the Mackay District School Sports to trial for the Capricornia region in the following sports;

The U12 sporting students are to be congratulated for making the Southern Suburbs Sporting Teams; Rugby League & Cross Country will be published in the next newsletter.

AFL – Hamish Macdonnald
Soccer – Charley Lee
Hockey – Lind Manumuia
Touch Football – Madison Thompson

Being selected for the Capricornia Region in not an easy task. The students that have been selected, have to display a great level of sportsmanship and skill ability in their chosen sport. Congratulations to the following students who have not only represented MSHS but their district. This is something we are proud of as a school community and should be celebrated. Well done!

Netball – Emma Watts and Gabrielle Wotherspoon
Netball umpires – Charni Bloxsom & Lawren Samson
Rugby League – Tom Irelandes and Garret Smith
Softball – Riley Cunningham, Tahlee Durelli and Kiera James
Tennis – Hannah Morgan
Basketball – Hamish Macdonald
U12 Rugby League – Mason and Harry Thorpe

Cross Country

Due to inclement weather at the end of Term 1, the annual Cross Country Carnival was unable to be held. This was rescheduled for the first week of Term 2. As a regular school day, attendance was high and the juniors, Years 7 – 10, were to run their 3km course during period 2. The senior students, Years 11 and 12 ran in Period 3 and completed 6km. The HPE team were thankful to Rob Schmidtke for providing technical support on the day. This included flying a drone and capturing bird’s eye footage of the start and end of the races. Each student’s run time was also projected upon the big screen at the end of the race.

Congratulations to all houses for their participation on the day, the following results indicate the winning house and age champions.

Chattaway 1st
Forgan 2nd
Mackay 3rd
Denniss 4th

12 Years – Izabella Bugjea & Brooklyn Valentine
13 Years – Tasma Levits & Ngakau Ufton
14 Years – Emma Keeler & Will Morgan
15 Years – Rebecca Kucks & Kori Mooner-Brayshaw
16 Years – Jack Alexandrou & Hanna Morgan
17 Years – Lauren Morgan & Riley Ruddell
18 Years – Nchinga Zimba

VOLUNTEERS EXPO

Catriona McGuire (EAL/D co-ordinator) and Paula Smith (Learning support co-ordinator in the Access Centre) both spent their Sunday in a stall representing the school. They explained the individual programs being run in both these departments and the need for volunteer support one- on -one. Volunteers would and are a great asset to our school and are highly appreciated. They work with students on building skills, working towards improving individual goals and achieving successes.

If you would like to volunteer your time to work with our English as an Additional language or Dialect or within the Access centre – Learning Support or with Students with Disabilities please contact the school.

MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICE

I would like to introduce myself as the new Business Services Manager for the remainder of 2017. My recent experience as the Business Services Manager and Network Administrator at Mackay North State High School has allowed me to step into the similar role at Mackay State High School while your existing Business Services Manager is on leave. I have 18 years of experience working in education and I look forward to meeting the whole school community in the coming weeks.

Mr Troy Twomey
Acting Business Services Manager

TRY TRADES

MATHS TUTORING

ENGLISH TUTORING

BLUE CARD WINNERS WEEK 3.

JUNIOR SCHOOL.

Richard DAVVERE was nominated by for working for help flag rising. Congratulations Richard - $10 Tuckshop voucher.

SENIOR SCHOOL

Haley CABAN was entered into the draw by Mrs Gibson, for help the teacher in class.

BREAKFAST CLUB

TUCKSHOP

Profits generated through Tuckshop are contributed to the school benefiting our students.

We invite you to become a Volunteer in the tuckshop. By giving your time you meet others in the school community, share or develop skills in food preparation and deliver customer service.

We understand time is precious, and value any amount you can contribute. By volunteering a full day (9am—2pm) we offer you lunch as well as our good company :) We enjoy a cuppa in between the lunch breaks. You may like to do a morning shift 9am—12.30pm.

We are trialling a menu that incorporates home cooked hot and cold meals, fresh baked snacks and an ability to offer catering to our school community.

Be assured that your volunteer hours will be very much appreciated. If you would like to volunteer your precious hours at the Tuckshop please email MSHStuckshop@hotmail.com, you will be notified of your rostered days via email.

COMMUNITY NOTICES