17 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Last week a large number of parents and carers attended the Parent Teacher Interviews, convened on Tuesday afternoon. These interviews, supplemented by several other contacts between teachers and parents both before and after, are so very important and influential in the improvement of student’s learning. The sharing of information both to teachers and well as to parents, gives an improved understanding of the child’s situation, whether in Year 7 or Year 12, high performer or student who receives additional support with basic skills. As a principal, I also enjoy the feedback received from parents when they attend, which informs me about the other support that the school provides through services like the Brekky Club, our Support team members for students and staff, including Guidance Officer, Chappy, School Nurse and our CEC who assists with our Indigenous families. I do ask all parents to ensure that they share the Report ratings with their students, as it is important for all students to receive the feedback to reset goals for the end of Semester goals.

We will have a further evening in July following the End Semester 1 Report Cards’ distribution. I sincerely thank the staff who after a full day of teaching were available and many there from 3:30 – 7:30pm meeting with parents.

Each year students are invited to participate in the Young Chef’s Competition in both Junior and Senior divisions. The students compete for trophies organised by the Rotary Club and named in honour of a passionate former teacher from our school, Mrs Dianne Cunningham. This year we had 5 teams nominate for the Junior division - Mia Higgins, Charlotte Toohey, Ashley Carter, Scott Ryan, Tyler Hamilton, Jasmine Douglas-Henry, Anna Rogers, Chonteal Stone, Makayla Murray & Sara-Jayne Ryan. They prepared their meals for judging by Ms VanZyl and the panel on Tuesday. The winners will participate in the Regional judging at CQU this Saturday. Best wishes to our representatives

Recently I attended a presentation of scholarships for Sarina Branch – Bendigo Community Bank held at Central Queensland University in Mackay. These scholarships have been offered for five years now to support young students in their tertiary studies in the Business and Accounting fields. This year Claudine Asuncion was the recipient of a Student Ambassador Scholarship to assist her in her Bachelor of Accounting at CQU. Claudine graduated at Mackay SHS in 2013, going initially to study Nursing at JCU, but returned home and in 2017 commenced her current course and is shining in her work and enjoying the program, now in her second year.

Our Year 7 & 9 students participate this week in the national standardised NAPLAN testing, gauging student levels in Literacy and Numeracy capabilities. The content being tested across all school students in Australia, is included in their curriculum and students should not place additional pressure on themselves. The results for each of the students will be provided to families in mid-year, however should be considered along with the school-based assessments provided by their school.

Our students in the Rugby League Academy have been kicking several goals recently. Not only did Tommy Dearden make his debut recently for the Brisbane Broncos NRL side, but here in Mackay our Division one teams have been performing well in the Aaron Payne Cup and Under 15 Cowboys Challenge. In a double headers round when teams from Rockhampton, Townsville and Mackay played here in Mackay, in Division 1 our First 13 players had strong wins over St Brendans College and then Rockhampton Grammar, the next day. Our Under 15s lost against St Brendans, but returned the next day to defeat Rocky Grammar in a strong showing. Congratulations to students, coaches and families. This week the lads travel to Townsville to take on Ignatius Park College and later in the term, Kirwan SHS.

Mr Steve Paulger
Principal

FROM THE DESK OF A DEPUTY

Staff Recognised

Pictured above are Sharon Barnard (Head of Department for the Senior School) and Tony Eastwick (Mackay SHS Facilities Officer). These Staff members are the May recipients for our

P & C Staff Recognition Awards.

Sharon was nominated for this award by multiple staff members. Sharon has played a very important role with the implementation of the new Senior SATE subjects and systems. She has taken on a pivotal task of being well informed about the changes and then coaching our staff and students through them. She gives the staff and students great confidence with her support and knowledge. Sharon also makes herself available to staff and senior students whenever they have questions about their tasks.

Tony was also nominated by multiple staff members for this award. Tony takes on any job. He is helpful to all of our staff. He has a high work ethic and is a quiet achiever; he is also a genuinely nice man. He is always helpful when requested and never complains. He is good for staff morale and gives prompt responses to high priority needs. He is making significant improvements for the appearance and facilities of our school. He takes great pride in his work and is also of great assistance to tradespersons when they are working within our school.

Congratulations to these two staff members and thank you to them and all of our nominees.

Ms Tania Cheers
Deputy Principal

STYMIE

SCHOOL SAFETY

SENIOR SCHOOLING

White Card

Students who are wishing to do work experience in the construction area, e.g. Carpenter, Plumber, Cabinet Maker, Electrician, Refrigeration Mechanic, Concreter etc are now required to have a White Card before they can go onto a work site.

We are looking at having a trainer from Col Joy Training come to the school and run the course for interested students. The cost will be $70 per student (the price could be reduced depending on numbers) and the course will run for a whole school day. Students who are interested in obtaining a White Card need to give their name to Mrs Esau in E6 by Wednesday 22 May.

Year 12 Work Experience

Year 12 Work Experience will take place from 12 – 16 August (Week 5 of Term 3).

These work placements allow students to experience the use of new and different equipment and technologies, and to develop a positive work ethic for future employment. Structured Workplace Learning also gives the student the opportunity to put into practice skills learned in the classroom. We have had many success stories from students participating in work experience with placements leading to part time work or school based apprenticeships and traineeships.

Students have been advised of the dates for Work Experience and application forms can be collected by the student from Mrs Esau in E6.

KP Placements will arrange the location for the students in their preferred field. The cost for this service is $37.00 which is to be paid in cash to the school office prior to the application being accepted. To allow time for these placements to be made, the application and receipt of payment are to be handed to Mrs Esau in E6 no later than Monday 27 May.

Mission Australia are currently conducting their 2019 Youth Survey. Young people aged 15-19 years are encouraged to participate to have their say on their values, concerns, challenges and ambitions. Please read the Plain Language Statement, Letter to Parents and return the Consent Form. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and closes on the 31st July, 2019. Please ensure that students enter the unique code of 45523 on the second introductory page when prompted online.

Jenny Hocking
Youth Support Coordinator

TRIVIA NIGHT

Miss Hoffman and Miss Kliese are very excited to announce that they are holding a Year 8 & 9 Trivia Night in Term 2, Week 8 on Thursday 13th June. This event will provide students with an opportunity to meet and greet other students in a fun environment. It will be a couple of hours of games, challenges and of course, some fun trivia. Please note: only Year 8 & 9 students are permitted at this event.

There will be a pre- trivia sausage sizzle organised by our senior buddies and prefects, for students to attend. The sausage sizzle will be $2 with optional additional extras. Cordial will be provided on trivia tables and there will also be drinks and snacks available to purchase.

Whilst lollies, drinks and snacks will be for sale during the trivia night, please encourage students to bring COINS ONLY as there will be limited change and no EFTPOS facilities available.

The evening’s profits will be donated to Central Queensland Emergency Helicopter Services to support their organisation and commitment to our broader schooling community.

SPORTS REPORT

This fortnight we would like to showcase what the 7 – 10’s are completing in Health & Physical Education. A snap shot has been provided in relation to both theoretical and practical components of their work this term.

Year 7

In this unit, students will investigate a range of physical, emotional, social and intellectual changes occurring during adolescence and consider how they impact on identity. They will investigate, evaluate and recommend strategies and resources to help manage a variety of changes occurring during adolescence. This unit contains some sensitive concepts, images and terminology related to puberty.

In Practical lessons, students develop and apply personal and social skills to establish and maintain respectful relationships and promote fair play and inclusivity in volleyball. They apply and refine movement concepts and strategies in response to modifications made to volleyball game contexts.

Year 8

Within Health and Physical Education our year 8 students work through a practical and a theory component. This term our theory unit is safe relationships where students analyse information on identity, risk taking, how to maintain respectful relationships, and safe online communication . This unit provides students with vital information surrounding how to be respectful and safe when communicating.

Our practical unit is touch football and will include a wide range skills. This unit allows students to develop ball skills that incorporate running, catching, and passing skills, as well as hand eye coordination. Through the various games of touch football students will start to develop team work and communication skills. Along with these essential skills, the year 8’s are developing their tactical decision making and awareness.

Year 9

Theory: Year 9 students will be investigating safe relationships and sexual health. Students have attended a sexual health presentation by Tracy Brooke from the Community Health Office here in Mackay. This presentation focused on safe relationships, sexual health, sexually transmitted infections, contraception and inappropriate sexualisation. Students will complete a response to stimulus over a two-week period in class as part of their assessment.

Practical: Students will participate in a range of skills and game play in relation to the sports of T-Ball and Softball. The focus will be on fundamental motor skills and game strategy and knowledge of rules of play.

Year 10

The topic overview for Year 10 Health and Physical Education Unit 2 is Cultural Connections combined with their practical sessions of Ultimate Disc. This unit is designed for our students to look at our Indigenous and Multi-Cultural sequence of teaching and learning that aligns with the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education for Years 10 Band and considers the local context and needs of students through sport. This unit examines the role of physical activities within our community play in defining culture and cultural identities. It also analyses the impact attitudes and beliefs that have on community connections and wellbeing.

Rugby League

Some great results last week with or First XIII and Year 10 boys. The Firsts knocked off the powerhouse that is St. Brendan’s College 34-6 (Doyley was NOT happy with his decision to leave MSHS for St. Brendan’s!!!) and backed up the following day to defeat The Rockhampton Grammar School 30-12. The Year 10s had a 26-14 win today over Rocky Grammar but went down the following day. The Firsts currently sit on top of the table in North QLD with our 10s just outside the Top 4. The boys did a wonderful job of representing the school last week.

Staff Profile

The HPE Staff would like to introduce our staff members throughout the year. This is a way for our students and school community to get to know our staff. Introducing Mrs Hannah Koko.

1. Your position / role(s) at MSHS: Health and physical education teacher
2. Nickname – How you obtained this if appropriate: Koko
3. How Long you have been employed at MSHS:I started at the beginning of 2018
4. Hobbies and interests: I am all about exploring the unknown and experiencing all that life has to offer. I’m a thrill seeker, a proud aunty and I love to get away and travel as much as I can. I have a passion for food and enjoy spending as much time as I can with family and friends.
5. Favourite travel destination: New Zealand- You can’t beat God’s country!
6. Highlight at MSHS: Most days are a joy for me but I especially love seeing students achieve their goals through hard work and determination.
7. Passion in relation to MSHS: Helping enhance the Netball academy and making our girls the best all rounded people they can be.
8. An animal that best represents you: A Lion- I am the queen of my own jungle, passionate, assertive and no challenge is too big or small.
9. Favourite Quote: Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.

EARN AND LEARN

The Access Centre is once again collecting stickers to gain some wonderful resources. Dates for sticker collection are between 1 May and 25 June 2019. Shoppers receive 1 sticker for every $10 spent. Last year (2018) we managed to collect 4740 stickers but have given ourselves a goal of 5000 stickers for 2019. A collection box will be placed in the student area of the office and another at Canelands.

SCIENCE

In week 4 Year 11 chemistry students started work on their student experiment which entailed modifying a mandatory calorimetry experiment. They spent a Monday afternoon undertaking an extended laboratory session until 5pm collecting data – with smiles on their faces!

Great job Year 11 chemistry!

MATHS DEPARTMENT

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Whitsunday Voices

Academic Academy students in Year 7, 8 and 9 will be invited to attend at Whitsunday Anglican School 19 July for the day. Letters of invitation will come out over the ensuing weeks. We are very excited that we have secured tickets to see Li Cunxin the author of Mao’s Last Dancer as one of the sessions. Keep an eye out in the bottom of your student’s bag for more information.

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

Guidance Officer

Breakfast Club

MSHS has a breakfast club that operates Monday to Thursday which is open 8.00 am to 8.40. We would like to say a massive Thankyou to Brumby’s Sydney Street for donating the bread for our students to enjoy and also our wonderful P & C Committee. Thank you to the parents/carer’s that have already donated spreads, we are always looking for more spreads (in date) to feed our hungry students.

P & C

We are currently seeking a secretary and would also like to obtain the services of an assistant Treasurer, as our current Treasurer Sandy is in her last year with the school. You would work alongside of Sandy learning the role of Treasurer. All other positions are filled with the P & C. Our next meeting is Monday 27th May 6pm. If anyone is interested they can contact us through the P and C email. pandc@mackayshs.eq.edu.au.

Tuckshop

How can I get involved?

Volunteering is time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain.

The parents and citizens’ association at Mackay State High School appreciate any volunteer contribution that you can make. Can you help at tuckshop? Do you like planning or assisting at functions and special events? There are so many ways in which you can help our P&C email pandc@mackayshs.eq.edu.au for more information

COMMUNITY NOTICES