9 December 2020

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

In a blink of an eye, the year has come to an end – and what an incredible year! Here is a review, as my editorial for the final newsletter of the year.

Mackay State High’s School renewed mission is “educational excellence and diverse pathways built on a culture of inclusion, high expectations and pride”. We have worked incredibly hard this year to drive the school in this direction, and despite the challenges that presented both our staff and students with the Coronavirus pandemic, our students and staff have seen outstanding success, and many accomplishments.

In 2020, we saw the first cohort of Year 12 students complete a brand-new system of Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance, which included, for the first time, four weeks of external assessment. Our year 12 students demonstrated tremendous resilience and determination to work through interruptions to learning and disappointments with many events cancelled (including most sport and music programs) due to COVID-19. Formal eventually happened (with dancing allowed!) and we marked the graduation with special gowns and hats that will forever remember the changes faced by the 2020 cohort.

2020 also saw the first Education and Career Planning event take place at the school. ECP Day was about designating a time to have conversations about student performance, set goals for the future, select subjects and look at additional support where required. We scheduled interviews with every child and approximately 900 parents joined in for these interviews. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and truly reflected the mission of the school.

We commenced our journey towards becoming a Positive Behavior for Learning (PBL) school. We redefined our values to Respect, Responsibility and Resilience, and launched, what has become known as the PRIDE CUP. Students quickly got into the spirit and we saw an increase in student participation in school events. We did Wellness Walks on Wednesdays (following the return to school from COVID closure), Mackay High’s Got Talent, and Weekly Maths Challenges. Chataway took the lead early and proved too good, taking out the Pride Cup in its first year. This is set to grow bigger and better in 2021, with lots of ideas already being put in motion.

Mackay High was announced this year as a Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy school (after successful application) and has partnered with the Clontarf Foundation to commence the first Clontarf Academy in Mackay in 2021. We are confident both of these initiatives will enhance the pathways and engagement of our students.

Finally, transition has been a highlight (particularly in Term 4), as we commenced a cluster project with our Primary Schools. Renewed partnership with our eight feeder primary schools under the umbrella of the “Mackay Learning Alliance”, has brought increased visits to our school in preparation for year 7 in 2021. We also partnered in a special “World Kindness Day” project, with a combined parade, showcasing some of our amazing singing talent across our schools.

This is a truly amazing school, with exceptional students.

Farewells

I would like to farewell the following staff members, who are leaving us at the end of this year:

• Sharon Ruhle
• Catie Williams
• Alex Burns
• Claire Verapen
• Rachel Kelbie
• Erin Rounsville
• Kerry Buchannan
• Katrina Illich

Lisa Veney (our Deputy Principal) will be remaining as the Acting Principal of Sarina SHS through Term 1 and will join us back in Term 2. Roxanne Aprile (Acting DP) and Emily Rovelli (Acting Humanities HOD) are both extending in their roles in throughout Term 1.

Key start-up dates for 2021

Finally, a few quick updates for the start of 2021:

• The school office will be open from Monday 18th January at 9am.
• The uniform shop will be open on Tuesday 19th, Wednesday 20th, Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd January from 8.00am - 11:00am
• All students commence school on Wednesday 27th January 2020.

I would like to wish our entire Mackay SHS family a wonderful and safe Christmas break.

We Believe … We Achieve
Yours in Education

Felicity Roberts - Principal
#mackayhighpride

SCHOOL PHOTOS 2021

Dear Parents,

SCHOOL PHOTOS WILL BE TAKEN ON 15 & 16 FEBRUARY 2021

School photography day is coming up soon. Group and portrait photographs can be purchased by following the link below or by returning the order envelope with your payment to our photographer on school photo day.

NEW

advancedlife now offers Latitude Pay! To take advantage of LatitudePay and split the cost of your order into 10 small easy payments, simply order your school photos online as usual, set up a Latitude Pay account in just a few clicks and pay no interest or fees when you pay according to your payment schedule; it’s that easy.

3 easy ways to purchase:

1. LatitudePay – Click on the link below, set up an account during the online order process and split your payments across 10 weeks with no interest or fees, if you pay on time
2. Visa, MasterCard or PayPal
3. Cash – complete the envelope supplied and return it to our photographer on photo day

Or visit: www.advancedlife.com.au
And enter online order code: 989 F7T 7JZ

School photography information:

• Online orders - do not require an envelope returned to your school
• Sibling Photos - Don’t forget to pre-order your sibling photos online up to 24 hours before photo day. We provide your school with a list of sibling orders right up to the day of photography, so no one misses out. If you miss the online order deadline, you can submit a completed sibling order envelope first thing in the morning of the day of photography, so your school is aware you want the photo taken and can bring your children together in time for it. Sibling photographs only apply to children enrolled at your school. Please note not all schools offer sibling photos
• Late fees - a late fee will be applied to each package purchased after photo day due to the additional cost of producing these packages separately
• Package delivery - photographic packages will be returned to your school for distribution approximately six weeks after photos are taken
• Previous Years’ photos - Past years’ photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available to order under the 'previous years or group photo' tabs at your school’s advancedorder site when you click on the 'Order School Photos Here' button above. You can also order past packages, portrait images and gifts from your child’s unique, individual and secure advancedyou image archive site using the unique 9 digit image code found on packages you have ordered in the past

advancedlife would like to express our appreciation to Mackay State High School for placing your trust in us. Please remember we offer a 100% money back guarantee on our products to ensure your peace of mind. We would also love to receive your feedback or resolve any issues you may experience as fast as possible, to ensure your satisfaction. If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience please contact us at:

END OF YEAR

CLONTARF ACADEMY

SPORTS CORNER

Cross Country and Fun Run

Cross Country was held in week 7 this term with a competitive and non-competitive section taking place. Competitive runners ran between 3-6kms for males and 3-4kms for females. Great work to all competitors, it was a very hot morning and you all gave it your best while earning huge house points. Overall Denniss won the carnival with a total of 361 points, Chattaway took 2nd on 261, Forgan took 3rd place with 172 and Mackay on their tails for 4th with 151 points.

A special congratulations goes to our age champions who received their medals on parade last week.

12yrs- Jamie Hansen and Tori Minister
13yrs- Mason Ryan-Ellul and Morgan Faulkner
14yrs- Noah Levitz and Jasmyn Ayles
15yrs- Oscar Filmer and Laina Rudken
16yrs- Korben Becker and Ella Anderson
17yrs- Will Morgan and Tamika Meitzel

The second part of the day saw our inaugural ‘MSHS Pride Fun Run’ take place. This included a little bit of colour, a little bit of water and a few obstacles to make for a whole lot of fun. Thank you to Ms Amanda Dick and Mrs Jacqui Kelly for organizing the event. Without your hard work and vision our students wouldn’t be able to have such enjoyable and memorable events. Good work ladies!

2020 Sports Awards

Congratulations to all students who participated in school sport this year. It has been a hard year for sport but your resilience and determination needs to be applauded. A lot of sport was cancelled however for those sports that did go ahead, here at Mackay State High School we had a number of students represent us with pride.

Congratulations to the following students who represented Mackay District School Sport.

Once students have made the Mackay District team in their representative sport, students then go on to trial for the Capricornia team. Congratulations to the students that made these teams.

A very special mention to Ella Anderson who then went on to make the merit team for Cricket and represent Queensland. What an exceptional achievement and we are extremely proud of you. Congratulations!

Girls Rugby League

What an amazing Term 4 we have had with girls Rugby League. After an announcement that Mackay State High School would be entering in to the girl’s equivalent of the Aaron Payne Cup, it was time to gauge interest and commitment. Girls have been training hard for the past 6 weeks twice a week, and smashing goals. Together with the other coaches, we are so excited to continue to work with the girls over the holidays that are available, and step in to 2021 with some big goals. Great job.

ACCESS CENTRE

Well what a huge year it has been for the ACCESS centre at Mackay High! We have been through a lot of ups and downs with covid and disruptions to school and life in general. But we have made it through to the other side, our students are stronger for it and have had to work on building their resilience and durability.

Just this term we have:

• Attended on Camp Eagle for year 7’s – 3 day adventure and strength building program.
• We have been to Kinchant Dam to work on resilience team building activities. This year we did a wet day which involved canoeing, raft building and biscuiting. These activities where loved by every student, there was full participation and involvement.
• We have catered to many events and also provided our wonderful staff with sweets and coffee that is of good quality
• We have seen 6 of our QCIA students Graduate and have sent them off with the biggest hug and wishes of good luck!
• We have homed two adorable Guinee pigs that have been looked after by our adorable year 7’s
• We have trained staff to improve their skills and profession
• We have just completed a Junior Transition program that we have built on since last year – doubling our number of students to enable them to feel comfortable coming to our wonderful school next year.
• We say goodbye to our wonderful teacher Miss Catie Williams – she will be dearly missed by all students. There was lots of tears!!!

There is lots more but the most important wish I would like to give is a very Merry Christmas to you all. To all the family’s, parents and students I have worked with, it has been our absolute pleasure to work with your children on their learning journey. We will see you in the new year, keep safe and keep happy!!

Best wishes to you all!

Majella Hoffmann
HOSES

SAVE THE DATE FOR 2021

MACKAY STATE HIGH PRESENTS

“GREASE THE MUSICAL”

THANKYOU

I wanted to say a big thank you to Alison Bugeja for the generous plant donations that are making our classrooms look inviting, tropical and lush. They are loving their new locations around the school.

Ms Claire Blessas
HOD English

SENIOR SCHOOLING

ENGLISH TUTORING

MATHS TUTORING

THANKYOU

A huge Thankyou goes to our school community for their most generous donations for the annual Salvation Army Christmas Appeal. All goods will be delivered to families throughout the Mackay district.

BREAKFAST CLUB

We desperately NEED volunteers to help in our Brekky Club, Brekky club operates Monday to Thursday 8am to 8.30am. There are no prerequisites required to help only that volunteers need a Blue card.

Every day: “Fresh Fruit, Cereals, Toast and spreads”

Students can take a piece of fruit (Apples, Oranges), make their own toast (fresh Brumbies bread) with a full range of spreads. Also enjoy a glass of milk with the option of making a takeaway sandwich for lunch later.

Monday: “Milo Monday”

Students can make a cool refreshing drink with one scoop of Milo and fresh Milk.

Tuesday: “Toasty Tuesday”

Hot yummy cheesy Toasty’s served up by our lovely volunteers.

Wednesday: “Pancake Wednesday”

We are serving up hot soft delicious Pancakes with syrup, fruit, cream, berries and all things yummy

Thursday: “Smoothie Thursday”

The “Smoothie Bar” serves up blended “Chilly Chock Berry Banana Smoothies”. A real hit and a cool start to a big day.

MACKAY STATE HIGH SCHOOL P & C

Next P and C meeting is on Monday 22nd February 5pm.

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