2-4-2015 - Biloela State High School

Newsletter
Biloela State High School acknowledges the traditional Gangulu people on whose land it stands.
Biloela State High School
GRIP Leadership Conference
A group of our dedicated school leavers attended the GRIP
student leadership conference held in Rockhampton on March 19.
The conference is unique in that it concentrates specifically on
training student leaders for their role as school leaders. The style,
topics, and content of the conference focussed on what students
can do in their time as leaders.
The students all attended a main session, “Building great team
DNA” in which they learnt the essential structure and
characteristics of a successful team. House captains then had the
opportunity to attend a session specifically tailored to their role
focussed on student involvement in sporting events. This was
followed by elective sessions which the students could choose to
attend depending on their leadership role. These sessions
included “How to maximise the Impact of your events”, “How to
maximise the impact of your communication”,” How to lead in
different situations” and “How leaders can maintain momentum”.
All of these sessions focussed on a number of important
leadership techniques and strategies which they will be able to
employ in the events and tasks they will carry out as student
leaders.
Everyone that attended would like to thank Mr George for
organising the excursion (even though he ignored Nathan’s
insistence on healthy choices available at McDonald’s) and Ms
Whitworth for accompanying them. It was a great opportunity to
enhance existing leadership skills and form new strategies for
future leadership endeavours.
Issue 5
2 April 2015
COOL TIME AT COOL WATERS
On Wednesday March 4, we farewelled 78 Year 7 students along
with 4 teachers, Mrs Whitworth together with Mick and Nigel as they
headed off to Cool Waters, Yeppoon. Ready to have some fun in the
sun as we develop relationships, improve team work whilst getting to
know our Year 7’s. Fortunately Cool Waters, suffered very little
damage in the cyclone therefore were fully functioning for our camp.
Activities included were canoeing, swimming, beach games, water
park slides, jumping pillow, and that was just the first day. On day two
we started the team building projects along with crab chasing, night
walks, early morning runs and lots of games. The final day was a
quieter day with only time for 1 activity and no water park time. We
had fun making formal wear from plastic bags with Mrs Kearney,
making balloon towers with Ms Reed, making decisions around being
marooned on a deserted island with Ms Daniels and saving the world
and walking the plank with Mrs Whitworth.
The food was great with plenty of seconds to be had. With no major
injuries or dramas, except for Mrs Kearney’s bus ride home, it was
declared a very successful camp.
FUN
TEAMWORK
FRIENDSHIP
MEMORIES
SHEP State Honours Ensemble Program
Our students excelled at the Griffith
University SHEP program
Rockhampton along with high quality
musicians from across our district. Mr
Cosic supported our students over
the three days of rehearsal and
performance and both he and Mr
Adie enjoyed the concert
performance. Congratulations to Alec
Ball and Alexie Nastasi on selection
for principal Cellist and 1st violin.
Important Dates
20 April
20—24 April
23 April
24 April
28 April
29 April
4—9 May
1 June
First day of Term 2
Year 10 Work Experience Week
Year 6 into 7 Transition Day
Combined Schools Anzac Day Service
10am Biloela Civic Centre
Parent Teacher Interviews 3:30—6pm
School Cross Country
Beef Week Rockhampton
Year 8 Vaccinations (Clinic 2)
YEAR
7
HABITS OF MIND
Thinking about Thinking (Metacognition)
Thinking Flexibly
CHARACTER STRENGTH
Kindness and Gratitude
Biloela State High School - Cnr Gladstone Rd & Scoria St, Biloela Qld 4715 Tel: (07) 4992 8666 Fax: (07) 4992 8600
Website: www.biloelashs.eq.edu.au
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Wellbeing - Michael Fuller
Last Year, Andrew Fuller a leading expert in Adolescent
Learning, spent time with us in Biloela. He showed us that
many young people these days fail to get enough sleep each
night due to their ‘obsession’ with technology (ie. Constant
checking of their phone messages, Facebook, gaming, during
the night). Some families institute systems where the phone,
Ipad, tablet, is stored in another place - Have you set these
limits for your young people?
Michael described how the number of supportive "assets" a
young person has is an important determiner of how they can
cope in stressful situations - their resilience. It is important
that we work as a community to ensure that we are equipping
our students with the necessary skills and ‘assets’ to be
resilient, active members of our society- especially now as they
work through their school years and be well equipped for when
they leave school. You can find out more about what Michael
Fuller has to say by checking out this website: http://
resilientyouth.org.au/home
New School-based Apprenticeships
We are very excited to announce the following School-based
Apprentices: Jaice Hooper (Apprenticeship) Certificate III in
Meat Processing (Retail) with CQ Quality Meats and Dylan
Bishop (Aprenticeship) Certificate III in Kitchen Operations with
Settlers Motor Inn. We thank these employers for providing
these great opportunities for our students and employing
locally!
Wednesday Tutoring a Great Success
Congratulations, both to the students who have taken
advantage of after-school tutoring on Wednesday afternoons
and the wonderful band of senior students and teachers who
are supporting them. Watching Michael, Maddie, Beylinda and
others assist our younger students with the flair of a seasoned
teacher tells us we will see great futures for these young
leaders. This program will continue next Term.
Our Focus on Literacy and Numeracy
This year, as well as having a clear focus on quality literacy and
numeracy learning in class, we have instituted dedicated
literacy and numeracy lessons in the junior school. Mr David
Hall, Our Teaching and Learning Head of Department, is leading
a group of teachers to focus on these important foundations to
learning. At home, learning can continue by talking about
interesting current topics to broaden student knowledge as
well as catching your young people spell correctly and speak in
proper sentences. Thanks to all parents for being partners in
learning. Remember, one of the best ways to be good at
literacy and numeracy is to read! Every student should be
reading at home regularly.
Enjoy Your Holiday Break
Our school rules are: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe
and Be Your Best. They are a great set of rules for school and
they can be applied at home and on holidays! We especially
want students to be safe and have an enjoyable and restful
break. Holidays are a great time to read a book to help you to
be your best and we hope our young people enjoy meeting
new people in a respectful and responsible way this Easter.
John Adie, Principal
YEAR 12 MULTI ARTS
During Term 1 Miss
Outteridge’s year 12 Multi
Arts class have been
studying digital photography.
This week, internationally
renowned wildlife
photographer Tim Flach
kindly sent signed postcards
of some of his amazing
photographic work for the
students to keep.
We would like to send a big
thank you to Mr Flach and
his team for such a kind gift.
Lions Youth of the Year
District level
It is with immense pleasure to announce
that Michael McLure won the district level
of Lions YOTY! It was delightful to see
Michael’s success on the night.
He travelled down to the Sunshine Coast
to represent our school, and has done us
proud once again.
Michael was the overall winner for
the night.
The two impromptu topics were: “If
I was prime minister for the
day…”And, “Describe the world
around you when you are 100.”
Michael now goes on to the state
finals in Brisbane in two weeks’
time, and I look forward to watching
Michael in the next round of
competition.
This is just another reminder for us
of some of the many talented
students we have in our great school.
Do you have cattle on your farm?
If so, you are able to be the host employer for your student
to allow them to complete a
Certificate II in Agriculture while
they study in Year 10, 11 or 12.
This qualification is offered through
RITE (Rural Training and
Employment) Contact Sally Moller
for more information on 49928666.
CHANGE OF ASSESSMENT
11/12 AHS— Exam is now on Wednesday May 6
Year 8 School Immunisation
Clinic 2 Date changed from Monday May 18 to
Monday June 1
Clinic 3 Monday 26th October
From the Deputies’ Desks
Combined Callide Valley Schools ANZAC Service
ANZAC Day 2015 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Gallipoli
landings. To mark the special occasion the Callide Valley cluster
of schools will be holding a combined ANZAC service at the
Biloela Civic Centre on Friday April 24. Parents and families are
invited to attend the service. If you wish to attend please be
there at 9:45am for a 10:00am start. BSHS, Biloela SS,
Thangool SS, Mt Murchison SS, Prospect Creek SS and St
Josephs will all take part in the service. Students from BSHS will
walk to and from the Civic Centre for the service.
Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews Tuesday April 28
Students have received their term 1 interim reports on Tuesday
this week. Teachers will have indicated whether they wish to
meet with parents and their child to discuss the student’s
progress. Parents may also choose to meet with teachers’ to
discuss their child’s progress. Information to access the online
booking system has been included with your child’s report card.
Instructions and access to the online booking tool can be found
at: https://biloelashs.eq.edu.au . The interviews will take place
in N, H & G blocks (those facing Gladstone Road) from 3:30pm
to 6:00pm.
Queensland Core Skills Practice Test Dates
Year 12 students’ who intend to take the Queensland Core Skills
(QCS) test in September this year must sit the two practice tests
that will be running in order to best prepare students for this
exam. The first round of practice exams will be run in week 1 of
term 2 on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd April. The practice
exams will take place in N block. Students will be given full
feedback on their practice test results and this will allow them to
target specific areas for the actual tests. Students not sitting the
QCS tests will have a normal timetable for these lessons with
minimal disruption to their lessons.
Acting Deputy Principal for term 2 and first half of term 3
I will be taking leave from BSHS during term 2 and the first 6
weeks of term 3. During term 2 my replacement will be Jody
Clark. Mrs Clark is an experienced teacher who has acted in the
role of Deputy Principal previously at her base school Clontarf
Beach SHS. Mrs Clark has a wealth of experience in the Senior
Secondary phase of learning will place her in good stead to take
on the role of Senior Secondary Deputy Principal. The
replacement for term 3 will be announced at a later date.
Dan Coxen
Deputy Principal
JAPANESE—BSDE
Caleb is studying Year 10 Japanese
through the Brisbane School of Distant
Education (SDE). His teacher has
rewarded his efforts during lessons, and
in his study sessions throughout the
term, and his success in assessment
with a Student of the Term Award. This
is not Caleb’s first Award in this subject.
He gained a Subject award for his
success in Year 9 for the same subject
last year. The on-line environment
demands commitment from students
and self-motivation. Caleb has these
qualities in abundance. Congratulations.
Parents Supporting Quality Education
Biloela High P&C
Email: [email protected]
NEXT GENERAL MEETING
APRIL 20 AT 7PM
FUNDRAISER in AUGUST
Become involved and volunteer your expertise.
We would welcome your input for this event.
Sub Committee Meeting Monday May 4 at 7pm
Junior Secondary
We are very excited to welcome the current Year 6s students from
our feeder schools on Thursday April 23 for the first stage of the
Transition Process. The students are able to get a sense of what
‘high school’ life is all about, as well as meet some key members of
staff throughout the day. Evidence has shown us that this is an
integral part of welcoming new prospective students into our
community and we look forward to providing a day full of great
experiences to enhance student’s future learning.
Term 1 has allowed the school community to get to know our
newest members of the school, Year 7 and 8s. The Year 7 students
gave us some fantastic feedback on the experiences they enjoyed
at the Year 7 Camp in March. The camp built new friendships,
leadership qualities as well as provided staff to enjoy a different
side of school life with students and build stronger connections.
Year 8 students will have their camp in May at Fairbairn Outdoor
Education Centre and this will focus on leadership skills and
qualities to build a strong leadership culture in our Junior
Secondary School. Year 8 camp forms need to be returned to the
school office no later than Friday May 8.
The Year 9 students have settled well into their senior roles within
the Junior Secondary School and have demonstrated and modelled
outstanding behaviours for our new students. Students are clearly
following the Jewellery Policy which we have been focussing on in
Term1. For further clarification around what is acceptable please
refer to the policy in the Student Diary.
I would like to wish all students and families a safe and very happy
Easter. I look forward to seeing students eager to learn in Term 2.
Students will also have taken home their interim reports and this is
a great opportunity to have discussions and set goals for the next
term.
Lisa Whitworh
Deputy Principal
HARMONY DAY
Our school celebrated Harmony Day in style last week. We held a
number of activities to celebrate Australia’s cultural diversity. Care
groups created posters with the motto “Everyone Belongs”. We
dressed in International dress on Friday or in orange – the Harmony
Day/No Bullying colour.
On Thursday some very special students who were born overseas
spent the morning teaching students at Biloela State Primary school
about their culture. The students presented wonderfully. Teaching
primary school students is not easy, especially when English is your
second language! The students at primary school really enjoyed
learning how to play a game from a different culture. Harmony Day.
There are some fascinating statistics about Australia’s diversity that
can be good conversation-starters.
Did you know:
 around 45% of
Australians were
born overseas or
have at least one
parent who was
 85% of Australians
agree
multiculturalism has
been good for
Australia
 apart from English
the most common
languages spoken in
Australia are
Mandarin, Italian, Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Vietnamese,
Tagalog/Filipino, Spanish and Hindi
 more than 60 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia
 92% of Australians feel a great sense of belonging to our country?
RESOURCE CENTRE NEWS
Please check out our school’s website and while you are there, our
Library catalogue. The address is: www.biloelashs.eq.edu.au.
Once there, click on the Facilities button at the top, then the
Resource Centre drop down button. Here you will see some of the
basic details including opening hours and borrowing procedures. At
the end of that page, there is a link to our Catalogue. The
catalogue itself is straight forward. You can do a subject or topic
search, like “environment”, or a title, author or series search, if you
use the drop down menu to the right of ‘subject’.
There are also recommended website searches on the catalogue
page. For the younger grades particularly, this is very useful. The
sites have all been screened by educators, so not only are they
relevant, but they are also quite credible, remembering of course,
that this does not mean that they are bias-free. Some of the sites
are from organisations in our community that have particular
viewpoints, so this always needs to be taken into account. If they
are concerned about the viewpoint offered, they should raise the
issue with their teachers, so that it can be discussed in class.
To access the websites, you can click on the “Websites Search”
link on the right of the screen. You will notice that the drop-down
menu then includes author, subject, series etc, but excludes ‘title’.
To look for books and other resources held in the Library, you will
need to click on the “Library Search” link on the right of screen
again, so that title searches can be included. You might notice too,
that there is a “JUNIOR SEARCH” link in this menu on the right
that even younger students will find useful. Older siblings will need
to borrow the resources, but you could get your younger students
to access the screened websites through this tool.
INVOICE PAYMENTS
You would have received your invoice from the school, if not please
contact the school office. There are a number of options for
payment:
BPay - if you use this please be aware the amount paid will come
off the oldest invoice on the system and from the oldest sibling. This
is done automatically by the system. If you wish otherwise please
advise the office.
Direct Deposit—if you use this please ensure you put some sort of
identification on the payment so we can deposit this amount to the
correct account and student. If you want it to come off a specific
account you will need to inform the school otherwise it will come off
the oldest invoice on the system.
Cash payment at the school counter. We have eftpos available at
the school or you can fill out paperwork to have your fees taken off
your credit card every month. Paperwork is available at the office to
do this.
You can set up with your bank a fortnightly direct deposit so that
the amount can be taken out and deposited into our account on a
regular basis and helps spread the payments.
Please ensure there is some notification with it to identify who is
paying into our account. Please be aware if you want these
amounts to come off specific students or accounts you need to
notify the office. If not advised, we will take it off the oldest account.
Homework Club
Does your student need some extra help or support
finishing their homework or assessment?
Our senior students are trialling a homework club on
Wednesday afternoon from 3:05 until 4:00pm in
the school Resource Centre. A light afternoon tea
will be provided for students.
Free Microsoft software for
students’ personal computers
All state school students from Prep–Year 12 can now download
multiple free copies of the Microsoft Office 2013 Suite to their
personal home and mobile computer equipment.
Students who want the free software will need an active Managed
Internet Service (MIS) login, school email account and password.
Visit the below website to get started. The username and
password will be the same as the what the student uses to access
school computers. https://login.microsoftonline.com/login.srf
Our display this fortnight is
inspired by Mrs Donohoe’s
Year 11 Legal Studies unit
on Criminal Law. The local
police station was very
obliging in giving us some
missing person and
domestic violence posters,
fingerprint pages, cyber
bulling and online safety
pamphlets, evidence bag
and tape. The students and staff have all enjoyed the teacher
wanted posters in our display.
Enjoy the next two weeks with your families!
Debbie Johnston and Brenda Banks
Resource Centre Staff
HOSPITALITY
On March 12-14 Hospitality classes
professionally prepared and served Tapas,
Morning & Afternoon Teas and
lunches for 150. Well done.