26 February 2016, Volume 18 Number 2

News from the Principal

From the Principal

School resourcing is based upon student enrolment on Day 8 of the school year. Our Day 8 return saw 1428 students enrolled at Centenary which represents an increase of approximately 40 students on last year.

The increased enrolment above prediction will realise extra teachers to the school although the school's allocation is yet to be confirmed. Teaching appointments will be made over the next few weeks although some class changes will probably not be made until the end of the term to allow for continuity in instruction.

The Importance of Routines

Our school pedagogical improvement is based upon the Marzano Art and Science of Teaching Model. The Centenary teaching staff has been using Marzano's Framework as the core of our professional development delivery for four years. A key component of the ASOT Framework is the use of effective routines in our classroom environment. Research has shown that strong routines support clear expectations enabling students to engage optimally in classroom learning.

Routine is important in maximising learning outside of school. It is important that students have a regular daily study time and a set place to complete this study in the household. The notion of routine can also be extended into sleep. Students will generally function at a higher level when they have set sleep and wake up times. The beginning of the school year is an excellent time to establish good routines to support learning.

Classroom Air Conditioning

The recent hot weather has prompted a number of inquiries regarding air conditioning of classrooms. In South East Queensland air conditioning of classrooms is comes under the discretionary spending of schools and normally is the result of P and C Funding. Presently the P and C is committed to upgrading the canteen and uniform shop and the air conditioning of classrooms may hold merit as a future project is not a school project priority in 2016.

Bomb Threat

On Thursday 18th and Tuesday 23rd February, the school received a threatening phone call and we responded immediately on both occasions by contacting the police and evacuating to the oval students and staff. As you may be aware, there have been a number of threatening phone calls received by schools in Queensland and in other states. Police have made public statements that they believe these calls are hoaxes.

However, the safety and wellbeing of students and staff is paramount and the school has enacted its emergency response plan and responded to this threat in line with established procedures. The evacuations procedures are being reviewed in light of the recent events to maximise the safety and wellbeing of students and staff.

The Department of Education and Training (DET) is working closely and will continue to work closely with Queensland Police to ensure the safety of all students

Student Success

Congratulations to David Dau in Year 9 who has been selected for the preliminary stages of selection for the Australian Team for the International Maths Olympiad

John Brew, Principal
Email: admin@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au

Newsletter Articles

News from the Deputy Principals

New Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance Systems – Year 11 2018

Parents and carers may be aware that the Queensland Government will be introducing new senior assessment and tertiary entrance systems for students entering Year 11 in 2018. This means our current Year 9 students will be the first group to move into this system which is designed to be more sustainable than the current model of assigning students an Overall Position (OP) for University entrance.

Centenary SHS has been extremely proactive in ensuring that we are at the forefront of this transition. In 2016, Centenary SHS will be participating in activities led by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA). These activities include:

• Participation in the Modern History External Assessment Trial;
• Staff participating in new processes for accrediting assessment items, and;
• Continued participation by our School Subject Panellist which is shared at a local level after key moderation meetings.

At this stage, the school is positioning itself to have the greatest amount of working knowledge and understanding to successfully transition to the new system in 2018. Across the coming 12 months, parents and carers of our current Year 9 students will receive information about the new system.

Further information can be found at

School Photographs

Information will be provided to those students who did not have their photo taken for their 2016 ID card in their HG class next week. The school has compiled a list of students and these photographs will be taken in the Resource Centre. Students will be expected to be in full formal uniform for these catch-up photos.

Unique Student Identifier (USI) Numbers and Issuing of VET Qualifications (Years 10 – 12)

As of January 1 2015, students undertaking a VET qualification must have registered with the Australian Government for a Unique Student Identifier (USI) number. This number is linked to any nationally recognised training that your student may undertake whilst at Centenary SHS or beyond. In February this year, students and parents/guardians were first introduced to the USI requirements and many students have submitted their USI to be recorded in their student profile on the OneSchool.

Students who have not completed the USI registration process or submitted their USI to school for verification are not able to have any VET qualifications and certificates issued under this new legislation. In the coming weeks, the school will be identifying students missing USI numbers and working through the registration process. Parents/Guardians are asked to follow-up with their student to ensure that this process has been completed so that completed qualifications can be issued.

If you require any further information about the Unique Student Identifier (USI), please visit the Australian Government USI website at

After-School Detentions

The issuing of after-detention is one possible consequence for unacceptable behaviour within our school. After-school detentions can be issued when:

1. A student fails to attend an assigned lunchtime detention, or;
2. A student engages in behaviours that are judged to be at a medium or high level of unacceptable behaviour in accordance with the school's 'Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students'.

After-school detentions are held in HE01 on Friday afternoon from 3.00pm to 3.30pm with students and parents/guardians receiving notification of the detention before the scheduled date. It is essential that students attend these detentions as they enforce the school rule of "Be Responsible". It is important to outline that failure to attend an after-school detention may result in the imposition of an external suspension period.

Furthermore, any student who receives three (3) after-school detentions in a term will be referred to the appropriate year level Deputy Principal where further action such as external suspension and suspension of 'good standing' will be determined in accordance with the school's 'Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students'

Matt McDonald, Deputy Principal (Years 11 & 12)
Email: mmcdo156@eq.edu.au

2016 Timetable

We have been fortunate enough to be able to hire two new teachers due to our increase in student numbers this year. This has necessitated some amendments to the current timetable. A number of new classes have been created in core subjects across year 9 and 10. Unfortunately this may cause some disruption to those students who have been moved into the new classes. We have attempted to minimise these disruptions as much as possible. If you have any concerns about your son or daughters timetable please contact the relevant Deputy Principal.

Year 10 Parent Talks

On Tuesday 8th March 2016, there will be a Year 10 Parent Information Evening held in the CPAC Building from 6:15 pm to 7:00 pm. Information will be presented by the Deputy Principal, Senior Schooling HOD and Guidance Officer about the transition process from year 10 into year 11.

Year 10 is an important year where students will need to make decisions about what pathway they would like to pursue in year 11 and 12. It is vital that all students and parents receive the same communication to assist in the decision making process.

We welcome all parents and guardians to attend the evening and we hope to see you there. If you have any further questions, please contact the school to discuss.

Adam Richter, Deputy Principal (Years 9, 10 & International)
Email: arich60@eq.edu.au

Curriculum Charges 2016

Last week invoices for Curriculum Charges were processed and emailed to parents. To allow parents/carers to budget and enter payment plans, accounts are not required to be finalised until the 31st October.

Curriculum Charges are an additional charge for some specific areas of study which require extra, intensive resourcing. These can occur across core subject areas and extra-curricular subjects like STEP and HG. These charges cover activities and resources outside of the Student Resource Scheme.

Many extension and senior students are undertaking TAFE, university and certificate courses which incur significant charges from external organisations. Some subject areas include excursions, camps and academic competitions.

Attached is an overview of all fees and charges. These documents provide a detailed explanation (by subject) of Curriculum Charges and Student Resource Scheme fees and what the school provides for each of these charges. A copy is also available on our website

These Curriculum Charges are reviewed each year by the school finance committee which then makes recommendations to the P&C for endorsement.

While processing these invoices you may receive multiple emails from the school. To save time and confusion, we recommend you ignore all invoices and wait for a statement to be emailed later in the term.

Statements will be emailed each term with a due date of 31st October.

Parents/carers of Year 7 and 8 students, please note that some subjects are only timetabled each term or semester. For these subjects, invoices will be generated as required with an email advising parents/carers of the fee.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, please contact the Business Services Manager to discuss how your financial obligations can be met throughout the school year or to negotiate alternative arrangements that may be available to accommodate individual circumstances. All discussions will be held in the strictest confidence.

For more detailed information please contact the individual Head of Department or by emailing admin@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au.

BPAY

With the implementation of the Bpay function; this allows parents the convenience of making payments from home and alleviates the need to pay in person over the counter.

The Bpay system is automatic but can be manually adjusted if an incorrect invoice has been processed. This may occur depending on the rules that have been set by the system.

After a parent has processed a payment, the following are some of the system-generated rules of the Bpay function:

• First rule– excursions oldest to newest will be paid for first
• Second rule – other invoices oldest to newest
• Third rule– if there is no invoice on the system a credit will be automatically be processed against the student's account

There are also other factors that the system takes into consideration like only one Debtor ID per family. The processing becomes more complicated if a family, due to having only one Debtor ID, has more than one student all with outstanding invoices. In these circumstances internet banking or periodical method of payments are recommended instead of Bpay.

Parents should note that only one payment amount covering all invoices that are required to be paid should be entered.

Bpay should not to be used for cash sale items as all Bpay payments require a reference number which is located on an invoice or statement. In this instance you can use internet banking this enables you to enter a description so the payment can be allocated correctly.

Technology Levy 2016

This year the school has introduced an Information Technology levy, which has been approved by the school P&C, has been made in response to a change in the level of Federal Government funding for schools.

In response to the change in this funding model, Centenary State High School has progressed to a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programme. This approach places the school at the forefront of the current technology and allows students to connect a range of approved devices that best enhance the learning that occurs in the classroom. The potential devices that may be connected to the programme means that families will be able to identify a cost-effective and convenient option for students.

This whole school levy will provide services over and above what is currently provided to State Schools under the revised funding arrangement. The levy will service the following –

• Allow all students to connect to the BYOx server for connectivity on the school.
• Management and on-site support to the school's wireless infrastructure for student connectivity.
• Ongoing access to school based technical support to facilitate the transition to BYOx across the school.
• Student access to additional software beyond the standard available downloads such as the Microsoft Office Suite.

At the centre of this decision is a commitment to deliver the highest quality IT solutions to our school community.

If you have any further questions or queries, please contact Daniel Mabb (HOD – Information Technology) at the school on 07 3373 4555 or via email (dmabb1@eq.edu.au).

Charmaine Macaulay
Email: cmaca5@eq.edu.au

News from the Guidance Officer for Years 7, 8 & 10

Empathy

What is empathy? What does it mean to respond empathically? Have you ever felt lost for words and really uncomfortable? Here are a few tips about how to respond to someone who is in a really difficult situation.

Responding with Empathy - build a connection

Empathy is a feeling with the other person. It means finding and connecting to the same feeling in yourself as you talk with them.

For example when someone feels they are in a deep hole and cry out "I'm stuck. Its dark. I'm overwhelmed", a feeling response is "Hey I know what it's like down here and you're not alone".

If someone shares something with you that's really difficult, an empathic response is "I don't even know what to say right now but I'm so glad you told me"

The following responses create a disconnection with the other person –

"Ooh. Its bad huh? Ah….Do you want a sandwich?"
"Oh I know how you feel" (no you don't know how they feel – they need to tell you how they feel)
"Oh that once happened to me and I did this…"
"Someone I knew went through something similar and this is what happened …"

"At least" responses create a disconnection-

"My cat died". Response: "At least you had a cat"
"My boyfriend just cheated on me". Response: "At least you had a boyfriend"
"David is getting kicked out of school". Response: "At least your daughter/brother/sister is an A student"

Some suggestions to build connection with someone who has just told you something really painful for them -

1. E – Eye contact - Maintain good eye contact and indicating "I see you"
2. M – Mirror the feelings of the person by using their words about how they feel
3. P - Show through posture you are listening
4. A – Affection – Simply sitting beside someone who is upset is enough.
5. T - Tone of voice is soft and gentle
6. H - Hearing with unconditional acceptance – leave out judgement.
7. Y – Putting aside your feelings and be there with the other person

What makes it better for the other person is the connection and how you make someone feel. It is rarely what you actually say.

The Guidance Counsellor is available to speak to students, staff and parents at any time during school hours. Please contact the girls at reception if you would like to chat.

Robyne Kruske, Guidance Counsellor
Email: rkrus2@eq.edu.au

News from the Guidance Officer for Years 9, 11 & 12

Year 12 – Beginning to Focus on Future Pathway Options

As the school year starts to get busier for year 12 students, it is a time for concentrating on studies and doing their best. School is a full-time job and requires a lot of time and effort. In quiet moments, many year 12 students also find themselves asking, 'What happens when I graduate?' The next steps after school can be daunting and need to be thoughtfully and deliberately planned and prepared for so the transition from school to post-schooling options, be that work, apprenticeships, Tafe, university or a combination of things, goes smoothly. Taking time to talk about what happens next, doing some research and investigating a range of options is vital to ensuring success in adulthood. Parents, siblings, friends of the family, teachers and the school are all helpful and important people to work with when a year 12 student is thinking about their future.

Centenary State High School is working with students during the course of the year to ensure they have a positive range of opportunities available. This is to ensure each student has the right fit needed for their chosen future pathway. Term 2 will be an important time for year 12's as we will be having a range of universities, Tafe, QPS, Defence and other guest speakers presenting to students. We will also be working with parents primarily on QTAC admissions and course selection for further education. On June 23rd, there will be a QTAC presentation for parents and students from year 12 to ensure everyone is able to have meaningful and positive conversations leading to great choices. Prior to this, important information will be regularly provided to parents and students directly via email to help any initial conversations, questions or concerns. I will also be holding lunch time Q&A sessions in the library for students interested in further education and QTAC admission.

The sites below are very useful to begin consolidating post-schooling options and plans. Please have a look at each site with your student.

• My Future is a useful and informative service about career options and training and education options for post-schooling. It also has a range of self-evaluation tools that can be very useful for students who are unsure of what they would like to pursue in their future.

• The Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) is the application service for all students wishing to enrol in university or TAFE at the Certificate IV, Diploma and Bachelor degree levels. On the linked page is are a range of useful information pages for parents describing all aspects of the university application process and beyond. It is a great way to get to know the process and have knowledgeable conversations with your student when you look at course options and universities.

• The TAFE Brisbane site offers a wide range of study options on various campuses and has great information on course to career options, pathways to university, enrolment options, and other important information to make the right choice.

• TAFE SkillsTech is the trades training site which provides information on a range of Certificate and Diploma courses. Some areas include automotive, building and construction, electrical, engineering, mining, plumbing and a range of others. SkillsTech has pre-apprenticeship courses, traineeships and apprenticeship study options.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me, Mark Voigt - Guidance Officer, on mxvoi0@eq.edu.au or call to make an appointment.

Mark Voigt, Guidance Counsellor
Email: mxvoi0@eq.edu.au

News from the Chaplain

Food for Thought

Friends – The people you spend most of your time with will have quite a marked effect on the way you live and act as you will find yourself adopting a lot of their habits and hobbies.

Peer pressure is often referred to as being a bad thing, but that's not always the case.

If you choose peers whose ways are good, then they will probably influence you to behave in the right way. On the other hand if you choose friends who are constantly getting themselves in some sort of strife, then it won't be long before you find yourself being led into doing things you don't really want to do.

Remember, it's your choice. Think of the characteristics that you like most in people and then look for friends who display those characteristics.

A message from Chappy Bernie…

At this time of the year, students can be stressed with assessment and exams. Below is a list of coping strategies, which can help.

A mega list of coping strategies

Turn to someone you trust. It can be a relief to share your thoughts with someone else, and it can be good to work through problems with the help of another person.

Write it all down. Keeping a notebook handy for you to scribble your thoughts in whenever you feel like it can be a great way of expressing yourself. You may find it helpful to write about what is worrying you, or express yourself in a more creative way.

Set aside regular time for yourself. Even if it's just ten minutes of 'you' time, taking some space for yourself where you turn off your phone, spend time alone, exercise, meditate, or listen to music can really prepare you for tackling stress or challenges.

Walk away. Work out which situations you are likely to get most stressed out by. If you feel like you're getting too angry, end the conversation, take some space, and don't resume talking until you are calm and ready.

Overcome negative patterns of thinking through self-talk. Self-talk can help you see things from a more positive perspective and give a huge boost to your confidence.

Reduce your load. Sometimes you just have to accept that you can't do everything. Keep track of your schedule and how you feel each day, and working out your optimal level of activity. You should be busy, entertained, and challenged, without feeling overwhelmed.

Consider the big picture. When you're going through a stressful situation, ask yourself these two questions. 'How important is this?' and 'will it matter in the long run?' If you realise it doesn't, it's probably not worth getting too stressed out by.

Learn to forgive. Move on from hurt, regret and anger. Whether you are angry at yourself or someone else, it doesn't help you to hold on to negative feelings like resentment.

Hone your communication skills. If you know how to communicate a problem well, it will help prevent conflict from escalating, and could help solve the cause of the stress in the first place.

Build your optimism. Optimism involves learning to think positively about the future - even when things go wrong. That's not to say you pretend that everything is fine when it isn't. Instead, it's about looking objectively at a situation, making a conscious decision to focus on the good. It can be hard to do, but if you practice, you're likely to get better.

Learn how to set goals.

Relax, man. Relaxation is a great way to refocus your thoughts, particularly when things are becoming a bit overwhelming.

Build your gratitude. Take some of your focus away from the negative things, and take 5 minutes each day to identify 3 things which you are thankful about.

If you need something stronger

You don't have to work this stuff out on your own. Chaplains Guidance Officers and School Base Youth Nurse, are great at helping to build and develop coping skills. They also can be good to talk to if you prefer not to talk to friends or family, or if your problems are making it hard to carry on with day to day stuff.

I hope this is helpful. If you require speaking to me (The Chaplain), please contact me by Email: bernie.mcmullen@gmail.com or on the Phone 33734531

Bernie McMullen, Chaplain
Email: bmcmu27@eq.edu.au

News from the School Nurse

YOUR TEENAGER AND MENTAL HEALTH

A teenage mental health assessment is when a health professional tries to understand how your child's mental health is affecting his/her quality of life. If you think your child has mental health issues, assessment is one step towards getting help and treatment if needed.

What is a teenage mental health assessment?

'Assessment' is just another word for an appointment, consultation or interview – or series of appointments – with a health professional such as a doctor, psychologist or counsellor.

A teenage mental health assessment is about your child and the health professional developing a good relationship, and the professional getting a good understanding of how your child sees the world and the problems he's having.

Why your child might need a teenage mental health assessment

It's not always easy to tell the difference between normal teenage worry or moodiness and more serious mental health issues.

Most normal teenage irritability, arguing and moodiness come and go quickly. But when they persist for 2-3 weeks or are very intense for even shorter periods, it can be a sign that it's more than just worry or feeling down.

If your child doesn't want to see friends, or is spending most of the time by herself, it's a sign that you need to take action.

Also if your child stops doing things he usually enjoys, isn't doing so well at school or is taking more risks than usual, this could be a sign that he's feeling very anxious, depressed or stressed and might be helped by having a mental health assessment.

The best place to start is your GP, who will either be able to help you directly or refer your child to another professional.

Seeing your child alone

The professional will usually want to speak with your child alone, for all or part of the mental health assessment.

Being alone with the professional can help your child talk openly about his worries. If you're there, he might feel embarrassed about speaking openly, or might not want to talk about sensitive or private issues.

Teenage mental health issues

A teenage mental health assessment will start with the least sensitive issues – for example, home, school, interests and friendships. Then it will move on to more sensitive areas, such as sexuality and drug use. It will also cover more serious mental health issues like anxiety, depression and self-harm.

After a teenage mental health assessment

At the end of a teenage mental health assessment, the professional will give you an opinion about what the issues and problems are and suggest a treatment plan. The professional will also say if your child has an emergency that needs immediate action.

Although you might want to know what has happened and what was said at the mental health assessment, your child might need some time before he talks about things with you. He might decide not to share what happens at his mental health appointments. This can be hard, but it's your child's right.

Children 12 years and older

From the age of 12 years, children think more deeply about things and begin to question authority. Your child makes up his own mind about issues.

At 12-15 years, he/she can understand consequences better, thinks about right and wrong, starts to develop his/her own identity and thinks about what he/she wants from life. He/she thinks about other people's points of view, but is still strongly influenced by peers.

So when you talk about the appointment, you could:

• reassure your child that there's nothing wrong with visiting a mental health professional
• talk about what he can expect to get out of going
• talk about confidentiality and privacy
• visit websites together to read other young people's stories – try Reach Out http://au.reachout.com/ and Headspace http://headspace.org.au/about-us/
• talk or give him information about different kinds of services – such as counselling, seeing a psychologist or going to his GP – and explain briefly what the different health professionals do
• let him know that you'll go by yourself even if he doesn't want to, because you think it's important for your family to get some help
• tell him you're happy to go with him and that you'll also respect his privacy.

REFERENCE

Read this article in full at the link below

You or your child may also choose to discuss concerns about mental health with the guidance officer or youth health nurse.

Dyanne Moxham, School Based Youth Health Nurse
Email: admin@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au

Sport Director's Report

SWIMMING

2016 saw our first year of holding school try outs instead of a junior school carnival. It was great to see our competitive swimmers get in and have a go to make the school swim team to compete at the District Carnival.

Friday the 19th was our district carnival and for the first time at Centenary SHS we came 2nd in all categories of overall, girls, boys and percentage trophies. This is a credit to our outstanding spirit of students swimming multiple events and putting their hand up to compete in events they aren't experienced in. Well done to all of our swimmers.

Metropolitan West Regional Swimming Trials is being held on Wednesday, 24th February, at the Sleeman Aquatic Centre, Chandler. All the information about this carnival can be found on the Met West Regional sport website www.metwestsport.qld.edu.au, by clicking on Sports, then swimming and following the links. I will report Centenary student results of this event in the next newsletter.

Our representatives are: Caitlin Ng, Leticia Ng, Rykent Bezuidenhout, Felicity Cradick, Peter Cradick, Chloe Hacker, Jake Knight, Ebony Moore, Alex Oram, Declan Turner and Matthew Turner. Good luck!

YEAR 10 & OPEN DISTRICT FINALS DAY – INTERSCHOOL SPORT DAY 1

Wednesday 2nd of March will see our school involved in the Yr 10 & Open District Finals Day played against the other schools in our District. Our school has entered teams in Touch, Volleyball, Softball, Cricket and Basketball. I would like to wish all the students good luck in their games and thank you to the coaches for all your hard work in training. I will have a detailed report on results in the next edition.

YEAR 7, 8/9 DISTRICT FINALS DAY- INTERSCHOOL SPORT DAY 1

Friday 18th of March is day 1 of our junior summer district days. 2015 will see our year 7 and 8/9's have two days for their interschool competition. Squads have been selected and have been busy training every week during STEP. The sports being played in the summer competition are basketball, volleyball and touch football. Good luck to all of our teams!

WEST BRISBANE DISTRICT TRIALS

A reminder that all information regarding district trials from 13-19yrs is on the sports noticeboard. Dates are also on the sports calendar that is uploaded weekly. Students must collect paperwork from Miss Porter if they wish to attend trials.

WEST AKUNA 12 YEARS DISTRICT INFORMATION

Can I please ask that students who are turning 12 or have turned 12 this year and wish to compete in the West Akuna district, continue to check the student notices and sports noticeboard for upcoming district trials. You must ensure you see Miss Porter to collect paperwork in order to attend these afternoon trials.

Upcoming Events

MARCH

Any students needing further information and permission forms for district trials, please report to Miss Porter in staffroom 4.

Reporting Results

• To enable me to report on student results and to keep accurate records for sports awards, I need to know how participants went in their competitions. Students can see me in Staffroom 4 or results can be emailed to: jport106@eq.edu.au

Sports Calendar

Centenary SHS Sport Calendar can now be downloaded from the download section of the school website. It contains all the latest sporting events and dates for the West Brisbane and West Akuna district and regional events.

Jess Porter, Sports Director
Email: jport106@eq.edu.au

Cultural News

The Instrumental Music Program is back in full swing now with all of our ensembles and lessons up and running again with renewed zeal and enthusiasm. Parents with any questions regarding the program are free to email me any time at mwatk16@eq.edu.au

Absences from Lessons and Ensembles

Just a reminder to our current families, and a notice for our new parents, to please contact your instrumental teacher, or myself, should you be unable to make a rehearsal or music lesson. We understand that there are genuine reasons why people are unable to attend, but we just ask that any absences be explained. If you are away all day from school because of sickness and you contact the school, you do not need to contact me as well, I will see the information on our system. If you have an unexplained absence, an email will be sent home and to the student's email.

An Explained Absence is when:

• A student is genuinely sick and not at school for all of the day, or the part of the day when their lesson/rehearsal occurs
• A student is not at school for another reason for all of the day or the part of the day when their lesson/rehearsal occurs (e.g. family event, funeral etc)
• A student is out of school on an excursion, sporting event or other approved school activity
• A student is late or does not come to a morning rehearsal for genuine reasons and comes to see their teacher or Mr Watkins afterwards to offer an apology and explanation (e.g. missed the bus, traffic, car troubles etc)
• A student sees their teacher or Mr Watkins to tell them that they need to stay in class for this lesson because of work that they cannot miss (e.g. exam revision, assessment)
• A student forgets to come out of class to go to their lesson but comes to see the teacher or Mr Watkins afterwards and explains the situation to the teacher's satisfaction

An Unexplained Absence is when:

• A student misses a rehearsal and does not come and see their ensemble teacher or Mr Watkins to offer an explanation or apology
• A student does not come out of class for their instrumental lesson and does not come and see their teacher or Mr Watkins before or after the lesson to explain
• A student forgets to come out of class to go to their lesson but comes to see the teacher afterwards and does not explain the situation to the teacher's satisfaction

We in the instrumental and choral program believe that our department is about much more than simply playing music, but is about the encouragement and development of thoughtful, responsible and respectful young men and women who will mature into productive and successful members of our society. The instrumental and choral teachers in our school are professionals who deserve to be treated as such, and we only ask that they receive the courtesy and respect that they merit. The vast majority of the students are excellent and are always doing the right thing, and I thank them and you as their parents for your commitment and dedication.

Music Camp

Music camp is coming up in week 1 of term two and letters and permission forms will be out in the next two weeks, so keep an eye out.

Investiture Ceremony

February 15 saw the investiture of school student leaders for 2016 held on assembly. The Swingers ably provided the National Anthem and performance item and are to be congratulated for their performance. The ceremony also saw the Arts Captains and Leaders presented with their certificates and badges, as well as the other leadership positions across the school. I was thrilled to see so many of the general leadership positions filled by students who are also very active in the arts.

Valentine's Dance

The Swingers were also busy on Tuesday 16 February performing at the Salvation Army Aged Care facility at Chapel Hill for a Valentine Ball. This was a wonderful event and the kids played absolutely brilliantly for the residents. Thank you so much for you efforts Swingers!!

Until next time

Mark Watkins, Cultural Director
Email: mwatk16@eq.edu.au

Applies Technology Updates

Certificate I in Furnishings

The Certificate I in Furnishings course has been replaced in 2016 Students who were enrolled in the course last year and have yet to complete all requirements, should consult with their teacher and organise an extension. Students need to complete all requirements by the end of term one.

Parent Consent Forms

Parents of children who have enrolled in an ITD subject this term would have had a parent consent form presented to them recently for reading. The form essentially asks that you understand that your child will be using pieces of equipment and machinery which are inherently associated with a risk of injury. The form requests that you acknowledge that you are aware of the associated risks and subsequently permit your child to continue to participate in the course.

Year 7

The year 7 students have settled into their respective Applied Technology courses very quickly and with enthusiasm. During an informal walk through classes last week, I was delighted to observe student diligently working on their tasks and expressing a genuine joy and interest in what they were doing. A reminder that classes will rotate at the end of the term to ensure that by the completion of the school year, all students experience Home Economics, Industrial Technology and Design and both Performing and Fine Arts.

Year 12 Manufacturing

Students are presently sectioning small capacity engines to understand their basic operating principles. The motors will be mounted with illustrations and text to explain the induction, compression, ignition and exhaust strokes. The moving components within the motor will enable the observer to understand how individual parts work collectively during each of the four strokes to produce the cyclical phases of the engine.

Certificate II in Engineering Pathways

This year, the school has established a partnership with Blue Dog Training to offer a Certificate II in Engineering Pathways. The course has been developed by Blue Dog Training and will be delivered by members of the ITD staff. Essentially, the course aims the develop student knowledge and skills related to vocations within the engineering industry. Trainers from Blue Dog Training will periodically visit classes to ensure that students are progressing and completing tasks as required. The course is two years in duration.

White Card

If students need to complete a White Card course, relating to safety requirements within the building industry, Blue Dog Training is one provider you might contact. Try

Coffee Anyone?

The senior hospitality students were fortunate to have been involved in the Barista Basics course conducted by renowned Barista trainer Brent Deller. This coffee course is perfect for those looking to enter the hospitality industry that require basic skills training in barista coffee. The training course covered types of coffee beans, safe operation of the coffee machine, preparing expresso coffees, texturing milk properly, using the coffee grinder and cleaning of the machine.

The students gained knowledge and practised making industry standard coffee for the very first time. It proved to be a fantastic learning opportunity for the students, particularly considering the practical nature of the course. The students expressed their collective approval of the course but as Brent indicated, they will need to commit to hours of practice to perfect their skills and hopefully showcase their newly acquired talents to the Centenary community in future.

Class requirements

An important reminder that students need to wear leather shoes in the workshop and the kitchen. This is applicable on Wednesday also, despite the STEP programme activities. If students are involved in sport for STEP, they may need to bring their leather shoes in their bag and change into them for their ITD or Home Economics lesson. Appropriate footwear is an occupation, health and safety requirement. Your cooperation is appreciated.

Donations

If you have an old, unwanted two stroke or four stroke motor, perhaps from a lawn mower, brush cutter, chain saw etc. and you would like to dispose of it, the ITD faculty would appreciate the donation. Similarly, the faculty would welcome donations of unwanted bicycle rims/wheels of any size.

Contact Mr Adrian Homer, should clarification be required. Telephone 3373 4507.

Michael Tobin, Applied Technology HOD
Email: mtobi6@eq.edu.au

Business Technology

A very big welcome to all the students and parents/caregivers within our department. I am sure you will agree that we have a wide variety of business and technology subjects on offer; and a professional, committed team to deliver these. We would like to welcome Jack Dahms to our team and look forward to his input into our department.

This year we will be continuing our quality pathways in our senior school through our new partnership with TAFE Brisbane for the delivery of Certificate III Business and IDMT and Certificate IV in Justice. The Diploma of Business is continuing as well, ans has provided a pathway into tertiary studies for a number of the Year 12 students of 2015.

A SNAPSHOT of what's occurring - Eight of our Year 12 Management students will be involved in Griffith's Business "Outreach" program (successful completion leads to the option to apply for a Guaranteed Offer of Entry into the Griffith Business school degree or double degree of their choice), and Year 10 BST students will be extending their knowledge through our links with McDonalds at Jindalee.

ICT'S – we staggering the implementation of our new STEAM program to promote higher order thinking skills through coding/robotics and 3D printing projects. Be ready to find out what's going on with our sumo wrestling robots, and see what amazing designs (to solve problems/issues) our students create. As part of our 3D printing section students also delve into the current issues and ethical debates around 3D printing in a wide range of industries.

At this point in time – Year 7 STEAM will be integrated as the year progresses, Year 8's are beginning with coding, then onto 3D printing and by the end of the year – a sumo robot competition. Year 9's and 10's are currently designing their 3D design challenges and exploring Tinkercad, before moving onto higher level robotics.

Students in Year 9/10 who do not study ICTs can access 3D printing through one of our STEP electives, and Year 8's have had the opportunity to become involved in building leggo robots for the Robocup Competition later in the year.

I look forward to updating you through our newsletter, however, more up to date information will be on the school's website as it comes to hand.

Janelle Kerridge, Business Technology HOD
Email: jkerr172@eq.edu.au

Justice Begins at Centenary

Our students are given the opportunity to complete a Certificate IV in Justices Studies in the senior years - Year 11/12. The students will experience the justice system in practice, meet industry representatives and gain a qualification that will set a pathway to a justice-related career. The course is being offered through TAFE Brisbane and has been developed in consultation with the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and is great for those hoping to apply for pre-selection into the QPS or to follow a career in the justice field.

During the course, students will learn how to identify and apply the legal framework, communicate with clients on justice-related issues, gather information through interviews and analyse and present research information among other topics.

If you require any information about this course, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Warm Regards

Berenice Furlong, Year 9 Coordinator
Email: bfurl1@eq.edu.au

Geography Camp

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

In week 5, Year 11 & 12 Geography Students attended a two day field camp at the Numinbah Valley. Students undertook field work that will assist with an upcoming Field Report. The focus of the study was the impact that development in the upper catchment has on the Gold Coast water supply, as this catchment supplies the water for the entire Gold Coast. The camp was a great success, with student comment like "Best camp ever!" The real praise however, was for the food! There was much of it and it was delicious… We have a very positive and long-running association with The Numinbah Environmental Education Centre. The Centre has excellent resources for the study of geography out in the field, an important component of the Senior Geography Course. Local residents are well-educated in how to care for their catchment, in large part because of the work schools do in this area. The facility has evolved over the years into a model of sustainability and it was certainly an eye-opener for students, to be confronted for the first time with composting toilets. They took everything in their stride and centre staff commented that they were one of the 'best-behaved' and most pleasant groups they'd encountered. The two accompanying teachers, Elizabeth Nicolson and Debra Mansini also praised the behaviour and effort of all students, making this a very enjoyable camp for all. There was no down time with students busy sketching the topography of Mt Hobwee and the Border Gate region of the upper catchment of the Nerang River, undertaking biological and chemical water quality testing, where they observed Yabbies in the upper catchment, a sign of good water health. A walk through remnants of ancient rainforest in Natural Arch was memorable and they returned to this site after dark to observe the famous "glow worms", a fascinating natural phenomenon. Late in the afternoon, students took to Hinze Dam in canoes to observe the impact of the raising of the dam wall by 14 m. several years ago. This was conceived during the drought of the early 2000s to ensure water supply. After a long hot day in the field, the temptation to get wet was too strong for a number of students and we enjoyed a refreshing early evening dip. After an early start Wednesday morning, it was off the Hinze Dam for more water quality testing and then on to Weedon's crossing at Nerang, where due to the impact of the dam, the environment has slowly changed from a fresh water habitat to a saline environment, where mangroves have established themselves much further inland than nature intended. Students observed the full "Mountain to Mouth" with the last stop at the mouth of the Nerang River, on the Spit at Southport. Tired, but happy campers arrived back at school and will now use the data gathered to write a full written field report as their 'big ticket' assessment item this term.

Debra Mansini, Senior Geography Teacher
Email: dmans17@eq.edu.au

Year 11 Beginnings

A warm welcome back to all students for the term. I hope the holidays have provided you all with a chance to relax and also celebrate the successes and goals achieved last year. I hope as it is halfway through the term, you have had a chance to reflect on the start to Senior Schooling, and how appropriate the pathways chosen last year in the SET planning process have been. We had a wonderful beginning to the year through our Orientation Day and Elevate Program, which is to continue through the HG program facilitating your students study habits. This term sees us settling in and becoming familiar with the shift into Senior Pathways.

On the 29th February there will be a Free Dress Day to support one of our own Year 11 students, Sade Goldsmith, fundraising for 'Make a Wish Foundation'. Students are to bring a gold coin donation for the allowance of wearing appropriate free dress or their sports uniform on the day. It would be a wonderful effort for all to contribute to this charity.

Term 2 sees the signature social event of the Year 11 calendar – our Semi Formal! It's coming up on the Friday 27th May. Permission forms will be sent home with details and costs end of term. In keeping with Centenary tradition, it's again a fun fancy dress event, and we will host the fashion parade for the parents at school in CPAC from 5pm before we all depart for a night cruising the river on one of the Kookaburra River Queens. I look forward to seeing many of your faces there!

It's barely a week into the term, and students are already realising the relentless temperament of Senior Schooling expectations and assessment. I ask that you find some time to sit down with your student and help to organise an updated study timetable at home this term, and use the school's assessment calendar to remind them of draft and due dates. As always, if you have any concerns about your child's progress and how they're going, don't hesitate to contact me via email at dhube1@eq.edu.au.

Di Huber, Year 11 Coordinator
Email: dhube1@eq.edu.au

Year 9 Report

JUNIOR SCHOOL CAPTAINS

It gives me great pleasure to announce the Junior School Leaders for 2016:

CAPTAINS

Samantha McKay and Thuwanon Chotrueng

VICE CAPTAINS

Miranda Callum and Zachary Jones

In this position they will lead the Junior School (Yrs7,8,9) and will be the Year 9 representatives on the student forum. I am looking forward to working with these students this year.

(LtoR) Miranda Callum, Zac Jones, Thuwanon Chotrueng, Samantha McKay

POSITIVE REWARDS

On Friday morning during HG we have a Year 9 assembly to recognise students who demonstrate our school's core values. I intend to recognise students who demonstrate these values (pg 7 of the student diary). I am also keen to celebrate student successes both within and out of the school. This week we recognised Miranda Callum who has been selected to umpire the Qld School Girls Netball Championships held in Cairns. Congratulations Miranda!

Please keep me updated with your child's achievements.

PROTECTIVE BEHAVIOURS

As part of our Personal Development program during HG on Monday 29 February, Shake and Stir will present "Over Sharer" to the Year 9 students.

They say a picture paints a thousand words – perhaps that's the reason why we have become obsessed with sharing every moment of our lives across an ever-growing swarm of social media applications. Developed from true stories collected from students across the country, Over Sharer presents various characters grappling with some serious (and some not-so-serious) repercussions with using (and abusing) sites such as Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.

The performance and follow up activities during HG will give students strategies to assist them to resolve conflict in relationships, respond to potentially unsafe situations and behaviours; and explore personal and community values, attitudes and beliefs.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of your son or daughter's developments at school please don't hesitate to contact me, my email address is bfurl1@eq.edu.au.

Warm Regards

Berenice Furlong, Year 9 Coordinator
Email: bfurl1@eq.edu.au

Year 7 Report

Term 1 will be in full swing by the time that you read this. Students have settled beautifully into the routines of classes, and are now preparing for their first round of assessment items in some curriculum lessons. It was fantastic to see so many Year 7 students attend the first homework hub held on Monday and work with their Year 11 mentors on a variety of homework and revision tasks. I am so thrilled by the beautiful relationships that are being fostered between the Year 11s and Year 7s, and I know that the older students are taking as much from the program as the younger students. These relationships help build the self-esteem and confidence of our Year 7 students by connecting them through friendship and structured activities with older students.

In Week 3, students were visited by School based Police Officer, Constable Paul. The students are undertaking learning in their Home Groups on Protective Behaviours around being a responsible digital citizen to support safe online behaviour. The students were very engaged with the talk delivered by Paul, who explained that responsible digital citizens need to be respectful and act appropriately with information in an online world.

In Week 4, our Year 7 scholarship winners joined junior and senior school leaders at the Investiture Ceremony. The Academic Scholarship winners are Nam Chi Dang, Amelia Handley, Elise Harmon, Sebastian Neale, Ryan Nguyen, and Cindy Pham. Centenary has a wonderful environment that encourages and fosters students to attain excellence in a range of academic, cultural, sporting and civic pursuits, and we welcome this new generation of students who continue to seek to achieve in their studies here at secondary school. Joining these students were out instrumental scholarship winners: Leila Butcher, Winston Chin, Jayden Ford and Kimmi Holmes. Each of these students demonstrate high talent and achievement in instrumental music and they are well placed at a Centenary, where music is an important part of student life.

I look forward to this continuing as a productive and exciting term after such a wonderfully successful start to the year. It is my great pleasure to be the Year 7 coordinator, and I am continuously amazed and in awe of your incredible students. Thank you for allowing us to work with them!

Yours from the classroom,

Karen Abraham, Year 7 Coordinator
Email: kabra21@eq.edu.au

News from our P&C

President's Report

Thank you to those who are attended our first P&C meeting for the year in February. We would love to see many more of you getting involved with P&C events this year.

Jenny and I were able to attend the Year 7 parent welcome evening recently where we had an information table and gave a brief talk about the P&C. We met lots of friendly parents that were willing to join the P+C or become canteen or Arts Sub committee volunteers. Thank you. I hope it was an informative evening for all of you.

Sarah and I attended the recent Leadership Investiture Ceremony to help with the badge, certificate and scholarship presentations and have to say that I was very proud to see so many students stepping up to take on leadership or supporting roles. I wish all of them all the best for the new school year. Congratulations also to our high achieving Y12 students from last year who returned to provide a little inspiration to our current students.

Thank you to those who completed membership forms as part of the enrolment package. These will be tabled at our AGM in March to make your membership official. This is the only meeting in the year where you can become a member without attending the meeting. Outside of this time memberships are taken at the end of each meeting and you need to be present. Our membership forms are readily available on the website or attached here.

The AGM will take place on the 16th March 2016 at 7 pm in the Resource Centre when all 2015 memberships will lapse and all Executive positions become vacant. If you wish to nominate for an Executive position, please complete a nomination form (attached) or download one from the website.

FACEBOOK page – The P&C have started a Facebook page called Centenary SHS Parent Group. You can do a search in Facebook and it will come up. www.facebook.com/groups/CentenarySHSParentGroup/ Please send a request to join and Lucinda or Jenny (our administrators and P&C Executive members) will check that you have a current or future student at the school. It's a forum where parents of children attending CSHS can seek and share information regarding local school events, daily general information, reminders about events coming up within the school, uniform sales, lost property at school etc. Updates to our Trivia night will be posted here as well. No negative posts at all will be tolerated.

SECONDHAND UNIFORMS - Secondhand uniforms can be donated to the uniform shop or you can advertise what you have to sell or would like to buy on our Facebook page (see details above). We are no longer operating the secondhand site on the school website.

The next P&C meeting: AGM - Wednesday 16th March at 7pm Resource Centre

Everyone is welcome to attend.

Helen Shogren, P&C President CSHS
Email: pandc@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au

Oxley Futsal Sign On

Oxley Futsal will be holding sign on's online at www.australianfutsal.com for our upcoming Junior Winter Season at Oxley (98 Factory Road Oxley) starting the 11th April. To try out futsal or learn more about it email oxley@australianfutsal.com

The season runs April to August for boys and girls from ages 6 and up.

For more information go to QLD Futsal or contact Raewyn at oxley@australianfutsal.com or phone on 0417 703 597

Western Pride FC – Female Football (Soccer) Trials

Western Pride Football Club is looking for sport loving girls aged 10 to 13 years to represent the Ipswich region in football (soccer). The club invites girls who have some football experience and were born in 2003, 2004, 2005 or 2006 to try out for Pride's U10/11 and U12/13 Girls. Please register your interest by sending an email to the club's Technical Director at td@westernpridefc.com.au and come along to training any time in February to show your skills to our female coaches.

Girls who were born in 2003 and 2004 (U12/13) train on Monday and Wednesday at 5:30pm, girls who were born in 2005 and 2006 (U10/11) train on Tuesday and Thursday at 5:00pm.

More info about the club:

Check One Two

"Check One Two Guitar Schools" have been running guitar classes at Centenary State High School since 2005. The lessons run from 6.00pm and are open to all members of the family.

Please ring Richard Farmer for current SPECIAL OFFERS or to find out more on 0412 269 530.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 Census

West Brisbane Falcons Basketball Club

WEST BRISBANE FALCONS BASKETBALL CLUB

SIGN ON DAY

Saturday 30th January 2016

Centenary State High School Sports Centre, Moolanda St, Jindalee.

8.00am - 9.00am U7, U9 & U11 Boys & Girls;
9.00am - 10.00am U13 Boys & Girls;
10.00am - 11.00am U15 Boys & Girls;
11.00am - 12.00pm U17 Boys & Girls, U19 Boys
U19 Girls Sign Up for our Senior Women's Program

Please arrive prior to the designated time for your age group and be dressed ready to train. Please wear appropriate footwear and bring a water bottle. Further details: 0450 105 252, westbrisbanebasketball@hotmail.com or

CLUB NOTES:

SENIORS BASKETBALL (GBL & SOCIAL) STARTING AT WEST BRISBANE FALCONS IN 2016. Information HERE

All players MUST be registered with Brisbane Basketball before playing their first game. The BBI Registration Fee is different to the West Brisbane fees you pay.