23 July 2020 Volume 22 Number 6

NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

PRINCIPAL

News from the Principal

Welcome Back

Welcome back from the winter vacation and I hope that all members of the Centenary SHS community have enjoyed a relaxing break in what has been both an unusual and unpredictable year. We continue to monitor the CoVid situation closely, adhering to the operational guidelines and updates provided by the State Government. Based on the latest guidelines we will be resuming some activities such as Sporting Gala days and Instrumental Music this term.

We have determined not to hold Parent Teacher interviews in a face to face mode as the social distancing requirements for adults, makes this format impractical. These interviews will take the telephone format where parents will book a 10 minute timeslot in Week 3 with a teacher. Details will be released later this week.

The new semester sees a number of staff changes.

• We welcome back Angela McKay and Caroline Brodie from leave and welcome Sarah McLeod to the staff.

Reporting and Goal Setting

With Semester 1 reports now available please take the opportunity to discuss with your child their progress. All students should set learning goals for the semester ahead. Importantly if these goals are to be achieved commitment and resolve will be required. Good routines in respect to homework and study need to be established. Parents and caregivers play an important role in supporting students to achieve.

Facilities

The last few months has witnessed a deal of building activity across the school. Work on the new car park off Curragundi Road, Multi Purpose Courts and Resource Centre is now completed and all three facilities are operational. Work has now commenced on the infill of the ground floor of the new Senior Learning Block which will provide seven additional learning spaces.

P and C

My congratulations to the newly elected P and C Executive for 2020. The school has enjoyed a long history of a strong and supportive parent body and I am sure the new executive will continue to progress the school to create and even better learning environment for our students.

Student Results

As a school we set a target of 60% of our students achieving an A or B on their Semester Report. Too many of our students are content to achieve a C or in the colloquial language of the school – “make the grade”. Many of these students are capable of achieving more. As a school we achieved 54.5% A, B for Semester 1. This represents a slight increase in performance from 2019. The slightly lower results in Years 10 and 11 are probably accounted for in the increased expectations placed on these two year levels under the New QCE system. The Year Result summaries below although generally good indicate we have further work to complete in this regard to achieve excellence. I certainly see moving the “big middle” upwards as the continuing priority academic challenge for the school.

Local Traffic

Please obey traffic rules and exercise caution at all times when driving. Unfortunately we recently had a student injured in Curragundi Road in an after school incident. I have requested greater police presence both before and after school in the streets adjacent to the school, to ensure road safety rules are followed.

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

To read newsletter in full view, please click on the “Newsletter Print Version” button on the top left-hand corner of the screen.

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

News from the Deputy Principals

Semester 1 Reporting – All Year Levels

All students will receive an academic report which encompasses work covered across semester 1. Years 7 to 10 Semester 1 Report will include evidence collected across the whole semester and may include evidence from Learning@Home. The Year 11 Semester 1 Report will include the overall result for the completion of Unit 1. The Year 12 Semester 1 Report will include the confirmed result for the first assessment item in Unit 3.

Year 12 Reports sent in week 9, term 2
Year 11 Reports sent in week 10, term 2
Year 7 – 10 Reports sent in week 1, term 3

Semester 1 Parent Teacher Feedback

There will be no Parent Teacher Evening, in alignment with COVID-19 protocols, but we have organised a Parent Teacher Feedback process across week 3 of this term (Monday 27/7/20 to Friday 31/7/20). Parents will be able to log into the PTO Booking system (the same system used for booking a Parent Teacher Interview) to select a suitable time for the teacher to ring and discuss feedback via a 10 min phone conversation.

When you log into the PTO system you will be able to see what times are available for each teacher. Teachers will make themselves available for a period of 5 hours across the week, outside of their normal teaching time. If you cannot find a suitable time, you are welcome to contact the teacher directly to discuss student progress. We ask that if your son/daughter has the same teacher for more than one subject, that you only book one 10 min interview.

Information about this process has been emailed to all parents with an included Instruction Manual. You can access the PTO website link through the school website via the school home page, click on information for parents in the quick links at the bottom of the page, then select the parent teacher interviews link under the related links section on the right hand side of the Parent resources page

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

Adam Richter, Deputy Principal (Year 12 & International)
Email: arich60@eq.edu.au

Deb McIntyre, Deputy Principal (Years 7 & 8, ATSI & EALD)
Email: dmcin49@eq.edu.au

Anna Petrie, Deputy Principal (Years 9 & 10)
Email: apetr0@eq.edu.au

Kelsey Oakes, Deputy Principal (Strategic Projects)
Email: koake10@eq.edu.au

BUSINESS MANAGER

News from the Business Manager

2020 Fees due 31 July

A “Debtor Statement” for school fees has been processed and parents/carers should have received these either by email or by post. This statement is an overview of previous single invoices that have already been forwarded.

Please note that no action is required for a credit adjustment, this will appear as a negative amount on a statement. If you have not received a statement this indicates that there are no outstanding fees.

All fees relating to the 2020 calendar year are due by 31 July 2020. An overview of all fees and charges can be located on our website below 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.

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. For invoices generated after the due date, a 30 day account will operate.

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

How to make a payment

Payments can be made over the counter by cash or EFTPOS (Debit Card, MasterCard or Visa), by BPOINT or QParents. BPOINT and QParents options allow parents/carers the convenience of making payments from home and alleviates the need to pay over the counter transactions in person. For more information about QParents , please refer to the school’s website.

BPOINT Option

BPOINT is an online payment system and is the preferred payment method for the Department.

This option is accessed through an internet web link below:

which appears on all invoices and statements. This link can also be located in the Quicklinks section of our school’s website homepage. You will need the Customer Reference Number (CRN) which is printed on the bottom of your invoice/statement before payment can be processed.

When accessing the BPOINT weblink on individual invoices all relevant information will prepopulate. Parents/Carers will only be required to enter their credit or debit card details.

INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE (IVR) BPOINT is also available by dialling the 1300 number provided on individual invoices. This option will only accept credit cards.

ELECTRONIC DIRECT DEBIT REGISTRATION (eDDR) BPOINT is the approved payment plan option. To set up a payment plan parents/carers will be required to contact the school office first.

For more information on BPOINT please refer to the school’s website.

PHONE OR COUNTER payments Options

Payments can be made at the school office, Monday to Friday between 8.00am and 4.00pm. Payment options include credit and debit cards (EFTPOS), cheque and cash. Money orders are also accepted.

For payments over the phone, call the school on 3373 4555, Monday to Friday between 8.00am and 4.00pm and we will transfer you to the IVR BPOINT 1300 dedicated phone number. Only VISA or MasterCard can be used for this process. From 2018 schools are no longer able to accept credit card payments over the phone.

Changes to the Payment of Excursion

This year excursion/camps/activities will no longer be included in payment plans. These are a user pay activity and will need to be paid in full prior to attending the event.

Parent/Carer Experiencing Financial Difficulties

A parent/carer wishing to participate in the Student Resource Scheme and experiencing financial hardship is encouraged to contact the Business Manager to discuss how their financial obligations can be met throughout the school year, or to negotiate alternative arrangements that may be available to accommodate their individual circumstances. All discussions will be held in the strictest confidence.

Parent/Carer Contact Details

Parent/Carer contact details are very important to us. Up to date and current school records enable us to send you messages, contact you if your student becomes ill or if there is an issue that needs resolving.

Our process for sending home report cards and other correspondence is now by email. By keeping your email address current we can keep you updated and informed.

If you have moved or are moving house, changed jobs, emails or mobile phone numbers, please inform the school office via email to admin@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au.

If you wish to receive the school newsletter, please go to our school website’s Newsletter tab to subscribe, or go directly to the link below. You will need to complete and submit the ‘subscribe’ form on the website.

Charmaine Macaulay, Business Manager
Email: cmaca5@eq.edu.au

STUDENT LEADERSHIP COORDINATOR

News from the Student Leadership Coordinator

NAIDOC Forum News

NAIDOC week occurs in the first full week of July each year to celebrate the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. To celebrate NAIDOC week at Centenary State High School, Makayla Renouf, a year 10 indigenous student leader, has designed a contemporary indigenous dot painting mural which will be painted outside the library. The theme for NAIDOC 2020 is, ‘Always Has, Always Will Be’ which recognises the traditional owners who occupied and cared for Australia for over 65,000 years. Following along with the theme, the mural is a dot painting representing the Brisbane River and suburbs surrounding Centenary State High School, emphasising local community connections. The mural will be painted by the years 7-10 students of Centenary State High School over the course of Term 3 during STEP. Year 10 students are able to sign up to this to gain hours towards their community project.

Carly Manche, Student Leadership Coordinator
Email: ceman4@eq.edu.au

GUIDANCE

News from the Guidance Officers

Family Squabbles

Parents often worry about brothers and sisters quarrelling. A certain amount of quarrelling is normal for children in families. It is one of the ways that they learn how to get on with other people. Quarrelling can be positive. Sometimes, however, you will need to step in when tempers become frayed and you can see that things are getting out of control.

What causes quarrelling?

Learning to get on with others

Arguments between brothers and sisters are one of the ways that children learn to respect other people’s belongings and feelings. It is one of the ways children learn to solve problems. Learning to argue fairly and without hurting each other will help them get on with others.

Parents’ attention

Children in families also fight about parents’ love and attention. To children love means time and attention. Young children do require more attention, but allocating time to an older child is just as important and will make for better relationships all round.

Health

When feeling unwell, resistance can be low for coping with adversity. We may be more sensitive to comments and less able to manage our own emotions.

What parents can do

Here are some steps you can take to help lessen quarrels.

• Protect the needs of each child, for example prevent older children’s activities from being interfered with by younger children and vice versa.
• Spend special time with each child on a regular basis.
• Allow each child to own some special things of their own that they don’t have to share. For younger children, see that there are more than one of the same toys, such as matchbox cars, so that they can play together without having to share. Two second hand bicycles are often better fun than one new one that has to be shared. If you have three children make sure that the same one is not left out every time.
• Invite other children over – children learn social skills through exposure and practise
• Children need their own bit of space which will not be interfered with by others, even if it is only a drawer.
• Try not to compare children with each other - this always leads to bad feelings.
• Be generous with hugs and affection to all your children –even the teenager that appears to pull away – deep down they love the contact.
• Make ground rules. Get your children to help you make some rules about what behaviour is not allowed in your home, for example name calling or hitting = being respectful. Then if you have to step in, you do so because someone has broken a rule, not to take sides.
• When you can see that children are feeling upset, help them to find ways to express their feelings by talking about feelings. For young children play that helps with feelings includes water play, painting and playdough. For older children and adolescents it may be something like going for a run or playing their music, and especially opportunity to talk and problem solve themselves.
• Maintain good health - Healthy, active children may exhibit greater tolerance / resilience and manage their emotions more appropriately when needed

Children need adults to teach them how to solve problems, and while squabbles may be annoying and stressful they also may be the means of teaching resilience as well as developing skills for managing relationships throughout our lives.

Adapted from `Parenting SA’,
Government of South Australia

Juanita Oberle, Guidance Officer
Email: jober13@eq.edu.au

Janet Ingram, Guidance Officer
Email: jingr34@eq.edu.au

CHAPLAIN

News from the Chaplain

In the early 1500s in Florence, Italy, there was a huge piece of marble that many sculptors had declared as useless because of a large deep hole that was in it. There was however one man who saw things differently; he believed that is spite of this hole he could still create something beautiful.

This man was Michelangelo. After several years of hard work, he transformed that ‘flawed’ block into the magnificent statue that the world now knows as the statue of David.

Think about this for a moment. All of us have flaws and imperfections – just like that original piece of marble. Some people feel that they are too thin, too plump, too short or too tall or perhaps just not as attractive as others. These thoughts can even lead some people to believe that they are of little worth.

However, the truth of the matter is that your value does not come from what you look like on the outside; it is the beauty of your personality that will have the deepest impact on others.

Decide today to stop focussing on any perceived negatives in your appearance. Instead, work at sculpting your personality and behaviour into the best that it can be by getting rid of bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and slander. Try being patient with each other and make allowance for each other’s faults.

If you work hard in these areas, you will automatically become a more beautiful and more loved person.

A message from Chappy Bernie

How can parents and teachers help Dyslexic Students?

During the past 25 years, I have interviewed many dyslexic adults. Some have learned to deal successfully with their learning problems, while others have not. My experiences suggest that in addition to factors such as intelligence and socioeconomic status, other things affect the dyslexic’s chances for success.

First, early in the child’s life, someone has been extremely supportive and encouraging.

Second, the young dyslexic found an area in which he or she could succeed.

Finally, successful dyslexics appear to have developed a commitment to helping others.

Both teachers and parents need to offer consistent, ongoing encouragement and support.

However, one rarely hears about this very important way to help youngsters believe encouragement involves at least four elements.

First, listening to children’s feelings. Anxiety, anger and depression are daily companions for dyslexics. However, their language problems often make it difficult for them to express their feelings. Therefore, adults must help them learn to talk about their feelings.

Teachers and parents must reward effort, not just “the product”. For the dyslexic, grades should be less important than progress.

When confronting unacceptable behaviour, adults must not inadvertently discourage the dyslexic child. Words such as “lazy” or “incorrigible” can seriously damage the child’s self-image.

Finally, it is important to help students set realistic goals for themselves. Most dyslexic students set perfectionistic and unattainable goals. By helping the child set an attainable goal, teachers can change the cycle of failure.

Even more important, the child needs to recognize and rejoice in his or her successes. To do so, he or she needs to achieve success in some area of life. In some cases, the dyslexic’s strengths are obvious, and many dyslexics’ self-esteem has been salvaged by prowess in athletics, art, or mechanics. However, the dyslexic’s strengths are often more subtle and less obvious. Parents and teachers need to find ways to relate the child’s interests to the demands of real life.

Finally, many successful dyslexic adults deal with their own pain by reaching out to others. They may do volunteer work for charities or churches, or choose vocations that require empathy and a social conscience. These experiences help dyslexics feel more positive about themselves and deal more effectively with their pain and frustration.

Many opportunities exist in our schools, homes and churches for dyslexics to help others. One important area is peer tutoring. If dyslexic students do well in math or science, they can be asked to tutor a classmate who is struggling.

Perhaps that student can reciprocate as a reader for the dyslexic student. Tutoring younger children, especially other dyslexics, can be a positive experience for everyone involved. Helping dyslexics feel better about themselves and deal effectively with their feelings is a complex task.

Caring adults must understand the cognitive and affective problems caused by dyslexia. Then they must design strategies that will help the dyslexic, like every other child, to find joy and success in academics and personal relationships.

About the Author:

Dr. Michael Ryan is a psychologist with a private practice in Grand Rapids, MI. He specializes in working with people with learning disabilities. A dyslexic himself, Dr. Ryan is a past president of the Michigan Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and a former national vice president of IDA..

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

SPORTS DIRECTOR

Sports Director’s Report

Welcome back to term 3. We hope that everyone had a relaxing holiday because the sporting schedule is looking promising at this stage. However, only selected sports will be going ahead in regards to Districts and Regionals. Gala Days and the Athletics Carnival have also been rescheduled for term 3.

Student Success - Jackson Owen

Jackson Owen is a dedicated swimmer who was on track to representing Met West and even QLD in 2020. Unfortunately, COVID-19 prevented Jackson from achieving these goals. However, Jackson has been awarded the

2020 13 Years Towel Award from the Vorgee Brisbane Senior Metropolitan Championships.

This is a huge honour and one that is well deserved.

Congratulations Jackson!

Northern District and Regional Sport

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 the representative sporting calendar for 2020 has looked very different. Many sports have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled. However, a revised calendar has been posted regarding State Championships for selected sports. The Northern District revised calendar will be published by the end of week 1. Please see below the Interim 2020 QLD School Sport State Event Calendar or go to the link below:

Gala Days

This term Senior and Junior Gala days will resume. Senior Gala day will be held in Week 6 – Thursday 20th Aug, consisting of the sports of basketball, volleyball and touch football. While Junior Gala day will be in Week 10 – Monday 14th Sep, with the sports of badminton, AFL 9’s and ultimate disc. We are excited for students to have the opportunity to play representative sport again and look forward to seeing them compete to the best of their ability.

Dates:

Yours in sport

Tamara Nasalio, Sports Director
Email: tnasa1@eq.edu.au

Matalena Daniels, Sports Director
Email: mxdan5@eq.edu.au

ATHLETICS COORDINATOR

Athletics

Athletics Carnival

Term 3 signifies the commencement of many sporting opportunities for students at Centenary, including GALA days, Interhouse competitions and the highly anticipated Athletics carnival. Due to some COVID restrictions still being in place the structure of the carnival will be different to previous years. Nominated students will be able to compete across all track and field disciplines across two days of competition. Unfortunately the Northern Eagles and MET West pathways no longer exist this year, however students will still compete for age championship points and champion house.

Students will need to nominate prior to the carnival as normal classes will continue for students not engaged in competing. The dates are as follows:

Day 1: Thursday 13th of August – Field Event Day (12, 13 and 14yrs – L1, L2, AM break) (15, 16 and Opens – L3, L4, PM break)
Day 2: Wednesday 26th of August – Track Day plus the remaining field events (All age groups, all day)

More information will be released shortly to students around the nomination process. We look forward to an exciting carnival.

In terms of the representative pathways, whilst the traditional meets have been cancelled for the year, there will be a number of meets which Centenary SHS will enter as a school. These include various Athletics Queensland meets. Athletics Queensland is currently also formulating plans to undertake a schools-based State Championships later in the year. Details of this have yet to be released.

Athletics Training

There has been outstanding attendance at training sessions and the students participating have shown great improvement in technique and performance. Consistent training is the best way to maximise performance!

The following coaches are part of our program, in addition to our experienced staff

• Des Davis – Australian Throws Coach
• Theresa Stolberg aka ‘Coach Marty’ – All events – Track and Jumps specialist
• Alexandra Roberts (Australian Junior Javelin Champion)
• Michael Melvin and Arthur Shera (Level 2 Athletics Coach), former Centenary representative students.

Students are to listen to the notices to be informed of any changes to the program.

Richard Haines, Athletics Co-ordinator
Email: rhain0@eq.edu.au

Lachie Gibbs, HPE HOD
Email: lgibb23@eq.edu.au

A&TSI COORDINATOR

News from our Coordinator for A&TSI Support

We are excited to be able to invite the parents and carers of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to a special morning tea and presentation to be held in the resource centre at Centenary State High School on the 20th July at 11.45am.

The morning tea will acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have maintained a high level of attendance or made a significant improvement to their attendance during semester one.

We will also be recognising those students who successfully completed the ‘Deadly Choices’ program in term 1 of this year. These students will be presented with the coveted ‘Deadly Choices’ jersey by the program instructor – Joseph Guenzler, who is a former CSHS student.

We look forward to celebrating with parents and students and having the opportunity to share information.

Angela Duncombe (Coordinator Support for A&TSI students) and Dr Deb McIntyre (Deputy Principal)

Angela Duncombe, Coordinator for A&TSI Support
Email: adunc62@eq.edu.au

FACULTIES

ELEARNING

Register for upcoming Event: Cybersafety for Parents & Caregivers

Wednesday 19 August, 6:00pm - 7:00pm at CPAC

The online behaviour of teenagers can be a challenging issue for families. While the Internet may be foreign to parents who didn’t grow up with it, most of today’s teens are digital natives and see it as just another part of their world.

We have arranged for Rob Priddey, the manager of the Department of Education’s Cybersafety & Reputation Management unit, to give a presentation to Centenary parents and carers. Rob will cover the latest trends in teen online behaviour and the associated risks, such as:

• Social media trends and age restrictions.
• Tips for safe online behaviour for teenagers.
• Key issues relating to online privacy, security and location services.
• Responding to and reporting negative online content.
• Proactive uses and benefits of social media.
• Being a positive digital citizen and maintaining a positive digital reputation.
• Managing the ramifications of sexting and dealing with peer pressure.
• The law relating to online behaviours, real-world and social consequences.

We hope that this knowledge will allow parents and carers to be proactive and knowledgeable in their discussions about online behaviour with their teenagers.

When: Wednesday 19 August, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Where: Centenary Performing Arts Centre (CPAC)

Some light refreshments will be provided

Register for the event here

We hope that you can make it

James Whittle, eLearning HOD
Email: jwhit732@eq.edu.au

ENGLISH

After a strange and challenging Term 2, it is lovely to return to regular and familiar learning routines here in the English faculty. The start of a new semester means that marking has been completed, reports sent home, and it is now an opportunity for all students to create clear, specific and manageable goals for improving their English skills. Students in every year level should think about their areas of strength and weakness, and make a decision to work on improving in those areas. If the mountain seems too big to climb, take small steps. Ask yourself: “Am I using ordinary language? Would my writing be better if I tried to use more sophisticated or technical words?” Perhaps: “How can I use more precision in my writing?” Or even: “I am not so good at reading comprehension. I need to try to think more about what I am reading.” Work on at least one specific skill, and you will soon find that you will become more confident in English and will see improved results.

Our Year 12 students are very focussed this term on preparing for their External Assessment, which will be their final task in their secondary education phase. Students in all English subjects need to make sure they know their text very well, and practise the text type they need for their final piece of writing.

Year 10 English classes have been reorganised to align with the four senior subject offerings for 2021: English, Literature, English as an Additional Language, and Essential English. Students were surveyed in Week 8 of last term and given the opportunity to choose to complete their Year 10 English studies in one of four Introduction classes, to sample the teaching styles of the senior subjects. We are delighted to have been able to build an additional Year 10 English class, and welcome Ms Sarah McLeod who is teaching that class.

I would like to welcome back Mrs McKay who returns to us from a period of leave. Welcome also to Ms Caroline Brody who is supporting Mrs McKay with her Year 8 class.

It is unfortunate that the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on public speaking this year. Our school has been gaining traction with interest and involvement in debating and public speaking competitions over the last three years, and 2019 was enormously successful with some great successes. The cancellation of these events in 2020 has been a blow to our students, and I hope we can recapture our students’ enthusiasm next year when competitions begin to run again. If you are a frustrated public speaker, stay tuned – I will advertise competitions as they emerge.

Angela Maguire, English HOD
Email: amagu7@eq.edu.au

THE ARTS

Welcome back to term 3. With the lifting of some restrictions, we are looking forward to a much more ‘normal’ term. At this point, we are still unsure of which events we can hold, but we look forward to sharing our calendar for this term as soon as possible!

Student Success

Congratulations to year 12 music and music extension student Cooper Le Brocq, who has been successful in his audition for the Australian Honours Ensemble Program, to be held at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music at the end of this term. This prestigious program accepts only the most outstanding young musicians from all over the country, for a program of intensive study with national and international conductors and composers. Well done on this impressive achievement Cooper!

Classroom News

Next time you’re in Mt Ommaney, pop into the Brisbane City Council Library to check out the Centenary SHS Visual Art exhibition! Mrs Goodwin spent the last Friday of term hanging the student works for the local community to view, and the feedback so far has been brilliant!

Photos

Our year 7 visual art students have also been working hard in the classroom, trying out some equipment they hadn’t seen or used before! Ms Lynch’s class finished term 2 with the printing press – they are using the press to create their prints from collagraph templates. A fun way to end the term and they created some amazing work!

Instrumental Music News

We are pleased to announce that all ensembles are able to resume in term 3 with strict COVID guidelines in place. Students will be able to reconnect with their curriculum and their teachers as they work towards assessment and school events. The rehearsal schedule is as follows:

Junior Music Camp

Education Queensland guidelines surrounding school activities have allowed camps to go ahead at venues that have a COVID safe, Industry-approved plan. As a result, our Junior Instrumental Music camp will take place in week 4 this term; Monday 3-Wednesday 5 August at Brookfield QCCC. The ensembles involved in this camp are concert band, string ensemble and junior members (years 7-9) of the percussion ensemble.

Angela Sleeman, The Arts HOD
Email: aslee4@eq.edu.au

YEAR LEVEL COORDINATORS

Year 12 Report

At the time of writing, students have just returned for Term 3 – the last “full” term of their schooling careers – and we have hit the ground running.

The Year 12 Council is making preparations for the traditional “Year 12 Sleepout” – a fundraising effort for homeless Australians. You will receive details about that soon.

Preparations are also underway for the Formal and Mystery Tour (November 18) and Graduation Ceremony (November 20). At this stage, all is proceeding in a standard fashion. If allowances need to be made for COVID-related issues, we will inform you in a timely manner.

Many Year 12 subjects will not be assessing students in Term 3. Instead, the focus will be on preparing for the External Examinations in Term 4. It is important that students guard against complacency during this time. It has been an intense year but the finish line is in sight!

On Monday, June 1, we held a celebration to mark the fact that Year 12 students have a mere 100 schooldays remaining. Each Home Group was gifted with a very elaborate cake provided by The Annerley Bakery, for which we are extremely grateful. Here are some photos from the event…

I will continue to be the Acting Year 12 Coordinator throughout Term 3, as Debra Mansini’s tenure as Head of Department (Humanities) has been extended. Thanks as always for your support, and please contact me if you have any issues or would just like to have a chat.

Terry Oberg, Year 12 Coordinator
Email: tober11@eq.edu.au

Year 10 Report

Welcome back to a very busy term for year 10. This term sees two big events for the cohort. One of the events is SET Planning. An important time for the students in deciding what pathway they wish to follow during their final two years of schooling. The formal interviews with students, parents and key members of staff will be occurring throughout week 7. The other big event, is the undertaking of work experience/community projects. Information has already been sent out to parent and students on the expectations of work experience this year. Students undertook their selection of community projects during HG and STEP this week.

Year 10 Camp

Good news, camps have been given permission to re- open.

As part of the Year 10 programme, a three day camp had been planned to occur in week 3 of this term. However, due to time constraints, the camp has now been moved to later in the year.

At this stage, the camp is in Term 4 from Monday 30th November – Wednesday 2nd December.

This means the camp will run after the year 10’s have finished for the year, as they finish their school year on the 27th November. While this is not the usual practice, we feel this would be an excellent opportunity for the cohort to recalibrate after a difficult year and to strengthen our team before moving into year 11.

The venue for our 2020 camp is Maranatha Recreation Camp, Yandina. The camp is fully catered and offers a number of outdoor activities for the students to undertake. Maranatha complies with all Health and Safety requirements along with COVID-19 Safe plans, and is an accredited school camp site.

The cost of the camp is estimated to be about $235 which includes accommodation, meals and involvement in all activities (the final cost is largely determined by the number of children attending). More detailed information including the final cost of the camp will be sent to you as soon as we have confirmed the numbers for our booking.

In the next week, an expression of interest letter along with a link to Microsoft Forms will be sent out to the students. We ask that all students, express their interest using the Microsoft Form link. This will allow us to finalise our booking and start planning our three days away.

Please do not hesitate to contact me on kgeor38@eq.edu.au if you have any questions involving your year 10 student.

Kate George, Year 10 Coordinator
Email: kgeor38@eq.edu.au

P&C

News from our P&C

The P&C held their AGM on Wednesday, 17th June 2020 by videoconference. It was great to see so many parents and staff log in from the comfort of their home.

It is with sadness that we farewell David Harris as President and Leah Joy McGuigan as Secretary. We thank both David and Leah for their commitment to the P&C and all the hard work they have performed on behalf of the parenting body. They will certainly be missed, and I hope you both enjoy a well-earnt retirement. We now welcome the following Executives for the coming year:

We have since received a nomination for Secretary following the AGM and this nomination will be motioned during the July general meeting. Due to school holidays and the recently formed executive team having just taken place, there has been little activity to report.

We would love to see as many parents as possible at the meetings, as this is the parent’s time to give a voice to the school. We all lead busy lives and it is hard to find the time to attend meetings. The P&C meet every 3rd Wednesday of the month in the Resource Centre at 7:30pm. The more parents that attend, the more ideas we can create together to help our students receive the best possible education. It is also a great way to see what happens behind the scenes and hear from our Principal in person.

Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 15th July and 19th August at 7:30pm in the Resource Centre. Tea and Coffee will be available, so come and have a chat and meet the new Executive team!

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Sarah McDermott, P&C President Centenary SHS
Email: pandc@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au