10 February 2022
Volume 24 Number 1

NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

PRINCIPAL

News from the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the return of the 2022 school year. We are very excited to welcome our students back on site this week with the implementation of the required health measures, as per the Return to School Roadmap, to ensure maximum engagement in classroom learning.

Our teachers worked online with our senior school students last week and have transferred seamlessly back to face-to-face learning this week.

On Monday morning, our student mentors, leaders and teachers met the new Year 7 students at the various entrance gates to the school to ensure that each student felt individually welcomed to our school community, even though the start of the school year looked a little different for them. We look forward to watching our Year 7 cohort grow and adapt as secondary school learners across this term.

As a school, we have implemented our Positive Education approach to every classroom. This is an evidence-based approach on how to develop and flourish as individuals and how we come together as a school. Your student will have their Centenary SHS diary, which outlines some of the Positive Education curriculum they will be undertaking in their HG groups, as well as showing the focus for each individual year level. Ask to see your student’s diary with the topics that are relevant to each week. Our framework for Positive Education is the PERMAH model, which focuses on Positive Emotions, Health, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment in order to bring each learner a deeper understanding of themselves, their character strengths as individuals and learners and to, importantly, deepen their belonging to our school community. Positive Education is a whole-school community approach and we will be offering parents/carers the opportunity to participate in some learning about Positive Education as the term and year progress.

Our focus as a school for 2022 is on Pedagogy and Positive Education. Our staff spent the last two weeks taking advantage of the time available to participate in professional development on Positive Education and an understanding of the development and impacts of adolescent brain on learning, relationships and health. They have also been busy planning lessons and obtaining a deeper understanding of the learners in their classes.

We have a renewed focus on teaching our expectations and processes as our students return. We know that the vacation and the delayed return to school means students are keen to return, but may be a little out of routine. In late 2021, a large amount of work and input went into revamping our behaviour support processes, as well as our school routines and expectations and we are keen to implement this work. Part of our sense of belonging to the school is full participation, including attending every day and every lesson when well, wearing the uniform with pride and correctly on the specified days and taking the opportunity to get involved in the many opportunities that exist across the arts, sports, recreation, learning, tutoring and cultural activities. We really are excited for the return to learning.

We have many new staff to the school. We welcome:

who join our hard-working and talented Senior Leadership Team.

We welcome our new Youth Support Coordinator, Ms Kylie Arnold from ICYS, who joins us 3 days a week, working Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Kylie joins our Wellbeing Hub with a specific focus on student support.

We also welcome some returning staff to the school, including:

…and new teaching staff and teacher aides to the school, including:

Our new team is on board, our focus and processes are set and we are excited to work in unison with you as we watch our 2022 students flourish as individuals and learners at Centenary SHS.

Take care and stay well.

Jo Hughes, 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 PRINCIPALS

News from the Deputy Principals

Welcome to the start of the 2022 school year from the Deputy Principals!

It was certainly not the start to the school year that we wanted. For all students, the Home Group lessons on Monday February 7th set the scene for the year ahead. During these sessions, students were explicitly taught our school’s expectations regarding behaviour, school uniform and assessment. Students were issued their new student diary, which contains links to the documentation around this and provides important resources for our Positive Education lessons.

School photos

Due to the delayed start of the school year, school photos have been pushed back to Tuesday March 8th and Wednesday March 9th.

Years 7 – 10 – Tuesday March 8th
Years 11 & 12 – Wednesday March 9th (Year 11 – Lesson 4, Year 12 – Lesson 3)

Students must wear their formal uniform for their photo. Year 12 photos will be used on their graduation certificate.

MSP Photography will once again be looking after our school photos. Over the coming weeks, students will receive their photo order form in HG, so please prompt your student for their envelope if you wish to order school photos.

Esports is coming to Centenary SHS!

Centenary SHS is proud to announce that this year we will be commencing an afterschool Esports club, running five days a week! Operating in the Resource Centre, students can engage with peers in our core games – Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Just Dance! and Rocket League.

It’s not all fun and games – participants may be selected to join a competitive team for school-based and interschool competitions and our major goal – the International Fuse Cup!

Available for students in Years 7 – 9, spots will be strictly limited, so watch this space. Students will receive further information during year level assemblies and parents/carers will be required to complete a permission form to attend.

Agrifoods program

With all the hot and wet weather over the summer holidays, the Agrifoods team have been working hard to prepare our gardens for the Certificate I in Agrifoods program which recommenced this week (albeit on line).

This week, students were asked to think about what they would like to grow and how they would utilise their harvest. The program, which takes a ‘paddock to plate approach’, introduces students to planting and growing vegetables and herbs and using their produce in nutritious meals.

Produce from our Agrifoods garden including, rosellas, warrigal greens, pumpkins and pineapples pictured below.

Investiture Ceremony

The Investiture Ceremony is one of the most significant and highly valued events in our school calendar. We will celebrate our highest academic achievers of 2021, including announcing our Senior Dux. We formally announce our school leaders and school captains who take the leadership oath and receive their badges and blazers. Investiture regularly occurs early in Term 1 and we invite parents, carers, students, school leaders and local dignitaries to take part in the ceremony. Due to COVID-19 restrictions affecting large gatherings at schools, we have had to delay the ceremony until Monday March 7th. We will keep you posted re: any changes to this date.

Year 7

A special welcome to the families of our Year 7 students! We are very much looking forward to working with you and your students throughout the year. As a school, we highly value communication between home and school. Your student’s HG teacher will be your first port of call for most issues. There is a QR code to link you to all teachers’ email addresses in the student diary. For more serious issues, please feel free to contact either the Year 7 Coordinator, Rachel Habermann, the Junior School HOD, Carly Manche, or the Year 7 Deputy Principal, Angela McKay.

Year 8

I would like to welcome our Year 8 students and families to Centenary SHS. My name is Ms Brooke Davis and I have the privilege to be your student’s Deputy Principal this year.

I am originally from the Gold Coast and have continued to slowly move up the coast over the course of my 11 years in education. My family frequently tells me, “You love learning so much that you made it your job”, and they are mostly correct. I decided to make education my job because I want to support students in reaching their full potential; build resilience when faced with a difficult task and ensure they celebrate their success when their hard work pays off.

It has been a different start to our school year and I would like to highlight some important Year 8 contacts. A HG (Home Group) teacher has now contacted your student and welcomed them to their class. Our Year 8 HG teachers, Year Level Coordinator (Kate Tesch), Junior School HOD (Carly Manche) and myself are here to ensure our Year 8 students and families have a point of contact at the school. Our team is committed to supporting our students and their families throughout 2022.

I am dedicated to supporting the quality teaching and learning occurring in our state schools. My role as Deputy Principal at Centenary SHS is to serve and support others to ensure our students are inspired, engaged and focused on their next steps in learning. It has been a difficult start to 2022, but I am looking forward to begin meeting our Centenary SHS students and families. Please don’t hesitate to reach out and make contact if we can be of service.

Subject selections

The start of the year is an important time to make sure students have selected the appropriate subjects. As students progress through the different year levels, they will receive greater freedom to choose their particular subjects. In Years 7 and 8, all students must study all of the Key Learning Areas. Our advice for students is to always select subjects they enjoy and feel comfortable in their ability to be successful.

Students need to make decisions within the first two weeks of school with regard to their subject selection choices. This will allow students to settle into the new school year and focus on the assessment requirements for Term 1. This is particularly important due to the shortened length of this term. If students are having difficulty with any aspect of their subject, they should consult their classroom teacher in the first instance.

Behaviour management

Students are reminded that they are accountable for their behaviour while travelling to and from school. While they are wearing the school uniform they are representatives of our school community and as such, appropriate conduct is expected of all students. This pertains mainly to travelling on public transport and the manners and courtesy displayed to bus drivers and members of the public.

A reminder also that students are not permitted to leave the school grounds unless an authorised leave pass has been arranged through the administration office. Students are not permitted to leave the school grounds during break times to access local shops or private houses. Parents/carers can contact the school or write a permission note to give students permission to leave the school grounds, but this will need to go through the administration office.

Deborah McIntyre, Deputy Principal (Inclusion, ATSI/EALD)
Email: dmcin49@eq.edu.au

Angela McKay, Deputy Principal (Year 7)
Email: amcka18@eq.edu.au

Brooke Davis, Deputy Principal (Year 8)
Email: bldav0@eq.edu.au

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

Belinda Walker, Deputy Principal (Year 10)
Email: bwalk53@eq.edu.au

Angela Raven, Deputy Principal (Years 11 & 12)
Email: arave7@eq.edu.au

INTERNATIONAL

News from the International Team

The International Department at Centenary SHS would love to welcome you to 2022 – the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese Lunar calendar.

After experiencing reduced numbers of international students during these unprecedented times, we are looking forward to welcoming 4 new students into our program this year. In total we will have 23 students across all year levels and from a diverse range of countries including Vietnam, Korea, China, South Africa, PNG, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan. Last year, our 2021 international graduates achieved some outstanding results and have all successfully transitioned into either university, TAFE, or vocational pathways across Australia.

In regards to staffing, we are very pleased to welcome Diana Huber as our new International Student Coordinator (ISC) who will be able to use her wealth of teaching and administrative experience to support our students to flourish across all areas of their schooling. Adam Richter (International Program Coordinator), Maria Chadburn (Homestay Coordinator), and Will Moses (Teacher Aide) stay on with the team.

On Wednesday February 9th we celebrated Lunar New Year at school, which fell on Tuesday February 1st, 2022 and starts the year of the Tiger. Celebrations of Chinese New Year traditionally last for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival. In 2022, that is from January 31st to February 15th. People born in a year of the tiger are predicted to be brave, competitive, unpredictable and confident.

Have you got a spare room? Ever thought about being a homestay host? You get paid more than $300 a week caring for one of our international high school students in your home. Find out more at:

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

Diana Huber, International Student Coordinator
Email: dhube1@eq.edu.au

Maria Chadburn, International Homestay Coordinator
Email: mchad34@eq.edu.au

Will Moses, International Teacher Aide
Email: wmose0@eq.edu.au

BUSINESS MANAGER

News from the Business Manager

2021 Clearance Forms

At the end of last year, all students were issued with their 2021 Clearance Form. Students were required to complete this form and return it to the office by the assigned due date. This process ensures that resources borrowed from the school are returned and accounted for. This checklist also gives parents/carers the opportunity to update personal details, explain any outstanding absences and finalise any outstanding fees.

2022 Student Resource Scheme

The parent/carer contribution for 2022 is $280 for Year 7 students (per student) and $300 for all other year levels (per student). The scheme enhances and maximises student learning and provides a cost-effective alternative to parents/carers for the use of resources such as curriculum textbooks/e-books, consumables and other essential materials for student use. The scheme is endorsed by the P&C Association and is approved by the Queensland Department of Education.

Statements

Statements will be generated and emailed (or posted) shortly. All fees relating to the 2022 calendar year are due on July 31st, 2022, unless you enter into a payment plan. If your family is experiencing financial difficulties, please contact the school office to make alternative payment arrangements.

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

GUIDANCE

News from the Guidance Officers

This year the Guidance Team at Centenary SHS consists of three Guidance Officers:

Students and their parents/carers often don’t know how to contact the school’s Guidance Officer. There are a number of ways to contact your year level Guidance Officer at Centenary SHS:

• Use this QR code (also on posters around the school) to complete a referral form to request an appointment
• Talk to your HG Teacher or Year Level Coordinator about a referral
• Email your year level Guidance Officer directly
• Visit the Wellbeing Hub before school or during break times to make an appointment
• Present to the school office and request an appointment.

The role of the Guidance Officer and the services they provide can vary between schools. At Centenary SHS, Guidance Officers provide:

• support to students to maximise their learning potential and overcome barriers to success
• advocacy for students who are experiencing difficulties
• individual counselling support to students with mental health and wellbeing concerns
• career advice (no matter your year level)
• referrals to other school team members and external supports if appropriate (and within bounds of confidentiality and consent)
• support through small group programs and wellbeing activities.

Conversations with a Guidance Officer are confidential, except if there are concerns for the safety of the student or any another person.

Our team looks forward to supporting students at Centenary SHS in 2022. Watch out for our future newsletter articles about wellbeing and reducing stress, study habits, and career education.

Jules Cottone, Guidance Officer Years 7 & 8
Email: jcott55@eq.edu.au

Gayle Rausch, Guidance Officer Years 9 & 10
Email: gsutc2@eq.edu.au

Alethea Anthanasiov, Guidance Officer Years 11 & 12
Email: aatha1@eq.edu.au

CHAPLAIN

News from the Chaplain

We changed how we ‘go’ to school by studying remotely and expanding our use of digital technology to communicate with our teachers and classmates.

We also spent more time online so we could stay connected with friends and relatives. With others stuck at home with us doing the same thing, there was often the added pressure of having to help family members understand how to use new technologies.

All of this happened while we were living with uncertainty about when things would get back to normal for our family, friends and the world.

Spending more time online has increased the chance of being exposed to some negative behaviours and inappropriate or upsetting content.

e-Safety has put together some advice to make sure you look after your online safety and wellbeing — to help navigate the uncharted territory we are in. Take some time to explore this advice and learn how to get support if things become difficult.

Stay connected with friends

While restrictions are slowly being lifted, we are still spending a lot of time at home. That can mean feeling both crowded and lonely. It can also be a serious challenge if it’s not a safe space for everyone.

Although it’s a relief to be able to start seeing our friends again, many of us can only hang out in restricted numbers and we still can’t get too close to each other. So, it could still be a while before we can return to activities that usually break up the boredom.

If you are trying to stay connected online until restrictions end, you may want to mix things up with one of these activities:

• Organise a virtual catchup – seems like a no-brainer but this is the most important. Schedule time each week where you and your friends can all come together and video chat to catch up on what everyone’s been up to!
• Start a fitness or dance challenge with friends – never thought you’d be up for learning a choreographed dance on TikTok? Think again! Challenge your mates to learn the same dance or test another physical skill like doing push-ups — against the clock in a group chat!
• Get creative and learn something new – social distancing has definitely not been easy but it’s important to try turn it into a positive. Will you ever get this much time to yourself again? Maybe not. So, take the time to deep dive into something that really interests you and that you might not be able to learn at school. Hey, that’s what YouTube videos are actually for! Ever wanted to learn how to make music? Cook? Maybe it’s learning another language. Whatever it is, now is the time!

Manage your mental health in and out of online learning

With millions of people all around the world still in isolation, dealing with restrictions or facing longer term impacts like ongoing unemployment, it’s normal to feel many different emotions. You might be feeling lonely, frustrated, anxious, sad or angry. You could be having a hard time at home with your family or you might be seeing members of your family struggling.

What can you do?

• Stay connected with your friends and family as part of a daily routine
• Reach out to your extended family such as cousins, aunties or uncles if you are having a hard time at home with your immediate family
• Let your teachers or a guidance officer know if you need extra support
• If you are feeling pressures from social media, it’s OK to take a break or switch-off
• If you think you are being cyberbullied or you feel uncomfortable or unsafe about someone who has contacted you online, read up on e-Safety’s advice about how to get support

It’s important to take care of yourself and look out for your friends and family at the same time. Listen to them and remind them that you care about them but don’t take on too much yourself, especially if you are struggling with your own emotions or experiences. Try directing them to a service that offers trusted advice and support.

Headspace helps young people aged 12 to 25 years who are going through a tough time and it’s developed a range of resources to support young people affected by COVID-19.

KidsHelpline provides 24/7 phone, web or email counselling support for young people aged 5 to 25 years and they also have special COVID-19 resources.

Lifeline provides 24/7 support if you, a friend or an adult you know is not coping with a personal crisis or is thinking about self-harm. If you or someone you know is in serious immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000).

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

SPORTS DIRECTOR

News from the Sports Directors

Welcome to a new year of sport at Centenary SHS. My name is Tamara Nasalio and I will be the Northern District Sports Director and Matalena Johnson is the West Brisbane Sports Director. The following will provide some general information about the way sport operates at Centenary SHS for the benefit of new families, and also, some information about upcoming events.

Student spotlight – Neve Longmire

Neve recently travelled to South Australia to compete in the Australian Open Water Championship. The course was 1.25km, with 65 girls competing. It was a close race until the last leg when Neve started to add a bit more legs and FINALLY finished the race. Neve is currently 14 years old but was counted as a 15-year-old for the competition. If Neve was still counted as 14, she would have got 3rd in Australia for the race! Neve’s final result in the 15 years age group was 5th in Australia! This is a huge achievement itself and to top it off, she swam a personal best and did a time of 1hr 7min 30sec for 5km. Centenary SHS is very proud of your commitment and dedication to your chosen sport.

Sports calendar 2022

The Sports Calendar for 2022 is attached below. Carnival dates are listed as well as district and regional trial dates. Please download this calendar if your child is interested in trialling for sporting teams.

Sporting pathways at Centenary SHS

There are many opportunities for students to become involved in sport here at Centenary SHS. They include:

1.  School carnivals – Centenary SHS runs swimming, cross country and athletics carnivals annually. During these carnivals, all students can compete for their house, with the points going towards the Champion House Shield, They can compete to become Age Champion and gain selection to the district carnivals. To participate in the school carnivals, students will need to nominate and act on information provided to them by the Sports Director and HG teachers prior to each carnival.
2.  District and regional trials (Sports Director - Mrs Nasalio) – Cluster days provide students with the opportunity to gain selection in district, regional, state, and even national teams, in a wide range of sports. The first step in this process is trialling for the Northern District Team. Students will be invited to nominate for a trial and will now need to go through a selection process at Centenary SHS, as we are only allowed to send 2 students to the Northern District Trial. The trials for Northern District tend to be after school. If successful, they then go to regional trials where they trial for selection in a Met West Regional team. If selected in the regional team, they can go onto state and national trials. All common sports are catered for in this pathway, however the age groups are (usually): Open (16 – 19 years), 13 – 15 years and 10 – 12 years. For upcoming trial dates, students must listen to the daily notices, contact the Sport Director to trial first at school and if successful, will be given the paperwork in order to attend the Northern District Trial.
3.  Specific sports squads – Throughout the year there will be a number of sports that the school enters competitions for. These include sports such as touch football, futsal, netball, AFL and volleyball. For students to get into these squads, they need to act on information given by the Sports Director and by coaches. Trials will be required for these teams. If selected in these squads, students usually compete outside of school time and there is usually a cost involved.
4.  Inter-school sport (Sports Director – Mrs Johnson) – Centenary SHS will continue to participate in the West Brisbane District Schools Competition this year. Students in Years 10, 11 and 12 can compete in their Gala Day in Terms 2 and 3 and students in Years 7, 8 and 9 compete in a Gala Day each term. There are a multitude of sports available such as touch football, volleyball, ultimate disc, cricket, basketball, netball, soccer, rugby league, tennis, badminton and AFL. Students from all year levels will have the opportunity to be part of one of these sporting teams. Teams will compete for the title of District Premiers in each sport. The premier teams will progress into the Metropolitan Finals series against other schools from across Brisbane. At Centenary SHS we are committed to developing strong teams to compete in this competition. Sign-on and trials for the teams will be conducted early each term and training will commence on a weekly basis thereafter. Students who are selected into a Centenary SHS team are expected to commit to the team and attend all training sessions. The purpose of this competition is to provide quality sporting games between schools and a wide range of sporting options for students. I encourage students to embrace this exciting opportunity and to try out for a team this year. If you would like further information about any of these, please contact me at school.

Regional swimming trials

Firstly, the Northern District Swimming Trial has been cancelled. Therefore, the process in order to attend the Regional Swimming Trial is different this year. If your child is a competitive swimmer and is interested in nominating for this opportunity, please see Mrs Nasalio in Staffroom 4.

House Captains 2022

Each house has two house captains that will encourage participation, organise lunch time sporting activities, be a positive role model around the school and will run war cries at our school carnivals.

The house captains can be identified by their house shirts and can be approached at any time.

Yallambee – Nam Nguyen and Alisi-Keti Fangaloka
Curragundi – Jack Stone and Sienna Pritchard
Jarup – Olivia Boyd and Bethany Morrison
Moolanda – Jackson Miller and Lachlan Ramsay

Please contact Tamara Nasalio via email tnasa1@eq.edu.au if you would like to discuss any issues in relation to Northern District or Representative sport. If you have questions regarding school sport please contact Matalena Johnson via email mxdan5@eq.edu.au.

Dates to know: upcoming sporting events in Term 1

23 February: Regional Swimming Carnival
28 March: Centenary SHS Cross Country
30 March: Junior Gala Day
Please check the calendar for all trial dates.

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

Matalena Johnson, West Brisbane Sports Director
Email: mxdan5@eq.edu.au

JUNIOR SECONDARY

Junior Secondary News

Welcome back to our Junior Secondary students and families! We are very excited to see our Years 7, 8 and 9 students return for the start of the school year. My name is Carly Manche and I have the absolute pleasure of working with your students across 2022 as the Head of Department, Junior Secondary.

Day 1 – Years 8 and 9

While some students returned to familiar HG classes, many met new HG peers and teachers. New friendships were formed as students engaged with their Day 1 program. Lessons, designed to remind students of important school processes and to delve into the PEEC (Positive Education Curriculum), occupied two lessons, while the remaining school day returned students to their timetabled classes. A special thank you to our Years 8 and 9 HG teachers and, in particular, our dedicated Year Level Coordinators, Kate Tesch (Year 8) and Jo Moon (Year 9).

Day 1 – Year 7

What a special day! Our brand-new Year 7 students spent the whole school day with their HG classmates, teachers and Year 10 Mentors, familiarising themselves with high school life, through the lens of Positive Education. Students received their timetables and diaries, completed a school tour, examined school processes, enjoyed many activities to promote bonding and friendship, and decorated their HG classrooms to promote inclusivity and belonging. Sincere congratulations go to Rachel Habermann (Year 7 Coordinator) for coordinating such an important and successful day, and to her team of Year 7 HG teachers, whose tireless work and commitment to wellbeing ensured the smooth transition to high school for our Year 7 students.

Carly Manche, Junior Secondary HOD
Email: ceman4@eq.edu.au

SENIOR SCHOOLING

Senior Schooling News

Mater Education

In 2022, we begin our partnership with Mater Education who will be offering a Certificate II in Health Support Services and Certificate III in Health Services Assistance to our Years 10 – 12 students. Mater has established itself as a core provider of exceptional healthcare services. In 1998, Mater Education was established as a nationally accredited, independent, hospital-based Registered Training Organisation (RTO)—the only one of its kind in Queensland.

The program offered to our students will be held on school grounds every Monday and this program has been designed by the expert team of medical educators at Mater, giving students knowledge and skills in some key foundation areas such as medical terminology, anatomy and communication. Students will complete both certificate courses in one year and upon completion will have a qualification that allows them to play a key role in supporting front-line healthcare workers as an acute care assistant, patient care attendant, orderly or wards person.

Year 10 update

We welcome our new Year 10 students to the senior school cohort in 2022. The introduction to senior school is busy each year. Not only do students get a new uniform but we continue to build on the work that students started in their JET Planning. Students have had the option to choose more elective subjects and will use their experiences in these classes to choose their Years 11 and 12 subjects when SET Plans are completed in Term 3. To assist with this, Year 10 students will be completing a one-week Work Experience practicum in Week 10 of Term 2. Students will also complete the Certificate II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways (FSK) during our STEP program on Wednesdays in lesson 4. This qualification will prepare students for their Work Experience and their SET Plan, as well as providing 4 core QCE credits towards their Queensland Certificate of Education. More information about these programs and events will be emailed home to parents/carers and discussed with students at school.

ATOMI

Years 11 and 12 students will continue to be provided with access to the ATOMI platform in 2022. ATOMI is an online learning platform with resources for our General and Applied (Essential) subjects and is a key resource in preparing for upcoming assessment by covering key concepts in short videos and then assessing student understanding. This enables students to access additional support and resources beyond the classroom. Students will go through these resources in their curriculum classes as well as using this platform during our STEP program on Wednesdays in lesson 4.

Industry Liaison Officer

Our Industry Liaison Officer at Centenary SHS is Ms Chadburn – her role at the school is to assist students with their TAFE@School enrolments. We have over 50 students enrolled in a certificate qualification with TAFE Queensland, with more students to enrol when Trade Taster applications open in February. Ms Chadburn also assists students in signing up to school-based apprenticeships and traineeships. Students can make an appointment to discuss these options with Ms Chadburn by sending her an email mchad34@eq.edu.au or coming to see her at lunch times in SL15.

Ms Chadburn will also email out the Career Options Bulletin to all students in Years 10 – 12 on a fortnightly basis. This bulletin provides current, timely and informative career information and key calendar dates to Queensland schools, students and parents/carers.

Student driver registration

We have a number of students who have obtained their licence and are now driving to school. All students who drive to school must return a student driver application form. These can be obtained from the administration office or can be found on the school website here. This register helps the school ensure that only students are parking in our public car park area on Yallambee Road – our designated student parking area.

Amiee Nolan, Senior Schooling HOD
Email: axnol0@eq.edu.au

POSITIVE EDUCATION

A spotlight on Positive Education

Centenary SHS is embarking on an exciting new venture; one that aims to equip our students with skills, knowledge and strategies that will help them face life’s challenges well. Positive Education brings together the science of Positive Psychology with best practice teaching to encourage and support individuals, schools and communities to flourish. Flourishing can be seen as a combination of ‘feeling good and doing good’. It is important to note that Positive Education is not about being happy all the time and avoiding negative emotions. If you deeply care for anything or anyone, you will experience a range of emotions – this is part of living rich, full and meaningful life. Positive Education is also not about ensuring a child is free from failure and adversity. Instead, Positive Education seeks to prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child, equipping them for the journey ahead.

In Term 4, 2021, year level coordinators surveyed all HG classes to get students’ opinions on the HG program. Some key findings were that students would prefer more hands-on, interactive ways of learning about wellbeing. As a result, in 2022, students will engage with the Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC) during their weekly HG lessons. Developed by the Institute of Positive Education (The Geelong Grammar School), this curriculum is developmentally sequenced and based on the principles of Positive Psychology. The key tenets of Positive Psychology centre on increasing human flourishing through cultivating positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning and achievement. Through teaching valuable life skills, Centenary SHS can provide students with an increased capacity to learn effectively, as well as offering them a strong foundation on which they can build a good life. For example, in HG classes students may:

• explore a range of relationship-building skills and become familiar with the technique of actively and constructively responding to others’ good news
• learn to tune in to their self-talk with the goal of developing helpful and realistic thinking patterns
• explore the responsibility and challenge of self-regulating our emotions
• be introduced to resilience skills which they can put into practice
• learn to understand and appreciate the benefits of expressing gratitude
• explore the importance of self-motivation
• recognise and appreciate the unique strengths within themselves and those around them
• explore the relationship between service of others and having a meaningful life.

Complementing these weekly lessons are our wonderful new PEEC student diaries. I encourage you to take a look at your young person’s diary to see all of the wellbeing information they have at their fingertips.

If this has sparked your interest and you would like to personally explore more about this concept, the following books may be of interest:

• ‘Pursuing the Good Life: 100 Reflections on Positive Psychology’ by Chris Peterson
• ‘Positive Psychology: Theory, Research and Applications’ by Ilona Boniwell and Kate Hefferon
• ‘Authentic Happiness’ by Martin Seligman

I look forward to sharing with you our Positive Education news and thank you for entrusting us to help your young person learn the skills to grow their wellbeing. If you have any further questions I warmly encourage you to contact me directly.

Melissa Chamberlain, Positive Education HOD
Email: mcham55@eq.edu.au

STUDENT SERVICES/STEP COORDINATOR

The STudent Enrichment Program (STEP)

STEP gives students the opportunity to participate in activities that add to their learning experience here at Centenary SHS. The program is primarily run during lesson 4 on Wednesdays.

During Term 1, Years 7 – 9 students will be able to choose from the full range of sporting activities and other enrichment activities. There will be an online sign-on for this during STEP in Week 4.

Years 10 – 12 students will have an online sign-on for sport only, the training for which will be outside of STEP time. This is because, during their STEP lesson, the Year 10 cohort will complete the Certificate II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways (commonly called FSK) and Years 11 and 12 students will work in classes that support their QCE Plus pathway (often using ATOMI).

This term is the first time STEP sign-on has been done online and to avoid disappointment, students should read the email I will send them at the beginning of Week 4 very carefully. If you have any questions regarding STEP, feel free to contact me.

Marty Begbie, Student Services HOD
Email: mbegb1@eq.ed.au

FACULTIES

ARTS

Welcome to the 2022 school year. Despite the fact it has started a little more unusually, the extra time has allowed staff to finalise and prepare the curriculum for this school year. We are ready and excited to welcome the Arts students back to school. Have you liked the school Facebook account? We share lots of our Arts stories on the school Facebook page – please follow the page and give our posts a like!

Staffing update

We start by farewelling (just for the 2022 school year) Mrs Claire Masters, who is off on maternity leave. Claire will certainly be missed by the Year 12 Drama classes. We wish her well!

We also say a huge thank you to Ms Jo Lynch, who is not teaching any Visual Art this year – her English skills are too valuable. We cross our fingers she might return in future years.

Ms Sarah McLeod will be on leave for certain periods of time this year as she is the lead actor in a touring show. This is an amazing opportunity and the skills she will bring back to her drama classes from a professional show will be brilliant! Throughout the year Ms McLeod will be replaced by the wonderful Ms Maddie Nixon.

We welcome three new staff members to our faculty this year, Ms Jayne Hanby – teaching Visual Art, Ms Rebecca Sherry – teaching Media and Drama, and Ms Georgia Milford – teaching Visual Art and Dance. We are absolutely thrilled to have some new faces in the Arts faculty this year.

Student success

Our 2021 Arts students certainly achieved some amazing results and we are very proud of all of their achievements. Two students achieved the highest result in the state – the perfect subject score of 100/100! A huge congratulations goes to Amelia and Imani for their outstanding results in Film, Television and New Media. We can’t forget their amazing teachers who have guided them to those results – Mr Terry Oberg and Mrs Liara Lodder.

New building update

You may have noticed the new building on Moolanda Street. On the top level, about half of the building will be dedicated to state-of-the-art Arts teaching spaces, with a new dance and drama room, plus two media classrooms with a specialist green room for filming. We are very excited to start using this new space, which is on track to be ready in late Term 2.

Instrumental music news

We welcome all new families to our program as well as welcoming back our continuing families. Students continuing in the IM program should now have received an email from our Cultural Coordinator, Mr Mark Watkins, with information for the 2022 program plus a link to sign up. If you have not received information from your instrumental music teacher about your timetable, please contact Mr Watkins: mwatk16@eq.edu.au

Mr Watkins can be contacted for general program information but the first port of call for students and parents/carers is the teacher. Instrumental music teachers are itinerant – they travel across schools during the week but you can find them in CPAC on the following days or contact via email anytime. Please allow 24-48 hours for the teacher to respond.

Whilst COVID rules may change our planning, at this point in time, our date claimer is below. We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events.

Centenary State High School Cultural Date Claimer 2022

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

SCIENCE

I am tempted to use the cliched phrase “it has been an unusual start to the year”, more unusual for science in that we have not been able to use the learning by experimentation approach in the Years 11 and 12 online delivery. Students have been introduced to ATOMI in Year 11 and their engagement in the platform is very encouraging. ATOMI is a platform that provides the opportunity to review and reinforce concepts studied in the class through engaging videos and quizzes. Our past students have derived some outstanding outcomes across biology, chemistry, physics and psychology through the use of ATOMI.

We are pleased to report the Science Faculty can once again celebrate some outstanding SATE results:

• 100% pass rate across all disciplines
• Biology – 85% A & B grades, and above state mean
• Psychology – 84% A and B grades, and above state mean
• Chemistry – 76% A & B grades, and 0.5 below state mean

By the far greatest achievement is that of Jessica Tran, achieving the highest mark in the state for Psychology. Overall, she achieved an average of 96% across Biology, Chemistry and Psychology. An outstanding achievement! The use of ATOMI across ALL three disciplines was integral to her success.

Bookwork policy – ‘Bookwork is a window into the classroom’

All students across the Junior phase would have been notified through their class OneNotes of the policy outline below. The long-term goal is to develop writing stamina in preparation for the SATE External exams which make up 50% of the marks.

Why do I need to keep neat notes?

It is much easier to use when revising and studying for a test, there is a correlation between improved note-keeping habits and improved marks and it is easier for your teacher to notice if you are falling behind.

1. Every student must have a 96-page A4 exercise book with margin
2. One subject per notebook
3. Notes will be written in blue or black pen, diagrams and graphs to be drawn in pencil
4. Guidelines for daily lesson notes: date, warm-up (could also be digital), lesson title, lesson goals, success criteria, lesson notes

1. All worksheets must be glued in immediately during the lesson to maintain learning sequence
2. All homework must be clearly labelled and dated
3. Each lesson should include reflections of your learning
4. It is the responsibility of the student to catch up on work missed due to absence
5. All students to keep a neat notebook with no graffiti, or removing pages
6. Students who are failing to keep a satisfactory (developing) notebook will be required to complete their notebook outside their normal classroom time and a parent/carer will be contacted

Competitions and STEM challenge

The number of science competitions and STEM challenge activities students usually have an opportunity to engage has been compromised over the last two years due to COVID-19. This year we hope to revert back to normality. The following are some of the competitions and STEM challenges that will be advertised during the year.

The International Science Bee is a competition we have only recently been invited to participate in. The competition is a buzzer-based competition and consists of three stages.

Allen Moodley, Science HOD
Email: amood23@eq.edu.au

YEAR LEVEL COORDINATORS

Year 12 Report

Here we are! The final year of schooling for this amazing group of students. I am struggling to come to terms with the fact that the group of students from the end of Year 7 when I became their year level coordinator are now embarking on their last year here at Centenary SHS. There are going to be tears, mainly from me.

I want to say thank you for your support over the last couple of weeks with the delayed start. It was great to see the high level of engagement from the students during online learning. It wasn’t the ideal start to their final year but what this cohort has learnt over the last two years is how to be resilient and, of course, flexible.

Welcome to the new families that have joined us this year. My name is Kate George and I have had the pleasure of being with this cohort for the last (almost) five years as their year level coordinator. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

A big year ahead – many major milestones coming our way as the year progresses. The first big one is of course the students receiving their senior jerseys. It is amazing how they can handle wearing their jerseys during the heat of summer. For any new student or student who did not receive a jersey this round, do not fear, I will be putting an order in over the next couple of weeks. Students need to tell me what size and what name they would like on the back and payment will have to be made before I send the order. Further information will be coming out over the next week.

The Year 12 HG program for this term focuses on the Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC) elements of kindness, gratitude and positivity. The students will be engaging in a number of different activities which will involve some guest speakers (fingers crossed). Positive Education is one of the main priorities here at Centenary SHS and the Year 12 cohort will be engaging with this curriculum as part of their HG lessons, as well as in their timetabled classes. The use of PEEC within our HG program has already proven to be engaging and beneficial for the Year 12 cohort over the last couple of years.

Kate George, Year 12 Coordinator
Email: kgeor38@eq.edu.au

Year 11 Report

Wow – what a whirlwind way to start the year! I feel excited and privileged to continue working with this cohort and the Year 11 families in 2022. It was great to see a strong turn-out and enthusiastic participation in online learning for our Year 11 cohort. I know that at times, online learning has presented some challenges to our students, but, as always, they have risen to the occasion. Thank you to all the Year 11 families for supporting their young people through their week of online learning.

2022 is looking to be a year filled with exciting events and opportunities. Term 1 sees us focusing on the following topics in our HG program:

1. Sense of Meaning
2. Kindness and Connections
3. Mind-Body Connection

The use of the Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC) within our HG program has already proved to be engaging and beneficial for our Year 11 cohort. I am sure the entire year level is excited to get the ball rolling on senior jerseys, semi-formal and other big-ticket items that are fast approaching this year. As this group journeys into the coming 12 months, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. Looking forward to a fantastic year.

Will McKenna, Year 11 Coordinator
Email: wjmck0@eq.edu.au

Year 10 Report

We had a great 2021, culminating in a fantastic ‘Moving Up’ ceremony to celebrate our shift from junior to senior school. As we begin 2022, it is great to see our Year 10 students on campus in their beautiful white new shirts.

Year 10 brings with it a lot of exciting events. This year we will be participating in work experience, SET Planning and a camp! More information about each of these events will be sent out as relevant.

Our HG program continues to grow its Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC). Our students have already seen great benefits from the focus on positive engagement with wellbeing and we are looking forward to continuing our learning in this area. Term 1 will see us explore two topics in-depth; Grit and Persistence and Motivation.

I am looking forward to working with our Year 10 cohort this year as they enter their senior phase of learning. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch!

Elizabeth Long, Year 10 Coordinator
Email: ejlon1@eq.edu.au

Year 8 Report

A new year and fresh start for the Year 8 cohort. Welcome back Year 8 parents and carers! I hope you all had a great holiday filled with adventure, enjoyment, and laughter. My name is Kate Tesch, and I am honoured to start my role as the Year 8 Coordinator for 2022. This will be my 4th year teaching at Centenary SHS within the HPE (Health & Physical Education) and Humanities faculties. Fortunately, last year I had the pleasure in meeting many of the awesome students in this year level, either through curriculum classes or through coaching sporting teams. I cannot wait to get to know the rest of the cohort this year. Although the start to our school year has been extremely different, I am excited to get back into face-to-face learning and get moving with our plans for Year 8.

This year’s theme for the Year 8 cohort will be all about creating positive relationships and building teamwork skills. Implementation of our new PEEC (Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum) will enable these skills to be developed during HG classes. Some of the key topics we will focus on in Term 1:

• Self-Knowledge
• Kindness and Connection
• Positivity
• Leadership and Teamwork

In Term 1, the Shake and Stir production team are coming to visit the students to perform ‘Right Clique’, which focuses on social cliques, peer pressure and cyberbullying. Another big-ticket item coming up in Term 2 will be our Character Builders Day. Students will be given the opportunity to work together with their HG team to further enhance and build their relationships. I am really looking forward to the year ahead with the Year 8 cohort. If at any point throughout the year you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Kate Tesch, Year 8 Coordinator
Email: ktesc0@eq.edu.au

Year 7 Report

Welcome to 2022. What a way to begin our high school journey. My name is Rachel Habermann and I am the Year 7 Coordinator. I am very excited to be able to lead and support our Year 7 students into high school.

We had a great first day of school on Monday February 7th. It was fantastic to see the happy, excited and some nervous faces of our Year 7 students and their teachers. The first day of school is always exciting no matter what year level you are in; however, it is just that little bit extra special beginning high school. We had a busy yet fun day settling into high school life. Our focus of the day was to establish new friendships amongst the Year 7 cohort and their teachers. I hope that by the end of the day every student was able to walk away with a new friend from their class.

2022 is going to be filled with many exciting events, the biggest one being Year 7 Camp in Term 2. There will be more information regarding camp in the coming weeks. Over the next few weeks we will also be looking for some of our students to nominate to be our Year 7 Student Leaders. This is a great opportunity for students to be involved in the Centenary SHS community.

During our HG lessons, the Year 7 cohort will focus on establishing positive relationships. These skills will be explicitly taught in our HG lesson through the implementation of our PEEC (Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum). Our Term 1 program will include the topics of:

1. Health
2. Respectful Relationships
3. Positive Relationship

The student diary has some fantastic resources available that will allow your child to further develop these skills in and outside of the classroom.

I am looking forward to working with the Year 7 students, families and teachers in 2022. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.

Rachel Habermann, Year 7 Coordinator
Email: rhabe7@eq.edu.au

COMMUNITY NOTICES