17 February 2023

NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the first newsletter of the 2023 school year. We are very excited to welcome our students back on site this week with approximately 1780 students joining us at Centenary SHS this year. Welcome to our new families – we look forward to meeting and working with you and your student as the year progresses.

The uncertain Year 7 students and new students, that we met at the school gates in Week 1, have already settled and are starting to blossom and gain confidence. By the end of Week 4, we know that their classrooms are up and running, they have established friendships with new classmates and they are confidently navigating their way across the school. We look forward to watching our Year 7 students grow and adapt as secondary school learners across this term. As always, I encourage you to communicate openly with staff at the school, with email often the most efficient way to contact the teaching staff.

As a school we have continued our Positive Education approach to every classroom. For our new parents/carers, Positive Education 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 Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC) 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 strategic as a school for 2023 is again on Pedagogy and Positive Education – building our depth of knowledge and application of the principles of a strengths-based approach to teaching and learning. Our focus as a school aligns with the Department of Education’s strategic focus on Equity and Excellence.

As a school, we are focussed on our moral purpose. Our moral purpose is to foster positive relationships so that all learners can flourish and feel a sense of belonging. Enhancing belonging to the school is helping our students engage fully with their learning – ensuring full participation, including attending every day and every lesson, 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 have many new staff to the school. In our Senior Leadership Team we welcome:

Mr Matt Smith – Deputy Principal Positive Education and Year 8
Ms Lu Ware – School Psychologist

Our Investiture Ceremony was held this week and we are excited to work with our new leaders as they continue to represent the student body and provide a strong voice as representatives and role models. The 80+ students who have taken on leadership roles across many areas of the school are led by School Captains and School Vice-Captains – Brady, Sienna, Claire and Georgia and Junior Captains and Junior-Vice Captains – Cody, Charlotte, Alvin and Tiffany. We have a truly amazing group of young adults leading portfolios across the school, including our Indigenous Captains, International Captains, Arts Captains, House Captains, Debating and Public Speaking Captain, Year Level Student Leaders and Year 10 Mentors.

Later in this newsletter you will read information of how parents can contribute to the uniform review which commenced in Term 4 last year. We have engaged a consultant to conduct this review, Ms Jo Diessel, and I encourage you all to take the opportunity to have input into the process this term.

Our teaching staff, our students, our focus and processes are set and we are excited to work in unison with you as we watch our 2023 students flourish as individuals and learners at Centenary SHS.

Invitation to participate in the review of the school’s uniform

In Term 4 last year I wrote to you about a review of the school uniform. A number of parents/carers and students have raised some issues around when, where and how the formal and sports uniform is worn. In particular, some issues have been raised around students wearing the formal uniform and having to change into their sports uniform at school prior to physical activity. I have asked an external consultant, Jo Diessel to lead a review focussing on when, where and how the formal and sports uniform is worn.

Jo Diessel has started consultations with students in Term 4 of last year and in Term 1 this year she will continue consulting with students and will extend her consultations to gain feedback from parents and staff.

Jo Diessel will be at school on the mornings of 14th and 15th March and will run consultations with parents at 10:00am. Please come along for a coffee and a chat.

If you are unable to attend you can email Jo your feedback at jo@picopond.com or arrange a chat via zoom or telephone.

Kind regards

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

Good Standing

To maximise student achievement across Years 7 – 12, there are minimum benchmarks set for student participation in school representation or extra-curricular activities. Only students who are in ‘Good Standing’ have the privilege of participating in these areas of school life. During Terms 2, 3 and 4, students in Years 10, 11 and 12 will also be eligible to participate in Wednesday afternoon’s flexible study program.

School Representation includes any activity where it is a privilege for a student to represent their school. Examples include representative sport, gala days, debating, forums, competitions and performances. Extra-Curricular activities include any activity which is additional to the core curriculum being delivered. Examples include school discos, camps, trips etc. which do not relate to the direct delivery of curriculum programs.

To maintain Good Standing, students are expected to:

• Attend a minimum of 90% or above throughout the year
• Complete all set assessments, course work, practicals and competencies etc.
• Complete work for classes missed due to absence for any reason
• Receive at least ‘satisfactory’ in effort and/or behaviour on Interim and Semester reporting
• Act in compliance with the behaviour, mobile phone and uniform expectations

Follow school’s non-negotiables as outlined in the Student Diary

Our school’s Good Standing Policy will be communicated fully to parents/carers by year level Deputy Principals, and further details available from the school website.

Year 7

A special welcome to the families of our Year 7 students! It was nice to meet so many of you recently at the Meet the HG Teacher Evening. We are very much looking forward to working with you and your students throughout the year to support them with their learning and their wellbeing. As a school, we highly value communication between home and school to maximise student outcomes. Your student’s HG teacher will usually be your first port of call for any 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. We are looking forward to a successful school year with all of our Year 7 students!

Year 8

I am delighted to introduce myself as the Deputy Principal for Year 8 in 2023. I have been working in secondary school education for twenty-five years, with a strong passion for student wellbeing and positive education. I am a firm believer that if we expect our young people to learn well, we must first invest in their wellbeing. Academic success is more likely to be realised when we have higher levels of social, emotional and physical wellbeing.

A key part of my Deputy Principal portfolio is to lead Positive Education at our school. I am looking forward to working with the Head of Positive Education, Melissa Chamberlain, to ensure authentic connections are made with key school imperatives (such as our Moral Purpose) and great wellbeing and learning outcomes are achieved for our students.

Simon Sinek’s Start With Why offers a powerful and compelling case for the importance of having a purpose and meaning in what we do.

At Centenary SHS, we believe that having a strong unifying purpose for all members of our community is critical is we are to help our students become happy, confident, agile and resilient learners.

The Centenary SHS vision is underpinned by our Moral Purpose (pictured) which contains three key elements:

• Fostering positive relationships
• All learners can flourish
• Feeling a sense of belonging

If we unpack these three elements, we hope that everyone in our community will understand, identify with and be inspired by our Moral Purpose.

Fostering positive relationships

Fundamentally it is relationship building that is at the heart of effective teaching and learning. Long ago, Aristotle realised the importance of this when he said “educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all”. If we can all strive to form positive relationships based on respect and trust, we are generally happier and more successful. Such relationships are multi-faceted: student-student, student-teacher, student-parent, teacher-teacher and importantly forming a strong partnership between school-home.

All learners can flourish

We are a positive education school and the term ‘flourish’ is synonymous with the evidence-based science of positive psychology. The fundamental goal of positive education is to promote flourishing or positive mental health within the school community with best practice education approaches to build strengths, capabilities, wellbeing and resilience (Walters, 2017).

A ‘recipe’ for flourishing is reflected in the PERMAH model (below). The curriculum covered in our HG program (PEEC) centres around all of these elements of PERMAH and is underpinned by the 24 Character Strengths. Everyone has strengths – our character strengths are positive, pre-existing, trait-like qualities that bring out the best in us. Many of our students have completed the VIA Character Strengths Youth Survey last year. If your student has not made this discovery, I encourage them to complete the survey:

Feeling a sense of belonging

To feel a strong sense of school belonging is to feel personally accepted, respected, included and supported by others in the school community (Goodenow and Grady, 1993). According to Dr Kelly-Ann Allen, expert in belonging research, school belonging can be achieved by:

1. Providing strong emotional support

At Centenary SHS, we achieve this by promoting and fostering positive relationships, being approachable, and conducting regular wellbeing check-ins so we truly know our students.

2. Supporting learning for all young people

At Centenary SHS, we achieve this by through encouragement and recognising effort, checking understanding and giving feedback for all learners.

3. Providing social support

At Centenary SHS, we achieve this by helping to build connections with other students and creating opportunities to participate in school events and activities.

4. By promoting respect and inclusion

At Centenary SHS, we achieve this by treating students fairly and supporting our students to learn from their mistakes (to develop a growth mindset).

I am looking forward to making a difference in our school community by leading positive education so there is a strong synergy between learning, wellbeing and our moral purpose.

Year 9

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our Year 9 students and parents/carers to the 2023 school year. It is a privilege to remain as your student’s Deputy Principal, and continue to ensure all learners feel a strong sense of belonging at our school. The Year 9 team supporting your student’s learning and wellbeing are:

• Year 9 Home Group teachers (please see your student’s diary for the QR code for each teacher’s email address)
• Mr Zac Zammit – Year Level Coordinator
• Ms Carly Manche – Head of Department (Junior School)
• Ms Brooke Davis – Deputy Principal

Our team is dedicated to providing clear communication to ensure our community is up-to-date with important events. During Term 1, students will participate in NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) testing. The tests will occur from Wednesday March 15th – Monday March 27th, and all information will be communicated via email closer to the date. Our students will also engage in a practice test on Thursday February 23rd. In the interim, please don’t hesitate to contact our team with any questions or queries.

I look forward to working together this year to ensure your student flourishes at our school in 2023.

Year 10

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the Deputy Principal of Year 10. This is my second year as Year 10 Deputy Principal at Centenary SHS and I am very much looking forward to working with all the students and families of this cohort in 2023.

Just a couple of reminders:

Diaries – students are required to have their school diary at school on their desk for every lesson. Can I ask that as parents/carers, you regularly check your student’s diary as it will contain important information. This includes homework, assessment dates, TrackEd profiles, etc.

Attendance – attendance is a major focus in 2023 at Centenary SHS. If your student is unable to attend school, please contact the school or reply to the text message service to explain their absence.

Uniform – Centenary SHS is proudly a 100% full-uniform school. Our Uniform Policy was developed in consultation with parents/carers, students and the wider community. Our students wear the uniform correctly and with pride. If your student is unable to wear the correct uniform to school, please contact either Mr Watkins or myself.

Year 11

It’s been a busy start to Term 1 as Year 11 students embark on their QCE or QCIA pathway and settle into the routine and rigour of their senior phase of learning. Selecting those subject that support student attainment is critical to QCE and/or ATAR success. Students have the opportunity to change their subjects during the first three weeks of Term 1 and will have a second opportunity to change subjects at the end of Unit 1 (June 2023). Students will have a final opportunity to change subjects at the end of Unit 2 (November 2023). The request to change subject form has been emailed to both students and their parents/carers and hard copies are available from the Front Counter in the Administration Building.

All students in Year 11 are expected to attend STEP every Wednesday during Lesson 4. The Term 1 program will focus on the skillsets necessary for QCE success. Students should not be leaving school during this time and we encourage parents/carers to support the school with this request. In Terms 2, 3 and 4, those students who remain in Good Standing will be permitted to undertake flexible learning during Lesson 4 on a Wednesday.

Key to your student’s success is home/school communication. Integral to this is information around curriculum and studies, assessment, school activities, as well as career and transition information. Due to the need for timely sharing of information, most communication between school and home will be electronic. This information is shared using the parent/carer email address provided to the school. If you do not receive the school newsletter, please subscribe at:

We look forward to working closely with your student this year!

Inclusion

A big welcome to 2023 from the Inclusion Team!

My name is Deborah McIntyre and I am the Deputy Principal for Inclusion at Centenary SHS. I collaborate with all HG teachers, class teachers, Year Level Coordinators, Deputy Principals, inclusion teachers and teacher aides to support students to access quality differentiated teaching practices in every classroom. Students may require access to adjustments and support at different levels of intensity and frequency and this can change throughout their high school journey.

A number of additional student support services and extra-curricular activities are available each day. These will be regularly updated on our website and can be accessed by students on their homepage.

• Drop in and Learn (D.I.A.L) – Open every day in both AM and PM breaks for all students

Classroom teacher aides support students with completion of assignments and homework tasks.

• Games Club – Open every day in AM break in GS 06

Bring your friends and play games in a supervised environment.

• Model Club – bring your own model to design, build and paint with specialised tution from our resident Model expert ‘Mr Claire’.

Open to all students - Monday and Friday AM break in GS34.

NAPLAN – Year 7 and Year 9

Students in Years 7 and 9 will undertake NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) testing in Term 1 this year. The tests will occur between Wednesday March 15th and Monday March 27th. Parents/carers will be emailed a schedule closer to the date. The school has already been working to prepare our students for these online tests, by installing the NAPLAN lock-down browser on students’ devices. Further preparation will occur in upcoming weeks when students will undertake a practice test on Thursday February 23rd. All parents/carers should have already received an email regarding the testing program.

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

Matt Smith, Deputy Principal (Year 8)
Email: rsmit925@eq.edu.au

Brooke Davis, Deputy Principal (Year 9)
Email: bldav0@eq.edu.au

Cameron Webb, Deputy Principal (Year 10, ATSI)
Email: cwebb2@eq.edu.au

Angela Raven, Deputy Principal (Year 11, QCE)
Email: arave7@eq.edu.au

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

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

INTERNATIONAL

The International Department at Centenary SHS would love to welcome you to 2023 – the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese Lunar calendar. Many other cultures in East Asia also observe the holiday including, Korea, Singapore and Vietnam.

After experiencing a slow return of numbers in 2022, numbers so far this year have exponentially exploded with the intake of 21 new International students. We welcomed them through our Orientation program. In total we have 37 students across all year levels and from a diverse range of countries including Vietnam, Germany, Korea, China, South Africa, PNG, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Nauru and Taiwan. Last year, our 2022 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 Karmyn Stallard as our new Homestay Coordinator (HC), who will be able to use her wealth in all-things homestay and administrative experience to support our students and the Homestay parents/carers. Adam Richter (International Program Coordinator), Diana Huber (International Student Coordinator), and Mel Evans (International Teacher Aide) stay on with the team.

On the 1st of February, we celebrated Lunar New Year at school, the year of the Rabbit. Celebrations of Chinese New Year traditionally last for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival. People born in a year of the Rabbit are predicted to have longevity, and peace. 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope.

We also welcomed a Delegate visit from EQI and Japan Nodai No#1 Highschool, on Friday February 3rd.

We have two confirmed study tours this semester:

• Term 1: 17 female students and 2 chaperones from Jinai Joshi Girls High School from Japan – 10/03/2023 to 24/03/2023;
• Term 2: 20 male students and 2 chaperones from Taichung Boys First Senior High School from Taiwan: 17/04/2023 to 25/04/2023;

Both study tours require Homestays, usually a double placement, helping the students to feel safe and comfortable. This is a great way to trial being a Homestay host.

Are you looking to experience new cultures while being renumerated on a fortnightly basis for your care?

As a host provider, you provide a secure family environment with a bedroom, study area, three meals a day and contribute to the brilliant reputation Queensland has of providing the perfect Aussie cultural experience.

Homestay families are a smorgasbord of diversity. They are married couples with or without kids, singles, singles with kids, dog people, cat people and grandparents too. Placements for study tours, short-term and long-term students of various ages from Japan and beyond are needed, all applications welcome.

Find out more at http://bit.ly/eqi-homestay-host.

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

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

Karmyn Stallard, International Homestay Coordinator
Email: kjsta0@eq.edu.au

Mel Evans, International Teacher Aide
Email: mevan265@eq.edu.au

BUSINESS MANAGER

Curriculum charges

Invoices for the 2023 Curriculum Charges will be processed and emailed to parents/carers. To allow parents/carers to budget and/or enter into payment plans, these invoices are not required to be finalised until July 31st, 2023.

Curriculum Charges are an additional charge for some specific areas of study which require extra, intensive resourcing. These charges cover activities and resources outside of the Student Resource Scheme.

An overview of all fees and charges will be uploaded to our website in the coming weeks. 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.

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

As invoices are processed, you may receive multiple emails from the school. To save time and confusion, we recommend you ignore all invoices and wait for your statement to be emailed.

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 .

Clearance forms

All students should have returned their 2022 Clearance Form by now. If your student has not returned their form, could you please encourage them to do so as soon as possible. This process ensures that resources borrowed from the school are returned and accounted for. These items may include textbooks, library books, musical instruments and other equipment that will be required in 2023.

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 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:

and click the ‘Newsletter’ tab to subscribe, or go directly to the link:

You will need to complete and submit the ‘Subscribe’ form on the website.

Families experiencing financial difficulty

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.

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

GUIDANCE

Introducing our Connections Team

This year the Connections Team at Centenary SHS consists of two Guidance Officers, a school-based Provisional Psychologist, a School-Based Youth Health Nurse, and our happiness hound.

Guidance Officer – Years 7, 9 and 11
Gayle Rausch

Guidance Officer – Years 8, 10 and 12
Nicole Trembath

Provisional Psychologist
Lucinda Ware (preferred name Lu)

School Based-Youth Health Nurse
Sarah Kelly

Happiness Hound
Betty (Betty is starting work at Centenary SHS after the Easter holidays).

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

• Use the below QR code (which is also in your student’s school diary and 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 (emails available from the school’s website)
• Visit Connections (WH Building) before school or during break times to make an appointment

The role of a 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 (including the school nurse and psychologist) 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.

The Connections Team looks forward to supporting young people at Centenary SHS in 2023.

A message from Betty

I am looking forward to starting work at Centenary SHS in Term 2. Some of you may have met me on photo day when I popped in to get my photo taken. Over the course of this term, I will be popping in with my trainer, Dean, every 1 – 2 weeks for an on-site training session, so I look forward to meeting more of you before my official start date.

Can I remind all of you that I am very well-trained but I am still a Labrador and I am always, always hungry! Please make sure that you do not litter or drop food in the playground as I may eat it – paper, plastic and all! This is very bad for me as it could make me sick, particularly as I have never eaten human food.

So please:

Bin it for Betty!

Woof, woof!

Gayle Rausch, Guidance Officer Years 7, 9 & 11
Email: gsutc2@eq.edu.au

Nicole Trembath, Guidance Officer Years 8, 10 & 12
Email: ntrem1@eq.edu.au

SCHOOL NURSE

School-Based Youth Health Nurse

My name is Sarah and I am delighted to join Centenary State High School as the School-Based Youth Health Nurse (SBYHN) this year.

I am a Registered Nurse and my role is to work alongside the school community to promote health and wellbeing, create a supportive, healthy school environment and connect students with other support services.

I can provide students with information and brief interventions around issues that affect young people which includes but not limited to;

• healthy eating and physical activity
• feeling unhappy, angry, anxious or stressed
• relationships
• healthy skin and body image
• sexual health
• smoking, vaping, alcohol, and other drugs
• personal and family problems
• growth and development

The SBYHN service is both voluntary and confidential; this means information is not shared unless permission is given to do so. As a health service provider, I respect this. However, there are some things which I must refer or act upon to keep young people safe.

In most cases, it is best for young people to talk to their parents/carers about health and wellbeing issues and I can help support young people to do this.

I am unable to provide treatment such as first aid, medications, physical examinations or ongoing counselling.

Please encourage the young person in your care to come and see me if they have any health-related questions or issues and please feel free to contact me if you feel I am able to offer health support.

I am at Centenary SHS every Monday, Tuesday and every 2nd Wednesday. My room is in the Connections Building (opposite the Administration Building).

Students can make an appointment by emailing nurse.centenary@health.qld.gov.au or they can drop into my room at AM break, PM break or before school.

Sarah Kelly, School Nurse
Email: nurse.centenary@health.qld.gov.au

SPORTS DIRECTOR

Welcome to a new year of sport at Centenary SHS. My name is Tamara Nasalio and I am the Northern District Sports Director and James Garrard 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

Centenary SHS has already had success at the Regional level with two students being selected into their chosen sporting teams.

Congratulations to Kierah who was selected for the 13 – 19 years girls’ softball team as well as the 15 – 18 years girls’ baseball team. This is a huge achievement and we are very proud of her commitment to her chosen sports.

Congratulations to Ashleigh who has been selected in the Met West cricket team to compete in the State titles later this year. Ashleigh has persistently trialled and worked hard in order to gain this selection and it is great to see in her final year at Centenary SHS she has achieved this goal.

Isabelle has already represented Met West at the State trials for Triathlon. This event takes a huge amount of commitment and training in order to compete at this high level. A true credit to both Isabelle and to her family. Isabelle placed 37th out of a field of about 90. Isabelle has also been chosen as the swimmer for the Met West Junior Team A and placed 4th overall. Isabelle was the second junior out of the water in some very difficult conditions.

Sports calendar 2023

The sports calendar for 2023 is attached to this newsletter article. Carnival dates are listed as well as District and Regional Trial dates. Please download this calendar if your student is interested in trialling for sporting teams. There are also constant changes to the calendar and these changes are always uploaded to the school website and can also be found on the Met West website.

Sporting pathways at Centenary SHS

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

1. School carnivals – Centenary SHS runs Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics carnivals annually. During these carnivals, all students can compete for their houses with the points going towards the Champion House Shield. Students can compete for Age Champion and to gain selection to the district carnivals. To participate in the school’s carnivals, students will need to nominate and act on information provided to them by the Sports Directors and HG teachers prior to each carnival.
2. District and Regional Trials (Sports Director – Ms 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 a limited number of students to the trials. The trials tend to be after school. If successful, students 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 the 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 – Mr Garrard)
   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.

District swimming trials

On Monday February 6th, 21 students represented Centenary SHS at the Northern District Swimming Trials. It was fantastic to see the trial go ahead after a few years of disruptions due to COVID-19. These trials are to select students for the Met West Championships that will be held in late March. Results will be published in the next newsletter.

Congratulations to the following students:

Emily
Chloe
Alicia
Benjamin
Rihanna
Tayla
Ian
Isabelle
Lukas
Isaac
Liam
Caylee
Neve
Alvin
Simon
Dannielle
Samantha
Jackson
Charlotte
Mary
Raphael

Northern Eagles is one of the toughest districts in Brisbane and it is a credit to all students who competed at this level.

House Captains 2023

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 – Matthew and Marah

Curragundi – Megan and Ashleigh

Jarup – Madelyn and Nate

Moolanda – Ruby and Georgia

Please contact Ms 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 sports, please contact Mr Garrard via email jgarr57@eq.edu.au .

Dates to know: upcoming sporting events in Term 1
22 February: Regional Swim Carnival
31 March: Centenary SHS Cross Country
29 March: Junior Gala Day
Please check the calendar for all trial dates.

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

James Garrard, West Brisbane Sports Director
Email: jgarr57@eq.edu.au

eLEARNING

We have begun to distribute to all families an updated permission form for third party online services that we use. These services are used to enhance the educational experience of your student by providing additional resources and support in their learning.

For the first time, the form will be completed via the QParents app. By completing this and other forms via QParents, you can conveniently keep your student's permissions up to date without the need for paper forms.

If you'd prefer a paper form, have questions about third party services, or want to get started with QParents, please contact the school at technology@eq.edu.au .

Thank you for supporting this initiative. We are committed to ensuring the safety and security of your student's personal information and the responsible use of technology in our school.

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

JUNIOR SECONDARY

The Junior School has been buzzing with excitement with the start of the school year. We were very happy to welcome our brand-new Year 7 students for their first day of high school and we were very proud of them as they negotiated this transition with bravery and curiosity. The Year 7 students spent their first day in their HG classes, getting to know their teachers and building positive relationships with their peers.

Our whole Junior School came together at our first full-school assembly, where we welcomed each cohort. Years 8 and 9 students enjoyed a HG lesson with their teachers, before resuming normal classes.

I would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of our Junior School Year Level Coordinators: Rachel Habermann (Year 7), Mandy Kaur (Year 8) and Zac Zammit (Year 9), who meticulously planned the HG lessons in order for our students to feel happy, connected and settled for the school year.

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

SENIOR SCHOOLING

Celebrating 2022 success

2022 was another remarkable year for our students in the senior school at Centenary SHS. Our 2022 Year 12 cohort all graduated and achieved their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) or Queensland Certificate of Individual Achievement (QCIA). In addition to this, all students who were eligible for an ATAR received an ATAR, which is an outstanding achievement. We celebrated the success of our high achieving ATAR students at our Investiture Ceremony – with 3 of our students receiving an ATAR of 99 or higher. Congratulations to Arthur (99.85), Ebony (99.25) and Cyrus (99.00). To put these results in perspective, of the 27245 students in Queensland who were eligible for an ATAR last year, these results place Arthur in the top 99 students in the state, Ebony in the top 520 students and Cyrus in the top 686 students. Their ATAR is higher than 97.5% of students in the state.

We also had 3 Year 12 students achieve 100/100 in one of their General Subjects in 2022. Congratulations to Jordyn (Visual Art), Cyrus and Matthew (Music Extension) on these amazing results!

In the Vocational Education space, we had a number of students who were completing a school-based apprenticeship last year. We would like to congratulate Kristy, Seth, Nick, Alex and Jayden who have turned their school-based apprenticeship into a full-time apprenticeship in 2023.

Year 10

In 2023, we welcome a new cohort of students to our Senior School space. This year promises to be another busy year for our Year 10 students. We begin the year with our students undertaking a Certificate II in Active Volunteering. Students will complete the theory modules at school and undertake 20 hours of volunteering in our local community throughout the year. Students have an option to undertake these volunteering hours in a one-week block during Term 2 of Week 10. They may also choose to undertake these on the weekends/school holidays. More information about this will be emailed home to Year 10 parents/carers.

VET

In the Vocational Education and Training (VET) space, we have a number of school-based apprenticeships and traineeships available that students can sign up for. Students need to check their emails for opportunities that are sent by Mrs Chadburn, our Industry Liaison Officer. Students can come and see Mrs Chadburn at breaks in SL15.

Mrs Chadburn also emails students and parents/carers the Options Career Bulletin fortnightly. This provides current, timely and informative career information and key dates for students and parents on a range of topics such as university/TAFE entry requirements, apprenticeship/traineeship information and information about how to enter different career paths. A must-read for our students and parents each fortnight.

2023 sees us continue our partnership with Mater Education – this year, we have 20 students who are undertaking a Certificate II and Certificate III in Health Services Assistance right here at school in HE02. Students participate in these lessons every Monday and upon completion, will be recognised as an Assistant in Nursing (AIN). We have also begun a partnership with Unity College to deliver a Certificate IV in Justice Studies as part of the timetabled Years 11 and 12 curriculum. Our class of 15 students are working hard with Mrs Kerridge in this class. Completion of this qualification can be used as an entry point to the Queensland Police Service. Good luck students with your studies.

Years 11 and 12

In Years 11 and 12, our students continue to have access to ATOMI. This is an online learning platform that students can access from home to study and revise content delivered in their curriculum classes. Students have access to videos to help explain content and quizzes to power learning beyond the classroom. ATOMI can also help students create their own mock exams to ensure they are prepared for their assessment. Year 12 students are currently finalising their IA1 assessment and beginning IA2 for their curriculum subjects. In Year 11, their first piece of assessment for Unit 1 will be completed this term. Good luck students in preparation for your first assessment items of 2023.

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

POSITIVE EDUCATION

Welcome to all new and returning families to Centenary SHS! It has been so pleasing to see our new Year 7 cohort transition to high school and witness new relationships develop. This has also been evident with our new students in Years 8 through to 12. Through our Positive Education approach at Centenary SHS, we place a key focus on the 24 Character Strengths and ways in which students can use their top strengths each and every day. Character Strengths are the positive human qualities that serve as pathways for living a good life. Our Signature Strengths (or top strengths) are:

1. essential for us to get through the day
2. easy for us to use
3. energising – by keeping us uplifted and in the mood

Priority here at Centenary SHS will be helping students to consider when, how, and why certain strengths are appropriate and useful in different situations (Biswas-Diener et al., 2010). Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that “we cannot always build the future for our young people, but we can build our young people for the future” (Norrish, 2015). Helping our students identify their signature strengths and use them in their everyday lives may provide a route toward a psychologically fulfilling life. All students at Centenary SHS will be completing the VIA Character Strengths Survey during their PEEC lessons in HG (VIA Survey). Please refer to Page 24 in the student diary, where individual strengths will be recorded. This not only provides students with an understanding of their own signature strengths, but also tips on how they can spot strengths in others.

In this edition, I share with you 4 character strengths students can draw upon to make a great start to the school year – Kindness, Love of Learning, Self-Regulation and Social Intelligence. Use the infographic to familiarise yourself with the meaning of these strengths and ways to encourage your young person to use these every day. I encourage parents/carers to predict their signature strengths before taking the survey. Were the results surprising, affirming or interesting? Looking forward to sharing more about Character Strengths in future editions.

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

FACULTIES

ARTS

Welcome to the 2023 school year. We are super excited and have a busy year planned ahead in the Arts Faculty. Have you liked the school’s official Facebook account? We share lots of our Arts stories and information on the school Facebook page – I encourage you to follow the page and give our posts a like!

Staffing update

We welcome new staff member, Mrs Tara Fuhrmann, to Centenary SHS this year, working part time (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays). Tara is an experienced music teacher and will be teaching Music Extension, in addition to Junior Music. Tara is also taking on the role of Cultural Coordinator this year.

We also welcome back Mrs Claire Masters, who has returned following the birth of her son, also working part time, teaching Junior Performance.

Ms Sarah McLeod will be on leave for a couple of weeks during the year, as she is the lead actor in a touring show. Recently, we found out that she has been nominated for a Matilda Award (celebrating the achievements of the Queensland Theatre Industry) – in the category of ‘Best Actor in A Leading Role’ (Independent Production). Congratulations, what an amazing achievement! Throughout the year, Ms McLeod will be replaced by the wonderful Ms Maddie Nixon.

Student success

Our 2022 Year 12 Arts students certainly attained some amazing results and we are very proud of all of their achievements. Three students achieved the highest result in the state, the perfect subject score of 100/100. For the second year in a row, our Arts students were the only students to achieve this perfect 100 at Centenary SHS! A huge congratulations goes to Cyrus, Matthew and Jordyn, for their outstanding results in Music Extension Composition and Visual Art. We can’t forget their brilliant teachers, who have guided them to those results, Mr Mark Watkins and Mrs Vanessa Duschka.

We would also like to congratulate our top three school achievers, with ATAR results over 99 – Arthur, Ebony and Cyrus! All three of these students were Instrumental Music students, with impeccable attendance at ensembles and lessons and have really proven that music does make you smarter! Don’t believe me? – check out the research for yourself! A really interesting read is Oliver Sack’s Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain.

In addition to this, we had 12 students achieve 25/25 on their external exams – another amazing achievement! The standard of teaching and learning in the Arts Faculty is very high, with exceptional teachers, and I can’t thank them enough for their dedication to student outcomes. We can’t wait to see what our 2023 Year 12 students achieve.

We had the pleasure of formally introducing and inducting the 2023 Arts Captains at the recent Investiture Ceremony. At the end of 2022, we had a record number of quality applications for the role of Arts Captain, and could have selected any of the students – it was a difficult decision for the panel of staff to make. The final eight are an outstanding group of young people, and we can’t wait to see what they achieve, showcasing and celebrating The Arts in 2023.

The Year 12 Arts Captains for 2023 are:

Anoria, Holly, Trinity, Melissa, Hayley, Shaekayla, Alyssa and Roselle.

Extra-curricular news

We have finalised the auditions for our Centenary SHS Dance Troupes and rehearsals have commenced. This year, with the whole school musical, we will only compete in competitions in Semester 1, including the Evolution Dance Comp and the Brisbane Performing Arts Challenge. We have students in troupes from Years 7 – 12 across the genres of contemporary, lyrical, jazz and hip-hop. We look forward to sharing more about the Dance Troupes as the year goes on. The Dance Troupes in 2023 will be co-ordinated by Ms Georgia Milford, who can be contacted via email: gmilf0@eq.edu.au . The choreography and rehearsals for some of the troupes will be organised by 2021 graduate Caitlin Rowland.

Our biennial school musical is this year, and we are thrilled to be performing Matilda Jnr! We have already held an information meeting for students who would like to participate in the musical. At this meeting we had well over 100 students wanting to find out more information about the musical. From this meeting, over 60 students (a record number!) signed up to audition for a lead role.

Students can participate in the musical in a variety of ways – being in a lead role, being in the ensemble (singing/dancing/acting), being in the backstage crew, making and creating sets and props, working in stage management, designing posters etc. In Term 1, students in Years 7 – 9 can choose STEP to begin rehearsals and preparations for the musical, and in Term 2, after school rehearsals commence for students in all year levels. Students would need to be available on Thursday afternoons until 5:00pm to participate in the musical. If you would like more information, you can contact the Matilda director, Ms Stenlake: ssten22@eq.edu.au or production manager, Mr Watkins: mwatk16@eq.edu.au .

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, Mrs Tara Fuhrmann, with information for the 2023 program. If you have not received this information, please contact Mrs Fuhrmann: tfuhr2@eq.edu.au . There are also spare copies of timetables and information sent out in the CPAC foyer – look for the red Instrumental Music table. All students should have a copy of their IM timetable in their diary, so they can remember when to attend lessons and to show their classroom teacher.

Mrs Fuhrmann 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.

*Mr Hoey is currently on leave, returning on February 27th, 2023. He is being replaced by Mrs Brereton.

Mr Josh Clifford, our wonderful choir and vocal ensemble director, also teaches individual and group vocal lessons at the school. He currently has a few vacancies for vocal lessons. If you are interested, please email Mr Clifford: jclif131@eq.edu.au .

Our first events of 2023 are the Instrumental Music Camps. You should have received information about camp #1 via email. Please check the email for the due dates – there is a short turnaround for this camp. The junior camp involves students from the concert band and string ensemble. We look forward to sharing stories from camp in the next edition.

Please find a copy of our date claimer below. We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events.

Centenary State High School Cultural Date Claimer 2023

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

ENGLISH

Welcome to a new year at Centenary SHS, especially to our new students in Year 7 and others who have come to us from other schools. This is a great place to be.

I want to congratulate our recently graduated Year 12 students and express my pride in their outstanding achievements and success in their chosen pathways.

The English staff has been putting a great deal of effort into planning and preparing for your students as we continue to refine and improve our delivery of the Australian Curriculum in Years 7 – 10. Also, we will work alongside our seniors as they move towards their external assessment tasks. We aim to support all students in their learning and will work with your student/s to develop and extend their confidence and ability in both written and spoken English skills.

The English Department Assessment Calendar will soon become available on OneSchool and I encourage all parents/carers to become familiar with the due dates for assessment. In addition, English semester overviews for Years 7 – 10 will be published on each student’s class OneNote, providing an outline of the English work which will be studied this semester, along with details about assessment dates. This overview document will help your student to develop time management skills and good study habits.

One great study habit that we require of all students is the need to draft assessment responses so that teachers can provide meaningful feedback. Please refer to the relevant pages of the student diary for information about the assessment policy, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

As a faculty, we are focusing on regular handwriting in classrooms. Research shows that students require these motor skills, and that their learning is significantly enhanced by frequent, regular and extended periods of handwriting. To that end, it is imperative that students in all year levels have an English exercise book in which to write every lesson, as well as their laptop or device.

It is important to all of us in the English Department that our students are enjoying their learning. If you have questions, concerns or your student is experiencing difficulty, please feel free to contact me or the classroom teacher, the Year Level Coordinator or a Guidance Officer. We are happy to support students and to address problems early.

I would like to welcome new members of staff to the English Faculty: Nicky Poder, Evan Thompson and Fox Saker. Welcome back also to Claire Masters.

We are looking forward to a happy, exciting and successful 2023.

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

SCIENCE

2022 presented some normality to school engagement. We hope 2023 continues to incorporate normality and stability as COVID-19 infection rates continue to decrease. It is pleasing to observe students are settling into our school’s expectations and routines:

1. getting to class on time

2. lining up before entry to class

3. keeping mobile phones out of sight

We would like parents/carers to continue encouraging and supporting their student to always present to class with their:

1. notebook

2. writing equipment and calculators

3. laptop

In addition to the class OneNotes, in Science, students also have the opportunity to reinforce their understanding of science concepts through TWO very engaging platforms, depending on the year level.

Years 7 - 10: STILE

STILE has become very much a part of how we deliver Junior Science at Centenary SHS. Specific STILE lessons could be assigned as classwork and/or homework to support student learning in a range of interesting formats – from providing a different perspective on how a science concept applies to real life experiences to checking student understanding of concepts.

Years 11 - 12: ATOMI

ATOMI is a platform that provides the opportunity to review and reinforce concepts studied in the class through engaging videos and quizzes. It serves as a strong revision tool in preparation for the external exams. Our past students have derived some outstanding outcomes across the all of the disciplines Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Psychology through the use of ATOMI.

QCE Science results

The 2022 Science students have continued to maintain outstanding results and 100% pass across ALL four science disciplines.

Santos Science experience week

Centenary SHS has been participating in this program for the many years now. We would like to thank Centenary Rotary for their 50% of cost sponsorship of each student.

The program is designed to provide students with an opportunity to engage in a wide range of fascinating science activities under the guidance of scientists who love their work. Over 4 days, students engaged in activities at Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology & University of Queensland.

One aspect of the program often commented on by participants is the opportunity to meet and share ideas with students from different schools. This is what Lucy (Year 10) had to say about her experience:

“During the school holidays, I participated in the Santos three-day science experience. We visited a different university every day, the first one being QUT. QUT was probably my favourite day out of all three, but each day was just as interesting as the one before. At QUT, my group got a tour of the campus, listened to a few lecturers' experiences with science, made slime, made a luminescent chemical reaction, assembled a human skeleton, and viewed CT scans. On the second day of the program at Griffith University, my group made a scaled-down trebuchet, built a LEGO environment with a LEGO Masters contestant, learnt how science can be applied in the real world, viewed strawberry DNA, and learnt about forensics. UQ was the last university we visited during this experience. My group built and tested wind turbines, made a prosthetic leg with plungers, viewed fossils under a microscope, learnt about Koch’s Snowflake Pattern, and learnt about snakes. I enjoyed the experience as I learnt a lot about STEM, got to meet new people, and got kitted out with some awesome university merchandise. I would recommend this experience to everyone, especially those who are interested in science.”

UQ Science Ambassadors

Our UQ Science Ambassadors attended the UQ Science Ambassador 22nd Anniversary and Awards Evening on October 7th, 2022. Our ambassadors were presented with an award in recognition of the many

Centenary SHS science ambassadors and ambassador teachers who have made a significant contribution to the promotion of science and mathematics within our school and local community over the past 16 years. Congratulations to our incredible science ambassadors, both past and present!

Science & Engineering Challenge

This year, the school is sending a group of students to participate in the QUT Science and Engineering Challenge on the 17th of February.

This is a whole-day competition between Years 9 and 10 students from a range of different high schools. The objective from this competition is to design and construct a series of devices that solve a presented problem, and then test their devices against other school teams. Historically, devices made in the challenge include catapults, hovercrafts, airships, Martian vehicles and bridges. In addition to an interesting and fun day for the students, this also provides them with the opportunity to apply critical and creative thinking skills in regards to a variety of posed challenges.

Big Science & International Chemistry quiz

These are the only TWO written competitions offered to students. The Big Science competition is open to Years 7 – 10 students only while the International Chemistry Quiz is open to students across Years 7 – 12. Both tests will be completed online. A letter will be sent home later this term providing more details and inviting students to nominate for one or both competitions. Students will be expected to make payment at time of nomination.

Competitions of this nature serve to check student’s comprehension and analytical skills in addition to their ability to apply their knowledge of learnt science to real life scenarios. The direct benefit to students, however, is it helps to raise their profile irrespective of the outcome. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in competitions.

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

YEAR LEVEL COORDINATORS

Year 12 Report

And just like that, the final year of our journey has begun. It was exciting to begin the year, as the Year 12 cohort of 2023. Our first Year Level Assembly began with some powerful reflections on what was a very successful and enjoyable 2022. Whilst I am sure entering the school on the first day was filled with some excitement and nerves, I have been really impressed with the level of maturity shown by our students so far.

We spent some time on the first day, looking ahead at the big-ticket items for this year, which I know was met with great enthusiasm. We have already ticked off one of our important tasks for 2023…the delivery of the senior jerseys. Can I congratulate our cohort on how well they participated in this process, and a specific acknowledgement of our leaders, who gave up their breaks to assist with the delivery of the jerseys. The jerseys look fantastic!

This term, our theme is “positive emotion” and our PEEC lessons will be centred around this. How can we generate positive emotions for ourselves and others, by showing gratitude, kindness and care to the young people in our community? As always, I am looking forward to an exciting year ahead!

Will McKenna, Year 12 Coordinator
Email: wjmck0@eq.edu.au

Year 11 Report

It’s never a quiet time at the start of a school year, least of all as one starts Year 11 – as our current group of students would be well and truly aware of by now!

With the rapid onset of new terms such as SATE, ATAR, QCE and other initialisms that soon become part of everyday life, it’s been encouraging to see our newly minted Year 11 students tackle the challenges with aplomb. As the new Year Level Coordinator for the Year 11 cohort this year, the reports I’ve had from around the variety of faculties and students alike have been nothing short of sensational. The mix of maturity, humour, and initiative so far, displayed by many, is an encouraging sign for the next two years to come.

Our extended HG sessions on Monday are designed to aid our students in building those core skills that will help them as a whole person – building positive relationships, purpose, and drawing a focus to maintaining healthy habits while experiencing external stressors. This is all drawn from our Positive Education framework, but in response to what students indicated would be most helpful for them as they enter this final stage of schooling. Our key topics of focus for Term 1 are:

1. Sense of Meaning

2. Kindness and Connections

3. Leadership and Teamwork

4. Mind-Body Connection

In other exciting news for the year going forward, we’ll be looking to get started very shortly on other landmark events for Year 11 students…semi-formal and senior jersey designing just to start with!

As we continue to progress throughout the year, our staff thank you for the support of our cohort and school, and please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns that might arise.

Warren Hawkins, Year 11 Coordinator
Email: wjhaw0@eq.edu.au

Year 10 Report

Hello and welcome to 2023! For our Year 10 students, it is a time of new beginnings: new blouses, a new phase of learning in the senior school, new subjects….and, a new Year Level Coordinator.

For those of you that do not know me, my name is Mark Watkins, and I am very proud and excited to be joining the wellbeing team at Centenary SHS in the role of Year Level Coordinator for the fantastic Year 10 cohort. In my natural habitat, you will find me teaching music in CPAC. For the most of my 17 years at Centenary SHS, I have been the Cultural Coordinator. I am very much looking forward to the rewards and challenges that this new role brings, and will do all I can to support every student in this amazing group of young people.

One of our key focuses at Centenary SHS is the Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC) and how we use our key character strengths. For me, my top three character strengths are kindness, humour and humility, which I find are very valuable when working with such a diverse range of young people and their unique qualities and attributes. Throughout the year in the PEEC program, we will explore topics such as grit and persistence, motivation, procrastination, empathy and resilience. We will also partner with our School-Based Youth Health Nurse to share information about the issues of drugs, alcohol and respectful relationships.

Year 10 is a big year. For some of you it will be the end of school life as you reach the compulsory school age and move into other areas of work or education. However, for most of you, it is the beginning of your journey through the senior phase of learning out into the wider world.

We have three “big ticket” items this year:

• Work Experience
• Year 10 Camp
• SET Planning

Over the coming months you will hear much more about each of these from either myself or the other members of the Year 10 team.

Some other big changes this year include the Senior Flexible Learning time on a Wednesday afternoon from Term 2. This opportunity for students to flex-off in Lesson 4 on Wednesdays (usually STEP) will be determined by a number of factors, most specifically, the completion of the core units of the Certificate II in Active Volunteering during STEP in Term 1, and the ability to retain Good Standing within the school. We want to see all Year 10 students be able to make good use of this opportunity, so make sure you get the basics right so you can enjoy this privilege.

A couple of shout-outs:

• Thank you to our amazing Year 10 Mentors who have been doing a fantastic job around the school supporting our Year 7 students and teachers! You guys rock!
• Well done to Millie, Elsie and Niamh who performed a beautiful version of the National Anthem with the flute ensemble on our first assembly!
• Congratulations to Charli from JA10B who will be the Centenary SHS representative for the 2023 Lord Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council! You will be a great ambassador for Centenary Charli!

Should you have any concerns or queries, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.

Mark Watkins, Year 10 Coordinator
Email: mwatk16@eq.edu.au

Year 9 Report

This year, as Year Level Coordinator, I will be using my signature Character Strengths of Honesty, Love and Kindness to help the cohort succeed in all facets of schooling life. Throughout their Year 9 home group work, students will continue focusing on a range of Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC). This year, we will be looking into leadership, teamwork and character development during Terms 1 and 2, the importance of sleep and creativity during Term 3 and finally, gratitude, goal orientation and core values during Term 4. These activities will enable students to build their understanding of wellbeing and give them the tools they need to flourish.

The Centenary SHS moral purpose is to foster positive relationships so that all learners can flourish and feel a strong sense of belonging. These relationships and this sense of belonging will be developed through a House Cup Competition, with events taking place periodically as the weeks roll on. The Term 1 events – dodgeball, trivia and Mario Kart – are the first events students can participate in to contribute to their house points. These events are planned and created with the intention of meeting a wide range of students’ interests. House cup points can be earned through all facets of schooling life, e.g. good behaviour, academic achievement, sporting success and house cup events. Students will use all kinds of Character Strengths such as zest, teamwork, bravery, love of learning, creativity and persistence, while experiencing Positive Emotions, being engaged, building relationships, finding meaning, feeling accomplished and getting healthy!

Zac Zammit, Year 9 Coordinator
Email: zzamm2@eq.edu.au

Year 8 Report

My name is Mandy Kaur and I have the great pleasure of being the Year 8 Coordinator for 2023. We welcomed our Year 8 students back to the start of another exciting school year. Our students made a successful transition from Year 7 to Year 8, and I have heard nothing but praise from both faculties and students alike about this cohort.

I am fortunate to have an extremely strong and passionate teaching team in my Year 8 HG program. We also have four dedicated student forum representatives – Sahana, Mikaela, Daniel and Nina –leading the Year 8 students this year. They have already shown their commitment to their important leadership positions and I can’t wait to see how they flourish in their roles.

Here at Centenary SHS, we use Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC) to inform our HG planning and delivery. The HG lessons centres around the elements of PERMAH - Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment and Health. This term we are focussing on building connections, positivity, kindness and self-knowledge.

The start of the school year was a busy one for our Year 8 students, as they undertook several team building activities designed to foster camaraderie and collaboration among the students. Additionally, our students worked on decorating their classrooms to create a positive and supportive learning environment. They created a "Gratitude Wall", where students could express their gratitude for each other and their teachers. They also displayed their "Character Strengths" to emphasize the importance of personal growth and development, recognizing differences, seeing the difference as strength and understanding that people contribute to the school community in unique but complementary ways.

We are proud of our Year 8 students for their hard work and dedication. We look forward to continued success and growth in the coming year.

Mandy Kaur, Year 8 Coordinator
Email: mkaur51@eq.edu.au

Year 7 Report

Welcome to 2023. My name is Rachel Habermann and I am the Year 7 Coordinator. I am very excited to be able to support and lead our Year 7 students as they flourish at here at Centenary SHS. We had a great first day of school on Monday January 23rd. 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.

2023 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. 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; Respectful and Positive Relationships as well as identifying our signature Character Strengths. The student diary has some fantastic resources available that will allow your student 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 2023. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your student.

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

P&C

Welcome back to school everyone, and a particular welcome to our new Centenary SHS parents/carers.

We had a fantastic response to our uniform try-on days – thank you!

Trackpants and jackets are due to arrive at the beginning of March, just in time for the cooler weather.

The review into the school's uniform policy is well into the consultation phase. Parents/carers can expect to receive an email soon inviting them to provide feedback to the review consultant.

Our Annual General Meeting is scheduled for 7:00pm Wednesday March 15th in the school’s Resource Centre. We're looking for new members to join our executive team. Everything is up for grabs – President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. Please direct any inquiries to pandc@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au and one of the team will be happy to answer any questions you have.

If you’re interested in attending the meeting virtually, from the comfort of your own lounge room, please let us know and we’ll send you the relevant link.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

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

COMMUNITY NOTICES