2023 KINGAROY HIGHLIGHTS #5
Principal's Message
Senior Schooling News
Term 1 in Review
Both Year 11 and 12 students certainly hit the ground running this year.
By the time you read this, both year levels will have just finished their block exams.
Year 12 will have finished almost all Unit 3 assessment and will be reported on early next term.
Year 11 are two thirds of the way through Unit 1 and will also be reported on based on this assessment early next term.
I ask parents and caregivers to take particular note of their student's results for Effort on these report cards. Anything below a 'Satisfactory' in this area should certainly result in a conversation at home around how the student is engaging with that subject and what needs to be improved.
Looking ahead to Term 2 - Year 12 students will be completing their First Aid course practical component in the first three days - students MUST have completed their theory component before they can engage with the practical.
Year 11 students will be working towards another block exam period occurring in Week 5 which will be the end of Unit 1. Students will be able to change subjects between Unit 1 and 2, class sizes permitting.
ATTENDANCE
Year 12 attendance is sitting at just over 90% and Year 11 at just under.
Please keep in mind that our philosophy on this is that students come to school when they are well, which for most students is most of the time. If a Senior student is ill on the day of an exam, an AARA form is required to be completed by a medical professional, or if a student is ill for a number of days, a Medical Certificate should be provided.
Senior Schooling Team
A reminder this team consists of:
Mark Freeman - Deputy Principal, Educational Achievement - Senior Secondary
Leanne Krosch - HOD Senior Schooling
Bec Zischke - Guidance Oficer, Years 10 to 12
Helen Beresford - Deputy Principal Inclusion
Krysty Connelly - HOD Health and Physical Education
Robyn Hourn - Senior Schooling Admin
Any questions you have about Senior Schooling can be directed to any member of the team.
I would like to wish you all a safe Easter holiday and I am looking forward to a great Term 2.
Mark Freeman
Deputy Principal, Educational Achievement - Senior Secondary
Wellbeing and Engagement
Positive Behaviour for Learning
This term we have had a particular focus on rewarding students with Kingaroy Merit Points for showing the three Rs - Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. At the end of Week 9, 65% of our students had reached the goal of seventy-five points, which has earned them a $5 tuckshop voucher (which they will receive in Week 1 of Term 2).
We know that more than 65% of our students are great young people, so we have rewarded all students here today with a free sausage sizzle and fun activities afternoon. It has been a great way to end Term 1!
Have a safe and enjoyable Easter break.
Steve Perrett
A/Deputy Principal, Wellbeing and Engagement
P & C News
The P & C AGM was held on Tuesday night and we welcome the Executive for 2023 -
President - Lois Blanch
Vice President - Danita Potter
Secretary - Tess Reeve
Treasurer - Jason Ditchburn
Helen Greenslade stepped down as Treasurer after a huge 13 year contribution to our school, and we thank her for her effort and support, which continued long after her children finished attending KSHS.
Our tuckshop has taken on the job of catering for the Kingaroy Eisteddfod on the 29th and 30th of April. If you would like to volunteer to assist over this weekend, can you please contact Donna on dkenn178@eq.edu.au
The P & C voted to officially ban the use of mobile phones as a method of payment at the tuckshop, in line with the school's 'No Phone' policy. Tuckshop staff will not be accepting payment from a mobile phone - cash or card are accepted.
The next P & C meeting will be held in the Community Building (Toomey Street entrance) on 23rd May at 6pm.
Helen Greenslade accepting a thank you from Lois, Tess and Jason for her many years of service to the P&C.
Annual Interhouse Cross Country
Parents are advised that this year’s Interhouse Cross Country event will be held on Tuesday May 2, commencing from and finishing on the top oval. All students are expected to participate unless they have a genuine medical reason for not doing so, in which case they should have a note from parents stating this or please email Mr Bunyoung jbuny6@eq.edu.au. These students will be spectators for the event. Students are encouraged to run in house colours but must wear school uniform for the first 3 periods.
Race times (approximate) and distances are as follows:
1.30pm - 15, 16 and Open girls 3.5km
1.35pm - 12, 13 and 14 year old boys 3.5km
1.40pm - 12, 13 and 14 year old girls 3.5km
1.45pm - 15, 16 and Open boys 5.0km
Parents are welcome to attend and spectate the event.
The first four placegetters in each age group will gain selection in the school team to contest the South Burnett Cross Country to be held in Wondai on Tuesday May 9.
John Bunyoung
Sports Coordinator
High Risk Activity Consent
An email was sent to all parents earlier in the week in regards to consent for participation in sporting activities. If you have not received the email you can click on the below link to complete the consent form. The content of the email was as follows:
Throughout 2023, students at Kingaroy State High School will be participating in the Interhouse Year 7-12 Cross Country Carnival (Tuesday 2nd May 2023), Interhouse Year 7-12 Athletics Carnival (Week 9 and 10 of Term 2 2023) and Year 7-12 Health and Physical Education curriculum activities (as scheduled in the Curriculum Plan). The aim of each activity is to provide the full scope of resources and learning experiences to students to enrich learning environments and enhance learning outcomes.
Kingaroy State High School is required to gain Parent/Caregiver consent for students to participate. Consent has to be completed for each individual student. The consent form can be completed here:
Fudooka Exchange
We are happy to announce that after a break of three years due to COVID, our sister school, Fudooka Senior High School in Japan is coming to visit us from 29th July to 4th August. We have a group of twenty senior high school students and two teachers visiting. They will be participating in a variety of school and community activities in Week 4 of Term 3. It will be a great opportunity for them to mingle with our students and for us to showcase our wonderful school.
Part of this cultural exchange program involves the Japanese students living with a Kingaroy student and their family. This is a great opportunity for them to experience first hand our way of life and to form life-long friendships. We are looking for families willing to host a Japanese student during this time. All you need to do is provide them with their own room and bring them to school with your child. Blue cards are essential but the school can organise these for you. If you are interested or would like more information, please get in touch with Mrs Anna Vogelaar on avoge7@eq.edu.au.
Harmony Day
Harmony Day is a celebration of our multicultural diversity and bringing together Australians from different backgrounds. It is about respect, inclusiveness and a sense of belonging for everyone.
Twenty-eight different cultural backgrounds within KSHS were identified by a survey that was made available to staff and students by members of the Cultural Committee, Charlotte and Miriam.
Flags representing each of the countries from the survey results were displayed during our celebration of Harmony Day.
Youth Support Coordinator, Terry, liaised and coordinated with people in the school community including students, teachers, staff, and family members to encourage them to be involved.
Support from the school community is what made Harmony Day such a success. Many dishes were donated by the school community for students and staff to try at no cost. These dishes were from all over the world and included India, Thailand, Philippines, Japan and the Middle East.
Students and staff were encouraged to wear their national dress during the Harmony Day celebration. Our Community Education Counsellor, Toni, organised activities for the students to participate in while they enjoyed their food. These activities included face painting and identifying on a map where the students' families were from.
Overall, Harmony day was a success with lots of empty plates in record time. Many positive comments were made about the event with a large number of students trying a different cuisine for the first time. Thank you to everyone who got involved.
Wakka Wakka Language
Wanda-nin- janande- How are you going?
With assistance from a KSHS parent, we are very excited to be able to start sharing some Wakka Wakka language with you in our newsletter. The language we are sharing has been sourced from the Linguistic Survey of South-East Queensland, by Nils M Holmer, and what better place to start than greetings?
Galangul allara = Good day
Wunya Ngulum = Welcome
Nagara = Hello
Student Council
The Student Council met today to celebrate the number of Kingaroy Merit Points awarded this term and make plans for next term’s rewards. For this term, it was promised that all students who reached seventy-five Kingaroy Merit Points would be given a $5 tuckshop voucher, kindly funded by the P & C. This incentive is to recognise and reward our school’s many students who consistently display the three R’s: Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. The merit points have been handed out by teachers over the term, and we are pleased to announce that 65% of KSHS students have reached seventy-five merit points. That’s seven hundred and thirty-six students who will be receiving a $5 tuckshop voucher for their hard work and good behaviour. Here is a year-by-year breakdown:
Year 7 - out of 186 students, 145 have received a voucher, which is 78%.
Year 8 - out of 202 students, 122 have received a voucher, which is 60%.
Year 9 - out of 197 students, 107 have received a voucher, which is 54%.
Year 10 - out of 206 students, 121 have received a voucher, which is 59%.
Year 11 - out of 183 students, 103 have received a voucher, which is 55%.
Year 12 - out of 161 students, 138 have received a voucher, which is 86%.
Congratulations to all recipients of the tuckshop voucher! For those who missed out, don’t worry! There will be plenty of opportunities to earn merit points next term, and we are already busy discussing new reward ideas!
Somerset Storyfest
Storyfest 2023
What I loved about Storyfest……..
Viana: I liked Craig Silvey. I also enjoyed coming to the school. It was SUPER fancy!
Chloe: I liked Ellie Marney and Dr Sarah Ayoub because they kept me on the edge of my seat while listening.
Soren: It was really interesting listening to the authors talk about what inspired their books and how they started their writing careers.
Katie: I liked Ellie Marney because she talked about murder and my favourite book was The Killing Code.
Eleanor: I liked Ellie Marney because it was super interesting when she talked about her crime and murder books.
Lexi: Listening to Dr Sarah Ayoub made me feel so happy. I think it was because she was so real and easy to connect to. She was such a beautiful person and was so loud. The Storyfest experience was amazing. I was so glad to be able to go again.
Peyton: Storyfest. Was. Awesome. You cannot tell me otherwise. I met authors like Ellie Marney, Sarah Ayoub and Craig Silvey. I spent most of my money on books 😊
• Somerset Storyfest was a great opportunity that I could be a part of it. It was an amazing experience. My favourite author who was at Storyfest was Lynette Noni because her books seemed to really interest me.
• At Somerset Storyfest I had the amazing opportunity to get some authors and journalists to speak to our school about their thoughts behind writing their stories/ books. My favourite author would have been Lynette Noni as it was interesting how she mixed most of the different fantasy elements and put them all in one book series.
• The Somerset Storyfest was an amazing adventure with even more amazing authors. One of my favourite authors was Ellie Marney even though I was unable to hear her seminar.
Archie: In reflection of Storyfest, I learned about the complexity of getting a book published but also the wonderful author’s journey. It was a wonderful experience and I truly enjoyed the fireworks show for the opening party.
Author Craig Silvey meeting two fans
Welfare Committee NBCF Fundraiser
The Year 12 Welfare Committee ran a fundraiser for the National Breast Cancer Foundation during the month of March, committing to doing fifty-seven squats a day. They went to U Block every day to complete this task with the Year 7s and anyone else who was keen to feel the burn! A total of 12,259 squats were completed by the super eager KSHS Squatters.
This was accompanied by the ‘Touch of Pink’ Day on the 28th, when staff and students wore pink with their school uniforms and donated $256. Along with online donations, a total of $605 was raised to go towards helping the National Breast Cancer Foundation fund world-class breast cancer research, which will help put an end to deaths from breast cancer.
Thank you to everyone who participated and donated to this worthy cause.
Community News
