2024 Kingaroy Highlights #6

Principal's Message

Senior School News

Year 11

Reports were issued at the end of Week 1 this term. Students who want to make subject changes can do so at the end of Unit 1, which is Week 5 this term. They can organise this change before then so it is in place for the beginning of Unit 2 in Week 6. However, they must complete all assessment for the Unit they are currently enrolled in.

Students can see Mrs Kempson, the Senior Schooling HOD, or me to make these changes.

Year 11s will have an exam block in Week 5, to finalise Unit 1. The Senior Review team will then review all Year 11 results and will be contacting parents/caregivers about any concerns. Concerns for the school are when students are awarded an 'N' result for non-submission of work and/or receive below Satisfactory results for Effort and Behaviour.

RYDA
The Rotary club sponsor the RYDA program, a driver awareness program, and this will be occurring for all Year 11 students next Wednesday from lessons 1 to 3 inclusive. While the presenters are very mindful of their presentations, if any items do trigger any past events for students, our Guidance Officer will be available or the student may be able to take a few minutes before reengaging. It is an excellent program and we thank Rotary for their hard work and commitment to the youth and future drivers of the South Burnett.

Year 12

Year 12s have begun their final Unit, Unit 4. Unit 3 reports will be issued in Week 4. While the end of their schooling is in sight, it is really important that students remain focused and continue to do their very best. We stressed a strong start. It is equally important to maintain a strong finish.

Assessment

I cannot stress enough, the QCAA does not allow family holidays to be a reason for a student not sitting an exam on the day that it is scheduled. Holidays, or events of the students/parents/caregivers own choosing that lead to an absence are not grounds for an AARA. If your family does have an occasion on during school time, please contact the school to discuss as there is no flexibility here at all.

UPP (Unleashing Person Potential)

On Wednesday 8 May, the UPP team will be running a LEADING FROM THE FRONT workshop at school for all school leaders, from Year 7 to Year 12. This is an excellent program and of great benefit to our school leaders.

Leanne Krosch
A/Deputy Principal, Educational Achievement - Senior Secondary

Wellbeing and Engagement

A parent approached me during the week and enquired about the school's efforts regarding bullying, vaping, conflicts between students, assessment deadlines, and more. I took the opportunity to explain some of our processes and supports to him.

His immediate reaction, upon hearing these explanations, was extremely positive. However, he noted that many parents are unaware of the fantastic initiatives the school has in place.

In light of this, I wanted to take the opportunity to inform our school community about the positive and educational supports currently being implemented at Kingaroy State High School.

Kingaroy State High School operates as a Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) school. Our approach revolves around acknowledging and reinforcing positive behaviors exhibited by our students. We conduct meetings twice a term, and it's commendable to see the high level of staff attendance at these voluntary sessions.

Every week, all students receive instruction in various PBL lessons covering topics such as bullying prevention, vaping awareness, respectful behavior, embracing diversity, meeting expectations, and adhering to assessment deadlines. These lessons incorporate multimedia elements, including videos featuring members of the local Kingaroy business community, which helps bridge the gap between school and the outside world. The overarching message of these lessons aligns with our core values: Respect, Resilience, and Responsibility.

We implement Kingaroy Merit Points (KMPs) as a means to acknowledge positive behavior. Students earn KMPs electronically or through paper forms when their exemplary behavior is noticed. At the end of each term, when students accumulate the desired number of points (typically around 120 KMPs), they are rewarded with incentives such as Tuckshop Vouchers, a Maccas Burger Bash and Pizza Parties.  End-of-year trips to amusement parks like Movie World and Bli Bli Water Park, along with the Year 12 Formal serve as incentives for attendance, positive behavior, and academic effort.

Upon his arrival at the school, Mr Thomson made a commitment to enhance the Junior Secondary experience. He restructured the roles within Junior and Senior leadership to provide better support for student outcomes. This involved appointing five Head of Departments to oversee student engagement in Years 7 to 10, as well as the appointment of ten Year Level Coordinators. Through weekly case management meetings, students receive personalised attention to ensure optimal academic performance. Our engagement teams work collaboratively to connect students with external agencies and school services, enroll them in appropriate programs, monitor their progress, utilise the Student Engagement Centre, and maintain regular communication with parents.

As a result of these efforts, Kingaroy State High School has witnessed remarkable improvements in attendance, academic results, and student behavior.

We are proud of the progress we've made and remain committed to providing a supportive and enriching environment for all our students.

Steve Perrett
Deputy Principal, Wellbeing and Engagement

Avoca Street Closure 30 April and 1 May

Aquatic Practices

On Friday 19th of April, forty-one Year 11 Aquatic Practice students ventured for a field trip to Point Vernon at Hervey Bay. Here students were required to conduct two site field data collections: one being at the boat ramp area where rocky shores are present, the second being slightly around the corner in the mangroves. At the rocky shores habitat, students needed to identify species found in this location, count and record data to be used for their assessment. In the mud flats, students needed to pump for varying species and organisms found within substrates of the mangroves and collect data on prevalence of species. From the data collected this day, students will now need to formulate their extended scientific report as part of the aquatic practice studies. An added bonus for the day was that dolphins were feeding close to shore at the rocky shores area, pushing bait fish up in the shallows and the class was all easily able to see this.

Mrs Peddle and Mrs Steinhardt
Aquatic Practices Teachers

Year 7 German

The Year 7 German class have been learning lots of German language as well as a little about German culture.  We’ve recently finished a unit on foods and drinks (Essen und Trinken) and have now challenged each other to a bake-off German cake style.  We learnt that certain cakes can be eaten for breakfast, which seems like a pretty good deal.  Several students have already attempted to make Marmour Kuchen (marble cake) at home.  We were lucky enough to be able sample some of their wares. Needless to say there were only crumbs left behind. 

Mrs Sue Dowideit-Reiger
German Teacher

Youth Parliament Excursion

Three Year 12 Legal Studies students spent last Friday attending the annual Legal Studies Youth Parliament, held in the actual Legislative Assembly chamber at Parliament House in Brisbane. The real Members of Parliament had been sitting in the same seats in the same chamber the day before.

Izabella Grace (Youth Attorney-General), Rory Scott (Member for Gilbert), and Ella Vickery (Member for Barcoo) represented various Queensland government "electorates" for the Youth Parliament, alongside approximately ninety other students from various schools throughout the state.

The purpose of the Youth Parliament is two-fold - to give students the chance to actively participate in the law-making process that any Qld government is involved in, and to sharpen their Legal Studies skills by overseeing the passage of the BUREAUCRATIC INFORMATION GATHERING – DATA ACCESS, TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATION (BIG-DATA) BILL 2024. By participating in the parliament, students were able to fully understand the various perspectives of different lawmakers when a new bill is presented to Parliament on its way to becoming a law.

Every student attending gets to present a one-minute speech, and dependent upon the role being given, is either arguing for or against the bill, or has a chance to bring a local issue to the attention of the Parliament. The Youth Parliament is run by current Speaker of the House, the Honourable Curtis Pitt MP, Member for Mulgrave.

Izabella Grace was able to present a speech against an amendment the Opposition mooted, Ella Vickery spoke to the Parliament about the troubling recidivism rates in Queensland, and Rory Scott spoke about disparity in mental health services between rural and city areas of Queensland.

All three students performed really well, with clear, well-written speeches, positive deliveries of their points, and a notable confidence.

This opportunity for students is a fantastic one, allowing them the chance to operate within the actual parliamentary chamber that our regular politicians use, as well as giving students a very clear understanding of the intricacy of bringing bills to Parliament to become laws. It is also a huge credit to these three students that they chose to accept the opportunity, and push themselves outside of their comfort zone.

Ms N Maudsley
Legal Studies teacher

Clontarf Academy

Ten Clontarf boys and two staff stayed over in the Clontarf room on Wednesday night in preparation for Anzac Day.  They rose early the following morning to attend the 2024 Kingaroy ANZAC dawn service at Memorial Park. Year 8 student Paipi Grevell was approached by the local RSL to deliver the Acknowledgement to Country in front of a very healthy crowd and did a fantastic job.

Both Kingaroy State High School and the Kingaroy Clontarf Academy take immense pride in these boys for their commitment and generosity towards others.

Michael Brown
Director, Kingaroy Clontarf Academy

What parents can do to help reduce screen time

As a parent or caregiver we want our children to be healthy and happy so that they may grow into resilient young adults. Whilst digital devices and screen time continue to play an important role in our children’s lives, it is important to create a balance between online and offline activities to boost both your child’s mental and physical wellbeing.

What’s the problem with screen time?

Using digital devices provides a variety of different learning and recreational experiences for your child; however, device use restricts physical activity, which is important to help your child maintain good health.

What can I do to help reduce my child’s screen time?

Modelling positive behaviours – both in terms of device use and physical activity is vital to help you moderate their screen time. Here are a few simple steps to help you get started:

• Put the phone or device down – model the behaviours you want your child to adopt. Make sure you examine your own screen time and make changes where necessary to reduce your own screen time before expecting your child to do so. For example, agree to leave all devices in a basket or designated area during meal times. It is recommended that parents are to be seen without a screen!
• Play with your child – get active with your child and encourage a healthy, fun and engaging environment together. Just 60% of Australian adults get the recommended 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day, so this will help your activity levels as well as those of your child! If it’s difficult to take the first steps to make change, build your child’s confidence by starting with positive screen-based games before gradually removing the device.
• Set healthy limits – teach your child to choose quality screen time, over quantity. Use the recommendations in the infographic above to help define your family’s screen time limits and stick to them!
  

What else does my child need to grow up healthy and strong?

For optimal health benefits, children and young people (aged 5–17 years) should balance a high level of physical activity with low levels of sedentary behaviour, and sufficient sleep each day. A healthy 24 hours includes:

• Accumulating 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day involving mainly aerobic activities;
• Several hours of a variety of light physical activities;
• Limiting sedentary recreational screen time to no more than 2 hours per day;
• Breaking up long periods of sitting as often as possible;
• An uninterrupted 9 to 11 hours of sleep per night for those aged 5–13 years and 8 to 10 hours per night for those aged 14–17 years; and
• Consistent bed and wake-up times.

Article from https://lifeeducationqld.org.au/reducing-screen-time/

Health News

Exercise Right Week is an annual awareness initiative that is aimed at highlighting the benefits of exercise for your health and wellbeing.  This year’s theme is “Just Move”.

Just moving for 30 minutes a day can make a world of difference to your health and well-being!

In Australia, one in two adults and two in three children aren’t getting enough exercise. As your body changes, so do your exercise needs.

Children & young people aged 5 – 17

1. For health benefits, children aged 5–12 years should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity per day.
2. Children’s physical activity should include a variety of aerobic activities (increasing heart rate), including some vigorous intensity activity.
3. On at least three days per week, children should engage in activities that strengthen muscle and bone.

Adults aged 18 – 64

1. Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you currently do no physical activity, start by doing some, and gradually build up to the recommended amount.
2. Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
3. Accumulate 2 ½ to 5 hours of moderate intensity physical activity or 1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week.
4. Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.

Join the Exercise Right Challenge and engage in any movement for 30 minutes a day for 30 days in May. Whether it’s hiking, playing sport, gardening, housework or walking – just move!

The Exercise Right Challenge is designed to support you in creating daily healthy habits and incorporating movement into your regular routine. Let’s create a healthier and more active Australia together! https://exerciseright.com.au/exercise-right-2024-challenge-sign-up/

Selena Stevens
School Based Youth Health Nurse

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