2024 Kingaroy Highlights #15

Principal's Message

Senior Schooling

Year 12
Year 12 students have been completing mock external exams these last two weeks, and these will continue into the first week of next term. This is a great opportunity for students to gauge how they are going, receive feedback and experience the process of the exams. The students have taken this opportunity in their stride, and I am sure they are looking forward to the holidays.
Students completing Applied subjects and VET have been working on assessment, leading to everything being finished and finalised by the Friday 18 October, (third week of Term 4), in preparation for the external exams beginning in Week 4.
It is timely to remind students to continue their focus and commitment to their school work - the light is at the end of the tunnel.

Year 11
Year 11 students have been completing Block exams for Unit 2 these last six days, these will continue until Wednesday 2 October (first week Term 4).

Subject Changes 
Students are able to change subjects between Units 2 and 3 and have two weeks to complete these changes. After this, no more changes can occur as the QCAA consider Unit 3 and 4 a pair.  Students can see myself, Ms Krosch or Mrs Walker to arrange any subject changes.
Moving into Unit 3 next term, students will start to cover summative work which means that it counts towards their ATAR score or their final result for their Senior Statement. It is vitally important that students submit every piece of work because an 'N' result for one piece results in an 'N' result overall (QCAA policy).

If you have any questions regarding senior schooling, please contact a member of the team:

Andrew Maddern - Deputy Principal Educational Achievement - Senior Secondary
Leanne Krosch - Head of Department Senior Schooling
Alysha Walker - Head of Department Senior Schooling
Rob Turner - Head of Department Health and Physical Education
Robyn Hourn - Senior Schooling Administration
Helen Beresford/Cath Glenny - Deputy Principal Culture and Inclusion
Bec Zischke - Guidance Officer 
Sean Wicks - Guidance Officer
Krysty Connelly - QCE team member
Mel Kempson - QCE team member

Mr Andrew Maddern
Deputy Principal, Educational Achievement - Senior Secondary

Wellbeing and Engagement

Year 9 Work Experience
Year 9 students have been given Work Experience Packages in preparation for Work Experience next term, Week 11. Students who have not collected a package can source one from their form teachers. Please encourage your child to partake in this worthwhile opportunity. The deadline for submitting both the Permission Slip and the Work Experience Placements for School Students Agreement is Friday, November 15. 

Year 9 School to Work
The Year 9 Engagement Team will have made the decision on which students will make the School to Work Program by the time this newsletter is distributed. Notification of whether an applicant has been successful will be mailed to parents and/or guardians in the near future.

Australian Catholic University
ACU students will be conducting half-day workshops on Exercise Science for our Year 9 students on Wednesday, November 20. Previous visits have been incredibly enriching and beneficial for the students. The details of the program are still being finalised.

End of Term
Finally, I would like to thank my Year 9 and 10 Engagement Teams for a great third term; Teagan Stumm, Leah Potter, Chelsea Woodard, Michael Stevens, Sue Reddacliff, Alysha Walker and Leanne Krosch. The very personal and individualised service provided to your children by these talented and dedicated people is beyond compare. 

Mr Steve Perrett
Deputy Principal, Wellbeing and Engagement

Year 7 News

Academic Achievement in Semester One

Earlier this term, the Year 7 cohort celebrated the Academic Excellence of twenty-nine of our students in Semester One. All students received As or Bs only in their results for all curriculum subjects which is what we are all aiming to achieve. Congratulations to these students and thank you for being great role models. You have taken great steps towards a bright future.

Ms Helen Maudsley
Deputy Principal, Educational Achievement - Junior Secondary

Sports Awards Night

Queensland Country Cup Netball

A couple of weeks ago, over 160 Kingaroy SHS students joined over 350 students from Gympie SHS, Burnett SC, Goomeri P-10, Nanango SHS, St Mary’s, St John’s, Victory College, St Pat’s Gympie and Murgon SHS to play 136 games of netball in the single gender or mixed netball. With games starting at 7.45am there was plenty of action all round for the entire day. 

Points are collated across terms 2, 3 & 4 when winners of each division, as well as MVPs will be announced. However, each day is about learning and playing netball, learning to umpire, and manage teams, as well as socialising and making new friends from across southern Wide Bay. The Kingaroy SHS students were awesome in their play, sportsmanship and willingness to help others throughout the day. 

A special treat was organised with the visit of three Sunshine Coast Lightning players, Mahalia Cassidy, as well as Australian Diamonds captain, Liz Watson, and Australian Goal Shooter, Cara Koenen. They happily signed shoes, water bottles, arms, posters, hats and much more, and were incredibly giving in their willingness to have photos galore taken. We are grateful that Emma and the team from SCL took the time to visit and share the love of netball with our players and that Kingaroy SHS could share this opportunity with 9 other schools. 

Personally, a huge thank you goes to our staff who took on a multitude of roles on the day, so THANK You for the opportunity you provided, Mrs McAnally, Miss Wakefield, Ms Maudsley, Miss Rosengreen, Miss Sprake, Mrs Bales & Mrs Connelly. We look forward to Week 1 in Term 4 for the last Country Cup Day of 2024.

Ms Helen Maudsley
Country Cup Co-ordinator

Hospitality News

Hospitality Excursion to Brisbane

On August 23rd, twenty-seven excited students left South Burnett with Brisbane as their destination. Our Year 12s had been pestering Mrs Hutton all year about when our excursion was going to be and at last the date was here. 
The first stop of the day was the W Hotel, a tour of their facilities and accommodation, impressed by the inventiveness of their designer’s ability to use the Brisbane River, electric thunderstorms and insects as some of their design features.
Our second stop was the Emporium Hotel. We politely listened and had our back of house tour of their kitchen but many of us had our mind already on lunch. However, even hunger did not stop us from appreciating the opulence of the Frangipani Suite. Lunch was welcome but so was our freedom to explore the cafes on Grey Street and in South Bank.
Finally, we arrived at Eat Street, arriving earlier than opening time to have a presentation on the amazing sustainability practices and touring their own container that was a greenhouse, providing green vegetables to the Eat Street businesses. We all had to make our hardest decision all day, “What should we eat!”

Laura-Jane Davey
Hospitality Student

Utopia Site Visit

Once again Utopia café made their staff available for our Year 11 Certificate II in Hospitality students to visit and learn more about preparation of drinks in their café during one of their blocked exam sessions this week. Students were able to learn about the way the various drinks on the menu were made and served, including the workings of the espresso machine and how to care for it before, during and after service. The students were made aware of some of the practices that cafes can take to reduce their energy and water consumption and be sustainable. Thank you to Crystal for her explanations.

Mrs Lisa Hutton
Hospitality Teacher

SHINE Girls Program

SHINE is a complementary education program to support young girls and young women to give them confidence and learn about self-worth. Built on the premise that true generational change starts with the empowerment of girls. With the support and guidance of positive, trained mentors like Jenny and Dolores, the girls learn to make informed decisions and understand their self-worth. This creates a safe space where they can truly be themselves, find inspiration, achieve personal growth, and develop a sense of belonging within a group of peers facing similar challenges.

Mrs Carmel McKeering
Year 8 Engagement HOD

From the Guidance Officer

Please take a moment to explore the following resources on mental health. These materials provide valuable insights and strategies for maintaining emotional well-being, managing stress, and supporting both personal and community mental health. Whether you're looking for self-help tips, professional guidance, or ways to assist others, these resources can serve as a helpful guide

Mrs Rebecca Zischke
Guidance Officer

Health News

This year, we are being encouraged to ask R U OK? Any Day because life happens every day and a conversation could change a life.  
A lot can happen in a year, a month, a week.  Whether it’s your friend, family member, colleague, partner, or teammate, the people you care about go through life’s ups and downs every day.
By having regular, meaningful conversations, you build trust and normalise talking about what’s really going on, so when the people in your world find themselves struggling, they know you’re someone they can talk to.
Life serves up challenges that can sometimes make us feel overwhelmed, unsure, or unsettled. When that happens it’s comforting to know there is someone, we can talk to who can share the load and help us through. The people in your world won’t always tell you if something’s troubling them, so it’s important for you to consider what’s going on in their lives and be on the lookout for any changes in the way they behave

•    Are they having relationship difficulties?
•    Are they in financial trouble? 
•    Are they experiencing increased levels of stress or constant stress?
•    Have there been major changes at work or home? 
•    Have they experienced the loss of someone or something they care about? 
•    Do they have health concerns? 
These are tough circumstances for anyone to manage on their own but by asking, ‘are you OK?’ and having a meaningful conversation you can help those you care about through life’s ups and downs.

For more information, go to:  https://www.ruok.org.au/ 

Selena Stevens
School Based Youth Health Nurse

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