2 March 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Comments…..

Every Day of Lessons Counts

At our school attending web lessons wherever possible is important. Student attendance and participation in the lessons is a high priority. Research clearly shows that students who attend regularly are more likely to be successful at school. Attendance at our lessons, which is voluntary, requires an active partnership between parents and teachers.

In our school, as a School of Distance Education, the legal requirement of students is to ensure that the required work is submitted to the school, i.e. Section 177 Paragraph 2 of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 “a child enrolled in a program of distance education is taken to attend the school of distance education offering the program by completing and returning the assigned work for the program…“

However, attendance at provided lessons and tutorials (whether delivered via teleconference or through the web), while not mandatory, is still important if the student is to achieve to their fullest potential.

Key messages

• Attendance at lessons is primarily a parental responsibility.
• Early attendance patterns tend to be maintained over time. Therefore efforts should be made to rectify poor attendance as soon as it becomes apparent.
• There is a correlation between attendance and academic performance.
• Parents may exempt their child from the mandatory daily reporting of non-attendance of lessons, however this does not lessen the importance of attending lessons where ever possible.
• Parents may be prosecuted for their children's truancy, i.e. the non-return of work that has been assigned as part of their learning program. Our school does apply truancy provisions to all students. If a child is truant, then this may also impact on a range of government payments received by the family.

Why is regular attendance at offered lessons important?

Regular attendance at offered lessons will mean that your child has a better chance in life. Your child will achieve better when they participate in formal lessons.

Why must I send my child to school?

As stated earlier, under Queensland law, you must make sure your child of school age is enrolled and attends school all day, every school day unless they have an acceptable reason. Illness or competing in a school sporting event are acceptable reasons for being absent from school.

The Principal decides if the reason given for your child’s absence is acceptable. Avoid keeping your child away from school for birthdays, shopping, visiting family and friends, if they sleep in, looking after other children, minor check-ups or grooming such as haircuts. Routine medical or other health appointments should be made either before or after school or during the school holidays.

What should I do if our family is going on a holiday in school time?

You are encouraged not to schedule holidays during school time. If your family holiday is during school time, let the school know in advance and talk about what arrangements can be made for your child. Depending on the circumstances you may be able to negotiate some reduction in the assigned work or assist you in organizing an exemption from school.

Are you having problems getting your child to school for some of these reasons?

• won’t get out of bed in the morning
• won’t go to bed at night
• can’t find their learning materials, resources, etc.
• slow to eat breakfast
• haven’t done their assigned work on time
• watching TV

If so, a set routine can help:

• have a set time to go to bed
• have a set time to get out of bed
• have resources organized at the end of each day for the start of the next
• have a set time for starting and finishing breakfast
• set a time for daily independent learning activities
• speak about learning, their lessons and our school positively
• be firm, set up and maintain a learning routine every school day including their birthday and the last day of term.

What should I do if my child won’t participate in the learning program or lessons?

You should contact the Head of your child’s sector of the school as soon as possible for advice and support.

• Primary – Mrs Melinda O’Connor
• Junior Secondary – Mrs Barbara Stower
• Senior Secondary – Mrs Sarah Jenkins

If work is not being submitted, then truancy could be a real problem. If you are experiencing difficulty you could also contact the school’s engagement officer, Mrs Cindy Milanovic.

If you have registered for notification of your child’s absence from provided lessons, then you will receive a SMS (Short Message System) each time your child is absent from their scheduled lesson. If you receive an absence message from the school, please respond promptly via email to their teacher as to the reason for your child’s absence.

Keep your mobile phone details up to date. Make sure the school has your current mobile phone number, and notify the school immediately if this number changes.

John Clark
Principal

Deputy Principal’s Comments

Reflecting on last week’s Home Tutor School, it is always great to see young people actively engaged in their learning. The classrooms were abuzz with activity as students participated enthusiastically in the learning experiences on offer. Walking into each classroom and seeing the level of activity is a testament to our diligent, hardworking teaching teams.

These fun activities, while focussed around key learning areas, are also an opportunity for students to have some fun and participate in activities that they would not regularly get the chance to take part in at home. This might be anything from team games to Student Council fund raising, art and culture to swimming.

Tutors too had a full week. The sessions this year provided a chance to learn new skills as well as reinforce and reflect on existing skills.

Lee Denton from Literacy Solutions; an experienced educator and school administrator with over 30 years of experience working with educators, parents and community organisations throughout New South Wales and Queensland, presented a series of very informative sessions around aspects of literacy for parents and home tutors.

Lee’s workshops over the three days focussed on;

• Shared, Structured and Guided Reading
• Interactive Writing and Guided Writing
• Examining the critical role of reading at home across all year levels

Parents, tutors and teachers also participated in Dr Neil Carrington’s presentation and workshop on resilience; a quality that can be described as “the happy knack of being able to bungy jump through the pitfalls of life – to rise above adversity and obstacles.”

With a Master’s Degree in Special Education as well as Counselling and Guidance, and a PhD in Educational Psychology, Dr Carrington has lectured in Child Psychology, Educational Psychology and Teaching Practice at Queensland University of Technology and the University of Western Sydney, was formerly the Director of School Experience at the University of New England and is currently CEO of the Act for Kids.

I am sure all who attended would agree that Dr Carrington’s wealth of knowledge and expertise translated into a very enlightening and engaging presentation offering something for everyone. Parents, tutors and teachers had the opportunity to reflect on the concept of resilience and its importance in individual growth and development, whether it be understanding certain behaviours that we might exhibit or knowing the barriers that individuals can encounter when approaching something different….. like a backwards bike!

The week also served as an opportunity to catch up with friends and other tutors as well as build new relationships.

Cameron Burke
Deputy Principal

A Note From Your Parent Liaison Officer

Contact details for the Coordinator for VISE

Maxine Sharpe has kindly offered to fill the voluntary position of CTSDE VISE Coordinator. Her contact details are:

Maxine Sharpe
“Moonlight Creek Station”,
MS 984, Charters Towers 4820
Phone : 4787 3803,
E-mail: moonlightschool@outlook.com

P & C News

CTSDE P & C held their AGM at the recent Home Tutor School. Thank-you to the outgoing Executives – Stacey, Liz, Julia, Caralyn, Kate & Nikki. Welcome to the 2017 Executives. Thank-you for volunteering your time to assist the P & C. The annual Home Tutor Meet N Greet was held at the Aussie Outback Big 4 during Home Tutor School. Thanks to all who were involved in organising this event. It was a relaxed evening where we got to mingle with old friends and meet new ones. If there are any issues that you would like to raise at a P & C meeting please don’t hesitate to contact one of the executives. Wishing everyone a great 2017.

Amanda Clark
CTSDE P & C President

P & C meetings dates:

• 9 May Face to Face – Inreach
• 23 October Face to Face - Mini School

Year 1 Capers

Wow! What a busy week at Home Tutor School, for Year 1.

On Monday, we read a very special book called the Rainbow Fish. We discussed what makes somebody a good friend and why it is important to be fair. We decorated Rainbow Fish masks and made a friendship bracelet to remind us that we should be kind and thoughtful to our classmates at all times.

Later in the day, we had lots of fun learning some new songs and playing musical instruments with Mr Price. He had some cool items that we used to keep the beat with. There are certainly some budding musicians amongst us!

On Tuesday, we were all very excited to go on a bus ride to our local pool. It was certainly a hot day so splashing in the water was a great way to cool down and relax. We thoroughly enjoyed playing “What’s The Time Mr Wolf?”.

On Wednesday we had the opportunity to decorate some pots and plant some beautiful flowers with the lovely Leigh from Bunnings. Bunnings also kindly gave us each a watering can to help us care for our new plant. This linked beautifully to our Science unit this term about living things and what they need to survive.

On Thursday we donned our scientist hats and went on an adventure with the Museum of Tropical QLD. We got to explore and classify a range of land and sea animals. It was wonderful being able to get up close and touch these amazing creatures.

On Friday, we had a special parade where we dressed up as our favourite book character. This was a culminating activity to wrap up our first English unit about books. We have loved reading lots of different stories and in particular exploring the main characters and the different emotions they feel. It was wonderful to see so many children dressed up and excited to share what their favourite story was.

It was a pleasure to work with such a delightful group of children. All parents should feel very proud of their child’s efforts and lovely manners throughout the week. Well done, kids!

Miss Weston and Mrs Price
Year 1 Teachers

Ahhhh Me Maties!!!. Our fierce pirates from Book Character Dress Up day

Year 4 Home Tutor School Fun!

Many Year 4’s bravely tackled their first full week of staying at school during Home tutor School.

The students participated in lots of fun “getting to know you better” games such as one that involved tearing toilet paper off a roll as it was passed around. The number of squares of toilet paper you had determined how many things you had to tell the class about yourself.

During English the students focused on understanding and answering all of a question as well as how to answer in full sentences. One of the games we played involved each team replying to a question with a question. For example “What’s the weather like today?” followed by “Is it raining?” We had some very creative questions. Another English focus was speaking in front of the group. We created demand writing texts to share, created and performed a short play in small groups (with amazing masks that the children made for their character) and made impromptu speeches about topics such as “should soft drinks be banned from being sold”.

In Maths students participated in hands on rotation activities to build on their knowledge. Year 4 also worked in teams to solve math problems and trivia questions that were sometimes challenging and encouraged them to ‘think outside of the box’. Overall there was lots of smiles and group collaboration as students revised many math topics from this term in a fun and exciting way.

The students also participated in a football skills session, swimming, board games, trivia night, art afternoon, a disco/karaoke evening and movie night.

Miss O’Brien and myself enjoyed getting to know our students better over the week.

Sharon McLauchlan and Tiarna O’Brien
Year 4 Teachers

Year 4 character masks

Student Council News

2017 Student Council

Easter Raffle Donations Required

Just a reminder that the donations for the Student Council Easter Raffle can be dropped off at the school outside of Lesley Griffin’s Office. The Raffle will be drawn on 31 March at the Inter-house Swimming Carnival.

2017 ANZAC Day Ceremonies

The community of Charters Towers School of Distance Education traditionally participates in the Dawn Service and the march down Gill Street to commemorate ANZAC Day. ANZAC Day is the 25th April, which is the Tuesday of Week 2, Term 2.

Our school’s ANZAC Day Collaborate Ceremony will be on Monday 24th April.

More details will follow in future editions of the newsletter, for those wishing to participate in these events.

Kaye Warren
Student Council Coordinator

Education Support Program

2017 has seen the implementation of a new department here at the Charters Towers School of Distance Education. The Education Support Program has been formed for the grouping of specialist teachers with experience and/or qualifications in dedicated areas of specialisation to support education programs for students with disabilities as well as those other students who are on differentiated curriculums. The term Special Education Program (SEP) is also how you may hear this department referred to. The Education Support Program will give support to identified students from Prep to Year 12.

The team of teachers working in this area are Che’ D’Amant , Emili Skowronski, Jennie Hunt, Deb Oss, Belle Matthews, Marnie Niemi and myself Karen Smith. My teaching background and previous experience has included classroom teaching, learning support, behaviour management, special education and guidance. I am looking forward to working with the very experienced and dedicated teachers as we create the structure and processes of this new program within our school.

Karen Smith
Head of Special Education Services

Jenny’s book “group”

Hello everyone,

My name is Jenny Talbot and I run a book “Group” that aims to compliment the student’s reading lessons.

I collect pre-loved books of all kinds from various sources to pass on to our students. Each one comes with a special message from me, and they are able to keep them for as long as they like before passing them on to someone else, or returning them to me to pass on to another student. They absolutely LOVE the older books that have other names in them, and it doesn’t matter how tattered or ripped or written on they might be, they love their special books. HTS and Mini Schools are the biggest weeks for choosing their books, but students are encouraged to visit and collect on any incidental visits to the library. All students, from all year levels, are welcome to access Jenny’s book stash.

Happy Reading

Jenny Talbot
Teacher Aide

eKindy Term 1 Activity Days

We were very pleased to welcome 13 eKindy children and their families to the Term 1 Activity Days held at Charters Towers School of Distance Education, from 21-23 February. Throughout these three days the children immersed themselves in a wide range of play-based experiences and demonstrated a growing sense of belonging to their eKindy ‘community’ as they interacted with their peers, teacher and kindergarten environment and resources.

Whilst being so early in the eKindy year, the children interacted easily with their teachers and peers and over the three days the children approached each other more confidently and interactions became noticeably more animated. We observed the children negotiating and cooperating with one another in a variety of ways, such as creating roadwork projects in the sandpit, working as a group to build elaborate block constructions and engaging in group dramatic play in the ‘home corner’.

There were a wide variety of experiences available which gave the children opportunity to explore materials and equipment that promote small muscle control, such as playdough, box-construction, collage, cotton bud painting, threading and geo-boards. Outside, the obstacle course gave the children opportunities to develop their large movement skills and it was wonderful to see the children demonstrate growing confidence to engage in movement challenges as they used this equipment. Moving sand and water, riding the hobby ‘horses’ and walking on stilts were other ways that the children engaged in play that promotes development of large movement control, coordination and strength.

Whole group music and story sessions provided opportunity for the children to build understandings about participating in group learning experiences. These sessions also allowed the children to participate in, and share their knowledge of, familiar songs and rhymes and ways of engaging with stories.

It was a joy to spend this time with the eKindy children and we are looking forward to future face to face eKindy sessions that will occur throughout this year.

Kerry Denman, Megan Duigan and Emma Flanagan
eKindy Teachers

eKindy Term 1 Activity Days

Year 10-12 Home Tutor School Re-Cap

Last week a small but very excited group of Senior School students combined with students from Junior Secondary for Home Tutor School at the Goldfield Cricket Centre. Home Tutor School offers students an excellent opportunity to meet their peers and teachers, while participating in a variety of academic and extra-curricular activities.

The week consisted of a variety of activities including exploring how mathematics can be applied in the art world using Pythagoras’s Theorem, mapping exercises of Charters Towers, planning and budgeting for a holiday while investigating local laws and customs for particular destinations, and also dissecting pig hearts to gain practical insight into the cardiovascular system. Thank you to Plants Meats for supplying us with the hearts!

Other extracurricular activities included cooking, swimming, and team building games. Overall, students and teachers had a fantastic week. We look forward to what the remainder of the year holds for the Senior School.

How to use our virtual library

Please take a look at how to download eBooks onto your personal computers, Laptops and mobile devices.

Choose how to add this event to your calendar:

Apple Calendar iPhone, iPad, Mac - Download .ics file

Outlook Desktop Outlook - Download .ics file

Android Calendar Android devices - Download .ics file

Other Calendar Google Calendar, Yahoo, etc. - Download .ics file

Download Event