15 September 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Comments

It is at this time of the year our school starts to establish its plans and intentions for next year (2018).

Throughout the year data reflecting the academic performance of our students, and potential initiatives that align with our education system’s priorities is collected. In late Term 3, we start to analyse, establish priorities and plan for the following year. The ‘waterfall’ chart below graphically represents our annual planning cycle.

Annual Planning Cycle

In Term 4, drafts of our Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) for 2018 and any revisions to our School’s Strategic Plan (SSP) – a four year overview will occur through our School Council. This continuous improvement process does consume time and effort, but having clear directions and focusing our endeavours on what is important has ongoing benefits for our students. If you have the opportunity to contribute, through a survey or other means, please be part of our school’s planning process.

The newsletter contains an article on the success of one of our students. Her equestrian successes are to be applauded. Amber Hamilton rides in the national school events under CTSDE “colours”.

Term 3, traditionally the most stressful of our school terms, is over and for our students there is only between 30 and 40 school days officially left in the year. The remainder of the school year will be busy in the home classrooms, so please ensure that, where issues arise, contact your teachers for assistance and direction.

I trust all tutors get some time for themselves during the September vacation period.

Regards

John Clark
Principal

Deputy Principal’s Comments

One of the common questions that teachers are asked on a regular basis is “Why did my child only get a C grade?” In most instances this is followed with a reference to the amount of work, time and effort that the student has put in to the task.

The answer is often much more complex and requires an understanding of marking criteria which is the underpinning element of a criteria based system. While those who attend lessons are walked through what the assessment requires against the criteria sheet, those that do not attend are left to muddle their way through what the criteria means on their own.

In order to gain a detailed understanding of what a task requires, it is advised to ask as many questions as necessary of your teacher well in advance of the task completion date so that you have a clear picture of what is required.

In order to gain maximum benefit, it is highly recommended that students submit a draft of their assessment. This should be sufficiently in advance of the final task deadline so that the teacher can provide detailed feedback.

On receipt of feedback, the student and tutor should consider this carefully. If necessary, this is the time to once again contact the teacher to seek further clarification. The Criteria Sheet provided will assist along with the feedback received from your teacher.

One of the misconceptions is that time and effort equates to a higher grade. While time and effort is important, tasks are based strictly on the criteria. A student can spend an enormous amount of time and effort on a task, but if the criteria are not met, grades do not necessarily follow.

This is perhaps the most common cause of concern that we see collectively as a school. Sometimes, this is due to students not paying attention to the criteria sheet. Sometimes, it is a lack of understanding of what the criteria is requiring, and sometimes and more commonly, it is because the students get side-tracked in particular areas of interest that do not necessarily fit well with the task and ignore other, less exciting parts.

In summary, in order to gain the highest possible grade in a task:

1. Start the task well ahead of the due date;
2. Review the criteria sheet carefully;
3. Check with your teacher regarding anything you are not sure about;
4. Write a draft and check it yourself against the criteria sheet;
5. Edit and make changes;
6. Submit a draft to your teacher, sufficiently ahead of the final due date;
7. Review teacher feedback and clarify anything you are not sure about with your teacher; and
8. Edit your work based on teacher feedback and submit the final assessment to your teacher on or before the due date.

Andrew Smith
Deputy Principal

Interschool Equestrian Success

Congratulations to one of our Year 12 student’s Amber Hamilton on her success at the Interschool Equestrian Competition.

Amber was very proud to represent CTSDE at the recent Fraser Coast Interschool Equestrian competition. There were 60 schools represented with 240 riders. The events contested were Dressage, Jumping, Western Dressage, Stockman’s Challenge (including a Dry Pattern and Extreme Trail), Hacking and Sporting. Amber and Anakie Saint Nick won 8 firsts, 2 seconds and 2 third placings, with a PB % in Dressage and a place in every event, to win the overall Champion Year 12. Charters Towers School of Distance Education is also the winner of the Aggregate Points Trophy for 2017.

Amber on Anakie Saint Nick

Junior Secondary

Townsville Outreach

Townsville Outreach on 1 September started out bright and early with students and teachers in high spirits, ready for a jam-packed day of fun and learning. The teachers attending were Mrs Hunt, Mrs Oss, Miss Macdonald, Miss Reilly and Miss Power.

Students, teachers and parents met at the Pimlico TAFE campus in Townsville and the day kicked off with excited chatter from all involved as we prepared for our first session. The students broke off into small groups to work with their teachers, and the morning was spent working through a range of subjects including: English, Maths, Science, Visual Art and Geography.

After a productive morning of schoolwork, we broke for a picnic lunch and sports activities on the oval. We resumed our schoolwork after lunch, and concluded with a game of hangman. It was a great day for all involved and we hope that the students enjoyed it as much as we did!

Miss Reilly and Miss Power
Junior Secondary Teachers

Teachers and students working at Townsville Outreach

Students working at Townsville Outreach

Year 7 & Year 8 Portrait Art

“Who are you?” Our Year 7’s and 8’s have been exploring this theme in Visual Art throughout Term 3. The students began their work in this unit by completing a self-portrait task, which they drew using a photograph and grid method. Students learned about the different drawing techniques, such as shading and hatching, and discovered how they could incorporate these techniques into their artwork.

The students did exceptionally well with this challenging task, and produced some phenomenal pieces of work. We were awestruck by the quality of work received. The time, dedication and effort demonstrated in students’ work is a true testament to the hardworking students that we have here at CTSDE. We look forward to seeing how the students go with their upcoming printmaking task.

Miss Reilly and Miss Power
Year 7 & Year 8 Art Teachers

Year 2’s end of term Spring collaborate party

Spring sprung onto collaborate this morning with students and teachers dressing up and talking about the baby animals they chose to come dressed as to class. We couldn’t wait to share our efforts with you!

We researched Spring, the season, facts to share with our classmates! Some of the students responses are below:

Our English unit was all about informative texts, real facts. Our Science was about watching animals and plants as they grew. This was a top fun way to complete the term!

Huge smiles,

Lyn Simatis
Year 2 Teacher

Senior School News

Charters Towers Show Commercial Cattle Judging

Hi students, my name is Patrice Jones from Milestone Brahman Stud Charters Towers. Peter Chiesa, from the Northern Brahmans Breeders recently asked me to come out to the Charters Towers Showgrounds to watch him demonstrate the technique of using ropes to break in his Brahman Bulls.

While at the grounds Peter also asked me to compete as a Junior Judge. Myself and the other students spent the morning watching the cattle being paraded and also listened to Liam Kirkwood from JBS Meatworks give an example of judging commercial steers for their potential meat qualities while still on the hoof (not yet slaughtered).

When our turn came we were given ten minutes to evaluate the steers and follow a basic layout with comments and then rank four steers in order plus justify our decisions. It was a very worthwhile morning and the opportunity to listen to a Meatworks buyer with experience in cattle judging to pass on his views gave me something to think about when judging our cattle at home. The listening and observing paid off as I was awarded 1st place in the cattle judging for my age group. I was also advised that next year’s show will have even more cattle involved so any youngster wanting a bit of exposure to the cattle judging can come along and have a go as a Junior Judge. This also gives bush kids a chance to speak publicly in front of a small but supportive audience. The staff from All Souls and Columba were generous in giving up their time to support this event.

I would also like to recommend to any young person not sure what career path to take in life to just come along have a go and attend one of these events. You won’t regret it.

Photos courtesy of All Souls St Gabriels School.

Patrice Jones
Year 12

VET News - Work Placement

Senior school students at CTSDE have been busy organising to spend time out in the wide world of industry as they prepare for a week or more of work placement in their chosen industry. This work placement is essential to relating how the skills they are learning in class are applicable to the workplace. Students can also use this opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills to their workplace supervisors, as they require a Third Party to confirm their competence at performing industry-related tasks. Working hours are determined by the business organisation and may be longer than the average school day – a taste of real life.

Besides the need to demonstrate what they can do, students should gain a better understanding of the team spirit that is an integral part of any business organisation. They are to become part of the team and others will rely upon their cooperation and effort to make the placement a pleasant experience. We encourage students to take the opportunity to go on work placement, now or in the future, as it really does provide excellent insight into industries and can help students to ascertain whether that is in fact the avenue that they wish to pursue.

The Senior School VET Team

Gate welding

Education support

This term we have been reading traditional and cultural stories from all over the world. One of our very talented artists, Ella, felt inspired by the illustrations in the traditional story The Cocky, the Crow and the Hawk. She went to work straight away and painted some beautiful and colourful works of art using the dot technique seen in traditional indigenous art.

Ché D’Amant
Education Support

Ella’s Dot Paintings

Year 5

What has been happening in Year 5 in Term 3?

During Term 3 Year 5 the students explored A.B. Patterson’s poem, ‘Fur and Feathers’ in unit five and six English. In unit five English, the students were to analyse the poem. It was challenging at first; however, the year 5 cohort quickly caught on to what the poem was about, identifying text structures and language features within the poem. In unit six English, the assessment students are to write is a ‘narrative’ following the same plot as the poem; however, students were to be creative and add new ideas or details to their story. The students then will present their narrative in a digital multimodal presentation. Miss Ruthenberg and I are looking forward to the final presentation.

Students are now able to use their Geography skills to explain the characteristics of places in different locations at the national scale. They presented the information they learnt in a final assessment, using geographical terminology. This is a great way for students to learn about their world by investigating, collecting and recording information from a range of sources.

Science is the light to our future, or so the Year 5 students thought so when they contemplated and analysed the properties of light in unit three Science. By the end of this term, students were able to explain everyday phenomena associated with the transfer of light. Students enjoyed this project, creating a maze with mirrors to reflect light and then using different coloured cellophane to see the effects. There are so many possible outcomes and this project opened the students’ eyes up to the concept of ‘trial and error’.

In unit five and six Maths this term, students placed decimals and unit fractions in order and located them on number lines. Students then continued patterns by adding and subtracting fractions and decimals. They used appropriate units of measurement for length, area, volume, capacity and mass and calculated perimeter and area of rectangles, and they converted between 12- and 24-hour times. Students were then tested on their knowledge and understanding of the units with two assessments. This term showed students that by building on their foundation, they were able to solve much more complex problems.

This term saw some Year 5 students participate in the Clermont, Hughenden, and Cape River outreaches. Teachers meticulously plan these outreaches to include lifelong experiences and enjoyment for students who attend. Next term, we have Mini School where students will have the opportunity to come in for a week of learning to consolidate their understanding of the past three terms. Oh, and of course to have fun with their classmates and teachers!

Please have a safe and exciting holiday Year 5’s. We look forward to hearing all about your adventures when you come back in Term 4.

Miss Heath and Miss Ruthenberg
Year 5 Teachers

Ukulele Sessions at Cape River (Wambiana Station) Outreach

There’s been a bit of noise around the Cape River Outreaches in 2017 – it is not the sound of students talking, laughing, and playing, but the sounds of a musical instrument that anyone can hold and learn to play. No – it isn’t the dreaded recorder…. it is the sound of the humble, yet “funky” ukulele.

Thanks to the foresight and connections of one of our Home Tutors (Emma Robinson) the generosity of various families in Brisbane, and the facilitation skills of Outback Futures, Cape River Outreach students were fortunate to receive their very own ukulele in time for our first outreach in May. The generosity of all those involved that donated these instruments to our “bush kids” is not lost on us.

At our first Outreach, a last minute cancellation by one of the music teachers meant that we had to be resourceful and access the skills and enthusiasm of others in our local community, with a hidden (or not so hidden) talent and passion for the “uke”, as it is affectionately known. Luke Smallwood, a local pastor from Charters Towers, kindly donated his time and shared his enthusiasm with our group as they got to learn how to hold and strum a ukulele. Some of our CTSDE teachers helped out too, as did trusty You Tube videos, so that in the space of about an hour and a half, our students received an enjoyable initiation to their new instruments.

With the next outreach planned for August, we knew we needed to keep the momentum going. Social media can be blamed for many things, but when it comes to tracking down ukulele instructors, it was invaluable. Having read articles about “Pop-Up Ukestras” in Townsville, we were able to secure the talents and expertise of Anu Grace, to join us at our next Outreach. Anu, and her partner Laurie, ran two afternoon ukulele sessions for the adults, followed by two afternoon ukulele sessions for the students. They entertained us all with their 1 hour Dragonuke show on the first night, which left many of us in stitches and big open smiles on our faces as we sang and strummed along with their entertaining alter-egos (a cat and a dog!)

One morning saw us “Freeing our Voice” with Anu in a vocal workshop before school, to prepare for our big group performances in our very own “Pop-up Ukestra.” The students performed their songs with gusto and the adults did two songs of their own too! There were lots of nerves, but even more smiles and feelings of “how good was that??” To cap off our last night of Outreach, we were entertained by Anu and Laurie in their duet band “Lux Nomad” which covered almost every genre of music from pop, to country, folk, blues and jazz. All with a tenor ukulele, bass ukulele, brilliant vocals and a flute. We kept pinching ourselves and thinking how lucky we were to be entertained by such engaging and talented performers in the comfort of our own Outreach gathering!

Some of our mums have now caught the uke bug and ordered their very own ukuleles. They are going to perform in the next pop-up Ukestra in Townsville on Sunday 17th September. If you are at the Cotter’s market, go along and give them a great cheer.

As for the students, we are working on some options for the “next steps” to keep the music alive.

“Dear Music, Thanks for always clearing my head, healing my heart, and lifting my spirits.”
– Lori Deschene

(Note: Thank you to the Charters Towers Regional Council and their RADF program which provided 50% of the costs to engage Anu Grace Music for our last Outreach).

Kind Regards
Michelle Lyons

Parent ukuele concert

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