13 October 2017
Newsletter Articles
Deputy Principal’s Comments
As we get to the “pointy” end of the year and focus is on end of year assessments, it is useful to reflect and the idea that maximising your potential in this area has a lot to do with how you approach studying.
To quote Andrew Fuller; “Having a goal is useful; having a system is essential.”
To that end, I have included Dr Fuller’s most powerful ways to maximize study efforts;
- Study in silence. This is the single most powerful way to increase your marks. Spend at least 20 minutes of your study time in silence. No texting, music or computer screens. Outcomes improve when you practice in the same conditions you want to perform in. In the exam room there won’t be music, mobile phones or computer screens.
- Organise and transform the information you want to learn. Just reading your notes over and over again doesn’t work. Your memory stores information best when you organise or transform it. This means organising your notes so that the main idea is highlighted on each page. Then take your notes and turn them into a flow chart or a mind map or see if you can fit them to a song you know well or make it into a sound recording. The more times you can transform and re-organise the information the more firmly it is remembered.
- Put off pleasurable activities until work is done. This is a painful one but if you play computer games before you get down to studying, the levels of dopamine in your brain lessen and you will lose the drive and motivation you need to study effectively. Work first, play later.
- Talk yourself through the steps involved. One of the things that highly successful students do is to explain out loud to themselves the steps involved in completing a task. This applies to every subject area. By saying out loud, “First I have to do.... Then I have to do....” and so on, any part that you are uncertain about becomes clear and you can then use this to guide where you need to learn more about.
- Ask for help. Teachers want their students to be interested and to do well. You will be amazed if you ask a question how many other students don’t understand it either. If you are really scared about asking questions in class, have a private talk to your teacher about this.
- Make notes. Just writing down the ideas that you have makes a powerful contribution to your marks. Don’t just write down what the teacher writes. Make notes of any ideas you have as well. Never rely only on the worksheets given out by teachers or your own capacity to remember information later.
- Write & re-write key points. Writing the main points of the area you are learning helps you to remember them. If you can add in re-organising and transforming them into different formats (drawings, flow chats, podcasts etc.) that makes it even more powerful.
- Make lists & set priorities. Make a “to-do” list each week. Write down in your diary the most important things to be done in each subject each week. High scoring students do a little bit on each subject, a lot rather than doing a lot of work on one subject every so often. If you are doing subjects that involve presenting a folio or preparing a presentation, it is still important to do work on the other subject areas.
- Prepare for class. Become knowledgeable about the area you are learning about by doing your own research. If you can learn about the area before you start not only will you have an advantage, it will also make more sense to you as you begin classes on it. Take notes on your own research. If you can, read over your notes before class to re-fresh your memory.
- Keep a record of how much study you have done. It increases motivation when we can tick things off lists and when we can see how much we have done.
- Use memory aids. These are tools that help you to remember information. For example, “Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit” help people remember that EGBDF are the lines of the music staff. The rhyme, “thirty days have September, April, June and November” helps us to remember the calendar. School requires more memory skills than any job you can think of. The best way to remember something is to transform it. If it’s visual put it into words, if it’s verbal, create a picture or graph of it, use lists, acronyms, tables, graphics, and link new information to things you already know.
- Test yourself. Your memory and understanding is strengthened when you create tests for yourself. Give yourself a test each week for the rest of the year so you can focus more time on learning the parts you don't fully understand or recall.
- Set study times. Decide when you are most alert and to set aside some time at that time of day to study. If you wait until you are in the right mood before beginning to study, you may wait forever.
- Exercise. Memories seem to be strengthened when you do some exercise about four hours after a study session. Exercise also lowers your stress levels.
- Your end of year marks are not your future. While we all want to do well at school, your end of year marks are not a measure of how intelligent, creative or wonderful you are. Your marks don’t tell us how well you will do in a career or in life. Do as well as you can but don't ever think that if you don't do well, you can't be a success.
- Lower your stress levels. The biggest barrier to getting good marks is not your brain; it is your stress levels.
Copyright Andrew Fuller www.andrewfuller.com.au
Cameron Burke
Deputy Principal
Languages - Japanese Moon Viewing Picnic Party
On Friday 6 October, Ms Yukari Doi, Mr Fan Zeng and Mrs Sheree Goebel’s family attended the first Otsukimi (moon viewing) Picnic Party hosted by the Australia Japan Society in Townsville. As the moon is the closest to the Earth at this time of the year and the brightest, it is a long tradition in countries like Japan, China and Korea to admire the beauty of the moon, and the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Together with other teachers of Japanese, Ms Doi presented Taiko performances – a type of traditional Japanese drumming. During Mini School, Miss Miyoshi, who teaches Japanese and music at a school in Townsville, will bring a few of her students to perform Taiko at CTSDE. On the evening, Mr Fan Zeng also met a Year 8 student of Chinese and Japanese in Townsville who studies Chinese through CTSDE.
Fan Zeng
Language Teacher
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Year 1 News
This term, our Year 1’s are off to a flying start writing some wonderful procedures. Check out our work below:
How to welcome a cat into your pantry.
- Let the cat sniff around.
- Pour some milk in a bowl for the cat.
- Put the bowl down for the cat to drink.
- Give your cat a scratch pole to play with.
- Give your cat a bed to sleep in.
- Pat your cat to show that you love them.
- Ella 1B
How to feed the Midnight Cat
- Get the cat bowl from outside
- Get the milk out of the fridge.
- Take the lid off the milk bottle
- Pour some milk into the cat bowl.
- Put the lid on the milk bottle and put back in the fridge.
- Take the cat bowl back outside for the cat.
- Clancy 1B
How to feed a cat
What you need:
- bowl
- cat
- milk
What you do:
- Get a bowl.
- Get milk out of the fridge.
- Take the lid off.
- Pour the milk in the bowl.
- Open the door and call the cat.
This is how to welcome a cat into your family.
- Chelsea 1B
How to feed you cat
- Get a cat bowl.
- Get cat biscuits
- Get cat milk.
- Get cat tuna.
- Go and find your cat and when you find your cat, show it the food.
- Put the bowl down.
I also wanted to tell you that your cat will follow you when you show it the food.
- Lucy 1B
How to welcome a cat to your family
- If you see a cat outside, give it a bowl of milk every night.
- Leave the curtains open, so the cat can see you.
- Open the front door to let the cat come in.
- Have a warm house and a comfy chair for the cat to sit on.
- Louise 1B
How to welcome a cat into your family
- Find a cat.
- Let it have a sleep,
- Get the cat the bowl.
- Open the cat food lid.
- Get a cup full of cat food and put it in the cat bowl.
- Let the cat eat.
- Make a house for the cat.
- Get some water for the cat.
- Leave the cat for a couple of hours to enjoy its home.
- Give the cat some toys and cuddles.
- Emily 1A
How to welcome a cat into your family
- Get some milk.
- Put the milk into a bowl.
- Put the milk at the door.
- Open the door.
- Give the cat some pats.
- Abigail 1A
How to wash your dog
What you need:
- Shampoo
- Hose
- Sponge
- Towel
- Collar
- Brush
What you do:
- Tie dog up.
- Rinse dog.
- Apply shampoo with sponge.
- Rinse shampoo off.
- Dry dog with towel.
- Brush dog.
- Take collar off.
Claire 1A
How to keep your cat outside
- Close the door when you go in and out.
- Make the cat an outside cat but still make it feel like it’s at home.
- Give the cat a cat tree so it can play and be happy.
- Give the cat its food outside.
- Josie 1A
How to feed a cat
- Put the cat bowl on the table.
- Get the cats feed out of the fridge.
- Put the cats feed in the bowl.
- Call the cat over to the feed.
- Give the food to the cat.
- Lucy 1A
We are working towards creating our own recipe for a disgusting sandwich with a PowerPoint Presentation. We cannot wait to see all the creative ingredients the Year 1 students come up with for their disgusting sandwiches!
Mrs Price and Miss Weston
Year 1 Teachers
Year 6 Term 4 News
It has been a busy start to Term 4 for the Year 6 cohort, in what looks to be an extremely busy term. To start off their Term 4 studies, the students will be writing persuasive arguments in English, exploring micro-organisms in Science, conducting chance experiments in Mathematics and undertaking a unit where they explore the choreographic devices and production elements of dance.
At the end of Term 3, eight of our Year 6 students participated in the Charters Towers Combined State Schools Year 6 trip to Brisbane. Miss Tiarna O’Brien accompanied the students for the week-long trip, and by all accounts, the students had a fantastic time exploring Brisbane and the surrounding areas. Attractions and activities that the students participated in included a trip to Australia Zoo, participating in an organised climb of the Story Bridge, a visit to Suncorp Stadium and the Brisbane Botanical Gardens amongst other activities in an action packed week. Miss O’Brien came away from the week saying that the Year 6 students were extremely well-behaved and should be commended for how they represented the school.
Preparations for the Year 6 Camp to Townsville in Week 4 of Term 4 are progressing full steam ahead. The week will involve the students staying in Townsville for the week where they will participate in a range of activities ranging from an educational day trip to the beautiful and vibrant rainforest in Paluma, a planned skills and drills session with the Townsville Fire Women’s Basketball team, as well as a number of activities where the students will bond with each other and work together in a range of fun and educational tasks. The Year 6 teachers are looking forward to this trip and spending the week exploring the Townsville area with the students.
Year 6 Students on the Charters Towers Combined State Schools Year 6 trip
to Brisbane
Logan and Mitchell participating in the Story Bridge Climb.
Year 8 science students create amazing machines
Year 8 Science students looked at how energy is transferred in complex machines. These are two examples of the wonderful ball tossing machines created by Gabby and Tom.
Mrs Coffison
Yr 8 Science
Information Technology TIPS
How to report SPAM and any unsolicited messages
The following information may be useful if you receive SPAM and any unsolicited messages and do not know how to report them.
Meningococcal
Due to an increase in Meningococcal W and Y disease across Australia in the last 3 years, Queensland Health made the decision to fund vaccinations for the 15-19 year olds for the period June 1 2017 to May 31 2018.
It is important to note that since this decision there has been an outbreak of Meningococcal W in the Northern Territory.
All year 10 students in Queensland will be able to receive this funded vaccine through a state wide school program.
If your child has missed this vaccine at school or is not in year 10 but is 15-19 years of age they are able to receive the vaccine free through their local vaccine provider (GP, Community Health Service or Council).
Meningococcal disease is a rare but severe infection that occurs when meningococcal bacteria invade the body from the throat or nose.
Meningococcal bacteria are carried in the nose and throat of healthy individuals and are spread through close prolonged contact. The bacteria are more commonly found in teenagers and young adults. There are a number of different strains of meningococcal bacteria. Worldwide, the main strains that cause meningococcal disease are A, B, C, W and Y.
Most people with meningococcal infection fully recover, but some people who survive can develop long term health complications including limb deformity, skin scarring, deafness and possible loss of brain function. Meningococcal W disease has a higher death rate than meningococcal C and meningococcal B infections and may be fatal in about 1 in 10 cases.