December 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Ponderings

A very warm welcome to our December newsletter.

What a marvellous week we have had with our year 6 and 10 students celebrating their last days as Primary students and /or with our school; followed by a super swimming carnival where Kanyanna won the day and every student, past and present, swam their hearts out; our inaugural face to face concert was a resounding, entertaining success with students and staff performing a variety of acts; and, our Speech and Awards ceremony finished our school year by recognising the effort that students have put in this year. A highlight of the ceremony was our guest speaker, John Coutis.

John ‘JC’ Coutis is a remarkable Australian who was born with a severe physical disability in which doctors gave him little chance of survival. John has not only defied medical opinion, he has thrived and is acknowledged as one of the world’s most inspirational speakers.

We were excited and honoured to have John here as our extra special guest to inspire us, entertain us and to be our friend.

Enrolments:

Enrolments for next year are looking to be steady with enrolments this year with approximately 182 enrolments for the beginning of 2020.

Staffing:

We are farewelling Erin Reilly (as eKindy is no longer to be delivered from CSDE because of too few enrolments) Joel Goodingham, home to Ipswich and Scott Paine who is transferring to Charters Towers SDE. Thank you all for your time and all you have done for our students and we wish you wonderful successes and fun at your new schools.

Our staffing for 2020 looks like this:

Languages: ?

Primary:

Jess Carr

Western Alliance:

Teachers: Frank Taylor, Sue Dollery, Maria Pallota and ?

Amy Cochrane is leaving LSoDE.

Western Alliance:

Our collaboration with the western schools of distance education is growing from strength to strength. Thank you to Natalie Pampling for her advocacy for Charleville students on the WA parent group this year and for Di Hansen’s advocacy in the Management meeting to ensure that student and home tutor perspectives are kept to the fore when decisions are made. This input has helped to grow the WA and parent feedback and support are very much appreciated.

Calendar: We have aligned the 2020 calendar of events with the other WA schools as best we can to minimise disruption to Secondary students and their accessibility to lessons.

Camp 2020: The WA students will have the opportunity of a camp (theme, date and place are to be determined)

Staffing: Peta Bates will become HOD Operations for the whole of the WA. Janeen Fricke will continue as acting Principal and Nikki Barlow will continue as acting Deputy Principal of Mt Isa for Semester One. Bobby Harding and Rachelle Moore will continue as Principal and Deputy of Longreach.

School Opinion Survey:

Parents who wish to see the results of this survey are most welcome to a copy by emailing me and requesting the results. The results are very pleasing with 10% improved parental satisfaction that teachers are providing children with useful feedback about his or her schoolwork and 100% satisfaction that their child feels safe at this school and that the school is environmentally friendly.

Students responded that they have 100% satisfaction that they use computers for their learning, that this is a good school and that they can access computers and other technologies for their learning.

Staff responses indicated 100% satisfaction that information and communication equipment is well maintained, the school is well maintained and that students are treated fairly at this school. The greatest improvement was 18% increased satisfaction that people are treated fairly and consistently at this school.

School Review 2020:

2020 will see the school participate in a quadrennial school review as part of the department’s School Improvement Plan and we will be developing our Strategic plan for 2021 – 2024. I have asked for this to be during terms 2, 3 or 4 when I am here.

2020 Projects:

Please see the HOD reports for our next steps in keeping our school abreast of the changes in education.

End of Year:

As we come to the end of the year, I will share my speech for the speech and awards ceremony for those who were unable to be there.

Once upon a time - a long, long, long, long time ago, I was in year 9 and sitting in an assembly hall watching a most amazing event on black and white TV! With my whole school! Everyone stopped work and watched…was it the Melbourne Cup?

Definitely not! This event did not stop the nation, it stopped the whole world.

It was something that began as part of someone’s imagination, and the idea grew and grew and developed through trial and error.

We watched the very first time that men walked on the moon. That day, the 20th of July, 1969 over 600 million people watched the moon landing.

2019 is the 50th anniversary of the rocket ship leaving Earth hurtling into space and landing on the moon.

It was incredible to imagine that the three men who were in that rocket ship left their families days before, not knowing if they would ever see them again. How courageous.

And how many people do you think it took to get it all happening?

NASA estimated that it had taken more than 400,000 engineers, scientists and technicians to accomplish the moon landings - reflecting the vast number of systems and subsystems needed to send men there.

400,000 people, expert men and women…to launch those rockets, help them stay on course and to achieve this amazing feat.

So too is the success of every student like launching a rocket. Whether socially and emotionally or academically or spiritually - their success requires people with expert knowledge of them to work together. It requires teachers’ expert knowledge of their abilities, parents’ expert knowledge of their individual qualities and the expert knowledge of the leadership of the school. It requires the student to be the astronaut of their own destiny.

In our school community we rely on one another, so everyone has a stake in the success of the children in our school. This is why our families, our school, and our community work together to ensure children's success.

It is up to us to launch our students, to guide them on their course and to be the astronaut of their own destiny.

And what successful big and little astronauts we have had this year!

Thank you students for the effort you have put in this year, even if you are not receiving an award today, stop and remember the things you have achieved and learnt.

Our school is made of many subsystems, our support staff, our teachers, our parents, our communities, and we are part of a bigger system that includes our Centre for Learning and Wellbeing, our region, our state and the list goes on. I thank them for their dedication and for pushing through when times get tough because our astronauts are worth it!

Successes this year have included:

• The excellent leadership and involvement by our school captains,
• The team of students who won regional readers’ cup and competed in Brisbane
• Improved academic achievements across many individual students
• A strengthening cohesive diverse learners’ team who are supporting students and home tutors
• The western Alliance growing in numbers and organisation and improved opportunities for all secondary students
• Surviving change that we choose and change that is thrust upon us
• And many more – just too many to list here

Again – thank you team.

So parents, staff and community members, as we celebrate the 50 year anniversary of man on the moon, think of school as the rocket ship that launches our students into space. We are the subsystems that support their learning; let them be the astronauts of their own destiny and who knows what you will all be celebrating 50 years from now.

And students, as we celebrate the 50 year anniversary of man on the moon, think of school as the rocket ship that launches you into your space; your teachers and parents as the subsystems that support your learning. Dream your dreams, work on your ideas and create your own rocket ships and who knows what you will all be celebrating 50 years from now.

Wishing you all a wonderful break, resting, playing, whatever it is that you need.

Thank you for your support of our school and students this year.

Jenny Swadling
Principal

Curriculum Corner

We have come to the end of another busy year which has seen more alignment between the Primary and Secondary year levels in regards to testing, data collection and curriculum alignment. All teachers in 2020 were given access to Data and Observation Days which allowed them time to work with HODs to continue developing best practice around feedback, data collection and pedagogy that focused on literacy development.

In Secondary Cognitive Verbs were introduced to support and prepare our students with the new Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance (SATE) exams and assessment. After the renovation of the school canteen into a studio a new elective subject ‘Food Specialisation Technologies’ was also introduced to Year 7 students across the Western Alliance. This studio will be further developed to allow for even better technology when delivering these lessons in 2020.

Collaborative teaching team was a successful aspect of the Western Alliance this year with this new approach to timetabling seeing Year 7Maths, Year 8 English and Year 10 Maths having two teachers on these subjects at the same time. Working collaborative within these subjects allowed teachers the opportunity to develop their capacity through working with colleagues for planning, writing assessment, moderation and reporting.

In Primary the rewrite and alignment of the Year 1 to Year 6 Spelling program was completed. All levels have been added to the 2020 Primary USBs and all units for the semester have been included in the red curriculum bag. The school thanks Katy Williams for her dedication to completing this momentous task.

Prep on-air lessons in 2020 will be a mixture of the English C2C papers and the explicit teaching of Sound Waves Phonics are a successful trial in Term 4 of this year. Home Tutors are encouraged to give feedback to Prep teachers when this curriculum delivery is reviewed later in 2020.

The Education Queensland pilot ‘Partners in Leading: Teaching Reading’ will continue in 2020 with Leonie Herwig continuing on as the Reading Coach. Due to the Kickstart conference and first minischool being combined in 2020 face-to-face delivery of the four Home Tutor Modules will be delivered at Term 2 minischool. Home Tutor feedback has also lead to the creation of a suite of videos on different reading

We have two big projects coming up in 2020.

The Federal Government has advised that Version 8 of the Australian Curriculum will be implemented in all Australian schools by 2020. In order to meet this deadline, teachers will continue to engage in the curriculum alignment process for 2020. Therefore all our on-air subjects will be V8 curriculum in 2020. This also means that teachers and HoDs will be conducting an alignment and amendment process for our Independent Learning Materials (ILMs) with the other Western Alliance schools so that papers for core subjects will be available in 2021. Eteach subjects will take a little longer to revise but aligning them to V8 will allow our Paper-based students greater access to the subjects we offer and therefore a complete curriculum.

After reviewing the curriculum load of Home Tutors, as the school heads towards the Primary years offering all eight Learning Areas of the Australian Curriculum, it was decided that the school will offer Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) as an on-air subject in 2020. HASS is an amalgamation of the subject areas of Geography, History, Civics and Citizenship and Economics and Business. This will remove between four and eight units, per student, from a Home Tutor’s workload. This is a significant reduction for those in a multi-age classroom. Leonie Herwig will be the Prep to Year 6 HASS teacher in 2020 and lessons have already been included in the on-air timetable and will consist of:

• Prep = 2 x ½ hr lesson / week
• Year 1 - 2 = 1 x 1hr lesson / week
• Year 3 – 6 = 2 x 1hr lesson / week.

Lastly Leonie would like to thank the school community and the teachers of Charleville SDE for their continual support during her two years in the role of Primary HoD. She has been able to lead and implement many changes to the delivery of curriculum to students during this time and is looking forward to going back into the classroom to model these strategies. Leonie has appreciated the opportunity to develop her knowledge and skills in leadership during the past two years and has thoroughly enjoyed working and growing with the Home Tutors and families of Charleville SDE. She will continue to work with the Leadership Team and the new HoD Rickie Itzstein in 2020 to ensure a smooth transition for all.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season,

Many Thanks
Leonie Herwig and Mandy McDonald
Heads of Department – Teaching and Learning

Digital Discoveries

App of the Month: Daisy the Dinosaur

A great holiday time app to have a play with and learn the basics of coding with Daisy the Dinosaur. With easy to drag and drop interface your students will learn the basics of coding in order to animate Daisy. Students can make Daisy walk, jump and dance using coding blocks.

Apple - Available from:

Holiday Clean Up

The holidays are nearly here and it is time to escape the schoolroom for a while! However, don’t forget to do a little maintenance on your computer over the holidays so it will be in top condition to start the 2020 school year. Here are some tips:

Do you need to upgrade?

The school suggests that you have Windows 8 or 10 on your computer in order to be most compatible with the school system and our online resources. If you are running a system older than these (eg. XP, Vista or Windows 7) please consider upgrading to a new computer.

Check your Internet Browsers

Ensure your computer has at least two browsers – Internet Explorer and Google Chrome are suggested. Google Chrome is used for eLearn and the Learning Place and Internet Explorer is a good back up for other resources.

Microsoft Office

Every student enrolled in an Education Queensland school is able to access Microsoft Office as a free download from the Learning Place. Ensure your computer has Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote and Outlook so your student has all the resources they need for creating and communication.

Antivirus Scan

Ensure your Antivirus software is up to date and you run a complete scan of your computer sometime over the holidays.

Back Up

Go through all your data and delete any unwanted files. Ensure everything is organised. Then do a backup of all your data. Why not store on an external hard drive or CD and store somewhere away from the computer? Once this is done, you can create new folders ready for the new year.

Give Everything a Clean

Remember to wipe the monitor, keyboard and mouse over with a clean cloth – don’t forget the underside of your mouse.

From the Technician’s Table: Need More Help?

If you are having trouble with log on details, access problems, computer or headset issues or just want some advice we are here to help you. . .

School Technician – Bill Grant: wjgra0@eq.edu.au or 07 4656 8909

For all phone and headset issues and problems with computers.

Digital Learning Facilitator – Sam Owczarek: sowcz1@eq.edu.au or 07 4656 8915

For advice or help with using programs or tools on the Learning Place (including eLearn, Student Space and Blogging).

Give us a call or send an email.

Girl Guides

End of Year Girls On-air Party

During Term Four the Girl Guides of Charleville School of Distance Education planned a special on-air party for the end of the year. Each week, the members researched, discussed and planned menus, games, songs and outfits, then held their on-air party using all that they had planned.

Party Hats

Songs

Email Mrs Sam O on sowcz1@eq.edu.au if you would like to join our fabulous Girl Guide unit and application forms and information will be forwarded to you.

PLO Prattle

WOW what a busy end to the year.

This term has been so busy, Minischools, Multischool, Management Meeting, Celebrations for Years 6 and 10, Swim Muster, School Concert, Christmas Carols and finished off with our Speech and Awards ceremony. Everyone can now breathe and relax until next year.

The Kick Start Conference/Minischool brochure for next year has been posted, emailed and put on Social Media for all to see. There is an early bird discount if you pay and register before the 20th December. Grab a coffee and sit down and read all the details. This is a first combined minischool and conference and is going to be a fantasic time for both Home Tutors and Students.

Below a couple of photos from the last few days of celebrations.

Merry Christmas and hope you all have a wonderful break and get some rain.

Cheers,
Helen (Parent Liaison Officer)

Photography Winner

Congratulations Weston

Year 9 student, Weston Campbell, has continued his success with his photography taking out the Junior Section of the Outback in Focus Queensland Photo Competition with his photo of an inland carpet python. His photo will be mounted for exhibition at the Outback Tourism Awards and Symposium in Winton, at the Destination Queensland Tourism Awards in Noosa and then at a special exhibition at Old Government house in Brisbane.

Student Newsletter

Please click on the following link to view the latest Student Newsletter

Congratulations

Rohan and Bryce Pampling have both been selected to represent South West Country for the upcoming Cricket Challenge Cup which is a comp for 4 teams from the Darling Downs, South East Country and South West Country areas. Rohan is in the U13 team and Bryce is in the U11. They were selected for their respective South West Country teams from junior cricket clubs covering Charleville to Dalby. There is a warm up game in December with the other games being played throughout Feb and March 2020.

Year 6 2019

Speech and Awards

Swim Muster

End of Year Concert