1 April 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principals Ponderings

As we come to the end of term One, I thank you all for your effort and support of our students during this time. It is wonderful to have more general rain around to brighten spirits and put water in dams and to green the grass.

Welcome to all who are new to the school. The staff: Shane Needer (Head of Department) replacing Mandy while she is on maternity leave, Sarah Taylor as Deputy Principal, Rosemary Murphy, and returning is Karen Scheerer and of course our new Home Tutors and families. Congratulations on embracing the weird and wacky ways of distance education and bringing to our school a wealth of experience and positivity.

Thank you too for a smooth and productive first term.

Thank you to our parents and home tutors who have participated in Kick Start Conference and the day-to-day educational experiences for our students. We have had a positive and productive term one. Your dedication is what makes a difference.

And the students…well, what effort and involvement in all things school this term with Prep, Primary and secondary students participating in their lessons and field events; everyone giving of their best effort.

Staffing: Changes for term 2 are secondary changes only. Due to Mary Anderssen leaving us, we have allocated the Year 7 classes to other teachers across the Western Alliance. Our day 20 numbers were fewer than last year and we were overstaffed. We wish Mary and John all the best as they transition to retirement.

Term Two: Term two will commence with Multischool for Secondary students and Minischool for Primary students and this is followed by three short weeks due to public holidays.

I look forward to seeing as many of our students and families as possible at these activities.

NAPLAN 2021: We are providing paper-based NAPLAN testing this year. Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will participate in week 5. It is, and has always been, a parent’s choice, in consultation with their school, if they wish their children to undertake NAPLAN testing.

Partners in Learning: Training for the Home Tutors’ Partners in learning modules will be decided when we have numbers of participants. This training is for all home tutors to enhance the skills of parents and tutors in improving children’s reading. Further information to be shared soon.

The P&C AGM - Tuesday 23rd March. A special thank you for the commitment and work that the committee and members have put in over the past strange year and a very big thank you to Eunice Campbell for her dedication to our Souvenirs and Uniforms over the past many years.

The incoming committee are:

President: vacant
Secretary: Christie Clinch
Treasurer: Bec McKeering
Charleville Vice President: Cassie Ryan
Grants writer: Kristy Cornford
Cookbook Coordinator: Kimberley Rains
Souvenirs and Uniforms Coordinator: Brie Boyle

Vacancies are President, Vice Presidents for Cunnamulla/St George, Quilpie/Eromanga/Thargomindah, and Roma areas, SODEA rep, and WA rep for Management Meeting. Is one of these a job for you? You work with a dedicated team to support the students at our school.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday, and a time for recovery.

Jenny

From the Deputy’s Desk

Kickstart Conference

2021 Kickstart and Minischool week was a very successful week. It was a wonderful opportunity for those of us who are new to the school in 2021 to meet students, parents and home tutors. We received some great feedback which will help us to plan for an even bigger and better KSC 2022.

Halogen Student Leader Day and School Leader Camp

In Week 5, our Primary and Secondary Student Leaders travelled with Mrs Mary Anderssen, Mrs Wallina Todd and myself to Brisbane to attend the Halogen Student Leader Day. We attended the day with many other school leaders from across Queensland. Throughout the day we were inspired by the guest speakers and their experiences. We had the opportunity to access encouraging messages and leadership advice from high calibre speakers such as His Excellency General, The Honourable David Hurley; Josh Pyke an Australian creative who writes, composes and performs songs and children’s books; Darius Boyd former NRL star and Captain; Anastasia Woolmer former professional Ballerina, Survivor contestant and three time Australian Mnemonics (Memory Games) Champion; and Lachlan Smart who was the youngest pilot to circumnavigate the globe in a single engine aircraft. Students engaged in insightful discussion throughout the trip and could easily relate the messages to their own leadership journey and elements of everyday life.

Following the Halogen Student Leader Day, we explored many interesting landmarks and cultural experiences in Brisbane during our time there. Students and their (reasonably reluctant) teachers enjoyed the sights and interesting facts about Brisbane from the Wheel of Brisbane, explored the many interesting aspects of the Southbank Parklands and Gardens and visited the Science Centre and Queensland Museum where we learned about many interesting things about forces, dinosaurs, Australian Flora and Fauna and weather patterns and predictions.

Minischool & Multischool

Our Term 2 Primary Minischool is happening in Week 1! The theme this term is Olympics: Choose the Challenge. Our teachers are busily preparing and very excited to spend the majority of the school day with their classes and there are a variety of team-based activities and challenges occurring in the afternoon and evenings. Multischool for all of our Western Alliance students will also occur in Week 1 in Longreach. Our WA teachers are planning a wide variety of learning activities for our secondary students.

Sarah Taylor
Deputy Principal

Head of Department Teaching and Learning

Head of Department Primary: Teaching and Learning

Term One

Prep – Year 2 Literacy Skills Sessions

Literacy involves more than just recognising words on a page. To be truly literate students need to be able to speak well, interpret what they are hearing, and transfer all of this information into written language (Promoting Literacy Development).

This term Prep – Year 2 students have been participating in Literacy Skills sessions. During these sessions, teachers explicitly teach structured synthetic phonics using evidence-based resources. Synthetic phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading by beginning with sounds (phonemes) and blending (synthesising) these sounds to make words. Students are engaged in a range of activities that covers the teaching of phonemes (letter and digraph sounds), letter formation, blending of sounds together to form new words, segmenting sounds to read and write new words, and teaching specific ‘high frequency words’ with irregular spelling.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the teachers involved in this initiative – Jess Carr, Renae Nass, Alison Mackie, Jess Head, Natalie Dare and Louise Upton. The professionalism the teachers have shown through continual intentional collaboration, professional development and enhancing their online pedagogy is admirable.

We welcome all Prep – Year 2 Home Tutors to provide feedback regarding these sessions -

Year 3 – Year 6 Reader Profiles

Our Year 3 – Year 6 teachers are continuing to connect with the Roma Centre for Learning and Wellbeing and Department of Education Reading and Writing Centre, to develop Reader Profiles to support the intervention required for students with reading difficulties.

During the initial phase of this project (2020) Donna Arulogun, Senior Advisor Speech Language Pathology, Deirdre Rackemann, Speech-Language Pathologist and Jo Brennan, Head of Learning-Inclusion visited our school during Charleville Minischool (Term 4) to complete a range of reading assessments. Recommendations were then developed to support students reading and writing.

As we move into the next phase of the project our staff have started to engage in professional learning, a return visit is planned for Term 2 Minischool and additional identified students will complete testing. Thank you to Rosemary Murphy, Rachel Cooper, Karen Scheerer, Bronwyn Cash, Camille Riley, Katy Williams and Natalie Dare for your commitment to developing our school wide approach and building our capacity in the inclusive teaching of reading and writing.

Middle Leaders – Professional Development

As part of my professional development, I am currently participating in a program provided by the Queensland Education Leadership Institute.

The learning intentions for this program are that participants, on completing this program, will have:

• The knowledge to be able to Lead Learning with a future focus outlook and improve student outcomes based on the latest international research
• A greater understanding of what constitutes a high performing team
• Insight and strategies on how to develop collective efficacy to motivate and sustain a high performing team
• The skills to lead a team to create a shared common vision and goals
• Detailed understanding of the organisational systems required in the team so members build trust, are collaborative, challenged and accountable.

Rickie Itzstein

Head of Department Secondary: Teaching and Learning

Term One

Year 7 – Year 10

Firstly, I would like to say thank you to the Staff, Student, Parents, Carers and Govies for the warm welcome to Charleville. My wife and I only moved here at the beginning of the year to a cool summer I believe. The learning curve has been quite steep to see how Distance Education differs from main stream “face to face” schooling in Brisbane. I have had the pleasure of meeting some students at Kickstart, a road trip to Thargo and now planning for Multischool in Longreach. So far, the negatives seem to be the distance, flood waters, flies, phone and internet fails/ connections with the occasional late piece of assessment.

However, the positives are much greater with the excellent team of committed teachers and support staff here at Distance Ed. As the new HOD Secondary I have been supported by the Admin team in learning a whole new school approach to education. The Secondary teachers and I meet regularly for Professional Development meetings to improve the curriculum delivery, moderation processes, with a focus on improving student outcomes. The road trip to Thargomindah was a nice drive and I was very impressed with all the students engaged in their studies for the whole day, and the opportunity to meet with the parents in the evening. So far, it’s been a great start for 2021 so let’s see how far we can extend our students when we all work together.

I too am involved with the Queensland Education Leadership Institute and further developing my skills in Leadership and literacy to support our teaching team at Distance Education.

Shane Needer

PLO Prattle

We had another successful Kick Start Conference in week 4 of the term with 40 Home Tutors and 79 Students. The students participated in two hours of class time each morning before the extracurricular activities, which included Claymation, Swimming, Tennis and the USQ Science Van. The Home Tutor sessions focussed on Cyber safety and up skilling Digital technology skills, Mathematics in the Schoolroom, Building resilience in Families, Positive classrooms, teaching swimming, inducting Home Tutors, and CPR. Extra activities that proved popular were Pilates and a sun printing art activity, Cyanotype. The feedback received was positive. Planning has started for next year’s Kick Start Conference.

In this time of uncertainty and of wondering how to support students when they are feeling anxious, I will share with you an article by Dr Jodi Richardson.

6 Positive ways to respond to your anxious child.

When our kids feel anxious they come to us for help. Help to stop the worrying thoughts spinning around their head, help to get rid of the feeling of dread that wells up inside their tummy and help to feel safe, calm and happy. We want so much to be able to do that for them. They turn to us because they know how much we love them, and they trust us (all knowing beings) to do and say all the ‘right’ things. But what are the right things to do and say?

While there’s no such thing as the perfect script for parenting anxious kids there are things we can do to make a powerful difference to how they feel. These ideas will help you to help your kids feel understood, valued and empowered to manage their anxiety.

1. Empathy first, always

When they’re feeling anxious, the very first thing kids need to know is that we get it. That we understand how they feel. When we show empathy, anxious kids feel validated. Different to sympathy, where they know you care about their suffering, empathy shows you feel their suffering, that you know what it feels like to experience fear, anxiety and worry.

If you stay calm, cool as a cucumber, not showing any emotion, this is actually a sign to anxious kids that you don’t get it. This can lead to them turning up the dial on their emotions and behaviour so you eventually do get it. You don’t have to agree with their reaction or what they’re saying, but a powerful first response to anxiety is to validate how they’re feeling.

2. The antidote to mental time travel

When kids start thinking about the ‘if onlys’ and ‘what ifs’ they’re engaging in something us humans are all too good at. Mental time travel. And usually not in a good way. Helping bring their attention to the present moment using mindfulness can help down-regulate their emotional response. A really effective way to do this is to help your child, no matter what age, tune into their senses. Ask them to name 5 things they can see, 4 things they can hear, 3 things they can touch and so on. Bringing their attention back to the here and now is an incredibly powerful thing to do when anxiety shows up.

3. Press the button

Anxious thinking can have our kids endlessly ruminating over thoughts and fears. As we teach them to tune into what they’re thinking, we can teach them that they don’t have to believe everything they think. Thoughts are just a bunch of words, like the ones on this page. It’s how we they to their thoughts that hurts them. A fun way of helping younger kids see their thoughts for what they are is the ‘Press the button’ technique. I use this with our 7 year old. Let’s say she’s thinking “A scary clown is going to chase me” in her dream when she falls asleep. That’s her thought. Now it’s time to press the button. The ‘button’ is actually my nose. And when she presses it I say her thought in the most ridiculous voice I can muster. She laughs her head off. Then she does the same. I press her nose and she repeats the thought in an even sillier voice! We both crack up laughing. We keep going back and forth using silly voices. It takes all the sting out of the thought, and helps remind her that it’s just a thought, not a fact.

4. Ahhhh Statements

Ahhhh statements are a brilliant way to validate how your child is feeling and to remind them that their thoughts are not facts. Repeating back what you’re hearing about how they’re feeling shows you’re listening and trying to understand. It’s also a great way to help your child’s develop a more nuanced emotional vocabulary.

“Ahhhh, you’re feeling anxious right now…”

“Ahhhh, you’re having one of those ‘I might mess it up’ ideas…”

“Ahhhh, you’re feeling disappointed that didn’t work out for you…”

5. Thought bubbles

Helping our kids to notice their thinking is such an important skill. We all have this kind of mental chatter constantly going on in our minds. When our kids are caught up in a thought it can be extremely worrying and anxiety provoking. A bit like getting swept down a river. But when we can get our kids ‘out of the river’ and start ‘watching from the riverbank’, it’s far easier for them to see their thoughts for what they are. You can ask younger kids what their ‘thought bubble’ is saying, and liken it to what they see when they read a comic. You can ask older kids to start paying attention to the thoughts that come and go in their minds. This really helps kids get some distance between themselves and their thinking.6. Is it helpful?

Let’s say your child come’s home and tells you “I’m terrible at maths”. Instead of trying to dispute this by saying “of course you’re not”, “you’re being too hard on yourself”, “remember last year when you won the ‘mathematician of the month’ award”, try asking your child if what he/she said is helpful. It’s a simple but powerful question. They’ll say “no” which opens up a conversation to discuss what would be helpful. Maybe more support, perhaps a chat with the teacher, more time spent practicing or possibly even a tutor. It will help your child calm down and develop a growth mindset, with an understanding that ability isn’t fixed, and that effort and persistence will move them forward, no matter how stuck they feel.

Enjoy the break and I look forward to seeing you all at Term 2 MiniSchool.

Cheers
Helen Cook
Parent Liaison Officer

Digital Discoveries

OneNote and OneDrive in 2021

Since the introduction of Blackboard Collaborate Ultra in Term 3 of 2020, teachers have had to change the way they have worked with students and collected work from the students. Different year levels have tried different approaches in the second half of 2020. In order to streamline our approach to the platforms we use and allow for upskilling of teachers, education of home tutors and teaching of students easier it has been decided to do the following in 2021.

 Note: Families with multiple children and one computer

For the few families that have multiple children that share one computer, the youngest student will be enrolled in all the Notebooks required for all the students in that family. The family will use the youngest student's log on.

Accessing OneNote – Using the preferred app

At Charleville SDE families are asked to use the 2016 OneNote App to access their OneNote Notebooks. This is available as a free download from

Using the preferred app

Accessing OneNote – Using the right account

When signing into the OneNote 2016 App it is vital that students are signing in with their school (MIS) email account, not a personal email account.

Using the right account

Accessing OneNote – Opening Class Notebooks

Once OneNote 2016 is installed and signed in, students can go to eLearn, click the link to their Class Notebook to open it online.

Students then click the Open in OneNote button at the top of the page. This will open the Notebook in the OneNote 2016 App for access from there each day.

Opening the Notebooks

QLearn coming late 2021

After a long time in the planning, we are excited to announce the new learning management system: QLearn – to replace our current Learning Place and eLearn in the second half of 2021.

Instructure, our supplier company, and their learning management system Canvas  will underpin QLearn.

Canvas is a simple, engaging and reliable learning ecosystem that can support every student and learner at every stage of their learning journey. Globally, more than 30 million people use it every day.

Some of the keys benefits of Canvas are:

• its contemporary, modern interface
• streamlined and intuitive processes for creating courses and leading collaboration
• improved access of digitised learning resources
• parent and carer involvement in student learning
• safe, secure and modern integration capabilities
• clearer learning pathways for our workforce - the right learning, to the right people, at the right time
• analytics to support strategic learning decisions and provide predictive learning needs for workforce/school learners.

You can see how a number of New South Wales public schools have adopted Canvas to innovate their learning while this short video will give you an insight into how Canvas works.

eLearn Courses for 2021

While we are waiting for QLearn, eLearn will continue to be the place for students to access digital versions of their papers, with Version 8 being uploaded as they are created. Students will also continue to access Blackboard Collaborate Ultra links from eLearn.

Spotlight on Cybersafety: Discord

Many of our students have discovered an app called Discord – a popular communication tool for gamers. The following gives more information about some of the dangers to be aware of when using this app.

Student Work – Year 10 IDMT

Our Year 10 students enrolled in the Certificate II in Information, Digital Media and Technology course have been setting up their fictitious computer businesses this term. One of their activities was to create a logo for their business.

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, Microsoft Office and Collaborate Ultra).

Give us a call or send an email.

BUSH TELEGRAPH - TERM 1 WEEK 10 2021

What a busy term here in the Western Alliance! Both Longreach and Charleville had their Home Tutor Workshop and Kickstart Conference where we were lucky to be face to face with our students and families.

I was fortunate to visit both Charleville and Mount Isa campuses this term. When visiting Charleville, I was able to meet our new Secondary Head of Department, Mr Shane Needer, who replaced Mandy McDonald as she went on Maternity leave. We were able to look at what direction the Western Alliance is taking this year and do some planning. I also had the opportunity to meet with all teachers to continue developing relationships across the campuses.

Just two weeks ago, LSODE Principal Fiona Clein and I travelled north to Mount Isa School of the Air. It was Ms Clein’s first visit to MISOTA and the time we had there was very well spent. Whilst there, I was able to sit in on some lessons taught by Mr Yang, Miss Moore and Ms Kanwar. It was such a pleasure to join your classes and listen to all the learning and engagement that was occurring on-air. To hear our students being proactive in their learning and assisting each other was heart-warming to see and hear.

The second half of this term has seen me in full swing preparing for our greatly anticipated Multischool in Week 1 of Term 2. It’s time to get excited – we have learning to do, but we also have some fun and different extra-curricular activities lined up. Can’t wait to see you all there.

Now however, is time to take a well-earned break over the holidays. Please remember to take time away from the schoolroom to rest, be refreshed and spend time with family and friends.

See you all in Term 2.

Peta Bates
Western Alliance HOD

Charlevile SDE

Mount Isa staff

Girl Guides

Kickstart Conference and Minischool 2021

South West District Sport