Term 3, 22 July 2022

Principal's Welcome

Dear Parents and Carer/s,

Welcome back to all students and staff for term 3. I am very excited to be the acting Principal for Term 3.  I am very familiar with Atherton State High School as I was a Deputy Principal here for 20 years.  I left Atherton State High School during 2019 to be a National Assessor of Teachers and then became the Principal of Ravenshoe State School        P – 12.  Atherton State High School is an excellent school and all staff, students and the school community need to ensure our high expectations are maintained!  Our school purpose is:

‘With our Atherton High community, we provide exceptional education for ALL students’. 

This means that our school community demands high expectations of all students – all students must be fully prepared and committed to attending school – every class, every day! Our teachers are outstanding and are here to help, support and work with each and every student.  I encourage all parents to contact the school if you ever have any issues!  We must have a partnership to be able to support ALL students.

Staff News

Welcome to the following new staff joining Atherton State High School:

• Mr Chris Keating – permanent Deputy Principal Junior Secondary
• Ms Cathy Campbell - acting Deputy Principal Senior secondary
• Mr Matt Evans – Teacher Maths
• Mr Jimmy Pearsal – Investigations Officer – Behaviour
• Miss Sammy Norris – Attendance Officer
• Ms Helen Weidman – Admin Officer Executive Services
• Mr Luke Herring – Teacher – Maths
  

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent teacher interviews will be held Tuesday 26 July from 3.15pm in the school library and conference room.  All parents/carers are encouraged to make a booking with your child’s class teacher.  This time is so important to develop an open communication relationship with your child’s teacher. Please contact the school office if you are having trouble to  make a booking. 

School Opinion Survey

The School Opinion Survey is open until Friday, 29 July 2022. All parents who received this survey link are asked to complete this survey to provide the school with feedback.

To have your say, check your email for an invitation from the Department of Education titled School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2022.  Can’t find your invitation?  If your family has more than one parent/caregiver, check that they haven’t received the invitation and/or check your junk email folder.

School Uniform

All students are expected to be in the correct school uniform every day!  With this cooler weather, the expectation remains the same – school uniform!  Please ensure your child is wearing the correct uniform every school day!  If there is an issue, please contact the school to arrange a meeting.

Have a great fortnight and please remember all students need to be at school, in class and learning every school day!

Yours in learning,

Mrs Helen Carne

Principal

From the Deputy’s Desk - Senior School

Hello and welcome back to term 3. I am fortunate to be in the position of Deputy Principal Senior Schooling this term, and am very much looking forward to working with parent and students to support Years 10, 11 and 12 progress through the year.

I met with Years 11 and 12 on parade yesterday and discussed the importance of being at school for all timetabled classes and engaging in learning that will lead to success both here at school and in the future. I appreciate your support as parents in ensuring that your child is attending school so they can be successful in their academic and personal goals.

To acknowledge the many and varied pathways our senior students are pursuing, we are now expanding the off-campus study lesson options for Year 11 and 12 students. Year 12s can now choose to study off-campus during any period of the day that they are currently in an ALT class, while Year 11s can now choose to study off-campus in any period 1 or 5 lesson that they currently have an ALT class. An email has been sent to all Year 11 and 12 students and parents with details.

This term our Year 10 students continue their preparation for SET planning, investigating career and pathways options in preparation for their SET planning and subject selection in week 6. Yesterday, Mrs Grimshaw presented to students about QCE, ATAR and vocational training, and our transition pathways officer, Lisa Combe, worked with them to begin the collation of their ‘ID to Succeed’ documentation to ensure that all students have access to 100 points of identification as they take on more independence in their lives.

I wish you all the very best for the term. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries or concerns about your children in Year 10, 11 and 12.

Ms Cathy Campbell

From the Deputy’s Desk - Junior School

Welcome back to Term 3. This term I have the pleasure of looking after years 7, 8 and 9 and look forward to supporting all junior school students to achieve our school vision of every student succeeding.

Congratulations to all students who competed in Athletics events last term and the carry over events due to weather this term. It is great to see so many students giving their best in a non-classroom setting and showing their house spirit and colours. Students who qualified for District Athletics will be notified through the sports coordinator and I look forward to the school team competing as one.

Enrolment at Atherton State High School

If you are wanting to enrol a student at Atherton State High School for 2023 then please complete an enrolment pack that should be available from your Primary School. If they do not have these, then please contact our school office and we will arrange one for you.

Once your enrolment paperwork is filled in, you will need to complete an enrolment session at the school. We are conducting these as group interviews on Wednesdays and Thursday afternoons. Please contact the school office to book into one of these sessions or to book an appointment outside of these times.

Mr Chris Keating

Finance update

School Watch! Please Keep Watch on our school! Contact School Watch if you see anything that is out of the normal around our school in particular in school holidays! Call School Watch on 131788

Dear Parents/Carers/Guardians,

Student Resource Scheme 2022 Payments Now Overdue

All 2022 Student Resource Scheme levies including subject fees were due to be paid at end of term 1 and if unpaid are outstanding. Please ensure all fees are paid in full or a payment agreement in place with the school in order for students to continue to receive resources. We are following up on outstanding payments and Payment Reminder Letters are being sent out for outstanding fees. Parents experiencing financial hardship who are currently participating in or wish to participate in the SRS should contact the school to discuss options. Statements will be sent out at the end of each month.

Thank you to all those who have paid and to those who have arranged payment plans.

Please update Contact details

If any details have changed either address, email or other contacts, please update these with the school.

For further information email bsm@athertonshs.eq.edu.au

Paying School Fees:

You can pay your child’s school fees in one of the following ways :

• BPOINT to pay by credit and debit card
• BPOINT IVR (Over the Phone Payment) Call - 1300 631 073
• Direct Deposit into the school Bank Account BSB: 064-800 Account: 00090137
• EFTPOS at L Block Reception.
• Arrange payment plans and centrepay payments at Reception
• Payment can also be accessed online via your QParents account.

We are currently transitioning to a Cashless School and would prefer payments be made by one of the above methods 

Sports Update

As semester 2 begins and the school year continues, so does the variety of sporting opportunities provided to our ASHS students. The last two days of term two saw the completion of our inter-house athletics carnival for 2022, and escaping the rain, just… The students showed unrivalled house spirit and passion, cheering on their peers and participating to the best of their ability -        it really was a great two days of competition. This day however, could not have been possible without the support of our great staff here at ASHS, which cannot go unnoticed. As a result of two events being postponed due to the weather on the days of competition, the progress results stand as follows:

Eacham Echidnas:  1406 points

Barrine Barramundi: 1335 points

Euramoo Eels: 1101 points

Quincan Quolls: 770 points

The finalised 2022 Athletics Carnival results will be announced on the next whole school parade, along with age champion medallions and our brand new house banners.  We would like to once again thank the P&C for helping to fund the new banners. Looking forward into this term we continue to have many students representing the school in a variety of sporting events and carnivals, beginning with the Tablelands District Athletics Carnival being held at Mareeba SHS on the 4^th and 5^th of August (week 4). Students who have qualified are encouraged to collect permission notes in order to represent our school at a district level. Students are also representing the school in the annual Allan Rockley Interschool Touch Football Competition, competing against other schools across the tablelands in both an intermediate and senior division, of which, ASHS has fielded two teams for each. Sport for the term does not complete there, with many more opportunities on the horizon. Any students interested in sporting events are encouraged to seek information and clarification from any of the HPE staff.  

Mr Simpson – Sports Coordinator

HPE UPDATE

HPE students have hit the ground running in semester 2, and we welcome our new year 9 and 10 cohorts to the subject!  Students will be undertaking a variety of topics and assessments over the coming weeks.  Our year 12 PE students will be the first to complete assessment, as they are close to finalising their IA3 folios.  We look forward to seeing the amazing work that they produce based on their knowledge of fitness components, movement strategies and training principles.

Our year 11 and 12 Certificate III in Fitness students are sharpening their interpersonal skills and knowledge of the fitness industry standards of practice, by working with peer clients over the next few weeks.  We hope that they can all gain the knowledge and experience required in order for them to excel within the fitness industry.

Good luck to all of our wonderful HPE students this term!

Mr Lyndon - Head of Department, Health

Library News

NAIDOC WEEK

The Library and the Diversity Committee, along with several staff and student volunteers proudly supported NAIDOC Week in Week 1 this term celebrating our local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through a week of activities and events.

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.

Mrs Scheib organised a NAIDOC Quiz Quest. Students had to hunt down and search for information placed in and around the school grounds.  Students had to answer questions regarding Eddie Mabo, The Uluru Statement from the Heart, the Tagai Story, Tiwi Islands and our Tablelands Yindinji people. Thank you to all students and staff who participated in the quest. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

On Friday, our school community enjoyed our chicken curry and sausage sizzle cook up. We want to thank our volunteers Mrs Schieb, Mrs Stevens, Ms Stack, Ms Cortez, Mr Gray, MasterChef Mr Collins, and all the students who volunteered their time and special talents in making NAIDOC week successful. 

From the Circulation Desk

Welcome back everyone.  We have had a very busy Term 3 already and looking forward to what’s ahead @ The Library. Here is a quick overview of what’s coming up:

BORROWING THIS WEEK:

Everyday we invite students to come and enjoy our space at lunchtimes. This week we have over 110 book borrowers and 39 laptop borrowers.

READER’S CUP:

Our Yr.9 & 10 Reader’s Cup competitors have been meeting in the library each week, preparing for the FNQ competition coming up in week 4. We wish them all the best!

DISPLAYS:

Come in and enjoy the student displays of Yr. 10 Surrealist Interior Scapes and our Yr. 8 Humanities Warriors Collection. This will be the final week to enjoy these exhibitions. Don’t miss out!

HOUSEKEEPING:

Look out for overdue emails sent to students every Wednesday. Please return any overdue loans or alternatively send an email and/or call in to arrange an extension.

SORA:

Finally, if you haven’t explored our E- Digital Library (Yr. 7, 8 & 9 only), simply follow the ‘Get Started with Sora’ instructions attached.

Happy Reading everyone!! Mrs Stevens and Ms Stack

New Books in the Library

School Opinion Survey Information

THE INFORMATION BELOW IS PROVIDED BY EDUCATION QUEENSLAND.  OUR SCHOOL VALUES THE INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK WE ARE PROVIDED THROUGH THE ANNUAL SCHOOL OPINION SURVEY AND ASK THAT EVERY FAMILY RESPOND WHEN THE EMAIL ARRIVES AT YOUR HOME PLEASE.

The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted in Term 3 and will close on 12 August 2022. All families and school staff will be invited to participate along with an students in target year levels (8 and 11). We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what our school does well, and how we can improve.

An invitation to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey will be emailed to one parent/caregiver per family in the week beginning 11 July.  The invitation will be sent from the Department of Education, not the school, and it will have the subject line School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2022.  Check your junk email folders if you can’t find it.  The survey can be completed as soon as the invitation is received and will take approximately 5 minutes using a computer, tablet or smart phone. 

Parents/caregivers who do not have access to the internet at home please contact the school office to organise a time to complete this at school.

The Smith Family - SAVER PLUS

VPG Skills for Work Program

The John Greatrex Aspiring Music Student Bursary