Term 3 Week 6 August 2021

From The Principal

Welcome to our first of two newsletters in this term.  Term 3 is always a busy term and our first five weeks have been no exception.  Our Athletics Carnival had a bumper participation rate and congratulations to Mackay for their success on the day in winning the annual shield. Congratulations to organisers, house captains and students for a successful event. We have also hosted the District Athletics Carnival recently and while we performed well, we came in runners – up to Innisfail State College. Well done again to all competitors and special mention to our students who took out Age Champion awards.

COVID

We are only too aware of the recent COVID lockdown in Cairns. We are not exempt from similar lockdowns. If we were to go into lockdown for an extended period of time, teachers will use a range of platforms for learning currently in use at school such as OneNote, teleconferencing, Microsoft Teams or work will be emailed to the student’s school or home email address. For our students in years 7 – 10, we will also utilise a range of resources via the department’s website. To ensure your child is prepared for such an event, I suggest the following:

• Ensure your child can log into emails outside of school
• Ensure you can access resources on the Departments WEBSITE
• Ensure you can access resources on the TSHS WEBSITE

Year 12 students

All Year 12 students should have received information regarding upcoming events.  At this point in time, the Formal will be held at the school in the last week of this term and all students will be allowed to bring both parents where applicable. However, as has been the case in the past, if there were to be further COVID restrictions placed on schools this may not be possible. Parents should also note that student fees need to be up to date for students to attend this function.  The committee has been working on the event for some months and it is shaping up to be a fabulous evening.

NAIDOC

NAIDOC celebrations recently gave the opportunity for all of our students to be involved in a range of activities and learning opportunities centred around the theme of Healing Country. Our weekly PBL lesson also focused on the Healing Country theme and how we can work towards a society that is equal and respectful of everyone. Teaching staff have commenced  professional development in Cultural Capabilities which will assist them in better supporting our Aboriginal students and Torres Strait Islander students to achieve equitable outcomes.

Luke O’Neil in the Spotlight in Brisbane!

Year 10 Tully SHS jazz pianist, Luke O’Neil, wowed audiences performing with the James Morrison Big Band at the Brisbane Convention Centre in Week 1 this term. The Creative Generation Show is the showcase event for performing arts students across the State enrolled in Education Queensland schools. It has a huge cast of approximately 1200 students, including singers, dancers, percussionists, a wind symphony, orchestra and the Big Band. Luke was selected as the jazz pianist for the Big Band this year – a decision made from many audition videos sent in from across the state. 

  Prior to the holidays, Luke also attended the MOST program in Brisbane, which was an intensive music camp where he was put through his paces learning new tricks from some of the greatest jazz musicians and music teachers around. This was a wonderful and unique opportunity for him to further advance his musicianship skills and also make new connections with like-minded peers. It was the perfect lead up that prepared students for the intensive week for the Creative Generation event. The standard and quality of this production was incredible. The students had an absolute blast and made it look easy… Luke was absolutely pumped and enjoyed himself no end. 

  You can catch Luke performing on stage with the James Morrison Big Band in November when the show airs on Network 10! 

Karen Stewart

Not All Leaders Wear Badges

Yr 10 & 11 Participated in the yLead Program

In order effort to encourage students to be leaders in our school we introduced them to the concept that not all leaders wear badges, that it’s through choices and teamwork they can have a positive influence.

Students were issued a challenge to get every member of their cohort to walk/jog through a turning rope, without the rope touching anyone. They were told they must achieve this as quickly as possible and given an opportunity to think about what they believe the best possible outcome could be. The students were then coached through a process: individuals, pairs, small groups and large groups. Finally, the group discuss how they would like to attempt their final round. Together, the students executed this strategy and achieve their fastest time of 1min 34seconds! With a limited time -frame, students realise that

to reach their goal they must learn from mistakes, implement a strategy,

listen to each other, actively participate and demonstrate resilience. There was much laughter, squeals and frustration.

Students are encouraged to give feedback on the program through the following link- just 10 quick questions.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CGNT5LZ

Respect for Red Cross

Long term President of Tully’s Red Cross, Jean Vallianos, welcomed SLT students Lola Zamora and Stella Berge, accompanied by Principal Richard Graham, on Monday morning at their headquarters in Bryant Street.

The Red Cross ladies were keen to hear about the girls’ experience of the Covid lockdown last year, and how this epidemic has affected the lives of Tully High students like them.

Lola and Stella also took the opportunity to present the Red Cross members with a cheque for $200, money that the SLT had raised selling Anzac poppies to help them with their community service projects.

It was a heart-warming event for both parties, culminating as it did with an irresistible morning tea.

Thierrine Bromley

General English

Year 12 General English began their preparations for their final external exam in physical style.  In week 1 on the term, students worked with professional theatre company Grin’n’Tonic for an introduction to their text, Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  In week 3, students began working with their teachers on understanding the language, characters and plot through introductory language games, and working in teams to create freeze frames of each Act.  This helps embed the key themes and quotes in the students’ minds.  In week 8, we’ll have a mock exam to gauge student progress, then launch into revising and refining our analytical essay writing skills.  Last year, we were highly successful in our results – see the graph below for “A”s – (20 – 25)  This year, we aim to improve on that. The few students in the D range (5 – 10), gained an overall result of B.

2020 Results

Aquatic Practices

Aquatic Practices provides students with opportunities to explore, experience and study the importance of the aquatic environment and its importance in recreational, commercial and cultural activities.

During their recreational fishing unit various fishing methods were investigated, such as lure fishing, where several methods were investigated and analysed. Here students are standing in front of the Aquaponics Unit they helped construct and the school’s Aquaculture Centre.

During their recreational fishing unit various fishing methods were investigated, such as lure fishing, where several methods were investigated and analysed. Here students are standing in front of the Aquaponics Unit they helped construct and the school’s Aquaculture Centre.

Students levelling the ground and setting up the mounts for the Aquaponics setup.

Almost ready to run! The students finishing the final adjustments to the Aquaponics tank mounts.

Aquaculture is also a popular unit where students study the water chemistry of aquariums and learn about the animal husbandry involved with aquaculture. Students perform water quality monitoring and growth analysis on several species of commonly aqua cultured fish such as Barramundi, Jade Perch and Sleepy Cod.

TSHS Athletics Carnival

The Athletics Carnival was held in Week 10 of Term 2.  Congratulations to Mackay on taking out the title in very close competition.  Second place went to Tyson, third was Kirrama and in fourth place, Walter Hill.  Congratulations to all students on a fantastic athletics carnival with excellent attendance and participation.  Thank you to all staff and helpers on the day who made the carnival a success. 

Congratulations to Age Champions and new record holders:  
 

New Records: 

Ben Muriata (K) - 200m – 31.26sec & 800m – 3mim 11.20sec 

Fynn Hawkins (M) Long Jump record – 4.03m  

Hayley Johnston – 14 girls Triple Jump – 9.46m 

Jason Hallie - 16 boys shot put – 12.22m 

Shaniece Davis - 16 girls Javelin – 30.24m 

District Athletics Carnivals

Congratulations to all students selected in the Cassowary Coast District Athletics teams, to compete at the 10-19 years Peninsula Trials in Cairns later this month.  

At the 10-12 Years District Trials, Ben Muriata and Shekinah Goddard were awarded 12 Years Age Champions, and Layla Jenkins won the 800m Perpetual Medal.  Excellent individual efforts saw eight TSHS students selected in the Cassowary Coast 10-12 Years team.  Congraulations to Ben Muriata, Fynn Hawkins, Regan Dean, Kaedyn Ketchell, Rebecca Tom, Layla Jenkins, Mia Van Tonder, Kassidy Dore, and Shekinah Goddard.

13-19 Years Results:

Similar success was yielded at the 13-19 years trials. While Innisfail SC were named champion school, there were many individual displays of excellent competition by TSHS students. Congratulations to Jason Hallie and Ezekiel Ivey who broke records in discus and shot put. Several TSHS students featured in the Age Champion results from the day; Elise Kleinhans (13 years Age Champion), Brooke Johnston (14 years Age Champion), Brett Brunello (16 years Age Champion), Hayley Johnston (14 years Runner-Up), Bonnie Dore (15 years Runner-Up), Matthew Langdon (17 years Runner -Up), & Ben Smith (18-19 years Runner-Up).

Students who placed in the top four for each event will be offered a place in the Cassowary Coast team for the Peninsula trial. Full selection details will be available within the week. A copy of the 10-19 Program can be found at the Peninsula School Sport website.

Annual 100m Gift Race

The annual school 100m Gift Race was held on Monday 26 July with the fastest over 100m from each age group competing against each other.  The start was handicapped according to times from the school carnival.  Congratulations to Stephanie Sutton (Year 11) and Ben Smith (Year 12) who are 2021’s fastest female and male.  Brooke Johnstone finished second for the female race and Layla Jenkins third.  Christopher Ivey finished second for the males, and Jaiden Mothe third. 

Bianca Parkes  

Heal Country! NAIDOC WEEK

This year’s NAIDOC theme for 2021 is Healing Country. NAIDOC week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples.

NAIDOC 2021 invites the nation to embrace First Nations’ cultural knowledge and understanding of Country as part of Australia's national heritage and equally respect the culture and values of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders as they do the cultures and values of all Australians.

NAIDOC week is celebrated all over Australia and Tully State High School recognised and celebrated this event. Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander students entertained Tully State High School staff & students by performing their traditional dances.

Other activities throughout the day were traditional painting, Indigenous games and several Senior students helped me in the kitchen cooking up a feast for our dancers and helpers.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people’s rich and continuous history, culture and traditions are interwoven through ceremonies, stories, artwork, songs and dances.

All students involved should be very proud of themselves as they showed dedication, commitment and absolute love & respect for their culture. I’m sure their ancestors would have been very proud of them, as was I.

Tully State High School Droughtmaster Stud

“WHERE SUCCESS BREEDS SUCCESS”

Another successful year for the members of the Cattle Stud Show Team. After many weeks of preparation and challenging weather conditions, the students made it into the show ring. Our first show was Cairns, where four of the Senior students and nine cattle competed. The students performed very well in the Junior Handler and Junior Judging competitions and brought home ribbons in both events.

The following week, a team of 12 students competed in Tully, receiving numerous awards for their handling and judging. It is wonderful to witness the efforts of the students coming to fruition, especially as this year was the first time in the ring for all members of the team. The students all handled their animals very confidently in the show ring.

On Saturday morning, the students were back in the ring for the Junior Judging competition. The competition involves students judging four animals and placing the class, from first to fourth place. This is followed by the students giving an oral appraisal and successfully justifying their choices. Junior judging is great for building confidence and the students presented themselves well and spoke fluently in the public arena.

Congratulations to all students on their achievements. I am very proud of the students, they are all winners and to successfully get an animal and themselves into the show ring requires confidence, commitment and determination. The members of the Show Team are fine ambassadors for the school and being part of the team gives the students skills for life. Team members are very dedicated and spend a lot of time perfecting their skills at training sessions, after school and on the weekends. Clearly, all their hard work has paid off.

We also did very well with our stud cattle this year, winning Reserve Champion Bull Calf in Cairns and Champion in three age categories at Tully.

 I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the support of this year’s chaperones, Ms Celia McNamara, Ms Cathy Lowe and Mr David Machan, for generously transporting the cattle to the Tully Show.

The members of this year’s show team are:

Mia Simmons              Reese McNamara        Maeve Lowe        Lane Rigato          Stella Berge          Ellie Jenkins          

Brooke Johnston        Hayley Johnston         Teala Hall            Alyssa Patch         Grace O’Kane       Sari Ericson

Finally, I would like to thank the wonderful students for all of their efforts and their parents for supporting them in this wonderful learning experience. The students are amazing to work with and deserve all that comes their way.

 Warren Giffin
Agriculture Co-ordinator

Year 12 Sport & Recreation

The Year 12 Sport & Recreation classes are participating in a hiking camp in Week 6. In preparation for the hike, classes completed the Mt Tyson hike.  It was excellent weather on the day, with great views of Tully and surrounds.  The hike for 2021 will be the Goldfields Trail, which will include a 28km hike and two nights of camping.  Classes have been learning about hiking safety, minimal impact camping and hiking, camp cooking and set-up, and hiking gear and equipment-carrying. 

More SLT News

Last week the SLT team announced a snap Jeans for Genes Day, following a directive that each donation would be matched by an anonymous donor on that Thursday only.

Even with this short notice, many students and teachers remembered to wear denim and donate to the cause of supporting children with incurable genetic diseases. We raised a quick $200, which of course meant $400 for the charity.

Once again, our community has demonstrated that its compassion and generosity go hand in hand.

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Just over halfway through the term, and we all need a little break from the daily teaching and learning tasks that exert a little more pressure each week. 

What better way to de-stress than watch some brave students showcase their creative abilities in performance? Yes, Tully’s Got Talent will be happening in Week 7, on Wednesday 25 August, in the MPC at Break 1.

We have a great line-up of singers, bands, dancers and a budding comedian, all intent on entertaining us and experiencing the thrills of live performance.

Parents and friends are welcome to attend: the show will begin at 11 am.

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Lastly, get ready for our annual Cupcake Day! Lots of imaginatively decorated cupcakes, some brownies, and a busy SLT, hoping to match the $1000 we were able to give Paws & Claws last year. We’ll be baking on the Sunday, selling on Monday 30 August, Week 8.

Following that, the SLT moves into a transition period, with our Year 12 cohort bowing out, and our new leaders for 2022 taking the reins.

Thierrine Bromley

Tully State High School students compete in the Great Barrier Reef Outrigger Challenge

On the weekend, Charlotte Sharpe, Mathew Gough, Jed Campbell, Eli Kraushaar, Jack Watson and Max Rowe (former student) competed in the Open Divisions of the Great Barrier Reef Ocean Challenge with Hayden Tamblyn (out due to injury) in the support boat crew  for the Mission Beach Outrigger Canoe Club.

The 45km six man Outrigger Canoe Changeover race was from Yorkeys Knob to Port Douglas. Conditions were very tough, due to the heat and little assistance from catching waves because of the predominant calm. All students competed stoically, with true grit, determination and comradery. The Open Women’s Team placed second in 4 hrs 13 mins and the Open Men’s Team placed third with a time of 3 hrs 42 mins.

Congratulations to all students.

Inclusive Learning Precinct News

Challenge Games

The annual Challenge Games Camp took place in Week 3. Sixteen students and staff spent four enjoyable days in Townsville exploring museums, ten pin bowling, movies and participating in the Challenge Games. This camp would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors: Tully Lions Club, Mission Beach Lions Club, Tully RSL and Tully SHS P& C. Through their generous support, all accommodation costs are covered, students only needing to pay for their activities and food.

School Based Traineeship

Last week ten students began School Based Traineeship with a variety of workplaces around our region. A huge thankyou to APM and MREAL for their support to find placements, help with paperwork and support the students to begin their traineeships. A huge thankyou also to the following businesses for supporting our students through their traineeship journey: IGA, Paws and Claws, Mission Beach Hideaway Holiday Village, Sealord's-Cowley Beach, Kookaburra- Cardwell, Status Transport, As Green As and Mission Beach Pools. All students are now well on their way to earning QCE points and achieving a recognised Certificate II. 

QCIA: Community Projects

This year the graduating QCIA class have two community projects. They are collecting bread tags and bottle top lids. If you would like to support their collecting, please drop your bread tags and bottle tops into our general office.

1. Collecting Bread Tags

2. Collecting Plastic Bottle Tops

We are proud to support Lids 4 Kids Australia by collecting plastic bottle caps to be used for 3D-printed mobility aids for kids. Lids4Kids is a 100% volunteer initiative that aims to save plastic lids from going to landfill, into our waterways, and spoiling native habitats.

But did you know that those tiny lids can also have a big impact on a kid’s life? It takes just 500-800 lids to create a 3D-printed mobility aid for a child born without a hand or limb.

Coralie Gunn
Head of Special Education Services

JCU Roadshow

Tully High were fortunate last week to have a visit from the JCU Roadshow.  Students were given the opportunity to experience the brand new JCU mobile centre with a variety of interactive activities.  JCU’s Future Student Advisors along with current JCU students were also on hand to answer any questions and impart their knowledge on university life.

An Artistic Extravaganza

Casual Cleaners Wanted

Tutti Frutti Cluster Gala Concert

WALTYKIMA 2020 Magazine

Tully State High 2020 school magazine is now available for purchase at the Office for $25.00 each