Term 1 - Week 10 - March 2022

From The Principal

This newsletter marks the end of another unusual and much shortened term.  In many respects it has been an exhausting term for us all at school and I have been proud of the work, patience and effort put in by our students and staff. I wish you all the best over the Easter break and remind you to take time out to be with family and friends.

Year 12 Investiture

Our Year 12 students looked splendid as they walked tall across the stage for their recent Year 12 Investiture. Although the event was delayed due to COVID, we still had a large contingent of parents and friends attending who remained after the event to mingle and take photos with this great group of leaders. Compliments to Year 12 Co-ordinator, Ms Walker, and a range of staff and student helpers for their contributions on the day.

Student Medication

The administration of medications to students by school staff is only considered when a prescribing health practitioner has determined that it is necessary or when there is no other alternative to the treatment of a specific health need. Schools require medical authorisation to administer any medication to students (including over-the-counter medications such as paracetamol or alternative medicines). Please contact the school for further details and associated paperwork if required.

First Parade

Our first full school parade was very much welcomed by our student group. Our leaders ran the parade as usual, beginning with a competition involving balloon bursting and some of our teachers! This was the first ever parade for our Year 7 group who looked smart in their new uniforms and were made to feel welcome by our older students.

Travel Committee

Several members of the Student Leadership Team, including students from Years 8 and 12, are currently reviewing travel processes and facilities at the school to ensure our students’ safety on or near roads and traffic. This continues some great work commenced last year by students.  The 2022 group will review their findings and come up with the top issues in areas such as parking, road safety communication and pedestrian behaviour.  They will then be part of a bigger community team which will involve the Department of Roads, Department of Education and the Cassowary Coast Shire Council.

Parents and Citizens Association

Congratulations to the 2022 P&C Committee. This group continues to be an influential part of our school, not only financially, but also for their contribution and advice on how our school operates.

Richard Graham

Principal

Senior Investiture 2022

On Monday 22 March, we finally held our annual Senior Investiture. The event had been postponed from earlier dates due to COVID restrictions. Before an audience of parents, teachers and the student body, we inducted our students into their Year 12 roles and responsibilities.

Each student had previously committed to adhere to the school behaviour code, strive to achieve to their full potential, attend school regularly (>90% attendance rate), abide by the school dress code, display school pride and spirit, and be a positive role model for other students. Now each of the 86 students read an oath pledging the same. Our school captains, leaders, Indigenous leaders and Student Leadership Team Executive were also recognised for their work during the six months they had already been performing their leadership roles. Every student was presented their Senior badge.

Following the formalities, parents, Year 12 students and their teachers, enjoyed a morning tea prepared by Hospitality students. The significance of the event was palpable - many students commented that now it is real, they are actually in Year 12.

Grace Walker

Year 12 Coordinator

NAPLAN at Tully State High School

 From May 10 – 20, Tully State High School Year 7 and 9 students will participate in NAPLAN (National Assessment Program, Literacy & Numeracy) testing, as will all other Year 7 and 9 students across Australia.

Across these days, our students will participate in a total of four tests: Numeracy, Writing, Reading and Conventions of Language (grammar, punctuation and spelling). At Tully, our students access NAPLAN online, meaning they will complete their testing on computers rather than paper tests. A major benefit of this process is that testing is tailored to each student; the test automatically adapts to a student’s test performance, giving questions easier or harder depending on the student’s answers at juncture points. In questions where reading is not being tested, such as the Numeracy Test, students also have the option of pressing a speaker button to have the questions read to them.

NAPLAN tests are constructed to give students an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge they have learned throughout their school curriculum journey across their years of schooling, and NAPLAN tests are treated as just another routine assessment in our school assessment calendar.

Students at Tully State High School are well prepared for NAPLAN through the intensive school focus on reading and writing, the teaching of language conventions, our focus on daily writing and the explicit maths lessons occurring daily in their classrooms.  

If you are interested in seeing the types of questions students encounter in NAPLAN, please visit https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site, where you can view sample tests.

At the beginning of next term, our Year 7 and 9 students will participate in a 40-minute practice test to enable us to ensure our computers and systems at school are ready for the test in May. This practice test is not scored or marked, and students are encouraged to play with the functions and the assistive options which will be available in the test in May.

If you would like further up-to-date information regarding NAPLAN generally, please visit the ACARA (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority) NAPLAN website at www.nap.edu.au . A parents’ and carers’ information brochure is available on this website at https://www.nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/resources/naplan-online-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf, and information regarding the privacy of student data is available at https://nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/resources/naplan-privacy-notice.pdf

While participation by all students is expected, students may be withdrawn from the testing program by their parent or carer. This is a matter for consideration by individual parents or carers. Withdrawals are intended to address issues such as religious beliefs and philosophical objections to testing.

Applications for student withdrawal by parents or carers from NAPLAN are to be discussed initially with the Head of Department – Junior School, Ms Willis (lwill416@eq.edu.au), no later than Wednesday May 4

If you have any queries regarding NAPLAN at Tully State High School, please contact me via the school office.

Kind regards,

Mark McLoughlin

Deputy Principal – Junior School

Senior Fashion:

Year 11 and 12 Fashion students have been working hard and sewing up a ‘storm’.  Year 11s are doing a unit in which they have been creating a fashion outfit for an event.  Pictured is Blaire in a pencil skirt that has been created for a Races event and is fully lined and made from a Sateen fabric. 

The Year 12s have been creating a line of fashion items that meet a ‘dress code’.  Pictured is Amali in a ‘smart casual’ dress made from a cotton gingham and Grace’s ‘smart casual’ outfit, designed by Grace herself and crocheted from 100% cotton yarn, which is suitable to wear in the heat of the tropics. 

Karen Towne

Hospitalty

Mt Tyson Hike

This group of champions hiked Mt Tyson on Monday 28 March.  The Bushman’s spray was like Chanel Number 5 to the mozzies as they swarmed around the group throughout the climb.  It was certainly a challenging walk that gave students a sense of accomplishment regardless of where on the mountain they reached.

Throughout the term, the Year 11 students have participated in three challenges.  The first was creating a gratitude journal, the second a reduction in screen time, and the big kahuna of them all, a hike up Mt Tyson.  Students were awarded points for every challenge completed.  Watch this space for the individual winners for each class and the overall class winner.

Well done to all involved.  You were pushed outside of your comfort zone and needed your grit and determination for the afternoon hike. 

Mt Tyson will be ascended at the end of each term, so if you missed this one, don’t think you’ve lost your opportunity.  Get training for the next challenge in Week 9 of Term 2.

Manual Arts Department

The sweet sound of a Talharpa will be heard from the Manual Arts workshops of Tully State High. Oliver Scott has been busy creating his own wooden Nordic instrument. Oliver tells me that the violin in one of its ancestors. I look forward to seeing the finished product and the craftsmanship that has gone into it, but not as much as I look forward to hearing what beautiful sounds Oliver’s Talharpa can make.

The Arts Faculty

This term, the Yr 9 Art class have been busy creating a mixed media piece which incorporated sections of interesting architecture of student’s choice.  Students had to consider composition and the elements of design when creating their artwork.  For their first assessment of the year, all students have done particularly well, considering a reduced timeframe.  Next term, the Yr 9s will be learning about portraiture which will culminate in a portrait for assessment and be displayed at our very own Archibald Prize style gallery.  Students will be choosing a Tully High staff member as their subject but we will be keeping this under wraps until the grand unveiling.

Yr 11 VAP

The Yr 11 Visual Arts in Practice class have completed their music festival posters with great success. 

If Cuttin’ The Fieldz really existed, I would definitely be tempted by these posters to attend.

Leandra Willis

Art Teacher

Year 12 VAP

The Year 12 Visual Arts in Practice students have commenced their next unit of work, Scapes. They will respond to the different natural disasters Australians face throughout the nation.

We will acknowledge the recognition of our resiliency and how this strength allows Australians to continue in the face of adversity. They will study artists who use the Australian landscape as their inspiration and how these landscapes are changed in a natural disaster.

Here you see them experimenting with line, shape and colour to represent these changing landscapes.

Ms Holmes

Art Teacher

The Earth without ART is just eh!

This term in Media, we had some awesome accomplishments and creations across all the classes.

Each term, we will focus on two different year levels; for term 1, we are looking at the year 8s and 10s.

The Year 8s took on the challenge of making the cover of the 2022 School Magazine. Using techniques they learnt in photoshop, many of the students were very creative with their end results. With the theme being Discover, the students created covers based around the subject of space, the sea or even the mysteries of life. 

To start 2022, the Year 10 Media Arts class have focused on the genre of Reality TV. This involved taking a look at the genre itself, what makes a Reality TV show, how they operate, what type of people participate, and what happens throughout a season. Students deconstructed the genre into key components and were then tasked with creating their own unique Reality TV show. Of course, they didn’t have to create the whole show; in terms of assessment, they were asked to produce a 30 second commercial that could be shown on TV, advertising their new show. This not only tested the students in their knowledge of Reality TV and how to portray one in an advertisement, but also their ability to work towards a strict 30 second video file. It’s been a great start to the year, and we’re already looking forward to what the class will produce in Term 2!

Year 7 Music have been introduced to the basics of keyboard and guitar through theoretical and practical lessons. They have had two assessment pieces to demonstrate their learning. The first one was to perform one song from the list of songs on keyboard/guitar.  The second was to write up a composition, using the theoretical knowledge they have been learning and developing in class. The students have responded well to both tasks and have improved on their skills as the term has progressed.

Lilly McDonald

Music Teacher

This term, Year 7 Drama students have been learning about the Elements of Drama. Students have enjoyed applying theory and concepts to practical activities. It has been entertaining to view short scenes throughout the term.

Over the past three weeks, students have been planning and rehearsing their own short scenes for their Term 1 assessment. There has been a strong focus on students carefully selecting costumes and props to support meaning in their performance. In Week 10, Year 7 Drama students performed their scene for assessment to an audience of Tully State High staff and students. Audiences enjoyed the funny and heart-warming scenes.

Students’ confidence on stage had grown over the past term. In time, this confidence, and their acting skills, will continue grow and students will become superstars on stage. There are certainly some Hugh Jackmans and Nicole Kidmans in the making.

Blake Johnson

Drama Teacher

Year 12 Formal Committee

Pie Drive

A big thankyou to all the Year 12 students and parents who supported the Year 12 Formal Committee’s Pie Drive. The committee sold over 200 pies and made a considerable contribution to the Formal for 2022. The theme for this Year’s Formal is Great Gatsby. It will be held on September 15 in Term 3. The Formal Committee has big ideas for their fundraiser for Term 2, so stay tuned!

Year 11 Pilates

 Year 11 REC is learning about different types of recreational sports/activities in and around Tully. The Cassowary Coast Physio came to the MPC to do a Pilates session for them. Special shout out to Marley, who had great form!  

Year 11 REC NEWS

Recently Year 11 REC had some visitors and went to the Bowls Club.

Pickle Ball:

The students got to try out Pickle Ball for the first time at school last Thursday. Five club members came to teach the students rules and techniques. The students realised how different this game is from tennis and how much skill it involves.

Tracey Harris CrossFit:

Tracey Harris is a renowned CrossFit trainer and competitor. She came to TSHS on Friday last week to take the students through a session. Each student tried their hardest and had a constant reminder of ‘no pain, no gain’! Special shout-out to Blake Morrice, who smashed the workout and does compete is CrossFit competitions alongside Tracey.

Bowls:

Year 11 walked to the Bowls Club on Tuesday and participated in a bowls session. Club members helped teach the students rules and techniques. They then competed in a mini comp. Special shout-out to Raymond and Laine who won!

Junior Secondary

Year 7

The high school experience has been a strange start for the Year 7 group, with a late start to the school year and the mandated mask rules. However, despite all of this, the group has settled in amazingly well, and as their coordinator, I am extremely proud. This cohort consists of 138 students and I am looking forward to get to know each and every one of them over the coming year. Earlier this term, the students took part in the annual Survivor Games Day. It was a huge success, with lots of fun had by all (considering the hot day). We have also already chosen our Year 7 Student Leadership Team representatives who will be the voice for their peers. And just the other week, the Shake and Stir Theatre Company visited to deliver their show, Territorial, giving a relatable performance on the first year of high school. It has been a busy term, to say the least.

With the eased restrictions, it has also been great to see all the Year 7 faces on Year Level Parades, where each fortnight students are awarded prizes for the demonstrating the whole school PBL focus. Our Wellbeing lessons have seen us focus on gratitude, and learning skills to better transition into high school life. In Wellbeing next term, we will be discussing attendance and creating goals for students to maintain our whole school attendance target of 90%. So far, the Year 7 cohort’s overall attendance sits at 92%. Those students who maintain 90% or higher will receive a reward at the end of the semester for their commitment to their education.

We are off to a great start this year, and I look forward to another amazing term with the Year 7s.

Isabelle Bushby

Year 7 Coordinator

 Year 8

After the extended holiday, the Year 8 students hit the ground running with a jam-packed term. Even with the adjusted term, our Year 8 cohort was determined to get back to their learning, which has been displayed throughout Term 1.

In Wellbeing classes, students have been engaging in what it is to be grateful. They wrote letters of gratitude and gave them to special people in their lives. It was fantastic to see so many students writing letters to parents, siblings, friends, teachers and even their pets.

As Year Level Parades are back in action, we are finally able to celebrate the success of our wonderful students amongst their peers. Each week, teachers nominate students who are demonstrating the behaviour that we like to see at Tully State High School and in the wider community. These behaviours align with our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) framework.  After these nominations are sent through, a spinning wheel is created where the nominated students have chance to win a $5 tuckshop vouchers to celebrate the behaviours they are displaying.

As a school, the attendance target for each student is 90%. Currently, the Year 8 cohort is sitting at 91.8%, a great achievement. Students who maintain an attendance rate of above 90% will be eligible to join in to our end-of-semester activities as a reward for maintaining such high standards. So, keep it up!

With Term 2 just around the corner, we hope that our students have a safe and relaxing holiday in preparation for another busy term.

Bradley Dennis
Year 8 Coordinator. 

Year 9

After a disrupted start to the year, the Year 9s have settled in excellently as leaders of our Junior School. I have enjoyed getting to know the Year 9 students this term, as their Year Level Coordinator, and am excited to get to know them even better now that Year Level Parades are back! Each fortnight on this parade, students are nominated by teachers for being PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning) superstars; they then go into the draw to win a $5 Tuckshop voucher.

This year, we have a cohort of just over 130 students, with a couple of new faces welcomed to Tully State High School in 2022. This term, the Year 9s have started the Resilience Project in Wellbeing which has been well received by students. The program is priming them for a visit from the Cowboys early next term.

 The attendance for Term 1 is at 91%, which is just over our whole school goal of 90%. Next term, the Junior grades will be focusing on attendance and creating goals to reduce any barriers that are preventing them from reaching 90% attendance. There will also be a very exciting reward at the end of semester for those students who are ‘attendance superstars’! I’m looking forward to a fantastic Term 2 with our Year 9s!

Madigan Paine

Year 9 Coordinator

Getting to know our staff - White Heading to Worlds

We know her as our friendly admin officer; however, out of school, Kathy dedicates her time to training with her sights now set on the 20^th VA’A World Sprint Championships in London in August.

Kathy is a member of the Far North Queensland Masters 40+ crew, which is part of the Australian Outrigging Team, that she will be part of in both OC6 and V1 sprint events. White recently competed against paddlers from Mackay to Torres Strait at Tinaroo Dam (as pictured in Outrigger Canoe 6), two- and on- man events, coming away with Gold in 7 out of 8 of her races. According to Kathy, it’s great to be a part of a sport that you can compete and enjoy both as a team and an individual no matter what your age.

Junior English

Achievement standards across the year.

With the interim reports, please be aware that students have all year to work to meet the standards for that year.  Quite a few students in junior English have not been successful in their first assessment for the following reasons.  Students ignored teacher corrections on drafts and despite direct instruction, did not act on feedback.  It is important to stress to your child the need to develop and refine their assessment responses.  Please make an appointment for the parent / teacher interviews if you wish to discuss your child’s results.

SLT 2022

World’s Greatest Shave 2022

Every year at this time you are likely to see some baldish heads among the hairy ones, heads that denote their owners have made a wonderful financial and moral contribution to the Leukaemia Foundation, or the Cancer Council, as was the case on March 18.

You can tell from the photos how enthusiastic our students were – participants, onlookers and donors. Many students were all three, adding to our collection, having their hair coloured, or their legs waxed, and supporting the people on stage who were taking the most radical option, and who had spent the previous weeks soliciting donations. Nate McLaughlin and Ruben Wilson had the brave shave in front of all those students, while Cooper, home alone with COVID, did a number one on himself.

Ms Bushby, whose hair was long and curly, had strong reasons of her own to contribute in this way for the Cancer Council, raising $3,893, and inspiring students and teachers alike.

Our students managed to raise over $1,200 in a very short time, giving us yet another reason to be proud of them.

Special thanks to hairdressers Belle Appelgren and Narelle Columbini, who volunteered both their time and expert skills. And, of course, our superlative Student Leadership Team!

TSHS Sports News

There have been several sporting opportunities for students this term.  Thank you to the TSHS staff who have assisted with team selections and coaching and managing district teams.  Over 80 students were selected in Cassowary Coast teams and participated in Peninsula Trials.  Congratulations to the students who have been selected in Peninsula teams so far this year.  Best of luck at the State Championships. 

Peninsula Sections / Representation:

AFL – Patricia Hart & Charlize Liddle

Baseball – Riley Berge

Cricket – Christo Van Vuuren

Football – Mia Wilson

Rugby League – Sari Ericson, Jason Hallie, Ezekiel Ivey, Sipi Sipi & Mia Wilson

Softball – Clancy Black, Livinia Brauer, Simone Clarke, Zara Flegler, Makayla Kleinhans, Hannah Morris, Bailey Neville & Zoe Waters. 

Swimming – Sophie McCullum

Touch Football – Bonnie Dore, Maeve Lowe & Logan Deloryn

Triathlon / Aquathlon – Korey Roberts, Kaiden Roberts, Harry Tamblyn & Liam Quabba. 

Maths Department News

Maths Tutoring commences on Thursday 18 April in the Library from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

Calypso Coaches will be offering a service picking up from TSHS at 4.05pm on Thursday afternoon's for any students attending the Maths tutoring class.  Parents can make a booking by emailing accounts@calypsocoaches.com.au or phoning 0418 154 470.  Bookings are essential.  Price $5/student.
Drop off points:
-Corner of Merryburn Drive and Tully-Mission Beach Road
-Lindsay Road Carmoo (first bus stop only)
-Kennedy Esplanade, South Mission Beach (Shelter shed on beach front)

-Jackey Jackey Street Park, South Mission Beach
-Wongaling Beach (big cassowary)
-North Mission Beach (the hub).  

April School Holiday Activities

Fly with us to Neverland

Bored in Breaks?

P & C Meetings

Casual Cleaners Wanted

BreastScreen Queensland

Well Women’s Clinics

Well Women’s Clinics

Well Women’s Clinic – Mission Beach – Tuesday 19^th April 2022

(This clinic is available to Medicare eligible clients)

Service includes Cervical Screening Tests (Pap Smears), Sexual Health Screening, Breast Awareness, also info on Contraception, Continence, Menopause, Lifestyle Issues, Domestic Violence, etc.  All services are provided by a specially trained Women’s Health Nurse.

For appointments phone 4016 1447

Uniforms Wanted!

Tully Multipurpose Centre