Principal’s Piece — Justin Harrison
Welcome Back to Term 3, Semester 2
I hope everyone enjoyed their well-deserved break. It has been great to see our students keen and happy to start the semester. A special mention must go to all new students who have recently enrolled at Toolooa and a big welcome to the new staff who have joined the school.
School Opinion Survey
The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted in Term 3 and will close on 18 August 2023. All families, school staff and students in target year levels (8 and 11) will be invited to participate. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what Toolooa SHS 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 17 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, 2023. 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 are welcome to complete their survey online at school.
On behalf of Toolooa, I do thank all parents/caregivers who take the time out of their busy schedule and complete the survey. Your feedback is very important to us.
Semester 1 Reporting
By now, all parents/caregivers would have received your child’s report card for Semester one via email. For those who have not, please contact the school immediately so we can rectify the problem. Unpacking the report card as a family is a very good opportunity to celebrate the successes and identify the areas of improvement required for future success. In addition, the importance of goal setting and identifying those actions required to achieve those goals will also be beneficial for every student. I encourage all families to sit down, reflect on the report card, set goals and devise actions to achieve success.
As a school, it is important that we reflect on how students are travelling (both positively and negatively), celebrate the successes and identify areas that need further attention. To those students who have done extremely well and have attempted to do their best, we congratulate you. It is tremendous to see such a high percentage of students achieving academically above a C standard.
Year 7 – 10 Achievement Breakdown:
Year 11 and 12 Achievement Breakdown:
Year 7 – 10 Behaviour and Effort Breakdown:
Year 11 and 12 Behaviour and Effort Breakdown:
Unfortunately, there are a small number who are deciding to make some poor choices as of late. As per the Toolooa’s Code of Conduct (page 12-18), we are committed to providing a safe, respectful and disciplined learning environment for students and staff, where students have opportunities to engage in quality learning experiences and acquire values supportive of their lifelong wellbeing. For those students who do decide to make a poor choice, I need to reinforce with them that possible consequences can result. I encourage all parents/carers to sit down and read through the school’s Code of Conduct Policy so everyone has a good understanding of it.
Student Code of Conduct
I would like to congratulate the vast majority of students who have engaged with the school’s core values and are contributing to the positive vibe of our school. As you can see from the data above, a very high percentage of students are being respectful and are doing their very best in every class.
SET Plan Meetings - Year 10 into 11 Transition
All year 10 students and their parents /carers will be invited to participate in a SET plan meeting. SET plan meetings will be occurring from week 4 to 9 of this term. Keep an eye out for an email that provides information as to how to book your meeting. If you have any concerns with this process, please contact the school office for assistance. To ensure that your child /children has selected the correct subjects to support their senior pathway, it is essential for all parents /carers attend this meeting.
Attendance
Every Day Counts: Currently, our year-to-date attendance percentage sits at 84.5%. This is a drop compared to the same time last year. To those parents who continually support their child and reiterate the importance of attending school, I would like to personally thank our parents/caregivers for your ongoing commitment to education and the reinforcement of the motto ‘Every Day Counts’. If you are having difficulty in getting your child to school, please contact your child’s year level coordinator to discuss possible strategies.
We need our students at school every day so that we can assist them to be the best they can be. If your child is absent, please ensure that you explain the absence either via text message (0426 305 132), via email (studentabsentee@toolooashs.eq.edu.au), leave a message (24 hours) 49 714 360, speak with a staff member 49 714 360 / 49 714 304 or send a note with your child.
Same Day Notification
This is a reminder to all parents that Toolooa will contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the day if a student is not at school and we do not know why. If you are advised by the school that your child is away without a reason, please contact us as soon as possible by text on 0426 305 132 (24/7) or phone 49 714 360 / 49 714 304 office hours to let us know where your child is. We will follow-up with parents if no response is received.
Correct Contact Details
There are times (absence, upcoming unit details, assessment changes, incomplete draft, etc.) when we may need to contact parents and carers. Do we have your most up to date contact details? If not, please contact the school on 49 714 333 or email details to Principal@toolooashs.eq.edu.au so we can update our records. These details include parent/carers’ name, address, phone numbers, email address and emergency contact details. Please remember to contact the school if any of these details change.
Uniform Reminder
Uniform Reminder: Please remember that although it is a little cooler, students are still required to be in full school uniform (please see page 29-31 of the Student Success Journal). Please note that the jumper, if plain black, must be free from any logos or images. Students may also wear plain black tracksuit pants. There is to be no denim at all. If for some reason your child is going to be out of uniform, please send them with a note. Students who are out of uniform, with no explanation will be given a uniform detention.
New Staff Term 3 2023—
Welcome to Toolooa State High School to the following new staff members: