Principal’s Piece — Justin Harrison
STEM Showcase 2022
Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending this year’s STEM Showcase. It was fantastic to see such a great turnout at this event, and to see such positive engagement in all the activities. I was impressed with the students’ knowledge about everything on offer, including drones, Spheros, robots and virtual reality. It was so rewarding to see our students coaching their peers, staff, families and community members through the use of these exciting new technologies.
Our STEM Squad continues to grow each year, under the leadership of Dave Capill, our Junior Secondary Head of Department. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dave and his team for their hard work and dedication.
Thank you to everyone who attended and took part in this event. Please see photos and more information about the STEM Showcase on page 6 of this newsletter.
National Day of Action Against Bullying
Join us on Friday 18 March 2022 for the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA). Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative celebrates 12 years of action, connecting schools and communities to find workable solutions to prevent bullying.
The theme for 2022 is Kindness Culture. By building Kindness Culture together, we can promote inclusion, respect and community belonging for all students in schools across Australia. Students are encouraged to wear orange accessories to raise awareness on Friday. E.g.- orange socks, ribbons, wrist bands, earrings etc.
Year 12 EFL Timetable Change
A decision has been made to cancel all Year 12 EFL classes that occur on Thursday Period 4 for the remainder of this term (week 8, 9 and 10). This decision has been made to support our Senior students' preparedness for the upcoming assessment period by allowing them this time to study or complete assessment. All Year 12 students will be given a Variation to School Routine (VTR) on their timetable which will allow them to exit school at 1.10pm on a Thursday afternoon. Students are permitted to stay at school after this time if desired, however if your child wishes to stay at school, they will need to sign in at the office. If you have any questions, please contact a member of the Senior Schooling team on 49714333.
Term 1 Reporting:
At the end of term 1, teachers will communicate to parents, via an interim report card, the achievement, effort and behaviour of students. Achievement is rated on an A-E scale, with effort and behaviour rated from ‘excellent’ to ‘unacceptable’. There are no comments accompanying this report card and parents are encouraged to attend a parent/teacher/student information evening in term 2 in order to discuss their child’s progress.
Interim report cards for students in years 11 and 12 will be emailed home on Friday of the last week of this term. For the rest of the school, reports are emailed home at the end of week 1, term 2. Again, we encourage parents to make an appointment to discuss interim reports with teachers using the SOBS booking system. Information about this process, as well as dates and times for interviews, will accompany report cards.
Supporting Pre-Service Teachers
As part of our ongoing commitment to shaping the next generation of teachers, Toolooa is excited to be hosting a number of enthusiastic and dedicated pre-service teachers over the coming weeks. Working within the Health and Physical Education faculty, our experienced teaching staff here will mentor these student practitioners as they continue to develop and apply their craft.
As well as local CQU students, we are also providing placement for students who are travelling from South Australia to gain experience from our Toolooa staff; this is yet another clear indicator of the strong, positive reputation our school continues to build, even with universities from outside our state. It is always exciting to work with these students, as they bring with them a wealth of new ideas, emerging researched based strategies, and a fresh perspective that not only benefits our students but provides some great learning opportunities for other staff as well. We look forward to sharing their experience with our school community.