Principal Piece with Justin Harrison Term 3 Week 2 2022

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 returned from leave.

As you may be aware, the Premier announced the amendment of the COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Workers in a high-risk setting Direction effective from 1am, 30 June 2022. This means after this date, workers will no longer be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 in order to attend schools or early childhood education and care settings in Queensland.

I would like to reassure you that while the Chief Health Officer has repealed this direction and deemed that schools are no longer a high-risk setting, the vast majority of staff in our school are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Our school will continue to have a range of COVID safe measures in place. If you have any questions or concerns, as always please feel free to contact me on 49714333.

Thank you to all of those who have already completed the Parent/Caregiver School Opinion Survey on-line. If you have not had a chance to complete the survey yet, please note the survey is open until Friday, 12 August 2022. This is your opportunity to provide feedback about what your school does well and how we can improve to help shape our school’s future. To have your say, check your email for an invitation from the Department of Education titled School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2022. For those who cannot find your invitation, I encourage parents/caregivers to check to see if the other parent/caregiver has it and/or check your junk email folder.

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. 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.

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 5 to 10 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 to attend this meeting.

Every Day Counts: Currently, our year to date attendance percentage sits at 87.1%. 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 everyday 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 (0426305132), via email (studentabsentee@toolooashs.eq.edu.au), leave a message (24hours) 49714360, speak with a staff member 49 714 360/ 49 714 304 or send a note with your child.

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.

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.

By now, all parents/carers 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.

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.