Principal’s Piece — Justin Harrison
Welcome back from a well-deserved break!
Term 4 is upon us and the year has certainly gone by quickly. I am looking forward to finishing the year off strong; celebrating all of Toolooa’s achievements, seeing off our graduating cohort and planning for another successful year in 2022.
Our Annual Awards Night is Next Week
An important event on our yearly calendar is our annual awards’ evening whereby we have the opportunity to celebrate outstanding academic, cultural and service achievements and say thanks to all involved. Students, parents and community members have been invited to join us at one of the two ceremonies which will be held at Toolooa next week on Thursday the 21 October. Subject awards and a number of academic bursaries will be presented to students, along with the special awards that will be announced on the night. Recognition of all award recipients will be included in our next newsletter.
Senior School Leaders for 2022
This year, Toolooa has had an excellent pool of applicants for 2022 senior leadership positions. In order to attain a position as school captain or vice-captain, all applicants were required to write and present a speech which they pre-recorded and presented to form classes, as well as have a meeting with members of the school’s administration and P&C. Following this, all students and staff will vote for their preferred leaders. The announcement of the successful applicants for school leaders for 2022 will be made at our annual awards night.
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) Confirmation
As part of the QCAA’s Quality Assurance processes, Toolooa SHS has recently had our Year 12 General Subject IA3 results confirmed. As a school we have performed exceptionally well in this process with 15 out of 17 General subject IA3 provisional results returned as supported by external Confirmers. The remaining 2 subjects are still under review. Among the results we have a number of high performing students, who after their three (3) Internal Assessment (IA) items, are on track for exceptional raw score results (>90%). For every student, knowing what raw score they are sitting on numerically after the 3 IAs, before they head into their External Assessment (EA) exams is very powerful. Students should now also have their Mock EA formative results and feedback which will help to prepare them and give them every chance of success.
Year 12 External Assessment (EA) & Tutorial Timetable
The Year 12 EA & Tutorial timetable is being distributed to all Year 12 students on Parade in Week 2. The External Exam block commences on Friday 22nd October through to Monday 15th October. This timetable not only identifies General Subject exam dates and session times, rooms and exam supervisors but also shows when mandatory subject tutorials are being held. Students are expected to attend school for each of their subject exams and subject tutorials. All other times when not expected to be at school are to be used for Exam study at home or in the library. This timetable will be comprehensively explained to all students including expectations regarding school processes such as signing/in/out. If you have any questions regarding the EA timetable or other Year 12 matters including the last week activities or the Senior Formal please don’t hesitate to contact the school.
Self-Assessment Inclusion Scan
From the 13th to the 15th October, Toolooa State High School will undergo a voluntary self-assessment of our inclusive practices. This self-assessment is the first in the Central Queensland region and highlights our willingness to be involved to improve outcomes for each and every student. We welcome seven (7) unfamiliar faces to the school to interview a wide variety of staff, students and parents over three (3) days within the Toolooa community. This is an intensive time for our school as it will provide valuable feedback to inform future improvement strategies in 2022 and beyond. We are keen to hear from independent school leaders about how they perceive we support all students at Toolooa, in particular; those students who are identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students with disability and students in out-of-home care.
New Performing Arts Building Progress
The planning behind the new Performing Arts building is coming along nicely. As we are only in the initial stages, the design and specifics are yet to be finalised. Due to the size and scope of the project, the plan is to have the building completed at the end of Term 1 in 2023. Exciting times!
Attendance
Attendance: Reminder that every day counts. Please ensure that unless your child is unwell that their attendance is expected. If your child is unwell or not attending school for a day, please inform the office via the absence line, sending a note with your child (either before they are absent or following their return) and /or reply to the text message. We thank parents for their assistance with managing student attendance.
Reporting and Assessment Calendars
Junior reports (7-10) were emailed out last week. Please check your emails and take the time to review your child’s results and discuss goals for the term.
Junior Assessment Calendars are being handed out to students across weeks 2-3. Please ask to see your child’s assessment calendar and discuss the time management of tasks this term.
World Teacher’s Day
The 29th of October is World Teacher's Day. On this day we will be celebrating all the fantastic and dedicated teachers that we have at Toolooa. It is a day where we say thankyou for all that our teachers do. I am sure that you will all agree that our teachers go above and beyond to support your child/ren to help them to reach their full potential.
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