Principal’s Piece — Mark Thomas
(Acting Principal)
As Term 3 draws to an end, I would like to sincerely thank our Toolooa community for the support and commitment you have shown our school, and more importantly, your child over the course of the last ten weeks.
Providing students with the best education possible in a safe and supportive environment would not be possible if it was not for the hard work of the teaching and non-teaching staff. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff for their commitment to providing each child with a quality education. To those families who have taken the time to thank the school for everything we do, I appreciate it.
I am sure all students and staff are looking forward to the break, a time to recharge and return with the energy and focus needed to achieve great things in Term 4. For those families who are travelling on our roads during the break, please take care and we look forward to seeing everybody back on Tuesday the 5th of October.
Term 4 Dates
Term 4 will commence on Tuesday the 5th of October.
Final day for Year 12 attendance is Friday 19th November
Final day for Year 10 & 11 attendance is Friday 26th November
Final day for Year 7,8 & 9 attendance is Friday 10th December
Year 10 SET (Senior Education and Training) Plan meetings
Across weeks 5-9 of this term a team of 14 SET Plan case managers conducted individual meetings for close to 180 Year 10 students and their parent/guardian(s). These mandatory meetings were an excellent opportunity to meet with parents/guardians to review, align and discuss the student’s intended learning options after Year 10, their career aspirations, explaining the QCE, their chosen school pathway (ATAR Vs Pre-vocational) and to also help guide subject selections and external program options/applications. Additionally, I believe these contact meetings were also used to effectively communicate school expectations, policies and procedures of the Post-compulsory phase of education. I would sincerely like to thank all parents of Year 10 students for engaging in the SET planning process and supporting the school on the advice/guidance given to students. A big thank you must also go to the following SET Plan Case managers, who gave up their time and re-scheduled calendars to fit in each of their allocated meetings; Mark Thomas (DP), Danielle Willard (DP), Silke Hetherington (G.O), Jenny Morris (G.O), Dave Roby (HOSES)/Vic Provan (QCIA Case manager), Darren Boase (HOD Senior Schooling), Chris Hill (HOD), Todd Dearuago (YLC), Georgia Milne (YLC), Natasha Read (YLC), Amanda Patzwald (YLC), Alex Dalzell (YLC) and Isabeau Smith (Year 10 EFL teacher). Your commitment to student pathways and outcomes does not go unnoticed. If parents/guardians have any further questions regarding their child’s Senior schooling please do not hesitate to give the school a call.
Year 12 Mock External Assessment
Congratulations to all Year 12 students who have sat their Mock External exams over the last week. I believe all students conducted themselves with academic integrity and given these mock exams their best effort. Whilst these Mock exams do not contribute to a student's overall summative results and may have been stressful for some, the anecdotal feedback we have received from students and parents alike has been very positive. Most students are extremely grateful for not only the exposure to a simulated EA environment and conditions, but more importantly, the opportunity to have their responses marked by their teacher so as to receive constructive feedback which will then guide the re-teaching and learning for the 3 weeks leading up to the real EA block starting in Week 4 next term. More information about the real EA block will be communicated early next term.
R U OK Day
R U OK?Day (Thursday 9th September, 2021) was our national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone that every day is the day to ask, “Are you OK?” and support those struggling with life's ups and downs. We are very proud of our Toolooa State High School staff and students for their efforts in supporting the raising awareness of checking in on our fellow peers.
Student Parking and Road Safety
2021 is only the second year we have had some Year 11 (17 year old) students gaining their P Plates and driving themselves to school. As a result of the change to the starting age in Queensland, we now have two cohorts of students eligible to drive and park across the road from the school. Students drive to school and park on the designated area (council property) at their own risk. The school is unable to take responsibility for damage to staff or student vehicles parked on or near school property. Students are reminded that any pranks or dangerous driving resulting in damage to vehicles will be referred to police and insurance companies.
Students have been reminded that they are not to leave the school grounds without the express permission of the school. They must also sign in and out through the office when arriving or leaving due to their timetable variations. Students have been reminded that they must not take other students in their car during breaks. The school will not give lunch passes to purchase food from takeaway shops. Lunch can be purchased from our school tuckshop.