Principal’s Piece — Justin Harrison
With all year levels having been back at school for their second week, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the vast majority of students on their level of engagement, sense of enthusiasm and overall commitment to the school’s core values of respect, achievement and responsibility. It is terrific having students back at school undertaking their education and from all reports, they are really trying to achieve their best in a respectful manner.
Last year Toolooa was at the forefront of Inclusive schooling practice in the CQ region by being the first school to participate in a voluntary review of the inclusive practices of the school. Many positive practices were uncovered here at Toolooa, including an underlying culture of aiming to see every student succeed in a safe and supportive environment. In the usual Toolooa way, we have reflected on the positives and worked hard to implement certain considerations from the review. These changes are reflected in our Annual Improvement Plan. Our Annual Improvement Plan focuses on having a quality curriculum being delivered expertly to provide all students with the best chance of success. We are investing significant amounts of time in in the rolling out the key actions from the Annual Improvement Plan. We are hoping that this planning will provide better outcomes for all students.
Installation of CCTV
Toolooa State High School is committed to creating and maintaining safe and secure learning environments that support the provision of high-quality education for teaching and learning. Schools face a number of security related threats and must develop and implement appropriate strategies to manage these risks. Closed circuit television (CCTV) can be an effective tool to help a school to meet its obligation to provide a safe and secure environment for students and staff, and meet its duty of care obligations.
As promised last year, CCTV installation has just been completed across the school with well over 20 cameras in operation. Not only will this help Toolooa SHS identify offences and/or reduce the recent increase in unauthorised access, vandalism, theft and inappropriate use of school facilities outside of school hours; it will also assist the school in overseeing daytime activities whilst also supporting teachers who are on playground duty. The use of CCTV will not be used for monitoring toilets, classrooms, staffrooms or offices.
Assessment Calendars
One of the many ways that staff have made adjustments to support students in this shortened semester is by reviewing and extending assessment dates as needed. Assessment calendars have now been reviewed to consider required teaching time and the impact on student workload, and the updated calendars will be going out to students this week. Please ensure that your child keeps the calendar in a visible place at home so you can check in with your child about how they are travelling with these upcoming tasks.
Virtual Parades
Another change our staff have made to support our students to settle back in is the introduction of virtual parades. With the Back to School plan placing an indefinite pause on assemblies, our dedicated Year Level Co-ordinators and form teachers are implementing these meetings using Teams to ensure that key messages are provided and that students can still be recognised in front of their peers for the wonderful things they do at Toolooa.
Student Code of ConductThis year all Queensland State Schools are implementing their Student Code of Conduct (SCOC). The SCOC outlines policies and procedures that the school uses to help create and maintain a safe and supportive school environment. It clearly outlines the school's core values of Respect, Achievement and Responsibility and the specific behaviours that are expected in all settings at Toolooa. The SCOC outlines the school reward system for reinforcing appropriate behaviour and also outlines the possible consequences that may be used to manage inappropriate behaviour. It also identifies the differentiated processes that may be used to support and manage both behaviour at Toolooa. Toolooa have a Wellbeing Team that provide support to all students at Toolooa. This support is also differentiated based on the needs of the students. The levels of support are outlined in the SCOC. The SCOC can be found on the school website.
All students will have received their 2022 Student Success Journal. The Success Journal provides students with the sections of the SCOC that are of particular importance to students at Toolooa. The expected behaviours can be found in the behaviour matrix on p 4 of the Success Journal. All staff at Toolooa are involved in the explicit teaching of these behaviours. Conversely, the Success Journal also outlines the list of the possible consequences that could be applied, should students not be demonstrating the appropriate behaviours. The Success Journal also provides students with a wealth of information with regards to uniform, late arrivals, early departures and assessment.
It is important for all parents/carers to be aware of the SCOC and its contents and I encourage you to discuss these with your child. Information from the SCOC will be being discussed with students at whole school and year level parades, and in class. Different year levels will all have specific focus areas, which will be determined based on the specific needs of the cohort.
If you have any questions in relation to the SCOC, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.
Congratulations Kaye
Congratulations Kaye Ng for being selected to become a member of the Ministerial Student Advisory Council. This is an amazing accomplishment and we are extremely proud of all your hard work.
The advisory council provides the opportunity for students across Queensland to share their perspectives on important education matters and the impact of broader issues on learning.
More Specifically the Advisory Council:
· provides advice, feedback and shares views on critical and emerging issues for Queensland school students
· considers expert presentations and provides advice on implications for Queensland students
· provides suggestions on current strategies and possible future actions to address emerging issues
· provides student views on current and future policy and practice.
The council is chaired by the Minister for Education Grace Grace, and consists of a group of 16 students from state and non-state schools across Queensland.
The first meeting is scheduled on Friday the 6th of May in Brisbane, where the council generally meets twice a year, or as required if there is a particular matter to be discussed.
Congratulations again Kaye and we look forward to hearing about your successes.