Acting Principal Piece With Mark Thomas

Even though we are already into week two of Term 2, I would like to welcome all students and staff back from a well-deserved holiday. I do hope everyone took the time to relax, recharge and spend some quality time with friends and family. A special welcome must go to the new students and families who have started their educational journey here at Toolooa this term. Additionally, as you might be aware, I am backfilling behind Justin Harrison as Principal of Toolooa SHS for 4 weeks whilst Justin is relieving as School Supervisor for all secondary schools in the Central QLD region. This is an opportunity that both myself and Mr Harrison are looking forward to. Mrs Jess Batey will be backfilling my usual role as Deputy Principal of the Senior School.

Academic Report Cards and Parent Teacher Interviews (Postponed/Re-scheduled)

With academic report cards having being emailed home last week, it is imperative that all students sit down and reflect on their term one report card and set goals for this term and the remainder of the year. To support all students through this process, I encourage all parents/carers to spend ten minutes with their child reflecting on their report, paying particular attention to those areas where there have been successes and address those areas where improvement is needed.

Parent teacher interviews, which were originally scheduled for Thursday evening Week 3 (2nd May), are going to be unfortunately re-scheduled to later in the term due to QTU Industrial “work ban” actions that are planned to occur 1st May until the 9th May. Further information about a rescheduled date for Parent teacher interviews will be communicated to our school community ASAP.

At Toolooa SHS, we take great pride in our senior student tracking, support and intervention processes that lead towards outstanding QCE attainment and more importantly, a successful transition to further education, training or employment. As part of our commitment to supporting all Year 11 and 12 students and parents as they navigate through their senior phase of education, our senior schooling team will be making contact with parents of any child who is currently deemed "At Risk" or "On Watch" on their QCE pathway or failing to engage in the compulsory participation phase. More specifically, meetings and discussion will take place to identify concerns, discuss support options and/or intervention processes that will support the student moving forward. In addition, can I please encourage all parents/carers who are unsure or concerned for their child in the senior phase to contact the senior schooling team to arrange a time to discuss your concerns.

Anzac Day is a National Day of Remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". On Wednesday 24th April, Toolooa SHS will hold its annual ANZAC Day Ceremonies whereby, we as a school, take the time to commemorate and remember all those who lost their lives in service to their country, in all wars. Every year, Toolooa SHS has a tradition whereby we as a school have a strong commitment to the ANZAC spirit, both at a school and community level. On behalf of Toolooa SHS, I would like to pre-thank our invited guests for their attendance and our long servicing staff member and veteran, Mr Trevor Davis, for his contribution to the ceremony. There will be a follow up article and photos in the next Newsletter.

To help foster a safe and supportive learning environment, students and teachers will again be involved in the explicit teaching of the school’s expected behaviours this term. These behaviours are in the student success journal on page 4. Each year level will have a specific focus; however, they are all linked to the school’s core values; Respect, Achievement and Responsibility. One particular area of focus at the moment is on students arriving to class on time which also involves transitioning to class at an appropriate time at the end of both first and second break BEFORE the bell goes to signal the start of the lesson.

Last week saw the exciting introduction of a new Bell and speaker system, including musical tones played across the school speakers to signal “phones away for the day” at 8:45am and also “transition to class” at the end of break times. In addition to this we have also made small changes to evacuation and lockdown procedures and tones. This important information is currently being communicated to all students through form class notices and Year level parades. There will be a planned practice evacuation and “soft” vs “hard” practice lockdowns later in the term for staff and students to familiarise themselves with these procedures further. If you have any questions or feedback regarding changes to the bell system and emergency procedures, please do not hesitate to contact me.