Newsletter

Farewell to our 2022 Year 12’s

It only seems like yesterday Miles State High School welcomed the 2017 cohort of Year 7’s through our gate. Each student was eager to be in high school albeit a little nervous.  I feel I have travelled the last 6 years with this talented and energetic cohort. I was so proud to stand before them last Friday the 18th November on their last day of 13 years of schooling. Together with their peers, family and members of our school community we celebrated their last 6 years of high school and recognised their achievements. We are again proud to announce that 100% of our 2022 Year 12 cohort has exited school with their Queensland Certificate of Education.

I know our whole school community wishes these young adults the very best for their future.

Many thanks for your attendance at the many events over the last few weeks. Enjoy the pictures included in this newsletter of Awards Night, Year 12 Formal and Year 12 Graduation.

Special congratulations to students who attended the Wonders of Science last week representing our school at a state level. Well done and many thanks to Miss Jenko and parent/carers who supported Miss Jenko and the students to travel to Brisbane and support our students during their presentation.

2023 Year 7’s Transition Days

Today we are pleased to welcome our 2023 Year 7 students to Miles SHS for two busy days of getting to know our school layout, our staff, our student leaders and peers who are currently in Year 7 and 8.

As I have walked around the school I have HIGH-FIVED sticky fingers that have been moulding marshmallows and spaghetti into structures, along with viewing them undertaking experiences in art, technology and food specialisation.  It has been a wonderful start to our new students and we look forward to meeting their families at the afternoon session tomorrow. We welcome these new students and their families to Miles SHS.

Senior Studies 

We have said our goodbyes to our Year 10 and 11 students on Friday.  It is important to note that many Senior classes in 2023 will be composite classes (Yr 11 and 12 combined).  With this in mind our current Year 11 students have commenced their Unit 3 curriculum. Unit 3 marks the start of summative assessment, that continues into Year 12. It is crucial for our senior students to establish routines both at school and at home that will support their learning. During Year 11, students will have worked on establishing a balance between their studies, part-time work, recreation and socialising. In order for students to achieve the best outcomes, I encourage them to plan for revision and submission of complete drafts. This will ultimately involve devoting time outside of class to achieve successful completion of assessment. With our Year 10 students entering Year 11 next year, they will need to develop the skills required to complete formative assessment.   

Junior Secondary 

For the next two weeks we will only have Year 7 to 9 at school, completing assessment and finishing out the school year. Every day counts and we hope parents and carers will encourage their student to attend until Friday 9th December 2022.  A big shout out to Miss Bree Jenko and her students that participated in the Wonder Of Science (WOS) State Conference in Brisbane, it was a great opportunity to attend and have a go.  Thank you to everyone involved, to ensure our students attended. 

Transition of Year 6 into Year 7 

Monday and Tuesday of Week 9, we welcome Year 6 students from the state schools in the district.  Lots of excitement by staff, as we welcome the future 2023 Year 7 students into our school community.  Our 2023 School Leaders and Year 9 promising leaders of the future will be involved in the two days transition, supporting and leading the students through their activities.  We will be having a Reflective Slideshow for the Year 6 students and their parents on Tuesday afternoon from 1.50pm to 3pm. 

Important dates: 

Please remember the following dates for 2023:

Regards

Raelene Bates

Hello Everyone,  

We have nearly made it to the end of term, and I am sure there are some very excited students. Over the last two weeks we have said goodbyes to Year 10, 11 and 12 students. This time of the year becomes the end of a chapter for some students and the beginning of the next. While this can be quite daunting for a few students and parents, it is also very exciting to see these young individuals take that step into the new chapter.  

In Week 7 we had the opportunity to celebrate the Miles SHS Awards Ceremony, Year 12 Valedictory and Year 12 Graduation Ceremony. I would like to thank everyone that was involved in these memorable occasions, as these events would not be possible without the support of parents/carers, staff, students and community members.  

With the end of the year approaching very quickly, now is the time to make sure we are still giving everything our best shot. In the last two weeks I am hoping to see students engaged in learning and following the schools' policies/procedures right till the end. The way we finish off the term sets the tempo for the way we start next year.  

I wish the best of luck to all students who have currently finished and are not returning to us here at Miles SHS next year. Work hard, chase your dreams and remember that you are all capable to achieve big things.  

You will hear from me in two weeks, please make sure that we are engaging until the end of term as we have some exciting days coming 🙂

Josh Moore

Our new banner can be found in each classroom displaying the expectation of our students in allowing others to teach and learn.  As part of Positive Behaviour, we illustrate the benefits of following our school expectations and the logical consequences when we don't.

Welcome to week 9. 

We have an exciting week ahead with Year 6 Transition and the Governor General visit. With that being said, please remember that Wednesday will be a formal uniform day. I am excited to see the Year 6 students take their next big step and look forward to seeing what they get up to during their subject visits. I would also like to recognise the hard work of the teachers and student leaders involved with the transition. It is great to see our student leaders utilise their leadership capabilities and lead the next generation.

Have a great week.

Kelli Buchbach

With school holidays approaching please see below for information regarding The Importance of Sleep. 

Annie Cardillo

At Miles State High School, we are committed to developing the well-being and emotional intelligence of our students. Research tells us that emotional intelligence is more important than IQ in academic performance, and more predictive of long-term physical health than exercise.  

To this end we are excited to partner with Decida, a local company specialising in digital tools designed to strengthen emotional intelligence, to implement Switch4Schools which is a simple program to take help students to build and embed these important life skills. Switch4Schools will be used with our junior secondary students. Students will be encouraged to “check in” at the start of the day to learn to identify and label their feelings, and will be supported to participate in small activities that are designed to help the students learn to more effectively manage their emotions in the classroom.  These small strategies (known as switches) are expected to create a classroom environment more conducive to learning for all.   

We are really enthusiastic about the benefits the program could have for our students, and look forward to seeing the results of the trial over the course of the next few weeks. For those interested in finding out more about Switch4Schools, you can find them online at switch4schools.com.au and we encourage you to explore the publicly available version of the program (from the website, select “Login” then select the “Browse without login” option or use this https://app.switch4schools.com.au/Login ).  

Should you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact the school on 4628 511 and ask to speak with one of the Guidance Officers Annie Cardillo or Sarah Perry or email sperr64@eq.edu.au. 

Thanks

Sarah Perry

On Thursday, six students form Miles SHS travelled to Brisbane to compete in the Wonder of Science Conference. Students participated in trivia on Thursday night, where our Year 7 team tied for first place. On Friday the students participated in two workshops where they were able to question Science Ambassadors about their field and learnt about Microplastics. The students got the opportunity to present to the other groups about their findings on a topic they have been researching and experimenting on since Term 2. Unfortunately, our teams did not place, but they had a great time and learnt a lot from the experience. Miss Jenko and Miles SHS is very proud of Talia, Bill, Luke, Harry, Katie and Asher who participated in the competition. Miss Jenko would like to thank all the parents that came along to support the students as well.  

Miss Jenko

The Premier has announced that Queensland is moving from the green traffic light status to Amber (Tier 1).This means there are moderate rates of community transmission of COVID-19.In addition to precautions you should take for the green traffic light status, such as staying home when sick and testing for COVID-19 if you have acute respiratory symptoms, the amber advice recommends:

• wear a mask (in healthcare settings, indoors, if you can't physically distance, on public transport, if you are older or medically at risk, if you're around people who are vulnerable to COVID-19)

• take a rapid antigen test (RAT) every 2 days if someone in your household has COVID-19.

Effective hygiene practices are key to limiting community transmission of disease. Remember to wash your hands regularly, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and open windows to promote air flow.

FROM THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT & MAIN ROADS

SCHOOL ZONE MONITORING

In a world-first road safety initiative, new speed camera technology will soon target speeding drivers at selected school zones across Queensland.

Everyone has a role in keeping our roads safe. It is imperative drivers reduce their speed to the signed 40 km/h speed limit and be aware of activity by students on or near the road.

Speed cameras will only operate during school zone times at the selected schools.

Parents, and carers dropping off or picking up students are urged to comply with school zone speed limits. Those who slow down will not be penalised.

It is with great regret to inform Butlers Road Families and the local community that the bus run P1040T will cease operation as of December 10, 2022 due to decreased student numbers. 

Reg and Sharryn Gilmour would like to thank all families who have utilised the service over the last 50 years and thank the Pye’s and the Marshall’s also for their years of contribution. 

It has been an absolute pleasure to transport your children to school over the last 10 years. 

Sharryn Gilmour

If you wish to register your student for the Homework Centre please collect a registration form from the Front office or Student Services. Once the form is returned you will then be provided with a SOBS link to book online. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact the school office on 4628 5111. 

Please keep your eye out for a Homework Centre Survey to ascertain preferred days and times for Homework Centre. 

It’s important we all understand everyone has the right to be safe in our schools and workplaces. The department does not condone occupational violence and aggression (OVA) where a student or staff member is threatened, harmed or injured by another person in any form.