Newsletter

Edition 6 Term 2 2022

In this edition

From the Principal

From the Deputy Principal

From Head of Wellbeing and Engagement

From Head of Curriculum

From the P&C

Term 2 2022

  • Mothers Day On The Green 
  • Do it for Dolly

English/Humanities

Experiencing Sporting Excellence

School Values

Miles SHS Calendar of Events - WK 5 and WK 6

Miles SHS Date Claimers/Notices

Homework Centre

Walk Safely to School Day

NDIS Visit

Community Events/Notices

Download the SkoolBag App

From the Principal

Dear Parent/Carers,

It’s hard to believe that we have almost reached the middle of the term.

Celebrating our Ongoing Community Connections

I am so proud to be part of such an energetic community that supports Miles State High School in being an integral part of great community.  Miles SHS engagement in our local and wider community outcomes include: community connectedness and citizenship, authentic curriculum experiences, academic and future pathways opportunities to name a few.  Special thanks to our Miles SHS P&C who support many of our school and community events.  Listed below are just a few recent examples of our recent community engagement:-

  • Year 12s Mother’s Day Raffle and Mother’s Day on the Green
  • Students supporting local events which include: Hospitality services at local events
  • Student engagement in ANZAC Ceremonies in Miles and Surrounding Districts
  • District and regional sporting participation.
  • Working with VESTA’s Environmental Officer for repurposing of donated materials to the Trade Training Centre

NAPLAN

This week has seen the commencement of 2022 NAPLAN testing for Year 7 & 9 students at Miles SHS. During Weeks 4 & 5, students will complete four assessments to cover the contexts of: Reading, Writing, Numeracy and Language Conventions. The online version engages our students at their level.

Student outcomes from NAPLAN (though recognised as point time information) assist us, along with other formal and informal information in capturing valuable information that can assist teachers in designing their curriculum and teaching to meet the literacy and numeracy needs of all our students.

I have been more than impressed when I have observed the maturity and positive engagement of our students as they undertaken each assessment to date. Many thanks to Miss Turner for her ongoing organisational skills in preparing our students and school systems for NAPLAN and Ms Bates for her assistance throughout the process. 

Local Public Holiday-Tuesday 17 May 2022 Miles Show Holiday

A reminder to our community that Tuesday 17 May is a public holiday and despite the disappointing circumstances that there will not be a Miles Show our school will be closed on Tuesday. 

With our recent weather events please remember IF IT’S FLOODED FORGET IT…

Take care

Josette 

From the Deputy Principal

Congratulations Year 12s

Firstly, congratulations to our Year 12 students for their fantastic work in pulling off the Mother’s Day Out on the Green. It was a wonderful family day that was enjoyed by all. I was very proud of the hard work that all Year 12s in attendance put into what was a very successful day. They were great ambassadors for our school. 

Our students as Ambassadors

Regardless of the activity, every student at Miles SHS is as an ambassador of our school. From the moment they put on their school uniform, our students are representing us. The majority of students not only wear our uniform with pride but they represent us well at all times. 

Unfortunately, at some times, our community sees some negative activity whilst students are still in school uniform. I ask everyone to think about what they do when they are in uniform – you are on show within our community and lots of people will see what you are doing. 

Every Day (and Every Minute) Counts

Every Day Counts is a state-wide initiative of the Department of Education that aims to improve student attendance at school.

Every Day Counts promotes four key messages:

  • all children should be enrolled at school and attend on every school day
  • schools should monitor, communicate and implement strategies to improve regular school attendance
  • truanting can place a student in unsafe situations and impact on their future employability and life choices
  • attendance at school is the responsibility of everyone in the community 

Whilst at school, it is important for students to be prompt to class and to remain there for the entire 70 minutes of each lesson. This allows teachers to provide the maximum learning experience for our students. 

Barry Duncan

From Head of Wellbeing and Engagement

Students are well and truly in the swing of Term 2 with Week 5 approaching fast. Across all school year levels for weeks 3 & 4, our main behaviour categories within class are "non-compliant with routine" and "disruptive". Demonstrating these behaviours frequently in class, disrupts the teaching and learning. Under the school values of RESPECT and ENGAGE, it is expected that students manage their behaviours so it does not disrupt the learning environment.  

With Winter on the way and the temperature dropping, student’s Winter clothing still needs to follow the school's uniform policy. If the student does not have appropriate Winter clothing, then they should inform any member of the Wellbeing team (Head of Department, Guidance Officer, Deputy Principal) so suitable arrangements can be made.   

Personally, I would like to thank all parents, community members, students and teachers that were involved in the Mother’s Day fundraiser. This was the first time a fundraiser like this has been attempted for the Year 12s and it was a major success. Thankyou again to all those who were involved in the day.    

Josh Moore

From Head of Curriculum

Homework Centre

The Homework centre is up and running every Monday and Wednesday afternoon and if you would like your student to attend, please contact the office to complete the necessary forms. Support will be provided to your student with homework, assessments or general understanding of their subject area from 3.10pm to 4.30pm.

Every day counts

The reporting for Semester One will provide parents / carers with a result for Academic Achievement, Effort and Behaviour.  With this in mind, it is important for your student to attend each day and complete the necessary work assigned to the subject.  We understand illness and misadventure can affect the attendance, but it is important for you, as the parent, to advise the main office if your student will not be in attendance.

For our senior students, it is imperative for them to attend school to complete set dates for internal assessment.  These dates are set in accordance with QCAA and timelines indicating to schools when completion of IA1, IA2 or CIA, IA3, IA4 are required.

AARA can be considered due to Illness or misadventure but there are certain guidelines that need to be followed to receive special consideration and this is determined by our school Principal. Without verification from a medical practitioner, the chance of receiving any consideration will be questionable.

If you or your student are aware of certain dates that you will not be in attendance, please inform the school ASAP or book at time to discuss other options with Ms Bates – HOD Curriculum, Teaching and Learning.

Reminder - Homework Centre

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. 

https://eq.sobs.com.au/pt3/parent.php?schoolid=70139

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

From the P&C

What's happening in Miles SHS P&C???

P&C Meeting

It was so exciting to see so many faces at the last P&C Meeting, we almost didn’t have enough seats available. 

WHY is it Beneficial to become a P&C Member?

Parent/Guardian participation in their child’s education is always a good feel for kids. P&C Meetings help parents understand the ongoing events of the school. This is often done through discussions of what’s happening in different year levels throughout the school, for example, class subjects, sports arena, technical issues, staff shortages, replacements and many more areas. The P&C’s role is to help and assist the school management when and where we can. This is not always done through fundraising or funding, it can be providing assistance for many in kind ways. For instance: Attending Anzac Day and laying a wreath, offering a supportive network to staff through the RISE committee, or the BIG one - the school tuckshop is run and operated by the P&C association. Shelley our awesome tuckshop convenor is employed by the P&C and she does a truly amazing job, but she can always do with a friendly hand to prepare food or serve at lunch time. Often when Shelley has a big catering event through the school to achieve, she requests the help and assistance of the school parents, this is classed as in-kind support for our school. The school pays the P&C for the catering and those funds filter back into helping the students, i.e. through new purchases of equipment, resources, technology needs, assistance with reduction in whole school camp fees and much more. So, as you can see from these couple of examples, it’s a great benefit to become a P&C member, your community involvement (little or big) through the Miles SHS P&C can pack a HUGE impact into the daily life of your child’s secondary education. Meetings are held BI-monthly.   

Year 12 Formal fundraising Raffle and Mother’s Day event

BIG thank you to all the parents, staff, local businesses, local crafters and community members who assisted the Year 12s in any way towards their Mother’s Day fundraiser last Sunday. It was so great to see so many families outdoors enjoying life and having a relaxing day or catching up with friends. BIGGEST CONGRATULATIONS to all the Year 12s who were involved, I believe nearly the entire Year 12 cohort played a part in the day in some way or another which is outstanding. Thank you to the Miles Golf Club for donating the venue and under the guidance and assistance of Mavis Klein and Alex Hardigan for all their support to the kids. Thank you, Rob Hinds @ Hotel Australia and Jess and Brett Gorry at Maces Hot Bread for sponsoring parts of the event. A BIG thank you to our devoted P&C Treasurer Mrs Toni Brown who had the mammoth effort of counting all the coins, and taking care of business of expenditure and income on the kids’ behalf. Successful days like these don’t run on their own, it takes management and support and we are lucky our children attend a small country high school where many people only want the best outcomes for them. WELL DONE Miles and surrounding communities. All the proceeds from this event will now be held in trust by the P&C, for the 2022 Year 12 cohort for spending associated with their formal budget at the end of the year. Approximately $3000 was raised on the day. 

Want to keep updated regularly of what’s happening within the school and P & C? Follow the Miles State High School Facebook page, it’s great for delivering information to parents/carers usually on a daily basis. 

P & C Executive Contact numbers:

Polly Leahy - 0427 276 483                 Rowena Price - 0428 696 616

Paula Derksen - 0427 271 920            Toni Brown - 0427 272 059

Application Form to join the P and C

Download

P&Cs Qld Parent Talk Magazine

Link to Parent Talk Magazine:

 https://pandcsqld.com.au/members/publications/parent‐talk/

It is a static link so that it doesn’t have to be changed at all and will link automatically to the latest issue of the magazine each time it is published.

Occupational violence and aggression prevention

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. 

Uniform Policy

Parent/Carer Communication Flowchart

Effective Communication is important and we encourage all partners to take an active role in communicating with Miles State High School. To assist in this process we have attached our Miles State High School Parent/Carers Communication Flowchart for Term 2. Please follow the steps below to contact your child's Curriculum Teacher or Care Class Teacher.

If unsuccessful in attempts to contact teachers of staff, please contact the office on 4628 5111. 

Allow others to teach and learn

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.

Term 2 2022

Do you have Sewing Items you wish to be rid of?

Do you have a stash of cotton fabrics, sewing threads, pins, buttons, zips, toy stuffing, etc. that you would like to get rid of?

We are setting up a sewing club at the school later in the year, however, in order to make it available to all students, we need some help from our community. Any donations of fabric, haberdashery items, stuffing, etc will be gratefully accepted and put to good use by our students and staff.

If this is something you would like to contribute to, please drop any donations off at the school front office or contact Al Turner aturn63@eq.edu.au

Mothers Day On The Green

Raffle donations and Prize winners

A HUGE thank you to everyone who was involved in the preparation of the "Mothers Day on the green", to all those who donated prizes or helped in the setup and pack up of the event. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the Year 12s. A special thank you to the P&C for your continued support and encouragement of the students in their activities. Also, a special thankyou to the Miles Golf Club for the use of its grounds and facilities, it was greatly appreciated. 

Do it for Dolly

Do it for Dolly Day is a day dedicated to bringing the community together, spreading kindness and uniting in taking a stand against bullying. Today students wore blue, sold cupcakes and cooked a sausage sizzle to raise money for Dolly's Dream. A huge SHOUT OUT to IGA for donating the lollipops for the Guessing Game. There were 49 lollipops in the jar. Congratulations to Leahandra, Max, Gabrielle, Leah and Miss Moss for all guessing within 1 number of 49. The winnings were equally shared between the 5 winners! Also, a BIG thank you to those who baked cupcakes for this event. Your support is greatly appreciated. 

Money raised will go to:

  • support schools with eSmart framework, workshops and kindness activities
  • speak directly to parents through newsletters, advice columns and Parent Hub portal
  • provide online products to families, helping with those really important conversations
  • assist young people via workshops, digital products and through our advocacy efforts
  • commit to supporting the wider community, particularly those in rural and regional areas, by providing free counselling services

English

Year 10 English - Imaginative Short Story

Term 2 has seen the students read the Australian novel ‘Deadly Unna? and now the students are creating an imaginative short story from the perspective of one of the minor characters within the novel.  The students, were provided with a homework booklet and the audio to assist them if they found reading difficult.  Scaffolding and extra drafting time in class has been provided to the students to ensure a full completed draft is handed in on Thursday 19th May, 2022.  Our next unit of work will be focusing on a play.

Raelene Bates

Year 11 English - Contentious Issue in our Society

Our Year 11 General English students are currently researching a contentious social issue that has been prominent in our media within the last twelve months.  With so many options available to our students they are finding this task difficult to only focus on one.  A lot of research is required to view and comment how the media has presented the issue to persuade their audience.  Students are currently engaged in the research section of the task and will deliver a 5 to 8 minute speech on how the issues has been presented to the public, what has been repressed and typical biases. Their draft is due Friday 27th May, 2022.

Raelene Bates

Year 12 English - Imaginative Short Story

The Year 12 General English students have moved onto the content for their IA3.  Reviewing a collection of poems by prominent poets of past and present (Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Bruce Dawe and Carol Ann Duffy), the students will select a poem and use it as a basis for their imaginative short story.  They will sit the seen exam in June and we will continue to develop their narrative skills prior to the exam.  Students are aware of the importance of meeting deadlines set for class work, homework and assessment, as they proceed to their final external exam – IA4 (Term 3).  

Raelene Bates

Experience Sporting Excellence

Sports Update

Upcoming Sports

Friday 20th May - M&D Orienteering (10 - 19 Years), Columboola

Friday 27th May - SW Cross Country (10 - 19 Years), Wandoan 

Miles SHS Calendar of Events

Term 2 - Week 5

Monday 16th May - NAPLAN - Year 7 Language Conventions, 9:00am

Monday 16th May - NAPLAN - Year 9 Language Conventions, 10:55am 

Tuesday 17th May - MILES SHOW HOLIDAY

Wednesday 18th May - NAPLAN - Year 7 Numeracy, 9:00am

Wednesday 18th May - NAPLAN - Year 9 Numeracy, 12:00pm 

Friday 20th May - M&D Orienteering (10-19 Years)

Friday 20th May - P&C DAY

Friday 20th May - Walk Safely to School Day

Friday 20th May - Deadly Trackers Program 

Term 2 - Week 6

Monday 23rd May - Assembly, 9:00am

Monday 23rd May - Instrumental Music Excursion

Monday 23rd May - Modern History Workshop

Tuesday 24th May - Kup of Kindness, E Block, 7:00am 

Thursday 26th May & Friday 27th May - Wonder of Science, MPA

Friday 27th May - SW Cross Country (10-19 Years), Wandoan

Friday 27th May - Newsletter Due 

Miles SHS Date Claimers / Notices

Walk Safely to School Day

On Friday 20th May, we are participating in the National Walk Safely to School campaign. Keep an eye out for the schedule for starting times and starting points. 

NDIS Visit

Community Events / Notices

Murilla C&K Kindergarten Wine & Cheese Exhibition

Come and join the Murilla C&K Kindergarten for an afternoon of wine and cheese set in the beautiful gardens of Sharon and Anthony Colley. This is an 18+ event so book the babysitter and be ready to dress up to enjoy a relaxing fun filled afternoon. There will be art from local artists to peruse and up for auction. Complimentary glass of champagne on arrival. 

Attire - Evening/Semi - formal

Bus available to and from the event

Please use https://www.trybooking.com/BZDZO to book your tickets, $35.00. 

Reminder: Animals are not permitted on school property

The SkoolBag app is the easiest way keep up with school events, last minute notices, newsletters and all school communications.

Please email all planned absences to absentee@milesshs.eq.edu.au (prior to your child’s absence)

Miles State High School

Miles State High School is proud to be part of a community that embraces PARTNERS IN LEARNING together our students, their families, our wider community and our staff are committed to working together to ensure that every student succeeds.

Respect | Integrity | Safety | Engagement