3 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

2019 School Leaders

L-R: Kirsten Dwyer,
Kelly Pernes, School Representative Council - Secretary
David West, School Representative Council - Media and Publication
Johanna Kampf, School Representative Council - Chair
Nicolas Bramham, School Captain
Nakita Zunker, School Representative Council - Vice President
Anthony Robertson, School Vice Captain
Karmah Schuemaker, School Vice Captain
Maddison Tobane, Indigenous Leader
Kate Coleman, School Captain

2019 ANZAC Day March

Centenary Events

Rockhampton State High School is turning 100! We acknowledge this important milestone with a number of fun and exciting events. We would love to see you there to help celebrate our long and proud history. Join in the fun at out Old Boys’ Game, Celebration Evening, Open Day, Inaugural Race Day and more!

Bookings now available for our Centenary events through Rockhampton Tickets!

• Sat 8 June – Old Boys Football starting at 2pm - free
• Sat 8 June – Celebration Evening & Book Launch Brown and Blue Rockhampton Leagues Club 7pm – 11pm - $45 - $80 including Brown and Blue
• Sun 9 June – Centenary Open Day 9.30 – 11.30 and BBQ Lunch 11.30 - $10 BBQ
• Sat 6 July - Race Day at Callaghan Park 11.30 – 5pm - $125

Centenary Cookbook $20

Can be purchased from the General Office

School Expo 11 May

You and your family are invited to the Rockhampton State High School Expo on Saturday, May 11 from 2.00pm to 4.00pm.

The purpose of the Expo is to provide:

• a snapshot of the school’s facilities, curriculum and policies through an information session and organised tours of the school
• an opportunity to meet with staff and students to discuss the year 7 program and the many educational and vocational pathways after year 7
• the 2020 enrolment package to parents as well as enrolment interview times with staff members. We will be having interviews for the enrolments on Tuesday 23 July, 2019 starting from 3.00pm to 5.45pm.

The Expo will commence with short presentations from staff and students in the Assembly Hall at 2.00pm. This will be followed by an opportunity to tour the school and visit a number of informative, interesting and entertaining exhibitions.

If you are unable to come to the Expo please ring the school for more information on how to make an enrolment interview for Tuesday 23 July 2019.

Important Dates

School visit challenges Legal Studies
students to “Judge for Yourself”

Senior Legal Studies students recently worked with Anne Edwards from the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council to decide an appropriate sentence for a case presented to them.

The Council's activity “Judge for Yourself” is an interactive program designed to increase community understanding of sentencing matters and the different aspects of the sentencing process. After watching an initial news report, the students were encouraged to decide an appropriate sentence for the offender. Like judges and magistrates in the real courts, the students were required to consider a range of circumstances relevant to the case. The students learnt about sentencing options as well as mitigating and aggravating circumstances.

This was a fantastic opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the application of the law. Ms Edwards commented on the students’ impressive knowledge of the law and excellent behaviour. We appreciate her taking the time to travel from Brisbane for this activity.

Trudy Crow
HOD – Senior Schooling

Queensland Virtual STEM Academy at Central Queensland

Hosted by Rockhampton State High School

The Queensland Virtual STEM Academy Program is breaking down barriers for students here at Rockhampton State High School and across the Central Queensland region. Rockhampton SHS students, Will Cho and Lachlan Balmain (Year 8), have been collaborating with students from around the state of Queensland to solve the issue of water wastage, with the goal for the boys to ideate a solution to the Grand Challenge: HydroInnovation. The program assists students to build empathy for others impacted by the Grand Challenge problem, define the problem in terms of creating a point of view based on the needs and insights of the people affected, and then ideate, design and test a prototype as their solution. The program requires students to perform their own research, data captures and analysis, all of which is presented to generate an in-depth learning opportunity for the students.

The QVSA CQ hopes to increase its numbers in Round 2, which begins towards the end of May, with Rockhampton State High School hosting a minimum of seven Grand Challenges for students across Central Queensland. These challenges will see students solving problems such as mitigating the spread of disease, reducing the habitat destruction of harbours and the environment, decreasing the impact of light pollution on animals, plants and humans, and generating solutions to the worldwide problem of food wastage.

Will Cho and Lachlan Balmain participating in their Grand Challenge: HydroInnovation session.

Breeha Sinnamon
QVSA Central Queensland Coordinator

The Great Gatsby

Over the last few months our dedicated actors, dancers and musicians from grades 7 to 12 have been working hard on this year’s production of ‘The Great Gatsby’. Based on the classic American novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, our production follows the story of Jay Gatsby, mysterious millionaire and alluring enigma. Gatsby is the man who has everything; however, beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. Soon, this destructive obsession forces his world to unravel.

Our performers have been rehearsing tirelessly, meeting twice a week after school for the last few months. On Tuesday the entire cast of nearly 100 students met for their third full day rehearsal. In this session, students worked with their teachers to rehearse the entire first act of the play! They are doing a fantastic job so far and we can’t wait to see the final product of their tireless hard work.

The next full day rehearsal is scheduled for Sunday the 26th of May from 10am to 3pm.

Stephanie Rawlings
Arts Teacher

Students Celebrate Traineeship Graduation

Rockhampton State High School Year 12 students, Maddison Tobane and Alyssa Ross, recently graduated from their school-based traineeship with AFL SportsReady. Both girls completed Certificate III in Retail at Kmart Rockhampton and have now been successful at securing casual work.

The girls started their traineeship in Year 11 and worked one day per week at Kmart while completing the theory for Certificate III in Retail. They used their spare time and school study line to complete this extra learning while maintaining good grades at school.

The girls received their qualifications at the graduation ceremony at the Queensland Cricketers Club in Brisbane. Congratulations to Maddison and Alyssa!

Alana Knight
FEET First Program Coordinator

Reading Matters

At Rockhampton State High School, reading is a priority. May is National Reading Month, so it seems the perfect time to reflect on the value of reading. Reading books, regardless of age, builds brain development, imagination and communication skills. Reading a book, for just twenty minutes a day, means that a student has been exposed to 1,800 000 words in a year; this assists in the expansion of his/her vocabulary and supports written work. Perhaps the greatest benefit of reading, however, is that it brings joy. In the words of JK Rowling, If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book. It’s food for thought!

In the spirit of reading for pleasure, the staff of Rockhampton State High School have shared some of their favourite titles. Here are this month’s selections:

Our library has a fantastic selection of junior and senior fiction titles, as well as non-fiction books available for borrowing and National Reading Month might just be the perfect time for students to reignite an appetite for reading.

In the words of Stephen King, Books are uniquely portable magic… and they don’t need re-charging!

Reading matters!

Teri Garner
A/HoD English.

Year 7 having Fun with Maths

What a fantastic time the Year 7s enjoyed on Friday at the Fun with Maths program! These interactive sessions saw students engaged in real-world problem solving activities. Students were able to get hands-on with the activities and feel successful solving problems that may otherwise have proven overwhelming in the traditional classroom setting. This continues to be a highlight for the Year 7s each year.

Amanda O’Beirne
Year 7 Coordinator

Our Past

ANZAC Day

Anzac Day commemorations at RHS stretch back to the formation years of the school. The founding principal, Major John Hill, had won the Military Cross at Gallipoli in 1915. Four years later, as principal of Rockhampton High School, he made the school’s facilities available to the local memorial committee for the purposes of arranging their fund-raising sports day. Money raised was used to build memorials to the fallen.

Rockhampton High School’s (Army) Cadet Unit was established in 1953 and for the next thirty years took part in RHS Anzac commemoration services. The photo below was taken in 1971 on what was then the parade ground – now the area near the amphitheatre.

Cross Country

Rockhampton High’s first Cross Country event was run in 1957. It was an all boy affair and was held at the new school grounds at Wandal. Brian Brymer won the Withers Cup for the fastest time of the day, 21 min. 47 sec.

The 3 mile course followed in 1957 started on the sports field near where the LEC buildings are located. Students crossed the Alton Downs railway line which bisected the grounds (roughly from the school side of the silver PE shed to the back of the principals’ residence). From what is now the rugby league oval, they crossed to Victoria Park and from there followed a winding course along the riverbank to Hyne’s sawmill (Skyring Street). The home stretch followed the bitumen along New Exhibition Rd back to the school.

It wasn’t until 1961 that the first girls’ cross country event was held. The ladies followed a 1 ½ mile course and finished on the school’s basketball courts. Wendy Stafford was first across the finish line.

First Cross Country – 1957

Girls Cross Country – rough territory at the back of the school 1961

From the School Nurse

Recently published and released, Teen Brain by David Gillespie, a bestselling author of the Sweet Poison books, Big Fat Lies, Free Schools, Taming Toxic People, is a great book that every parent needs to read.

In Teen Brain, David Gillespie, who lives in Brisbane with his wife and six children shares why screens are making teenagers depressed, anxious and prone to lifelong addictive illness. Listen to the recording from the ABC radio Conversations with David Gillespie and Richard Fidler from Tuesday, 16th April 2019.

The Teenage Brain: Under Construction

Do you ever look at your teenager and wonder what on earth is happening to them?

The Australian Parenting website, Raising Children , helps shed some light on what’s happening in the teen brain. By the time a child turns six; their brains are already about 90-95% of adult size. But the brain still needs a lot of remodelling before it can function as an adult brain. This brain remodelling happens intensively during adolescence, continuing into your child’s mid-20s.

Inside the teenage brain

Have you noticed that sometimes your child’s thinking and behaviour seems quite mature, but at other times your child seems to behave or think in illogical, impulsive or emotional ways? The back-to-front development of the brain explains these shifts and changes – teenagers are working with brains that are still under construction. For more information on the adolescent brain and its construction watch the YouTube clip narrated by Daniel J.Siegel, MD Neuropsychiatrist, New York Times Bestselling Author and Mindsight Educator.

Building a healthy teenage brain

You are an important part of your child’s environment. How you guide and influence them will be important in helping your child to build a healthy brain.

You can do this by:

• Encouraging positive behaviour.
• Promoting good thinking skills.
• Helping your child get age appropriate amounts of sleep.

Behaviour strategies for teenage brain development

While your child’s brain is developing, your child might:

• Take more risks or choose high-risk activities.
• Express more and stronger emotions.
• Make impulsive decisions.

Here are some tips for encouraging good behaviour and strengthening positive brain connections:

• Let your child take some healthy risks.
  New and different experiences help your child develop an independent identity, explore grown-up behaviour, and move towards independence.
• Help your child find new creative and expressive outlets for their feelings.
  They might be expressing and trying to control new emotions. Many teenagers find that doing or watching sport or music, writing and other art forms are good outlets.
• Talk through decisions step by step with your child.
  Ask about possible courses of action your child might choose, and talk through potential consequences. Encourage your child to weigh up positive consequences or rewards against negative ones.
• Use family routines to give your child’s life some structure.
  These might be based around school and family timetables.
• Provide boundaries and opportunities for negotiating those boundaries.
  Young people need guidance and limit-setting from their parents and other adults.
• Offer frequent praise and positive rewards for desired behaviour.
  This reinforces pathways in your child’s brain.
• Be a positive role model.
  Your behaviour will show your child the behaviour you expect.
• Stay connected with your child.
  You’ll probably want to keep an eye on your child’s activities and friends.
  Being open and approachable can help you with this.
• Talk with your child about their developing brain.
  Understanding this important period of growth might help your child process their feelings. It might also make taking care of their brain more interesting.

Teenagers are often passionate about their interests, especially ones that give them opportunities to socialise. You can help your child develop skills and confidence by supporting their interests, activities and hobbies.

Loretta Green
School Based Youth Health Nurse

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