13 December 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s News

A huge congratulations to all of the recipients of awards at the Presentation Night on Monday evening. All students who were recognised for their achievements thoroughly deserved them as a result of perseverance, determination and sheer hard work. I encourage all students to look towards next year, set themselves some personal goals and make the most of the opportunities available to them. The holidays are a good chance to reflect on the past year and make some decisions about areas for improvement or to maintain.

Last Friday it was my privilege to attend the Year 12 Formal where we recognised their personal achievements and celebrated the culmination of 13 years of schooling with their family and friends. Congratulations to the organising committee for ensuring the evening was most enjoyable.

I could start to list the people who have played a key role in ensuring we finished these last few weeks on such a positive note and with the opportunity to celebrate and recognise the achievements of our students. This would mean I would be listing every staff member and the student leaders for absolutely everything that they have pulled together to ensure we have had a very successful finish to 2018. Thank you.

On Monday night we farewelled staff who will be leaving: Dean Humphries, Renee Thamm, Sonia Pringle, Josh Palmer, Shae Morrison, Luke Huiskamp and Molly O’Dea. We wish them all the best as they all start on the next chapter of their lives.

On behalf of the staff at Gladstone High School we wish you a safe and enjoyable break from the routines of school and look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Tyler Hogan
Principal

Spotlight on Stage 1 Work

Stage 1 Material Product

Nic Palmer cut slabs of red gum using an Alaskan mill from a burnt tree on the family farm to create the top to the minimalist steel frame. Well Done Nic!

Chelsea Tobin designed this coffee table with the intention of fitting storage baskets on the bottom shelf. The frames and herringbone top use a variety of recycled timber scraps. Well Done Chelsea!

Visual Art

Students studying Stage 1 Visual Arts were given the opportunity to work in the style of the Stage 2 course, where they chose their own theme and media, developing an idea using a folio. The folio of support material was then used to inform a resolved practical piece of work. The examples show the diversity and talent of our up and coming Stage 2 Students for 2019.

First Aid

ActFasTraining conducted a 'Provide First Aid' Training Course for all Year 11 students on Thursday 29th November. Previously known as Apply First Aid or Senior First Aid, this training course will give students the skills and knowledge required to provide First Aid response, life support, management of casualty(s), the incident and other first aiders, in a range of situations, including in the home, workplace or within the community, until the arrival of medical or other assistance.

News from the Agriculture Block

Barry and Molly have been busy rescuing the school seeder and have managed to revive the old girl. After several weeks of pulling the seeder apart and putting it all back together, Barry and Molly were able to sow a paddock of sunflower seeds on Tuesday. Fingers are crossed for some rain this week and plenty over summer. We will keep you updated. Below are some before, during and after pictures of the seeder.

Mobile Phone Messaging

Gladstone High School has a NEW dedicated mobile phone number for SMS to email parents responses. 0439 454 743 (please update/add GHS as a contact to this number in your phone). There are many instances when parents need to be informed or updated with information from their child’s school. Maybe the bus is returning late from an excursion, your child is absent, the school is closed due to a freak weather event or lockdown is in progress and parents need to be informed. Two-way text messaging allows parents to provide absence reasons and allows schools to take a dedicated SMS messaging number from parents advising of absences or other important information via email response.

YEAR 10 HOME ECONOMICS

Most of us will spend the holidays at home, surrounded by the ones we love. Many service members willingly sacrifice time with their families so our country will have the freedom to enjoy these religious holidays. Every year, thousands of Defence personnel deploy to foreign countries, remote sites, and ships/subs all over the world.

The Year 10 Home Economics class worked for 3 weeks to create delicious homemade Christmas treats to put in ‘Care Packages’ for Australia Soldiers currently deployed overseas this Christmas. We made snacks such as meringues, shortbread, honey biscuits, ANZAC biscuits, nuts and bolts and choc chip cookies. We wrote letters to the soldiers after listening to guest speaker Aidan Roberts, Miss Roberts' brother, and his story about his time away from his family on deployment. We wished the soldiers a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and a safe return.

During the 3 weeks we also learnt how to correctly design and make food labels for the different food products. Overall, we learnt a lot, enjoyed ourselves and have a new appreciation for the work of our Defence Force.

Madeline Hansen and Acaccia Wilsdon

Community News