CSDE Weekly eNewsletter, Week One, Term 4 2023

Principal's Pen

Welcome back to Term 4! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and had a chance to recharge. As we embark on the final term of the year, it's my pleasure to share our school's improvement agenda again for this year, ensuring that every member of our school community is engaged and informed about the initiatives, programs, and strategies we've put in place.

Our primary focus this year has been enhancing engagement among students, home tutors, parents, and staff. We've worked diligently to streamline communication processes, establish consistent school expectations, and improve attendance practices. In the long term, we aspire to achieve a 5% positive increase in School Opinion Survey responses regarding how seriously we value your input. Short-term targets include enhancing work returns, reducing N ratings by 2%, and addressing behaviour incidents related to non-participation.

At the heart of our mission lies effective teaching practices. We are unwavering in our commitment to ensuring that 100% of our students achieve above NMS in NAPLAN, with 90% reaching A-C results and 50% attaining A-B results. In the long term, we aim for 90% of students to complete and return assigned work and assessments and attain QCE qualifications. Short-term goals encompass professional development for instructional leaders, participation in the CSDE Collegial engagement process, and the implementation of lesson observations with feedback to our teachers to enhance the teaching and learning experience.

Another crucial facet of our improvement agenda is systematic curriculum delivery. Our long-term objectives include establishing a well-documented whole-school plan aligned with the Australian Curriculum/QCAA and refining assessment processes that support student learning. Short-term priorities involve ensuring that all staff are well-versed in the three levels of planning.

In summary, our school's improvement agenda can be summarised with the acronym "E.T.C." - Engagement, Teaching, Curriculum. Our dedication remains unwavering in offering students the best opportunities and providing a world-class education, regardless of their location. While we may be physically separated, we are united in our commitment to our values of Accountability, Integrity, Respect, Resilience, and fostering positive relationships, all of which drive us to make a profound difference in the lives of every student. Together, let's "Be different and Make a difference!"

Thank you for your continued support during Term 4 as we journey toward excellence.

Kind regards, Amanda Rynne

Parent Teacher Interviews - Week 3

Parent/Teacher interviews for Prep to Year 12, will be held in Week 3 this term.

Date: Monday 29^th April

Time: 3:00pm – 5:00pm.

Please see attached letter for bookings links and instructions.

Go to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and enter the code   h3tn5

Or click the following link:  https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/h3tn5

Or CLICK HERE or use the QR Code below to book.

1. Enter your details.
2. Select the teachers you wish to see.
3. Select the appointment time that suits your family best.

Bookings close Friday 26^th April, at which time the booking system will close.

Parents will be contacted directly by the teacher on the phone number that they supplied during the booking process, or alternatively if you did not supply a phone number, contact will be made via phone numbers in your student's OneSchool.  

Hitting goals!

Our main source of information home to families is via the weekly Newsletter. It holds a wealth of information vital to our CSDE families and the school community as a whole.

One of our goals has been to increase the viewing of the newsletter by our families and we have seen a steady increase in the past 12 months in our readers. Today we hit a milestone that we would like to celebrate. The Term 3, Week 10 Newsletter readers finally broke the 50% mark at 50.4%.

Interim Report Cards - Secondary

Interim Reports for Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 have been emailed today.

Interim Reports for Year 11 students will be emailed next Monday.

What's happening in Primary?

Primary Captain Speeches Yr 3-6

WANTED! Year 5 Students who are...

• Innovative
• Kind
• Helpful
• Proud
• Enthusiastic
• Reliable

We want you for our 2024 Student Leader Team! See information below and link  to be able to nominate. 

Latest in Languages - Primary

In Term 3, Year 6 Japanese were focussing on discussing different foods and their flavours. We also looked closely at vocabulary and grammar related to eating and drinking. 

I think the best conversations revolved around the very interesting things we discovered you can eat in Japan. We had very robust discussions about the delicious(?) canned fish below. We were all left wondering just how ‘Chocolate fish’ would taste. 

We also discussed how interesting it is that ‘Sea grapes’ are now becoming an up-and-coming food in Australia. Sea grapes are popular in Japan’s southernmost island – Okinawa, with people coming from mainland Japan to enjoy them as part of a wider culinary adventure.
All in all, we have talked about, looked at, and learned about a range of foods both in Australia and Japan, all whilst judging their deliciousness (broccoli was not a favourite, neither was canned tuna, but smoothies were very popular!).

Jess Harper

Could the next Student Spotlight be YOUR student's success story?

Secondary Scoop

School Leadership Positions - Nominations Open Now! Are you a Year 11 student wanting to make a difference? We want you!

Nominations close tomorrow for our Secondary Leadership Positions. 

Nominating for a secondary leadership position at CSDE presents a remarkable opportunity for personal growth and contribution to our CSDE school community. This role offers a chance to develop essential leadership skills, foster teamwork, and make a positive impact on our school's culture and initiatives.

Year 12 students in 2024 can actively contribute to CSDE's improvement and success. This experience will not only enhance students own leadership abilities but allow them also to serve as a role model for younger students, inspiring them to pursue their passions and take an active role in shaping our school's future.

If you are a Year 11 student and interested in nominating for a Leadership Position in 2024, click the links below to Nominate and to view more details in the Secondary Leadership Handbook.

Secondary Swimming Carnival

The Secondary Swimming Carnival will be held on Wednesday 15th November, during Mini-school.

Location - Rockhampton Southside Pool - 2nd War Memorial Aquatic Centre

Time - 9:30am    Parents to drop students to the pool

Finish - 12:00pm  Bus Transport for students back to Conference on North.

Students will be required to RSVP and complete the permission form to attend the Carnival

RSVP's due by Wednesday 1st November 

RSVP Link:  https://capricorniasde.schoolzineplus.com/form/29 

Nominations are due by Wednesday 1st November and should be emailed directly to Mr Murray Harch on mharc4@eq.edu.au 

RU OK? Day

RU OK? Day was held last term on Thursday Week 10. Some of our Staff showed up in their yellow in support of the day, to encourage others to start a conversation; RU OK? 

Guidance 'Go-2'

Supporting Your Child To Attend School

Sourced from: GoZen: Anxiety Relief for Children

Cultural Snapshot

HOW CULTURAL DIFFERENCES CAN MAKE SCHOOL TOUGHER FOR STUDENTS

A person’s culture and upbringing have a profound effect on how he or she sees the world and processes information. This kind of information can help explain the differences in school performance among racial and ethnic groups.

All students begin school with a framework of skills and information based in their home cultures. This may include a rudimentary understanding of the alphabet, numbers, computer functions, some basic knowledge of a second language, or the ability to spell and write their names. It also includes a set of habits, etiquette, and social expectations derived from the home.

If students can’t relate new information to their own experiences, or connect the new material to a familiar concept, they may perceive the new information as frustrating or difficult or may dismiss it completely, believing it to conflict with their already tenuous understanding of the world. Here at CSDE, our teachers take on the responsibility to seek out cultural building blocks students already possess, to help build a framework for understanding. Some educational pedagogy refers to this process as “scaffolding.” Recognising a student’s cultural differences, so that we can give them a positive basis for effective learning and a “safe” classroom environment is important to us here at CSDE.

Sourced from:

https://www.theedadvocate.org/how-cultural-differences-can-make-school-tougher-for-students/

Message from your P&C - General Meeting tomorrow - Tuesday 10th October, 3:30pm

Please note there will be a general meeting on Tuesday 10th October at 3:30pm.

Please forward any discussion items for agenda. Link in the schoolzine calendar event and below.

Week 2 – Term 4 – Tue 10 Oct 2023 

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 435 302 797 627
Passcode: 7fcgwz

Download Teams | Join on the web

Learn More | Meeting options | Legal

What's on in your Community?

Sports Person of the year award 2023

CSDE annually acknowledges the sporting achievements of a Primary and Secondary Student, who has excelled throughout the year at the end of year awards.

The presentation of the Sports Person of the Year Award goes to the student who has accumulated the most amount of points throughout the year in their various sporting achievements. 

Parents are asked to advise the school throughout the year of the sporting achievements by completing this online form. Scores are based on events, the level of the event (district, regional, state, national etc) and the students placing within those events. You will need to complete the form for each individual acheivement. Do not place all acheivements on the one form.

At the end of the year, points are collated, and the winner announced.

Information to note: 
* School sports are what counts for CSDE Sportsperson of the year.  Students are recognised for their achievement in other non-school fields; however, these achievements are not part of the accumulation of points towards the CSDE Sportsperson of the year. 

* You should list the highest level that your student has represented in that sport, noting that the points are only entered if the student represented, and not if they were selected and did not attend. 

*  Unfortunately, camp-drafting, is not a recognised school sport and so would not apply for Sportsperson of the year.

We welcome your feedback