Mirani State High School

M A R C H 2 0 1 9 I S S U E 3 , 2 0 1 9

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CLAIMERS

A B S E N T E E S

P H O N E : 4 9 6 6 7 1 6 0

T E X T : 0 4 2 9 6 9 9 1 2 0

P 07 4966 7111 | F 07 4966 7100 | E principal@mirnaishs.eq.edu.au www.miranishs.com.au | Augusta Street Mirani | PO Box 58 Mirani Queensland 4754

Principal Update

MARCH

13 Drama Excursion MECC

15 Swimming Carnival

18 CAP Volleyball

19 CAP Hockey

19 School Photos

21 ASDAN Excursion -

Bowling

22 Year 7 Vaccinations

25 CAP Basketball / Football

26 CAP Union / Squash /

Touch

25/03 - 5/4

Flexi MEC week

APRIL

2 CAP Football

3 QCS Practice

5 Cross Country

5 Last Day of Term 1

Mirani High has had an excellent start to the school year. Students are at the busi-ness end of their educational programs completing assessment before going on a well-deserved Easter break. Student learning is the focus of this school. Mirani State High is the workplace of our students as they work towards their futures.

Junior students will receive their interim report cards on 4rd April, Thursday after-noon before the Easter break. Senior reports will be issued, Wednesday 1st May after the Easter break. Please spend time with your child discussing their progress as education is a joint partnership between school and home. This partnership ensures the best possible future for your child.

This year the parent-teacher interviews will change to being a student-led confer-ence whereby the students lead the conference discussing their goals and identify strategies to achieve success. Interviews will be on Tuesday 21st May from 12.30pm to 7.30pm, so please take advantage of this opportunity to discuss your child’s progress. More information regarding this change issued with students’ reports.

Mirani State High Parents and Citizens’ Association held their annual general meeting on Tuesday 12th March. We thank Kylie Leahy (president), Toni Wales (secretary) and Jessica Frater (treasurer) for again continuing in their executive po-sitions. We welcome Angela Ashcroft to the executive team as vice-president. A special thank-you to all who attended our AGM as Mirani High appreciates the sup-port and strong commitment of the school’s P &C association. The P & C is a vital part of our school and we thank everyone involved as their contribution creates opportunities for all students.

The Parents and Citizenship Association has a pivotal role in many areas of our school. You can help us achieve many of our goals by paying the P&C Levy. We ask families to donate $50 a year to the P&C. This is $50 per family not per child. As we don’t hold raffles, Fetes and other fundraising activities this can be your contri-bution to our P&C. Payments are accepted through the school office or directly into our bank account. The P&C has a role in all of the functions below.

New School Hall ($250.000 invested); chairs for the hall $40,000, New Junior Uniform; New Junior School Precinct; Refurbishment of Tennis Courts; Sun-Smart Shade Sails; Computer Technician; Tuckshop; Responsible Behaviour Policy; Picnic Tables; Resource Hire Scheme; Principal Selection; School Blazers; Scholar-ships; Excursions.

Scott Cage

P A G E 2

Administration

Deputy News

M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

PRINCIPAL: Mr Scott Cage SENIOR SECONDARY DEPUTY : Ms Mari Simmonds

MIDDLE SECONDARY DEPUTY: Mr Michael Post JUNIOR SECONDARY DEPUTY : Mrs Jodi Bonney

ADDRESS: P.O. Box 58 Mirani QLD 4754 PHONE: 49667111 FAX: 49667100

WEBSITE: www.miranishs.com.au EMAIL: principal@miranishs.eq.edu.au

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/miranishs TWITTER: www.twitter.com/miranishs

“We seek

to

develop

students

who are

curious

and

creative

and

aspire to

excellence”

In the past, I have written about bullying and resilience. As we are well and truly into

Term 1, it is timely to remind students and parents that bullying should not be confused

with teasing, rejection or random acts of physicality and conflict. Bullying is about a lack

of power. Bullying is the selective, uninvited, repetitive (repeated) oppression of one

person by another person or group.

Resilience is the key to helping your child cope with bullying type behaviours. Resilience

will also enable your child to understand the difference between bullying and one-off

behaviours or friendship issues. More and more, teachers and administrators are

spending valuable time investigating alleged bullying incidents which in actual fact are

minor behaviour or friendship issues, which may have been sorted out easily in the first

instance.

Often the first time the school is made aware of an alleged bullying issue will be when we

hear from a parent. Please speak to your child about talking to an adult at school

regarding bullying. It is easier for the school to act if we know about it immediately.

Our students continue to achieve and surprise in many areas. Every Wednesday after-

noon during Clubs, Ms Saal has a small group of students who are training to become

Tech Champs in helping Mr Beikoff and Mr Ravisash with maintaining the computers in

the school. Well done to Nikalaus Bowyer, Logan Noble, Scott Kaya, Flynn Davey and

Callum Norton our budding IT experts.

Please don’t forget to email me mpost11@eq.edu.au if you are aware of a student who is excelling in any field.

P A G E 3

Due to weather conditions on the scheduled photo day MSP

Photography will be returning on Tuesday 19th March for any

students who were not present.

Your child should have already received personalised order envelope from the photographers. Please take care to read and follow all the instructions carefully. This will ensure your order is processed smoothly and efficiently and will help you to avoid any late fees.

For those of you ordering online, you will notice a new, improved version this year. Please take care to follow the instructions carefully and ensure you log onto www.msp.com.au to enter your child’s shootkey.

Additional order envelopes are available from the school office for separated parents, blended families and grandparents. You will need to collect these on or before photo day and give it to the photographer on photo day. Be sure to write “Mum’s order” or “Dad’s order” on top of your envelope.

To order a sibling or friends photo, please collect Sibling and Friends Order Envelope from the school office on or before photo day, or order it online at least 24 hours in advance. Please note: Sibling photos are only for siblings who all attend the school. As school staff are unable to help with photography enquiries or payments, please direct your questions and comments directly to MSP Photography by phoning 4921 3355.

School Photos

M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

Immunisation Program for Year 7 & Year 10 Our school is participating in Queensland Health’s annual School Immunisation Program. All Year 7 and Year 10

students will be offered FREE vaccinations as recommended on the National Immunisation Program schedule.

Year 7 students will be offered human papillomavirus (HPV) and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping

cough) vaccinations.

Year 10 students will be offered meningococcal ACWY

vaccination.

Only students with a signed and completed consent card indicating “Yes to Vaccination” will be vaccinated. The

vaccinations will be conducted by a team of authorised registered nurses. Parents are encouraged to ensure their

children have an adequate breakfast on the morning of vaccination.

The vaccination team will be visiting the school to give the free vaccines on the following dates:

For more information about diseases, vaccines or School Immunisation Program, visit www.health.qld.gov.au/

immunisation or call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84). Our school nurse Vanessa Gilmore, may also be able to assist. She

can be contacted Thursdays and Fridays on 49667181.

Friday, March 22, 2019 Friday, May 10, 2019 Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Year 7 – HPV and dTpa Year 10 - Meningococcal Year 7 – HPV (dose 2)

P A G E 4 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

BYoX

Mirani State High is continuing the roll-out of the Bring Your own Device (BYoX) laptop program. Year 7

students are now taught how to type and skills such as using the school’s intranet, basic Word and Excel as

well as searching the web for information effectively. Students in Years 7, 8, 11 and 12 can now access

lesson resources online enhancing their ability to study at home and catch up on missed classes.

This year is the last year of the OP accreditation system for Year 12 and the new QCE and ATAR system for

Year 11 is well underway at Mirani High. The new system requires the school to keep a record of a stu-

dent’s progress (evidence) to ensure that a student’s work is their own. Part of this process is a plagiarism

check, which helps ensure the academic integrity and authenticity of students’ work, a requirement of the

Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority. Universities generally use SafeAssign or Turnitin as their

plagiarism checking tool.

The Education Queensland on-line learning environment, “Learning Place” has been developed as a con-

trolled safe environment for teachers and students. The Mirani On-Line-Learning-Environment (MOLE) re-

sides inside the Learning Place and is where students access the curriculum and resources specific to the

subjects they are studying. Education Queensland has completed thorough risk assessments and has select-

ed SafeAssign as the plagiarism-checking tool for Education Queensland schools. When a student submits

an assignment, their name, school email address and their assignment is passed to Blackboard Internation-

al to enable the plagiarism check to be completed.

When a student submits his/her assignment the following Education Queensland statement appears:

The Department will disclose and transfer your personal information (including your name, email address

and assignment) to Blackboard International B.V. (ARBN: 098 350 764) for the purpose of detecting plagia-

rism using the "Safe Assign" system. Information is held by Safe Assign in the United States of America and,

whilst held by Safe Assign, your personal information will be subject to the laws of that country. The Depart-

ment of Education through your school is collecting and disclosing your personal information in order to

make available to each Queensland child or young person a high-quality education that will help maximise

his or her educational potential and enable him or her to become an effective and informed member of the

community.****

If you don't want your personal details submitted through SafeAssign then select CANCEL and ask your

teacher how to submit your assignment another way. Students who do not want to use SafeAssign may

use another plagiarism tool, which are available on-line. The student should submit a hard copy of their

assignment to their teacher, with a copy of the plagiarism report from their selected plagiarism tool

attached, by 3pm on the due date. The school recommends the use of SafeAssign as Education Queens-

land has completed risk assessments and chosen SafeAssign as a safe reliable platform; limited personal

information is shared unlike the commonly used social media platforms accessed by many - Facebook,

WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat - so student users of SafeAssign can be quite confident that their

information is secure.

Changes at Mirani High

P A G E 5

M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

Use of mobile devices including phones and smartwatches

It has been noted that parents assess their child’s responsibility when deciding to buy their child any

electronic device including a phone or smartwatch, and set the standard for the access and use of that

device at home and wider community.

Mirani State High has reviewed the use of mobile devices at school. The inappropriate use of mobile

devices is still covered by school’s, Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students (RBPS) which can be found

on the school’s web site. Education Queensland is releasing the RBPS template for all students at the

end of Term 1. Mirani State High will review out RBPS when this occurs. The Mirani SHS Parents and

Citizens Association supports this change in policy. Please read the proposed new policy to be imple-

mented from Term 2, 2019 below.

The Use of Personal Technology Devices at School

1. Purpose

1.1. The widespread ownership of mobile devices among young people requires that parents, students,

school administrators and teachers take steps to ensure that these devices are used responsibly at

schools. This Acceptable Use Policy is designed to ensure that potential issues involving mobile devices

can be clearly identified and addressed, allowing the benefits that mobile devices, such as phones and

smartwatches, may provide and can be enjoyed by our students for educational use.

1.2. Mirani State High School has established an Acceptable Use Policy for Mobile Devices that provides

teachers, students and parents with guidelines and instructions for the appropriate use of mobile

devices at school.

1.3. Students and their parents or guardians must read and understand the Acceptable Use Policy for

Mobile Devices and have completed the Student ICT and Internet Acceptable Use Agreement before

students are given permission to bring these devices to school.

1.4. This Acceptable Use Policy applies to students during school excursions, camps and extra-curricular

activities.

2. Rationale

2.1. Personal safety and security

Mirani State High School accepts that parents give their children mobile devices such as mobile phones

and smartwatches to protect them from everyday risks involving personal security and safety. It is

acknowledged that providing a student with a mobile phone gives parents reassurance that they can

contact their child if they need to speak to them urgently outside of school hours. Parents are reminded

that in cases of emergency during the school day, the school office remains the only point of contact and

school staff will ensure students are contacted quickly and assisted in any appropriate way.

P A G E 6 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

2.2. Educational Use

The school believes that as mobile technology continues to evolve, there will be increased opportunity for

the technology to contribute positively to learning programs in classrooms and to assist students in their

school work. The use of technology enhances the ability for students to collect the required evidence to

meet QCAA academic integrity and authenticity requirements.

3. Responsibility

3.1. It is the responsibility of students who bring mobile devices to school to abide by the guidelines

outlined in this document.

3.2. The decision to provide a mobile device to their student to be brought to school should be made by

parents or guardians.

3.3. Prior to students being permitted to take a device to school, students and parents must complete the

Student ICT and Internet Agreement.

4. Acceptable Uses

4.1. Mobile devices can be used before school, at break times and after school in ways that are not

disruptive to other members of the school community. All mobile devices must use soundless features at all

times during the school day. Student may choose to use earphones at the times listed above.

4.2. Mobile devices and earphones must be switched off and kept out of sight during lessons, in the Library

and at school organised activities such as assembly and special events. Exceptions may be permitted only in

circumstances where the teacher who is conducting the lesson specifically allows usage.

5. Unacceptable Uses

5.1. Mobile devices and earphones must not be used for non-educational purposes in any manner or place

that is disruptive to the normal routine of the school.

5.2. Unless express permission is granted, mobile devices must not be used to make calls, send SMS

messages, surf the internet, take photos or use any other application during the school day.

5.3. As with all forms of bullying or harassment, using mobile devices such as phones or smartwatches to

communicate unacceptably with other students is at odds with our school values and will not be tolerated. It

is a criminal offence to use a mobile device to menace or offend another person. Students and parents are

reminded that almost all calls, text messages and emails can be traced.

P A G E 7 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

5.4. Except as permitted by teachers for educational purposes, mobile devices must not be used to

photograph, film or record any member of the school community or a visitor to the school, whether this be

coming to or going home from school or during the school day.

5.5. Mobile devices must not be used during an exam or assessment. This will be considered to be cheating

and the student will face academic and behavioural consequences.

6. Consequences

6.1. Students who do not meet the expectations in this policy will have their device confiscated. The mobile

device would be taken to a secure place within the school for subsequent collection by the

student’s parent or caregiver.

6.2. Repeat misuse of a mobile device as described in this policy will result in withdrawal of permission for

that student to have a mobile device in their possession at school.

6.3. Repeated infringements may result with the student having to leave their device at the school’s office

during the school day.

6.4. Other consequences will also be enacted as per the school’s Responsible Behaviour Policy for

unacceptable behaviour choices, which may include suspension or recommendation for exclusion.

7. Device Protection

7.1. Students must mark their mobile device clearly with their names.

7.2. Mobile devices are an attractive target for thieves. To reduce the risk of theft during and outside of

school hours, students should keep their devices on their person and not leave them unattended.

Mobile devices unless specifically specified are not allowed in exam rooms.

7.3. Mirani State High School strongly advises the use of passwords and pin numbers to protect mobile

devices from unauthorised use.

7.4. The school accepts no responsibility for replacing lost, stolen or damaged mobile devices. Students

should report their device as lost or stolen to the office as soon as practicable. Students and parents should

also contact their provider so that the device can be disabled.

7.5. Students should protect their phone numbers by only giving them to friends and keeping a note of who

they have given them to. This can help protect the student’s number from falling into the wrong hands.

P A G E 8 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

7.6 Earphones are to be worn only at the appropriate times and then only when a student is

stationary for WHS reasons. Earphones seen when a student is mobile or in class will be

confiscated.

EXCERPT from proposed addition to RBPS from Term 2 2019 Students, who choose not to follow this policy, and disrupt the operation of the school with such electronic devices in any way, will be dealt with in the following manner:

1st offence

The device will be confiscated by the teacher, who will pass it on to the Front Office. The student will be able to collect the device from the Front Office after school.

2nd offence

The device will be confiscated by the teacher, who will pass it on to the Front Office. The device will only be returned to the student’s parent or guardian.

3rd offence

The device will be confiscated by the teacher, who will pass it on to the Front Office. The device will only be returned to the student’s parent or guardian. The student may be isolated internally at school.

4th offence

The device will be confiscated by the teacher, who will pass it on to the Front Office. The device will only be returned to the student’s parent or guardian. The student may be suspended.

Failure tocomply

Any failure to hand over an electronic device when asked will be treated as refusal to follow a reasonable instruction and will be dealt with in the normal manner through the school’s behaviour policy.

REPORTING AND PARENT INTERVIEW CHANGES

The attendance by parents/guardians at the traditional parent-teacher interviews has dramatically declined in recent years. This attrition of attendance is attributed to the school’s behaviour management process whereby parents are kept informed by the class teacher, if the teacher has concerns regarding a student’s progress.

In 2019, the way in which senior students in Queensland schools are being assessed has fundamentally changed. The move to incorporate external exams and new drafting policies mean students have increased personal ac-countability for their educational outcomes. In this new environment the school is responding and changing the parent-teacher interview process at Mirani State High.

One whole day, Tuesday 21st May will be set aside to allow structured interviews to occur. Students and their parents will sit down with just one allocated teacher and assess how the student’s academic progress is or is not matching their previously recorded goals and aspirations.

The interviews will last 15 minutes and be timetabled from after lunch to early evening. By the end of each inter-view, students will have reflected on their progress and have, if necessary, identified further actions necessary to achieve their goals or indeed reset their goals.

In order to be more consistent in reporting student progress throughout the year, the information provided on student report cards will change. Starting in 2019, comments will no longer be provided on end of semester report cards and will appear the same as per the terms 1 and 3 progress reports.

As ever, if you wish to discuss your students’ progress, you are welcome to contact the school at any time.

P A G E 9 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

On the 13 t h of February, the Senior Captains and the Junior Captains attended a GRIP leader-

ship conference that honed in on their current leadership ski l ls and motivated them with new

ideas.

The leaders learnt about how to involve more students in events, how to maximise their

contribution to their teams, how to create an amazing school culture and loads of other

valuable strategies to make them even better leaders for our school. From role play to

loud noises, from jokes to musical statues, the leaders took all the information on board

and had fun doing so. They were inspired by the activities of the day, and on the bus

home began devising new plans and exciting adventures for students and teachers to be

involved in for 2019. It ’s going to be a great year with this motivated group!

The Senior Capta ins and Jun ior Captains at the GRIP Leadersh ip conference 2019

P A G E 1 0 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

District Sports

As always a busy start to the representative year with many trials already been conducted. Trial nomination forms need to be

collected and returned to school prior to the nomination due date. These dates are determined by a district committee to

assist convenors effectively plan for trials. Congratulations on the following students for their selection in their chosen sport.

Interschool Sport

Mirani participates in various interschool competitions in the Mackay District. These competitions are open to all students

regardless of experience. Miss Miller is busy finalising netball teams for the netball competition to start Wednesday after-

noons. Girls should have returned their form and paid playing fees. Rugby League interschool football will also be played

Wednesday afternoons. This Wednesday sees our teams travelling to Proserpine to take on our northern counterparts. Teams

have started their training during Wellbeing club time as well as the junior team training Friday afternoons 3- 5pm. Good luck

to all teams in the competition.

2018 Semi Finalists 2018 15U Team 2018 Girls Team

Sports Update...

Ella Kersey Softball

James Anderson Rugby League

Charlotte Akins Swimming

James Forsyth AFL

Luke Connolly Swimming

Nathan Walker Soccer

Georgia Munchow Soccer

Montana Schmidtke Rugby League

P A G E 1 1 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

We are looking forward to another exciting and fun-filled year of sport at Mirani.

SWIMMING CARNIVAL 2019 - Friday 15th March

A few important things to know in preparation for the carnival are:

There is a $3 entry fee that will be collected by their home group teacher.

STUDENTS WILL BE RELEASED FROM THE POOL AT 3PM – BUSES HAVE BEEN ARRANGED

TO PICK STUDENTS UP FROM THE POOL AS WELL.

We are looking for maximum participation from all students this year! There are competitive and non-competitive races and

events throughout the day. So there is no excuse not to participate and have a tonne of fun. So get your house costumes ready

as we look forward to seeing you there!

HOUSE SHIRTS

Previous house captains designed these shirts as a great way to show house spirit and Valley Pride. The shirts are for $44 and

can be purchased from the school office. There are different sizes, so when your students presents with payment, they are wel-

come to try one on before they buy. Along with shirts, reversible bucket hats can be purchased from the school tuckshop for

just $15. A great way to keep your students safe from the NQ sun. Please see pictures below:

Food and drinks will be availa-

ble throughout the day from

both the pool canteen and the

school BBQ.

$2 Sausage sizzle

$5 burger

Free dress in the colour of

their sporting house is

encouraged, however it must

be sun safe.

WEAR YOUR HOUSE SHIRT!

Closed in shoes MUST be worn

to school, but students can

change into thongs on arrival at

the pool. Suggest labelling all

items as there are always lots

of lost property.

Students are to attend home

group before leaving for the

pool. Only students com-

peting in pre-carnival events

(200m IM, 100m Free & 50m

Fly) arrive directly at the pool

by 8:30am

P A G E 1 2 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

nglish Matters

Congratulations goes to School Captain, Stirling Frater, who represented

the school and Mirani Sugar Valley Lions Club very ably in the Zone 10 Final

of Lions Youth of the Year recently. In a competition that saw him pit his

skills in public speaking, using his knowledge of current events against the

best in the district, Stirling performed very well and is to be commended

on accepting the challenge. Of particular note is his strong performance in

the impromptu component of the competition, where he had to speak for

2 minutes each, on two topics with no preparation time and no gap be-

tween the two speeches. It is a pressure cooker situation and Stirling’s per-

formance was intelligent and articulate. Well done, Stirling!

On another note, Mrs Krystal Henderson is coordinating Readers Cup this year and again will be fielding

two teams, with the competition still about 3 months away. Watch this space for details. Additionally, Mrs

Patrina Mackenzie is currently advertising for students across the school interested in interschool

debating as there is a comp kicking off in Term 2. Students looking to extend themselves and learn a

whole range of new speaking and reading/critical thinking skills need to talk to these two teachers and

take up the chance on offer.

Tutoring is also held weekly on Wednesday afternoons from 3:15 till 4:00, although students can come on

down to H18 as soon as school is finished. All are welcome. Just come along and bring your English home-

work/assignment work with you.

With the first round of assessment coming to an end for the Junior school, many students will already

have a result for their first task for the year. Please ask your student how they have gone and engage with

them regarding their plan to do their best on every task.

P A G E 1 3 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

Senior students in both General and Essential English are still In the drafting phase of their first assess-

ment instrument in the new system. It is vital that they follow all instructions with regard to preparing

for and submitting work, whether it be at checkpoints designated on their task sheet or uploading draft

work to SafeAssign via the Mirani Online Learning Environment (on the Learning Place). We require

them to do this so that they get a plagiarism report allowing them to identify and correct any errors in

referencing in their work before submitting their final draft. This helps them meet the new system’s Ac-

ademic Integrity requirements.

It should be notes that all students, Junior and Senior, are provided with sufficient time in class to work

on their assignments and achieve to at least a C standard if they use their time wisely. Additional time

spent at home on assignment work should see students achieving well above the average, since they

are taking the time and making the necessary effort to refine their work. Well done to those students

who recognise the benefits inherent in investing in your future in this way. Years ago, Zig Ziglar de-

clared, “It is your attitude, more than your aptitude, that will determine your altitude,” in life… and he

was right!

Wendy Sievers

English HoD

Do you want to win

a Cadbury chocolate block

that is almost as big as a Year 12 student?

Buy a ticket in the Year 12 Formal Raffle to

be in the running!

$2 each, or 3 for $5

1st Prize: 1 metre tall, 10kg block of Cadbury

Dairy Milk Chocolate

2nd Prize: 5kg of Cadbury Favourites

3rd Prize: 540g Cadbury Favourites and 200g

block of Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate

P A G E 1 4 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

Year 12 Mocktail On Friday night, 8th March, Year 12 students turned up the glam for the 27th annual Mocktail at the

MECC. 58 Mirani Seniors joined with Year 12 students from schools in the Mackay region for a night of

dancing, talent, and fun.

The talent competition saw 5 talented acts from 5 Mackay high schools perform their hearts out to a

very supportive crowd; our own Evie Bradford came in 2nd for her performance of INXS’s hit song “Never

Tear Us Apart” – congratulations Evie!

Students had a great night and are grateful to the teachers, Ms Adams, Mrs Richards, Ms Elms, Miss Mil-

ler, Mr Ross, Mr Munchow, Miss Dorey, Mrs Saal, Ms Keehn and Mr Cage, for their attendance on the

night. We are looking forward to a very glamorous formal, if Friday is anything to go by!

Ms Adams

P A G E 1 5 M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L

MECC YOUTH AMBASSADORS 2019

MIRANI STATE HIGH SCHOOL

The Mackay Entertainment & Convention Centre is pleased to announce the successful nominees for the 2019 MECC Youth Ambassador Program. After receiving numerous nominations from schools throughout the Mackay region, the MECC have chosen the finest culturally-minded students that our district has to offer.

Two special students from Mirani State High School have been selected as MECC Youth Ambassadors in 2019 – Zoe Berzinski and Emmerson Holmes. These students demonstrated a keen interest in the Arts and a passion and desire to share this enthusiasm with their peers and the wider community.

These students attended an induction at the MECC followed by a meeting to discuss the opportunities over the coming year. The first Youth Ambassador task will be usher duties for upcoming show I Want To Know What Love Is.

The Youth Ambassador Program is designed to open a direct link from the MECC and its opportunities, to the students of the Mackay region. As a MECC Youth Ambassadors, these students will help create bridges between the MECC and our district schools - ensuring a future filled with young people who love live thea-tre.

Many congratulations to Zoe and Emmerson! Well done!

.

M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L P A G E 1 7

Hi,

Third month already? Great to see many settled in and firing in their subjects. In the yard new

friendships are growing stronger and for some, sadly, old friendships are not as strong as in Primary

school or even from just last week! Realising these things are quite normal in social situations can be a

hard lesson. So pick your friends carefully, be a great friend but know friendships change over time.

The Pioneer Valley Chaplaincy Committee AGM welcomed the 2019 executive:

President; Mrs Julie Van Der Veen,

Treasurer/Secretary; Mrs Jessica Frater,

Fundraising Officer; Mrs Andrea Pinkhard

Marian Community Representative; Mrs Charlotte Tomlin.

If you see them please congratulate them for their wonderful volunteer work to keep Chaplaincy

services flowing in our schools in the Valley.

Please notice many schools and regions are without representatives. The committee and the Chappies

would love to have support from other schools and communities in the Valley. That way we can be

more effective in knowing the needs of the school communities from Walkerston to Eungella.

Some cool facts about Chaplaincy; the average age of a Chappie is 43, (not me…any more). Only 40%

of Chappies are males. And almost 65% of our pastoral conversations are with students, under 25%

with staff and a little over 10% with parents. Stay safe, dry and enjoying Autumn.

Cheers in Christ,

Rex the Chappie

Chappie Chat...

M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L P A G E 1 8

M I R A N I S T A T E H I G H S C H O O L P A G E 1 9