I would like to welcome all families and students back to Term 3.  Half of the school year is already behind us and the School’s focus now turns to finishing the year strongly and preparing for 2019. With Term 3 well underway, lots of assessment and the Queensland Core Skills Test approaching, our teachers and staff find this time of year can be tiring and stressful for students. At this point, having supportive friends and family around them can make an enormous difference to whether a student is able to manage their school and extra-curricular workload successfully or not. As our children enter adolescence, these supportive friendships become ever more important. As parents, our role is often to be a sounding board and to offer guidance, which in turn ensures our children are able to focus on their goals and maintain a positive outlook during stressful times.

As a school we deliberately take time to recognise the great things that are happening both within and beyond the school fence. It is important that we continue to take the time to acknowledge that our students and staff are engaged in rewarding activities across academic, sporting, community and cultural pursuits on a daily basis, with most going about their business with a minimum of fuss. It is an action-packed term with our Seniors heading into their final months of school, our subject selection process is underway and there are a range of school events keeping our students and community engaged in this great school.

All schools have a set of core values that enable a consistent understanding of the processes and expectations within a school.  These core values are often reinforced for our students on parade and within newsletters, enabling all students and staff to gain a common understanding and a foundation for positive school relationships and learning.  At Blackwater State High School our four core values are Respect, Responsibility, Safety and Effort.  Respect is a value that everyone expects to receive, however this is a two-way street – our expectation is that students will be expected to demonstrate respect at all times, in so doing respect will be given to them. Respect in the way they speak to staff and to each other. Respect for our school and environment. Respect for themselves in how they present at school and in classes – ready to learn.  Our teachers will be supporting students to demonstrate respectful behaviours through classroom routines and holding high expectations for good behaviour in and out of the classroom. Successful students see parents and teachers working together to model and reinforce appropriate behaviours. Please take some time to talk with your child/ren about what respect means. About what it looks like and sounds like on a daily basis.

“Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, movement and action has an effect.” - Bob Keeshan

We welcome the following new staff to the Blackwater State High School community: Elizabeth Fisher (Maths/Science), Lisa Jefferis (Maths/Science), Alana Peters (English) and Amanda Whales (Special Education).

Attendance – 90%

The 90% Attendance focus continues, for a number of years our school has stressed the importance of full attendance not only for success at school but importantly for the years beyond. The crucial habits of punctuality and attending each day are formed through school years and provide the foundation of work ethic that is required for success in all post-schooling pathways.

Facility Developments

There is a definite buzz in the air around our school and this is not just due to the excellent learning happening within our classrooms!  With an ever changing range of machinery and areas closed, our school has gone through and continues to go through a number of upgrades, improving our facilities for our whole school.  Our multipurpose courts are in the final stages of completion and the drainage rectification project has seen a number of areas closed, only to be re-opened sporting new grass and revamped gardens. As a school we continue to look forward to progressing towards quality facilities to match the quality learning taking place at Blackwater State High School.

Multi-Purpose Sports Complex

Multipurpose courts on the eastern side of the school

New turf surrounds the courts

Drainage Rectification Project

New driveway and drainage works on the western side of the school 

Drainage between F and H Blocks 

New turf laid after drainage works completed between the Library and F Block

New turf laid after drainage works completed between H Block and the Shelter Shed

I wish all a wonderful Term 3 and look forward to the many successes of the students of Blackwater State High School.

Mr Frank Brunetto

Principal

Welcome back to Term 3. It has been a busy start to the term, with a number of excursions happening, including our NAIDOC March, sporting excursions and Year 7 maths excursions to Woolworths. We have also had some inspiring guest speakers delivering messages to our students through the NRL Voice against Violence campaign and the Annual Business Breakfast.

If you have moved or changed contact details, please remember to update your details by contacting the school office. It is important that we are able to contact you if necessary.

Please be reminded that no students should be going out to the front of the school during the day to collect items from cars. All deliveries for students must be brought into the front office, and we will ensure your child receives them. This is for your child’s safety as we have no way of confirming who is in the car. Also remember that if you are dropping lunch to your child, it should be a healthy option rather than fast food. The school tuckshop is open every day and provides a range of delicious food for your child.

Student mobile phones are to be switched off and out of sight at all times on the school grounds. We ask that you help us to enforce this policy by not communicating with your child by their mobile phone during school hours. If you need a message to get to your child during the day, you can call the school office and leave the message or ask us to get your child down to call you.

2018 school opinion survey now open

You are invited to have your say in this year’s school opinion survey by providing your opinion about what this school does well and how we can improve.The survey is open until Friday 24 August 2018. Access details for parents and caregivers are available from the school office, and you are invited to complete their survey online. School computers can be made available if required.                                                       

Report Cards and Parent Teacher Interviews

The Semester 1 report cards were distributed during Week 1 of this term. Parent Teacher Interviews were held on Wednesday 1^st August. If you were unable to attend the interviews but would like to discuss your child’s progress with their teacher, please feel free to contact them through their email address or call the school to arrange a time when you can meet.

Rebecca Godrey

Deputy Principal

What a wonderful start we have had to Term 3. Our future 2019 Year 7 students and parents attended our first Transition Evening to find out about life at Blackwater State High School, students in Years 7 and 9 participated in the ACARA online trial and our Year 7 maths students had an opportunity to visit Woolworths on an excursion.

Attendance- The battle of the Deputies

If you haven’t already heard the news from your child, Ms Godfrey and I are battling it out to see which cohort of students (Junior Years 7-9 or Senior Years 10-12) can achieve the highest attendance data for the term. Our target is to achieve 90% attendance each week and our data is steadily improving. Currently, our year’s 7-9 students have taken out the highest attendance rates in the last 4 weeks, however, we are still not reaching our target of 90% attendance.

A challenge has now been issued as the Deputy who achieves the highest attendance data for the term will have the power to enforce the losing Deputy to complete a challenge on parade. We are looking forward to reading some of the suggestions and ideas from our students. Please place your clever ideas into the ‘challenge’ box located in the office.

Student attendance is of great importance and time away from the classroom can impact their learning and progress. Please ensure that your child is at school every day unless they are too ill to attend or are absent due to a family emergency. It is important that our students attend class every day to enable them to learn new concepts and revise content and processes to ensure that they have the best opportunity to experience success at school.

PBL- Positive Behaviour for Learning News

If you have visited our school this term you may have noticed the four eye catching and colourful posters that are now displayed throughout our school. Staff have been working together to create a clear and consistent approach to managing and supporting student behaviour.

As a team, our staff believe that having clear expectations and consequences will help to minimise and prevent problem behaviours in our classrooms. Our teachers will provide clear verbal warnings to students who choose to be disruptive in class and who are no longer focussed on their learning. A two strike policy will be used throughout all classrooms whereby students will be given two official verbal warnings. If a third verbal warning is issued then that student will be buddied into another classroom to complete their work and to reflect upon their behaviour. They will then have a detention with their teacher which will enable them both to discuss ways in which they can improve their behaviour and make positive choices during their next lesson.

We will continue to recognise and reward our students who use their time productively and follow teacher instructions with VIVO points, positive postcards or with a positive phone call home.

During the week students have received a PBL lesson focussing on being a responsible student. We have revisited our whole school expectation in regard to our mobile phone policy. We have one clear and consistent message, if you choose to bring your mobile phone to school then our expectation is that your phone is out of sight and turned off. If your child is found with their phone in the classroom or around the playground then they will be asked to hand it in at the office immediately. Phones are then to be collected at the end of the day.

Voice Against Violence

On Thursday our Year 10-12 boys had the opportunity to participate in an NRL initiative ‘Voice Against Violence’ program.  This program was delivered by Preston Campbell and Clinton Toopi, two retired NRL players. The boys were able to participate in both an educational classroom presentation as well as skills and drills which then allowed them to discuss statistics and suggest strategies in which they could use in regard to their current or future relationships. This program was very educational and enabled our young men to discuss issues in society and our community in regard to violence against women.

At second lunch our touch field was abuzz with activity as many students took the opportunity to play touch football with Preston Campbell and have some fun. This was followed by an inspirational and informative talk. Preston and Clinton shared some thoughts with our year 7-9 students about the importance of attending school every day and having success in life if you prepare, plan and practice.

Clinton also left us with a quote from Henry Ford to ponder. “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right”. The power of positive thinking may allow us to achieve great things in our life.

Transition Program

Our Transition program commenced this term to ensure that our future Year 7 students have a smooth transition into high school. During the first week of this term,   Mr Brunetto and I visited our feeder Primary schools to speak with the Year 6 students about the fantastic opportunities that they will experience once they are in Year 7.  We also delivered the enrolment forms and scholarship applications and discussed the calendar of events that have been planned for the remainder of the year.

We have since hosted out first Enrolment Information session and had a chance to meet our future students and parents/carers during enrolment meetings. We are extremely excited as our office has already received a large number of enrolments ready to be processed in preparation for next year. Our numbers for Year 7 are looking very positive and we are currently placing students into potential classes for next year.

Our upcoming Taster session will be held on Thursday 13^th September for our future Year 7 students. This will provide them with an opportunity to experience High School life for the entire day. Hands on and exciting lessons have been organised for our future students to participate in. Students will receive their own timetable to follow for the day and experience what it is like to transition between a number of different classrooms throughout the day. They will also get to meet our wonderful staff and have the opportunity to be taught by a variety of teachers throughout the day.

For those parents wanting to purchase school uniforms before the end of the year, our uniform room will be open from 4:00pm on the 13^th September to provide  parents with an opportunity to look at sizes or purchase uniforms in preparation for 2019. The uniform shop will remain open during our Enrolment Information session that evening from 5:00pm-7:30pm.

Mrs Terri Weatherley

Deputy Principal

Term Three has been an extremely busy and rewarding time in the Junior Secondary school. It is hard to believe it is already that time of year when we begin to look at Junior School enrolments for 2019. We have already held our first Parent Subject Information session, these are excellent ways for parents to meet teachers and explore subject options. This year we are adding a one on one interview as a new layer to our enrolment procedures. The purpose of this is to ensure we meet our commitment to personalising learning for all of our students including future students. The interview will help us to learn about the learning needs of every single student in next year’s Year 7 cohort and this information will be the basis for our class construction process. The next information evening will fall on Thursday the 13^th September, and will allow for tours of our school, completion of enrolment paperwork and complete the enrolment interview.

This term also marks the beginning of our transition days which provides our school with the lovely opportunity to meet our incoming Year 7 students for 2019. The first of the Transition taster days will fall on Thursday the 13^th September, where students from all feeder schools will attend a full day at Blackwater SHS, participating in classes and social skills activities.

Starting High school can be a daunting experience for students and therefore parents can begin to support their transition process to Junior Secondary through the following methods.

• Continue to attend parent information events, so you can get to know the Principal, Deputy Principal, Head of Department and support staff.

• At home be enthusiastic about the move to high school and talk positively to your child about the transition.
• Listen to any concerns or worries and reinforce the positive things your child is excited about. High school will have a wealth of new experiences for them to enjoy, this does also mean they will have a whole new range of emotions.
• Support your child to be more independent and responsible by doing jobs at home and preparing themselves for the school day.

Leadership Camp

Second forms for the aspiring leader’s camp include an itinerary and a what to bring along with payment schedule. If you have any questions regarding this please don’t hesitate to contact the school.

Mr Jackson Mackay

HOD Junior Schooling

The four Year 7 maths classes who are currently learning how to calculate what is the “best buy” at the supermarket took their ‘in class’ learning experiences and put them into real-life practice at Woolworths this month.

Each class visited Woolworths during one of their maths lessons during the week, pens and paper in hand, ready to compare what was the best value for money for different products. Students identified supermarket categories, food groups and the different units of measurement used for the various food groups. The excursion also gave students the opportunity to improve on their maths assignment, where they are planning a barbeque using a set budget for catering.

Blackwater State High School would like to thank Blackwater Woolworths for their continued support of this excursion and for allowing the students to explore their store. It was a terrific real life experience for these junior secondary students, highlighting the importance of maths in everyday life.

Miss Ashleigh Trace

Mathematics Coordinator

In Grade 8 science this term students have been looking at energy. A recent experiment was burning chips to release their chemical potential energy. By burning a chip the energy is released as heat to increase the temperature on a test tube full of water. Students always enjoy lighting things on fire especially in science.

Mr Hall

Year 8 Science

Celebrating outstanding Junior Secondary Students work. Recently in Year 9 English, students needed to incorporate their knowledge of the text being studied, Wolf Lullaby, in order to pick a point of view, and support it with evidence from the play. We had some excellent pieces that did a great job in using evidence to support perspectives, with some very well written TEEL paragraphs that effectively elaborate and give pertinent examples.

Mr George Paterson

Term 3 is certainly a very busy time for Senior Schooling and we’re into Week 5 already. For the Year 10s it’s a particularly important time of the school year. Blackwater State High School has run three information sessions regarding the introduction of the new QCE and this is culminating in the SET Plan day where students choose their subjects for Years’ 11 & 12 in conjunction with their parents on the 29^th August. Details about booking a time will be released shortly. For those students who were unable to attend an information session, we are running one New QCE session during the Career Expo day.

Career Expo

This year Blackwater State High School is holding a Careers Day for all Year 10, 11 and 12 students.  This event is to help our students transition smoothly into either tertiary education or the work force. We also hope that this experience will assist Year 10 students with their subject selection.

Our students will be exposed to a range of speakers that have been asked to share their high school and career story as well as to impart some advice to help our students successfully apply and obtain their dream jobs in the future. They will also be able to talk to universities, TAFES and training organisations from 1:30pm to 3:00pm about the range of courses on offer and how to enrol.

WHEN: Wednesday 22^nd August, 2018  

TIME: 10:30am – 1:30pm (speakers) 1:30 pm – 3:00pm (universities; TAFEs, training organisations)

WHAT: Students will be rotating through speakers that will discuss their current profession, subjects they took in high school and any other hints to help students gain employment in that sector.

WHO: All year 10, 11 and 12 students. Parents are also welcome

We have had many enquiries about the Defence Force. Unfortunately they cannot attend on this date but they will be at Blackwater State High School on the 14^th September, the last day of the Block Exams. See attached flyer for further details.

If you would like more information or would like to be one of our guest speakers please do not hesitate to contact the school on 4986 9555.

For our Year 12 OP students, the QCS test is on the 4^th and 5^th September. They have been working hard all year, both in their subjects and in the Monday afternoon sessions to prepare for this. We wish them all the best.

Block exams are scheduled to run Week 9 of this term. Students are being encouraged to do their best in both their assessment items and their exams. The timetable will be out shortly.

At the time of writing, Year 12 students have 49 days left in their school career. Our message is to keep working hard, make the most of your opportunities and enjoy your last term and a half.

Ms Pamela Henderson

HOD Senior Schooling

This semester in Year 10 Manufacturing Pathways, students are busily working on a variety of woodwork and metalwork projects incorporating the skills required to work with sheet metal, fabrication, arc welders and the lathe machine. They are producing work of an exceptional standard, well done students!

Mr Greg Collins

Manufacturing Teacher

As part of Blackwater State High School’s commitment to providing excellent educational opportunities to all students, and in alignment with our school’s Explicit Improvement Agenda in Writing, this year we developed a writing extension camp to the Whitsunday’s Youth Literature Festival “Whitsunday Voices”.

The Whitsunday Voices is the largest youth literature festival north of the Sunshine Coast, and a signature event on the Mackay educational calendar. It provides a unique opportunity for students and educators, to meet and learn from some of Australia’s most acclaimed children and young adult authors, presenters and performers.

The festival attracts participants from as far south as Rockhampton, west to Kilcummin Creek and north from Bowen. Its reach extends to over 65 schools, and approximately 5,000 students, educators and parents attend the Festival each year. Held in Mackay in July each year, the Whitsunday Voices Youth Literature Festival provides students the opportunity to participate in a fun-based educational and cultural event not normally available in a regional centre.

The students (and teachers!) had a wonderful time away as shown by some of the student reflections below:

“The festival was amazing! We got to meet Bajo from ‘Goodgame Spawnpoint’, multiple authors including Ms. Binks who told us the secret to writing (can’t tell you though) and we met two artists/illustrators. My favourite part of the festival was the last session where we got to draw with a professional illustrator. The festival was one of the best times of my life and I hope I get invited to go again.”

• Logan Claven (Year 7)

“The session I enjoyed the most was the first session when everyone gathered in the Ron Bourne Hall for the introduction. Every session a special guest writer or illustrator would come in and talk to us or teach us something about writing. Steven O’Donnell (also known as ‘Bajo’ was the special guest! After he finished talking he had a quick question and answer session. I got to ask him a question! Steven O’Donnell also stars in and co-created the TV series ‘Trip for Biscuits’. I also got a book mark signed by him! Overall, the trip to Mackay was the best school trip ever!

• Summerlyn Clarke (Year 7)

“I have taken many skills from the Whitsunday Voices Festival.  These include editing skills, art skills, and how to get ideas more easily. There were many interesting talks and presentations, as well as workshops to refine my skills. My favourite part was meeting a celebrity, followed by meeting the other authors. These experiences have helped me understand the subject of English better and now I have a greater interest in it.”

• Dylan Petty (Year 8)

“My favourite session was a tie between Steven O’Donnell and James Phelan. It was amazing to meet these two people, one whom I’d grown up watching and one whom I’d read before. Both were a fun and humorous experience, earning laughter and learning from all of us. At the end, I got to get my book signed by him, and have a chat about my novel-in-progress (to which he happily encouraged me to continue). This entire experience has been extremely encouraging and a whole lot of fun. It has helped my writing improve and I’ve come away with some cool tips.”

• Bree Sauer (Year 9)

“My favourite part of the festival was the workshops we did with Danielle Binks and Sarah Davis. I also enjoyed going to the water park as I liked the challenges it gave us, trying to get over obstacles. Overall the experience of being in Mackay was amazing, I don’t regret going and everything we did was worth it.” 

• Skye McKean (Year 7)  

“My favourite part was learning about art, and learning about all different ways to change how the characters look to show character feelings. I also enjoyed learning how to use shapes to change the audiences opinion of a character and how colours can give more detail to a drawing.”

• Kaitlin Hodby (Year 7)

“My favourite session was with Danielle Binks because I could understand what she was talking about and it gave me confidence that I could write a more interesting story after learning from her. I also had a great time at the Aqua Park. The best part was going flying really high off the inflatable pillow and feeling like I belly-flopped into the water.”

• Mia Spencer (Year 7)

“I really enjoyed the session with Danielle Binks. I liked how she explained how to write a short story and that we got to write one ourselves. I also enjoyed the session with James Foley because he was fun and drew some fantastic animals. It was also great getting to go to the movies as we were able to buy some lollies and sit with our friends.”

• Olivia Allen (Year 8)

“My favourite sessions was our talk with James Foley where he showed us how to draw characters, including his ugly bunny - he was a really great drawer. I also really enjoyed Steven O’Donnell as his presentation was really funny.”

• Lara Lloyd-Jones (Year 8)

“My favourite part of the festival was listening to James Foley talk. He was really funny and it was very interesting. I also liked the art session we took part in because I learnt how to draw a buff kangaroo. Overall I liked the festival because of the fun activities and the funny people I got to meet.”

• Henry Sherwell (Year 8)

“Over the two days at Whitsunday Voices I listened to 3 talks and worked in two different workshops. My favourite being the talk with James Foley because he was very funny and interesting. James Foley’s books are also very funny and his illustrations are amazing. He demonstrated how he drew his zombie bunny from the book ‘The Dead Bunny’”.

• Shayla Powell (Year 7)

“My favourite author that we saw was Steven O’Donnell (Bajo). It was cool to see him as I have been a fan of ‘Good Game’ and ‘Good Game Spawn Point’ for a while. It was cool to hear him talk about how it was to work in the television industry, as well as about writing and co-writing stories, and how video games effect and shape story telling for our generation. I am interested in video games and the unique ways their message can be sent through their stories. I also enjoyed James Phelan because he was funny and it was interesting to hear about his life and stories from it. He also had some good tips for writing about characters and plot lines.”

• Sam Sheere (Year 10)

“The 2018 Whitsunday Voices Literary Festival was good. I was impressed with the choices of speakers, and was most happy with Stephen O’Donnell’s appearance. He is one of my childhood idols, and meeting him was a dream come true. I also enjoyed James Phelan’s appearance as he was relatable and funny. Overall I was really impressed with the 2018 Whitsunday Voices Festival.”

• Jazmin Edson (Year 9)

“My overall favourite session was with Danielle Binks. I enjoyed her session so much because she taught us so much about writing great short stories. She then also gave us a chance to use the skills we learnt to write our own short stories.”

• Ryleigh Godfrey (Year 7)

Skye Barry

Master Teacher

Support Teacher for Literacy and Numeracy (STLaN)

If you happen to have any books you are not currently using in class could you please return

to the Library ASAP.

Remember to place books in the return box.

At the end of last term Blackwater State High School held its Annual Athletics Carnival with Eden Eagles winning the carnival by a land slide. The following students put in an outstanding effort and were awarded age champions:

12 Years Boys: Frank Dalton

12 Years Girls: Emily Kelly

13 Years Boys: Ninie Moore and Brodie Sontar

13 Years Girls: Felicity Masonwells-Jones

14 Years Boys: Tomas Powell

14 Years Girls: Jordan Jackson

15 Years Boys: Ben Fraser

15 Years Girls: Leah Lilley and Keeley Gitsham

16 Years Boys: Brandon Hixon

16 Years Girls: Kiralea Wilson

Open Boys: Cameron Jackson

Open Girls: Savannah McBeth-Cooper and Tara Wilson

The end of Term Two and start of Term Three saw many sporting events in which we have had students represent the school.

At the end of Term One the school held its Colour Run/Cross Country House Championship. From there a number of students who placed in the top 5 in the Cross Country elected to participate in the Central Highlands Cross Country trials where a number of students placed in the top 5 and were selected. A notable performance came from Kallen Taylor who won the Central Highlands and Capricornia U18 8km Cross Country Trials.

At the end of Term Two Blackwater State High School held its Annual Inter-house Athletics Championships. If students placed in the top two positions in any event which they competed, they were then eligible to nominate to go to the Central Highlands Athletics Trials. With a number of Blackwater States High School students winning events such as Keely Gitsham winning the 100m and 200m, Tara Wilson winning all her events and breaking a record in the U18-U19 girls shot put and sister Kiralea winning discus. Another great performance was put in by Emily Kelly who also won all her events and broke the U12 girls long jump record.

Lexy Olive also recently participated in the Capricornia golf trials where her team won.

Mr Nick Hickey

Sports Coordinator

In week One of this term, Blackwater State High School staff and students celebrated NAIDOC week.  Our school hosted a Movie Night showing Rabbit Proof Fence and The Sapphires, these two movies showcased strong Indigenous women, keeping in with our NAIDOC theme ‘Because of Her We Can’.  It was good to see our staff and community members coming together to support the event.  Thank you to several of our staff who cooked and served food and beverages on the night to our movie goers.  A special thanks to CHRC for sponsoring the night, without their ongoing support these movie nights would not be possible. 

Throughout the week we had lunch time Indigenous activities where staff and students got creative with writing Dreamtime Stories and making Dilly Bags.

To end the week we attended the NAIDOC March, where members from the community, our Indigenous High school students, Blackwater North and Blackwater State Schools and Bluff State School came along and marched along Mackenzie Street to Lion’s Park where the Flag Raising Ceremony took place. Our Indigenous students took on some very important leadership roles during NAIDOC week, with our students conducting the ceremony.  Keisha Byrne took on the role as MC, while Aleethia Row, Denzel Row Row, Ty Muller and Thalia Doolan read speeches throughout the ceremony.  Several of our Indigenous male students performed traditional dances with Justin Parsons. Aunty Pat opened the ceremony with a traditional welcome, which Uncle Des performed the smoking ceremony.

It is really great to see our Indigenous students stand up and take on such important roles in our community.  I received feedback from community members saying it was great to see the young Indigenous students stand up and take on such important leadership roles. 

Last week six of our students, along with Mr Brunetto and our CEC were invited to attend the Elders Luncheon in Emerald.  The students from both our school and Emerald State High School greeted the Elders and served tea and coffee and their meals throughout the day.  All the students showed a sense of pride in these roles and the Elders commented on how lovely it was having the young ones looking after them.  It was really deadly to see the younger generation yarning up with their Elders.    

Beth Dyer

Community Education Counsellor

Our 2018 Business Breakfast Seminar was a resounding success with Business students from Years 9 to 12 all participating in this event last Tuesday 7^th August.  This is an important event where students are able to showcase their talents, learn about what opportunities are available in the future and how to conduct themselves in a semi-formal setting, talking to business people from our community.

This year, students took on a greater role in organising and rolling out this event. Year 9 students designed the logo for the event with Maddison Toomey being the winning entry. Year 10 students designed the menu, with Damien Lee Smith the winning entry as voted by students and teachers. Students and Guests enjoyed a semi-formal breakfast prepared by our Senior Hospitality students.  Michielle Muller Year 12 was in charge of organising the senior students preparing and presenting the food. Emily Watson assisted with the food preparations on the Monday, but was in charge of Barista Coffee making for the morning of the Seminar. Emily was kept very busy with the many orders she had to complete but worked extremely well under pressure. Foods prepared included Ham and Cheese Croissants, with ham sourced from a local butcher shop and all food purchased locally at Woolworths Blackwater to support our local businesses in town.  Students prepared fruit platters, an assortment of pastries, yogurts and juice, presenting these beautifully on tables that were tastefully decorated by Year 12 Active Volunteering students the day before. 

Mikaela Bannan and Jordan Hansen were Master of Ceremonies for this event for their second year running, doing an amazing job introducing guests and conducting the sequence of events and keeping the timings on track.

Guest speakers and mentors at the breakfast included representatives from the following companies who gave up their busy schedules to inspire our students:

Leith Vaughan (Accountant & Commercial Manager) Jellinbah Mine (Guest Speaker)

Louise Lommerse (Nurse & Fundraiser) Blackwater Hospital and Emergency Services (Guest Speaker)

Annette Burton (Community Planning and Engagements Officer) CHRC Blackwater Office (Guest Speaker)

Diane Lawrie (Office Coordinator) CHRC Blackwater Office (mentor/networker)

Brianna Jackson (Bank Manager) National Australia Bank Blackwater (mentor/networker)

Dee Webb (Director and owner) Logging Down Under, Geophysical Logging Services (mentor/networker)

Mark Edwards (Company Representative) BMA Blackwater Mine (mentor/networker)

Vere Storch (Director and owner) Blackwater Sports (mentor/networker)

Kelli Willmott (Owner & Secretary) John Roser Hydraulic Hoses (mentor/networker)

Students who attended the event talked about the event all week, especially the wonderful knowledge and advice imparted on them by our mentors.  Highlights were the stories about how past students and residents of the Central Queensland area have gone on to travel the world, attend University and TAFE training, then often return to CQ to become leaders of the community.  It was a wonderful and inspirational morning for our students.

Mrs Wendy Downey

Business Studies Teacher

Next month,  eleven Blackwater State High School students will be travelling to the United States of America to attend Space Camp. Some of the destinations and activities our students will experience include:

Orlando, Florida: Indoor Skydiving, Florida Everglades Airboat Ride, The Kennedy Space Centre (including lunch with an Astronaut), Universal Studios.  

Huntsville, Alabama: 5 nights at the Space Camp Academy (Scuba Diving training included)

San Diego, California: USS Midway Aircraft Carrier, Balboa Park Museum,  San Diego Zoo, 3D BioPrinting workshop, Hop on Hop off city bus tour.

These are just a few of the cultural and educational experiences our students are looking forward to in only 5 weeks time!

Miss Lacee Rawle and Mrs Sandy McKenzie

USA Space Camp Tour 2018 Coordinators

On Thursday the 9th August, 12 Students from Blackwater State High School completed the Science Technology and Engineering Challenge in Emerald. The event aimed to encourage students to consider a future career in Science, Technology and Engineering. The event provided students with an insight into the fascinating industry linked to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Over the next five years, employment is predicted to increase in technical services, professional and scientific careers by 14 per cent. With STEM graduates in Australia making up only 18 per cent of the entire graduate cohort, the STEM4SCHOOLKIDS day inspired students to work in STEM related careers. It does this by providing a STEM experience that is very different to their school classrooms. Students will be working alongside industry professionals to solve problems and they are encouraged to explore scientific principles for themselves rather than being guided to a pre-determined answer.

Mr Jackson Mackay

HOD Junior Secondary

Bravehearts, in partnership with the Queensland Family and Child Commission, has launched a new online tool for children and young people to help police catch online predators.Through the tool, children and young people can report suspected online grooming and help police ‘join the dots’ to identify and stop predatory behaviour.We encourage you to have open conversations with your children about online safety and inform them of the tool to help keep all children and young people safe online.