17 February 2025

From the Principal

A big welcome to all of our new students and families and welcome back also to all returning students and families. After a very trying few weeks of extreme rainfall and weather it is great that this week, we can resume regular schooling and finally get the year started. Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this time as we coped with the weather that was thrown at us and the disruption to schooling.  If you and your children have been impacted personally during this time and are in need of assistance or support with any aspect of your children’s schooling such as emotional support or physical resources, please reach out and let us know what is needed. We are here to help.

As we launch into 2025, we start the year with a new statement of intent that outlines clearly what we aim to achieve and a set of values and behaviours that our community aspires to. I am grateful for the involvement of our school community - staff, students, parents, First Nations community, refugee community and partners for your contribution throughout 2024 in developing our future direction.

Our Statement of Intent outlines the type of school we aspire to be.

Townsville State High School is culturally inclusive and we value our diversity.  We provide a safe, caring and supportive learning environment that enables every student to thrive and succeed.  By fostering a sense of community responsibility and valuing diverse and innovative learning pathways, we empower all students to reach their full potential and to contribute positively to our community.

All aspects of our strategic planning lead us to delivering our statement of intent, and throughout the year we are focussing on the priority areas of Inclusion; Teaching and Learning; and School Culture, Wellbeing and Engagement to ensure our students have everything they need to be successful.

Our interactions are driven by Kindness and Respect, having a school of learners that are Curious and Engaged and when challenges occur making sure that we are Courageous and Resilient in overcoming these challenges moving forward.

As always we are focussed on constantly striving for better things, making sure that our school motto of ‘In Meliora Contende’ is more than the words worn on our uniform, but is seen daily in our actions. 

Here’s to a great 2025 and I look forward to working with you throughout the year.

Murray James
Principal

Acknowledgement to Country

Townsville State High School acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we learn, work and play, the Wulgurukaba peoples and the Bindal people.  We recognise the continuing connections to lands, waters and communities.

We pay our respects to the Elders, past, present and emerging for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and the hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Coming Events

Message from our Deputy Principals

We have had a disruptive start to the term, with so many in our community impacted by the flooding and extreme weather. We are so glad to be able to finally start our term in week 3 with our first full school parade. On parade, students were given information about a range of opportunities throughout the term, including the musical, Tropics, interschool sport and the upcoming swimming carnival. We encourage all our students to take up these opportunities and add some amazing memories to their memory banks for 2025.

It has been fantastic to see so many students walking through the gates each morning proudly wearing their uniform. Parents/guardians and students all agree to our uniform expectations upon enrolment, and we like to maintain our high standards in our school community.  Also, this is a reminder that hair must be of a natural colour and be worn in a style which meets school community standards. The students are permitted to have one small facial piercing. Our school uniform develops a sense of identity and cohesion across the school and contributes to our strong culture of learning. Maintaining high standards in our uniform expectations then also aide in preparing our students for the workplace. The uniform is part of what makes our school such a great one and we appreciate your support in keeping our standards high.

There may be situations where a student is unable to wear an aspect of the uniform. We can provide students with a borrowed uniform for the day- including shirts, shorts, ties and socks and even shoes if they need.  In this instance, advice via email or note from a parent/guardian is required, explaining the circumstances and the student will need to head to the front office to see the admin staff to arrange a borrowed uniform. Incorrect uniform may lead to consequences, such as detentions.

We are currently in the midst of organising our NAPLAN testing to be run in week 7 and 8 for our year 7 and year 9 students. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Students in Years 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The assessment provides parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance. NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy. NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgement about student progress.

On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for and students are not expected to do so. You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is just one part of their school program, and by reminding them on the day to simply do their best. ACARA does not recommend excessive preparation for NAPLAN or the use of services by coaching providers.

Please ensure your students come prepared for the tests, with the necessary equipment and have had a healthy breakfast. Meanwhile, the wheels keep turning and students are also submitting assessment and working hard in their classes.

Stay tuned with updates on our Facebook page!

Qparents Registration

Thank you to those parents/caregivers who have registered for ‘Qparents’, which is a secure online parent portal. The online portal allows you to electronically notify the school of any student absence, check on the attendance and behaviour of your child, view a student’s current timetable and subjects, update contact details and receive any accounts for payment.

THE SYSTEM IS EXCELLENT AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO YOU!

All parents/caregivers should have received a mail package and emails about how to complete registration. Please contact the office if you need any support to register.

From the Rolls Office

Student absences are to be explained by a parent/caregiver to the Administration Staff stating the reason and dates of absence.  This may be done by phoning the school on 4721 8777 or by emailing absencesadmin@townsvilleshs.eq.edu.au

Student absences of three or more days due to illness require a medical certificate.  Medical certificates should be emailed to the above email address or hand delivered to the Administration Office.  Your prompt assistance with explanation of absences will be greatly appreciated.

Bus Travel Code of Conduct and Information Update for Parents and Schools

HPE & Sports Department News

We have an amazing year of sports lined up!

2025 Carnival Dates are as follows:

- Interreef Swimming Carnival - Wednesday 5th March (Week 6)
- Interschool Swimming Carnival - Tuesday 1th March (Week 7)
- Interreef Cross Country - Friday 2nd May (Week 2)
- Interschool Cross Country - Tuesday 27th May (Week 6)
- Interreef Athletics Carnival - Friday 1st August (Week 3)
- Interschool Athletics Carnival - Tuesday and Wednesday 19th and 20th August (Week 6)

The Swimming Carnival

Notes are out. Students need to take: sunscreen, towel, hat, water bottle, swimmers, sun smart clothing in reef colours (Brewer, Faraday, Needle, Warrior), lunch (or money for the canteen). Goggles optional.

Tropics

Basketball & Netball trails are Wednesday 19th February in Period 1 & 2 (Week 4). Futsal & Touch trials Wednesday 19th February in Period 3 & 4 (Week 4). Students should take to the trials a water bottle, training shirt, hat, shoes, shin pads (futsal only) & towel.

NQ & TSSS Trials

Term 1 is very busy for North Queensland trial. The Northern School Sport website is the point of truth around events happening in the region, so feel free to check this out at https://northernsport.eq.edu.au/

STEM Academy News

2025 sees our STEM Academy continue to grow with classes in year 7, 8 and 9 as well as a STEM Elective class in year 9 and year 10.

The year 7 STEM Academy are investigating the Design Thinking process with a bridge challenge. They will use these skills to then construct Earthquake-proof towers and learn coding with Sphero robotics. The year 8 STEM Academy are also looking at using Design Thinking to reimagine a lunchbox that will be prototyped using our 3D printers using skills learnt in Tinkercad. The year 9 STEM Academy are investigating the Scientific Method with a Biology project involving terrariums and biomass.

The year 9 STEM Elective classes are learning Computer-Aided Design using Autodesk to design F1 cars for a STEM Racing (formerly F1 in Schools) project.

STEM Racing is the world’s most competitive STEM competition, involving over 17,000 schools in 51 countries. Students design-make-race a miniature F1 car capable of 0-80 km/h in under 1 second. The program aims to develop skills in problem solving, project management, communication, presentation, teamwork, innovation, self-promotion, collaboration, marketing and entrepreneurialism – skills in demand by industries the world over.

The year 10 STEM Elective class are learning about bridge design with the University of Newcastle Science and Engineering Challenge in week 9 this term. Students will design-test-iterate their bridges and test for load strength.

For all students from year 7 to 12, we will also be repeating our Astrobotany experiment from last year with the Exolab-11 project commencing in week 5 this term. Students will select from a range of materials to develop a substrate to support the growth of Medicago truncatula seeds, placed in a sealed container to mimic the growth of plants in space, and determine the optimum substrate for both seedling development and biomass growth. Look out for further information on notices and on the Science noticeboard.

Student Support Services News

P&C News

The TSHS P&C is looking forward to another year of contributing to the school community via new and existing initiatives, as well as continuing to support our amazing canteen that produces healthy and budget-friendly meals for students and staff.

If you’re keen to be a part of the P&C, have ideas or initiatives to help the school community and/or want some additional insights on the schools running from the Principal and executive staff, feel free to come along.  The next P&C meeting is to be held on Tuesday 18^th February at 6pm in room B09 – adjacent the staff room in the admin building (Directions below).  If you’ve never been before, park on Boundary Street near the main school entrance and come in through the pedestrian gates there.

Next week we’re looking forward to presenting this years’ school captains with their blazers at the 2025 Student Leadership Induction Ceremony, and next month; the Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 18^th March at 6pm. This will be when the new P&C Executive committee are formed, all the current memberships lapse, and all the new memberships are passed. As always, all are welcome.

Yours in the spirit of community

Stephen Jess – President; Maria Baira – Vice President; Wyatt Frazer – Vice President; Samantha Talbot – Treasurer; and Diane Wardenaar – Secretary.

Townsville State High School Facebook Page

Our Facebook page has been active since 2015 and it is terrific to see the amount of content about our students and school programs appearing on the site and being updated on a daily basis. To view the page and post a message, please access via this link and once on the page, hit ‘like’

We are following a clear and strict set of guidelines related to Facebook usage by schools and our ‘gatekeepers’ do a fantastic job of monitoring content!

Inclusive Education News

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) 2025

I would like to take a moment to introduce myself, my name is Lisa Bennet, and I'm delighted to be the leader of the Intensive English Centre (IEC) and Literacy across the school in 2025.

The IEC Team would like to welcome back existing CALD families and extend a warm welcome to parents new to Town High. Families are critical partners in our students’ education, so we encourage you to support the learning occurring in the classroom at home.

Inclusive education is a priority at Town High, we ensure that all students have access to and fully participate in learning along side their peers as well as encompassing all aspects of school life supported by culture, polices, programs and practices. This year we will continue to provide a curriculum that is age appropriate and responsive to the diverse learning needs of all our students. We will also incorporate fun activities throughout the year, so look out for dates and photos of upcoming events. We look forward to getting to know you.

Lisa Bennet
Head of Inclusive Education – Intensive English Centre (IEC) and Literacy

NAPLAN 2025

If you wish to withdraw your year 7 or year 9 student from NAPLAN 2025, please fill in a withdrawal form and return to Ms Stephanie Vernon scver0@eq.edu.au before 11^th March, 2025. There are copies at the front office.

Personalised Learning Mentors

This year we will have four Personalised Learning Mentors working alongside your students and their teachers to help adjust learning and make learning more accessible for those that require it. We will be in touch over the coming weeks to discuss your student and their needs.

Stephanie Vernon
Head of Inclusive Education - Students with a Disability

Technologies Department News

This year, the Technologies Faculty has expanded its curriculum offerings, with new innovative subjects and certificate courses. Students can now explore diverse career pathways, through the addition of Industrial Graphics, Certificate II in Aircraft Line Maintenance, Certificate II in Manufacturing, and Certificate II in Electrotechnology (Career Start).

These new offerings, as well as existing subjects, equip students with theoretical knowledge, practical skills and technical expertise tailored to today’s fast-paced industries. Staff and students are enthusiastic about the new programs, noting that these courses open up exciting career opportunities and allow students to thrive in a competitive job market.

The Technologies Faculty eagerly anticipates the exciting learning opportunities ahead in 2025.

Richard Boon
HOD Technologies

Community News