Term in Review Term 3 18 September 2020
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Term in Review Term 3 18 September 2020 THE TERM IN REVIEW FROM THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM Dear parents What a term it has been! This term we have tried to provide as normal as possible community for our students. Events that may have been taken for granted in the past, have been successfully retained such as district sporting days, Harmony Week celebrations, National Science Week, National competitions, R U OK Day, Senior Visual Arts Curation, and at this stage, the Year 12 formal will be held on 17 September. Term 3 signifies the start of the transition for our Year 12 students who are almost at the end of their IB Diploma journey. This term, Photo left to right: Jane Manwaring, Kath Kayrooz, Kerry Bullock, Tanya Haggarty (Russell Hams absent) students submitted the last of their internal assessments, completed their Extended Essays, finalised their CAS reflections and sat their Mock Exams. As this term closes, we know that our job as educators is almost complete and it is with a mix of pride and caution that we let go of our Year 12 students, as they move into SWOTVAC to prepare for their final exams. Term 3 also marked the commencement of the leadership process for all of our students. With the growth of our school, we have refined our leadership offerings as well as the number of school houses. Due to the significant importance QASMT places on student welfare and wellbeing, from Term 4, we will have two new houses bringing the number of houses to eight. This will mean we will have eight House Deans each looking after a smaller number of students to ensure every student grows, develops and thrives at QASMT. The leadership offerings for students now includes four Academy Captains (two Year 12s and two Year 9s) as well as 16 House Captains. Each house will have a Captain from Year 12 and Year 9 as well as Ambassadors. We will also have 10 leadership teams comprising of a Captain and Ambassadors from across all year levels. This is our largest offering of leadership positions and enables students to start their leadership journey from Term 4 in Year 7, and develop their leadership skills in readiness for Senior Leadership positions. The new Academy Captains will be announced at the awards evening in Term 4, with other leadership roles announced soon after. In Term 3 of the DP Preparation Programme, our Year 10 students selected subjects that they will take at higher and standard level in the Diploma Programme in Years 11 and 12. For those who are new to the Diploma, students select six subjects - three at higher level and three at standard level. Our focus this term was to ensure that each student has made his or her best choice. It has been encouraging to see our MYP students embrace the IB Learner profile this term. The Year 8 students have challenged themselves, successfully collaboratively working together and PO Box 303 Telephone: 07 3377 9333 Email: [email protected] 78 Bywong Street Facsimile: 07 3377 9300 Website: www.qldacademies.eq.edu.au Toowong Q-4066 P&C: [email protected] Page 1 of 45 Term in Review Term 3 18 September 2020 practising their dance moves across the school for the dance component within Physical and Health Education. When commencing in Year 7, they start learning how to be inquirers, thinkers and good communicators. It is rewarding to see the impact of the middle years pedagogy as the projects grow in complexity and the students develop their thinking and problem-solving skills. Moreover, we can see the positive impact these skills will have once the students commence the Diploma Programme. Term 3 is always our busiest term with several special events designed to connect, inspire and challenge our students through a range of rich learning experiences. This year’s celebration of Harmony Week started with our exciting flag bearing ceremony, and was followed up with activities throughout the week, such as musical performances, cultural games and activities. The Refectory also participated by providing cuisine with an international theme each day. National Science Week, was an excellent showcase of Science and STEM-related activities supported by all year levels. We were delighted that so many Year 7 students were involved and we were inspired by their enthusiasm and leadership skills. This year also saw us celebrate some of the many eco-sfriendly components that QASMT practises. This was quickly followed by our R U OK Day and our new Adopt-a-Cop Assembly. QASMT’s graduating Year 12 Visual Arts students hosted a phenomenal exhibition demonstrating the creative talents of our student community. As part of our goal to be a single use plastic school by 2021, as a community we are working to address plastic waste by challenging society’s perception that this indestructible substance can be treated as ‘disposable’. The Academy began promoting this during National Science Week, where we had Plastic Oceans displays, videos and pop ups, and we also started a single use plastics audit. After such an eventful term, we wish all our students and families a safe and restful break. Stay well and we look forward to celebrating the commencement of Term 4 on Tuesday 6 October. Kath Kayrooz, Principal, Kerry Bullock, Deputy Principal, Tanya Haggarty, Deputy Principal, Jane Manwaring, Dean of School Culture, Russell Hams, Dean of School Operations PO Box 303 Telephone: 07 3377 9333 Email: [email protected] 78 Bywong Street Facsimile: 07 3377 9300 Website: www.qldacademies.eq.edu.au Toowong Q-4066 P&C: [email protected] Page 2 of 45 Term in Review Term 3 18 September 2020 2.THE TERM IN REVIEW FROM THE DIRECTOR OF SENIOR YEARS We are used to hearing teachers say that Term 3 is the busiest term of the year. This was indeed the case for the term just past. Reflective With our Year 10 students, after three terms of learning in QASMT and preparing for the Diploma Programme, they finally have been able to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in the various assessment tasks in more breadth and depth. Some will feel very rewarded by the consistent effort they have been putting in; some will feel surprised by how well they have done, as they might not have been at all confident about their assessments; and some will be disappointed by the less than satisfactory results achieved. Regardless of which category the students ended up in, the most important thing is that they are able to reflect upon this experience and formulate a plan for future improvement. Year 10 students would have completed their subject selection and I would like to congratulate them for the choices they have made, and I am looking forward to working with them to reach their potential in the Diploma Programme. Inquirer Starting from the second half of the year, our Year 11’s will have started to experience a significant increase in demand in terms of syllabus content and also assessment. This term, the Year 11 students have had a very real experience of attempting some IB assessments, including a Theory of Knowledge presentation and English A Individual Oral practice test. While many have done well and have their confidence boosted by this experience, some would have underestimated the demands of these assessments. I would encourage parents to discuss with your students how they can learn from their successes or setbacks to better prepare for the many similar assessments in the next nine to 12 months. Another mini-milestone our Year 11 students achieved this term, was the completion of the Extended Essay proposal. Over the next nine to 12 months, students will be working through the various stages of writing a major research essay. This is a challenging task that can be made easier with your encouragement and support. PO Box 303 Telephone: 07 3377 9333 Email: [email protected] 78 Bywong Street Facsimile: 07 3377 9300 Website: www.qldacademies.eq.edu.au Toowong Q-4066 P&C: [email protected] Page 3 of 45 Term in Review Term 3 18 September 2020 Balanced To say that this term is the busiest term for the Year 12’s in their Diploma journey would be an understatement. Not only have they been finalising their assessments submission, they were also intensely preparing for their Mock Exams and working through their university and course choices. Amidst all of these, they also had to spend time and energy on the ‘minor’ task of getting ready for their formal celebration. I am proud to say that the students have risen to the challenge with the support of our teachers and the student wellbeing structure we have in place. Our House Deans play a pivotal role in providing pastoral and wellbeing support to all our students, paying special attention to our Year 12’s at this important juncture, making sure our students are balancing the different aspects of their lives. I would encourage you to continue to work closely with our House Deans in the coming months to consolidate this support. Caring As you would know, one of the strategies to support our Year 12 students prepare for their November exams is SWOTVAC, which allows students to revise at home. We recognise that some students may require extra assistance. Hence, SWOTVAC tutorials will be running in Term 4 to support Year 12 students. They will be held online so students will be able to access this help easily from home. The tutorials are being led by alumni from our Learning Success tutoring program and will be organised as drop-in sessions.