RGS Newsletter Monday, 15 March 2021 © The Rockhampton Grammar School, Term 1 2021 RUGBY SEASON: RGS rugby players have been busy on the field in recent weeks, including in the schoolgirls competition on Thursday afternoons. Inside: RGS News Department News Head of Secondary School - Academics Head of Year reports Careers Information Boarding Co-Curriculum RGS Newsletter Monday, 15 March 2021 www.rgs.qld.edu.au Final preparation for this Friday’s 2021 Year 12 Formal is RGS News well underway. The Formal Committee have worked very hard and are looking forward to celebrating with their peers. Stymie Year 12 students can collect their wristbands from the Secondary School Office for distribution to their invited guests. Guests must wear the provided wristband to gain admission to the event and must continue to wear the wristband whilst on venue grounds. Prior to entering the Showgrounds, all guests are required to sign in, using either the School’s EVA check in app and QR Code (this will be displayed at Gate 2) or manually sign in at the entry desk. The Walkthrough will start at 5:30 pm sharp, with students starting to arrive in their chosen method of transport. Parents/guardians and invited guests are asked to arrive at the Showgrounds from 4:45 pm onwards to allow time for Stymie Founder Rachel Downie (RGS 1987) visited RGS last check in. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, no food or drink week to talk to students and staff about Stymie – an will be provided at the Walkthrough. anonymous harm reporting tool that schools are proactively Students will arrive in their chosen method of transport to using to support their students to say something without the Showgrounds (via Gate 9 on New Exhibition Road fear. RGS is now a member of the Stymie programme. entrance ONLY) and enter via the red carpet at the Robert Rachel spoke with students from Year 6 to Year 12 along Schwarten Pavilion (outdoor area) and assemble on the with RGS staff. grass area behind the stage. Students cars will exit via For more information on Stymie visit - Gate 5. Students are asked to arrive by 6.00 pm at the https://about.stymie.com.au/ latest. It is suggested that students start to assemble at Gate 9 by 5:15 pm to start the drive through the RGS at Beef Australia 2021 Showgrounds by 5:30 pm. Students are asked to drive slowly and carefully. Parking for student vehicles, parents/guardians, invited guests and staff is in the surrounding streets. Some students may prefer to enter the event on foot. RGS is making final preparations for our Trade and Show Students who do so will enter the function via Gate 2 with Cattle Team sites at Beef Australia 2021, held in all other guests. Rockhampton from 2 - 8 May. On arrival, parents/guardians and invited guests must be At Beef Australia, the School would also like to recognise seated and remain seated for the duration of the our families that live on the land and represent our rural Walkthrough. industry. If you have any family photos you would like to share please At 6:45 pm Year 12 students and their parents/guardians email Rachael McDonald, RGS Communications and or invited guests, will move in to the Robert Schwarten Development Officer, at [email protected] Pavilion using the main entrance at the front of the Pavilion for the Formal dinner. The Walkthrough will be livestreamed and can be viewed via 2021 Year 12 Formal the following link 2021 Year 12 RGS Formal NO Year 12 classes will not run-on Friday 19 March. Year 12 students are asked to ensure their hair colour, cut and length, nails and other aspects of their appearance conform to all RGS expected dress and appearance codes and policies before returning to school on Monday 22 March. Students who have gone to extremes can expect to be asked by the Headmaster not to come to school, or the Formal, until the matter has been satisfactorily addressed. RGS Newsletter Monday, 15 March 2021 www.rgs.qld.edu.au 2021 Year 10 Outdoor Education, Adventure and New School Flashing Lights Service Programme The Department of Transport and Main Signed Web-Preference selection preference forms were Roads has replaced the existing school due to the Secondary School Office (SSO) at 9 am today, zone signs on Agnes Street with Monday 15 March. flashing school zone signs. The If your signed preference selection form has not been installation of flashing school zone returned, please return it as soon as possible. The School signs improves visibility of school zones wishes to finalise all trip groups and programmes as soon and serves as an active reminder for as possible and cannot do so without all signed forms. motorists to slow down. In the short term, there may be slight worsening of traffic congestion, but it should Fast Food Deliveries ultimately improve the safety of our The Secondary School has been faced with an increase in students. Thank you to the RGS Parent food deliveries during the day for individuals and small Association for their ongoing support groups of students, often via apps such as Uber Eats and and engagement in traffic management Menulog. We have examined the benefits and costs of the around the School. services and have concluded that these deliveries cannot be accepted during the school day. Students who do not bring food from home, are to make use of the canteen. Of course, if a student forgets their lunch or lunch money, they are welcome to speak to their Head of Year and arrangements will be made. As you all know, the school has been striving to optimise student safety and wellbeing in a variety of forms. We have Literacy at RGS become one of the first schools in the country to seek and obtain accreditation with the Australian Childhood Foundation’s Safeguarding Children Program. All volunteers and casual staff are required to obtain a Blue Card certifying them as appropriate for roles involving close contact with children. We have also sought a balance between isolating the school during the pandemic and involving parents as much as practicable. This involves a Jeffery Deaver: The Bone degree of bureaucracy and oversight which is simply not Collector practical for delivery drivers or reception staff. The prospect of unknown delivery drivers entering the school The Bone Collector is a grounds and making direct contact with students is clearly 1997 novel by Jeffery Deaver. at odds with these initiatives. The book introduces the Furthermore, both in terms of healthy eating and the character of Lincoln Rhyme, amount of rubbish produced, fast food deliveries are a quadriplegic forensic criminalist. undesirable. Given the notoriously flexible delivery windows, A single human hand has been delayed deliveries have also resulted in students being late found, buried on a deserted into class. railway track on New York’s West For all of these reasons, students should not order food to Side – the hand belonging to a be delivered. Staff will be asked to reject deliveries of food. man who got into a cab at the airport and never got out. If not returned to the provider, the food will be discarded. The driver was the Bone Collector. We ask for your understanding and co-operation as we implement this wellbeing initiative. The Bone Collector, a killer and kidnapper obsessed with old New York, leaves clues that only Lincoln Rhyme can RGS Bus Service decipher. As the minutes count down toward each Information on the RGS Capricorn Coast and North successive death, Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, the female Rockhampton bus services is available on the RGS website - police officer acting as his arms and legs, race to locate http://www.rgs.qld.edu.au/bus the victims by unravelling the Bone Collector’s clues. The Bone Collector was adapted into a film in 1999, and a television series based on the novel made its broadcast premiere on January 10, 2020. RGS Newsletter Monday, 15 March 2021 www.rgs.qld.edu.au Winner of a Nero Award in 1999 and a New York Times The School is a proud member of the Belmont Agricultural bestseller, The Bone Collector is a perfect read for those Alliance which the Certificate III forms a significant element who are fans of crime and thriller books. and RGS would like to thank its partners of AgForce, CQUniversity and the Maynard Cattle Co. You can find the series of Lincoln Rhyme novels in the RGS library! RGS Senior Agriculture Science students visited CQUniversity’s CQIRP learning all about Agritech and Mat Recommended for ages 15+. Science from Dr Jamie Manning last week. By Headmaster, Dr Moulds Awful Auntie Awful Auntie is a non-utterance, mysterious and fabulous novel which has been written by David Walliams and illustrated by Tony Ross in 2014. It revolves around Stella Saxby, who is the sole heir of Saxby Hall, a prestigious mansion. Aunt Alberta wants to claim the invaluable house for herself and for Music her great Bavarian owl, Wagner. But fortunately, Stella had Over the weekend RGS music students, in Years 9 – 12, an unbelievable and frightening secret weapon. It was were involved in the annual State Honours Ensemble fantastically unveiled to completely eradicate maleficent programme for the Capricornia region. The programme, Alberta. Stella must show miraculous traits to accomplish held at North Rockhampton State High School, selects the her task. best of our regions students to work together over three This novel won the UK national book award and various days in intensive workshops led by professional musicians other achievements.