'Principal's Address' - Awards Evening 2006


Natalee and Zac
Distinguished Guests
Staff of Tannum Sands State High School
Parents
Friends of the school
Students and especially our Award Winners

APPRECIATING:
For what have we to be thankful tonight?


Australia's Education System
We should appreciate living in Australia - a peaceful, democratic and safe country, rich enough to resource a modern educational system... more about that educational system later. Certainly, students, if you look at this photo, I am sure your counterparts in Tanzania would think you are very, very lucky. But closer to home what should we all appreciate about our school?

Fantastic Students
I appreciate our students. They are incredible. It continues to be my experience that, when told clearly what are our expectations, that Tannum Sands SHS students meet these expectations. I am proud that our students are generally respectful of each other, understand that our school is a community with rights for all, and use our school as a place to learn and to create futures. Their friendliness, respectful behaviour and forward-looking attitude are certainly remarked upon, year after year, by incoming teachers and by visitors.

Professional Staff
I believe that this community is lucky to have the teaching and non-teaching staff we do, too. They are very committed to this school and to quality. We recently had a curriculum consultant, Mike Middleton, working for four days in our school. He has worked as a consultant for over a decade in schools all over Australia and overseas. Mike told us that we have something unique here. He was astounded, he said, that everyone, not most, engaged in some really complex discussions about our curriculum in a highly professional and productive manner. Therefore, as has been my tradition, I would like you, parents, students and community members, to join with me in recognising all our staff members, both teaching and non-teaching, for their dedication and strong support for our learners. I believe they richly deserve that.

Parents as partners
The vast majority of our parents work very cooperatively with us, even in times of confusion, dispute or misunderstandings between home and school. I believe parents in our school community value learning and the pathways education can create. Please continue to read our newsletters, return our questionnaires, complete our on-line surveys, ring the school, and volunteer your help - the home school partnership is so important.

P&C Support
What a loyal group of parents come to our monthly P&C meetings. These parents are volunteers, remember, as busy as everyone else, and give me valuable advice and support. The P&C also employs and supervises a range of P&C-employed staff, who keep our canteen and uniform services operating. It saves us all money. Thanks to Mark Petrie and his team for a fantastic 2006 from the P&C.

Community Partners
Learning in schools is fenceless these days. Thanks to our many friends, supporters, sponsors and project partners in the community.

Excellent Facilities
Physically, we are very thankful for our school. We now have specialist blocks for every discipline, large air-conditioned rooms and attractive grounds. I appreciate the students' efforts to respect, value and look after our facilities. I appreciate the P&C's efforts to support spending not only on learning - our chief goal - but also on improving our facilities, directing funds to shade structures, our amphitheatre, air conditioning and modifications to our Performance Centre.

All these things come together to create excellence for our school. Let's be thankful for what we have. These comparative advantages bred success and innovation in a variety of ways in 2006…

CREATING ADADEMIC EXCELLENCE
We create pathways for ALL learners. However, university entrance is still the prized goal for many of our students and key objective for our school. And always will be.

  • Last year, 18% of our OP-eligible students received an OP in the 1 to 5 range. Congratulations to Elizabeth O'Neill for her OP1 - thanks for coming back tonight, Liz.
  • 83% of students sitting the Qld Core Skills Test received a C or above (77% is the Qld average), with one in eight students gaining a treasured 'A' result.
  • 91% of students applying for tertiary entrance received an offer in the first round alone, with 70% receiving their treasured first preference.
  • A term 1 snapshot of our Year 8 data showed, of all report results issued, 48% were HA's or VHA's. Year 9 was 48% and Year 10 44%.

    SUCCESS FOR GRADUATES
    People sometimes ask me, "In what does your school specialise?" To me the question is nonsense: we value successful transition after school for every student.
  • The Qld Government now conducts an annual statewide destination survey, Next Steps. The response rate from Tannum 2005 graduates was an incredible 89%. Taking into account university or TAFE study, apprenticeships and traineeships, and full and part time work, 91% of our graduates were earning or learning after Year 12, with all but 2 of the remaining 9% actively seeking work
  • 20 of last year's graduates gained an apprenticeship after school. There were another 27 coming from other grades.
  • I am proud that 3 of our 5 indigenous students are at uni this year. Tatum Bond is studying Medicine, following her OP2, believed to be the highest ever by an indigenous student in Central Qld.

    2006 ACHIEVEMENTS
    But enough of last year's graduates... what about this year?


    2006 began with 232 Year 8 students, 11 new permanent teachers and 1013 students in total. We are all proud of our school's many achievements during this year…

  • We began a major review of our Middle Phase curriculum, to be implemented by 2008. I am confident this will result in a more challenging Year 8 year, better opportunities to address literacy and improved teaching in our classrooms.
  • The Business and Information Technology Skills Centre, or BITS Centre, began at the smelter in term 2. Students study one of their subjects one day a week, from 7.30am to 3.30pm in an actual industry setting. We plan for this to become a nationally known centre of excellence - thanks, Comalco!
  • The Gladstone Schools and Industry Group won the prestigious Peter Doherty Science State Award for Excellence in Science Education.
  • Heather Moller, our Science Head of Department, has been a key driver behind the formation of GAMSET, the Gladstone Area Mathematics, Science and Engineering Teachers network, a key body through whom we hope to facilitate much industry-relevant learning for teachers. We are also applying to become a Regional Science Centre of Innovation and Professional Practice, on behalf of a considerable number of regional schools and two universities.
  • Our gifted and talented program, BSL-Zenith, continues to flourish, with 152 current passport holders. Two of our teachers received formal training to become Gifted Education Mentors this year. Our Zenith students mentored local primary teams in EngQuest, three primary teams winning at regional and one at state level. Students participated in a total of 10 state/national competitions. Thirty-seven students participated in one or more of these. Results included 13 High Distinctions and 43 Distinctions. One student (Jacob Johnston Yr 8) participated in nine of the national competitions, attaining 4 distinctions and 5 High Distinctions. He was also ranked on the 100th percentile in the Westpac Mathematics Competition!
  • Our IT has strengthened further this year. Our website has undergone a major facelift - thanks, Mr McPherson. We have expanded and redeployed our computer resources, allowing even better access in most teaching blocks, with our stock now well over 200 computers. Soon, we will be purchasing Electronic Whiteboards, allowing classroom interface to quality software and to the Net.

    PATHWAYS FOR ALL
    Remember people use to say, "Schools should teach kids real world stuff. They should find out what industry wants?" Well, schools have responded…
  • This year 147 Tannum Sands students, that's 15%, did at least one day of their learning off-site e.g. at TAFE, the BITS Centre at Boyne Smelters or the Gladstone Schools Engineering Skills Centre at NRG.
  • We have also worked closely with school and industry partners in the start up of the Australian Technical College, which specialises in school-based apprenticeships
  • We arranged for the Australian Brick and Blocklaying Training Foundation to visit district schools, conducting-one week courses. Our class built a fantastic BBQ for the amphitheatre, in five days.
  • The Schools and Industry Network in Gladstone has placed over 1200 students from our district schools in work experience or work placement this.
  • We began 7.30am classes in English and Mathematics to cater for our off-site learners.

    SPORTING HIGHLIGHTS
  • In sport, Tannum Sands High had 64 boys and 44 girls achieve Port Curtis honours, with 41 of these students going on to represent Capricornia Region at State championships.
  • We were thrilled when Jake Simmons became our first ever National Champion in the 17 years 50-metre backstroke.
  • David Hodgson achieved a National Age Record for his disability category in Long Jump at the State Athletics Championships. Shannon Polkinghorne earned selection in the Queensland Athletics team but passed up this honour to chase a Broncos Rugby League Scholarship
  • We also had six of our staff attend State Championships, in a variety of sports, thus enhancing their skills and knowledge
  • Tannum Sands High students played a wide variety of interschool sport. Our Open Rugby League, Open Boys Soccer, Open Girls Soccer and Year 8 Girls Soccer were District Premiers, whilst our Open AFL boys were Regional Competition Winners. We were awarded Premier Surfing High School in Central Queensland at CQ Interschool Surf Challenge.
  • The gruelling 24-hour Human Powered Vehicles race in Maryborough saw Tannum bring home a swag of firsts, seconds and thirds, pedalling bikes they made themselves with generous sponsor support. Thanks.
  • Congratulations to all those who got active and played sport this year!

    THE ARTS AND CULTURE
  • Our Strings Orchestra played at Parliament House and was awarded at Gold standard at Fanfare. Our band is re-building well and was rated Bronze at Fanfare, the best Brass-Woodwind-Percussion result in our district this year.
  • Firsts at the Eisteddfod went to the strings orchestra, rock orchestra and percussion ensemble.
  • Wolfstock the Musical sold out - eighty students playing to 1000 ticket holders - and it was a howling success
  • We had a large number of entries in Goldings Showcase this year and three of our students were short listed in the Minister's Art Awards.
  • Thirty-eight students attended the Brisbane Arts Festival, we have another twenty-two students travelling to Japan next month and 2007 will see our first trip to Vietnam. (Where was this when we went to school?")

    STUDENT LEADERSHIP
  • Our Student Council and Mentors continue to work hard and planned several new initiatives, such as relaying turf near the amphitheatre Out-going leaders presented a very fulsome report to me at the end of their term of office.
  • On students' advice, we introduced the Healthy Choices food and drinks policy 12 months ahead of schedule
  • Pleasingly, our students raised over $6 000 for Forty Hour Famine, the third highest total in Qld

    CHANGES AHEAD
  • Tannum Sands students have always had written goals - Year 10s formalised these into Senior Education and Training Plans in 2006 and will go on to become the first Seniors working towards a Qld Certificate of Education
  • We expect to receive $100 000 each from both the Federal Government and State Government, to help us fund computers and capital works projects, respectively, early next year
  • Qld's new Education Act has been proclaimed. Changes relate to enrolments, transfer of student information between schools, compulsory school attendance, student behaviour and reporting. The P&C has responded with revamps to our behaviour code, dress code and homework policy

    And so, we have lots to be thankful for in 2006, another stellar year for Tannum Sands State High. Parents, your children go to an excellent school. Students, you know this. And we will continue to Seek Excellence in 2007.

    EDUCATION IS WORTH DEBATING
    Before I conclude, I'd like to speak briefly about some of the educational debates that are occurring in our nation. My intent in doing this tonight is not to take sides one way or the other. Rather, my message is that education is critical to our nation and deserves serious debate, not platitudes, catchphrases and empty ideology.

    This year, some of our nation's newspapers, in particular, have run what I consider to be "campaigns", not balanced reporting, around a number of issues. We are offered simple, plausible-sounding solutions to quite complex problems. We need enlightened discussion. You need to be part of this. I will share two examples that have been in the media lately.

    Great Ideas
    National Curriculum: a sensible idea. I certainly support greater consistency in our schools, especially for those students who shift around our nation. But let's look at what needs to be debated first.

    National Curriculum
    Consistency: yes, it makes sense for our students to be studying basically the same Physics or Mathematics around the states. However, our politicians' pre-occupation seems to be with the content of these courses. Most Qld syllabuses demand associated skills and higher order thinking and I don't want that lost in a debate over topics. And level of consistency are we after? Do we want to have a system, such as exists overseas in some countries, where central bureaucrats control lesson structures or even timing, taking away the flexibility that your teachers need to teach your students well? Assessment: should we move to a national exam, which appears 'fair' because it is 'the same'? But is it actually fair? If a student knows his or her work very well, can solve complex tasks and work in groups, why should that knowledge be tested only via a one-off, one-shot exam, and not via other valid means of assessment? And by the teachers who know students well? These are just some of the issues. In summary, any national curriculum needs to take the best of what the states have to offer, not be an imposed, simplistic, restrictive approach to education.

    Rewarding inspirational teachers
    Differential Pay for Teachers: I, for one, would love to see teachers who are the most skilled practitioners and who consistently motivate and inspire their students, be rewarded financially. For too long, there has been the myth of 'all teachers are created equal.' Sounds simple? Let's just fix it. But wait!

    Let's take a performance basis for pay. If a teacher's pay was going to be judged solely on class results, for example, is that fair, unless all teachers start the year with equal abilities in their classes? And what about private schools, who don't 'take all comers'? Will their teachers be paid higher if their results are higher? Why should their teachers receive better, or even the same pay, if they are not teaching the 'more challenging' students too? Perhaps they should be paid less! Whatever happens, I can assure you that teachers don't want and I don't want, class composition being based on fears about results-related pay.

    Similarly, we need better debate about standards-based pay, proposed by the other side of politics. Does this mean pay will be based on which teacher goes to the in-service or gains some paper-based qualifications - standards on paper - regardless of whether the teachers' skills transpose effectively to the classroom? [Rest of slide] All this is not meant to say, "Don't do it." I am hopeful there could be ways found to reward teachers differentially. I am merely making the point that there are lots of issues to work through and that the solutions will be complex, not simple, and will need the sophisticated engagement of all stakeholders, be they governments, unions, parents or students.

    I have outlined two examples of contemporary educational discussion tonight. My plea to you is that, next time you pick up a broadsheet, tune into a current affairs program or listen to a politician's prescription for the way forward, please question, drill down and ask those in the field what complexities lie beneath seemingly simple scenarios. And please be aware of media campaigns that blatantly deny balanced and informative debate of all the issues and perspectives. Have your say - keep an eye through our newsletters on government calls for input OR come to P&C and listen to, or put forward, the arguments. Food for thought.

    CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR AWARD WINNERS
    In a minute, I will leave you with some highlights of the year. Pictures (or Windows Media Player) speak louder than words! In concluding my speech tonight, I wish to thank my two hard-working deputies and my wife, Jo, and my family. Thanks to you, staff, community members, parents and especially our students for making 2006 another wonderful year.

    I would like to wholeheartedly congratulate all our Award winners tonight. Hold your heads up high: you are our high achievers and our inspiration for tomorrow.

    Tannum Sands SHS is still creating futures. Let's see some of the year's work…

    RAY JOHNSTON
    PRINCIPAL