Head of Year 7 & 8 News

Feedback Week – Week 5, Level 2 Applications, Barbecues and Rewards Trips

Congratulations to Year 7 students - Allison, Isaac and Jessie, who are the first three students in the Year 7 and 8 cohorts to complete their feedback week sheets. These students won a $6 tuckshop voucher for checking in with all of their teachers to gain feedback about their effort and behaviour.

What is Feedback Week? Each term students have an opportunity to request individual feedback from teachers about their effort and behaviour in all subjects. Teachers refer to the effort and behaviour matrix, detailed on the back of the sheet, to provide precise and tailored feedback. By specifically detailing what the student may need to work on, they are more likely to achieve a better effort and behaviour result.

Feedback sheets were handed out on year level parades last week. Year 7 students were shown how to fill in the sheets during their PDP lesson and how to request feedback from teachers. Feedback week is the perfect opportunity for students to ensure they are on track to maintain or achieve Level 2 before Semester 1 reports are released. All Year 7 students begin school as Level 3 students. Students who have achieve an A or B for effort and behaviour in all subjects are eligible to apply for Level 2. Twenty-six Year 7 students successfully applied for Level 2 recognition after receiving an A or B for effort and behaviour in all subjects during Term 1.

Level 1 and 2 students are positively recognised throughout the year with rewards trips and attendance barbecues. For maintaining school attendance of 95 percent or above throughout Term 1, around 160 students were recognised with a breakfast barbecue of bacon and egg burgers when they returned to school to begin Term 2.

This week 125 students in Years 7-12 headed to Toowoomba for the very popular shopping trip to Grand Central. For next term, Mr Moloney has organised a Footy Trip to Suncorp Stadium to see Broncos Vs Storm. The final rewards trip at the end of the year is to Wet ‘n’ Wild.

Year 8 Tangalooma Camp

Year 8 students have been busy fundraising for the 2026 Year 8 camp from Monday 7th – Thursday 10th December, which is the final week of Term 4. To keep the cost of the camp as low as possible, a number of fundraising opportunities are being undertaken by students. Camp information and permission forms will be sent home as soon as we have a more accurate picture of how much we are able to fundraise.

Thank you to all students who have supported the fundraising effort so far with the Legends of Beef clean-up, the Toogoolawah SHS Cross Country drinks and icy cup stall, the Student Council recycling program, the Somerset Cup stall, and to those who are volunteering their time to help me with the Esk Grand Hotel raffle next Friday evening, the 29th May. There will be some further opportunities to fundraise at school events during the year, as well as the popular Coff & Co. Pie Drive in July.

Open Day

It was wonderful to see all of the prospective 2027 Year 7 students and their families visiting the school for our Open Day last week. Our school is incredible with so much on offer for a small school. Enrolment interviews are next on the schedule for the transition from Year 6 to High School. I am looking forward to meeting with you for the interviews during Week 8-9.

Emerging Elders Camp

Following in the footsteps was the theme for the Emerging Elders camp, attended by 16 of Toogoolawah State High School’s Indigenous students earlier this month. The annual camp is held on Jinibara Country at Stanley River Environmental Education Centre.

Jinibara Elders joined students and talked about ancient and contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. They shared their knowledge and stories and invited students to ask questions and share their personal stories. Students examined and discussed materials used to make traditional tools, including spears, stone axes, instruments and ceremonial items, and learned about how they were used. Throughout the camp students created individual art works and used traditional symbols to paint a boomerang. At the end of each day everyone came together in a Yarning Circle to reflect on learning and deepening understanding of Culture. Indigenous games and activities were led by our senior students, Tyler, Larni and Mya.

For Tyler and Larni, this was their sixth and final camp. It has been a privilege to watch these students grow and develop as young Indigenous leaders as they deepen their understanding of identity and connection with culture.

Kilcoy, Lowood, and Woodford students also attended the camp. Our students were outstanding, setting an example as leaders and working with other students, showing pride in their culture and themselves – something commented on by the Stanley River staff and teachers from other schools.