From the Principal's Desk
Published by Rochedale State SchoolSchool Review trip to South West Queensland
For someone who has never been west of Roma, the opportunity to be part of the review team for two small, remote schools in South West Queensland was an opportunity too good to pass up. Visiting Eromanga and Quilpie gave me a new appreciation for the challenges of outback education. While the two towns are ‘neighbours’ – only 120 odd kilometres apart – they certainly are not similar. Eromanga SS is a school of 7 students in a town of 40 people. Quilpie State College is larger with 60 students in years P–10 and 800 people living in town. When describing Rochedale SS to a Quilpie year 3/4 class, I explained that our school has more students than the population of both towns combined. Travel in this part of the world is by small plane or measured in hundreds of kilometres on dusty, single lane roads. Some students live on remote stations and travelling over an hour for work, school, shopping and essential services is just what you do. After landing in Charleville it took us 3 and a half hours to reach Eromanga by car. Things that we take for granted in city schools, such as relief teachers when staff are sick, are a luxury rarely available in these remote sites. The intent of the school review is to assist schools to forward plan and value add to them with an external lens. I hope I did this, but in turn I know the experience value added to me, made me appreciate education from a different perspective and hopefully made me a better principal. While it is always good to return home, my trip to the outback was a wonderful opportunity which I am extremely grateful to have experienced. I have included a couple of photos below.
Staffing
I would like to welcome Mrs Jessica Rigby back to school and to the leadership team after her two weeks of long service leave. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Miss Tara Barron for filling in so capably as the acting Deputy Principal and acting Head of Diverse Learning and Enrichment during Jessica’s absence. A strength of a large school such as ours, is having a number of experienced and accomplished staff who are able to take on the various leadership roles when required.
I would also like to welcome back Mrs Natasha Ritchie from her long service leave.
In other staffing news, Mr Brad Legge has relinquished his Deputy Principal position here at Rochedale. Mr Legge has been pursuing various, different school opportunities this year to widen his leadership experiences and has made the decision not to return to Rochedale. As we currently have our full complement of Deputy Principals attached to our school, Mr Legge’s decision will not change the composition of the leadership team this year.
Classes for 2022
A reminder to all to please provide in writing, to the office, any educational considerations you would like the school to be aware of when allocating your child’s class placement for 2022. Please understand that we form classes with the best educational intentions for each child in mind, it is not a job taken lightly. It is a huge process for a school of this size to form classes each year and we ask you to understand that we cannot entertain late requests or requests that simply ask for specific teachers or particular friends to be in a child’s class. Classes must always be balanced in numbers and in educational dynamics. While your educational requests will be valued and considered, the final class construction is ultimately a school decision made in consultation with this year’s teachers. Please also remember that the final class make ups (for all state schools in QLD) will not be determined until staffing is finalised on day 8 of next year. I thank you for your understanding of this process.
Ekka Holiday 29 October
Just a reminder that Friday 29 October will be this year’s Ekka public holiday in Brisbane and our school will not be open.
Learner Profile: Attribute focus for the week – Knowledgeable – Students demonstrate a desire to learn more and become more knowledgeable by completing all school and homework tasks to the best of their ability. To achieve this goal in Term 4, students are expected to demonstrate these traits for the entire term.
Kind regards
Keith Graham
Principal