Deception Bay SHS Newsletter

Principal's Address

We are well and truly back at full speed after a very successful and settled start to 2024. To all our returning families – welcome back and to all our new families, particularly those who may be experiencing their first time as a high school parent – a warm welcome!

The positive start has been achieved on a foundation of careful preparation and doing our utmost to know our new students and ensure they are thirving at Deception Bay SHS. 

On assemblies I routinely discuss “Your best is absolutely good enough”. They know that by giving our best we will fulfil our potential and be able to take pride in achievements. As a school we strive to provide the best possible environment to enable this.

There are a wide range of supports and opportunities available to a student to help them be at their best. These include roles such as Year Level Leaders, Community Education Counsellor, Pasifika Liaison Officer, Guidance Officers, Deputy Principals, Heads of Departments, Teachers and Teacher-Aides, GP Clinic, School Psychologist and more – all are here to help. If you are experiencing any concerns about your child’s education or wellbeing, please reach out to us and we will work together to find solutions and supports to help get the best possible outcomes.

Events and Celebrations so far in Term 1

• Assemblies for Whole School, Year Levels, Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary to assist with students understanding the ways of working at DBSHS as well as building connections: “Belonging”.
• Swimming Carnival – a pretty warm day to say the least, lots of students participated keenly and the engagement and behaviour was spot on. Well done to Bradman (again….)!
• Senior Investiture – a lovely ceremony with our Year 12’s looking fantastic and accepting their badges with pride, fantastic to be a part of.
• Year 7 Meet and Greet – great to interact with so many Year 7 families and have a chance to connect with class teachers.

Enrolments and Staffing

Full-time enrolments have continued to increase, starting this year with 1075 students. Overall, we have similar numbers to 2023 as we have reduced our number of part-time students engaging with us as a Registered Training Organisation (we provide Certificate courses to students from other schools) to ensure we can continue to provide them the highest quality learning experiences. Our overall enrolment now sits around 1445 students with 371 enrolling from other State Secondary schools.

There are around 160 staff working at DBSHS, of these approximately 130 are directly involved with teaching or supporting students and 30 people in critical roles to support school operations (Administration, School Facilities and Grounds, Cleaners).

I can confidently state that my staff are thoroughly committed to helping students achieve in whatever role they fill, I am so proud of the work they do.

Strategic Direction 2024:

Our Annual Improvement Plan for 2024 has been updated to reflect the feedback and recommendations from our School Review in 2023. It has been discretely linked to key elements of the School Improvement Hierarchy, now organised under four focus areas.

Our AIP focus areas for 2024 are:

1. Effective Pedagogical Practices
2. Systematic Curriculum Delivery
3. Differentiated Teaching and Learning
4. Analysis and Discussion of Data

Our EIA focus spotlights Effective Pedagogical Practices:

• Learning Intentions
• Success Criteria
• Descriptive Feedback (Bump It Up Walls)
• “A” level thinking
• Peer and Self feedback
• Individual Goal Setting

To provide targets for continuous improvement and to measure success we are aiming for:

• 90%+ A-C results for all subjects in all Year levels
• 50%+ for A-B results in English and Mathematics

I am confident we can achieve these targets and look forward to sharing our results as we progress through the year.

Our work now is to use our positive start to drive great learning outcomes for our students. I look forward to sharing stories and snapshots of our successes across the year and am confident there will be plenty to share!

Welcome to our Year 7 Students.

Things are buzzing as our 2024 year 7 children kick off their high school adventure. They've hit milestones, had a blast at our school swimming carnival, and are ready to dive into their academic journey at Deception Bay SHS.  Their hype for high school and grabbing every opportunity really shows off our 2024 year 7 motto: 'Bee the Best You Can Bee'.

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Swimming Carnival

Monday 5th February was the first carnival of the year for Deception Bay SHS and it started in the pool.  Student behaviour was exceptional, house spirit was at an all-time high and 5 records were broken on the day. Congratulations to our Age Champions and Bradman House for winning the carnival.​

Swimming Carnival

Volleyball Development Program (VDP)​

VDP has officially commenced for 2024 and Mr Flanders and Miss Hall-Stocker are excited for the year ahead. Students are reminded that training is Monday and Wednesday afternoon (2:45-4:00pm) and Friday morning (7:30am start). New students wishing to trial for VDP will have the opportunity to trial in Term 2. ​

​Congratulations to the following VDP squad members who were successful in the South District Volleyball trials and will be competing in Regionals next week for a spot in the Sunshine Coast Volleyball team:​

12-15 Girls: Jasmina, Matilder and Leilani ​

12-15 Boys: Brock ​

16-19 Girls: Gloria, Tylah, Amanda and Joanne​

16-19 Boys: Lincoln 

​

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Grin and Tonic

On Wednesday the 14^th of February, our Drama and Creative Industries students had the opportunity to watch a performance from Grin and Tonic Theatre Company. Students loved the play and received compliments from the company actors on their awesome audience participation and polite behaviour. After the performance was completed, students participated in a Q and A with the actors where they showed off an impressive knowledge of drama. 

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Year 12 Senior Investiture

On Monday week 4, we celebrated our Senior Investiture Ceremony. This ceremony acknowledged our Year 12s as they entered the final phase of their schooling and received their senior badges. Our House, SRC and School Captains were also inducted and presented with their badges. We thank the many families who joined us to celebrate this milestone for our Year 12 students and look forward to an exciting year ahead.

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School Captains 2024

Parking

Please do not park in the school bus zones or park in the bus entrance way. Let's keep our bus area safe and accessible for buses to pick up and drop off students smoothly. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated! 

Donating uniforms

Has your child had a growth spurt? We would love for you to donate your old uniforms so that we can donate these to families in need. Please drop your old uniforms into the school office.

Naplan 2024

NAPLAN testing will occur from 13 March until 19 March with a final catch up day scheduled for 20 March. All tests will take place in the Gym and G303 classroom. Students will use the school iPads to complete each test and will be provided with their own set of headphones. The schedule is as follows:Wednesday 13/3- Writing test – 42 minutes.Thursday 14/3- Reading test- 65 minutes.Monday 18/3– Language test- 45 minutes.Tuesday 19/3- Numeracy Test- 65 minutes.

Phones away for the day

We're so proud that our students have embraced the 2024 Mobile Device Policy. As a result of this change we have seen a greater focus on learning and positive interactions during break times. For information on our Mobile Device Policy and Procedures please click the following link: https://deceptionbayshs.eq.edu.au/our-school/policies

Arts Extra-Curricular

Arts Extra Curricular activities have begun! Students are invited to come along and check out some of our groups over the next few weeks.  Ensemble Director's are happy to answer any questions.

Year 11 and 12 Grow Coaching

Tuckshop and Uniform Renovation News

Our school tuckshop and uniform shop will be closed during the following dates:

• Monday, 18^th March to Friday, 28^th March in Term 1 and;
• Monday, 15^th April to Friday, 19^th April in Term 2.

During this time, our tuckshop will undergo renovations.

As the cooler months approach, we urge parents/carers to purchase jumpers and warmer uniforms before Week 9 (Term 1).

Rest assured, the school will have alternate arrangements in place to ensure our students have access to healthy meal options during the tuckshop closure.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at info@deceptionbayshs.eq.edu.au

Kangaroo Bus Pass

MSP Photograph - School Photos

Envelopes to order your child’s school photos have now been distributed by LFL teachers – envelopes have a shoot key allocated to each child and this shoot key will need to be entered if ordering photos online.  If your child was away when envelopes were distributed, please ask your child to collect from their LFL teacher.  To order family photos, envelopes can be collected from the office.  If your child loses their envelope, and you are wishing to purchase school photos, please contact MSP Photography directly by phoning 3886 4291 or emailing admin.brisbane@msp.com.au.

Please ensure your child is in correct formal school uniform on photo day.