2024 Term 4 Week 10

Principals Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

As the year draws to a close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the successes, growth and resilience of our school community.  This year has been filled with remarkable achievements and countless learning opportunities for our students and staff.

ISC students have excelled in academic, sporting and cultural areas state and nationwide.  Sporting teams have competed and placed at regional, state and national levels.  Students have competed and placed in Science, Maths, The Arts, Music and Environmental competitions at state level.  There have been camps and excursions providing a huge opportunity for our students to expand their horizons.  As we prepare for 2025 - we are excited about the upcoming opportunity for growth.  The school has been successful in securing a $2.5 million grant to roof the basketball court and build amenities.  The school has partnered with QUT and secured a $3 million grant to provide an opportunity for local Innisfail residents to study Education and become a teacher in one of our 10 local schools without leaving home.  Upgrades continue for our school facilities.

Overall, it has once again been a successful year for our school.  It never ceases to amaze me how well our school performs even though we are from a small rural town.  We certainly punch above our weight.  None of this would be possible without your support of our school and its students and staff.  Thank you.

To our graduating class of 2024 and families moving on, I wish you every success in your future endeavours.  Please know you will always have a home here at ISC.

I wish you all a safe and restful holiday.  Thank you for being part of our school community.  I look forward to welcoming everyone back for another year of learning, growth and achievement.

Tanya Martin

Principal

2025 College and Vice Captains

ISC is thrilled to announce that our 2025 College Captains are Sebastian Vang and Lily De Brincat and our Vice Captains are Callum Saunders and Sienna Broccardo.

Congratulations to you all and we are very excited to see how you’ll inspire and lead your peers.

Best of luck in your new roles!

2025 House Captains and Student Leaders

ISC is delighted to announce that our 2025 House Captains and Student Leaders are:

Congratulations to all students!

Remembrance Day 2024

Our newly elected school captains, Sebastian Vang, Lily De Brincat, Callum Saunders and Sienna Broccardo represented the college with honour and respect at the 2024 Remembrance Day Commemoration Service on Monday, 11 November, where they laid a wreath. 

Oscar Van Haaren performed a very moving rendition of the Last Post and Reveille. 

All students were a credit to Innisfail State College.

Wonder of Science Competition

Congratulations to Year 9 students Hannah Lawrence, Sienna Pensini and Amity Stewart who won 2nd place at the Wonder of Science State competition in Brisbane recently.  Fantastic results! 

We would like to thank the support of Mena Creek Hotel, Innisfail Dart Association and members of the community who purchased fundraising tickets.

Junior ATSIAP Teams

Junior ATSIAP Teams excel in Semester 2 competitions

This semester, seventeen ISC Year 8 and 9 students participated in the statewide Junior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aspirations Program (ATSIAP), competing against a number of schools across Far North Queensland. In teams of three or four, the students tackled three key challenges: delivering a persuasive speech, crafting a poem and creating an artwork.

 Persuasive Speech Challenge
Students collaborated to develop and refine a persuasive speech based on one of the three provided topics. Although the speeches were presented by a single team member, all members contributed to planning and refining their arguments.

 Art Challenge
In this task, students were encouraged to explore the themes of Persistence and Optimism both individually and as a team. They were then tasked with creating a design that symbolised these core values central to ATSIAP’s mission.

 Poetry Challenge
The poetry task required students to interpret this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme, which emphasises the ongoing journey of reconciliation, including elements such as truth-telling, understanding history, and addressing racism.

The Junior ATSIAP competition was fiercely contested, with only 2.5 points separating third and fifth place.  Team 2—Dulita, Florias, and Myhleah secured third place overall and earned their spot in the State Finals.

In Week 9, the team travelled to Brisbane to compete in a three-day event, taking on new challenges and representing Far North Queensland with pride. Their experience included visits to Griffith University and the University of Queensland, where they participated in a variety of academic and cultural activities.

We commend all participants for their hard work and determination and wish all participants continued success in their future endeavours.

Cowley Beach Rural Fire Service Awareness Stall

On 26^th October at the South Johnston State school, the Cowley Beach Rural Fire Service held a community fire education/awareness stall with the (51 unit) fire truck. Year 9 student Ella-Rose Holst volunteered to assist at the stall for the entire day.

 
Ella showed great self-confidence in stall set-up, understanding what the Rual Fire Service were trying to achieve with community engagement.  Ella helped with restocking the display table, building money boxes for kids, dressing up kids in fire fighter PPE while members were talking to parents, as well as also learning the Fire Danger Rating System - fire permit regulations and so forth. 

Thank you Ella-Rose for your support on the day and for helping to make our community feel so welcomed.

Academic Excellence Showcase Awards

In week 7, ISC came together to honour the achievements of our students at the annual Academic Excellence Showcase Awards ceremony.   The Year 7-9 Awards ceremony was live-streamed from the B Block auditorium while the year 10-12 awards were held at the Innisfail Shire Hall.   Awards were presented for academic excellence, citizenship, leadership and cultural contributions.

Congratulations to all our students on their amazing efforts and successes.  

2024 Academic Awards Gallery

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State Honours Ensemble Program - SHEP Gala Concert

On Friday, 29th November, Kyanna Wirth participated in a program called SHEP Gala (formerly SHEP in a Day), where over 150 music students from across Queensland came together to learn and perform five pieces within 12 hours. These students were part of the choral ensemble, concert band or string ensemble.  As always, SHEP was a wonderful experience that broadens musical knowledge and fosters a love and passion for music in all the young musicians involved.

Thank you to all parents and teachers who support children's love for music; your unwavering dedication never goes unnoticed. To all the music students:  keep going—the view at the end is incredible.

Rotary Innisfail Christmas Street Party

Two talented Innisfail State College students recently showed off their musical skills at the Rotary Innisfail Christmas Street Party. Lochlan Collinson and Salina Wirth set the festive season vibe by serenading the crowd.

School-Based Traineeship & Apprenticeship Sign-Up

2025 will be an exciting time for Kayden Plumb as she embarks on her School-based Apprenticeship in the Glass and Aluminium Manufacturing Industry with Innisfail Glass and Aluminium.  We are very excited for her and wish her every success in her training. 

Another student who is excited about embracing a new learning experience in 2025 is Christopher Spataro, who will commence his School-based Traineeship in Information Technology with Innisfail State College.  We are thrilled to have Christopher on board and know that he will be a valued addition to our staff here.

Innisfail State College would like to sincerely thank our local businesses for their support of our Work Experience and School-based Traineeship/Apprenticeship Programmes.  Without your backing, our students would not have the career preparation opportunities that they currently enjoy.

BLA Aspire Awards Success Stories for 2024

The following students received accolades for their achievements in their chosen fields at the Business Liaison Association’s Aspire Awards Ceremony which was held at Pullman’s International Hotel in Cairns recently.  This ceremony showcased the remarkable accomplishments of students from all over Far North Queensland and it was wonderful to see our students proudly going up onto the stage to be presented with their prizes. It was a delightful night for the staff, students and their families.

Jasmine Giddins – VET Student of the Year (1^st)

Dean Kelleher – VET Student of the Year (Encouragement)

Sharnae Butler – VET Student of the Year (Encouragement)

Alice Sands – Hospitality and Tourism (Runner-up)

Deja Anderson – Hospitality and Tourism (Encouragement)

Hamish Darveniza – Art (Runner-up)

Sharnae Butler – Early Childhood Studies (Encouragement)

Ploy Sainoppakhun – Early Childhood Studies (Encouragement)

Riley Hampson – Accounting (Encouragement)

Congratulations to these deserving students and best wishes for their future achievements.

Community Gardens Art Project

In week 9 a group of students were lucky enough to work with a renowned artist to create a mural for the Johnstone River Community Gardens’ new shipping container shed. The Johnstone River Community Gardens received a grant for this project and were generous enough to invite our students to be a part of it.

Cam Scale (www.camscale.com) specialises in using spray paint to create large scale figures and portraits. He is the artist behind many of the silo artwork that has featured on social media.

Firstly, students had a two-hour planning session with Cam where he took them through a brainstorming and decision-making process. Students chose to focus on a Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, a Giant Rainforest Mantis and a Ulysses Butterfly while featuring the flowers of the Corkwood tree (Melicope species).

The next day was almost postponed due to the Wet Tropics turning on the rain but thankfully it cleared, and the students learned how to use spray paint safely and effectively to create depth and form in the mural.

Four hours later the shipping container shed had transformed into a beautiful work of art with the spontaneous addition of a Northern Jumping Spider. The final touch was to include the Mamu names for the animals.

Butterfly – Guŋgamburr

Praying Mantis – Guyŋganguyŋgan

Spider – Nyibu

Red-tailed Black Cockatoo – Gidila

Can you believe that this was completed entirely with spray paint?

Thank you to the Johnstone River Community Gardens for giving our students this wonderful experience and to Cam Scale for making it a valuable learning experience as well.

Congratulations to Ally, Amelia, Caleb, Hannah, Jonah, Sharyhhs, Skye and Usain! Your hard work and talent have created an artwork for the whole community to enjoy.

If you haven’t seen it yet, why not take a walk in the gardens and enjoy the birds and the greenery and our amazing students’ artwork?

Photo Gallery of Community Gardens Art

Philippine Women's National Cricket Selection

Congratulations to year 11 student Kyte Keen for her selection into the Philippine Women's National Cricket team.  Kyte will be playing in Singapore over the Christmas break.  We wish her every success.

Uniform Shop Hours for Back-to-School 2025

To ensure you have an easy and pleasant experience while ordering uniforms for 2025, we encourage you to place an online order ahead of time for easy click-and-collect in store.  Alternatively, please see the attached flyer for extended trading hours commencing from 20 January 2025 through to 30 January 2025.   The below link will direct you to the ISC Uniform Shop.

2025 Stationery Requisite List

2025 Back-to-School Information

REMINDER: QLD GOVERNMENT BAN ON MOBILE PHONES IN SCHOOLS
Innisfail State College will continue to implement the Queensland Government ban on mobile phones and wearable technology during school hours, including break times, commencing Tuesday 28 January, 2025 the first day of Term 1.

Community Announcements