Welcome

Welcome to Mount Isa Central State School, “A SMALL SCHOOL MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE”, is an innovative, co-educational and exciting learning community.

From P-7 we strive to touch and make a difference to the hearts and minds of our students and their families.

Mount Isa Central State School is the oldest established school in Mount Isa. It is a traditional set 'small school' (196 full time students) experience with a challenging and innovative curriculum that meets the demands of an ever changing diverse world. As the Principal it is an honour and a rewarding experience to have an influence on the future of our creative generation.

Our Values

Our values are based around STAR (Shared Tolerance and Respect) they have evolved over the last two years to incorporate the follow 5 values.

Our school has defined what each of these looks like, sounds like and feels like.

Students and Staff work on each of these values throughout the year by setting personal goals, role playing aspects of each value and talking them through.

The 5 values also incorporate ‘Do the Five’ our problem solving steps.

1. I’m not your bait!
2. Tell them what you did
3. Tell them how it made you feel
4. Ask for a response
5. Say ‘Don’t do it again!’

This helps not only students to be more assertive but also students to resolve issues through common language.

Our Vision

At Mount Isa Central State School we are committed to ensuring your child has life long skills in:

• Literacy with a focus on Multiliteracies
• Numeracy
• And social skills

Our current enrolment in Preparatory is 14 students and 181 students from years 1 to 7.

Our students and staff are enjoying the challenge of setting personal and school targets. Individual students are well aware of their own PM Reading Levels, Sight Words, Spelling Words, Maths Targets and Value Goals (confidence, acceptance, respect, persistence, persistence and organisation).

Our students set their own goals and even develop personal plans to get them there.

• Know your students or yourself
• Know where you want to get to (targets)
• Know how you will get there (success)

Our curriculum encourages lifelong learning through the development of thinking skills, problem-solving skills, literacy and numeracy skills, technology, communication skills and the ability to work co-operatively in a variety of groups.

Literacy and Numeracy at Mount Isa Central State School, is embedded in all Key Learning Areas with an eye on the future perspectives. Our aim is to provide students with the skills and attitudes that will enable them to be effective and creative communicators in future society. We have at our disposal a range of intervention strategies to ensure that all students are catered for and meet their individual needs. We have Year 2 Net Intervention, Reading Recovery Program, STAR - Sharing Tolerance and Respect Life Skills, Early Intervention in year 1, Support a Reader, Support a Writer, Indigenous Education Worker, and Gifted and Talented Program.

We have made literacy and numeracy a high priority within the school. We have focused student learning around literacy in uninterrupted literacy blocks, where skills in spelling, reading, phonics and writing are strategically structured to meet the learning needs of each individual.

Year 2 Net

The Year 2 Diagnostic Net was introduced in all Queensland schools in a bid to improve literacy levels through early detection and intervention.

Throughout Years 1 and 2, teachers monitor children’s progress very closely using milestones or key indicators that relate to reading, writing and number, Teachers can detect and identify children who may be having problems and provide additional support in the areas where a child may be having difficulty. Additional support may come from teachers or trained tutors and may require changes in teaching strategy, different resources or individual tutoring by specialists.

Student Attendance

Extra Curricular Activities

Students at various year levels are involved in a wide range of extra curricula activities throughout the year including:

• Under 8’s day
• Choir fest
• Eisteddfod (Choir or instrumental)
• Instrumental music
• Rodeo Mardi Gras
• Mount Isa Show display
• Education Week
• ANZAC day and Remembrance Day
• Year 6 / 7 camp
• Shave 4 a Cure
• Gary Nixon balloon launch
• Arts Council (1 per term)
• Rock Pop Mime
• Christmas Concert

We are focusing on the following key priorities

• Literacy strategies
• Numeracy Strategies
• District Integrated Curriculum Program
• Behaviour management procedures and program
• Life Skills Program and development

PROGRESS TOWARDS OUR GOALS

• Personalising Learning – ensuring our students are able to understand where they are in relation to all of their fellow students, where they want to get to and how they can work to get to their own targets.
• Development of our values (STAR) to help our students grow as a ‘whole’ child.
• Staff development and school resources have been directed towards the goal of improving results. We have also moved to helping and supporting each other in our development and teaching strategies to ensure all of our students are catered for.
• Key focus also on technology and its applications into the curriculum. Restructuring of the computers in the school will ensure greater access in the future for all students.
• Encouraging parents to participate in school and classrooms, and taking the school to the community.
• Developing an inviting environment within the school and classrooms.
• Ensuring consistent approaches in terms of literacy, numeracy and behaviour management strategies across the whole school.

The use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) will be central to the role of teachers in preparing for learning, delivering learning experiences, managing and assessing learning and reporting on student achievement. Each teacher will be provided with access to a computer to enable them to effectively carry out their role. These technologies will also be used as a powerful and engaging learning tool, linking students to a world of information in investigations associated with learning and providing the platform for design tasks and higher order thinking challenges necessary to prepare them for a future as life-long learners.

It is important to not only shape our students learning experience from P-7 but it is vitally important that we ensure that the successful transition to High School sets the foundation for our students for life. It is with this challenge that we have built a partnership with Spinifex State College to enable our students to have access to innovative and challenging experiences but also to ensure our students are well prepared for High School.

I am immensely proud of our friendly and caring school community, I invite you to be a part of our school so together we can ensure our children are not only life long learners but also the creative citizens of tomorrow that we need and hope for.

Yours in Education

Brandi Clarke

Principal
Mount Isa Central State School

“A Small School Making a Big Difference”