Engineering News

Congratulation Koza Coburn for successfully completed his Certificate 1 in Engineering. He has worked hard and the reward is all his. Not only has Koza completed all the tasks required, but was instrumental in other school projects including the new grand stands that can be seen on the school oval. See pictures below.

Other students, including Henley Woosup & James Gaiden have not missed a day this term, and new students Rosie Stafford & Jimmy Baira are focused on their current jobs and set their own high standards, which as a tutor is rewarding to see.

Some of the furnishing students also engage themselves in making artistic steelwork to complement their beautiful work.

Mr Joe

Back on Track with Rob McBride

Back on Track boys have made great improvement with their attitude towards work, with a result of harmony and bonding within the group. The attendance still has its up and downs at times with Titus Tamwoy being the big improver, his attendance has kept improving all term to the stage where he is a regular attendee, Jordal Bana takes the prize with a 100% record on BOT. Jordal and Gibson Joe have been studying hard and have passed their learners drivers and are now chipping away at the required 100 driving hours to obtain their P's. This is so important for these boys to be able to drive as it is a requirement for most employers in the building and service industries. We had a new student Daniel Pookamelya age 13 from up on the cape join the group 3 weeks ago. He has settled in well and has had to learn quickly about the respect for other students work and their feelings, he is so keen to be a part of this group that he is over at the shed before 8 every morning, he is such a likeable student. This has also been an important lesson for the other boys as they are now seen as a roll model for young Daniel, so they must stand tall. As all of these students will be returning back into the class room next term I feel sure they all have a positive belief in themselves, respect for others and a defined direction for their future. 

Mr Rob

QCE points for Year 11 & 12B

The following students have successfully completed ALL their Yr12 work for the year to pass 12B English Communication. CONGRATULATIONS! You have all worked hard and it has paid off. We now look forward to the Graduation Formal and celebrating our success.

Aileen Murgha, Delita Aruba, Edward Mau, Lena Wosomo
Michael Geas, Mark Akiba, Stella Dau, Zelma Kynuna
Zipphora Smith, Andrew Akiba, Alton Mathew & Yoshabel Kebisu

Yr 11B have also gained QCE points.

The following students have successfully completed ALL their Yr 11 work for the year to PASS 11B English Communication. CONGRATULATIONS! Now you can focus on preparing for Yr 12 in 2011.

Ali Dau, Carmen Noah, Elisa Mara, Fredson Akiba
James Gaiden, Roselyn Billy, Branxton Dick, Taicee Pearson
Arron Miller, Louarna Kingi, Esmay Deakin & Francis Manas who successfully completed term 3.

The remainder of the students in our class are returning students or new additions and should complete Semester 2 next term. Keep up the effort!

Mama G

Congratulations to Hospitality

Djarragun College Hospitality Students have been recognised as winners in the Salute to Excellence Awards.

Their applications have been recognised as a High Achievers in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry at the 2010 Salute to Excellence Awards. They are now invited to attend an interview and skills test. The skills test involves the students undertaking tasks involving the categories they have been successful, and in this case Food and Beverage.

Congratulations to the Hospitality Staff who continue to turn out quality students and quality outcomes across the school. Excellence is the word!

QTAC Applications

This week I started QTAC applications for those students who are aspiring to go to Uni. Although we do not have OP scores here as a result of students being able to complete only 3 board subjects, students can still apply to go to Uni through QTAC. This application will give students a tertiary ranking score that can be equated to an OP score. If the students rank is high enough then they can go directly into the course that they have chosen and QTAC will send them their offer over the holidays. Applications will continue next week. The following students are applying- Judith Carney, Jaimee Oberleuter Addo, John Gabey and any other interested students. If they do not get into Uni this way, they still have the Tertiary Access Course Option (John Gabey has already got a place in this course next year if he chooses to go to JCU). Well done and good luck!

Miss Cate

Staff Stars for the term

There have been many staff members who have contributed to the school this term and been the holder of the Staff Shield for excellence. Miss Peggy was the initial recipient and the shield has since been passed onto Miss Estelle, Mr Aaron, Mr Warren, Mr Tony, Mr Reece and Mr Rob McBride. Mr Rob was the person who originally made the shield and when he received the award said with tongue-in-cheek, "I wondered when I'd get this back". Well done to all the members of Senior School Staff this term who have worked so hard in helping students complete their work towards their QCE and VET certificates.

A special thanks you to those behind the scenes like Miss Leanne who takes care of the Admin and Mr Adam and Mirko from the IT staff who keep us going. I would also like to thank Miss Amy for always helping out, Mr Warren for his excellent work on Truancy earlier this term and all the form teachers Mr Aisea, Miss Emma & Miss Manjit for their good work to date.

Now it's back to Mr Rob to chose the next worthy recipient and we can't wait to see who is next...

Star boarders in Senior School

The senior school stars of the week are the A block boys who for the first time in boarding had NO STRIKES for the week and a clean record. It is pleasing to hear some of the boarders getting a good wrap and setting the right example. Well done to Mark Akiba, Andrew Akiba, Fredson Akiba, James Wosomo, Kieren Johnson, Ali Dau, Napoloeon Briggs & Timaio Nona.

Music News

Battle of the Bands Report: This year was cause for much celebration at the Cairns State High Battle of the Bands. Patricia won the best vocalist award, which sometimes doesn’t mean much at a competition where you sometimes get some rather questionable vocalists, but this year there were several great singers and Patty won out over all of them. Much of her success was due to a fantastic performance by the rest of the band. And after that they all faced up again at the Mercure Hotel for another show, where the band turned the night into a swinging party. Moods were high and nobody got glassed. The heroes were: Jamie Jason, Fredson, Ralphie, Patricia, Elisa, and Nikki.

Mr Gracie

Hospitality News

School -Based Traineeships / Work Experience
The Shangri-La Hotel students commenced their training and are going well. Michael is working in the Front Office and Brittany and Melody are working in the Housekeeping department. Hopefully the two year 12 students will be able to acquire their Certificate III in Hospitality this year.

Four Year 11 girls (Daniella Ware, Vivian Baker, Jamilla Dotoi and Kaisiana Gibas) have been selected to start work experience next week in Food & Beverage at the Shangri-La Hotel. We wish the girls all the best whilst on their training. Yoshabel Kebisu and Wacada Baker have been offered part time work at Acacia Court. The girls are starting next week and we wish them all the best.

The six weeks work experience (Thursday & Friday) at Rainforestation in Kuranda has earned the three golden girls a place in a school based traineeship in Certificate III in Tourism. Well done to Jaharla Hart, Eryn Hill and Vanessa Ambrym. Aunt Salome receiveing a thank you

We just wanted to say a huge thank you to the hospitality girls for their outstanding efforts! This term we had different functions and visitors coming through the coffee shop and the girls were so professional. They worked quickly and efficiently. They were amazing. We are so appreciative, not only for their work but for the way they worked. Thanks again for everything, girls. We look forward to working with you all again in term 4! To the wonderful and loyal staff who have supported us throughout this Term, a big thank you for your patience whilst the student are on training.

Ms Peggy


ps. And a big thank you to Ms Peggy for her diligence and guidance of the staff and students at Djarragun College!
Mr Mathew

11B Girls - Appreciation

In Form Class this week we are learning about gratitude and appreciation. We discussed our appreciation for the "little things" in life which bring us great happiness. Below are some thoughts written by students.

"I have to be grateful that I have a good family that supports me through my life and is always there for me. I am grateful I have sisters and brothers who I can look upon for support. Good things happened today. I woke up on this cool sunny morning, caught the bus to school with friends by my side. I also got respect from people when I got to school. To show appreciation I will ring my grandmother today and wish my grandfather a happy birthday. Then I will give my mother a call and tell her that I love her." Nykitta

"Today I am grateful my best friend finally came to school and we both walked into a well respected Form Class. I appreciate that we were greeted warmly and felt very welcomed and safe :) " Bibi

"I am grateful for my family who raised me and were there for me when I needed them. I am also grateful that I am healthy, living well and getting an education. I appreciate my teachers and want to say "thank you" for what they've done for me." Flora

"I am so proud to have a wonderful family and friends who support me. I can give back to those who have helped me by giving them my support and appreciation by thanking them." Dorika

"I am grateful to be alive, at school and that I have good freinds and family. I appreciate that even though I have missed a few days, I can start fresh again. I will show my appreciation to people who help me by showing respect to my family and at school." Vanessa

"This morning I woke up, got ready and came to school feeling bright and happy. I am grateful for my life, my little brother, my dad who takes me out shopping and my mum who cooks for me. To show my appreciation today I will thank my big sister for being there for me and my family and friends." Cassie

"I am grateful for the love and support from my family and friends. Today I will show my appreciation for Ms Peggy and thank her for helping me with my career and supporting me with my traineeship." Eima

"I am grateful for having a family who is loving and caring. I also have friends who are there for me and help me when I am struggling. I am also grateful for being educated at a friendly school and appreciate getting support from my teachers when I need it." Daniella

"The good thing that happened today was the bus ride to school. I was happy to see the young children being happy and having a smile on their faces." Effie

Townsville Cultural Festival

Thank you to all the senior students who were excellent role models for my children, Jonas and Heidi, during the Townsville Cultural Festival. All the seniors worked together cooperatively to make the camp an enjoyable and memorable experience. I really appreciate the effort students made to support Jonas and Heidi during performances. As you can see from the photos, the Festival was great fun!

Mama G

Hairdressing News

On Wednesday 26th August Karyn Westbury from L`Oreal delivered a colour school at the Djarragun College Hairdressing Salon featuring the new colour sensation Inoa. This is new technology for hair colours as it is ammonia free and and environmental friendly. The students enjoyed it especially the lucky models. The mixing, application and removal are all different techniques from the usual L`oreal colour products making even the mixing a challenge . L`Oreal kindly donated a sample pack of Inoa to the hairdressing department for the students use and gain experience with the new product. Even Karyn had a few first experiences as she had never used the product on hair such as our students from the island.

Traineeship for Tala Morseu

Tala Morseu has been offered an indigenous Arts traineeship at Canopy Art Gallery in Grafton Street Cairns which starts this week. The arts department is reinventing itself and looking towards a revival to encourage more students like Tala to succeed. Thanks to Mr Warren for the good work in sourcing Tala’s traineeship. Better buy some of Tala's work before he is famous!

Well done Delita

The senior school star of the week is Delita Aruba for completing her Certificate III in Hospitality and acquiring 8 points towards her QCE. This is on top of her recent good work as a chaperone with 12B during the Loreto school visit. Well done Delita it's great to see you completing your VET courses and doing so well.
Mr Mathew

Cert II in Ambulance Services

Here are some pictures from the Cert II in Ambulance Services course being undertaken by some of the senior school students. Thanks to Mr Harry who took these pictures of students completing their First Aid. They appeared to be enjoying the experience while learning the basics about saving lives.

Community Service

Congratulations go to Branxton who this week received recognition for community service at a local kindergarten. The children were learning about didgeridoos and Branxton kindly agreed to give a talk and demonstration. He even pointed out that it’s okay for little girls to try to play the didg but if more mature females are tempted to indulge they run the risk of falling pregnant. It’s not easy to get up and talk in front of a group of strangers but Branxton did a fantastic job. Well done Branxton, for spreading the good will of Djarragun College.
Mr Gracie