Rockhampton State High School

Rockhampton State High School Educating, inspiring and empowering students since 1919. RESPECT • OPPORTUNITY • CHALLENGE • KNOWLEDGE • SUCCESS

A proud community where every student is challenged, supported and encouraged to achieve their best, guided by our ROCKS values.

👨‍🏫Principal Challenge - week 8 👨‍🏫With the end Term 3 fast approaching, this week's Principal Challenge was a balancing...
04/09/2026

👨‍🏫Principal Challenge - week 8 👨‍🏫

With the end Term 3 fast approaching, this week's Principal Challenge was a balancing act between the serious business of school leadership and finding a little fun along the way.

The week started with Mr Newell welcoming Ryan from Real Schools back through the Rocky High gates. His visit included time with our Belonging, Relationships and Connections team, before joining staff for a twilight professional development session focused on continuing to strengthen our whole-school approach.

Then came the side of the Principal Challenge that perhaps doesn't make for quite as many action shots... leadership meetings and data! Mr Newell joined our executive leadership team to dig into numbers, analyse where we are and areas for improvement. Not quite fishing, fencing or chocolate slice - but an important part of leading Rocky High, nonetheless.

But there was still time to swap the meeting room for the basketball court, with the final round of staff vs students. An apparently, we've uncovered yet another hidden talent! Who knew Mr Newell could play basketball?? 🫢

The week finished with our SRC-led Talent show. Mr Newell traded analysing data for analysing talent, taking his place on the judging panel. 🎤

After witnessing Mr Newell's own attempts at Japanese Drumming and Drama earlier in the term, we're not entirely sure what qualified him for the judging panel... but thankfully, he only had to sit and watch!

Week 8 certainly captures both sides of school leadership, planning and analysing, while still making time to be present and connecting with our students.

North Rockhampton State High School Glenmore State High School Mount Morgan State High School - What did your principal get up to?





🏀STAFF vs STUDENTS: ROUND 4 - THE FINAL SHOWDOWN! 🏀Four rounds. Plenty of confidence. A little controversy. And one last...
03/09/2026

🏀STAFF vs STUDENTS: ROUND 4 - THE FINAL SHOWDOWN! 🏀

Four rounds. Plenty of confidence. A little controversy. And one last chance for redemption...

This week, our Staff vs Students series came down to its final sporting battle - BASKETBALL!

The students hit the court determined to finish the series on a high and finally put the staff in their places. Unfortunately for them... that is not how this story ends.

With the one and only Ms Brown on the whistle, you might think the students would have a fighting chance. And she tried to help them out! In the final 10 minutes, the rules became... flexible.... and somehow 20 students were allowed on the court against FIVE staff.

Surely, 20 vs 5 would do it?

Nope!

Final score: Staff 24 - Students 17

Not even a four-to-one player advantage could save them.

And with that, the final whistle blows on our staff vs students sporting series for 2026. There has been plenty of friendly rivalry, questionable refereeing, competitive spirit, and most importantly, plenty of laughs along the way.

That's what Rocky High spirit is all about - staff and students getting involved, having a go and enjoying being part of our school community.

Staff 4️⃣ Students 0️⃣

🎨Year 9 Street Art - From the classroom to the wall! Our year 9 visual art students have wrapped up their Street Art Uni...
02/09/2026

🎨Year 9 Street Art - From the classroom to the wall!

Our year 9 visual art students have wrapped up their Street Art Unit in a big way, with the completion of our latest mural on the Art building, created in collaboration with local artist Masher.

Throughout the unit, students explored a range of street artists and graffiti styles, learning how artists use colour, technique and design to create large-scale work.

The mural provided the perfect opportunity to bring all of this learning together. Both year 9 visual art classes were involved in the process, gaining first-hand experience working alongside an artist from the mural industry and seeing how a large-scale artwork develops from concept to completion.

The finished mural is a fantastic addition to our Art building and a great example of our students taking their learning beyond the classroom.

01/09/2026

Cooking up opportunities at RSHS👩‍🍳

Our Home Economics students are learning and creating in our newly renovated, state-of-the-art kitchen spaces.

Designed to support practical, hands-on learning, these modern facilities give students the opportunity to build skills, confidence and experience while bringing their ideas to life.

🎥Take a look inside our Home Economics department and see our students and new spaces in action!

🐟Something VERY exciting happening at Rocky High! We are just over halfway through tagging our fish at the Rockhampton S...
31/08/2026

🐟Something VERY exciting happening at Rocky High!

We are just over halfway through tagging our fish at the Rockhampton State High School Aquaculture Centre as we prepare for our first fish release of 2026!

The Aquaculture Centre has been a hub of activity, with our students getting hands-on and putting their skills into action - weighing, measuring, tagging and collecting important data on our fish in preparation for release day.

There's still plenty of work to be done but seeing our students involved in every step of the process is what our Aquaculture program is all about; real-world learning, practical skills and experience that extends well beyond the classroom.

We're counting down to release day and can't wait to share this very special milestone with you!

Thank you to our sponsors, Sunwater, for sending Joseph and Patty, both environmental scientists, along to help us with the process.

Stay tuned... our fish are getting ready to make a splash!

Celebrating our Teacher Aides | Thank you! This Teacher Aide appreciation week, we're taking the opportunity to recognis...
30/08/2026

Celebrating our Teacher Aides | Thank you!

This Teacher Aide appreciation week, we're taking the opportunity to recognise the incredible Teacher Aides who support our students, teachers and classrooms every day.

From providing a little extra encouragement when it's need, to helping students overcome challenges, build confidence and celebrate their successes, our Teacher Aides play an important role in the learning and wellbeing of our students.

To the wonderful Rocky High Teacher Aides - we see you, we appreciate you, and we thank you for everything you bring to Rocky High. 💙

👨‍🏫Principal Challenge + Book Week - Week 7 | Lost, found and slightly less polished 👨‍🏫📚This week, Mr Newell took some ...
28/08/2026

👨‍🏫Principal Challenge + Book Week - Week 7 | Lost, found and slightly less polished 👨‍🏫📚

This week, Mr Newell took some time out to reconnect with his creative side, joining our Visual Arts students and working with clay to recreate something that has been lost.

His choice? Rocky Rampage!

Which raises an important question... does anyone actually know where our mascot has gone? Mr Newell has now resorted to recreating Rocky out of clay, so if anyone has any information regarding his whereabouts, please report to the principal's office. No questions asked. 🐂

From the art room to the volleyball court, things got a little more competitive during our staff vs students volleyball game. 🏐Mr Newell start the game looking every bit the polished principal we know... but by the final whistle, the professional composure was looking a little worse for wear. Safe to say, the students made him work for is! Or is it just week 7....

And finally, BOOKWEEK arrived at Rocky High!

True to form, Mr Newell came dressed as Where's Wally? An appropriate choice for a principal who seems to be everywhere, all the time... although there are definitely moments when we're left asking, Where’s W̵a̵l̵l̵y̵ Mr Newell? 🔍

Somewhere along the way, we also seem to have lost Ms Brown... but gained a very questionable new senior student in her place. We're still waiting on confirmation that all the appropriate enrolment paperwork has been completed. 🤷

Our students and staff embraced the annual dress-up parade in true Rocky High fashion, bringing our school to life with beloved book characters - and even a few of those we love to hate!

We still haven't found Rocky Rampage... but at least we found Wally!

North Rockhampton State High School Glenmore State High School Mount Morgan State High School What did YOUR principal get up to this week?





🏐STAFF VS STUDENTS - ROUND 3 🏐Another week. Another challenge. Another win for the staff. At this point, we can't even s...
27/08/2026

🏐STAFF VS STUDENTS - ROUND 3 🏐

Another week. Another challenge. Another win for the staff. At this point, we can't even say we're surprised.

This week, Volleyball was the battleground, and while the students brought plenty of energy, the staff brought the scoreboard.

Final score: Staff 25 - Students 15

That makes three for three for team staff. We'd like to say the competition is heating up... but the scoreboard is making that difficult.

With the series firmly in hands. next week's game is really just for kicks.

Will the students finally get one back, or are the staff about to make it a clean sweep?

Staff 3⃣ Students 0⃣

Learning through Play 🧸Across weeks 4 - 7, our Year 11 Early Childhood Education students have had the opportunity to vi...
25/08/2026

Learning through Play 🧸

Across weeks 4 - 7, our Year 11 Early Childhood Education students have had the opportunity to visit The Range C&K Community Kindergarten, putting their classroom learning into practice.

From riding tricycles and playing dress-ups to building houses and joining children in imaginative play, our students gained valuable firsthand experience in how positive relationships and play support children's learning and development.

One particularly special interaction saw one of our students build a wonderful connection with a child who can find engaging with others challenging. Through patience, play and genuine connection, they spent the morning walking hand in hand through the playground - a beautiful example of the impact our students had.

A big thank you to the staff at The Range C&K Community Kindergarten for continuing to welcome our students and provide such meaningful learning experiences.

Working together for a stronger transition 🤝Last week, we welcomed Year 6 teachers from Waraburra State School to Rocky ...
24/08/2026

Working together for a stronger transition 🤝

Last week, we welcomed Year 6 teachers from Waraburra State School to Rocky High as we continue working together to support students making the transition from primary to secondary school.

The visit provided an opportunity to see our Year 7 classrooms in action, hear directly from students about their transition experiences, and meet with our Year 7 Coordinators and Deputy Principal.

These conversations will help inform some of Waraburra's Year 6 classroom routines in Term 4, with a focus on helping students build familiarity, confidence and independence before they begin their high school journey.

A great example of our schools working together to strengthen connections and make the move to high school as positive as possible for our future Year 7 students.

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1 Campbell Street
Rockhampton, QLD
4700

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