18 September 2025

Our School Values

From the Principal

Dear Helensvale State High School Community

Your child.  Our student.  One Community.

Over the course of the last few newsletters, I have shared with you some new Department of Education resources which provide ideas on how parents, carers and schools can partner together to continue to build a positive school culture. 

The topic for this newsletter is how parents and carers can add positivity to your child’s school culture.  Everyone deserves to feel welcome and included in their school community.  As a parent you can help build this sense of belonging and model positive behaviour for an inclusive and supportive school culture.   So how do you add positivity to your child’s school culture?

Champion your school—be proud of your child's school and be a positive role model. Remind your child how important school is, now and for their future.

Have a positive attitude when talking about our school—be respectful and speak positively about your child's school and the people who work there. Your child deserves to feel positively towards the school you have chosen for them.

Give positive feedback—notice what school staff are doing to support your child and let them know they're doing a good job. Knowing that you appreciate the good work they do is very much appreciated.

Be committed to authentic relationships within your child's school—it's not just your child's school—it's your school, too. Build relationships with the staff who support your child so you can trust each other with the role you each play in your child's development.

Acknowledge different cultures and diversity—appreciate the different cultural backgrounds and diverse needs of people in your school community. Everyone contributes to the learning environment.

Agree to disagree—remember people have different views and don't always agree with each other—and that is OK. It enriches learning, as long as we are respectful.

Support the school values—show your support and reinforce our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience at home. Model integrity for your child at home while the staff model integrity at school.

Spread positivity—don't make negative comments or gossip about other members of your school community—in person, in writing or on social media.

As we come to the end of another busy term, it is now time for our students to rest and recharge, focusing on their wellbeing. It is also a great time for families to spend quality time together.

Wishing all our students, staff and families a safe, happy, and restful holiday!

Kind regards

Karen Lindsay
Principal, Helensvale State High School

Congratulations

Congratulations to our Year 7 Football Academy Boys, Arthur Millican and Charlie Mudri! Both have recently been selected for the South East Queensland Futsal Team. They will be competing during the school holidays, and we wish them the best of luck!

Basketball

Our senior boys Basketball team wrapped up their season in the GCHSBB competition last week with a convincing 63 - 31 win over Ormeau, in the last official game of the season. After a close first half, the team played exceptionally and 'lit it up' in the second half. The team was led by captain, Javan Barnard, who also led the scoring and controlled the game with great poise and decision making. Well done to all the members of the team in what was a winning season in a highly competitive competition. It was the last game for our YR12 students on the team; Javan Barnard, team captain who has been a part of the Basketball program for the past three years, Kalean 'Freddy' Felsch, Tyler Gaudin, Tallis Parata, Odin Jeha, Linkin Ropati and Tyler Ramsey (YR10) who all contributed significantly to the win and the overall team culture. The team will look to play one more friendly game against M.O.B in term four, prior to the YR12 students finishing for the year. With thanks to team coaches, Mr. Sherlock and Mr Hinds, thanks for all your hard work. 

Business

Some of our Year 10 and 11 Business students recently attended Griffith University’s Business Schools Ambassadors Program, where they explored future career pathways, experienced university life, and took part in interactive business workshops.

Encore

Encore 2025.

Wednesday 15TH October

Tickets available via the HOT website.

Saver Plus

Join Australia's longest running financial education and matched savings program. Build financial skills, develop life-long savings habits, and receive up to $500 to assist with education costs.

Parentline: Support and advice for all Queensland parents and carers

Being a parent can be rewarding—but it can also be challenging. Whether you’re trying to support your child with school issues, friendship challenges, behaviour, or tough moments at home, it’s completely normal to feel unsure about what to do next.

Parentline is a free and confidential service available to all Queensland parents and carers. No problem is too big or too small—and reaching out early can make a real difference.

Parentline offers advice and support on a wide range of parenting topics, including:

• bullying and friendship issues
• parent–child relationships
• parenting strategies and behaviour management
• mental and emotional wellbeing—for both children and parents

You can speak with a trained professional by phone or webchat (6am-midnight), seven days a week.

An online bullying support forum is also available. This is a safe, moderated space to connect with others, ask questions, and share experiences.

📞 Call 1300 30 1300
💬 Visit parentline.com.au

Because parenting doesn’t come with a manual—but help is here when you need it.

Missing File:  Parentline jpg

E-scooter and E-bike rules

E-scooters, e-skateboards, and solo wheels have a separate set of rules to e-bikes. Here in Queensland, riders of legal e-bikes must follow the same rules as standard bicycles.

E-scooters rules

To ensure you and your child know the rules to stay as safe as possible when using e-scooters or e-skateboards, visit StreetSmarts Qld for a quick and easy to understand listing of the rules and fines. Most importantly, remember:

Only those aged 16+ can ride e-scooters and e-skateboards unsupervised.

Helmets must be worn with the straps properly fastened (bicycle or motorcycle helmets) and bells fitted for devices with handlebars.

No passengers/doubling – only one person riding an e-scooter.

Speed limit of 12km/h on footpaths and shared paths.

Serious fines may apply to riders, and parents, if caught breaking the rules.

StreetSmartsQld also features educational videos and other helpful safety tips for riding e-scooters and e-skateboards.

E-bike rules

Beware that some e-bikes are illegal. In order to legally ride an e-bike on public roads and footpaths, it must comply with the following:

There has been a huge increase in devices that are thought to be e-bikes but are in fact illegal motorbikes. They are banned from use and riders (or parents) can face significant penalties totalling more than $1,640.

You can’t ride your device on a path or road if it has any of these:

Link and Launch

We need you to remember that ‘school may almost be done for your grade 12 student – but support isn’t!

Our fantastic Link and Launch Program is available to support Year 12 graduates post school here at Helensvale State High School.

If you son or daughter:

• Needs assistance to find a job
• Is unsure of how to apply for jobs online
• Needs assistance to build a job specific resume
• Is thinking about study options but has not committed to a course yet
• Requires assistance sourcing part time employment whilst they are studying
• Lacks motivation and drive, with no apparent future goals
• Needs support in understanding labour market trends and future career options

If you nodded your head and answered in the affirmative to any of those statements call Elaine straight away.

She can organise to meet with your son or daughter, undertake a career assessment if necessary, discuss their goals and support them until they find their pathway post school.

Alternatively, as parents on behalf of your Grade 12 graduate you can also pass on their personal contact details to Elaine for follow up. Elaine can then keep them updated with great jobs, fantastic study options and some worthwhile gap year experiences.

Call Elaine Braniff

She is available on:
Mobile : 0401 127 905

Qparents

Enjoy convenient and streamlined engagement with your child's school.

QParents offers a convenient, safe and private app to help parents & caregivers manage important details of their children's journey.

Support Staff

As part of our Learning and Well-being framework, we have created a Well-being Hub for students and parents, which can be accessed through the Helensvale State High School webpage. The hub includes links to other websites and apps which can help to support student well-being, as well as provide information on career pathways. To access these ‘well-being hubs’ c go to the HSHS website 

We Would Like to Thank Our Sponsors

Acknowledgment of Country

Helensvale State High School as one community, acknowledges the Kombumerri Peoples, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our school is built.  We respect their long history, ancestry and culture.  We pay our respects to the Elders, past, present and emerging for they carry the memories and traditions of past times. 

We would also like to extend our acknowledgment to other First Nations Peoples: those hailing from the Torres Strait Islands and those belonging to other Aboriginal Language Groups.

We acknowledge the strength and resilience of Kombumerri peoples.  We respect their enduring connection to the local wetlands and the cultural responsibility they uphold to preserve wildlife.  Together, we go forward, learning in the spirit of these values.