11 May 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

One Community through the Arts

Through the ages the Arts has brought communities together for entertainment, storytelling and for a myriad of significant cultural events and reasons. For us, our biannual musical production encapsulates our One Student, One Community, Many Futures mission by providing our students with the opportunity to take risks, rehearse and present the products of their work to a public audience.

This year our Arts Department is excited to be producing the musical ‘Beauty and the Beast’ which will again showcase the extraordinary talent of our students and staff. Our staff have a long history of creating high quality productions through their passion and dedication and ability to inspire our students to be the best they can be.

Our school is about community, and this event brings us together to acknowledge and celebrate student talent and quality teaching. I encourage all in our learning community to attend our musical and mark down August 1 and 2 in your diaries.

I am extremely confident that if you attend our production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ you will be inspired by the devotion, enthusiasm and talent of our students.

Mark Blackshaw
Principal

Senior Schooling

The next two terms are without a doubt the most important and, for many Year 12 students, the most challenging of their schooling. You will have received an interim report which will indicate how your child has started the year. We encourage positive communication between the student, teacher and parent so we can all work together to achieve the desired results.

Last week, 100 students sat practice QCS tests as part of the QCS preparation program. This is a vital part of the program as it provides individual information about the skill areas students require support with and we design our program from this. The attitude of the students during this rigorous testing was impressive.

There are just over 5 weeks until the senior students are in end of semester exams. Many parents are looking for strategies to help their child cope leading up to these peak assessment periods.

We encourage students to consider the following to ensure they are prepared:

• Ensure you manage your time (and include time for rest and relaxation)
• Ask questions of the people who can help you (teachers, senior schooling team, parents and friends)
• Spend more time studying the areas you are finding the most challenging – find practice questions and repeat them frequently
• Revisit material frequently
• Disconnect from social media and focus on the tasks at hand

Nicole Brazeau – Head of Academic Performance

Griffiths University Open Day

Griffith University Experience Day – Diploma Students

Year 11 and 12 Diploma of Business and Events students had the opportunity to ‘Experience’ university life last week. The students enjoyed a full day of university life. The students participated in a number of workshops from Trading on the Stock Market and Financial exchange to learning about Robot Drones, seeing a Drone in action, 3D laser printing, advances in STEM (Science, Technology, English and Maths) and much more. Our Griffith Student Ambassadors for the day were full of useful information and shared their experience of uni with the students which included overseas study tours and university exchange opportunities. The students went on a guided tour of the university including the Library, Lecture Theatres and the Student Service Centre. The students also got to experience the ‘fun’ side of uni with Market Day (live bands, food stalls, ping pong) in full swing.

Any Diploma students that missed this opportunity can see Ms Brandis in CB08 to attend the second experience day at Griffith University on the 2nd June.

Year 10 Work Experience

All year 10 students will be participating in Work Experience from Monday 28th August to Thursday 31st August 2017. This is compulsory and all year 10 students were given paperwork in week 1 during Futures. Students need to find their own placement. All completed paperwork needs to be returned to the students’ Futures teachers.

If you have any questions in relation to the Work Experience please do not hesitate to contact Ms Brandis on nbran10@eq.edu.au or phone 55738576.

Industry Liaison Officer

In 2016 Helensvale State High School made the decision to offer the Cert III Early Childhood Education & Care as a School Based Traineeship Opportunity. This qualification, in conjunction with the one day per week paid placement, gives the student a greater chance of an employment outcome once they complete the traineeship. We currently have 18 Year 11 & 12 students participating in School Based Traineeships in a variety of centres and using a number of different Registered Training Organisations who deliver the theory content of this traineeship.

Students work in the designated centre one day per week, and work through their theory through a combination of methods – face to face appointments, online, workbook, group sessions and workplace visits. Students use this qualification as a pathway to direct employment, further study in this industry or even to gain entry to university to study early childhood or primary teaching.

We have local childcare employers recruiting for trainees throughout the year. If your student would like this opportunity, please contact Paulina Ford, the Industry Liaison Officer on 55738545 or pford2@eq.edu.au.

SWELL

If you are thinking of going to university, then come along to the HSHS University Expo to find out more information about what’s on offer. Each university will provide you with information about the courses they offer, scholarships and what life is like on campus. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.

HSHS University Expo 2017 in the SWeLL

Monday 15th May 2017

11.30am - Griffith University- 2017
12pm - Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
12.30pm - University of QLD

Monday 22nd May 2017

11.30am - TAFE QLD
12pm - Southern Cross University
12.30pm- Bond University

Career and Employment Expo

27/28 May 2017 at Gold Coast Convention Centre

Humanities

THE EDUCATION PERFECT WORLD SERIES IN LANGUAGES ARE COMING!

From May 15 – May 25 2017, students in Years 7 – 10 will have the opportunity to enter the World Championships for Languages in Education Perfect. As students are already subscribed to Education Perfect, entry is free to this prestigious international competition.

• Each student has a unique account which tracks their progress as they learn vocabulary from any of the official languages
• Students can earn points by correctly translating between their target language and English
• Points earned enable students to earn certificates and qualify for awards and prizes
• The competition is relevant for everyone. This is not just for the highest performing students, it's an exciting event that engages students from a wide spectrum of learning abilities
• Students login as many times as they like over the 10 day event. A time limit of 8 hours per 24 hour period applies (calculated from the start of the competition, and resetting every 24 hours after that)
• Students do not need to be supervised by a teacher while they compete, and may compete either from a computer or using the apps for iPad/iPhone/Android devices
• Students can compete in ANY language and there are some fantastic prizes to be won in the top points categories (e.g. iPod touch, iTunes vouchers)

Junior Math

It has been a very busy start to the year, with lots of changes happening in Maths.

In year 7 and 8, students are having an extra Response to Intervention lesson. In this lesson students are improving their metacognition by setting goals based on errors from their formative quizzes. Students then work on areas they need improvement in with the aid of help videos, the textbook examples, teacher and peer support and Education Perfect.

NAPLAN Numeracy

This is the first year where NAPLAN has only one Numeracy test. The first 50 minutes will be calculator and the last 10 minutes will be non-calculator. This means calculators are even more important than previous years.

Good Luck this week in NAPLAN year 7 and 9!

Don’t forget your calculator!

Year 7 and 9 Numeracy Education Perfect Competition

Year 7 and 9 students have been competing in a Numeracy refresher course on Education Perfect. The competition closes Wednesday night at 5pm

Maths Tutes are still on every Thursday 3 till 4pm except for the 25th of May, week 6.

GIPSA Round 2

We had a huge round 2 of Gipsa sport, our photographers had a great time getting out and about capturing the action shots!

Cross Country

Our Age Champions are :

12 Yr Girls: Holly Shore
12 Yr Boys: Thomas Ray
13 Yr Girls: Stevie Morrison and Bella Iselin (equal)
13 Yr Boys: Ashton Price
14 Yr Girls: Sasha Kofod
14 Yr Boys: Scott Arthur
15 Yr Girls: Abbie Pluples
15 Yr Boys: Jackson Hood
16 Yr Girls: Laura Alcott
16 Yr Boys: Jaidyn Gibbs
Open Girls: Georgia Ward
Open Boys: Lachlan McDonald

Our SEP Age Champions are:

12 years boys

1. Mason Fungavaka (Stosur)
2. Jack Weldon (Shelley)

13-15 years boys

1. Xavier Matoe (Osbourne)
2. Patrick Walters (Armitage)
3. Robin Nichols (Thompson)
4. Aaron Millsteed (Osbourne)
5. Patrick Robinson (Thompson)

13-15 years girls

1. Courtney Colliver (Stosur)
2. Zoe Ford (Thompson)
3. Zoe Davies (Pearson)

16-19 years boys

1. Wade Fungavaka (Stosur)