27 June 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

My last week as Principal at Helensvale High is filled with mixed emotions as I prepare to walk out the school gate for the last time this Friday. I am really excited about the move to Hong Kong, but also sad to be leaving Helensvale High after five years.

I have spent the last few days with our new Acting Principal Karen Lindsay, as we both ensure a smooth as possible transition. Karen is a very experienced Principal and educational leader, and she is really excited about the prospect of leading our learning community.

I would like to thank our parent community for their overwhelming support over the years. Our school is the school of choice on the Northern Gold Coast and I have never taken for granted the significant decision parents make to send their son or daughter to our school. As a school, we are always here to serve our community and be the best possible school we can be for ‘your child, our student’. I hope we have fulfilled this fundamental responsibility.

For me, the best part my job is the opportunity I get every day to interact with our students. The talent and character of our young people is outstanding, and I feel privileged to spend time with them every day and to help them on their own ‘one student’ learning journey. The quality I see in our students instils in me a great sense of optimism and positivity about the future of our community and country. I am excited about how they will take on the challenges, disruptions and opportunities that the century ahead will delivery.

Finally, I am grateful for the learning opportunity that I have been afforded as Principal. I have enjoyed the support of staff, students and parents and this has given me the space to learn and grow. I believe that the best learners also make the best leaders, and the opportunity to lead and learn with the Helensvale community will be a part of my life that I will always cherish.

Farewell Mr Blackshaw

As you will be aware, this week we farewell our Executive Principal Mark Blackshaw as he takes up the Principal position at King George V School in Hong Kong. It is a bitter sweet farewell for the Helensvale State High community as we wish Mark every success in his new role, and will also miss him greatly in his role as Executive Principal at Helensvale State High. Mark has provided incredible leadership to the school and the community as the Executive Principal at Helensvale for the last five years. He has also contributed significantly to numerous other schools in Queensland as a teacher, Head of Department, Deputy Principal, Head of School and Principal over the last 27 years in Education Queensland. His contribution to our state education system is to be celebrated. In his career, Mark has impacted the lives of thousands of students for the better. He has also invested considerable time and energy into the professional development and leadership of many staff. Mark has provided stable and innovative leadership to Helensvale State High. He leaves behind a legacy of collaboration, of innovation, clear vision and values, strong community and parent engagement and most of the all the commitment to always put students first. This legacy will continue in Mark’s absence. The outpouring of gratitude and fond farewells from parents, community leaders, students and staff is a testament to the work Mark has done in his role as Executive Principal. On behalf of our school community I farewell Mark with the warmest of wishes for his future and the adventure ahead for him and his family and I want to offer my sincere thanks for his contribution to Helensvale State High and to Education Queensland in general. Mark – you will be missed, but your legacy will continue.

Kind regards,

Megan Roderick
Chief Curriculum Officer

Reporting

Reports are due out Week 2 of Term 3, please watch you inbox/ junk mail for them. If you have changed any details now is the time to contact the Administration and correct them in our records.

Parent Teacher interviews will be held Wednesday 26 July, for one night only!! Watch out for further details.

Industry Liaison

Health Assistance leads to Nursing Careers

Congratulations to Jasmine Brannolte, Tyla Ford, Kelley Halbert, Jessica Head, Chantelle Hewitt, Jodie Johnson, Tyla McDonald, Abbie Phillips, Shae Rodrigues, Nadine Sheldon, Frankie Stockwell , Alex Swadling and Tori White for completing their TAFE Cert II & Cert III Health Assistance Course.

The girls recently graduated the course, which they have been attending each Wednesday for the last 18 months, at Coombabah SHS. This group was a class of approx. 36 and most of these graduates will be applying for early entry to TAFE to complete the Diploma in Nursing in 2018. They will continue into a Degree in Nursing at University in 2019/2020. With this Cert III Qualification & Diploma – they will be able to work in their chosen industry while completing their Nursing Degree at University. Tyla Ford received the Excellence in Academic Achievement and Jodie Johnson the Excellence in Manual Handling for their class. We wish all of these students all the very best with their career pathway, and thank teacher, Gary Wellman for all his hardwork.

School Based Traineeship Good News

Caine Ballis is completing a School based traineeship in Sport & Recreation at Helensvale Pool. He was nominated by both his Manager and training coordinator. City Venues employ many trainees and have awarded Caine Trainee of the Month for May.

In his short time at Helensvale Pool, Caine has shown a positive attitude towards his superiors, co-workers and most importantly to the patrons. Caine always uses positive communication skills, has a team player attitude and goes out of his way to help the other trainees get the job done.

His willingness to attend the theory based training sessions, to take on new responsibilities and to learn new skills shows that when he finishes his traineeship, he will have developed the work skills that will take him far. He is definitely a Duty Manager in the making and also knows how to mow a mean lawn! Congratulations Caine.

Train Assess Australia Pre-Apprenticeship - Carpentry

Three of our Year 12 students are currently have been completing a Pre-Apprenticeship Program with Train Assess Australia at their Yatala complex every Thursday for the past term. In these 8 weeks they have learned new skill-sets to ensure they are have the necessary industry knowledge and experience to hopefully gain a School Based Apprenticeship in Carpentry this year.

The students have been involved in the construction of a half-height house and outdoors table to date. A lot goes into completing these projects, where they discuss, decide and commence the procedures for erecting all components of the project.

The following was involved in the construction of the house:

Laying the floor (adjustable posts, bearers, joist, floor boards)

Fixing the floor boards to the joist to lock the floor square whilst maintaining the level

Placing and locking the wall frames in position by securing joins and corners

Running a string line in order to brace all walls to plumb

Placing and securing top plate to all wall frames ready for fixing of trusses etc.

Well done Ryan, Charlie & Josh.

Paulina Ford Industry Liaison Officer

HOME ECONOMICS/BUSINESS STUDIES

Semester 1 2017

It has been a busy year so far for all subjects within Home Economics/Business Studies.

In Home Economics the pace of activity is always furious. Hospitality functions occur regularly with guests of eighty to one hundred people often attending to sample the cooking and presentation skills of our developing young chefs as they are assessed on the competencies toward a Certificate II in Kitchen Operations. Led by Miss Wright and Mr Whitehouse, the students prepare in the kitchen all day and then plate and serve a wonderful 3 course meal to family and friends in the evening.

Mrs Maher’s Year 11 and 12 Hospitality Practices classes have delighted staff with coffee and morning tea as well as running the bistro for lunch meals that have been enjoyed by administration members, teacher aides and teaching staff. The students are all gaining real world skills in food preparation and presentation as well as customer service and communication skills.

The Year 9 Fashion students have been eagerly developing their sewing skills through the construction of a pair of shorts. They have now graduated to make a Hoodie each for the winter holidays. Unfortunately these will be finished next week so there are no photos, but I am very proud of the effort that most are putting into this more difficult task.

Last term Mrs Macaulay’s Year 11 Home Economics students completed their ‘Creating with Textiles’ practical performance unit by constructing a European cushion using a variety of textiles enhancement processes. I was so delighted with the outcomes that we arranged to have some hang on display in SWeLL for two weeks.

QTIC – SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2017

Congratulations to Ben Glutz, Jenna Sundstrom and Thomas Keegan who are Year 11 and Year 12 Hospitality students who nominated and were chosen to represent Helensvale State High in the QTIC Salute to Excellence Awards. In this Queensland competition, the students participated in a written theory test, a practical skills test and an interview. Ben and Jenna entered the ‘Hot Cookery’ section and had to demonstrate their practical skills to produce a two course meal. This competition was judged by a professional chef from the Brisbane Novotel and he was extremely impressed by the student’s high standard of work and their commitment to the Hospitality Industry.

Thomas participated in the Food and Beverage section of this competition and had to demonstrate his customer service skills, set tables for a restaurant situation and work with colleagues from other schools to model effective teamwork. Here, Thomas was judged by the Food and Beverage Manager from Brisbane Treasury Casino.

All students can be very proud of their efforts and commitment throughout the skills test day. It is now with interest, we wait for the official awards ceremony to be held at the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane in July. We wish all the students well for the QTIC Salute to Excellence Awards for 2017!

Stephanie Wright,
Home Economics / Hospitality Teacher

SWELL EXPO

The annual SWELL Well-being Expo for Year 9 students was held on Friday 16th June.

The Purpose: To engage year 9 students in a range of health and well-being activities and allow them the opportunity to seek more information, advice and support around issues of concern to them. This is part of our PB4L Framework.

We would like to thank the following services for their support and involvement.

Services that help make ou day such a success were:

Headspace, GC Homeless Youth, Young Carers, Coomera Healthy Living for Youth (CHLY)

YODA ( Lives Lived Well), Kalwun, Arakan, CASV, QLD Police, Relationships Australia, YHES HOUSE, Oral Health, School nurses - Gold Coast Health, Gold Coast City Council, Alcohol and other drugs service, Youth in Search, Wesley Mission- Youth Hub and Studio Village.

GIPSA 2017 – Helensvale Champions

A big 'Congratulations' Helensvale on taking out GIPSA for 2017! Each Friday Helensvale saw close to 1500 students each week represent our school across many different sports. Finals were played which resulted in Helensvale winning GIPSA for the fifth year in a row. Well done to students and staff for all of the effort that was put in this year. The overall results were:

1st : Helensvale 155 points
2nd: Southport 145 points
3rd: Miami 131 points
4th: Varsity 113 points

On Wednesday June 7 - Helensvale had 18 sporting teams represent the GIPSA cluster at the Gold Coast Cross over finals. The GIPSA cluster won 19 finals which was the most of any cluster in the finals. Helensvale won 9 of these and the following teams and coaches/managers are congratulated for their success:

Girls Open Netball – Jo Morgan
Girls Year 8 Netball – Opal Roberts
Girls Touch Football – Mel Fainges / Ellie Hoppner
Girls Touch Football – Maiko Sharp / Sharni Folland
Girls Year 10 Volleyball – Mel Garibaldi
Junior Table Tennis – Courtney Crabtree
Boys Year 7 Soccer – Megan Clayton
Boys Open Touch Football – Justin Grantz
Boys Year 10 Volleyball – Duane Saul / Ash Hinds

Overall, a fantastic year again for all involved with GIPSA.

Well done!
Andrew Hayes
Sport Coordinator

Musical

We are pleased to present the latest Musical One Story, two cast members, Jacob Henderson and Caleb Hockings, discuss their experiences rehearsing this year’s school musical Beauty and the Beast. Tickets are currently on sale now from The Arts Centre, Gold Coast website.

Student Achievement in Drama

Congratulations to Hunter Leitch in year 7, scholarship winner for the dance excellence program who early last term he auditioned with over 120 other children for Bonnie Lythgoe's Peter Pan Return to Neverland. He was successful and offered a part in the cast. This is a paid position alongside Todd McKenney, which shows at the Gold Coast Arts Centre these holidays. Well done Hunter!

Achievements outside of school? Contact us!!

We love celebrating our students’ achievements! Unfortunately we can’t keep track of all the awesome things they may be doing. Is your student participating in an extracurricular activity that you would like Helensvale SHS to acknowledge? Please feel free to send appropriate photos and the relevant information to media@helensvaleshs.eq.edu.au and we will contact you as soon as possible.