1 September 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

Recognising our Teacher Aides

Last week we celebrated Word Teacher Aide Day early - it actually falls on the Gold Coast Show holiday. This was a great opportunity for us to formally recognise the valuable contribution teacher aides make to the lives of our students.

Teacher Aides support teaching and learning in Queensland state schools in numerous ways. Teacher Aides work closely with teachers, developing and obtaining resources, setting up and operating equipment, undertaking administrative duties, supervising students and participating in teaching activities under the direction of a teacher.

They provide a wide range of support for students who need assistance to participate in educational activities and achieve learning outcomes.

Please join with me in recognising the valuable work of Teacher Aides in supporting our students to achieve our learning mission: One Student. One Community. Many Futures. Make sure you take the time to thank our teacher aides for the work they do.

Preliminary NAPLAN Data Released

Overall, we are encouraged by our preliminary NAPLAN results. We certainly have some areas to celebrate where we have improved and in some cases, reached our set targets. Our targets for 2017 have been 25% students achieving in the Upper Two Bands (U2B) across all domains, with a particular focus on Reading and Numeracy.

In Year 7:

We achieved 25% U2B in Reading, an improvement from 23.9% in 2016.

We achieved 28.4% U2B in Grammar and Punctuation, an improvement from 24.4% in 2016

We achieved 32% U2B in Numeracy, well exceeding the target and also an improvement from 24.5% in 2016.

In Year 9:

We improved in all domains and are on a trajectory of improvement. Whilst not meeting our targets, we are encouraged by the improvements we have seen, particularly in the following areas:

Spelling 22% U2B, an improvement from 12.1% in 2016
Grammar and Punctuation 22.3% U2B, an improvement from 10.2% in 2016
Numeracy 18.4% U2B, an improvement from 14.7% in 2016.

Our Junior School Performance Team have worked incredibly hard, along with our Junior Secondary teachers and of course, our students and we acknowledge their efforts.

Understanding what has created improvement and what the next steps required will be are crucial parts of our analysis of the NAPLAN data. Ensuring we have an explicit improvement agenda to focus our efforts and resources will continue to sustain this improvement.

Keeping Our Students Safe

Student safety is always our number one priority. A few concerns have been identified with the main gate at Rugby Lane being left open all day. Some students are arriving late and not reporting to student services first. Some parents, carers and older siblings are meeting their students at this gate to provide items that students may have forgotten to bring to school, such as lunches. Some parents and carers are going straight to Discovery Place to try to meet with staff, rather than reporting to the front office first.

To ensure our student safety and that correct procedures are being followed by students and visitors, this gate will be locked once the bell rings at the start of the day, and will be opened again just prior to the end of day bell. This will occur starting Monday 4 September, which gives us time to provide keys to those staff that may need to exit this gate during school time for access to the oval or during evacuation.

One Community – Volunteers welcome

One community is about our school as a hub of learning in our community, where community members can make positive contributions to the school and our students.

By being a volunteer you can get involved at your child’s school – it will help you keep up-to-date with what is going on at the school, and help build positive relationships within the school community.

Volunteers are always welcome to help with canteen, uniform shop, in-class support, administrative support and generally helping out in whatever way they can.

If you are interested in volunteering at the school please contact the front office to get the process started. We look forward to hearing from you.

National Science Week 2017

This year our amazing STEM Ambassador Team took charge of National Science Week here at Helensvale High School. We were lucky enough to experience some amazing activities run by our Ambassador Team & teachers, as well as attend some amazing talks from experts within the community.

Throughout the week students interacted with a different theme each day, including; Women in engineering, creative chemistry, amazing aerodynamics, fascinating forensics and sustainable oceans & ecotourism.

On Sunday our STEM Ambassador Team attended the Gold Coast Pop-Up Science Centre at Coomera Indoor Sports Centre along with many other schools and Science-based businesses on the Gold Coast.

This was an amazing day that kept all of our Ambassador Team on their toes, with in excess of 5000 members of the public visiting us throughout the day. We were very lucky to be able to share some Science-based activities with the community and also participate in activities such as the flight simulator, DNA extraction and drone flights along with much more.

The highlights of the week at school included;

• Griffith Universities Women in Engineering facilitating a workshop with in excess of forty female students from year’s seven to twelve, who aspire to one day work within the field of engineering creating a Firefly LED circuit.
• Making cornflour slime and m&m diffusion
• Keigo Seki winning the longest plane flight
• Emma Frankis & Larissa Crabtree winning the greatest height achieved for a rocket
• Students extracting DNA from strawberries
• Students taking fingerprints for forensic investigation and learning what ‘type’ of fingerprint they possess
• Susan & Erin from SeaWorld talking with students about the perils that our Sea Turtles are currently facing in the oceans today
• Daniel from Lady Elliot Island talking with students around how Lady Elliot is providing sustainable tourism for the future and the technological innovations at work to ensure the future of our Great Barrier Reef
• Gold Coast Schools Pop-Up Science Centre with attendance of in excess of 5000 members of the public

Matthew Barton, a scientist from Griffith University, and our “Scientist in schools” partner, led a circulatory system activity in some Year 11 Biology classes. He also presented Big Science certificates and spoke about his career to students at the assembly on the following Monday.

National Science Week was an amazing time of year for all of our students involved with a big congratulations to our amazing STEM Ambassador Team for all their efforts to ensure students were entertained throughout the week. We cannot wait to bring a bigger & better program next year!

Pop-up Science centre

This was held at Coomera Indoor Sports Centre on August 20. STEM Ambassador Team demonstrated some really cool science experiments to primary students. The experiments conducted by Helensvale SHS students were: why don’t colours mix? M & M diffusion practical and colour changing milk. There was a real science carnival atmosphere during the day, and there were a constant stream of interested primary students and parents trying out the many and fascinating activities and experiments conducted by numerous schools and organisations. It was very well attended and a very successful day.

Senior Block Exams

Here is final Timetable for Block Exams for Year 11 and Year 12 students.

Both SWeLL and the Senior Study room are open for private study during this time.

Remember School expectations do not change during Block Exams – correct uniform at all times.

Helping with Exam Stress

Surviving school exams and stress – from Headspace

To help reduce stress and ensure that you're as organised as you can be, learn more about planning and looking after yourself and about staying focused in order to be as ready for the exam as you can be.

Take the time to plan

Prepare a study plan and goals for each day / week. Make sure it's balanced with other important things in your life - that way it will be easier to stick to.

Talk to your employers early to let them know you need to limit your shifts / hours while studying.

Create a study space that is comfortable, quiet, well lit, organised, and has no distractions nearby, such as a TV, phone, people talking, etc.

Make sure you have everything you need for each study session as this helps to feel more confident and organised.

Look after yourself

Self care is especially important when you have a big demand in your life - that way you have the energy to commit to what you need to accomplish.

Build activities you enjoy and that bring your stress levels down into your study plan, such as sport, spending time with friends, internet, etc.

Don't get hungry before or while studying. Grab nutritional snacks that keep you going, such as fruit/nuts/dairy, etc.

Remember to get some exercise every day as this helps you to keep focused and energetic.

Rest when you need to

Work out what times of day you have the most energy and plan to study then.

Don't study more than 40-60 mins without a short break. Even a 5 minute break will help. A glass of water helps too!

When you have a break do something physical or fun, such as go for a short run or play with a pet.

Try to keep your focus on school and exams rather than other stuff happening in your life; you don't need this extra worry around relationships, friendships etc. right now.

Relaxation is important, especially before bed, to slow the brain activity down. Try some slow, deep breathing, a shower or a bath, herbal tea etc.

Learn more about sleeping well

Stay focused

Say "no" to parties during the weeks close to the exams. This will help to keep you refreshed and energised.

When studying, switch your phone and email off to stop the distractions.

Try to keep a focus on your health and wellbeing by not using things like drugs or alcohol; they can make it much harder to study.

Ask for help:

Stay at school until your last day so you don't miss any important info about exams, or fun events with your colleagues.

Practice writing essays and show your teachers for feedback for improvement.

Ask teachers the best way to study for each subject; they have many years’ experience they can share with you.

Some teachers are happy to be contacted during the time leading up to the exams. Find out which ones you can contact and make use of this if you need to.

If you have trouble approaching your own teacher for advice, talk to one of the other ones who teach the same subject.

Group study sessions with classmates can be a helpful and entertaining way of studying, but keep your focus on what you want to achieve with these sessions.

Talk about what you are studying with family members and friends as this helps to retain the info more, especially names and dates, etc.

Be prepared

Read/ write everything three times as this also helps to commit the info to memory.

Use your trial exam results to focus in on what you need study.

Use previous exam papers to get a feel for what to expect.

Ask friends what they are doing that is helping with their study or friends who did it last year.

You need to study within 24 hours of the exam on that subject to retain more info.

Write things in coloured texta that you have trouble remembering (such as names and dates) and blutac to your toilet wall/door. Sounds funny, but it really works!

Day of the exam

Do your usual routine, for example, have what you normally eat for breakfast.

Take some water and a healthy snack (if allowed) to the exam.

And finally...

If the stress is getting to you it will prevent you from studying effectively and confidently - so ask for help from Headspace, a counsellor, professional, or help line.

Other Website Resources

thedesk - aims to support Australian tertiary students to achieve mental and physical health and wellbeing. thedesk online resources will help people improve their wellbeing and be able to study more effectively. thedesk offers free access to online modules, tools, quizzes and advice.

University of the Sunshine Coast - Academic and study supports – successful learning strategies to get the most out of tertiary studies

Macquarie University Study Tips

Open Colleges - 10 study smart strategies

The Royal Children's Hospital - Studying with a chronic health condition /disability

Australian Disability Clearing House on Education and Training - Studying with disability - Autism

Encore 2017

With the end of Term three fast approaching, Dance Academy, Senior Authority, Certificate II and Vale Performance students are deep into rehearsals for their end of year performances at Encore. This is a celebrated event by students to display all of the hard work they have put into class this year and their overall dance training. These routines are a combination of professional, teacher and student choreography, ranging from Hip Hop to Swing. Tickets are on sale now at the finance office for five dollars, giving you plenty of time to purchase them before the performance date of October the 6th. Hope to see you there!

$5 Encore tickets are now on sale at Finance for Friday 6 October 2017. No tickets are sold at the door.

Drama Festival

‘Children of Conflict’ was a student devised performance that Sharni Folland and myself had the pleasure of creating with a cast of eleven very talented year 9 and 10 students for the Gold Coast Secondary Schools Intermediate Drama Festival. The process involved the cast devising and rehearsing throughout lunch breaks in term 2, and on Sundays. Students researched and scripted their performance with the aim of bringing to life the stories of children living in countries such as Syria. Using a collage of Drama styles, the cast worked tirelessly to respectfully bring to life these often unheard stories in front of an audience at Saint Stephen’s College. Competition on the night was strong with over 12 state and private schools competing in the festival. Helensvale State High was awarded the Best Devised Play trophy and Annabel Crane was awarded an Outstanding Actor trophy. The entire cast was awarded a Highly Commended award for their ensemble work. Sharni and myself were so incredibly proud of this group of students and their confronting performance.

Collette Wilson

“Being a part of the Intermediate Drama Festival has been a remarkable opportunity. I am grateful to have had such an amazing experience in working with other aspiring actors and being able to perform onstage in front of a large audience. War and the effects it has on children living in those war zones is an issue that is very relevant to today’s society. Through our Drama Festival entry ‘Children in Conflict’ we were able to spread our powerful message to the audience.” – Kate Glassop

Gab of the Guidos

#thegratitudeproject

Here at Helensvale we recognise that our students and staff have much to be grateful for. We also recognise that one of the pathways to wellbeing is being thankful; showing appreciation and returning kindness. #the gratitude project is one way that we can share the things that we as a community are grateful for. Please look out for students and staff as they show some appreciation.

#thegratitudeproject

Helensvale State High School

GOLD MEDAL WINNERS AT NATIONAL ACF COMPETITION –

NOW REPRESENTING AUSTRALIA IN THE ISSCC IN TAIPEI

Congratulations to Ronan Bacon (Year 11) and Jenna Swiney (Year 12) who won gold medals and champion school at the National ACF Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge which was held at Southbank TAFE in Brisbane. Here, the students represented Queensland and competed against South Australia (bronze medal), Tasmania (bronze medal), New South Wales (silver medal) and Canberra (silver medal).

The students were the only team to receive a gold medal. They had one hour to prepare and present 2 a la carte meals. The judges were very positive in their feedback and stated they were a “pleasure to watch, showed outstanding teamwork, great communication, good hygiene, timing and a high level of skills. The dish was harmonious, full of flavour and beautifully presented,” The judges also recognised how well trained the students were for this competition and stated “it was a credit to them, their teacher and mentor.”

Ronan and Jenna will now represent Australia in the International Secondary Schools Culinary Competition which will be held in Taipei during the first week of the September holiday. They will be called the ACF Australian Team and will compete against Japan, Taiwan, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Noumea and New Zealand. Ronan and Jenna are currently very focused on training and practising with our mentor chef, Glenn Bacon (Executive Chef, RACV Royal Pines Resort) to refine their skills and learn new techniques to prepare and present 4 high quality a la carte meals in one hour. This new dish has to meet specific criteria, a prescribed commodity list and cost under a set price per meal. This competition will be of an extremely high standard and will be judged by International professional chefs.

We wish Ronan and Jenna every success as they continue on their culinary journey and meet rising young chefs from many different cultures. We know they will proudly represent Helensvale State High and Australia on the International Hospitality stage. Best wishes in Taipei!.

Stephanie Wright
Hospitality Teacher

Year 12 Hospitality

Year 12 Hospitality students had their final assessment on Tuesday 22 August. Nearly 100 parents, family and friends, packed Cassidy’s Restaurant to the hilt. The food was excellent quality and the atmosphere in the restaurant was buzzing. This week the other two year 12 classes have their assessment; we hope it goes as well for them all.

Menu

Entree

Arancini Balls with Garlic Aioli and Tomato and Basil Salad
or
Grilled Chorizo Caesar Salad with Fresh Bread Croutes and Poached Egg

Main

Braised Mediterranean Lamb Rump with Red Wine,
or
Pork Cutlet, lime ginger caramel and caramelised pear

Both served with
Fondant Potatoes and Steamed Asparagus

Dessert

Greek Style Honey Puffs served with toasted walnut crumb and ice cream

Chocolate Tart with Vanilla bean Ice Cream

Staffing

Kitchen

Olivia (star wars)Gorrie
PeenePeene Pere-Sabine
Nadine Sheldon
Danielle Subritzky
Taine Wildermoth
Angel McNeill
Bailey D’Arcy
James Clark
Georgia Graham

Restaurant

Alex Laca
Lachlan Ward
Amity Clements
Tiahna McNicol
Lachlan Irving
Isabella Furkhan
Daishan Christy
Evie cox
Chanelle Sheilds
Tom Keegan
Kara Schokman

Would your child like a keepsake of their 2017 year at Helensvale High?

We are taking orders for our annual Year Book, Discovery, which is a full colour pictorial and text record of the events that shape this year both within the curriculum and covering extra-curricular events. It also includes year level photos of our students. Here are the details:

Year 12 graduating students receive a complimentary copy of the year book (providing all outstanding fees are paid and exit requirements met). No payment/further action required!

The cost for students in all other year levels is $15.00.

The deadline for Year Book orders and payments MUST be finalised by close of business Friday 13 October!

If paying electronically you must put the following in the reference field – your child’s student ID (found on their ID card and school timetable) as well as the letters YB so we know what you are paying for.

Our banking details are: BSB: 064430 – Account Number: 00091174 – Account Name: Helensvale State High School

The following Monday (16 October) is the day we notify the Printing Company of our numbers – THERE IS ONLY 1 PRINT RUN – so please make the deadline!

UNIFORM SHOP UPDATE

We wish to advise that due to a price rise from our current School bag supplier we unfortunately have to increase our prices accordingly.

New prices for the Large Back pack $55.00
Small Backpack $53.00
Sports Bag $45.00.

The price rise is effective from Monday the 28th of August 2017.