13 October 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

Welcome to Term 4

I trust that our students and families had a safe, relaxing holiday and are rejuvenated for what is a very busy term full of recognition and celebration of student achievement, whilst maintaining our high standards with academia, behaviour, attendance and uniform.

Full School Review (9 to 12 October)

This week the Department of Education and Training’s School Improvement Unit is conducting a full school review at Helensvale State High as part of the school’s Quadrennial School Review process.

We welcome the following members of the review team to our school:

Valerie Hadgelias, Chair

Valerie has enjoyed 17 years of Principalship, her most recent being Principal, Park Ridge State High School. A particular area of interest for Valerie is Professional Learning Communities (PLC). As a Professional Learning Communities at Work Accredited school, Valerie is really looking forward to seeing our PLC practice.

Dr Jennifer Nayler, External Reviewer

Jennifer is an independent educational consultant, supporting primary, secondary and special schools to improve student engagement, learning and achievement. In addition to tertiary teaching and research, she has worked in education and social policy development, taught in secondary schools and undertaken major national and state projects in education.

Ian Hall, External Reviewer

Ian works as an education consultant with a skill set in reviewing schools, and coaching and mentoring school leaders. Ian was a principal for more than 25 years. In 2010 Ian was one of Queensland's first teaching and learning auditors.

Peter Krugle, Peer Reviewer

Peter is the Executive Principal of Bentley Park College. Bentley Park College is a Prep to Year 12 school located in Cairns.

Allan Evans, Peer Reviewer

Allan is the Principal of William Ross State High School. William Ross SHS is located in Townsville.

The recommendations of the Full School Review and the outcomes of the Quadrennial School Review will inform the development of the school’s four year strategic plan.

The review team will provide the school with a summary report of findings as well as a more detailed report, affirming the great practices and programs the school offers, as well as providing recommendations to assist the school with our improvement agenda for the next four years. I look forward to sharing the outcomes of the review with you as soon as the report is provided, which should be within a few weeks of the review team visit.

So many opportunities

Last week we greeted the students as they returned from their holidays, all rested and ready for Term 4. As you see through our Facebook page, and through reading this newsletter, learning and experiencing new opportunities certainly did not stop for many of our students during the recent holidays. Our students were involved in a range of sporting and cultural activities at a local, national and international level. One group of students participated in a study tour to Japan. Our two students who represented Australia in Taipei in the Culinary Federation International Competition won silver. What an outstanding achievement. Our Samoa Build project finally came to fruition, with a group of students and staff partnering with Rotary to build a classroom for underprivileged students in a Samoan township. All very rewarding experiences.

I look forward to seeing you at our celebrations throughout this term.

Student Free Day

Mon 16/10 is a Student Free Day. The Administration Office will only be open from 8.000am – 12.00pm on that day. All other areas of the school will be closed for the whole day.

Something from SWELL Space

As we are in the last term of 2017 and senior students have entered the final phase of schooling, SWeLL has begun to focus on being a dedicated work and safe space at break and for senior study periods. The staff are actively encouraging productive work practices at break times to assist with the workload students have.

In addition to the workspace in breaks, we have started a homework club/study hall on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 3pm until 4pm. Students are welcome to come along to SWeLL, get assistance with work from our friendly staff and focus on getting their assignments and homework completed. We look forward to seeing students utilise this fantastic opportunity.

From The Arts Department

Encore

Congratulations to Helensvale State High’s Dance Department for another sold-out Encore event. On Friday 6th October, over 140 dance students demonstrated their choreographic and performance skills at the annual event, and were cheered-on by a 500 strong crowd; a combination of staff, families, past and present students, as well as our wider Helensvale community. The event was supported by the school Administration as well as Arts HOD, Bonita Winters and was organised by Dance staff, Miss Kelly, Mr Kook, Mrs Hughes and Mrs Riches. We would like to thank Film and Television teacher, Mr Burnim for filming the event and developing our opening projection as well as our wonderful Teacher Aides, Sarah Stevens and Joanne Parks for their organisational support. This year our department has had the wonderful opportunity to have past Helensvale students and now pre-service teachers, Jessica Reilly and Molly Hunt, involved in the production, in addition to our sound and lighting technician, Andrew Schalch. This was a truly a collaborative effort. Congratulations to all our dancers and thank you to the families for supporting and encouraging your children.

Under The Northern Stars

Helensvale Arts students take great pride in their submissions; whether it be a portrait, an individual choreographic work, a musical presentation, a dramatic improvisation, a short film or an advertising poster. The Arts Department wish to recognise the extra hours students dedicate to their assessment work, as well as the time being involved in extra-curricular activities, such as the school Musical, Creative Generation, Drama Festivals, Encore and Musical Ensembles. Under the Northern Stars is an Arts Awards night that allows the Arts Staff to acknowledge student contributions to our department beyond the curriculum. On Tuesday 17th October, the Arts Department invites you to Under the Northern Stars in the Northern Campus of HSH from 5:30pm to 6:45pm where student talent will be showcased along with yummy food and desserts. A formal awards ceremony will follow in the Performing Arts for nominated students and their families. We thank the parents and carers for supporting our students as they pursue their love of the Arts.

News From Certificate II In Visual Arts – Photography

Canon Camera Workshop

On Tuesday 14th September, some of the photography students had the opportunity to listen to, and observe, professional photographer and Canon Ambassador, Greg Sullavan. He set a “Black and White, 12 Exposure challenge” for the students, who then had an hour to capture 12 images in Black and White in the school which they view as representing/showcasing life at Helensvale SHS. He provided them some of the latest Canon cameras and lenses to utilise in the challenge. At the end of the session, each student had their best photo printed in A3 format and displayed in the SWELL. Greg then judged the photos and the overall winner was Courtney Wootten in Year 11. Congratulations.

Gold Coast Show Winner

Congratulations also to Keeley Lord in Yr 11 for gaining second prize in the Creative Digital Photography Section of the Gold Coast Show. Also, our school took out the best participation award in the Schools’ Section.

Gold Coast Arts Centre Excursion

On Thursday 5th October, The Yr 11 students visited the Gold Coast Arts Centre to view the Josephine Ulrich and Win Schubert Photography Awards. This competition boasts the highest prize money for photography in QLD. Gallery staff member Sarah helped break down the artworks to the students enabling them to understand the basis of each piece. Students then analysed their favourite artwork and had lunch at the lagoon before returning to school.

Janelle Caughley
Certificate II in Visual Arts Coordinator

SKI TRIP 2017

Helensvale State High School ski trip participants were so lucky to experience the best spring snow in 40 years. This is what the locals said and we have to agree - what a beautiful sight it was. 2017 will definitely go down as one of the best ski trips ever. We had fantastic snow and the students saw all conditions on the mountain from snowing to “blue bird” days with not a cloud in the sky. Everyone had such a good time, and even better, no major injuries. Fantastic snow, fantastic staff, fantastic students, fantastic fun- It doesn’t get any better!

Japanese Trip

During the September holidays, we were lucky enough to travel to Japan with Mrs Vickers, Mrs Radecki and 10 other students. We had lots of fun visiting many places including Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, and meeting some friendly deer on Miyajima Island.

While we did a lot of sightseeing, the main purpose of our school trip to Japan each year is to visit our sister school near Tokyo, Shiraoka High School. Over our 5 day visit, we stayed with their families, ate heaps of delicious food, met the Shiraoka City mayor, visited the local junior high school, participated in classes and tried out different cultural activities like green tea ceremony, calligraphy and wearing kimono. Even though our stay was short, it was really sad to say goodbye to all of our new friends and family.

One of the other highlights of our trip was going to the theme parks, Disneyland and Universal Studios. Disneyland is one of the most magical places I’ve ever been. At Disneyland, the Japanese people went all out with their costumes and came dressed as different Disney characters. There were also many cool rides and in the evening, we watched a magical electrical light show which was a parade of Disney floats covered in amazing colourful lights, lasers and holograms.

Universal Studios was by far the best in terms of rides. For those of you who love Harry Potter, you couldn’t beat the 4D Harry Potter ride which was based inside Hogwarts castle and took you through different movie scenes such as a Quidditch match, a dragon chase and entering the Chamber of Secrets.

On the trip we also experienced meeting a maiko and watching her perform traditional Japanese dance and tea making. A maiko is a geisha in training but we learnt that in Kyoto, it is preferred that you call geishas, geiko which means ‘arts person’. The whole experience with the maiko was very interesting and we were able to ask her some questions on what it’s like to be a maiko. Her English was very fluent and she told us that she had only studied English for about 4 years at junior high school before leaving school to become a maiko.

Overall the trip was one of the best experiences in our lives and we are already making plans to hopefully go again next year. We’d like to thank the teachers who came along with us for making sure we had a great time and also the other students who shared this experience with us. If any of you are thinking about taking up this opportunity in the future, we definitely recommend it!

Caitlin Dickin and Mikayla Crooks, Year 11

Vales Successes over the Holidays

Congratulations to all the Vale students who participated in activities over the holidays. These students had their detail brought to the attention of administration by parents, carers and staff.

Bangarra Rekindling

Good work Alana, Felicity, Sofia and Zjahn-Teil who performed for South East Region Bangarra Rekindling piece which aired 10th October on Totally Wild.

Music Students

Seven of our very talented Instrumental Music students were chosen out of 2500 students to take part in the QLD State Honours Ensemble Program at Griffith University, Conservatorium of Music. For the last four days the students have been rehearsing each day with guest conductors from the USA, UK and Australia. Today their hard work culminated in an absolutely superb concert that was outstanding. Congratulations to Cieran Devaney, Joshua Kathage, Julian Rogers, Talia Pofandt, Jai Irwin, Kate Pilbeam and Millie Antliff.

Equestrian Vaulting

Ethan Outram presented as cohost for Toasted TV on Channel 11 over the holidays with hosts Elly Awesome and Ollie McCormack.

He also competed recently in the State Championships in Equestrian on the 10th and 11th September. He competed in the Preliminary Equestrian Vaulting, coming second in the state competition. He is now ranked number one in Qld in Preliminary Equestrian Vaulting. And is eligible for National competition next year, which could also lead to the international competition in Germany.

Equestrian

Unfortunately Taylah wasn't able to compete in 2017 Marcus Oldham Australian Interschool Championships. Taylah’s horse pulled up lame and despite all the efforts from vets and farriers they were not able to get him sound enough to pass a vet check. In true Taylah spirit, she still attended and supported her team mates and Qld. And this is a wonderful example of our students showing resilience and respect for others! Well done Taylah we are all so proud of you!!

Netball

Congratulations to the following students... Reilley Batcheldor, Elli Jay Beck, Ivana Piakura, Leah Pue, Kirstyn Lole. All of these girls have made the Queensland under 17 netball squad for 2017/2018. What an amazing achievement to have so many girls from our Netball Academy progress through to the netball Queensland elite pathway. So proud of you girls!

Rugby

Congratulations to Chad Dinger and Jordan Kopae who represented QLD in the U15 National Rugby Championships over the holidays. Chad’s QLD Red team played extremely well and defeated Sydney in the final 71-10. This is the first time in the competition’s history that a QLD team has won this tournament. A fantastic effort from both boys!!

Touch

Helensvale State High School had five students represent our school at the National Youth Championships for Touch Football U/18s during the holidays.

Rhian Stowers represented the QLD Secondary Schools team that were crowned National Championships after defeating the SQBD Sharks in the final.

Declan Keen and Jayden Campbell played for the SQBD Sharks team that lost the final to QSST. Declan had an amazing carnival finishing as the leading tri scorer for the tournament making 24 touchdowns in 8 games. Jayden scored the match-winning touchdown in the Semi-Final Drop off versus CQ Bulls.

In the CQ Bulls team we had Izaya Leota while Georgia Ward represented SQBD Sharks girls team that lost a close QF to finish 6th overall.

Awesome work!!!

Football

Year 7 student Noah Davies competed in the National Youth Championships in Coffs Harbour in over the holidays. He was selected in the Under 13s Queensland Football team.

Basketball

Huge effort from the Open Boy's basketball team to finish 4th in their division at CBSQ All Schools State Champs. The boys finished with 6 wins from 8 games and narrowly missed out on a medal. Promising signs for the future of Vale Basketball!

Hospitality Success In Taipei

Congratulations to Ronan Bacon (Year 11) and Jenna Swiney (Year 12) on their outstanding success as they represented Helensvale State High and Australia in the International Secondary School Culinary Challenge in Taipei. They won a Silver medal and can be extremely proud of this achievement, especially at an International level.

Ronan and Jenna competed against Japan, Taiwan, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Noumea, Queensland and New Zealand (North and South Island). They met many young chefs from many different countries and thoroughly enjoyed this cultural experience. Strong friendships were developed, especially with the Taiwanese students, as they made everyone feel so welcome.

Ronan and Jenna spent numerous hours practising at 7.30 am in the catering kitchen at school over the past 7 weeks. Their dedication, willingness to learn new skills and techniques and desire to perform to the best of their ability was rewarded by their success.

A special ‘thank you’ is extended to Glenn Bacon (Executive Chef) at RACV Royal Pines Resort. His mentoring and guidance to develop the student’s skills and prepare them for this competition is truly appreciated. Glenn’s knowledge, time, commitment and expertise was valued by the Hospitality students.

Also a sincere ‘thank you’ is extended to the Commercial Kitchen Company who kindly donated high quality plates for this competition. Their Industry support in the student’s culinary venture is to be admired. Thanks is also extended to Executive Chef in Brisbane who kindly sponsored the students with their complete chef uniform for their Taipei competition. The students looked extremely professional and neatly presented in these uniforms.

A fun, yet challenging experience was enjoyed by all competitors in Taipei. This competition was of a very high standard and was reflected in the results with a Silver medal being awarded.to Ronan and Jenna. Well done to you both !

Stephanie Wright
Acting HOD Home Economics / Senior Business

Touch Football

From Wed 4 – Sunday 8 Helensvale SHS has competed in the biggest schools Touch Football tournament in the world. Over the five days over 450 teams competed across 7 divisions. Helensvale took out two of the divisions in the 18’s mixed and 15’s Girls divisions. The school narrowly lost two more semi finals, both in overtime in the 13’s & 15’s Boys divisions.

Helensvale SHS received the prestigious honour of been awarded the Overall Champion School from this years Qld All Schools Touch Football Championships!

Well done to the players and thanks to Mr Jones, Mr Morris and Ms Fainges for giving their time for the students!! Go Vale!

Vicki Wilson Cup

Vicki Wilson Cup is the state competition for Queensland Schools in Netball. On the weekend school teams from all over Queensland came to the Gold Coast to compete to be Queensland’s top teams, in Junior and Senior Divisions. There were 8 teams in each division and our Vale teams showed a tremendous amount of skill and competitive spirit.

Vale Senior team were runners up in the 2017 Vicky Wilson Cup, which is an amazing achievement. Congratulations to our Junior girls who came fifth in the state in the Vicky Wilson shield this weekend. Congratulations to the team and the fabulous coaches, Ms Kundras-Little and Ms Morgan, on a brilliant achievement! Go Vale!!

Excursion Permission Forms

In attempt to make accessing information easier for parents and carers, the school has begun uploading a copy of excursion information and permission forms to the school website. They can be found at:

Gab of the Guidos

7 ways to help your teen avoid study distractions

If you’re the parent or carer of a teenager facing exam time, knowing how to help them access practical ways to reduce the distractions is important. When you understand some easy ways help them stay on track, it makes a huge difference to their state of mind – and, potentially, their exam results.

Back when we were young enough to be involved in our own studies, the distractions were still there – remember television? - but today’s modern life means that there are even more things to get in your teen’s way. To make it even more complicated, the distractions tempting your teen away from their exam revision are even more invasive. But don’t worry. You can take positive action to minimise distraction and help your teenager resist the temptation of technology – and help them achieve their best possible study results.

Try these top tips to help them stay focused and develop better study habits:

1. Understand Energy Levels for Better Focus

Studies show that people are most likely to maintain their peak focus for an average of 1-2 hours a day.

Understanding energy patterns is key. For most people, the best time to focus is in the late morning. For a smaller percentage of the population, that focus burst happens best late at night. Understanding the way your teenager works best can help you avoid lots of frustrating arguments. If night-time is their most productive period, don’t fight it – by helping them create a schedule that reflects their preference, you’ll be helping them get one step closer to study success.

For great mental and physical health, breaking study into bite-sized chunks of 20-minute study blocks is recommended. Encourage your teenager to set a study goal, focus on it, then reward themselves with a mini-break and something to get their body moving, before getting stuck into another study session.

2. Brain Training To Ignore Distractions - As Easy As ABC

To help ignore distractions, some brain training can make a big difference. The ABC technique is a proven method that many people find useful.

A is for awareness – the recognition of what the distraction is.

B stands for breathing deeply – time to slow down and think about your options.

C is for choice. By choosing mindfully, the distraction can be dealt with – either by responding to it in some way or dismissing it.

One positive way to encourage your teenager to train their brain is for them to use the phrase ‘be here now’, out loud, whenever they become aware that their mind is wandering. Each time distraction creeps in, the phrase can be repeated again.

It’s a form of meditation that can get great results for some people but others might find it challenging. If your teenager finds that it doesn’t work for them, don’t push it. Trying too hard to empty their mind and not feeling the results can become its own kind of stress. Best to find another way to beat distraction that does hit the mark.

3. Know the Difference Between Work and Relaxation

One of the main reasons that students are easily distracted during study time is that there is often almost no difference between the space where they do homework and the space where they relax.

If your teenager is in the habit of studying on the couch, or in bed, it might be more difficult for them to feel focused on work.

If it’s possible, set up a dedicated study space that they only use for their exam studies. It will help them have set boundaries and make it easier to avoid distractions. If you only have their bedroom to work with, look at doing a temporary refurbishment to set it up in a way that helps them stay focused on exam study. Using corkboards, or wall planners, with clear study schedules and ‘to-do’ lists they can tick off at the end of each day can help them keep their mind in work mode.

4. Limit Access to Mobile Phones and Devices

If your teenager owns a smartphone, you’ll understand how distracting it can be. By the time they get interrupted with alerts from Facebook, Snapchat, and WhatsApp, study time has been impacted badly.

At the start of each study session, they should put their phone on silent – and preferably out of sight. Encourage them to take it one step further by storing it in another room during their study session.

5. Turn Off Internet Access

Before study starts, turning off internet access is another smart way to minimise distractions. No more Youtube videos of kittens, or social media alerts. Consider using apps and plugins that block specific social media sites or websites to minimise distractions.

6. Headphones Can Help

Even if your teenager’s study environment is not particularly noisy, it’s amazing how much noise-cancelling headphones can do to reduce the audio clutter of distracting household sounds, including washing machines humming, or other family members talking. For some teenagers, though, silence can be deafening and they work better with music. Encourage them to choose their music wisely – music with lyrics can be a huge distraction, especially if they are working on writing-related tasks. Research shows that listening to instrumental music can improve concentration, so talk about this with them in the weeks before exam preparation gets down to serious business to help them find a soundtrack that helps them tackle their studies in a positive way.

7. Everything At Their Fingertips

Making a checklist of everything they need on hand for an effective study session is a good starting point. Depending on the subjects they’re studying, this might include pens, pencils, rubbers, rulers, scrap paper, paperclips, post-it notes and coloured highlighters. In terms of looking after their own bodies, they should have cool, fresh water and some easy snacks to nibble on (dried fruit and nuts, or chopped fresh fruit are good options).

By going through the checklist at the start of every study session, they’ll have everything handy to help them get stuck into a focused burst of exam preparation.

Remember, every teenager is different. Some welcome tips and strategies from their parents, while others prefer to find their own way. Find the balance your teen needs to offer the right amount of help without taking over.

Year 10 Work Experience News

Year 10 students experienced a week of Work Experience from 28th to 31st August. Reports from all employers were that our school students displayed exemplary behaviour and thoroughly enjoyed having our students. The students appeared to have enjoyed their experience. We had a wide variety of placements from students doing work experience at The Star Casino, Porsche Centre Gold Coast, St Kilda Football Club, Palazzo Versace, a Northern Territory School, UQ Quantum Physics department, local Primary Schools, Dreamworld and many more. The Helensvale SH community greatly appreciates these employers for taking on our students.

Some reports from Employers:

Emma was such a great help in the classroom. She was always enthusiastic and willing to help. Emma just got in and helped students without being asked. She worked well with the children and they formed a great bond with her. I can see teacher qualities in her. A teacher at Helensvale SS

Kasey made the most of her work experience. From the moment she walked in she stated to build a relationship and work with/assist students. She was willing to give any task a try. Kasey used initiative and showed confidence. She is more than welcome to come back at any time to visit. A teacher at Helensvale SS

Gemma was punctual all week and very invested in the job. She was undertaking jobs that a first year apprentice would do including washing cars and test driving cars with mechanics. We were very impressed with her attitude, behaviour and motivation. David from Porsche Centre Gold Coast

SPORT AWARDS INFORMATION

The annual Helensvale SHS Sport Awards Evening will be held on Wednesday 8 November. If you think your son or daughter should be recognised on the night for their sporting achievements, please see the nomination forms emailed last week (also available on the school website) for both school-based competition and club-based competition sports. Please ensure you follow the instructions detailed on each form and are aware of the strict timelines for submission and level of representation to qualify for nomination. The closing date for nominations is Friday 13 October.

All students who have achieved at a high level in their chosen sport will be recognised on the night. However, eligibility for Sportsperson of the Year is based on success in QLD Secondary School Sports only.

Any queries please contact acting Head of Department, Jo Morgan or Sport/HPE Teacher Aide, Mona Williams.

NOMINATION FORMS CAN ALSO BE COLLECTED FROM MONA WILLIAMS IN THE SPORT OFFICE BY THE SAC.

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 all 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!