9 November 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

Full School Review Outcomes

We have now received our report from our Full School Review, which occurred in week 2 of this term. The report confirms that we are a high performance school, excelling in many areas. The report also provides us with some recommendations on how we can continue to move forward into the future. I encourage you to read the Executive Summary Report which has been uploaded onto our website. If you go to the publications section on our homepage you will find the report there.

The next step is to undertake our Quadrennial School Review process, which will occur in term 1 of 2018. We will ensure this is a collaborative and inclusive process so we listen to the voices of our key stakeholders – staff, students, families and community.

Awards Night Celebrations

Last week we held our Awards Night, where we came together as a community to celebrate the achievements and successes of our students.

Over 300 awards were presented to our students on this night. The sheer number of awards

presented sends a very clear message to the community that the students at Helensvale State High have a great work ethic, are committed to their education and make a positive contribution to our school and the community.

Whilst there were too many outstanding achievements across our 4 pillars of opportunity – learning, the arts, sport and community – to mention at Awards Night, I did share the following with the audience:

In terms of learning

• 41 of our year 12 students have already received direct entry into Bond, Southern Cross or Griffith Universities. Another 25 of our students have gained direct entry to TAFE to study various diploma courses.
• 85 local businesses and employers hosted 150 students who participated in school based traineeships and apprenticeships this year. We also had another 210 local employers host 285 Year 10 work experience students.
• 2 of our students, Ronan and Jenna, entered the Australian Culinary Federation Competition, winning at a state level, then winning at a national level before representing Australia in Taipei at the International Secondary School Culinary Competition where they won silver. What an amazing achievement and an experience these 2 students will never forget.
• Year 12 student, Zoe, won the South East Region School Based Trainee of the Year and dance teacher, Zy, won the VET teacher of the year.
• In junior secondary, our greatest achievements were in Year 7.
  -            25% of our Year 7 students achieved in the Upper 2 Bands for Reading, an improvement from 23.9% in 2016
  -            28.4% Year 7 students achieved in the Upper 2 Bands for Grammar and Punctuation, an improvement from 24.4% in 2016
  -            32% Year 7 students achieved in the Upper 2 Bands for Numeracy, well exceeding the target and a massive improvement of 6% from the previous year.
  -            Our Year 9 student achievement also showed a trajectory of improvement in all domains, particularly in the areas of spelling – 10% improvement from 2016; Grammar and Punctuation – 12% improvement; and Numeracy – with 4% improvement.

With respect to the arts

The artwork of Thomas, one of our year 11 Visual Arts students, has been selected to be part of the Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Art and Design exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in 2018.

And speaking of the arts, who could forget our major production of the school musical, Beauty and the Beast?

With sport

Our sporting achievements are being recognised at our Sports Awards Night this week. However I did share at Awards Night that our 14 years boys Futsal team are national champions, 8 of our sports teams are state champions and another 7 of our teams are regional champions. We were the GIPSA champion school again this year and have multiple south coast and QLD reps in 2017 for a wide variety of sports.

And our pillar of community

The Samoa Build Project finally came to fruition over the holidays where 7 of our students, in partnership with Rotary and our Northern Collegiate schools, travelled to Samoa to build a classroom for under-privileged children in the community. Our students raised over $50 000 dollars which was a significant contribution to this project. The work of these students really demonstrates our learning value of responsibility at a global level.

The Northern Collegiate Australian Business Week was once again a fantastic week showcasing collaboration, creativity and entrepreneurial skills at its best. ABW would not be such a success if it weren’t for the input of our community partners, who I would like to personally thank on behalf of our school for their ongoing support.

I look forward to sharing with you in the next newsletter some of the successes from our Sports Awards Night, which will be held Wednesday of this week.

I would also like to wish our Year 12 students all the best for their final exams and I look forward to celebrating with them at our upcoming Graduation and Formal.

Important Dates

• Sports Awards - Wednesday 8 Nov
• Year 12 Graduation – Tuesday 14 November
• Year 12 Farewell Parade Wednesday 15 November
• Year 12 Yearbook distribution 16 November
• Formal – Friday 17 November
• Year 12 last day Friday 17 November

The Helensvale SHS 2017 Year in Review

EXCITE-ing News

Year 8 EXCITE Science Excursion

As a part of Year 8 EXCITE Science studies, students headed out to the Thunderbird Park on Mount Tambourine for some real life fossicking experience.

Students spent time learning how rocks form before heading out into the field to search for Thunder eggs and a variety of rock specimens.

All students agreed it was a great day out and way to learn about how rocks are formed and found, even if they did get their shoes a little bit dirty!

Year 9 & 10 EXCITE Leadership Day

Last week saw all of our years 9 & 10 EXCITE Academy students involved in a team building & leadership day. Students first listened about ways in which they could either step up and take the lead or step back and support their team mates.

Our first activity saw students heading outside to work in teams around some sporting activities, getting to know one another before they headed out on a photo treasure hunt around the school. The aim of the photo treasure hunt was to have students working out of their comfort zones with a new group of peers and to utilise lateral thinking around the clues for each photo. This involved students creating a twist on the clue given - the more creative the photo interpretation the more points allocated.

Our second activity saw students participating in the ‘Shark Tank’ where students were assigned the task of creating a kite that all the major department stores would want to have on their shelves. Students had to present their ideas in small teams, discussing profit margins and what set their kite apart from the other kites available for purchase. The winning team was the ‘Cardio Kite’ which was created to inspire all age groups to incorporate a kite into their workout schedule.

Congratulations to all students involved in the EXCITE Leadership Day, it was fantastic to see so many students step up, step back and create new positive relationships with their peers.

Shay-Maree Young
EXCITE Academy Director

HOSPITALITY EXCELLENCE DEGUSTATION DINNER 2017

On 24 October, 2017, Helensvale State High held the Hospitality Excellence 7 Course Degustation Dinner. This function was an outstanding success. Great teamwork and professionalism was shown throughout the evening and all students involved can be proud of their efforts. Many positive comments were given and guests were extremely pleased with the high quality meals and service of food and beverages.

A special ‘Thank You’ is extended to our sponsors for this evening, who assisted with providing excellent product :-

PFD Foods
Simon George and Sons
Dan Murphy’s
Gold Coast Arts Centre

It is with anticipation we all look forward to the 2018 Hospitality Excellence 7 Course Degustation Dinner.

Stephanie Wright,
Acting Hod - Home Economics / Senior Business
Helensvale State High

GOOD FOOD AND WINE SHOW 2017 –

Year 11 Hospitality students participated in both front of house and back of house at the Good Food and Wine Show from the 27 – 29 October, 2017, which was held at the Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Centre.

Students worked with celebrity chefs – Matt Moran, Adam Hall, George Calombaris, Alastair McLeod, Miguel Maestre and Luke Nguyen and prepared for their demonstrations, learnt new skills and exhibited outstanding teamwork, working to strict time constraints and management of resources.

The supervisors were extremely impressed with the students and could not believe their skill level and dedication for 16 year old high school students. They represented Helensvale State High with pride, but also can be proud of themselves.

The supervisors congratulated the students on their leadership, attention to detail, their efficiency, initiative, skills and passion for the Hospitality Industry. They encouraged them for their future careers and were so impressed, they have offered to be referees for their choice of employment.

This was an amazing performance by Helensvale State High students at the Good Food and Wine Show. The students enjoyed this experience and appreciated the opportunity to work with celebrity chefs.

Stephanie Wright,
Acting Hod – Home Economics / Senior Business,
Helensvale State High

Qld School Sports Recognise Helensvale State High School Champion Coach

Congratulations to Mr Brett Green for being recognised for his commitment and passion for school sport for over 30 plus years, 26 years of this time has been at Helensvale State High!

Mr Brett Green is well deserving of the QSS Regional Service Award for the South Coast Region.

Mr Green has been an integral part of the representative school sport program in the South Coast Region since its inception in 1988. He has received Life Memberships from School Sport South Coast & QSS Football 13-19yrs as well as a 20 year service award from QSS Track & Field.

His involvement, especially in both Track & Field and Football, encompassed mentoring, coaching, managing and convening from a school through to Australian team level over approximately 30 years. Mr Green has also attained the highest world qualification as an IAAF Academy Coach as well as Athletics Australia Level 5 qualification.

Many students have benefited, including Australian and International medallists, from the experience and dedication of a highly talented educator who willingly gives back to the school sporting community.

Congratulations to Mr Green on this well- deserved award and recognition.

Something from SWELL Space

This week in SWeLL we have had a Mini Comic Con for students, with lots of fun activities and some awesome prizes. A massive thanks goes to Supanova Expo for their generous donation of 3 double week end passes to the Supanova Expo in Brisbane this coming weekend!! Also huge thanks to Love that Book at Helensvale for donating a gift voucher!

I think the most exciting event was the special effects workshop on Monday afternoon – a huge thanks to Mrs Wright for spending so much of her time and energy organising. There was a great turn up and all the students walked away with suitably horrible, fake injuries. Don’t look at the gallery if you get queasy! No students were harmed in the making!

From The Arts Department

Energies 2017

What a turn out! The opening night for ENERGIES art showcase at the Gold Coast Arts Centre was packed. Hundreds of students, friends, families and the wider community came to view and be inspired by the 116 exhibiting senior art students here on the Gold Coast. The display of talent within the room was mind blowing.

Maddison Murphy, Kimberly Wong, Sofia Palladino, Yuanyan Teng, Thomas Isakson and Tayla Muller were our exhibiting students for 2017 showcase. A massive congratulations to you all. I truly believe your works will inspire all who view it.

If you have not yet seen the exhibition, please do – in Gallery 1 space in Bundall Gold Coast Arts Centre. The show will be on display to the public until 12th November.

VALE ARTS FILM AWARDS

Our 4th Vale Arts Film Awards (VAFAS) was held on Thursday 26th October 2017 at the Helensvale Cultural Centre, where a number of Film, Television and New Media students shone with their creative and expressive films. Along with Helensvale High administration and staff, we had representatives from sponsors Club Helensvale, Tox Free and Councillor William Owen Jones, as well as nominated students’ family and friends to support this event. Year 12 Student Nadya De Vos was the biggest winner on the night collecting 4 trophies overall, including the coveted Best Motion Picture and Future Filmmaker. Film students Nathan Lust, Lianna Bond, Gracie Lee Ross, Luci Van, Kayla Spencer, Liam Chapman, Tori Straatsma, Shakira Ridolfi, and Libby Hoe, as well as Nathan’s mum Rea, also took home awards on the night. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees, and especially to all the talented film students who have produced such a wide range of films this year demonstrating skill, artistry, and social conscience. We look forward to the films produced next year.

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. There is a link on the front website page and they can be found :

FINANCE OFFICE & UNIFORM SHOP EXTENDED TRADING HOURS