29 March 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

Dear Helensvale State High community,

New 3-storey building

Construction has commenced on our new 3-storey building, which will be available at the start of the 2019 school year. This building is located on the corner of Discovery Place and Rugby Lane and will provide an additional 12 classrooms, an industrial standard hospitality kitchen with a large open area for dining and entertainment and flexibility of providing additional classroom spaces if required in the future.

The new building will not only cater for in-catchment enrolment growth, but will have dedicated senior schooling learning areas. In line with our school’s learning mission, One Student, One Community, Many Futures, this building will cater to the many different aspects of our school community. In terms of One Student, this building will provide opportunities for students to collaborate and to access quiet study facilities so that they can work independently or in groups depending on their learning needs. In regards to our Many Futures, this building will become the hub of our senior pathways advisory team including our Senior School Heads of Department and Industry Liaison Officer whose relentless focus is on ensuring every student leaves Helensvale State High School with a qualification and a meaningful pathway.

We are also enclosing part of the under croft of Discovery Place which will provide us with an additional two classrooms. This new construction allows for the removal of some of our demountable buildings, which will mean our school site will be free from asbestos.

During this construction, there will be some unavoidable noise. We will do our best to minimise the impact of the construction on student learning.

Cyber-Safety

With the school holidays and the Commonwealth Games upon us, we need to remain vigilant and keep our families and our community safe. One aspect of safety that we have been discussing with our students is Cyber-Safety.

We were very fortunate to have a presentation last week by Damien Seaton, Managing Director of Cyber Audit Team, at our assemblies. As part of our well-being education program, we want every student to be aware of the potential risks and security issues on-line. Our young people are connected through social-media 24/7 and we all have a duty as teachers, parents and caregivers to ensure they make responsible choices for their own safety and that of others.

Damien spoke about our Digital Footprint – we have a choice whether the one we leave is a positive or a negative one. He ran through some basic rules about keeping safe on-line. A simple approach to cyber-safety is in the visual representations below – THINK BETTER and ZIP IT, BLOCK IT, FLAG IT.

Internet Safety

When your child is in our care on campus, they are safeguarded against being able to access inappropriate Internet sites by Education Queensland’s Internet filtering system (Symantec Bluecoat). We feel that this is very important with respect to our duty of care and cyber-safety for minors.

Unfortunately, we are encountering a high volume of students who come in to IT Support who have installed a program called Psiphon on their laptops (or similar software). This is spreading amongst students as a means of accessing unauthorised websites at school that are blocked for their protection and well-being. If this occurs on a school owned device, it is blocked. However, if on a BYOD device, this is not the case and it also stops them from accessing our BYOx network, where they need to connect each day.

Of course we are concerned that students with this program are breaching their BYOD or School Hire Participation Agreement contract which you and they have signed. Of more concern is that we may be unaware of the nature of sites our students – your children – may be accessing and therefore may be putting themselves at risk.

Please also note, such software will allow your child to get around any blocks that you may be imposing via protection software you have installed when your child is on your home network. Should you need more information regarding this matter, please contact Sheryl Carr, IT Manager, on scarr25@eq.edu.au .

As cyber-safety is of paramount importance, we ask that you look into whether your child may have installed such a program on their laptop.

Parents and Citizens Association

Would you like to contribute to the school but are unsure how? Would you like to learn more about what is happening in the school? Are you interested in learning more about the educational matters that may impact on your child?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then come along to our next Parents and Citizens’ Association meeting on Tuesday 1st May, from 7pm to 8pm at the school. We value parent and community input and would love to meet you.

End of Term

I would like to wish our students all the best with their end of term assessments. I wish you all a happy and safe holiday.

From the Arts

YEAR 11 & 12 AUTHORITY DANCE

It is all about teamwork for the Senior Authority Dance students at HSH. This term, students have worked tirelessly to develop sophisticated and cohesive Musical Theatre works that incorporate props and dialogue. Students presented each other’s choreography in a Block Exam session in Week 9, as well as submitted their evaluative essay on musical theatre icon, Bob Fosse.

Year 9 Dance Academy

The Year 9 Dance Academy students have had the opportunity to connect with professional artists in preparation for their ANZAC DAY lyrical performance in Term 2. Performer and choreographer Zakk Beasley from THE STUDIO ENTERTAINMENT (run by past HSH students Sarah and Jesse Rassmussen) extended the students with an emotional routine. Students are exploring the expressive skills of confidence and projection of intent, as well as focusing on the technical skills of accuracy, placement and articulation.

Clean up Helensvale

Last Friday, 45 students across years 7-12 volunteered to stay behind after school and pick up rubbish. The idea for this stemmed from two year 8 students, Tarlia Robinson and Ruby Norgrove, who have both witnessed the effects of rubbish on local wildlife, and wanted to take action. This is a direct example of our One Student value, where just one or two students can lead change in our One Community. Our Executive Principal, Karen Lindsay, stayed behind with the students and picked up rubbish, along with several other teachers. Helensvale State High School values the work that our cleaners do on an everyday basis, and we took this opportunity to have our School Captain Deon Hunt thank the cleaners on behalf of all of the student body for the massive job they do. We are so thankful that we have such fantastic students and staff at our school.

Helensvale at the Commonwealth Games

Congratulations to all our staff and students who are involved in the Commonwealth Games at some level!

Our Volleyball staff and students!

Helensvale State High School students training for their volunteer duties at Coolangatta Beach for the Commonwealth Games Beach Volleyball. 20 students and 2 teachers have 12 hours of training and committed to volunteering over a year ago.

Students at the games

Abbey Inch is a games shaper at the Commonwealth games. She is also on the Mascot team which means she will be the chaperone guiding the official Mascot Borobi and other tasks on the team.

Staff at the Games

Brett Green – Coaching athletes!

John Lane (England) is competing in the decathlon on the Monday 9th April and Tuesday 10th April in ten events over the four sessions of those two days. Mr Green coaches John for his throws: Shot, Discus and Javelin.

Mustafa Fall (Fiji) is competing in shot put with qualifying rounds at night on Sunday 8th April. Mr Green has been working with Mustafa for the past month to finalise his preparation for the games.

De Bono Paraka (PNG) is competing in discus with qualifying rounds in the morning on Thursday 12th April. Mr Green has worked with De Bono since last November to get him to the qualifying distance for the games.

Well done to Xeno Jun, Aaron and Kyra Maroske who are in a top secret role at the Commonwealth Games!

Staff Volunteers

Ms Griffiths is part of the opening ceremony as well as a volunteering as spectator service team leader at Oxenford for the duration on the commonwealth games.

Mrs Hain is a volunteer for the duration of the games.

Mrs Abood is also working at the games!

QCS Practise

In preparation for the QCS Practise days students are advised to be organised:

• Read through the INSTRUCTIONS prior to practice test days
• Arrive at the SAC by 8.15am
• Bring all of your own essential equipment and any of the optional equipment with you in the clear plastic document wallet
• Be in full formal uniform
• Bring your own lunch or access the school canteen

Learning Alliance

Villawood

“Aspiring athletes at Helensvale State High School joined together to pay tribute to those who have passed through the school gates over the years”.

“Villawood is a corporate sponsor of Helensvale State High School and takes an active interest in our programs and achievements. The message on Brisbane Road is a tribute to our local athletes and it’s motivating the local community to get behind them.”

Flexischools at Helensvale

Entertainment Book

“Order your ‘early bird’ Entertainment Book now for only $60. Discover thousands of valuable up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers for many of the best restaurants, cafés, arts, attractions, hotels, travel, shopping and much more, all while supporting the fundraising endeavours of our school. Click on the link to secure your membership today!

Free External Holiday Programs

Looking for something to do with the kids over the holidays? Check these out!

From the Guidos

Bullying No Way

Make a Stand Together

At our school we aim to create a safe and supportive school community for everyone.

Sometimes, it can be difficult for parents or carers to know what to do when their child talks to them about bullying.

You are an important part of our work to prevent bullying and to respond effectively if it happens. Stopping bullying involves everyone.

If your child talks to you about bullying:

1. Listen calmly and get the full story. Your calm response is important to allow your child to tell you all about the situation. After they’ve told you their story, ask questions to get more details if you need to: who, what, where, when. Although you may feel some strong emotions about your child’s experience, try to keep calm to avoid more distress to your child.
2. Reassure your child they are not to blame. Many children blame themselves and this may make them feel even worse. You could say things like, ‘That sounds really hard to deal with. No one should have to put up with that.’ or ‘I’m so glad you told me. You should be able to feel safe at school; that’s not fair at all’.
3. Ask your child what they want to do and what they want you to do. A critical part of your response is to avoid jumping in to solve the problem. While it is natural to want to protect your child, helping them to find their own solution is a better option. It helps them feel they have some power in the situation.
4. Visit the Bullying No Way website below to find some strategies. The website has tips and ideas for different bullying situations. One idea is to practise strategies at home to help your child feel more confident.
5. Contact the school. Your child may be reluctant for you to do this, so discuss the idea and reassure them that the school would want to know and is able to help. Make an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher and, if you need to, ask to talk with the principal. Contact the school immediately if you have a concern about your child’s safety.
6. Check in regularly with your child. Keep the conversation going. It can take time to resolve issues, so check in regularly with your child about their experiences and their feelings. Your ongoing support is important.

Advertising

The newsletter also has a sponsorship section which provides a great opportunity for local businesses to engage with our parent community. If you would like to be a part of this, please contact Schoolzine.

Phone Jude 07 5414 2363
jude.dawson@schoolzine.com.au