28 February 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

Dear Helensvale State High community members,

Good Governance Charting Great Futures

Last week we held our first School Council meeting for the year. The purpose of our School Council is to improve the learning outcomes and well-being of our students. The function of the School Council is to advise the Principal on strategic matters and to monitor the strategic direction of the school.

The membership of our School Council has grown this year. Members include:

At this meeting, the School Council reviewed the Budget, the Annual Implementation Plan and the Investing for Success (I4S) proposed expenditure. The School Council spent 3 hours in discussion and reflection, ensuring these strategic documents were informed by evidence of student learning outcomes and were aligned to the school’s mission of One Student, One Community, Many Futures prior to approving them.

Spotlight 2018

This year’s spotlights are reading, IMPACT Thinking and the new QCE.

Knowing how to read is a life changer. Reading is the currency of all other learning. Whilst our reading data continues to improve, we will always have the foundational skills of reading as a spotlight.

IMPACT thinking is our pedagogical framework. IMPACT stands for inspire, model, practice, apply, connect and transform. We are focusing on developing the critical thinking and higher order thinking skills (apply, connect and transform) in our students so they may extend their learning and be challenged.

The new QCE, which is the move from the current OP system to the ATAR system, commences with Year 11 in 2019. Our teachers are preparing for this change by engaging with the new curriculum and assessment regime.

Well-being and building capability are our pillars through which we will achieve success with our spotlights of reading, IMPACT thinking and the new QCE. “Well-being, or the lack of it, can affect a student’s engagement and success in learning”. (Hattie) Intrinsically linked to student well-being and outcomes is staff well-being. We are all learners. Learning never stops. We need to continue to upskill and challenge ourselves to deliver the quality education that every student deserves.

Parents and Citizens Association Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The upcoming P & C Association AGM is on Tuesday 6 March 2018. We welcome all new and existing parents and carers. A three-course meal will be provided by the generosity of the P & C Association. The details of the AGM are outlined below.

Date: Tuesday 6 March
Venue: Cassidy’s restaurant, Helensvale State High.
Time: Entrée will be served at 6.30pm. The AGM will commence at 7pm and will run in conjunction with the three-course dinner.
RSVP: By Wednesday 28 February to Cindy Hahn, chahn13@eq.edu.au. Please advise of any dietary requirements.

Menu

Entrée: Thai Style Pumpkin Soup
Main: Chicken Supreme with Garlic and Herb Butter served with Mashed Potato and Seasonal Vegetable Roulade
Dessert: Citrus tart with Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream
Drinks: A range of non-alcoholic beverages will be available.

The Good Order and Management of the School

Once a student arrives at school, the school has a duty of care to ensure students are accounted for and safe. Could I please remind families of the procedures for early departures and students feeling unwell during class time, as this will assist us greatly in caring for our student – your child.

EARLY DEPARTURES

Students should not leave school grounds without first signing out through the Student Services Counter. In the case of an emergency, we need to know the whereabouts of ALL students.

We wish to minimise disruptions to student learning and therefore students are unable to leave class, unless previously organised.

If unforeseen circumstances occur, the school will attempt to contact students during break times to issue a pass, enabling them to be released from class.

• Please be advised that there are no phones in classrooms to contact teachers and/or students during class time, so the only way a student is allowed to leave class early is by prior arrangement with Student Services.
• If you know your student will be required to sign out during a school day, please provide them with a note explaining why, or advise the school by phoning prior to the required time of departure, so we can attempt to issue them with a pass during break times.
• Students must visit Student Services before school or during break times (either with the note from their parent/carer, or after the parent/carer has called student services with advice) to collect a leave request to be released from class. Due to student safety they will not be allowed to leave class without a leave request.
• The student must be collected from student services by a parent/carer or someone listed as an emergency contact, from the Student Services office only.

For your information, we can attempt to contact students during the following break times:

Monday

• 10.05am – 10.20am

Tuesday – Friday

• 11.20am – 12.05pm
• 1.15pm – 1.45pm

STUDENTS UNWELL DURING CLASS TIME

• If a student feels unwell during lesson time, they MUST NOT contact their parent/carer directly. They must report it to their teacher who will then send them to sick bay.
• The parent/carer will be contacted to collect their child as a matter of urgency. If we are unable to make contact with the parent/carer the student will be allowed to rest for 15 minutes before returning to class unless the illness is so severe that the child cannot return to class.
• It is vitally important that your contact details are up to date and you check your phone for messages. Please be aware our number appears as a private number if you miss our call, but we will leave a voice message or send an SMS wherever possible.

Buses

Translink and Surfside have put an extra service on for students travelling to the Oxenford area to alleviate overcrowding. This service number is 3081. Our students currently use the services 3053, 3034 and 3014 to travel to the Oxenford area. If your child’s stop is available on the 3081 list could you please encourage your child to use this bus so that other students, who live further away, can access the bus they need to get to their stops.

Bus route 3081

• Helensvale State High — 3.10pm
• Entertainment drive at Movie World— 3:19pm
• Michigan Drive and Oxenford Road — 3:24pm
• Tamborine Oxenford Road near Cottonwood Place — 3:28pm

Block Exam Time Tables

Please be aware that Block Exam timetables have been emailed out to all Year 11 and 12 students. Please ensure all students are aware of their exam times.

Arts Department

Photography

QLD POLICE FORENSIC OFFICER TALK

On Thursday 15th February, the Yr 12 Certificate II in Visual Arts (Photography) students had the privilege of attending a presentation given by Detective Sergeant Andrew O’Shea who is a police forensic officer with the Queensland Police Force. The students watched an informative PowerPoint entailing all aspects of the work that goes into forensic investigation from crime to accident scenes. At the end of the presentation, students were given the opportunity to ask questions. Detective O’Shea commented that they were a great group. We thank him again for giving up his time to talk to us.

Music

Helensvale SHS Music Student releases his own EP

Year 12 student, Sam Croaker, is a Multi-Instrumentalist, playing Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Keyboard and vocals. He is involved in many of the Helensvale SHS school bands playing a diverse mix of different styles of music: including Concert band, Stage Band, Drum line, Jazz band, Percussion Ensemble, Brass Band, Musical Band and, of course, in rock bands. Sam has acquired a Certificate III in Music, and has achieved academic recognition for his involvement and achievements in music.

Sam has been playing live performances with his previous band since the age of 12, his love for music having started with playing drums at the age of 3, and guitar at the age of 5. Sam has a new 6 track original EP release available on Bandcamp.com entitled 'Echowave'. Sam not only wrote and produced all the music himself but also plays all the instruments from drums, keys, guitars, bass and of course vocals. He will be performing some of his new music at Ric's Bar, Fortitude Valley on Thursday 1st March 2018.

Year 7 2019 Parent Night

More than 600 parents and students were in attendance at our Year 7 2019 General and Academy Information Evening. Executive Principal, Karen Lindsay, and Junior Secondary Deputy Principal, Heidi Booth, shared important information regarding Helensvale State High School’s vision, values and our Academy Programs.

It was a wonderful night for parents and students to ask Academy teachers questions about their programs in 2019.

Applications for Academy Programs Year 7 2019 are now open.

Japanese Study Tour 2018!

Accepting Expressions of Interest now

Helensvale High School is once again looking for any students interested in participating in our Japanese Study Tour to submit an Expression of Interest to the trip coordinator, Mr Middleton in Discovery Place (room DS09).

Every year our school sends students on a two week tour of Japan that sees our students visiting some of the most iconic scenic spots in Japan, as well having the rare opportunity to homestay with a Japanese family in order to experience Japanese daily life first-hand. Families from our sister school take great care of our students for almost a week and together, they develop fantastic friendships and help to strengthen the bonds between our two schools.

All students who take part in this amazing trip will develop their Japanese language skills and better understand Japanese culture. More than that, they are sure to gain more self-confidence and an appreciation of the world around them that may open some new pathways for them in their future endeavours.

Anyone who is interested can collect an Expression of Interest form from Mr Middleton or you can download and print a form by clicking on the link below.

Showcasing the value of our “One Student”

Showcasing the value of our ‘One Student’, Year 11 Student Aria Smith was recently involved in a television and media campaign to promote science careers within the community. This is a fantastic achievement and she has represented our school with maturity and responsibility. Aria is a member of the Gold Coast Junior Council program, and as such was afforded this once in a lifetime opportunity. This is just one example of the many programs and ‘Many Futures’ available to the children that attend Helensvale High.

Senior ACE Parade

The Helensvale SHS ACE Parades are held to recognise, acknowledge and celebrate Academic Excellence and our three learning values: Resilient, Respectful and Responsible.

The Academic Gold Award is based on a student achieving at least an A level in 6 subjects for Semester One 2017. They have also exhibited outstanding application and diligence to personal academic performance.

Academic Awards are based on students achieving As & Bs in their subjects for Semester One 2017. They have worked hard and made every effort to achieve at a high level.

The other 3 Awards centre on our learning values.

Since their last full academic report students receiving the Resilient Learner Award have shown personal drive and motivation to improve their overall academic performance and grade point average.

The Respectful Learner Award is presented to students who have displayed exemplary behaviour and effort during Semester One.

Students awarded the Responsible Learner Award actively demonstrate ‘It Is Not OK to be Away’ and have fully committed themselves to attending class, participating in camps, excursions, representative sport performances, School Based Traineeships and a host of other enrichment and leadership programs.

SWELL

The SWeLL staff are pleased to announce the commencement of Chat and Chill.... with a purpose. The purpose being - providing a time and space to get homework and assignment help! Please encourage your student to come along to keep on top of their school work.

From the Guidance Officers

5 tips for talking to teenagers about bad world news

Your school community may be seeing all the media coverage about the tragic shooting in Florida this morning. It can be really hard seeing bad world news and can bring up a whole lot of emotions and fears.

Here are our best tips for what you can do to support teenagers today:

• Reassure them that they are safe and that gun laws are very different in Australia.
• Tell them that violence isn't the norm and most people think it's not okay.
• Parents can take a break with their teen and go do something nice together.

You can also encourage them to take these practical steps to deal with bad world news:

• Take breaks from your news feed.
• Do something that makes you feel better.
• Join the conversation on the ReachOut Forums.
• Talk to your family and friends.
• Get support from the link below

Your school’s community of parents and carers may be keen to talk too. Let them know they can chat to other parents about supporting their teenagers on the ReachOut Parents Forums.

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!

From the Uniform Shop

We are excited to announce the latest addition to our school uniform, the long awaited school jacket. These will go on sale this week for a pre order, pre pay system. The cost for the jackets is $65.00. The sizing is similar to the Canterbury sports uniform. First orders close Thursday the 8th of March. We will advise as soon as we know when delivery will be expected. Further orders will be taken after 8th March.

The caps for school and the Academy are now in stock.

Look forward to seeing you in the store soon

Free External Holiday Programs

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

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