28 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

Dear Helensvale State High Community,

One Community

As a school and community we take Cyberbullying very seriously. As part of our well-being education program, we want every member of our community 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.

Earlier this year we were very fortunate to have Damien Seaton, Managing Director of Cyber Audit Team, speak at our Business Alliance breakfast as well as present at our assemblies.

In the last newsletter I spoke about the Queensland Anti-Cyberbullying Taskforce that was established by the Premier earlier this year. The Taskforce’s role is to provide advice in relation to developing and implementing an anti-cyberbullying framework for Queensland. The taskforce is providing a number of opportunities for community members to have their say on this very complex and serious issue.

On Wednesday 9 May Ms Megan Roderick, Head of School, and myself attended a Principals Forum facilitated by members of The Taskforce where we were able to share concerns and ideas with other Principals and provide feedback to The Taskforce.

The Taskforce is conducting a consultation event on the Gold Coast on 4 June 2018. I would encourage you to attend this event.

Public Forum details:

Who: any member of the public.
Where: Helensvale Cultural Centre, Sir John Overall Dr & Lindfield Road, Helensvale
Date: Monday 4 June 2018
Time: 6.00-7.30pm
Note that it is not necessary to RSVP for this event.

• If you need help and advice about bullying, these services can support you:
• Lifeline – phone 13 11 14
• Kids Helpline – phone 1800 551 800 for young people aged 5-25
• Parentline – phone 1300 301 300 for support, counselling and parent education
• eSafety Commissioner

• complaints about cyberbullying:

• complaints about image-based abuse:

Many Futures

One of our pillars of opportunity is sport. We have had the privilege of having a number of elite athletes attend our school as students. Our six sporting houses are named after these athletes: Shelley, Osbourne, Stosur, Pearson, Armitage and Thompson.

Shelley house was named after Michael Shelley, marathon runner and Gold Medalist at the last two Commonwealth Games.

Michael’s name appears on the Sporting Excellence Honour Board in the school’s foyer in the year 2000.

Last Monday Michael visited the school to personally thank those students who wrote letters of encouragement to him before his marathon race. Michael spent time with the students answering questions, sharing stories and getting photos with the gold medal, before joining our assembly where our students gave him a hero’s welcome. Michael gave a motivational speech before presenting our cross-country age champions with certificates and the winning house with the trophy. Michael was just as excited as the students when Mr Green announced that the winning house was Shelley.

Humanities Update

Term 2 is full of engaging and interesting learning Humanities experiences for students.

Year 7 History: Mummies Exhibition and Night at the Museum (June 5, 6, 7th)

All Year 7 students are visiting the Queensland Museum exhibition – Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives. This field trip is part of the student’s final assessment for History. The final assessment is researching and creating an ancient artefact to display at the Year 7 Night at the Museum.

Year 7 Students showing us where Egypt is.

Please make sure your child returns their permission form and payment by May 29th.

Year 7 Night at the Museum is on June 19th. All parents and students are invited to Discovery Place to see the ancient artefacts students have created. More information to come soon.

Geography

Students who are studying Geography in Year 9 and 10 are engaging in learning experiences designed to expand their understanding of issues such as the impact of fast fashion on the environment and people and Year 10 Geography students are undertaking a field trip to Surfers Paradise and Q1 to collect data about the changes in our local environment over time. They will analyse this data and write up a field trip report.

Did you know that on average 94% of HSHS Year 12 Geography students achieve an A-C grade?

Geography is an engaging subject that uses practical learning experiences to help students learn about our world. A 2017 survey of Australian youth highlighted environmental issues and climate change as one of the key concerns of young people. Studying Geography in years 9, 10, 11 and 12 can help students to engage in finding solutions to environmental challenges facing Australia and the world.

In Semester 2, all Year 7 and 8 students will switch their focus to studies of Geography.

Liz Benson
HOD Humanities

What’s happening in LLI?

Benji

LLI has help me improve my reading age. LLI has shown me different techniques on how to read more difficult books. Now I’m more confident in my reading I am aiming to improve all my classroom results. This class has help me come out of my shell and reach my full potential.

Mason

LLI has helped me improve my reading age and it has helped me be more confident at reading books aloud, and helped me read more carefully. I now picture the book in my head when I am reading to help me understand more about the book. I didn’t like LLI at the beginning but after a while I started to like it more. I now read above my age by 4 months. Now that I’m graduating LLI at the end of the term I down want to leave.

Abbie

At first I didn’t want to come into LLI, but I knew I had to improve my reading so I could improve in my other classes. I can now visualise the words as pictures from the book in my head when I’m reading. This has helped me understand the book more. The teachers are very helpful at explaining what we have to do during LLI.

Mia

LLI has helped me visualise as well as push my eyes past the word I’m reading to help with my fluency. LLI has given me more confidence when I read out loud. It has helped me understand what I read. Before LLI when teachers ask me questions about the book, I used to guess the answer but now I know I can visualise what it the book is telling me. I also learnt to look back to find evidence in the book to support my answer.

Renee

LLI has helped me with fluency and how to have more confidence when I read. It has also helped me picture what I am reading and pronounce the word properly. LLI has helped me a lot in my reading.

EXCITE Night

On Monday the 21st of May, students and parents from years 7-9 EXCITE Academy gathered to engage in a fun and informative night of learning.

The evening began with Mrs Booth discussing the EXCITE framework and the underpinning philosophy of the EXCITE Academy. After this time parents and students set off to undertake activities based around Humanities, English, Mathematics & Science.

In the Humanities and English room, students and parents spent time studying some texts, whilst utilising an annotation guide that is used across all classes in the school. Parents were guided by Mrs Benson & Mrs Eaton alongside their respective students to infer information, identify themes and demonstrate skills in line with Rigorous Reading at Helensvale SHS.

Mathematics and Science, saw students and parents undertaking the substitution method and capture, recapture equation whilst using Smarties & M&M’s to represent their animals. Parents were given the task of demonstrating their understanding through the use of whiteboard sharing. This is in line with another practice commonly used within the classroom, known as Effective Instruction. This technique allows for students to demonstrate their understanding of the concept being taught immediately whilst teachers can actively observe and give instant feedback on learning to allow for differentiation throughout the lesson.

The final session of the night was with our Guidance Officer, Mrs Jordy Kelly. Mrs Kelly spoke about supporting high performing teens and building resilience in the face of change and assessment. It was fantastic to hear some great hints and tips about how parents can help students navigate through high school. Jordy also spoke about Growth-Mindset which underpins the EXCITE Academy. The talk was based around how we can initiate conversations both at school and home to promote a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset.

STEM: Girl Power Leadership Day

On Tuesday the 15th of May Aria, Megan, Samantha & Miss Young set out on a day of adventure with the Queensland STEM Champions, Griffith University and schools from around the Southern Queensland Region.

Our day of adventure began at Seaworld where we focused on the amazing career opportunities with the Marine Biology field and how to develop skills to allow for success within Marine Biology.

Our first session involved a talk with Erin who works for Seaworld as an Education Officer. It was great to hear about all her studies and the perseverance she put in over many years to end up in a job that encompasses her passions for the ocean and marine life.

After speaking with Erin, we learnt about the water qualities and how to maintain these qualities to ensure for a healthy environment for all animals. We then undertook water testing with data about the pH, salinity and alkalinity gathered from Shark Bay.

It was then off to the seal area where we met three amazing trainers who have been working with marine creatures for many years. We learnt about their studies and how the prior study required for this type of job has changed over the years. Of course, we did have the opportunity to meet some stars of the show, listen to information about them and how different seals require different training and nurturing. We learnt that not all seals are compatible with all trainers and that the bond between the seal and the trainers is the most important part of being a trainer.

After visiting Seaworld, we headed back to Griffith University’s Red Room to undertake a workshop on leadership with Louise Maddock. We learnt about the qualities of a good leader, how to encompass these skills and analysed what our legacy would be at our school. From there we split off into groups to share our stories of leadership and reflected on one-and-others achievements around leadership to date. The final session of the day was dedicated to planning STEM-based events within our schools and wider communities.

Aria, Megan & Samantha were all offered this opportunity due to their applications for the STEM Girl Power Leadership Program. If you think you would be interested in being involved in opportunities like this, ensure you visit DS09 to chat with Miss Young.

Sports Report

There’s never a dull moment in sport at Helensvale High! Last week, the school was lucky enough to have former Helensvale student and the Commonwealth Games Marathon Gold Medallist, Michael Shelley, along to present certificates to age champions for the recently held Cross Country Carnival. Michael spoke about the fantastic opportunities that the school had provided him with whilst he was a student and inspired students to achieve greatness. Many students took the opportunity to wear Michael’s Gold Medal and have photos with him after the presentation. It was great for students to have the opportunity to hear one of Helensvale’s success stories speak! Thank you to Mr Green, Ms Campbell and our administration team for organising the event.

With the Track & Field Carnival coming up in Term 3, the race for House Champion is well and truly on. The standings of the various Houses are as follows:

Train hard and best of luck for all competitors in the Track & Field Carnival!

Road Safety at Vale

Hello Helensvale SHS community,

Year 12 students studying a Road Trauma Unit for Health Education are currently conducting an action research project. The aim of this assessment is to identify the number of drivers following the correct road rules while travelling through a school zone. You may notice senior students located around the school zone areas conducting research between 2:55pm-4pm. Please ensure your attention remains on the road and its rules and don’t be distracted by the students conducting their research.

Please remember that safety on the road is extremely important, especially with students around.

Football Academy 2018

After an outstanding 2017, whereby teams from our school were crowned National Futsal Champions, Gold Coast Champions in the Bill Turner Trophy and Runners Up in the Schools Premier League, it looks to be yet another busy year for the HSHS Football Academy, with many of our students currently involved in a range of competitions.

Our 15yr Boys and Girls were both victorious at the Northern Gold Coast Round Robin Day of the Bill Turner Cup, again being crowned Northern Gold Coast Champions. This week sees our 15yr Girls contest the 3rd Round of this knockout tournament at Robina SHS on Tuesday, as well as our 15yr Boys at home on Friday. They will face Palm Beach-Currumbin SHS in what should be an exhibition of quality football.

Additionally on Friday, our Open Girls side take on Ferny Grove SHS in the quarter final of the VETO Trophy knockout tournament. These girls are playing some excellent football and we wish them all the best on their exciting cup run.

The fourth round of the Schools' Premier League (SPL) competition will see us face Kelvin Grove State College away at Lions FC in Brisbane. Our juniors have been highly competitive, with the junior girls currently undefeated and leading their group, and the junior boys putting in some attractive performances but unfortunately not getting the results such efforts deserve. The future is looking good for this talented bunch.

Finally, in other exciting news for the Football Academy, our students continue to find success on the futsal court, with our 16yr Boys futsal side recently being invited to contest the International High School Futsal Championships held in Brazil later this year. Additionally, our 14 Boys, 14 Girls and 19 Girls have also qualified for the State Futsal Titles in Term 3. These are examples of the great opportunities we try to provide our students, allowing them to test themselves on a bigger stage.

All the best to our teams in their upcoming fixtures. Trust in your development.

ANZAC Parcel

As you may remember the SEP staff and students organised some parcels to go to our troops before the holidays. We recently received the following.

Tutoring opportunities at Vale

Year 10 Work Experience

All year 10 students will participate in a week of work experience. Work Experience is scheduled for 3rd September to 7th September 2018. Each student was given a Work Experience Pack on Roll Mark parade last week. The pack includes all relevant paperwork and due dates. If your child does not have one, please ensure they collect a work experience pack from their Futures teacher.

Please contact Ms Brandis, HOD Industry Pathways, nbran10@eq.edu.au if you have any questions.

Hogwarts at the Vale

This week the SWeLL staff dragged Professor Paech into the Hogwarts fun and games. Professor Paech was kind enough to spend his lunch break teaching Herbology to our Hogwarts students! 10 students were lucky enough to go and pot a new plant and learn the skills to care for it. It was a fun lesson for all!

Uniform Shop Update

JACKET UPDATE

Jacket orders are coming in. Please get your child to check student notices daily for jacket collection details.

Flu Vaccinations

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! “

Click here to view Entertainment Book Information

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