21 June 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

Dear Helensvale State High Community,

NAPLAN Evaluation

The Queensland Minister for Education has publicly announced an evaluation of NAPLAN in the Queensland context. This evaluation has now commenced.

As you know, NAPLAN is just one indicator used in Queensland to assist in our school improvement agenda. As NAPLAN has now been in operation nationally for a decade, Minister Grace is keen to hear the views and experiences of Queensland parents, school leaders, school communities and other key stakeholders.

As the first step in this evaluation, Dr Gabrielle Matters and Dr Robert Lake have been appointed to seek the views and experiences of Queensland parents. A public parent survey is now open for the next several weeks and can be accessed here:

As well as the online survey, Dr Matters will run public forums with independent reviewer Dr Robert Lake over the next two weeks in Emerald, Brisbane and Townsville. Parents can book their spot for the forum by email.

Strategic Plan

There are five key improvement priorities which align to our learning mission of ‘One Student. One Community. Many Futures.’ The last newsletter outlined two improvement priorities that aligned to our ‘One Student’ philosophy. The priorities presented in this newsletter align to our ‘One Community’ philosophy.

One Community

Improvement Priority 3: Develop the capabilities of our people to drive and lead future-focused school improvement

Success Indicators

• Staff demonstrate the capability to consistently deliver on the school’s annual ‘Spotlight’ priorities and targets.
• Staff Opinion Survey results indicate that staff feel valued, have opportunities to develop their practice and have access to high quality professional learning.

Strategies

• Continue to build capacity of the Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) as instructional leaders through ongoing targeted professional learning.
• Implement a whole-school Annual Performance Development Plan (APDP) process for all teaching staff and further strengthen the APDP process for non-teaching staff.
• Implement a whole-school, differentiated observation and feedback model that supports instructional improvement in the delivery of the annual spotlight priorities.
• Investigate the opportunity for Helensvale State High School to lead a professional learning hub within the local school community to strengthen teacher capability at all levels.

Improvement Priority 4: Community partnerships and reputation

Success Indicators

• The school’s positive reputation in the community is not only maintained, but further strengthened, as evidenced by enrolment demand.
• School Opinion Survey data indicates a positive, collaborative culture where all key stakeholders contribute to the school’s Improvement Agenda in a meaningful way.

Strategies

• Build upon the school’s reputation through formal recognition programs and external accreditation processes such as Showcase, PLC at Work and Australasian Schools Accreditation.
• Develop and implement a Marketing Plan.
• Grow the Business Alliance through establishing philanthropic educational partnerships within the community focussed on enhancing student learning and well-being.
• Continue to foster a dynamic School Council that works collaboratively with the school leadership team to forge the school’s strategic direction.
• Implement the Parent and Community Engagement Framework and increase collaboration with students, community, business and industry.

School Bags

The weight of school bags has been raised as a concern by parents via the Parents and Citizens Association this year. The P&C Association asked if we could investigate the possibility of a better designed bag and to seek advice from a physiotherapist independent of the supplier. The Uniform Committee re-convened with the scope of this group being the bags.

The school has sourced another bag design, similar to our current bag, but with the following features:

• It is lighter
• It has a lifetime warranty (our current bag has a three year warranty)
• There is more padding to protect laptops

The Uniform Committee asked one of our smaller Year 7 students who was experiencing back pain with the current bag to trial the new bag for a period of time. This student found the new bag to be much more suited to her needs with no back pain.

The independent physiotherapist noted that the shoulder straps on the existing bag are wider than the proposed bag. The wider shoulder straps are better for weight distribution across the neck and shoulders, but may be uncomfortable for smaller students, who may prefer the thinner straps.

End of Semester 1 Reporting and Parent Teacher Interviews

End of Semester 1 report cards will be emailed to families on Tuesday 24th July. A parent-teacher interview evening will be scheduled on Wednesday 1st August between 3:30pm and 7:30pm to be held in the SAC and the PAC at Helensvale State High School. Please note this date in your diaries now. An email explaining how to book a parent teacher interview will be sent to all families on 25th July. The parent teacher interview booking system (PTO) will be open at 6am on Friday 27th July and will close at 5pm on Tuesday 31st July.

Student Performance outside of the classroom

Football

Helensvale SHS students, Holly Gray and Mica Robinson, recently represented South Coast in football at the 13-15yrs Queensland School Championships. They won their first game against Peninsula 2-1 and their second against Northern 2-1. Congratulations girls on your involvement in this state carnival.

Baseball

A massive congratulations goes to Tyler Salmon-Patrick who recently attended the Little League Baseball Nationals, in Lismore NSW, with his team the Gold Coast Cougars. Here they represented the Gold Coast against 19 other teams from around Australia, and came through with the gold medal, winning the tournament. As the winning team, their prize is an all-expenses paid trip to Williamsport in Pennsylvania USA in August to attend the Little League Baseball World Series, where they will represent Australia and compete against 14 other countries from around the world. Games will be televised on ESPN, which is very exciting for all involved. Amazing work Tyler!

ASX Sharemarket Game Winner

Yr10 Business student Lachlan Chisholm was recently announced as the Queensland state winner and achieving 3rd place in the national ASX Sharemarket game. This year Helensvale State High had over 110 Business students competing in the game. Students received a virtual $50,000 that they invested over a 10 week period, in 220 companies listed on the ASX. The prices students bought and sold for were the same prices as they would have got in the live market so this is as close to real life share trading as you can get. Through wise investment decisions Lachlan managed to turn his initial $50,000 investment into a whopping $59,417 for a nearly 20% return on investment.

The number of students involved makes Lachlan’s achievements even more remarkable. For Game 1 2018 there were 18,771 ranked syndicates nationwide and 4165 in Queensland. For his success, in beating every other syndicate in Queensland and all but two syndicates in Australia, Lachlan was awarded $800 in prize money from the ASX and has achieved national recognition. You can read more about Lachlan’s achievements and investment strategy at the following link.

Lachlan did incredibly well, coming third with only $287 behind the first place winner! First and Second places were taken out by Sydney Boy’s High. Lachlan was first in Queensland in front of students from Brisbane Grammar School and Marist College!!

LLI

Holly

It helps me with my reading and it helped me with Naplan. The lessons are fun and there are less people. I’ve learnt how to read the book and then read it again to find the answers. I don’t want to leave LLI, it’s the best ever. It is the best because the teachers are nice, helpful and Mrs Smith and Mrs Howell are the best. In LLI I can concentrate as there are less people in my group.

Angus

LLI has helped me concentrate in my classes. These lessons are fun and helpful. I have learnt to go back and look for evidence instead of guessing or trying to remember the answer. The best part of LLI is having fun and learning new strategies to help me comprehend. My goal is to get into the AFL excellence by improving my grades.

Oscar

LLI has helped me comprehend what I am reading. I am feeling more confident with reading in other subjects. I like that I have improved and want to continue getting better. I am going to listen in class and be determined to pass my subjects so I can go to the AFL academy.

Matthew B

LLI has helped me get better at reading and with my punctuation. I’ve enjoyed working with friends. I feel confident reading in other subjects and I still want to improve reading outside of LLI.

Ancient Egypt Studies

Following six weeks of study on the mysterious civilisation of ancient Egypt this term, over June 5 – 7t, the students of Year 7 embarked on an exciting day trip to the Egyptian Mummy exhibit at the Brisbane Queensland Museum. Students spent the day exploring and studying ancient artefacts from Egypt on special display courtesy of the British Museum.

My day on the Year 7 museum excursion was an absolute day to remember. It was fun and it was like a time capsule. We saw and smelt a lot of different things. We saw the mummies, ancient artefacts, the coffins, the wrapping of the mummies and the different herbs they were buried with. All I can say is the next year 7’s will be wishing they went with us.

- Khane Carroll

The mummy exhibit was remarkable. In the mummy exhibit there were six real mummies shipped from Egypt to England and now to Australia. There was a lot of facts and information: there were engravings and symbols on plaster which were from ancient Egyptian tombs, there were mummies and their sarcophagus, amulets and so much more. If only we could go again; it was amazing and thank you to all the teachers that planned the day for us.

- Olivia Smith

The day the Year 7 students went to the Brisbane museum was amazing and sent chills up my spine as soon as I stepped close to the bus. Arriving at the museum had me pretty much crumble to the ground because I was so excited. Having the chance to see the mummy and the mummification process was amazing especially because after this excursion, the mummies will go back to London and never come to see daylight again. I really appreciate how I got this opportunity of a lifetime.

- Jake Campbell

What better inspiration for Year 7 with their own display pieces for the Night at the Museum exhibit coming up in Week 11, Tuesday 26 June – save the date!

Discovering the Joy of Succulents

Earlier this term our year 8 students were learning about the types of reproduction. It was here that one of our 8 Excite classes decided to investigate plant budding through succulent leaves. Succulents are lush plants that can very easily produce a clone of itself by dropping a leaf and growing a small bud and roots. It has been a long 6 weeks of care and love, but now the students are ready to show the fruit of their efforts!

Corroboree

Helensvale High Indigenous Students began working with the staff from Dreamworld’s Corroboree during Reconciliation week in order to learn more about their culture, and how to share with others. The students have been involved in every aspect of the day to day running of the Corroboree, including early morning cleaning, public speaking, face painting, art, Didgeridoo playing and more. Several have learned to speak in local Yugambeh language and are looking forward to continuing the mentoring experience.

Helensvale High Staff, Students and parents joined in with Deadly Choices and Kalwun Health Services to welcome the Gold Coast Suns AFL back to Metricon Stadium recently. All involved had a great time representing their local community. The students were given the opportunity to carry the flags on field and formed the Guard of Honour for the players to run through at the beginning of play.

Titans Cup Semi

Cybersafety Tips!

The 7 steps to a positive digital footprint

Google yourself - Check your name and online usernames to make sure you're happy with what is out there. If you find any negative content, delete it or report to the website where it is hosted. If you find an old social media account, take steps to remove it. If you have lost access to these accounts, contact the social media provider and request it be deleted.

Privacy overhaul - Stay on top of your privacy settings, social media platforms change these frequently. Set accounts to 'private' or 'friends only' to limit who sees your stuff. The less people who see it, the less chance there is for something to go wrong.

Un-tag yourself - Have you been tagged in an embarrassing photo or video? Ask the person to delete it. If they won't, report the post and un-tag it yourself. Never share or tag photos and videos of others without their permission.

Unfriend/unfollow - Have you added a 'random'? If you don't know and trust them in your real world, delete or block them. Don't be fooled by fake profiles or mutual friend suggestions. Unfriend your randoms today!

Make positive choices - Stay in control of your online world. If you make poor choices while on social media or online games there may be social or legal consequences. Remember, anything can be screen captured. Keep your online interactions positive, useful and true.

Build your brand - What you say and post could affect your future. Use the power of social media to brand yourself and connect to professional networks. Share your achievements, talents and passions online. Your social media accounts should portray you in a positive way.

Remember… Treat others the way you would like to be treated. If you or a friend are experiencing a difficult time online, reach out for some offline support.

From The Guidance Officers

Wellbeing Hubs

Have you checked out the school’s Parent and Student Wellbeing Hubs?

Great new resource for students and parents:

The support team has updated the HSHS website so you can click on the HSHS Homepage and access the
Well-being Hub for students and parents , it has links to support agencies and well-being apps:
Parent Well Being Hib

Thanks
The Support Team

Parent

Student

Parenting is hard, but you’re not alone

It’s a myth that you’re born with parenting skills. You learn as you go and there are going to be times when parents will feel overwhelmed or frustrated with the pressures of raising children. But you’re not alone — all parents struggle with the stress of parenting.

Getting it off your chest helps. Just talking to someone about what’s worrying you can be the first step to realising you’re not alone and getting the help you need.

The Talking Families website is full of helpful information and easy ways to ask people around you for help before you feel like you’ve reached breaking point. And you may be surprised at just how many people you know who would be happy to offer support. Go to the link below:

Parents can also follow the Talking Families Facebook community for information about events, tips for parenting, and different ways to get some support @talkingfamiliesqld

Talking Families is an initiative by the Queensland Family and Child Commission.

New Access

A free mental health program developed by beyondblue, funded by the Commonwealth Government via the Gold Coast Primary Health Network (PHN) and delivered by Bolton Clarke is available now for Gold Coast residents.

The program – NewAccess – launched in Southport last week (8 June) is available to locals aged 16 and over who are struggling with work, personal life challenges or feel anxious or overwhelmed.

NewAccess supports people with early signs of anxiety or depression in a non-clinical environment.

The Australian-first mental health coaching program pairs people with a trained coach and removes the most common barriers preventing access to mental health support – cost, stigma and a lack of local services.

Local Holiday Programs

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!

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