8 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

Dear Helensvale State High community,

It has been my privilege to act as Executive Principal for the last month while Ms Lindsay has been on leave. Helensvale continues to be a thriving and dynamic school which offers so many opportunities to our students. Below are a few highlights from the last two weeks.

Helensvale SHS Music Tour

Last week our instrumental music students had the opportunity to attend our bi-annual music tour. This tour gave students the opportunity to perform in a range of venues around the country from Toowoomba to Goondiwindi to Dubbo Zoo to Canberra to Sydney. It also gave them the opportunity to attend the Sydney Opera House for a performance. All reports from the students said that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Thank you to our staff Ms Cindy Ashton, Mr James Henshaw and Mr Randal Scheerle who organised and chaperoned the tour and to our Head of Department, Bonnie Winters, for her leadership of The Arts.

Bill Turner Trophy – 15 years girls’ soccer

Last week our 15yrs Girls Bill Turner Trophy side won the Brisbane South/ West / Gold Coast Regional Final against Cav Rd SHS. They won 2-1 in golden goal extra time. This means our girls are in the top 4 sides in QLD and will contest the State Finals at Redcliffe this week. They are also in the remaining final 16 in Australia. This competition involves over 800 schools from North QLD to Victoria. This is a first for us, having lost at this same stage to Cav Rd 5-0 last year. Congratulations and thank you to Mr Lachlan McDonnell whose commitment to coaching our Football students is second to none. Good luck this week!

National ACF Competition

Following our triumph in 2017, our students have again represented the ‘Vale incredibly well in this year’s national Australian Culinary Federation State Secondary School Culinary competition. Having been lucky enough to taste the dishes that Isaac, Michael, Ronan and Jenna prepared, I’m not surprised that they won Gold in last weekend’s competition.

Congratulations to Isaac Mostyn and Michael Bae who won Gold Medals and now have the opportunity to go to Victoria to compete in the National ACF competition.

Congratulations to Ronan Bacon and Jenna Sundstrom who won Gold Medals and the highest point score at the ACF Secondary School Culinary Competition and will now represent Queensland at The International Secondary School Culinary Competition which will be held on the Gold Coast in September.

Thanks to Ms Steph Wright who gets these guys to the top and to Glenn Bacon, Head Chef at RACV Royal Pines Resort who has been working tirelessly to coach these teams.

New Building

As you would be aware we have a new building under construction. This building will include state of the art classroom facilities and an industry-standard Hospitality kitchen and will be accessed primarily by senior students from the beginning of 2018. We are busily in the planning stages and will very soon begin consultation with our staff and students on what we will name this facility.

In the interests of safety, I’d like to remind all students, parents and community members to be mindful around the site on the corner of Discovery Drive and along Rugby Lane. There are times when the builders implement traffic control to ensure student and public safety. It is important that students take direction from traffic control to ensure their safety. We appreciate that at times the construction is inconvenient. However, we anticipate the building will be an incredible facility within our school from 2018.

School Opinion Survey

The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted 30 July to 24 August 2018. All families, school staff and a random sample of students will be invited to participate. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what this school does well, and how this school can improve.

Access details for the Parent/Caregiver Survey were sent home with students last week. The survey can be completed via computers, tablets or smart phones with internet connection.

Finally, Ms Lindsay will return from leave this week. I would like to welcome her back and I look forward to continuing in my role as Head of School.

Kind regards,

Megan Roderick

Acting Executive Principal

Gold Coast Junior Council

Last week year 11 Helensvale student Aaron Taplin was successfully appointed to the Gold Coast Junior Council as an executive member. This is a wonderful achievement, well done Aaron! You can watch the video of the ceremony with this link to:

The Mayor’s Telstra Technology Awards

Congratulations to Jaidyn Gibbs, Armani Hollindale and Deon Hunt who are representing ‘Vale High’ on their progression through to the finalist round of this year’s annual Telstra’s Technology Awards, held at Bond University. They went above and beyond to provide an outstanding entry and what they have already achieved is something to be incredibly proud of.

The Telstra Technology Awards are held annually and provides young Gold Coasters with an opportunity to use innovation, creativity and teamwork to develop an idea and address a community need.

There are great prizes to be won, thanks to Telstra, including:

• Google Pixel Smartphones
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S2
• Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 4 Bluetooth Speakers
• $5,000 CASH FOR THE WINNING SCHOOL!

Finalist teams have the opportunity to take their idea to the next level with coaching from some of the best entrepreneur and technical mentors on the Gold Coast.

It is fantastic to see our very own HSHS Senior Business students setting an extremely high standard for the rest of the community. Good luck in the finals ‘Vale High’! We wish the team all the best and will keep you updated on their progress.

SENIOR ACF SECONDARY SCHOOL CULINARY CHALLENGE 2018

At Southbank TAFE in Brisbane, Helensvale State High participated in the Senior Secondary Culinary Challenge and entered two teams in the ‘Hot Cookery’ competition. Here, a Year 12 Hospitality team which consisted of Ronan Bacon and Jenna Sundstrom, won a gold medal and a combined Year 11 and Year 12 Hospitality team, namely Isaac Mostyn and Michael Bae also won a gold medal for their main course meal. Helensvale State High was the only school who achieved gold medals in this competition. Well done students!

After much practice and dedication to learning new skills and techniques, managing time and resources and following specific criteria, the students produced high quality mouth-watering dishes to tempt any customer. Both classical and contemporary food trends were featured and admired by the chefs who judged the competition. This success would not have been possible without the professional guidance and mentoring from Executive Chef Glenn Bacon from RACV Royal Pines Resort. A dedicated commitment of numerous 7 am practice sessions in the kitchen, prepared the teams for this challenge. Glenn inspired the students with his knowledge, creativity, expertise, skills and unique food presentation. The students in turn, grew in confidence, expanded their skills and demonstrated excellent teamwork to prepare and present four main a la carte meals in one hour.

The judges gave both teams positive feedback and praised the students for the high standard they displayed. Ronan and Jenna also received comments to say that ‘their work was better than qualified chefs’. This was a fantastic compliment.

It is with great excitement, that Ronan Bacon and Jenna Sundstrom won the highest point score for their gold medal and now will represent Queensland - Australia in the International ACF Senior Secondary Culinary Challenge, which will be held at the Gold Coast during the first week of the school September holidays. Ronan and Jenna will compete against teams from Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, Tahiti, New Caledonia and Fiji. We look forward to welcoming these International students to the Gold Coast.

Isaac and Michael won the second highest point score with their gold medal and will now represent Queensland in the National ACF Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge, which will be held in Victoria next week. We wish these students well and if they win this National Competition, they will also compete in the International Secondary School Challenge.

Congratulations to all Senior Hospitality students involved in this Culinary Challenge. Helensvale State High can be very proud of our rising young chefs of the future!

Stephanie Wright,
Acting HOD Home Economics / Senior Business

QTIC – SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2018

Congratulations to Jenna Sundstrom, Thomas Keegan and Michael Bae who are Year 11 and Year 12 Hospitality students who nominated and were chosen to represent Helensvale State High in the QTIC Salute to Excellence Awards. This Queensland competition was held at Southbank TAFE in the first week of the June school holidays and students participated in a written theory test, a practical skills test and an interview. Jenna and Michael entered the ‘Hot Cookery’ section and had to demonstrate their practical skills to produce a two course meal. This competition was judged by professional chefs from Hospitality Staffing Solutions and The Star, Gold Coast and they were extremely impressed by the student’s high standard of skills and their commitment to the Hospitality Industry.

Thomas participated in the Food and Beverage section of this competition and had to demonstrate his customer service skills, set tables for a restaurant situation and work with colleagues from other schools to model effective teamwork. Here, Thomas was judged by the Human Resources Manager from Rydges Southbank and the Hilton Hotel Brisbane. All students can be very pleased of their efforts and dedication throughout the skills test day.

At the end of July, Helensvale State High Hospitality students attended the QTIC Salute Excellence Awards Dinner at TAFE Queensland, South Brisbane. Congratulations are extended to Michael Bae (Year 11) who received a Finalist Award and to Jenna Sundstrom (Year 12) who won runner-up in the Cookery Section in this Queensland Competition. Jenna also received a week’s work experience at the Star Gold Coast and a Chef’s cook book.

Thomas Keegan (Year 12) won the Food and Beverage Section for the QTIC Salute to Excellence and was awarded a Diploma of Hospitality Management at TAFE Queensland, a Career Pathways Session with Jobs Skills Queensland, a position at Spices Retreat or the Hilton Hotel Brisbane and a week’s work experience at the Star Gold Coast.

The future career of these Hospitality students is indeed very promising and it is with excitement they strive toward their aspirations. All parents, family members and teachers who attended this evening enjoyed themselves, along with special guests, Daniel Gschwind (Chef Executive of the Queensland Industry Council, and Meaghan Scanlon MP (Assistant Minister for Tourism Industry Development).

The QTIC Salute to Excellence was certainly an occasion for celebrating and challenging the next generation of chefs, tourism and hospitality professionals. Well done to all students involved and you can be very proud of your achievements in this Queensland Schools Competition.

Stephanie Wright,
Acting HOD Home Economics / Senior Business

Humanities Update

This week we have received very good news from two Humanities competitions students our school have participated in. Awards will be presented at a Parade in the near future and distributed in students History classes.

Australian History Competition

All our Excite year 7-9 students undertook the Australian History Competition earlier this year. Fabulously, 22 students achieved a ‘Distinction’ award and 7 ‘High Distinction’ in the competition.

Education Perfect Humanities Championships 2018

Thirteen students across years 7-12 received awards in this competition. Students voluntarily entered the Championships and competed against 20,000 students from across the world.

Liz Benson
HOD Humanities

We Are Gold Coast

The Gold Coast, a rapidly evolving and fast paced city driven by the surf, infectious energy and natural wonders is HOTA’s inspiration for the gallery’s latest exhibition. We Are Gold Coast pays tribute and questions our city’s identity through artworks and photos. Year 9 Art Academy were walked through the contrast between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ while questioning what it means to live and grow up within a city so new - but ever changing at the same time. We Are Gold Coast will lay the foundation for semester 2’s unit of Sense of Place. Bring on the next 6 months and what the next generation of Gold Coasters will offer!

Industry Liaison News

School Based Trainee Jaymi Sattlecker – Year 12 Helensvale State High School

Jaymi is nearing completion of her school based traineeship Certificate III in Individual Support at Churches of Christ Care Qld. Jaymi was recently visited in her work place by Vannessa Sanchez a Field Officer for the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training.

I received this email with excellent feedback from Vanessa after she had visited Jaymi at her workplace:

“I just wanted to let you know that over the holidays I had the privilege of meeting Jaymi and seeing her in action in her workplace where she is completing her traineeship. She shows maturity beyond her years and has a genuine passion and care for the clients in the facility. It was good to hear that she has been offered ongoing employment once she completes her traineeship”

Well done Jayme and congratulations on being offered ongoing employment when you complete Year 12.

Any students interested in a Vocational Pathway into Nursing or Health Care please see Mrs Dearden in CB.08 to discuss options.

GIPSA Week 2 & 3

Year 10 Work Experience

A friendly reminder, all year 10 students will participate in a week of work experience. Work Experience is scheduled for 3rd September to 7th September 2018. All paperwork should be handed into their Futures teacher by Friday 27th July.

Important – for students intending on going on a Construction Site they will need to do a White Card Course (~$50). Ms Brandis has a list of names of students who have indicated they require this. Ms Brandis will send out further information soon regarding this.

Please contact Ms Brandis, HOD Industry Pathways, nbran10@eq.edu.au or Ms Bellamy in CB08 if you have any questions.

Year 7 2019 - Helensvale State High School “High School Experience Day”

Are you enrolled and are coming as a Year 7 student to Helensvale State High School in 2019?

You will be participating in our “High School Experience Day” on Friday 7 September.

If you are in catchment and are intending on coming to Helensvale SHS next year and you haven’t submitted your enrolment forms- get them in ASAP, so you can participate in this important orientation day.

Please contact our school office regarding enrolment.

Wendy Chambers
Head of Department- Transitions

Uniform Shop Update

FIRST EVER SALE – GRAB A BARGAIN OR TWO

BEGINS 6TH AUGUST 8am

• Current School jumpers sizes 8,9,10,20,22 & 24 NOW $30.00 each
• Bata Girls school shoes sizes 3,4,5,6,8 & 9 NOW $29.00 each
• Roc Wear Girls shoes sizes 4 & 5 now $39.00 each
• Roc Wear Boys shoes size 7 one only $39.00
• Spartan Sun Smart Hat sizes SM, Med & Lrg $10.00 each
• Formal boys shorts assorted styles $15.00 each
• Weareco Sports Polo sizes 8, Sm, Med, 3XL, 4XL NOW $20.00 each
• Weareco Sports Shorts size Lrg Now $15.00 each
• AFL old style shorts perfect for training in only $10.00 each
• AFL old style socks perfect for training only $5.00 each
• Dance Stirrup Flesh tights all sizes $10.00 a pair
• Old Style Dance shirt Sm and Lrg $5.00 each
• Dance ¾ Black tights all sizes available from XXS to Lrg $7.00 a pair
• Old Style Band Shirts men’s and woman’s limited qty $10.00 each
• Sewing kits $5.00
• Short Sleeve Hi Vis shirts variety of sizes $7.00

From the Guidance Officers!

Self-confidence and teenagers

Teenagers are confronted with a variety of tough issues, and learning how to deal with them can test their confidence. Tough issues range from dealing with changes to their physical appearance to being accepted in friendship groups. This is then reflected in how they behave in public, how well they perform in school and other areas of their life, and family expectations. By becoming more accepting of themselves, teenagers become better equipped to deal with hurtful things that may damage their self-confidence.

This can help if you:

• want to know what issues may be affecting your child’s confidence
• worry that your child is shy or not getting involved in activities at school
• want to know more about how to help your child build their confidence

Why is self-confidence important for teenagers?

Self-confidence is the belief that you’ll be successful in a particular situation or at a specific task. Your child’s self-confidence is related to their self-esteem, which is feeling good about yourself and feeling that you’re a worthwhile person. But, having high self-esteem doesn’t mean you always feel confident. Self-confidence can vary throughout life, particularly during major life changes such as adolescence. It’s estimated that up to half of adolescents will struggle with low confidence levels during the early teenage years. Self-confidence helps teenagers make safe, informed decisions. Confident teenagers can avoid people and situations that aren’t necessarily right for them, and to find those that are.

What does positive self-confidence look like?

There are signs you can look out for to tell if your teenager is self-confident. These include:

• good posture
• a relaxed walk
• alert eyes
• an ease at both giving and receiving praise
• openness to criticism and feedback
• a curiosity about new ideas
• a refusal to get upset when things go differently than planned

What are the signs of low self-confidence?

There are some things that you can look out for that may indicate that your child is lacking confidence. These include:

• an awkwardness accepting praise
• unconfident body language, such as walking with their head down and reluctance to make eye contact
• negativity about others and avoidance of social situations
• not joining in on activities
• holding back in class
• being shy or timid
• a willingness to succumb to peer influence
• an expectation that they will fail at things they try, or to not try as hard when things get tricky

As a parent, you can give your child opportunities to fail and succeed in a safe environment. Often poor self-confidence comes from running up against adversity and not understanding how to recover from it. You can play an important role in building your child’s self-confidence. Check out some practical strategies for supporting your child at the link below. This information was taken from the Reach Out for Parents online:

From the School Based Nurse

Advertising

We are pleased and excited to inform you that we’ll be producing a new eNewsletter with Schoolzine. The move to this new format will enable us to communicate with the school community across multiple channels. It will promote and enhance our engagement with parents, students and the wider community.

We believe you’ll find the eNewsletter highly engaging, as it will provide us with a more efficient and effective means of connecting with you. The new format will allow the inclusion of video, photo galleries, online bookings, mobile app, feedback forms, calendars and so much more.

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.

1300 795 503
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