24 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Thoughts

Dear Helensvale State High community,

Thank you to Ms Megan Roderick for acting as Executive Principal for the four weeks I was on leave. On my return to the school I heard so many great stories highlighting the achievements of students as well as staff which have been shared through our newsletters and Facebook page. This certainly is a school personified by opportunity, success and community support.

The same week I returned from leave our newly appointed Deputy Principal, Mr Andrew Finney commenced. Mr Finney has established himself as a leader very quickly at the school and we are very fortunate to have him as part of our community. Below is an introduction from Mr Finney.

I graduated from Carnegie College (Leeds) with a B.A. (Hons.) and Post Graduate Certificate of Education and also hold a Masters of Education in Professional Studies with merit from The University of Exeter. I have worked in both the state and private education sector and have gained over twenty years’ experience working in schools. I am relishing the opportunity of working at Helensvale State High School and am keen to contribute to this great school and help ensure that our students achieve the very best. It is important that our students leave with both excellent qualifications and also the personal attributes needed to help them contribute fully to society. In the few days that I have been here, the students and staff have been very welcoming – thank you.

I must congratulate Theodore Craig. Theodore has been at the school supporting our students for a few years now. During the last school holidays Theodore undertook training to become a qualified therapy dog. Theodore was one of three dogs that passed the course with flying colours! Thank you to Theodore’s owner, Ms Tania Craig, special education teacher, for allowing Theodore to support our students. We are very proud of Theodore and very grateful of the opportunity to have a qualified therapy dog as an integral part of our school community.

School Opinion Survey Reminder

A reminder that School Opinion Surveys are to be completed by 24 August. The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted 30 July to 24 August 2018. School staff and a random sample of students have already completed the survey. 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 a few weeks ago. The survey can be completed via computers, tablets or smart phones with internet connection. Your feedback is greatly valued.

Finally, as I reflect on our school’s purpose, ‘One Student. One Community. Many Futures.’ I am humbled by the opportunities our staff and community provide for our students and the talent we witness on a daily basis, not just from our students, but our staff as well. With so much on offer it really does personify our ‘school for one’ philosophy and how we, as a community, value the education of our students.

Yours truly,
Karen Lindsay
Executive Principal.

ACF NATIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS CULINARY CHALLENGE 2018

Congratulations is extended to Isaac Mostyn (Year 12) and Michael Bae (Year 11) who represented Queensland at the ACF National Secondary Schools Culinary Competition and won a silver medal for their live hot cookery performance. The students were judged by professional chefs and competed against other school Hospitality teams from New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. This competition was held at Holmesglen TAFE at Glenwaverly in Melbourne, Victoria.

The students had one hour to showcase their skills to prepare and present two a la carte meals. Isaac and Michael demonstrated excellent teamwork, great technique, bench organisation and work flow to produce a quality flavoursome main meal. The judges were very impressed by the high standard displayed and commented that “there were only a few points between all teams”. The students can be extremely proud of their efforts and their dedication to practice for this Australian competition.

A special mention is also extended to Glenn Bacon (Executive Chef – RACV Royal Pines Resort) who mentored the students and willingly gave up his time and shared his expertise, skills and knowledge to prepare the Queensland Team. This support is sincerely appreciated by the school and students.

ACF National Secondary Schools Competition Results include:-

This competition is very encouraging for young chefs of the future. Isaac and Michael diligently applied themselves and their positive attitude and professionalism was acknowledged by the judges. Well done students! Helensvale State High admires your achievement.

Stephanie Wright
ACTING HOD Home Economics / Senior Business
HELENSVALE STATE HIGH

ACE Parades

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

Academic Awards are based on students achieving As & Bs in their subjects for Semester One 2018. 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.

2018 Instrumental Music Band Tour

Forty five very talented Instrumental Music students participated in the Band Tour last week. The tour commenced early on Saturday morning with a performance at the Farmer Markets in Toowoomba, to some very enthusiastic audience members. We then hopped back on the bus and travelled to Goondiwindi where we performed at the Family Bistro at the Goondiwindi Hotel. Goondiwindi is where we stopped for the night before travelling to Dubbo the next day. After a great dinner and a good night’s sleep we performed at the Dubbo Zoo and were well received by the Patrons and the animals!!!! We had a quick tour around the zoo and then departed to make our way to Canberra.

In Canberra we visited Parliament House and drove past all the Embassy Houses and went to the top of Mount Ainslie for an amazing view of Canberra. Our next stop was the War Memorial where students put a Poppy on the Wall of Remembrance and saw the Changing of the Guards. It was certainly an emotional place for many of us and we will never forget the stories and memorabilia of the people who have served our country. On our way back to the accommodation we stopped at the Telstra Tower for a view of Canberra at night. Simply stunning, windy and very cold, but spectacular. Continuing on our journey we stopped in at the Music Department at the Australian National University. The students were fortunate to work with renowned Jazz saxophonist John Mackey, Dr Kim Cunio, HOM Sally Walker and HOS Ken Lampl. They learnt about improvising and many other aspects of music, and were enticed by their phenomenal million dollar recording studio. Hopefully a partnership will eventuate from this wonderful time we shared at ANU.

Back on the bus we hopped and headed for Sydney and a Ghost Tour at the Old Quarantine Station. Many students enjoyed the stories shared and even saw ghosts!!!! The next day, we workshopped with the Royal Australian Navy Band under the direction of Lieutenant Brian O'Kane. Members of their band sat in with the Wind Symphony and worked on music for the upcoming Eisteddfod. It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to work with such talented musicians and experience the feedback from industry professionals. Our next venture took us to Mrs Maquarie's Chair and then on a cruise of the Sydney Harbour. The tour ended with what was definitely a highlight for many of our students, and that was, seeing the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra (best Big Band in the world) perform at the Sydney Opera House. The quality of musicians and their sound as a band was something that a musician does not get to experience often in life.

Thank you to Club Helensvale, The Surrounds, Helensvale SHS P&C and the Helensvale SHS IM Staff, staff and parents for all of their support with this tour. It was an invaluable experience and something that no one will ever forget.

Japanese Languages

Late last term, hundreds of students at Helensvale High participated in an online competition hosted by Education Perfect. It was their famous Language Perfect World Championships 2018. This huge international event sees over 2000 schools taking part involving over 350,000 students from all over the world.

Our Japanese language students answered over 330,000 questions earning us an outstanding ranking of 23rd place out of 824 schools in Australia.

The top ranking students in our school are as follows:

• ELITE Awards – Julian Rogers (2nd place in Japanese in the world; 9th place in the overall Championships; 46,000 points)
• ELITE Awards – Leo Matsuzaki (13,099 points)
• ELITE Awards – Lisa Matsuzaki (12,264 points)
• ELITE Awards – Phoenix Belcher (11,144 points)

The Helensvale Japanese Language department is extremely proud of everyone’s effort in this competition. But special mention must be made for Julian Roger’s effort winning the second place medal for Japanese. Omedetou Julian-san!!!

Bill Turner Trophy

Huge congratulations to our 15yr Girls at the State Bill Turner Trophy Finals, we finished second in QLD and in the final 8 teams Australia-wide. An amazing effort from our girls!!

We won our semi-final against Cairns SHS 3-2 via golden goal extra time, after trailing 2-0 for much of the match. Lilly Rae, our captain, stepped up when needed, scoring twice in the final 15 minutes to force extra time. Jasmine Hewitson in Yr 8 scored the winner.

The final was played on Wednesday, with our girls losing a heartbreaker. We lead after 2 minutes, with Lilly Rae again scoring for us off a headed corner. The girls held on for as long as they could, however, unfortunately leaked a goal with 15 minutes remaining. Extra time again, (with a drop off every 5 minutes). Down to 8v8, with only 10 seconds remaining until a penalty shootout, we conceded. A tough way to lose but an amazing experience nonetheless, SO CLOSE!!!! The winner, Kelvin Grove, now heads to Newcastle for the National Final, featuring the remaining top 4 sides in Australia.

Industry Liaison news

From the Guidance Officers!

Tips for supporting your teenager

Negative body image, body dissatisfaction and eating disorders can have serious impacts on your teenager's mental and physical health. There are a number of ways to spot and address this ranging from observing your teenager's behaviour to seeing a psychologist. If you'd like to learn more about what body image and eating disorders are, read our fact sheet on Body image and eating disorders.

GIPSA Week 4&5

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.

From the Chappies!

Beware Fortnite Scams

As most parents are well aware, Fortnite Battle Royale was released around a year ago, as a free-to-download game that is now available on a multitude of computing platforms. It sees players attempt to stay alive for as long as they can, in games that last around 20 minutes. It features cartoon violence, where players can use a variety of weapons, such as guns and axes, to kill other players. Despite the fact it has been rated suitable for children to play the often ignored age recommendation is 13+.

Fortnite is the biggest game in the world right now, and in some cases, it is being exploited by scammers who try and steal information and money from the young people who play it. Downloading Fortnite is free, but like many other games it has an entire in-game economy of purchasing options. This is how Epic Games, the producers of Fortnite make their money. Players (or their parents) use real money to buy a currency called V-bucks, which can then be traded for cosmetic options and other upgrades within the game. Like anything else, where there is popularity there is the potential for scams and that is what is happening on Fortnite.

Some of the scams are being used across the internet in different forums and in-game through chatting directly to players. The scammers are trying to trick young people into giving up the personal and sensitive information about themselves and their parents. It is being done by offering them free V-bucks and winning them over by chatting with them through headsets. It is the virtual currency that allows people to buy upgrades, and it is the desire to get hold of them that has meant vast numbers of young people are being caught up in the scams. Often, scams are distributed through YouTube, and searching that site for “Free V-bucks” brings up around 4 million results. The videos usually direct children to another site or app away from YouTube with the promise that they will receive free V-bucks.

Voice chat tools within Fortnite could be used to contact young people and ask for personal information. The way the game works means that anyone can get in touch with anyone else playing the game and the feature cannot be fully disabled. In one case, a few weeks ago, we heard of an eight-year-old boy that after sneaking into his mother's purse, gave the random stranger he was chatting to, her driver's license number and credit card details on the promise that he would get free V-bucks in exchange for the information. However, in light of emerging concerns about the risks and scams young people could be exposed to, we are urging parents to be aware of Fortnite’s features.

It is vital parents have regular conversations with their children about the games they are playing, and how to stay safe online. If you are a parent who has been limiting your child’s access to gaming online because you have read about harmful effects, there is enormous amounts of research now that may change your mind. The bulk of the research suggests that the claims about the negative effects of video gaming are largely myths and the positive effects are real. The cognitive and mental skill that online gaming helps young people to develop are among the skills that are increasingly important in today's world.

Some of the positives:

• Improves coordination
• Improves problem-solving skills
• Enhances memory
• Improves attention and concentration
• Improves social skills
• Improved cognitive function
• Young people participating in teams and formulating strategies with their friends to further themselves in the game
• Improved ability to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously
• Overcoming Dyslexia – Dyslexia, in some cases, seems to derive from problems of visual attention. One study showed that as few as 12 hours of video game play improved dyslexic children’s scores on tests of reading and phonology (Franceschini, 2013). The improvement was as great, as or greater than that achieved by training programs that were explicitly designed to treat dyslexia.

Some of the negatives:

• Stranger danger
• Gaming addiction
• In game bullying
• Exposure to violence and gun violence
• Viruses and Malware Scams
• Overspending

Tips for parents:

Set healthy boundaries and strategies, for example, before they play they have to do 15mins of exercise and have exercise breaks regularly through the time that they are gaming.

Keep smart devices and gaming consoles out of the bedroom, keep them in the family room.

Instead of allocating your credit card to the game get your child one of the Visa Debit cards for kids and teach them how to budget by putting their pocket money on it, once they run out! They then have to do more chores to get some more money deposited on the card. Alternatively, trade chores for minutes on the game.

Find out how to block and report before they start using the game, just in case you need it. Make sure they know never to respond if they get asked for any personal information such as where they live, age, etc.

Stranger danger is real, and it is online 24 x 7. Keep talking to your kids about this and if they are talking to someone online that they don’t know they need to make sure that they tell you, and that they know that under no circumstances do they ever meet up with someone they have met online.

We always recommend parents take time out of their busy day and sit and play games with their kids before they allow them to play them on their own.

If you have any questions you can contact us here: wecanhelp@safeonsocial.com

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

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
http://www.schoolzine.com.au/advertisers.html