26 February 2019

Newsletter Articles

Our School Values –

Reminder what’s coming up

February

28 School Photo Catch up

March

1 Clean up the Vale 3-4pm
8 Stem Girls Day
9 Year 6 EXCITE Exam
10-13 Instrumental Music Camp

From the Principal

Dear Helensvale State High community,

‘Every student deserves a great teacher, not by chance, but by design’. (Hattie, Fisher and Frey, 2016)

Here at Helensvale State High School we take our vision of ‘success for every student’ very seriously. As one of only two secondary schools in Queensland accredited as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) At Work school, we believe in the three big ideas of a PLC, which are:

1. A focus on learning
2. A focus on collaboration; and
3. A focus on results.

Each Monday the school day for most students finishes at 2.15pm. From 2.15pm to 4.30pm teachers meet in collaborative, professional learning and curriculum teams where they engage in a cycle of inquiry to answer five questions we believe are critical to student success:

1. What do all students need to learn? (refinement of a guaranteed and viable curriculum)
2. What will quality instruction look like? (our teaching and learning framework)
3. How we will know if our students have learnt it? (through analysis of formative and summative assessment)
4. What intervention will we provide for those students who know, understand and can do the work?
5. What support will we need to provide for those students who do not yet know the work?

This focus on curriculum, instruction and assessment is the core work of our teachers and we are dedicated in providing the support needed to achieve this.

SKILL and WILL. Two vital ingredients for success!

Helensvale is very passionate about its ‘one student’ philosophy and so ensuring success for each and every student is something we take very seriously. In line with these core beliefs is our WILL and SKILL program. We have been trialling this system of interventions throughout the 2018 school year, however 2019 will see this really come to life. SKILL sessions are committed to ensuring students receive extra time and support to learn concepts they don’t quite have yet. WILL sessions are for students who have the skills necessary to complete the tasks however have neglected to submit their work for what could be a variety of reasons. These sessions will become increasingly more frequent on a Monday afternoon at 2.15pm so we can support these students as they are identified by teachers.

Our aim is to develop both the SKILL and the WILL in our students to ensure success is possible. It really is amazing what can be achieved when the necessary capability is combined with a growth mind set and the genuine drive to reach our goals! Watch this space for 2019 as you will be hearing more about this innovative program.

A Professional Learning Community is an exciting journey and we are deeply committed to continual growth and to embedding this culture in our school as “the way we do things”. We look forward to working with our community as we move forward.

Karen Lindsay
Executive Principal

From Our Deans

Each year level has a Dean who is responsible for student matters. If your child has an issue, they can always visit the Deans, who will help guide them in the direction they need to go for help. They live in SM02, near the office.

Important Pick up and drop off info

Coomera Police have informed the school that they have recently had some complaints about the traffic around pick-up and drop-off times, specifically the illegal parking. They aim to implement increased patrols and enforcement to counteract the issue. The additional police patrols at these peak hours will increase the safety of the students who are coming and going from school.

From our Year 7 Dean

Dear Year 7 students and families, my name is Jarrod Baker and I am the Year 7 Dean of Students for 2019. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to Helensvale SHS and congratulate you all on a fantastic start to high school!

I have been extremely impressed by the way in which all students have adjust to life at Helensvale should be proud of the way they upheld the school values by being respectful, responsible and of course resilient.

2019 promises to be exciting and successful year for all Year 7 students and even though I have not had the opportunity to meet all 434 students and their families, I look forward to sharing this journey with you all. Whether, attendance, your uniform, your behaviour in class and in the playground, I will be working with you all to uphold the school values and strive to improve each and every day.

I extremely fortunate to be a teacher at Helensvale SHS and even more proud to say that I am the Year 7 Dean.

Looking forward to meeting you soon,
Jarrod Baker

Reading Corner

Hi everyone,

My name is Miss Garibaldi and I am the Key teacher of reading for Helensvale State High School. This year I will be sharing what is happening in our classroom and some tips and tricks for you and your students to help continue to build our love for reading. Keep your eyes out for what is to come next week…

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader,

Miss Garibaldi

English Department

Project Persuasion

Here are just some of our Year 9 EXCITE students participating in “Project Persuasion” to enhance their argumentative writing skills. Here they are listening to Mel Fainges our Curriculum Dean and HPE extraordinaire on the topic of Compulsory Sport in Schools. Students devised questions using the values of inquiry to put to Ms Fainges who was “kept on her toes” by the students’ hard hitting questions. It is hoped that students’ connection with community on interesting and controversial topics will result in the development of critical thinking, effective communication skills and sophisticated writing styles.

Kirsty Scott HOD Junior English

Swim Carnival

So this year due to the size of our school, and availability of venues, the swim carnival was a voluntary event. There was a good number of students who were amazing in their participation. They put in 100% effort and there were some outstanding efforts on the day. Thanks to all the staff and students who made this day great!!

The Arts Department

Welcome to our Arts Academy students and families for what is sure to be a fantastic 2019! Helensvale SH offers Arts Academy programs in Visual Art, Dance, Drama and Music. For all questions regarding your students’ curriculum experiences, please feel free to contact their classroom Academy Teacher or for inquiries about our programs and application processes, please contact the Director of Arts Academy, Mrs Lauren Riches at lrich225@eq.edu.au

What’s happening in Ms Rodriguez’s classes

Here is a bit of a summary of what we are learning in BAM (Body & Mind) and HNU (Health & Nutrition):

7N & 7F BAM: we are learning about the importance of protecting ourselves from the sun, the risks of skin cancer and the different types of skin cancer. Students are understanding the dangers of sun tanning and how important it is to protect ourselves from the sun in Australia, and Queensland in particular.

8G & 8K BAM: This unit is about drugs and alcohol, and the risks that they have. This week we learnt about taking risks and also about the effect that drugs can have to our system.

9P BAM: We are learning about the health of Indigenous communities in Australia. Our students are having discussions about indigenous communities and how their health can be affected because of different factors. We are also learning and practicing different indigenous games and how some of them are very similar to the games/sports that are nationally and internationally known and practiced.

10A HNU: In HNU we are learning the meaning of health, what it actually means to be healthy and what it is for us to be healthy. We are also learning the 6 different components of health (physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and environmental) and how they are all connected within us. The students are learning the important of trying to keep all six of our health components healthy in order to have a healthier lifestyle.

Support Staff

As part of our Learning and Wellbeing framework, we have created a wellbeing hub for students and parents, which can accessed through the Helensvale State High School webpage. The hub includes links to other websites and apps which can help to support student wellbeing, as well as provide information on career pathways. To access these ‘well-being hubs’, click on the icons below, or, go to the HSHS website (https://helensvaleshs.eq.edu.au/), scroll down the page and click on the relevant icon.