13 December 2019

Newsletter Articles

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From the Principal

One Student. One Community. Many Futures.

Dear Helensvale State High School Community

As I write the last newsletter for 2019, I reflect on the many, many achievements and successes we have had as a school community this year. We have continued to progress our school improvement agenda and our aspiration for ‘each and every student to succeed’ has continued to be our focus.

Our learning purpose of One Student, One Community, Many Futures remains strong, thanks to the continued support of students, staff, families and community members. It is what we stand for and celebrate as a community and it is what we rely on during times of adversity.

019 was the year of many firsts and lasts. This was the last year students participated in the Overall Position (OP) system. This was the last year of the Queensland Core Skills (QCS) test. This was the last year of secondary schooling for our ‘half cohort’, a part of the Flying Start initiative, meaning our Year 12s were the last cohort to commence Secondary schooling in Year 8.

This was the first year of implementation of the new Australian Tertiary Achievement Rank (ATAR), commencing with our Year 11 students. This was the year that our senior students had their own dedicated learning space, Karangbah.

This year our focus was on three main improvement priority areas:

1. Teaching for thinking, with a particular focus on reading and inclusion
2. Relationships
3. Building Capability.

Teaching for thinking, with a particular focus on reading and inclusion

Our intentional focus on teaching students how to think rather than what to think has underpinned our teaching and learning agenda. This has included an intentional focus on reading which yielded a significant data shift for our Year 9 students on the NAPLAN test in May. Through a partnership with the University of Queensland and the IMPACT Centre, we are proud to now also have a number of teachers who are part of the state-wide Aspiring Thinkers network. We look forward to measuring the outcomes of this work through the University of Queensland’s Critical Thinking Project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of our teaching at Helensvale SHS.

Relationships

In terms of building relationships, I have really enjoyed my weekly meetings with small groups of parents, family members and carers. The small group parent and carer discussions have provided the community with an opportunity to give me feedback about their experiences as a parent, their children’s experiences and about the general operations and management of the school.

These meetings also gave parents more of an insight into the layers of complexity of providing a high quality educational service in one of the largest secondary schools in the State.

I am certainly going to continue with this initiative next year, commencing with parents of our Year 7 students, as it is a great way to get to know families on a more personal level, something that is always a challenge in any organisation as large as ours.

Building Capability

This year there has been a strong focus on further building the skills of our expert teaching team to stretch our students to high levels. Monday afternoon collaboration time has ensured that our teachers can reflect on their teaching practice, apply new learnings and plan differentiation to achieve greater outcomes for all students. Our leadership team have also been heavily involved in “Learning Together” with particular attention to high impact strategies to prepare students for the rigours of the new senior system.

Thank you to our P & C and School Council

I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the significant input of our Parents and Citizens Association and our School Council. Every conversation, every action, every decision we make is about improving student learning and well-being. Thank you for your valued contribution to the education of our students, your children.

As part of my last newsletter, I outlined the different roles of a School Council and a P & C. I also called for nominations for those parents and carers who would like to be a member of the School Council. If you are interested in nominating for this position please complete the attached nomination form and return to Cindy Hahn chahn13@eq.edu.au. If you would like further information about the School Council I am more than happy to chat on the phone or meet with you in person to provide more detail.

Farewell Mr Finney

It is with much sadness that we say farewell to Mr Andrew Finney. In August 2018 last year Mr Finney came to Helensvale SHS direct from Devon, England, with a very broad accent, a huge smile, enthusiasm and experience by the truckloads. I wish to congratulate Mr Finney who has been appointed to lead a large, multi-school (16) trust in North Devon, England, with a focus on improving student outcomes. While Mr Finney truly deserves this amazing opportunity, our school community is going to miss him dearly. Mr Finney has made such a positive impact on the school during his time here. On behalf of the Helensvale State High School Community, thank you Mr Finney for always putting our students first and all the best with your future endeavours.

It is an honour and privilege to be the Executive Principal of Helensvale State High School. The calibre of our staff and students, together with the ongoing support of the school community, means that together we will continue to be a high demand school that produces outstanding outcomes in all areas of school life.

On behalf of the staff at Helensvale State High School I wish you all a safe, restful and happy holiday. Start-up procedures will be communicated to families prior to the commencement of the 2020 school year.

Yours truly

Karen Lindsay
Executive Principal

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Kids Help Line

Support Staff

As part of our Learning and Well-being framework, we have created a Well-being 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 well-being, 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 below, scroll down the page and click on the relevant icon.