14 February 2020

Newsletter Articles

Our School Values

For more info please see the link below.

From the Principal

Dear Helensvale State High School Community

I trust that you and your students had a smooth start to the school year. It was great to see the students returning from holiday and to welcome our new students to the school. The key messages that I delivered on the year level welcome back assemblies in the first week of school focused on:

• Our learning vision: As a school community we aspire for each and every student to succeed;
• Engaging with our learning purpose of ‘One Student. One Community. Many Futures’, as this will set the foundation for a supportive environment conducive to learning;
• Goal setting and what students would like to achieve this year; and
• Reminding students of our high expectations as a school community in terms of their learning, attendance and behaviour.

If your child is finding it difficult to settle into the school environment, please contact your child’s year level Dean or Guidance Officer in the first instance, as they are always on hand to provide individual support to our students.

The key messages to our students during our week 2 assembly focussed on learning. We spoke about the three ways homework is set:

1. By the teacher with a set time for short-term completion
2. By the assessment program where an assignment is completed over a longer period of time.
3. Independently by the student as they study, preview and review classwork, find alternative explanations of content.

So if your child comes home and says they have no homework, ask them about their upcoming assessments and encourage them to do some revision work. There is always homework to be done.

We introduced the following research based three tips to boost learning:

1. Spread out learning: For long-term retention, spacing study sessions apart is far more effective than when information is learned on one long session. Revise regularly, whether it is done weekly or each day. This could be your homework.
2. Mix things up: Mixing up the practice of several interrelated skills can boost performance in the long run. Known as ‘interleaving’, this method can improve motor learning.
3. Minimise distractions: Reduce the amount of distractions including mobile phones, social media and television. Avoid multitasking as it can impair both long term and short term memory.

(Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland, and the Science of Learning Research Centre. qbi.uq.edu.au/learning and slrc.org.au)

We also spoke about the importance of goal setting and having a study plan. Students were emailed two learning tools; one tool was for goal setting and one tool was for creating their own study plan. These tools are courtesy of the University of Southern Queensland. Please click on the links below to access these tools. Perhaps you could spend some time with your student discussing their goals for this term. Digital literacy refers to the skills needed to live, learn and work in a society where communication and access to information is dominated by digital technologies like mobile phones. Technology has evolved so quickly that it now fits so seamlessly into our everyday lives.

However, the benefits brought about through these diverse technologies can be easily overshadowed by deliberate misuse which harms others, disrupts learning or takes us away from building face-to-face connections with others.

At Helensvale State High School, throughout Term 1, we will be asking students to engage with digital technology in a positive manner and encourage them to reflect on their own use of mobile devices. This will take the form of a weekly ‘Vale Detox Challenge’. Our hope is that these challenges will be embraced by our whole school community, igniting conversations that support our students to understand that while technology keeps us connected to the world and watch the latest shows, we must have the power to put the smartphones down and walk away (Chris Wright, 2017).

Our first challenge asks students to analyse and reflect on their mobile usage. By using the tracking functions of Screen time (IPhone) and Digital Wellbeing (Samsung) students can see their personal data around apps, notifications, screen time and number of engagements with their mobile. The goal of challenge 1 is to increase awareness and help put in perspective the fine balance that exists between our digital and real worlds. How to guides for these tracking functions and parental settings can be found on both Apple and Samsung Websites.

At Helensvale SHS we believe in One Student, One Community, Many Futures and see the value in engaging our whole school community including students, staff and parents/carers. For this reason, we ask that you support your child by considering taking part in the Vale Detox Challenges each week and speaking with your student around their success (or otherwise) with each challenge.

Take care.
Karen Lindsay
Executive Principal
Helensvale State High School.

Queensland ATAR

From 2020, the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) will replace the Overall Position (OP) as the standard pathway to tertiary study for Queensland Year 12s.

The ATAR is the primary mechanism used nationally for tertiary admissions and indicates a student’s position relative to other students.

The ATAR will be introduced for students commencing Year 11 in 2019, who will graduate from the end of 2020 and seek entry to tertiary courses commencing from 2021.

QTAC will calculate ATARs for Queensland school leavers.

Communication

This year at Helensvale SHS we are looking at improving the use of communication channels.

Website

Our website is the main source of whole-school information and is your first point of call. The website should provide you with the information you require. All enrolment information, various policies, staff contacts and permission forms can be found here, as well as current school news and the school calendar. If for some reason the website does not provide you with the information you are looking for, it will direct you to the information source. We do endeavour to keep the website as current and relevant as possible.

Emails

Parents / carers and students may receive important information through this communication channel from administration and teaching staff. Parents are advised to regularly check their junk email if they are not receiving school emails. It is important that the school is advised when email addresses are changed, so vital information is received.

Facebook/Social Media

Facebook is a snapshot of good news stories and celebrations, as well as for short notice announcements. This information is available to parents, students and community. If you have any queries please be sure to check the website in the first instance as this is where we communicate much of our information.

Newsletter

The Newsletter is an avenue where we are able to share information and stories in greater detail. We attempt to get numerous photos of events etc. that we cannot include on Facebook.

Face to Face

There are opportunities throughout the year to meet with staff face to face. We have two Parent-Teacher meetings per year, regular Parents and Citizens Association meetings and many open events where students are able to share their learnings with parents.

South East Region Indigenous Art Competition

Year 12 Block Exams

Please be aware exams are approaching

Senior Schooling

Benefits of Study Groups through Year 12

Everyone in year 12, at one point, has been told that they definitely need to form study groups in order to maximise their effort and make their cohort benefit as a whole. Sometimes, it is not clear why it benefits you or how to do so successfully.

Below are three things you need to know and what you can do to get the most out of a study group.

Benefit 1: Teachers Learn the Most

It’s proven that when you’re able to teach someone a concept, you’re able to understand and explain that concept much more proficiently. More commonly referred to as the Learning by Teaching effect, or, The Protégé Effect, by retrieving the relevant information and having to explain the information, you not only train your ability to recall relevant information it will also strengthen the ability to convey the concept in an understandable manner. This will help for exams immensely, as you will need to be able to remember the correct information for the given question, yet also be able to relay that information to the marker in a manner that is understandable. In essence, if you can teach other students what you know, you can teach the markers what you know.

Being a part of a study group or running a study group allows you to memorise concepts much more effectively, and be able to explain them a lot more proficiently. It helps if other students in your study group have a similar studious work ethic similar to your own, and are willing to put in the effort needed to contribute to the study group. This would mean that not much time is wasted on learning/teaching/revising easy/basic terms, and you can get straight to covering harder concepts and planning for longer responses.

For example, members of your study group may come in and ask about a certain topic, which would allow you to examine how well you knew that harder topic/concept. There may even be times where you may realise that you don’t understand as well as you need to – which is ok! It’s much better to realise a deficit in your knowledge when studying with your group than in a test, especially because you won’t really get judged by your group mates for getting something wrong!

Benefit 2: Social Skills & Communication

There are also indirect, yet just as helpful benefits of being a member of a study group, which can help beyond your school life. Specifically, when managing and coordinating a study group, you gain skills in collaboration and leadership, allowing you to be more confident when speaking to multiple people. This is especially helpful for things such as job interviews and just generally socialising more, and in life.

It also allows you to connect with the people in your study group better. For instance, one of the students within your study group may barely know anyone, but afterwards, they may become great friends due to the time you spent together!

Benefit 3: Time Management

Whilst quite subtle, this benefit is still important and may add one more thing to your already busy Year 12 schedule, meaning you will have to employ better time management in order to execute study groups more effectively. As a consequence, running or participating in a study group/s will teach you the importance of planning, and make you much more likely to plan, allowing you to accomplish a lot more in much less time. Time management is actually a fairly common trait amongst the most successful students, as you are able to revise and recap on concepts and learn strategies to do really well - while still being able to honour your co-curricular or part-time employment commitments. Effective time management is extremely common among students who achieve 98+ ATARs. Time Management is such an important skill that is vital to train yourself in, and something as simple as a study group, that allows you to train this skill will be very important, not just for school, but for life.

Overall, study groups, when you get similarly hard working student like you, can be immensely beneficial to you and the members, not just in your schooling life, but your life in general. So, why not ask around – find students you know who will put in the time, and start a study group right away!

Additional Support

Do you know that Helensvale SHS offers after school tutorials?

We also offer:

Chat & Chill (homework club), run by school staff, Mon, Wed, Thurs 3-4pm, SWELL

Swimming Carnival

Guidance Officers

Welcome back to term 1. My name is Delaney Bassett and I am newly appointed as the Guidance Officer for years 7 and 8. I thank staff, families and students for the warm welcome I have received at Helensvale State High School.

Guidance Officers provide confidential services, in accordance with education policy and legislative requirements. I work closely with external agencies to support student’s positive mental health and wellbeing. Students are able to make an appointment by either dropping by my office located in SWELL or emailing me directly at dbass19@eq.edu.au

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Knowing where, when and how to get help around mental health and wellbeing is vital for everyone, particularly for young people. People come in all different shapes and sizes, and so too does mental health help. Young people can access help online, via the phone and in person at school or via an outside service. Whether a young person thinks the thought is silly, more serious, or an emergency, there are services in your community where trained professionals can assist.

Online and Email Help

A lot of services like Lifeline, Headspace and Kids Helpline offer online chat or email counselling to make it easy for kids to talk to someone.

Face to Face Help

A lot of the time, it's best to chat to someone face-to-face about what you're going through. Working out what's going on will be much easier and quicker if you have professional help. If it's a mental health question, your doctor is actually a good place to start - they can give a quick assessment and help find someone in your area for you to talk to. They can also write a referral which can help 'introduce you to a service.'

Where to Start

To find out more information regarding support and available resources see the Student Well-being Hub, Parent Well-being Hub and Online Safety Hub.

I look forward to a great year supporting students to maximize wellbeing and student learning outcomes.

Delaney Bassett
Guidance Officer

Student Services/ Hub

Student Services has been redesigned over the holidays and is now the Student Hub. The Student Hub is now for the exclusive use of students, therefore all students will now need to be collected from the Administration office and not the Student Hub.

Please see below for updated procedures:

Notification of Student Absence2s

Helensvale State High School has a dedicated line to receive messages regarding student absences and late arrivals.

Please note this line is for SMS only, not voice messages.

Please send an SMS to 0457 478 277 in the following format:

• Students full name.
• Date & duration of absence, or expected time of arrival.
• Reason for absence/lateness.

Please use this as your preferred method of notification and add this number to your contacts. The School will continue to request advice from parents/carers for unexplained absences if you have not notified us. Notifying the School will minimise the need for these investigations.

Alternatively, you can advise us by email: 2184_studentabsences@eq.edu.au

Late Arrivals

Parents/guardians should advise the school if their student is going to be late, prior to their arrival, by sending an SMS to 0457 478 277 or by giving them a note. The students MUST sign in at the Student Hub (formally Student Services) upon arrival at school or they will be marked absent. If accompanied by a parent/carer they must sign in at Administration.

Please note: If the student does not have a note, or we have not received a phone call, they will automatically receive a lunch time detention.

Early Departures

Students should not leave school grounds without first signing out through the Administration office. In the case of an emergency, we need to know the whereabouts of ALL students.

• Please be advised that there are no phones in classrooms to contact teachers and/or students so the only way a student will be permitted to leave class early is by prior arrangement with the Student Hub.
• If you know your student has an appointment, please send him/her to school with a note. This should be brought to the Student Hub before school or during break times to receive a leave request. Students will not be allowed to leave class, without a leave request.
• Students are unable to leave class, unless previously organised, due to the impact these interruptions have on individual and class learning time. If unforeseen circumstances occur, we are happy to attempt to contact students during break times to issue a pass, enabling them to be released from class.
• The student must be collected from the Administration office by a parent/carer or someone listed as an emergency contact.

Please note we are unable to do ‘call outs’ for students when Block Exams are taking place.

GIPSA/Wellbeing Days

On GIPSA/Wellbeing days, students do an alternative program and are not in their timetabled classes. Therefore, we are unable to locate students for early collection so this MUST be pre-arranged.

Students Unwell During School Time:

• If a student feels unwell during lesson time, they MUST NOT contact their parent/guardian directly. They must report it to their teacher who will then send them to Sick Bay in Student Hub.
• If a student feels unwell during break time they must go to Sick Bay.
• The student will be assessed and if necessary, the parent/carer will be contacted to collect their child. If we are unable to make contact with the parent/carer, the student will be allowed to rest for 15 minutes before returning to class.
• It is vitally important that your contact details are up to date and you check your phone for messages.
• If a parent/carer is asked to collect their student that is unwell they must be collected from the Administration office.

General Information

• Students should collect lost items and report any missing items at the Student Hub.
• If your child has forgotten something and you are required to bring it to school, please take it to the Administration office and advise your student to collect it from the Student Hub.
• The Student Hub can hold medication only if it is prescribed by a G.P and is in the original packaging showing the pharmacists label. Medication should be brought to the Administration office and the relevant paperwork must be completed, signed by the parent/carer before the medication can be held.

Administration Office Hours

Monday and Friday: 8am – 3:30pm
Tuesday – Thursday: 8am – 4pm

Finance Hours

Monday – Thursday: 8am – 1:45pm
Uniform Shop Hours
Monday – Thursday: 8am – 12pm

Uniform Shop Hours

Monday – Thursday: 8am – 12pm

School Chaplaincy

Introducing our Chaplaincy Service

Helensvale State High School has had a chaplaincy service since 1998 with the first Chaplain being Loretta Tyler-Moss. The chaplaincy service is currently funded by the Federal National Schools Chaplaincy Program and supported by the Parents and Citizens Association of Helensvale State High School, as well as local churches and individuals. The chaplaincy service is managed by the school. We have two chaplains who are employed by Scripture Union, servicing our school. Chappy Long Bradley has been at our school for 20 years and also has been school chaplain at Helensvale State School for thirteen years. Chappy Julia joined us at the end of Term 3 in 2019.

The chaplaincy service is a non-denominational program that provides pastoral care to all students, staff and families of our Helensvale State High School community. Chappy Julia and Chappy Long are line-managed by our Deputy for Well-being and work closely alongside our Student Support Services staff which includes our Guidance Officers, School-based Health Nurse, and Deans of Students.

The chaplains provide one-to-one pastoral care for students, run in-class support programs as well as lunch-time student programs. Our chaplains have a broad experience in supporting students and families with a variety of matters. If you would like to access the chaplaincy service please contact the school and speak to our office staff, one of our deputies or directly with Chappy Long or Chappy Julia. Chappy Julia is here Wednesdays and Fridays, and Chappy Long is here Mondays, Tuesday mornings, Thursdays and Friday mornings. You can also contact the chaplains via 2184_chaplain@eq.edu.au.

The chaplaincy service is overseen by the Helensvale Combined Schools Chaplaincy Committee which is made up of representatives from Helensvale State High School, Helensvale State School, local churches and interested members. We would like to invite you to come and check out our meetings and see if it's something you would be interested in being a part of. Thank you.

Cubby Houses For Sale – 2 Styles

Style 1

We currently have for sale 4 Cubby houses which our year 12 Building & Construction classes have built. They are 3.4m long x 2.4m wide and are constructed to be put directly on the ground or elevated so a slippery slide can be attached.

The Style 1 Cubbies are designed to be flat packed and can be easily transported on a car trailer (a trailer that you transport a car on). They are too big and heavy to be transported in a ute, tray back or regular trailer. They are superbly built and would be a great outdoor play feature. The Cubbies are priced at $1500 which is well below the material cost

Style 2

PLEASE NOTE – Style 2 cubby house is to be transported as a “whole house” and cannot be flat packed. It is strong and sturdy with good wide windows and front door. It has a pitched roof with gable ends and a cute front verandah. All cubby houses are left in natural timber, so you can paint them to your choice of colours. Please let Stephanie Wright know if you are interested swrig35@eq.edu.au

Please contact Stephanie Wright (swrig35@eq.edu.au or 55738553) to find out more or to organise a viewing of the Cubbies, it will be worth your while.

Please see the school finance department to make payment for the cubby houses

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.