21 August 2020

Newsletter Articles

Our School Values –

For more info please see the link below:

From the Principal

Dear Helensvale State High School Community

Parents and carers are critical partners with the school in the delivery of student learning and well-being. Parents are our learners’ first teachers and are hugely influential in the learning of each child throughout their schooling journey, and beyond. Learning is lifelong.

As a school community, we work together to impart our learning values of respect, responsibility and resilience. As a school community, we believe in and espouse high expectations for learning, presentation and behaviour.

Together, we are responsible for creating a school culture of high standards, positivity and optimism for our students’ futures.

Whilst parents and carers may struggle with supporting students with physics or specialist maths, we can all engage our children in conversations about their learning. By asking these five simple questions below, you are encouraging your child to think about their learning – what they learn, why they learn and how they learn. At first your child may not be able to answer these questions at a high level. However, if you persist with these questions, your child will start to think more deeply about their learning.

1. What did you learn today?
2. How did you do?
3. What did you do if you didn’t understand?
4. How can you improve on your learning?
5. What are you most proud of?

Student learning and well-being is our core business. If we minimise the distractions by adhering to school policy and procedures in regards to behaviour, uniform and attendance, we can maximise learning time.

Let’s partner together so that we can achieve our vision of ‘each and every student succeeding’.

Yours truly
Karen Lindsay
Executive Principal
Helensvale State High School

Horticulture

The Horticulture department are going to be having weekly specials of their plants for sale. These plants can be ordered from Mr Paech, spaec2@eq.edu.au they will need to be ordered, paid for through the Finance department, and they can also be collected at Finance.

This week’s special is

Japanese Box Special for this week at $7.70 in a 200mm pot.

Buxus Japonica

A hardy, compact, evergreen shrub with glossy, dark green, oval foliage. It grows in full sun, partial shade and tolerates a wide range of soils. Good drainage is essential. It requires minimal water once established, but does prefer moist soils it will tolerate dry conditions. It tolerates frost and prefers warmer regions, as it can withstand heat. Moderately tolerant of coastal positions, needing some protection. It can be used as a border/hedge and is ideal for hedging into formal shapes and topiary. Prune regularly to maintain shape. Height 1 to 3m, width 1.5m. No specific pest or disease problems.

Schools Premier League (SPL)

Senior Boys qualify for the SPL Semi Finals!

Helensvale’s Football Academy recently took on Cavendish Rd SHS and Cleveland SHS in the Schools Premier League group stage, with the winner of each group qualifying for the SPL Semi Finals on Thursday, 13th August.

A massive congratulations to our Senior Boys squad, who put in a complete team effort to graft their way into the semi-final, with a 5-1 win over Cleveland SHS and a 1-1 draw with Cavendish Road SHS. The boys had to watch nervously as Cav Rd SHS and Cleveland SHS went head to head, but in the end we edged out Cav Rd SHS on ‘goals for’ after Cav Rd SHS finished level with us on 4pts. This is a huge achievement from our lads, qualifying for the semi-finals for the first time since our inclusion in the competition 4 years ago and highlighting they can now match it with the well-established schools. The semi-final will be streamed live online thanks to a recent arrangement established between the Schools Premier League and the Courier Mail – exciting stuff!

Despite playing some quality football, scoring some classy goals and giving their best effort, our other 3 sides unfortunately missed qualification. The Senior Girls had a resounding 9-2 win over Cleveland SHS but found it hard to back it up against Cav Rd SHS with the limited turnaround between games, going down 3-1. The Junior Boys were outclassed 5-0 in their first game against Cav Rd SHS, but responded with a quality performance against Cleveland SHS, to win 1-0. Our Junior Girls finished the day undefeated, with a hard fought 0-0 against Cav Rd and a 2-2 against Cleveland SHS. This was a fair effort from a young side, featuring many players in their first year of SPL Football.

Overall, the day finished with 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses, ultimately highlighting the quality young footballers we have at HSHS! An outstanding effort from all involved!

QTIC 2020 – SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Congratulations to Year 12 student, Mackenzie Treloar, and Head of Design, Stephanie Wright, who both achieved ‘runner up’ for the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) 2020 Salute to Excellence Awards. Mackenzie entered the ‘cookery section’ and had to complete a theory test, a skills based test which was video-taped due to Covid19 and a live online interview through Microsoft Teams. This competition was State wide and students were judged by professional chefs. The standard of work was acknowledged as being very high and inspiring under trying conditions. Mackenzie displayed a strong commitment to enter the Salute to Excellence Awards and her passion for the Hospitality Industry is outstanding. Helensvale State High School can be very proud of this achievement for a rising young chef of the future.

Miss Stephanie Wright entered the ‘Teacher / Trainer of the Year’ section and this involved a written submission and a live online interview through Microsoft Teams which lasted an hour. Numerous questions were asked by Hospitality Industry Representatives to Miss Wright.

It was with excitement that Mackenzie and Miss Wright viewed a ‘live announcement’ of this event via a webinar presented by QTIC. A special celebration dinner will be held in Brisbane early 2021 to recognise these successful Salute to Excellence Awards. Well done Mackenzie and Miss Wright.

VISUAL ARTS WANTS YOU!

Visual Arts invites you to join us for 2021 as subject selection is now open!

Benefits to studying in the Visual Arts:

Visual Art is a discipline that is established on skills that are highly desired within the 21st Century which will be beneficial across all areas of further study and future pathways. While courses allow students the opportunity to be exposed within the world of Visual art it will support direct pathways in relation to creativity, problem solving and critical and creative thinking.

Media Arts

Year 9 and 10 Media Arts students have been creating some neat Photoshop artworks this semester.

Year 10

Amie Weisheim (protest unit, Shepard Fairey style)

Year 9

Isabelle Jones (quote poster, colour adjustment)

Luke Vitry-Dahm (clipping mask practice)

ACADEMY IN 2021!

Are you a current student at HSHS? Are you keen to join an Academy Program in 2021? Then it's time to contact an Academy Director and apply.

Applications are available by emailing the relevant Academy Director:

Mr Middleton - EXCITE, Japanese and E4E - DS09

Mr McDonell - Sports (AFL, Football and Netball) - CSR2

Mrs Riches - The Arts (Dance, Drama, Visual Arts) - NSR2

Applications are reviewed alongside your previous two reports before trials are offered. Application and trials must be completed before the end of Week 6 to confirm your place for 2021.

2020 Early School Leavers survey

The Queensland Government is seeking the support of the school community for the annual survey of Year 10, 11 and 12 students who left school in 2019, before completing Year 12. This short, confidential survey collects information about what young people are doing the year after leaving school. The results of the survey help provide valuable information to improve services available to school leavers in the future.

Between August and September, these school leavers can expect to receive instructions to complete a web-based survey or a telephone call from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office. Please encourage them to take part. If their contact details have changed, please assist the interviewer with their updated details or forward the survey to their new address so they can participate.

Thank you for your support of Next Step post-school destination surveys in 2020.

For more information, visit at the link below or telephone toll free on 1800 068 587.

Chat and Chill

From the Guidance Officers

5 ways to wellbeing

At its most basic level, wellbeing is when you’re feeling good and functioning well. It includes feeling physically and mentally well, spiritually aware or connected, and that your life is worthwhile and has purpose.

And the thing is, wellbeing has a multiplier effect. When you’re happy and well, you’re more likely to experience positive relationships with others, a feeling of control over your life and a sense of purpose. By looking after your wellbeing, you’re able to support your students, their parents and other members of the school faculty.

The good news is that you can work on improving your resilience and wellbeing, as well as that of your whole school community. Research demonstrates that there are five key areas to focus on.

Handy Hints for Improving Learning

1. Work space - Have a clearly defined, NEAT space. Use calendars to keep you accountable.
2. Lighting - Natural lighting or a desk lamp is best for learning. Do not use fluorescent lighting as it increases cortisol (stress and anxiety hormone).
3. T.V. – Bad news for you guys; at 17 years of age the optimal amount of TV viewing is half an hour per day. Get out and walk the dog.
4. Sleep - At least 8 hours is essential. Memory consolidation occurs during dream (or REM) sleep. In 8-9 hours of sleep, REM cycles occur cementing learning in your memory, without enough sleep you will have to work much harder to do well.
5. Everyone has time when they learn new information less well. Think of the time you go to sleep, then the time you wake, calculate your sleep midpoint, add twelve hours and around then is your “down time” which is when you learn “less well”. Try not to plan anything particularly challenging at this time, maybe review instead.
6. Breakfast – Eat a good high protein/low carb Breakfast to promote concentration and learning and drink lots of water (it runs your brain).
7. Music - There is a growing evidence that playing instrumental music softly enhances learning. Sorry classical is the best for this.
8. Use scent when you study - Ever smelled something and had memories flood back. Your olfactory nerve is directly linked to the hippocampus (memory centre). Use the same aroma (perfume/after shave) that you use to study during a test.
9. Limit gaming - Some exposure to computer games is good for creative problem solving, teamwork and active participation. Too much can be toxic. Check in with yourself around how much time you are spending gaming and BE HONEST.
10. Try and Limit your part-time work – There is evidence to show that more than ten hours a week can impact your marks

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 at the link below scroll down the page and click on the relevant icon.