8 December 2020

Newsletter Articles

Our School Values –

For information on upcoming events please see the school calendar

From the Principal

Dear Helensvale State High School Community

With this being the final newsletter for 2020, I’d like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest thanks to you all. From starting the year with severe flooding; to the beginning of the COVID-19 health pandemic; transitioning to the learning at home period; to guiding our first cohort of Year 12s through new QCE system; together our commitment and dedication to ensuring every student succeeds has truly been inspiring.

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.

This year we celebrated the school’s 30th Anniversary. Whilst we started the year with grandiose plans to have a gala event and open day for all families past and present, like most things, we had to re-plan according to COVID guidelines. We still did a lot of celebration, just in other ways.

At the request of students, we introduced a theme for the year, which was aptly named ‘Be Extraordinary’. At the time of deciding this theme, we could not have imagined how extraordinary this year would be, or how extraordinary our students, staff and families were going to be at adapting so quickly and so often.

I am going to remember this year for our foray into online learning platforms and our journey into the virtual world of Skype, Microsoft Teams, OneNote, MyEDiary, Collaborate and live streaming. We learned a lot, and we learned it fast. We stayed connected, we relied on and supported each other, and we succeeded.

I am going to remember how excited we were when the remote learning directive lifted and the students came back to school. The school was a shell without the students, as the students are the heart and soul of Helensvale SHS.

Student voice continued to strengthen and be further embedded in our school culture as demonstrated through the establishment of our Student Council and other programs such as the ‘Vale Voice’ video series.

This is the first year our Year 12 cohort has experienced External Assessments as part of the new Senior Assessment and Tertiary Education system. I wish our exiting Year 12s all the best.

There have been extensive improvements in our grounds and facilities, including installation of solar panels on Karangbah, air conditioning to most parts of the school (ready for use in 2021), and extensive work in our grounds. We were also successful in our application for the School Subsidy Scheme, which will provide an additional three outdoor learning spaces for our students which are in construction now.

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.

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. I am excited to be working with you all again in 2021 and building on the successes we have achieved together this year.

On behalf of the Helensvale State High School staff I wish you all a safe, restful and happy holiday. Start-up procedures will be communicated to families prior to the commencement of Term 1, 2021.

Yours truly
Karen Lindsay
Executive Principal

Broadwater School Sport Trials – 2021

Just a reminder that if you are wishing to trial for Broadwater for the following sports, the deadlines are extremely tight next year. These nominations are due in first week of 2021.

Please come to the Sport (SAC Staffroom) to nominate, collect the relevant permission forms and receive any additional information.

Please be aware the Broadwater School Sport Policy states you must have experience in the sport you are nominating for.

There will be more trials advertised at the start of next year.

Student work

A young man allowed me to read his English short story, and I was so very impressed, I felt the need to include for your reading pleasure. Thanks Jack from Year 8.

“It’s alright, now quickly get out of here before- “

Simons sentence was cut short when the support beam under his chest screeched and groaned.

“NO!” Lucas screamed. He tried to help Simon, but Simon pushed him away.

“RUN!” Simon shouted. CRUUUNCH! He looked down in shock, and the beam gave way.

Simon was falling. Plummeting. The ground rushed up to him like a bully throwing a punch, and he was the victim. But he knew, this punch was not going to hurt. 200 metres. 100. Metres. 50 metres, and then, the world went black.

The hum of drills and hammering filled the air that morning as voices of dozens of people were carried away by the wind 2000 metres in the air. It was dangerous work, it always had been, but the men fearlessly walked along support beams; nothing but a hard hat and an eye-piercing orange vest, magnified ten times by the endless glare of the sun. The skyscraper was going to be colossal. Men were carrying sheets of metal and glass; others were sitting on ledges shooing away birds as they ate their lunch.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard a scream that held only one message - fear and desperation! Simon shot to his feet and scanned the building. It was so huge, so unbelievably large that he could not pinpoint the location. Another scream. This one so full of terror he felt like screaming himself.

There. A man named Lucas was dangling off a crossbeam yelling for help. There was already a group of men looking down at him, their faces full of concern. They all knew he was in such a precarious position that if anyone tried to pull him up, he would plummet to his death - pulling them with him. But Simon knew - if he did not save him, Lucas’s death would forever poke at his mind. The place was completely silent now, everyone had stopped their work and stared. Staring in complete shock of what was happening.

Lucas nodded vigorously, he shut his eyes tight and tears streamed down his face. Simon hooked his feet under a metal beam and grabbed Lucas’s hand. His hand was slick with sweat, but Simon held on fast. Lucas managed to scramble up and collapse onto the bar.

“Thank you!” Lucas exclaimed. “Thank you so much!”

Simon’s eyes focussed back onto the present. There was a pain in his chest, but even as he gingerly touched the wound, he could see and feel it closing under his fingertips. The pain was fading, and then it was gone. He got to his feet, he was shaky, but he could stand. It had happened before, dying. Coming back to life. He was not invincible, no. he still felt the pain, Every. Single. Time. He would die and then wake up in a different timeline, sometimes hundreds of years would pass. It was Simons curse, his second chance at life forever.

Unless.

“You will only be free of this life,” the man, cloaked in darkness had told Simon, “when you save a human life.”

But then, where was Simon? He had saved Lucas’s life, hadn’t he?

Simon was blinded by a brilliant flash of light, so bright he felt he was being blinded. His eyes adjusted like a camera lens focussing. But wait, was that?

Yes! It was the same man that gave Simon this life! Although, he was not cloaked in darkness anymore, but it was light that enveloped him.

“Well”, he said. “You have saved a life, Lucas is now safe with his family because of you.”

And Simon would never forget the final words that the man said.

He said, “You’re free to go.”

From the Industry Liaison Officer

Traineeship Opportunities

Vacancies are still available for Vocational Pathway students currently in Year 10 and Year 11. Positions are emailed to students and parents regularly. Get paid while gaining a qualification when doing a school based traineeship and earn up to 8 QCE points! A variety of traineeships are on offer with a focus on business, hospitality and retail. If you need help putting a resume together please email me on lbell138@eq.edu.au

• External Courses: Some external courses still have vacancies so if you would like to do a course one day per week please see me to complete the enrolment paperwork.
• Year 12 school leavers: Your school email address will deactivate shortly, if you would like me to update you on any full time job opportunities, please send me your private email address.
• Year 12 school leavers should check the following links for full time job opportunities: http://srajobs.sarinarusso.com/Vacancies/
  https://www.busyatwork.com.au/support-jobseekers/jobs/
  https://www.megt.com.au/job-board

If you are having trouble deciding on what type of a career path to take have a look at this website under Career Quiz!

Congratulations to all our Year 12’s on completing school and the best of luck for your future endeavours.

Lisa Bellamy
Industry Liaison Officer

2021 LAPTOP PROGRAM

Please be aware that every enrolled student for the 2021 school year must have had their parent/carer complete our laptop program survey. This survey has already been emailed to the parent community and each Thursday we are sending reminders with the survey link to those who have not as yet completed the survey.

This document is also important, as it also contains an agreement called the Acceptable Use Policy that must be understood and accepted by parents, carers and students in order for your child to gain Internet and network access on campus.

We no longer issue printed forms for completion – just this survey to gather all the required information we need for the laptop program.

Contact scarr25@eq.edu.au if you require further clarification or have related questions.

Needing a laptop for your child for the 2021 school year? We recommend our:

BYOD – VENDOR PORTAL

• Below you will find links to the BYOD portals of the two vendors who have partnered with Helensvale for many years in our BYOD program.
• Whilst it is not mandatory, we STRONGLY ENCOURAGE purchasing your child’s laptop from one of these vendors, as:
• They have for many years manufactured robust laptops for the education environment.
  o It takes the stress out of finding the right laptop to meeting the minimum requirements and network compatibility of the school.
  o It eliminates sales pressure.
  o Every laptop on each site includes 3 years onsite warranty as well as 3 years accidental damage protection insurance (ADP) in their pricing.
  o Any warranty, accidental damage or non-warranty repairs can be logged and processed by HSHS school techs, and conducted by vendors on the school site, thus taking the hassle out of purchaser/vendor communication, delivery and pickup.
• Upon entry to each site, you will note that both vendors have categorised their laptop products as basic, standard and premium (or words to that effect).
• Every laptop meets the minimum standards required by Helensvale SHS.
• Typically, unless a student is studying senior subjects such as: Graphic, Film & TV or Cert III Media, they would not require a premium model.
• Note below the website entry points of each vendor in the 2nd column and other relevant information in the final column.

Holiday Programs

Uniform Shop

From the Guidance Officers

Some ideas from QLD Health

Looking after your mental health this holiday season

Finding ways to look after yourself at Christmas can help you stay healthy and happy throughout the holidays.

The silly season can be a time of fun and frivolity, but it can also take its toll on our mental health. Spending time with or without family and friends, financial stresses, packed calendars and long to-do lists might seem overwhelming, and more stressful than day-to-day life.

Follow these tips to help you take care of your mental wellbeing throughout the holidays.

Recognise stress

Ongoing stress or anxiety isn’t normal, even if it seems like everyone around you is a little bit on edge at Christmas time. Stress can manifest itself in  lots of different ways ; from feeling  moody or irritable , to having trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, or getting upset or hurt feelings easily.

If you catch yourself starting to feel stressed, you can try techniques like  relaxation , taking a break to do something you enjoy, writing down all the things you have to do, or doing some exercise to help you find some calm.

Learn more about how to recognise stress and some solutions for managing it from our article  ‘How to deal with stress this holiday season’ .

You think what you eat

We’ve all seen a kid hyped up on sugar, and the tantrum-filled ‘come down’, but as adults we often forget that what we’re eating might impact how we’re feeling mentally.  Your diet and your mental health are linked,  with researchers finding that food not only has an impact on our mental health when we eat it, but it can  alter our gut bacteria , which can affect mood, too.

Before you indulge in heaps of sugary or processed food over the holidays, think about how they might make you feel afterwards. If you’re looking for healthy alternatives, check out our party food recipes on  Healthier. Happier.

Understand how alcohol affects you

As your body gets alcohol out of your system, your blood sugar levels drop, which actually stresses your brain out. This can lead to  feelings of anxiousness  and worry, and can be especially concerning if you have an  anxiety disorder .

Lots of people drink to relax or in an attempt to rid themselves of worries or anxiety for a few hours, but if this comes with a hefty dose of anxiousness, you might need to rethink this coping mechanism.

If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s alcohol or other drug use, call  Alcohol and Drug Information Service (ADIS) , a free, 24/7 anonymous and confidential telephone counselling and information service on 1800 177 833.

Take a day off

The silly season can sometimes feel like everything is ‘go, go, go’ with no ‘stop’ in sight. But you don’t have to do every activity or go to every party if you’re not feeling up to it. Take a  ‘mental health day’  (or afternoon, or hour) and excuse yourself from the fray for some good quality you time.

See a professional

It can be easy to  talk yourself out of getting help  for your mental wellbeing. But if you’ve been not feeling ‘yourself’ – which could be feeling angry, sad, stressed or irritable – for two weeks or more, it’s time to talk to a professional about it. Book an appointment with your GP, call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) for 24-hour confidential health advice, or find a  mental health service in your area .

If you need to talk to someone right now, the below hotlines offer support:

Lifeline:  visit the website  or call 13 11 14
Beyond Blue:  visit the website  or call 1300 22 4636
Mental Health Access Line : 1300 642255

Always call Triple Zero (000) if you think it's an emergency.

Look out for your mates

Holidays, Christmas and the New Year can also be stressful for those around us. If you’re worried about someone, we’ve written this guide to  speaking with a mate about mental health , or call Triple Zero (000) if you think it’s an emergency.

Parent Resources

The Reachout website has some amazing resources to help parents and their children work through any adversity that they may face.

Support Staff

As part of our Learning and Well-being framework, we have created a Well-being Hub for students and parents, which can be 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.