26 June 2015

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

One Student, One Community, Many Futures

Collaboration and Innovation Grant

We received some great news last week when we were awarded a Collaboration and Innovation grant to the value of $450,000. The funding will be used to partner with our local primary schools to create the first Queensland accredited Professional Learning Community (PLC) in each school.

The goal of the project is to personalise learning outcomes for all students and to ensure that every student can achieve to a high level. A key feature of this project will be teachers collaborating within and across schools to develop a P-12 Curriculum Map, a whole school Assessment Framework and targeted teacher professional learning based on student achievement data. Research from all around the world indicates that these things combined will have a significant positive impact on student learning.

The basic premise of the project is to support teachers to collaborate and reflect on their teaching strategies to better meet the needs of the student learners. Better teaching that is targeted to the interests and needs of each student improves motivation, sense of ownership and learning progress. Ultimately, the success of the project will be measured via the learning outcomes and student voice. Are our students better connected to learning and do they get the support and feedback they need to be the very best learners they can be?

Australian Business Week (ABW)

Our Year 11 school students are this week participating in the Northern Collegiate ABW. ABW is an Australian wide enterprise education program that helps students prepare for life beyond the classroom by providing real world business learning opportunities. The students work in teams and appoint their own CEO to manage a simulated multimillion dollar hotel resort business. They invest in the share market, complete financial analysis and create their own promotional website and trade display.

Each team is paired with a local business mentor who supports students through the decision making process. The learning experience is rich because it is real world, community and problem based learning. Students will also all attend an awards ceremony and celebration dinner on the final evening of the week.

Finally, thank you to all students and parents/carers for their ongoing support and feedback across the semester. We look forward to seeing all our students back after the winter vacation for another exciting semester of learning.

SCHOOL MUSICAL

Who Will Buy a Ticket?

In July, Helensvale State High is bringing the Tony and Academy Award winning classic OLIVER! to the Arts centre stage. The logistics of staging a production of this size is incredible but with an amazing team of students, teachers and community support, the process has definitely been made easier.

We cannot begin to explain the amount of time, tears and hard work that has gone into a production of this scale but as a school and community we need to thank those individuals who have given their all to ensure what the public sees on stage is of the highest professional quality. One of the essential elements of Oliver! is to create the world of Dickensian London and Mr Garry Karsten is one very important piece of our musical production team. Over the course of the semester, he has built, painted, hammered, constructed, shaped, glued, applied, salvaged, re-used and recycled, managed a small team of props makers, sculpted, negotiated, lifted and done it all over again to bring the director’s vision to life on the stage.

Another important element of Oliver! is costuming and this year we’ve had some fantastic people working to make a variety of garments for our characters and chorus to wear. Firstly, a big thank you must go to the wonderful women and friends of Proserpine State High School, who have supplied us with a plethora of costumes, made for their own production of Oliver!, earlier this year. These are an amazing group of women who really know what the word ‘community’ means. We thank them whole-heartedly for their generosity which has saved us a huge amount of time in the scheme of producing this show. Apart from this, we’ve had our own group of costume maker’s onsite at Helensvale. Under the supervision of Mrs Judy Macaulay, her group of Fashion students have created some essential items to make our musical leap from the stage. We must also thank Kristy Atwood and Judy Edwards for their expertise in making some signature pieces for our production too.

While the construction of sets and props and the making of costumes is essential in breathing life into the drama, there are a team of musicians and vocalists rehearsing behind the scenes to ensure that the classic music of Oliver! gets our feet tapping along with the huge hits such as Food Glorious Food and Consider Yourself. Under the wonderful musical direction of Ms Cindy Ashton and the amazing vocal coaching of Mr Matt Foster, they both, along with their musicians and vocalists, play and sing some of the most challenging arrangements in Helensvale’s musical history.

The final piece of our musical puzzle is the exceptional work done by our amazing Dance Teachers and their small but hard-working dancers who have choreographed some very special moments for our production this year. A big thank you must go to Miss Zy Kelly, Mrs Melanie Baker, Miss Ashley Murphy and Mrs Lauren Riches for their hard work in teaching, refining and staging the dance sequences for our production of Oliver!

As the curtain is soon to open on our production this year, we urge you all to get your tickets and celebrate the talent of Helensvale State High. This production is shaping up to be one of the best Helensvale has seen. Tickets are available through the Gold Coast Arts Centre Box Office or online at http://www.theartscentregc.com.au/

Don’t Miss it!

Industry Working for our Students

Qld Training Awards

Monique Howell in Year 12 has been selected as a finalist in the South East Region Awards for the Qld Training Awards for the School Based Apprenticeship and Traineeship (SATs) category. She completed her School Based Traineeship – Cert III Children’s Services with Kool Kids at Pacific Pines late last year in Year 11. She completed her training with Kool Kids Training College. Training Queensland only recognise 3 SATs in our whole region and with over 3000 SATs in our region so this is a great accomplishment. We are looking forward to attending the QTA Regional celebrations in Term 3. Monique has lived up to our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. We wish her good luck with these awards and into her very bright future.

Year 11 Recruitment Drive

As mentioned in the previous newsletter we have commenced a Year 11 Recruitment Drive. We interviewed approximately 100 Year 11 Non OP students. We are currently working with over 50 students in assisting them to obtain a School Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship (SAT). These students are currently going through interview, trial and sign up processes. We have been able to match some of these students with current advertised positions and others have had to be reverse-marketed to our local training organisations and employment contacts. They will try to match these students with appropriate placements, taking into consideration their initial interview answers about future career and study goals, transport arrangements and eligibility to participate. Sometimes these processes can be very quick, but unfortunately they can also take a little longer to secure a position. Sometimes an employer cannot be sourced or the student is not appropriate for the position due to lack of ability or interest. These unsuccessful students will be reinterviewed by us. There is a large number of students who were not currently eligible to participate in SATs for a number of reasons. These may include poor attendance or these students need to research their possible career goals more.

If you and your student would like to discuss the opportunity of gaining a School Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship, please contact me on the details below.

Year 12 2014 Graduates

We have been contacting the 2014 Year 12 Graduates to see what they are currently doing in regards to work or study. This information has shown us that students who have participated in either School Based Apprenticeship and Traineeships or External Courses have a higher chance of obtaining part/ full time employment opportunities over students who have not. Thank you to the past students and parents who have answered our questions or have returned phone calls and emails. This information has been a vital tool to assist us in knowing how to best help our current students in preparing their employment skills needed to enter future competitive workforce. Some students have not been able to be contacted, so emails have been sent to their parents. Again thanking you in advance for your reply to these questions.

Major Training are offering our Year 11 students the opportunity to participate in the following VETiS Courses

*These are funded through VET in Schools funding from the government. Students are not able to participate in this program if they have previously accessed VET in Schools funding.

If your student has/is participating in a VETiS Funded Course – we will need to negotiate cost of course with Major Training Group

Certificate II in Logistics – 20 weeks including 5 day work placement Cost: Funded Course*

The logistics and warehousing industry is essential to Australia’s supply chain. Learn a variety of duties including record keeping, stocktaking, customer orders and despatch. Gain clerical knowledge and skills to prepare, present and process workplace documentation and other routine administrative tasks in a logistics environment. Working in the logistics industry the opportunities are endless. You could end up travelling the world transporting products by Boat, Trucks or even Aeroplanes.

Certificate II in Engineering Pathways- 20 weeks including 5 day work placement Cost: Funded Course*

Increase your employability skills in the engineering industry with this course. It will introduce you to the engineering trade and provide you with basic skills to operate tools and equipment to produce and modify objects. Employment Opportunities could include metal and steel fabrication, a Boiler Maker or even a Welder.

Certificate II Automotive Underbody Technology – 20 Weeks including 5 day work placement Cost: Funded Course*

Gain the skills and knowledge to perform a range of tasks related to servicing underbody system components of cars and heavy vehicles, within an automotive service and repair business. You'll cover checking and servicing steering, braking, suspension and exhaust systems. A great entry-level course to give you a taste for the automotive trade! Employment Outcomes: Light or Heavy vehicle mechanic, Service Manager or Spare Parts Salesperson.

Certificate II in Resources and Infrastructure Work Preparation – 20 Weeks including 5 day work placement. Cost: Funded Course*

The Certificate II Resources and Infrastructure Workplace Preparation is designed for people seeking a pathway into resources and infrastructure sector. The delivery of the course is contextualised strongly towards the mining industry, and the various career pathways within. This course could lead to employment outcomes such as a Plant Operator or a Civil Construction Worker. You could be working on the main roads around Australia as well as large construction developments such as new housing estates.

Please contact Mrs Ford for the Expression of Interest Forms. These courses will be subject to minimum number requirements. Hoping to have these applications ready for the Training Organisation by the end of this term.

STUDENT SERVICES

Notification of Student absences:

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 0400 191 917 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 0400 191 917 or by giving them a note. The students MUST sign in at student services upon arrival at school or they will be marked absent.

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 Student Services Counter. In the case of an emergency, we need to know the whereabouts of ALL students.

• If you know your student has an appointment, please send him/her to school with a note. This should be brought to student services 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 contact students during break times to issue a pass, enabling them to be released from class.
• The student must be collected from student services by a parent/guardian or someone listed as an emergency contact, from the student services office only

For your information, we can attempt to contact students during the following break times:

Monday

• 10.05am – 10.20am

Tuesday – Friday

• 11.20am – 12.05pm
• 1.15pm – 1.45pm

Friday (sport days only)

• 10.20am – 10.40am
• 11.20am – 12.20pm

Student Services will close at 2.30 pm daily.

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.
• The parent/guardian will be contacted to collect their child as a matter of urgency. If we are unable to make contact with the parent/guardian 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. Please be aware our number appears as a private number if you miss our call, but we will leave a voice message where ever possible.

General Information

• Please collect lost items and report any missing items at Student Services.
• If your child has forgotten something and you are required to bring it to school, please take it to Student Services and advise your student to collect it from there.
• Medication can be held by Student Services, only if it is prescribed by a G.P. Student Services have paperwork that also must be completed, signed by the parent, and returned to Student Services before the medication can be administered.

Year 10 Work Experience

A friendly reminder that all Year 10 students are doing Work Experience between the 31st August to the 4th September 2015. Students must FIND THEIR OWN PLACEMENT.

Students have received a Work Experience Pack from their Futures teacher on Friday 1st May. The pack included the following forms:

• Student Letter
• Parent Letter
• Form A – student checklist
• Insurance Information for Parents
• Form D – employer WHS checklist
• Letter for employer
• Insurance form for employer
• Form B – student placement form
• Form C – student code of conduct
• Form E – work experience agreement

If your student was away when these are handed out please have them collect it from their Futures teacher. The forms are due back to their Futures teachers on 31st July 2015.

Thank you

Nicola Brandis
HOD Industry Pathways

News from Certificate II in Visual Arts

On Tuesday 9th June, the year 12 Photography students were lucky enough to attend a talk given by Sergeant Andrew O’Shea, a forensic photographer stationed at Coomera Police Station. During his presentation, most aspects of Sergeant O’Shea’s duties were explained with the help of PowerPoint images – how to illuminate a street scene at night, how to photograph a crash scene, how to capture a laser light to show trajectory, how to show different angles of a crime scene, what to look for to photograph as evidence. Then Sergeant O’Shea explained how to analyse blood patterns, tyre patterns, car lights, fingerprints and shoe impressions.

At the end of the presentation, students were given the opportunity to ask questions.

Janelle Caughley
Certificate II in Visual Arts Coordinator

Media Hub Launch

Helensvale State High School has launched its new media hub, showcasing student stories that were previously only told in print through our Helensvale Heroes newsletter and distributed to only students, parents and staff.

Now, we are promoting the great work and successes of our students in school, the community and in their chosen career pathways through a digital outlet, meaning we have a greater reach and are able to share these stories with the wider community.

The theme of the films are set around the three concepts underpinning the school’s values.

One Student: Showcasing one student and their learning experience within the school.

Our first film to launch in this domain featured Cynthia Bond, a year 12 student leader with a passion for debating and drama.

One Community: Aimed around our students’ community involvement.

Our school Choir recently performed the Australian and New Zealand National Anthems at the ANZAC Day Ceremony at the Arcare Aged Facility. The residents were really appreciative of the students’ performance.

Many Futures: Our students in school based apprenticeships and traineeships (SAT) with the skills they are developing in their chosen pathway.

Cameron completed a week of work experience in September 2014, proceeded through the Riviera recruitment process and was signed into his SAT at the end of January 2015. He will continue with this placement until the end of year 12. Once he has graduated and proven himself in the workplace, his apprenticeship will be made full-time.

These films highlight the talent, commitment and dedication of our students and their successes in various fields.

Helensvale High School has embedded the core values of One Student, One Community, Many Futures in every aspect of the school. These values can be seen through each of these stories. To view these stories and many more, please head to our website:

Sensory Movie Day – 28th June

Please see below to find out about the next Sensory Movie Day. It is this Sunday 28th June at 10am with the very popular Minion movie in Sensory Friendly Screening.

Beating OCD Program

Does your son or daughter:

• seem particularly fussy about keeping their hands clean?
• find themselves checking; touching or counting things even though they know they don't really have to?
• have trouble finishing school work or chores because they have to do something over and over again?
• worry a lot if something isn't done exactly the way they like?

Does your son or daughter have difficulty stopping these habits, and do they seem to interfere with their lives?

These symptoms may be signs of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

The University of Queensland is offering a free online OCD treatment program for teenagers aged 12-17 for a short-time only. The 12 week internet-based program is supported by a clinical psychologist who is a specialist in treating teen OCD. Parents can also access an on-line program and specialist support.

Please contact Dr Cynthia Turner at cynthia.turner@uq.edu.au to discuss your child's suitability for this free program or visit our website at https://exp.psy.uq.edu.au/ocd for more information.