15 September 2022

Newsletter Articles

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From the Principal

Dear Helensvale State High School Community

I would like to welcome Mrs Jess Keavney to our Helensvale State High School community. Mrs Keavney has replaced Ms Megan Roderick as Head of School.

Message from Mrs Keavney

Thank you to the Helensvale High School community for the warm welcome last week. Returning here to Helensvale, for me feels like coming home. I grew up in this area, and commenced my teaching career here in 2005, leaving in 2014 to pursue leadership positions first as Head of Department at Ormeau Woods, then onto Elanora High as Deputy and acting Principal and Palm Beach Currumbin as Junior School Principal. Residing on Tamborine Mountain, coming to Helensvale is also a very welcome change, eliminating hours of my day stationary on the M1!

The school has changed a lot over the past 8 years, and looks magnificent. I am looking forward to getting to know the school community over the coming weeks and am excited about the continuous improvement journey that lays ahead. Helensvale have a wonderful, dedicated staff and having met a handful of our student leaders last week; a dedicated student body as well.

School Council Membership

Positions on the School Council have a two-year tenure. Ms Leeanne Kirk (parent member), Mrs Suzanne Bailey and Mrs Tracey Eaton (staff members) have served on the School Council for the past two years. I would like to personally thank Leeanne, Suzanne and Tracey for their significant contribution and input into the strategic direction of the school. As we all have experienced over the past two years there have been many challenges. I really appreciate the support of Leeanne, Suzanne and Tracey, helping us navigate through a time that has required flexibility and deep thinking to ensure continuity of our school’s improvement agenda.

The School Council is now seeking a new parent representative. The School Council meets once per term and guides the broad strategic direction of the school. Specifically, the School Council:

1. monitors the school's strategic direction;
2. approves plans and policies of the school of a strategic nature and other documents affecting strategic matters, including the annual estimate of revenue and expenditure for the school;
3. monitors the implementation of the plans, policies and other documents mentioned above; and
4. advises the school's principal about strategic matters.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the School Council or would like further information on this role please do not hesitate to contact the school and ask to speak with me. Being a part of the School Council is one way in which you can influence the strategic direction of the school so each and every child succeeds.

As this will be the last newsletter this term, I wish you all the best over the spring break and look forward to the number of student celebrations that term 4 is renowned for.

Kind Regards
Karen Lindsay
Executive Principal

Singapore Virtual Exchange

Some of our Excite students have had an opportunity to join with a partner school in Singapore for a virtual STEM exchange. This has been a great experience for the students culturally and academically. They created friendships and asked questions of the high school students in Swiss Cottage before plunging into some challenges with them. The challenges called for the students to work in small teams to build towers and bridges with everyday objects. They then had more time to discuss and reflect upon their teamwork and finished products with Swiss Collage. It was an experience the students are looking forward to continuing with our next exchange next term!

Mayor’s Technology and Innovation Awards

This year we have had two excellent students enter the Mayor’s Technology and Innovation Awards and become finalists! Emma and Caitlyn designed an app concept that made it through to Top 10. From there they attended a bootcamp to produce the prototype which is now ready for final judging. The app in question? DefibMap. This ingenious app is designed to locate defibrillators in your location, and also serves as an educational tool on how and when to use them. These students are some of the youngest finalists this year and we wish them both the best of luck for their very innovative app. If you wanted to support these students, there is a voting link for the DefibMap app:

Vale Learning Alliance

Encore

Helensvale State High School presents the 2022 dance production ENCORE!

Tickets will go on sale from Tuesday 4th October!
Ticket Cost - $8 (Finance at Helensvale State High School)
Performance Date – Tuesday 18th October
Location – Nerang Bicentennial Community Centre
Times – Show 1 (5pm) and Show 2 (7pm)

Track and Field Age Champions

Holiday Programs

From the Guidance Officers

Teenagers and Jobs

Casual work and part-time jobs are good for teenage confidence, self-esteem and skills.

Local employers and organisations might have casual work and part-time jobs for teenagers.

Help teenagers get ready for job interviews by working on their résumés and doing practice interviews.

Teenagers need a balance between school, work and other activities.

Get to know state or territory laws to make sure that your child’s employment arrangements are fair and legal.

Further information about teenagers and part time work can be found from the link below.

Helensvale SHS Farmers Markets

Don’t forget to support our local farmers.

Every Day Counts!

Cyberbullying Help

What would you do if your child was being cyberbullied?

According to research by the eSafety Commissioner , 1 in 5 young people experience cyberbullying and online abuse and 55% seek help from their parents/carers.

Our free training is available online and has been designed to be completed on a range of internet ready devices, including smart phones.

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

Acknowledgment of Country

Helensvale State High School as one community, acknowledges the Kombumerri Peoples, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our school is built. We respect their long history, ancestry and culture. We pay our respects to the Elders, past, present and emerging for they carry the memories and traditions of past times.

We would also like to extend our acknowledgment to other First Nations Peoples: those hailing from the Torres Strait Islands and those belonging to other Aboriginal Language Groups.

We acknowledge the strength and resilience of Kombumerri peoples. We respect their enduring connection to the local wetlands and the cultural responsibility they uphold to preserve wildlife. Together, we go forward, learning in the spirit of these values.