6 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

A message from the Principal

Welcome back to Semester Two and the busiest half of the year, with the QCS Test, the increasing complexity of classroom activities and the pointy end of extra-curricular competitions all emerging ahead of us. The holidays seem a long time ago, but I hope each of our Shailer Park families were able to spend some time together, relaxing and restoring those energy levels for a demanding Term Three. I enjoyed some much needed time with my family and even managed a sleep in or two!

At Shailer Park State High School, we are constantly focussed on facilitating the best possible individual achievements of each student, helping them to lift and expand the scope of their aspirations and goals. It has become clear however, that it is not enough to simply open the doors to different and more exciting pathways and hope that students, even if well-equipped with the appropriate knowledge and skills, will walk through them. Perhaps as a result of the speed and manner with which our digital world and core family structures are changing, our children have been affected in ways which were, at first, unrecognisable. Statistics however, prove that our students face stress which was unheard of ten years ago. Cyber bullying is rampant in our society and its affects are frightening. One in seven Australians aged 4-17 experience a mental health condition such as anxiety or depression. Even the kinds of entertainment our students are watching can be harmful. The well-being of our students and children is more important than ever and at Shailer Park SHS we see this as going hand in hand with educational retention and achievement.

Thorough and long term research proves that well-being is a clear determinant of lifelong success. To be clear, ‘well-being’ is different from ‘happiness’: rather, it is a more stable state of being well, feeling satisfied and contented. It relates to aspects of a person’s life such as their health, personal relationships, how safe they feel, whether they are achieving in life and their standard of living. It is NOT about having ‘good’ or ‘bad’ emotions. Well-being is not dependent on how happy a student is: happiness can come and go in a moment! It’s not realistic for anyone to be happy 100% of the time, but having an overall feeling of contentment allows us to move on and process sad or negative emotions and events much more effectively. Enhancing well-being comes with engaging with others in positive relationships, realising there is more to life than one’s self and focussing on positive emotions, rather than wallowing in the negative. For parents with children deep in the throes of moody adolescence, enhancing well-being might seem like an impossible task! However, our vision is for all members of our school to have a bright future: leading a well life socially, physically and psychologically underpins and reinforces those big plans and bold ambitions we know our students have and want.

To affect well-being at Shailer Park SHS, we have focussed on facilitating students with a growth mindset, where learning is approached with openness and mistakes are opportunities to grow. We explicitly teach students strategies within the growth mindset model, such as taking the time to reflect through gratitude. For example: students ask themselves ‘what went well?’ and celebrate the small elements of each day which made it a positive one, such as the sun shining at lunch time or getting a Maths question correct. Being engaged in an activity such as sports, dance, chess or any subject which requires students to participate with others is also an integral part of well-being. For many of our students, engagement or finding a connection with others can be particularly difficult and takes persistence, effort and a willingness to try new experiences.

Educationally, research tells us that instilling a growth mindset in students leads to enhanced well-being. Students with high levels of well-being are much more likely to experience success both within and beyond school, whereas a lack of well-being correlates with poor attendance and apathetic performance. The research and logic is clear.

Well-being is everyone’s business, from teachers, staff and parents to the students themselves. Helping our school community to thrive underpins our school vision and values but requires a partnership between the classroom and the home. As parents, your support in helping us develop this growth mindset and incredibly important sense of well-being is critical. We all have the same goal: to ensure our students and children achieve their absolute best, can cope with the ups and downs of life and are, for the most part, content and joyful. Together we can ensure our students learn about the significant roles they play in contributing to a bright future for us all.

Grace Grace MP

Thank you to all involved in showcasing our great school to the Minister for Education, Grace Grace MP in early June. It was a privilege to have Hon. Grace and Mick de Brenni for Springwood visit our school. There were many wonderfully proud moments for us to share with her our great students, our personalised pathways, our academy programs and our amazing staff that make this school a fantastic place to be a part of!

Well done Shailer.

A message from our Senior Schooling Deputy Principal

Reading Improvement is Everybody’s Business

Reading continues to be a key improvement agenda at Shailer Park State High. Research shows that students in high school need to be reading for more than 30 minutes every day to be successful in their schooling. Reading improves vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, knowledge about the world and allows students to be more successful in their overall assessment.

Teachers at SPSHS are lifelong learners and continue to research, and learn the most up to date and effective ways to help and guide students to achieve their best. We all aspire to live up to our Vision- Big Plans and Bold Ambitions for a Bright Future.

Recently our Reading Improvement Team attended a Department of Education training that focussed solely on Improving Reading in Years 7-10. We will now be supporting and guiding the whole of the school community in ways to improve student learning through reading improvement in every faculty area. Parent support is crucial in ensuring that all of our students are encouraged to spend time every day reading at home.

If you would like some support or guidance with helping your son or daughter to become a better reader, please contact the school for ideas. Also, remember we have homework club every Wednesday (3-4pm) in the library and Monday and Tuesday breakfast club (starting from 7.30am) where our students can get help and support with assignments or developing skills.

Members of our Reading Improvement Team working hard to find better ways to support our wonderful students.

Teen Novel Review for August

Kids who read, SUCCEED!

Each newsletter I will share a review of a teen novel from the bestseller list for 2018. I encourage all students to spend at least 20 minutes reading for enjoyment every day.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

By #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue.

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him — and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

A message from our Junior Schooling Deputy Principal

Our term is certainly in full swing and I am always so inspired by the high level of our students’ engagement in all aspects of school life. Recently I was dazzled by the absolute talent of our music, dance, drama and choral students who were involved in the Creative Generation performances at the Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Centre. Similarly, our students involvement in numerous sporting events, including our own Athletics Carnival, was equally impressive with gold medal wins just the icing on the cake. I have also enjoyed observing our students in class as they face challenges in their studies – collaborating to problem solve and develop the skills and behaviours that demonstrate that they are truly taking ownership of their learning, the 4Rs clearly apparent in their actions and attitude.

What has been the common thread in all of these observations is the “presence” of students engaged in those activities; the dedication they showed to their team mates, peers, learning, performances and their own sense of pride. I wondered how many hours it must take to “achieve” and what that might look like to our students. For example, how much time did our students have to dedicate to their learning to achieve results which made them proud, or how many times did those students practise that piece of music so that they could play it confidently? How many times did they practise those drills? How many hours did they “attend” to their pursuits? It made me think about what happens when students to not “attend” – when students don’t engage in their learning, or when they don’t participate in an extra-curricular activity or when they simply don’t turn up to school.

There are many kinds of students at any school and these questions could relate to them all. Let me talk to you about two, Jemima and Ted (not their real names).

Ted is in Year 9. He has joined the dance crew, plays Futsal and likes to hang out with his friends at lunch, though it took ages for him to make friends when he joined the school in Year 8. Ted attends tutorials for Maths (not his favourite subject; he becomes anxious when he can’t answer the questions, especially during exams) and when he isn’t at training or rehearsal, he plays basketball for fun. Ted’s current attendance rate is 97% (he was sick with a stomach bug in Term 1). He tries his hardest in class, achieving mostly Bs in his subjects and As and Bs for effort and behaviour. Ted uses his diary to map out his learning so that he can identify potential high-stress times in the term. Ted knows that by turning up every day to school, he is optimising his opportunities to achieve his goals. He is also growing his relationships and finding purpose in what he does as it links to his big plan. Ted doesn’t need to spend time catching up on or becoming anxious about catching up on work he has missed, and he can commit to Futsal and Dance, which he loves! Ted’s bold ambition is to become an auto-electrician and run his own business, maybe even a whole franchise. He is thinking of two pathways – either further study or going straight into an apprenticeship after Year 12. By attending and engaging in school, demonstrating the 4Rs and staying focused on his overall school experience, this is a real possibility.

Jemima is in Year 11. She is hoping to be a Vet Nurse when she finishes high school. Jemima hasn’t participated in any extra-curricular activities since Year 8. Jemima generally likes school but sometimes lacks confidence in her ability. She also has had a falling out with a friend and feels like everyone is against her. For the last year, her attendance rate has been falling. She has at least one day off a week, on average her rate of attendance is 62%, and she often stays home before assessment is due so that she can study or finish her final copy. Her parents ring the school to say she is sick or that there have been family issues as they think this is a way to support her. Jemima is finding it hard to keep up with the work she is missing, and this seems to increase her lack of confidence and feelings of anxiety. She is also feeling left out and disconnected from her peers. Jemima fears that people are talking about her when she isn’t at school. Her results since Year 9 have been slipping and her teachers are worried that she won’t pass her subjects. Jemima received a D in two subjects in Semester 1 and if this continues, it might mean she won’t get into her course after Year 12. She hasn’t really worked out a different plan. She has seen the Guidance Officer because the Head of Year suggested she should, but she hasn’t followed through with the strategies they developed together. Her parents aren’t sure how to help, and her teachers are struggling with keeping her on task and on track.

Ted and Jemima are fairly typical students in school and both are having a quite different experience based on their level of engagement with school. At Shailer Park State High School, we aim to support all students but we can’t do that so successfully if they don’t attend. We also know that every day counts. During the term, we monitor student attendance very closely and intervene to support as relevant:

• Rolls are marked every lesson, every day
• Text messages are sent home after 9.30am
• Reminders are sent in the afternoon regarding unexplained absences for the day
• Data is tracked daily, weekly and at three junctures in the term
• Letters are sent home during the term
• Contact is made by the Care Team (Head of Year, Dean of Students, Guidance Officers)
• Meetings are scheduled between families and the Deputy Principals

Students can check their attendance rate any time by asking a teacher or office staff, or engaging in this process as part of our Roll Call Classes.

We focus on:

• Full day absence
• Late to school and early departure from school
• Fractional absences (part of the day)
• Patterns of behaviour e.g. frequency, repetition, timing
• Explained vs Unexplained absences
• Authorised vs Unauthorised (absences must be for a valid reason e.g. illness, bereavement)
• Consecutive absence (typically 3 or more days absent in a row)
• Long-term or extended absences (your parents/contacts must apply for approval if absent for more than 10 consecutive school days).

We also celebrate the students who attend for 95% of the time or more

• They are admitted to the Green Club
• Letter home to parents
• Letter home to students for 100% attendance
• End of Term Breakfast to celebrate those in the Green Club (at the school’s discretion)

In Semester 1, close to 40% (378) of our students were in attendance for 95% or more of the time- something truly worth celebrating. These students were recognised for their outstanding effort during assembly this term and at their breakfast, which was supported by our chaplain and served by Ms Jensen and other members of our leadership team at the end of Term 2.

We appreciate our parents/carers support in encouraging students to attend every day while reinforcing the important message that every day counts. Below are links to some very short videos, released by Education Queensland and supported by Jonathon Thurston, which are good conversations starters for your families:

If you are concerned about your child’s attendance, please contact the relevant Head of Year via their email address found on our website staff contacts page or by phoning our office on 3451 277.

A message from our Community Engagement Deputy Principal

Wellbeing Expo

Shailer Park SHS is hosting our first Wellbeing Expo – We All Belong on Monday August 6th.

The focus of the day is around providing resources to our students and greater community to increase health and wellbeing.

Each year level will have a 30min presentation from our local Headspace Service Centre followed by 30min accessing a range of local community health and support agencies.

There will be a Parent Session at 11.30am in MPS. We encourage all parents and carers to attend.

Parent Information Session

Shailer High has secured a free mental health presentation for Parents and the Community Tuesday 21 August at 5pm in the MPS. Presented by a volunteer from the Black Dog Institute, the presentation aims to reduce the stigma around mental illness, increase mental health literacy and increase help seeking within communities across Australia.

Covers topics of:

• Causes, signs and symptoms of mental illness.
• When and where to seek help.
• Practical strategies for helping a friend or family member.

Suitable for members of the general public over the age of 18.

Torres Strait Island Flag

Thank you to Bert Van Mannen. MP for gifting us with a new Torres Strait Island Flag to be flown at the front of our school.

A message from our Dean of Studies

Elevate Sessions

Shailer had a group of educators from Elevate Education visit our 12 students in week one.

They discussed exam focus, study stress, well-being and the use of many tools in order to finish year 12 strongly. The session proved to be a very positive experience for all involved and gave our students numerous resources to use now and into their Bright Futures.

We also had representatives from Elevate Education visit the school to talk with our year 11 students about skills necessary to take and remember great notes in all of their subjects and courses. This is really important learning for a student to make sure that they are engaged in learning and resourceful in their classes.

SENIOR SCHOOLING

Year 12 – Tertiary Applications Opening Soon

All year 12 students are reminded that QTAC applications are opening soon. This application process is for students wanting to study all post-secondary (Cert III and above) and tertiary level courses (Diploma and above). The QTAC Guides were distributed Week 2 of Term. This book, and the website really are a valuable resource to investigate all kinds of study options for 2017.

There is an abundance of information about upcoming key dates, courses and common application questions on the site.

We encourage all students to familiarise themselves with the website – QTAC Application processes begin in August and we will be working with students to ensure they are informed about the application process during the term.

Upcoming Career and Study Information Sessions (for ALL Senior Students)

Griffith University Open Day

QUT Open Day

JMC Open Day

Animation, game development, film and television, audio, music, entertainment management.

UQ Open Days

TAFE Qld

No particular Open Day

Call 13 72 48

Year 10 SET Planning and Career Information

Students in year 10 will be choosing their subjects for Senior this term. We have been discussing careers and pathways with year 10 students during our ACE programme, and working with them on discussing career options, strengths and areas of focus by completing a survey which helps clarify student goals and career possibilities. This links in wonderfully with their recent trip to IGNITE careers expo in Logan.

Subject selection will be based on students’ discussions and investigations in ACE classes in Term 2 and this term about career and study pathways. Information about SET Planning was also discussed with families at our Parent/Teacher Evening on Tuesday 24th July.

Letters will be sent home to families regarding subject recommendations for students. Interviews with our staff to choose subjects will run on Tuesday 14th August in Week 5 – students will not be required to come to school on this day except for during their interview time. Parents and students will be invited to speak with staff to discuss pathway options and subjects during this time.

STAR Early Offer program

STAR Early Offer program is a partnership with selected schools to match individual students to a particular course based on their level of academic achievement and likelihood of success. Applications and Offers Online applications are open from July, 2018 to 14 September, 2018 and should take students no more than five minutes to complete. In October/November – successful applicants will receive an offer into the course recommended by their Principal. School Portal Recommendations for your students are made via the online School Portal. Check Information regarding Key Dates and Assessment Guidelines on Southern Cross University's website first and if you are interested, please see Mr Tickle or Ms Winkeler for more information. Recommendations close on 28 September, 2018.

Students, do you know what you want to do once you leave school? The greatest way of achieving your goal is to HAVE a goal!

Teachers and guidance/industry staff are working with students throughout the year to ensure they have identified their goal and have a clear strategy of achieving it.

Senior Students are encouraged to be thinking about their goals and pathway options in preparation for these meetings!
Students can see the following staff for support and advice
Ms Winkeler (Dean of Studies) in G Block
Mrs Lee (Industry Liaison Officer) in F Block
Mrs Fleming or Mr Tickle (Guidance Officers) in Administration

ATAR Information

A message from our Head of Teaching and Learning

Critical Thinking at UQ

Our Year 11 and 12 OP students attended a critical thinking day at the University of Queensland to help them prepare for their Queensland Core Skills tests. Students had the opportunity to collaborate with a range of students from different schools in order to help them become more relational, resilient and resourceful.

These same students then applied their learning to their QCS practice tests. Thank you to all of the staff who planned and facilitated sessions on the day.

Emily Dunleavy
Head of Teaching and Learning

Messages from our Students

Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences

Rowan Duke wrote the Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT) exam on Wednesday, 25 July. If successful, this exam gives her the opportunity to enter directly into a Doctor of Medicine at The University of Queensland, her desired career preference.  The test is used specifically to assist with the selection of students into the medicine, dentistry and health science degree programs at undergraduate level at selected universities.

Rowan has worked particularly hard over the last 18 months of her Senior Studies for the chance to write this text. She has studied independently, been resourceful in asking for assistance from her teachers, attended external study sessions and specialised UMAT courses, and written several practice papers to help her prepare since registrations opened in December of last year. This shows incredible resilience and determination!

We wish Rowan the best of luck on Wednesday, knowing that whether eligible for direct entry or not, she will keep her big plans and bold ambitions in sight as she starts on her pathway to study medicine.

Attendance Celebrations

Some of our junior students attending a celebratory breakfast for their high attendance.

The Shailer Park State High School team celebrates the effort students are making. Your commitment indicates that you are developing the 4 R’s and taking ownership of your learning.

Congratulations on a fine effort to those students who achieved over 95% attendance, and on making every day count.

Kokoda Challenge

Sam Fairbrother and Daniel Clarke have progressed within the Kokoda Challenge Youth Program. It's been a typically tough 6 weeks for the Kokoda Kids, they’ve been pushing their individual limits further than ever -the Kokoda spirit is shining through Sam, Daniel and their Gold Coast team mates.

Recently, the team had, for many of them, their first night walk. They battled hard, stuck together as a team and managed to finish 43kms in under 13 hours. The next step was the Gold Coast 96km Challenge which is renowned as the toughest team endurance event in Australia. Unfortunately, both Daniel and Sam weren’t able to complete the 96kms due to injury.

Thank you everyone’s support. The Kokoda Youth Foundation is looking forward to providing more of Sam & Daniel’s progress as they will soon look ahead to walking in the footsteps of our Aussie diggers in Papua New Guinea. Be sure to offer support and encouragement to the boys as they continue to push their personal limits.

Messages from our Student Services Team

Guidance Officer

Welcome everyone to Term 3 and a big thank you to all the parents and students of Shailer Park I have already had the pleasure of meeting, you have all made me feel very welcome in my first few weeks starting at Shailer Park SHS. I have joined the Student Support Services team as Guidance Officer 5 days a week from the North Coast Region and have enjoyed my first weeks in the school settling in.

This time of year I encourage all parents/guardians to support their young person to look after their mental health and wellbeing. I have included an image below that might help to start this conversation.

As always, if you wish to make an appointment to speak with myself please do so through the reception desk in the front office or by calling (07) 3451 2777. I encourage students to access myself before school, after school or at lunch breaks or by making at appointment with office staff.

I look forward to meeting more families as the term progresses and if you need to get in contact with me please feel free to email at ntick3@eq.edu.au.

School Based Youth Health Nurse

Bullying is intentional and repeated negative behaviour directed towards another person by one or more people over time. It can be related to just about anything and can come in many forms. It can be physical, verbal, social. It can be in person or online.

Bullying can take place anywhere. Up to 46.8% of secondary school students report being bullied in some form over the last 12months (Pastoral Care in education 2012)

If you were to squeeze toothpaste out of a tube- is it easy to put back in?? NO.
You may get some in, but there’s a mess left behind….
You can apologise-
But you can’t take it back.
You can delete a post/ text-
But you can’t get it back if it’s sent on.
What can you do?
Stop before you act.
Think before you speak!

Do you like apples? Do you have a favourite variety? Are the other apples not good if we don’t prefer them? NO- we just prefer a certain type for our own reason. The other apples are all good apples still.

What do you do to the apples in the shop that aren’t your favourite??? Do you leave them alone and choose the ones you want, or do you taunt or tease the apples you don’t prefer??

NO Of course not- that would look silly….

What if we changed talking apples and start talking people? Can’t we choose the people we prefer to be with and leave the others to be. Just because we don’t prefer a person does that mean they have no value?

NO. Everyone is different- different beliefs, attitudes, different colour- hair, skin, eyes.

Let’s stop watching/laughing when a person is being bullied.
Let’s stand up- even get adults involved if we feel uncomfortable.
Let’s stop liking nasty posts or photos online.
Let’s accept our differences and respect people for them.
Let’s be pleasant and polite to all.
Let’s have our closer friends, and still include others.

Information sourced headspace- Bullying flyer

Useful Websites on Bullying

Dean of Students

Optus Digital Thumbprint Sessions

Earlier this term our Year 7, 9 and 11 cohorts had the opportunity to participate in the Optus Digital Thumbprint program which is a series of fun and engaging workshops centred around digital citizenship. Lucy Ivers who facilitates the program provided students with crucial information around online safety as well as introducing a number of realistic case-studies for students to engage in. All sessions were structured to meet the specific needs of our student cohorts and have been included below:

The behaviour and engagement levels of all students was exceptional and some valuable lessons were taken away from the sessions. A big thankyou goes to the following staff for the organisation and support

Ernst and Young Mentoring Program

Shailer Park State High School continues to have a strong partnership with the Australian Business and Community Network which allows our students opportunities to learn about different industries and vocational options as well as accessing a network of mentors in a variety of professions. The program takes place at Ernst and Young in Brisbane CBD on the following dates:

• 5th September (11.30am – 1.30pm),
• 10th October (11.30am – 1.30pm),
• 24th October (11.30am -1.30pm) and
• 7th November (11.30 – 2.00pm)

Each year, 20 Year 10 students are selected to participate in this program. Selected students have to demonstrate Academic Excellence across all of their subjects as well as exemplify the school ethos of ‘Resilience, Resourcefulness, Reflectiveness and Relational.

Congratulations to the following students who have been invited to participate in the Program:

Darci Baulderstone, Holly Burnell, Georgina Clarkson, Kahil Evans, Paige Greenburger-Evans, Caitlin Harvey, Zach Hodsdon, Kaleb Hunt, Hope Jamieson, Jordan Daniels, Louie Lara, Nirav Nand, Caitlyn Pitcairn, Sam Page, Corey Palmer, Kelly Sneddon, Talula Van Keimpema, Morgan Watego and Jorja Yuile.

Year 10 Immunisations – Catchup

A quick reminder that Year 10 Immunisation Forms are due back by Wednesday 8th August to Administration. Please ensure all information is completed with a parent/caregiver signature.

Year 11 & 12

Careers That Shape the World

We had a group of 50 students from Year 11 and 12 who were university bound visit the University of Queensland yesterday for ‘Careers That Shape the World’ - a one day, integrated taster into a selection of courses, experiences and on campus orientation. This was a great opportunity for students to try a number of disciplines and interests.

A number of SPSHS students took part in a volunteer competition and were overall winners of the ‘Human Knot’ (they won these black UQ hoodies)

Students came away with a clearer sense of purpose and direction in the courses they wanted to study and a better understanding of UQ. This was a really great experience for our senior students.

Year 7

Innovate

Recently, a group of year 7 students participated in a workshop for the ABCN Innovate program. Innovate is designed to increase Australia's pipeline of problem solvers and innovators, and focusses on skills around resourcefulness and being relational. Students work in groups with industry mentors to complete design challenges in order to foster engagement in STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) related fields. Program activities will illustrate the practical applications of maths, engineering and design, and the use of scientific knowledge to assist with problem solving and innovation, and raise the awareness of the wide variety of STEM-related employment options available. Students competed to design the most efficient parachute and used scientific methods to modify and improve a parachute design.

New Staff

We are proud to introduce to the community some of our new staff members at Shailer High. This newsletter we introduce Isla McCulloch, Wade Lunt and Nicola Symons.

All staff contact details can be found on our website

Isla McCulloch has been teaching for 4 years and is joining us from the UK as a Science and Physics teacher. She is a self-directed, enthusiastic educator with a passionate commitment to student development and the learning experience. Isla develops enriching and innovative activities that address the diverse interests and needs of students. An adaptable educator who is accustomed to high expectations. She is passionate about making a difference in education and passing on knowledge to the next generation. Isla has experience running STEM clubs, science clubs and study sessions, as well as having very strong interpersonal skills with students, parents and colleagues.

Wade Lunt is originally from the United Kingdom, started as a primary PE teacher, has been teaching for over twenty years and is joining us as a Health and Physical Education Teacher. Since 2013, Wade was working in Dubai as a teacher and a Head of Department. He demonstrates a high standard of teaching and learning and has experience in the development of School Curriculum. Wade is passionate about staff mentoring and coaching, building teamwork and collegiality. He has coordinated many sports camps, competitions and Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journeys

Nicola Symons has been teaching for several years and joins us as a Special Education teacher. She believes in familiarity and engagement with a growth mindset, and differentiation for learning needs. Nicola has experience in embedding literacy and numeracy strategies, and an interest in inclusive education and students with high learning needs. She has taught across both primary, secondary and distance education contexts.

NEXUS Academy

Incursion 2018

Students in the year 7, 8 and 9 Nexus classes attended an incursion workshop. The Nexus problem solving day aimed to challenge the classes in unfamiliar situations. The students were divided into groups and set multiple challenges from the staff and the company Directors of the Extraordinary.

The overarching focus of the day was to build the students capacity in being resourceful, reflective, resilient and relational. A huge thankyou to the company 'Directors of the Extraordinary' for dedicating the whole day to our students. All of the students that participated represented excellent leadership and relational skills throughout the day. A massive thankyou to the staff for their dedication to organise and present a fantastic day.

Wonder of Science

The University of Queensland - 'Wonder of Science Challenge' is once again here for 2018. The year 7, 8 and 9 NEXUS students have all been enrolled to participate for Term 3 and 4. This year students are once again required to independently research, experiment and present a study from a nominated topic. The topics for 2018 are:

Year 7: When is a bug not a bug?
Year 8: How much energy is required to complete a loop?
Year 9: How does the concentration of Carbon Dioxide change plant growth?

These topics align with the current Australian curriculum allowing students to further apply the information being taught in class. Students will work closely with ambassadors from the University of Queensland to present their research at a regional conference. Scores will be given from external judges allowing the top researchers to present at the University of Queensland at a state competition. Good luck to all of the Nexus students who will be planning and conducting research very soon.

Bluebox Robot Rumble

Felicity and Reuben from year 8 Nexus class represented Shailer Park State High at the Queensland University of Technology Bluebox Robot Rumble. This workshop provided the students an opportunity to be resourceful and plan, create and test new software being developed in the robotics work space. The day also presented many opportunities for the students to be relational by interacting with current robotics software programmers.

Felicity and Reuben were given the task to create a program that allowed a robot to fight, flip and push other robots in a battle arena. As the software is in the prototype stages of development Felicity and Reuben assisted in 'debugging' the problems the programmers faced. This included calibrating the time scale and distances the computing imaging sent to the robot.

Overall the day provided multiple challenges that the students overcame, and opportunities to work on being resourceful, reflective, resilient and relational. A huge thankyou goes to the parents who assisted with transport on the day.

Problem Solving Extravaganza

Recently our NEXUS students had the opportunity to participate in the ‘Problem Solving Extravaganza.’ The focus of the day was to help students build their relational skills and resilience under pressure. As part of the day, students were lucky enough to take part in the Mastership Game, facilitated by the Directors of the Extraordinary. Students took on the role of spies and had to be resourceful, relational and resilient in order to solve all of the puzzles. Feedback from our students was that the day was as challenging as it was exciting!

Thank you to our wonderful NEXUS teachers: Ms Keys, Ms Mullen, Mr Simpson, Ms Innes and Ms Errez who planned and facilitated the day!

NEXUS Semester One Review

What a huge term it is has been for our NEXUS students and teacher this semester! With the program doubling in size this year, ensuring that all of our NEXUS students have big plans and bold ambitions. Please see the below highlights of this year thus far!

Our Year 7 students began the year focussing on water in the world in both Science and Humanities. Our Year 7 NEXUS teachers collaborated to organise an integrated curriculum that culminated with students attending Skinners Park to test water samples and then an inquiry project into water scarcity with presenters from the THANKYOU organisation coming to work with our students.

A real focus for our Year 7 students has been developing their relational skills to help students collaborate. Early in Term 1, all year 7 students took part in a workshop that taught students how to work with peers that weren’t necessarily in their friendship group with these skills being developed in every classroom. Our Year 7 students have also had the opportunity to use the iPad as a tool to enhance their learning. Students are using technology as a way to gain meaningful feedback and track their learning as well as a way to collaborate with their peers outside of the classroom.

Our Year 8 students participated in an integrated curriculum that focussed on developing students’ relational capacity and resilience. Students researched different landforms and the impact of Earthquakes. Students had the unique opportunity to build their own structures and test their ability to withstand an earthquake.

Our Year 9 students started the year with workshops about developing a Growth Mindset and how this helps to build resilience. Students worked together to solve a number of difficult problems that tested not only their perseverance but also ability to work as part of a team. Students also had the opportunity to engage with problem-solving tasks that exposed them to the critical thinking and problem solving skills needed to progress into senior maths.

All of our NEXUS students ended Term 2 by taking part in a problem solving day that aimed to build students’ critical thinking skills. Students were lucky enough to work with the Directors of the Extraordinary to take part in the Mastership Game and a range of other problem solving activities.

Throughout Term 2, our commitment to helping our students become resilient and reflective learners has led to the development of the academic coaching role. Many of our students have already had the chance to engage with an academic coach in order to reflect on their learning behaviours and set goals for the future.

Although we have had a very busy semester, plans are already being made for our NEXUS students next term and we look forward to continuing to work with our parents and community in Semester two.

Emily Dunleavy
Head of Teaching and Learning

Humanities

Students in year 7 & 8 have been showing the 4Rs by competing in the Australian History and Geography Competitions. Students needed to display resilience and reflective attitudes when faced with unseen questions, resourcefulness to organise themselves to compete, as well as relational skills when engaging with competition facilitators. Students worked very hard and must be congratulated for their efforts. They are very excited to hear in the coming months the outcome of the competition.

Science

Year 7s

Students are currently studying Biology and are specifically working on the classification of organisms. Students have been working hard to create dichotomous keys.

Year 8s

Students are currently studying Chemistry and the different types of chemical reactions that exist. Students are currently investigating the properties of matter and how matter exists and behaves as particles. The following pictures show students investigating the expansion of liquids and the behaviour of gases.

Year 9s

Students are currently studying Biochemistry and investigating different types of chemical reactions. Students are currently working on their Extended Experimental Investigation on Endothermic and Exothermic reactions. The following pictures show students scientifically investigating these two types of reactions.

Year 10s

Students are currently studying Chemistry and specifically investigating chemical reactivity and rate of reaction. The following pictures show students completing a flame test. This colourful test shows how different atoms have different electron energy configurations.

Science Ambassadors

Catapult construction is serious business!! Students have been working on creating prototype catapults in Science Ambassadors on Thursdays at first lunch. Students started with mini catapults made of paddle pop sticks launching starburst lollies and then used ratios to scale up the catapults to be able to launch larger objects at a variety of targets. A great hands on engineering challenge to finish in Semester 2!

Creative Industries

Ignite Dance Academy

This is me - Creative Generation State Schools on Stage

On the last weekend of the school holidays, along with 1800 state school students from across Queensland, seven of our Creative Industry students performed in the Creative Generation State Schools on Stage Spectacular.

Instrumental Music:

• Nikhil Deo (12) – Symphony Orchestra - French Horn

Ignite Dance Academy:

• Emily Spinks (11) – Company dancer, Featured Hip Hop and Tap
• Samuel Page (10) – Massed dancer, Featured Hip Hop
• Demi Heinrich (10) – Massed dancer
• Liana Crouch (9) – Massed dancer, Featured Tap
• Maddison McLeish (9) – Massed dancer
• Emma McDonald (8) – Middle Ensemble, Featured Hip Hop

Our students committed to over 660 hours of rehearsal time over a five month period. Their rehearsals took place after school, on weekends and over the school holidays – whilst still balancing school, work and other extracurricular commitments.

Through their participation in Creative Generation, our students were part of a professionally produced, award winning production which is nationally renowned for its outstanding and vibrant display of state school talent.

This incredible program is a unique and rewarding experience for both students and teachers. It celebrates access to the arts and encourages students of all levels of performance ability to get involved.

Creative Generation will be televised on Channel 10 later this year.

Thank you to all of the parents, families and staff who supported the program - it is because of you that the program was so successful.

Congratulations students on your outstanding achievement.

From left - Maddison, Demi, Emily, Miss Westerveld, Samuel, Emma and Liana

Top row – Samuel, Liana, Emily, Emma and Nikhil. Bottom row – Maddison and Demi

Grease - Harvest Rain Theatre Company

While our Creative Generation students were lighting up the stage at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, a number of our Dance Academy and Vocal Ensemble students were shining brightly in the Harvest Rain Theatre Companies production of Grease (Brisbane Entertainment Centre).

Ignite Dance Academy:

• Paige Guttenbeil (8) and
• Hayley Welsh (8)

Vocal Ensemble

• Rachel Palm (9)
• Erin Palm (8)
• Jasmine McVeigh (7)

Similarly to C Gen, these five Creative Industries students and their families poured a massive amount of energy and passion into the production. Their rehearsals took place after school, on weekends and over the school holidays – whilst still balancing school, work and other extracurricular commitments.

Harvest Rain Theatre Company inspires young performers to dream the biggest dreams and equips them with the courage to chase after them.

Keep chasing those big dreams ladies – congratulations.

Carbrook State School Fete

On Saturday 28 July, our Ensemble 1 and 2 Ignite Dance Academy students were invited to perform at Carbrook State School’s Annual Fete.

Our extremely polished and professional set consisted of five items which ranged in genres from Contemporary/Lyrical to Hip Hop.

I was extremely proud of all of our students for representing the Ignite Dance Academy, Shailer Park SHS, their families and themselves with utmost professionalism and pride. As always, they were resilient and adapted seamlessly to an unfamiliar performance setting.

Once again, thank you to all of the parents and staff who gave up their time to allow this performance opportunity for our students. Your support is always greatly appreciated.

Beenleigh QUOTA Dance Eisteddfod

On Thursday 9 August our Ignite Dance Academy students will be competing in the Beenleigh QUOTA Dance Eisteddfod, held at the Logan Entertainment Centre.

Competition will commence at 8:30am and will conclude at approximately 4:30pm. Expect our students to be on the stage between 9:00am and 3:00pm on the day.

If you are interested in attending the eisteddfod, you’ll need to purchase a session or day ticket from the box office at the centre.

Brisbane Performing Arts Challenge

Congratulations to the Ignite Dance Academy for their enormous success at the Brisbane Performing Arts Challenge (BPAC) on31 May and 1 June.. Out of the five items performed at the challenge, four items placed. The incredible results are below:

Ensemble 2 Musical Theatre - 1st place
Ensemble 1 Hip Hop (item A) - 2nd place
Ensemble 1 Hip Hop (item B) - Highly Commended
Ensemble 1 Contemporary - Highly Commended

A tremendous amount of energy, passion and time went into making this event the success that it was. Thank you and congratulations to all students, parents and staff involved.

Instrumental Music

Logan Youth Music Exchange

The following students have auditioned and been selected to tour Japan in September with LYME “Logan Youth Music Exchange”. To their sister city “Hirakata”.

Hannah Thomson on Cello
Mikaela Gonzalez on Trumpet
Renee Mansfield on Violin
Emelia Lassman on Viola
Rhiannon Tate on Violin (past student)

Congratulations are due to the Musical Theatre Troupe, Sumaya as choreographer and coach for the First in Musical Theatre last night.

Congratulations to String Ensemble and Di Alley for their Silver Award.

Congratulations to Shae, Dannika, Sumaya, the Junior Ignite Group, Di, Rosey, the Senior and Junior Strings who always present themselves in such a professional and good natured manner when they represent our school.

Queensland Youth Orchestra

Two young guest conductors made the most of their opportunities to conduct QYO orchestras in the June Concerts at Twilight, including our very own Nikhil Deo (QYO2 viola player) who conducted QYO2 in Grieg's Symphonic Dances. Well done Nikhil.

Music Camp

Last weekend (July 26 – 29) 45 of our instrumental students attended the annual Band & String Camp at Kindilan OECC at Redland Bay. We were joined by 22 talented students from our nearby primary schools. Over the weekend, the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Allegretto Strings, Capriccio Strings and Symphonic Winds rehearsed for upcoming events. On Saturday morning our Jazz Band rehearsed with jazz vocalist, Ian Maurice (former TV & radio personality) in preparationfor a performance on September 14 at the Shailer Park State School Market Night. This was a fabulous camp, probably our best ever. Student behaviour was outstanding and everyone contributed in a positive way.

Upcoming events-

Health and Physical Education

Sting Volleyball Academy

U/19 State Championships.

Three of our Senior Volleyball Students, Jayde Adams, Isabella Trinh and Sam Fairbrother represented South Coast Region on 2-3 June at the most prestigious U/19 State Championships.

All three of our players were a crucial part of both the U/19 Boys and Girls South Coast Teams who finished Girls - 5th, and Boys -7th. Unfortunately the Metropolitan Teams of Met North & Met East won this competition, however the Girls South Coast Team beat the team that won Gold in the earlier rounds.

Special Mention to Jayde Adams, as she was selected as a Shadow for the Queensland Schoolgirls Team who travel to Singapore and parts of Asia in October.

What a great effort by all of our 3 Seniors!

QLD Volleyball State Team

Congratulations to Year 12 Student Jayde Adams on being selected in the U17 Volleyball Queensland State Team. Jayde will be competing at the Australian Junior Volleyball Championships (VQ Nationals) in October down at Coomera Indoor Sports Centre.

This is the highest level of competition for junior volleyball, with the states battling it out for the national title.

We wish Jayde and her team all the best for the tournament!

Senior Super 5

Some positive and happy news from the sporting world from the weekend! Our year 10 Boys and Girls Teams took out the GOLD Medals at this tournament!!

Some of our Volleyball students competed in the annual Senior Super 5 Volleyball Tournament on Sunday at Caloundra. This tournament is invitation only and is in its 11th year and involves various high schools from around QLD including Caloundra, Burnside, Craigslea, Benowa, Aldridge, Nambour and Shailer Park. It is a lead up to the State Championships for our seniors and juniors over the next 2 months. The divisions of the Senior Super 5 Tournament, has 6 divisions in Year 10, 11 & 12 Girls and Boys.

We sent 3 Shailer Park Teams away this weekend;

We are very proud of all their efforts, more so their commitment to hundreds of hours of training and getting up at 5.30am-6am to start training at 7am most mornings in the MPS. All of these wonderful achievements do not take place over a few weeks..... It has been days, weeks, months, and years of training to get to this level.

Training Schedule

Sting Futsal Academy

Year 12 student Tarly Brindley has been selected to play for the Australian Women’s Youth Team in Futsal again this year and will be travelling to China in August to represent Australia. Congratulations Tarly and we look forward to hearing about the achievements of the team. Year 12 student Piper has also been selected for the China Tour Futsal Women’s Team to represent Queensland. Well done Piper! We look forward to learning about the tour in August.

Champion of Champions

Last Friday the under 16 boys competed in the Champions of Champions competition at the AFA Oxley futsal venue. The competition invited the best 15 teams across the state to compete against each other to qualify for the Australasian titles. The boys finished at the top of their pool without losing a single game all day. This was a significant achievement due to the pace, short resting turnaround time and quality of the opposition. After the pool stage the boys unfortunately lost in the knock-out stages.

A huge congratulations to the players for demonstrating professionalism, resilience and passion throughout the day. Thank you goes to Gavin Clarke for the significant amount of development and time devoted to the team and Eric Perez for his constant support and mentorship.

U15 Softball Qld Selections

Over the weekend of 5-7 May, Ashton Tauariki and Brandon Bristowe represented Logan at the Under 15s Softball State Championships in Brisbane: playing a total of 11 games over 3 days, they won 9 games!

Logan made it through to the grand final, and Caboolture won 5 – 3. It was an amazing final, a real nail biter.

From the tournament a Queensland team has been announced and we are very proud to say that out of our 12 Logan boys, 8 have been selected including Ashton and Brandon.

Athletics Carnival

House Champions

1st Spartans=946 points
2nd Vikings=788 points
3rd Gladiators=758 points
4th Trojans=689 points

Age Champions

Best Dressed

Well done to all staff and participants for a fantastic event.

Cheyenne Campbell
Health & Physical Education Teacher

Vocational Education

The Sky’s the Limit!!

SPSHS was fortunate to host pilots Captain Belinda and Captain Linna from Qantas Link at assembly. Captain Belinda flies a 717 and Captain Linna flies a Dash 8. The Captains spoke about their journeys through school, university and private charters to securing jobs with Qantas Link flying commercial aircraft. Captain Linna also spoke about other careers in the aviation industry such as Engineering, Maintenance, Air Traffic Controllers and Flight Crew. We hope to see some of our students entering the aviation industry, securing challenging and rewarding careers.

Ignite Career Expo!

Thank you to everyone involved in the Ignite Career Expo at the Logan Metro Sports & Events Centre. The event was packed full of information and activities relating to careers for young people. Our Year 10 and 11 students who attended were using relational skills by interacting with exhibitors, exploring different industries and pathways, and collecting resources to help them define pathways to achieve their big plans.

Opportunities and Vacancies

Please access the Shailer High website for current opportunities and vacancies, including apprenticeships, traineeships, TAFE trades and courses.

Assistance is available. Please contact our Industry Liaison Officer, Ms Annette Lee on 3451 2782 or alee296@eq.edu.au

Traffic Light System Criteria applies.
If you are interested, please see Ms Annette Lee the ILO in F5.

Messages from Business Services

Email statements/Invoices

In the interest of streamlining our processes and reducing our carbon footprint and costs, all statements and invoices are now emailed. Please ensure your email address is up to date with our office by sending an email to office@shaiparkshs.eq.edu.au. If you receive an invoice via the post, please update your email as soon as possible.

School Fees

A friendly reminder to those families on payment plans for school fees, the final payment was due in the 2nd week of term 3, 27 July, 2018.

All Academy fees for Sting, Ignite, Instrumental Music, were due by the end of last term.

Credit card payments can no longer be made over the phone to the Finance office.

There are numerous ways to make payments including

Thank you to all those families who are up to date with their payments.

• Direct Deposit BSB 064 170 Acc# 00090123
• In person at our finance window with cash or card between 8.00am – 3.30pm, Monday to Friday
• Credit card payment can now only be accepted via BPOINT on 1300 631 073 by quoting your CRN and invoice number as this is listed as an option on the invoices.

Excursion Fees

NO late payments will be accepted for excursions after the due date (generally 1 week prior to excursion). All school fees and other payments must be up to date, paid in full, or payment plan in place; otherwise students risk losing excursion and/or academy privileges.

Business Support Team

Messages from our Parents and Citizens

Uniform Committee

Wearing our school uniform is a great demonstration of pride in our school spirit and values. Developing strong habits of dressing professionally are important ways we prepare students for the future.

Our P&C has a long history of supporting our school’s traditions through their endorsement of our school Dress Code. Recently our P&C have secured volunteers to form a Uniform Committee to support our School’s Dress Code (uniform policy).

The committee has met for the first time to respond to recent feedback regarding our winter uniform options. It is pleasing to note that the committee was able to work with our supplier to expand our winter uniform options to include a microfiber pant (that can be worn with both the formal shirt or sports shirt) for both male and female students. The microfiber pant matches the existing microfiber jacket currently available from School Locker. Further details including pricing will be forthcoming.

In the interim, we take this opportunity to remind parents and carers of our Dress Code and current winter options that include: tailored navy blue trousers (no logos) for both male and female students (available at School Locker or local suppliers including Lowes, Kmart, Big W or similar). Alternatively, female students can wear black opaque tights (stockings).

For further information regarding our Dress Code, please go to the school website

Uniform Committee

Coles Sports Vouchers

Thank you to our parents and carers who sent in the Coles Sports Vouchers. We collected 15,815 and used them to obtain a sports awards pack and several first aid kits. These can be used at sports events and by any of our sporting teams which ensures maximum benefit to all students.

Woolworths Sports Vouchers

Thank you to our parents and carers who sent in the Woolworths Sports Vouchers. We were able to obtain numerous balls for our Health and Physical Education department. Thanks also goes the p and c for their organisation to benefit students.

Building Fund

The main purpose of the P&C is to support the school for the benefit of all students. The P&C maintains a close relationship with the school executive and will work with them to improve the experience of all students, teachers and staff at Shailer Park State High School. We continue to raise funds via our tax-deductable Building Fund and by making grant applications. Funds are directed towards our major common goal, which is to air-condition all teaching spaces in the school.

If you are interested in making a Tax Deductable donation or have some other building type works contribution please contact pandc@shaiparkshs.eq.edu.au or attend a meeting, held on the 3rd Tuesday each month at 6pm. We would love to hear from you.

Andrew Huggins
P&C Treasurer

Community Support Program

Shailer High is now collaborating with local coffee business, Stellarossa Hyperdome. The support program is providing the school with vouchers that will be used as incentives and rewards for staff and students. The program also involves a kick back scheme when our community makes purchases in store. We envision this raising more funds to be directed to benefit all students.

I am pleased to announce that the team at Stellarossa Loganholme Hyperdome have offered Shailer Park High this opportunity to participate in a Community Support Program.

When paying for meals or drinks at Stellarossa, please mention that you are from Shailer Park High. Your invoice details will be recorded and Shailer Park High P&C will then receive a donation. The donated amounts will be totalled and sent monthly for P&C to use the funds to assist our school community.

Stellarossa is located near Bakers Delight at the Aldi/Coles end of the Hyperdome shopping centre and is open from

7-5pm Monday to Friday,
7- 4.30pm Saturday &
7.30-4pm Sunday.

Come on down and try their tasty breakfasts, salads, pizza, burgers, sandwiches, coffee and drinks.

Support a Local Retailer who is supporting your Local School

Meetings

Thank you to all those who attended our July Meeting. Our executive team can be contacted via email pandc@shaiparkshs.eq.edu.au.

Our next meeting is Tuesday 21 August 2018, at 6pm in the common room. We welcome all new members. Please go to the P&C section of our School website for more information.

Below is our membership form and meeting dates for your calendar.

21 August
18 September
16 October
20 November

Kevin Thomas
P&C President

Announcements

Principal Tours

The next Principal Tour date is 20 November.

Please consult our Facebook events page for more information.

Or email us enrolment@shaiparkshs.qu.edu.au

Register for our Principal Tour event at Eventbrite:

We are now accepting expression of interest paperwork for 2019. Enrolment packages will be delivered to Primary School administration offices to be collected by those who have put in an expression of interest. Families will receive email notification when their enrolment pack is ready.

2018 Next Step - Early School Leavers survey

The Queensland Government is conducting its annual state-wide survey of Year 10, 11 and 12 students who in 2017 left school without obtaining Year 12 certification. The Early School Leavers survey is a short, confidential survey that collects information about what young people are doing the year after leaving school.

Between August and September, students who left school early in 2017 can expect to receive an invitation to complete a web-based survey or a telephone call from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office to complete the survey. Please encourage them to take part.

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

Judo at Shailer

Upcoming Dates

School Calendar