12 February 2021

Newsletter Articles

A message from the Principal

Welcome to the 2021 school year to all of our wonderful Shailer Park families. I hope you all had an enjoyable break with your children and are now refreshed and ready for another great year of learning. I certainly relished the ability to ‘switch off’ after a hectic 2020, even if that meant being we couldn’t leave the house for a few days! No doubt you’re keen for a good start to the year, much like our staff and students are and I’m pleased to report our first few weeks have been very positive. This is an exciting time for our students, their family and our staff and stepping off on the right foot is fantastic.

To begin with, we would like to thank all those parents of our Year 7 students who joined us for our ‘Meet and Greet’ event on Monday 8th of February. These information evenings provide valuable opportunities to meet your child’s teachers and key staff and is an excellent way of fostering the communication lines between home and school. I especially enjoy these evenings: watching our community come together in support of our Shailer Park students is wonderful! Additionally, we were joined by renowned parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson who shared some great advice on setting up your child for success and supporting them in their transition to high school.

We have kicked off the school year for all students by setting the tone for learning early, clarifying the visible behaviours we display which show we are ready to learn. Each day as students enter our gates, they cross the line of opportunity. They make the most of this opportunity when they demonstrate and engage with the following behaviours at the start of each lesson:

• Line up outside your classroom.
• Have all equipment for lesson in hand.
• Store your mobile phone in your school bag.
• Check your dress meets our code.
• Listen to reminders and expectations for the lesson.
• Check in and connect with your teacher.
• Sanitise your hands.
• Store bags on hooks or designated zone.
• Be seated and ready to turn on your smart brain for learning.

Discussing these behaviours and requirements at home will reinforce them at school and give our students greater understanding of the role they play in their education. Getting these ‘housekeeping’ behaviours right at the start of the lesson makes for a better learning experience and outcomes overall.

We were delighted to welcome our students back to a new state of the art learning facility that includes eight learning classrooms and two technology labs. This new building also provides ample shaded space for lunch times, something we are all grateful for at this time of the year! Here’s a sneak peak of our student learning in R block.

Shailer Park SHS is improving its infrastructure in other areas as well, with our Multi-Purpose Hall continuing to be refurbished with works scheduled for completion late February. The refurbished hall will offer competition and training courts for our Academy sports of volleyball, futsal and basketball as well as other sports that are part of the HPE curriculum. We have also commenced upgrades on the Amenities building parallel to our Hall. These works will complement the hall refurbishment and provide open, ventilated amenities and change rooms. This upgrade will further support our partnership with Basketball Queensland and Logan Basketball, who will use the hall, facilities and amenities for training and competitions. This opens doors for our students and their engagement with Basketball, the Hall will also provide amenities for our cultural activities such as Showcase events and Arts performances. We look forward to unveiling this fantastic space to our community shortly.

In other great news, COVID 19 restrictions have been eased, but of course, this does not mean we aren’t being as vigilant as ever. At school you can be assured that we are continuing to practice the highest levels of hygiene including:

1. Adults maintaining physical distance of 1.5m.
2. Wearing a mask when distancing is not possible.
3. Maintaining good hand hygiene – hand sanitising each lesson as students enter.
4. Regular cleaning of high touch surfaces.
5. Staying home when sick.

In other housekeeping matters, please make sure all of your contact details are up to date. There are times when we may need to contact parents and carers: when our contact details for you are incorrect, it creates confusion and angst for both the home and school. Please contact the school on office@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au to update your contact details.

If your student is late or absent, you must notify the school. We care just as much as you do on the whereabouts of your child: please help us to do this by notifying the school prior to 8:50am if your child will be absent via studentabsences@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au or (07) 3451 2766.

Finally, when driving around our school zones, slow down. With the school year well and truly underway there is no excuse for speeding around our schools. We ask all parents and community members to by mindful when driving in school zones at all times of the day, not just the 40km/h speed limits. Children are unpredictable and do not have the same spatial awareness as adults: they simply do not have the peripheral vision to see an oncoming car as adults do. Slowing down in school zones will not make much difference to your trip time, but it could save a child’s life.

Here’s 5 tips to keep young children safe:

1. Remember children do not have ‘street smarts’ yet, so slow down for unpredictable and distracted children who will be out and about before and after school.
2. Pay close attention to children on bikes, crossing roads, getting on and off buses, and out of cars.
3. Use designated drop-off zones where available, do not risk your child’s safety (or a fine) by stopping in no-parking areas, and exercise patience during times of congestion.
4. You can teach road safety techniques at a young age by walking or riding to school with your child until they have enough skills to understand how to be safe around roads (usually around 10 years or older).
5. Teach your child the safest route to and from school, to only cross at pedestrian crossings, crossing when the green ‘walk’ sign is showing, or at supervised school crossings when the supervisor has signalled it is safe to cross.

When school is on all motorists should look out! There could be children about.

Calendar

A message from our Senior Schooling Deputy Principal

Welcome to our new teachers

We are very proud to introduce our community to some of our new teachers joining us here at Shailer High.

Chris Crane- is joining our Technology team. He has been working in Digital Technology and Robotics for the past few years in metro and loves the creative side of technology

Maree Sharpe- Is joining our SEP and English teams. She brings a wealth of knowledge from her most recent primary setting. Maree has been an SEP teacher for the past 4 years and enjoys helping students to succeed.

Ryhs Hurren- joining the Humanities team. He has worked for many years both in Australia and overseas and has a passion for history and culture

Marie Cooper- Joins the English team. She has worked in several Logan schools and is enjoying her return to teaching at Shailer

A message from our Junior Schooling Deputy Principal

It is always wonderful to see new students arrive at our school gates, particularly at the start of each school year. Their new uniforms, shoes, school bags and equipment almost sparkle as they enter the schoolyard and classrooms. The start of a new school year is also wrapped in a great sense of excitement, possibly even nervousness, especially for our New Year 7 students and their parents. Starting high school is the start of their next big adventure with many new possibilities and options.

Our Year 7 cohort of 2021 began the new school year on Wednesday 27th January with the Year 12 cohort. Our Year 12 students quickly welcomed the Year 7 students into the school and their first assembly, which lead into the Opportunity Week (O Week) Program. By the end of O Week, our New Year 7 students had met their new teachers, become quite familiar with the school campus and learnt some more about our school expectations, values and processes.

It is a busy term for our Year 7 students and their families.

This week, our Year 7 parents attended our annual Meet and Greet Event in the new building. This event invited Year 7 parents to meet their child’s classroom teachers, the Heads of House and the Administration Team. Parents were then officially welcomed to our school by our Principal Mrs Jensen who also opened our first Parent Seminar for 2021. This Parent Seminar was led by well-known psychologist Dr Justin Coulson, who discussed strategies that set children up for success as they transition to high school. Thank you to the many families who joined us for this event.

In Week 5, our Year 7 students head off to the Year 7 Camp at Thunderbird Park, Mt Tamborine. Participating students will have received the required permission notes and lists of required camp equipment from Mr Simpson. I am sure there are many excited campers already counting down the days. For those students not attending the Year 7 Camp, an at-school program has been organised and will include some team-building activities. Further details about the at-school program will be given to students at the beginning of Week 5.

2021 UPLIFT Program – for Year 7, 8 & 9 students

Our commitment to personalising learning saw the school launch UPLIFT in 2020. UPLIFT is a personalised learning program operating each Monday between 1:50 – 2:55pm. The UPLIFT Program maximises students’ timetable to ensure that they receive the support, intervention and extension they need to achieve academic success.

In 2021, the UPLIFT arrangements are:

• Year 7s – all students engage in the year-long program designed to build student skills in the 4Rs to become Future-Ready Learners; school day finishes at 2.55pm.
• Year 8 & 9s – students identified for additional support are required to attend a Literacy or Numeracy group. Identified students have received an email confirming they are required to attend the UPLIFT Program with specific room details. After each reporting period, the UPLIFT rolls are reviewed and confirmation emails are sent to identified students.

Now that we are in Week 3 of Term 1, all Junior Secondary classes are well settled in their learning routines. It has been lovely visiting some Year 7 – 9 classrooms and seeing students already engaging in some interesting units of work. I look forward to seeing more of this over the next few weeks.

A message from our Deputy Principal of Engagement

Like many of you, I greeted 2021 with open arms after finding 2020 quite a challenge. The pandemic that we are experiencing has taught many of us what is important and how resilient we can be. For many members of our school community, it has also meant that prioritising our wellbeing has never been more important. We are very fortunate to live in a state where schools have remained open and functioning in the main, providing an opportunity for consistency and routines, which support our mental health.

Having arrived at Shailer Park State High School two years ago now, I am grateful every day to teach and lead in a community where the warmth and friendliness of students and staff alike is a daily energiser. The Student Services Team are excited and proud to be leading a culture that puts student wellbeing to be at the centre of all learning.

The Student Services Team consists of myself and:

• The four Heads of House – Melissa Dodd (KARLE), Luke Simpson (BARNES), Anne-Maree King (BILIN BILIN) and Angela King (FRANCIS).
• Lynne Grimes, Student Services Officer, who supports our students as the face of F Block’s Student Hub;
• Dean Thomas, Guidance Officer – Mr Thomas returns to Shailer Park SHS after five years of supporting students in Bayside schools. We are excited to welcome him into our Student Services Team, and look forward to him bringing his experience to strengthen the wellbeing experience of Shailer students;
• Trish Jones, our Attendance Officer;
• Sarah Mitchell, our School Nurse;
• Jeevan Soares, our School Chaplain and Youth Support Coordinator.

This team is based in F Block, our Student Services Hub, which is a ‘one stop shop’ for all Shailer Park SHS students. Late? Uniform issues? Need an appointment with a member of our team? Lost property? Want to connect with your Head of House? Students just need to remember to report to F Block for any of these. There will always be an adult in F Block who can assist our students.

The Shailer Park SHS community is excited to continue to develop our House system, of which we are rightfully proud: Go Bilin Bilin; Karle; Barnes and Francis! These Houses are each led by a Head of House and Student House Leaders, whose focus it is to build a strong sense of belonging, connection and identity within our school. 2021 will see a continuation of war cries, team building activities and house challenges, and most importantly the strengthening of relationships and the development of pride and belonging to our school.

Our Multi-Age House Care Groups – every morning, students Check and Connect with their House Care Group, consisting of a teacher-mentor and students from Year 7 through to 12. This allows our younger students to aspire to their in-class senior role models, and our older students to rise to the expectations and responsibilities as leaders and mentors in these groups. Staff are able to connect with students outside of their faculty, using Signature Practices such as ‘The 5 Faces’, and this time helps us to build a stronger sense of community and pride in our school.

Our LIFT (Lifting Individuals, Flourishing Together) Classes – all students are engaged in a seventy-minute lesson each week focusing on wellbeing, health, study and life skills - facilitating learning about themselves, others and the world around them. This lesson also supports the reinforcement of our 4Rs: building resilient, reflective, relational and resourceful learners.

Please take a moment to speak to your students today about the 5 Faces, their House Care Group and their House. Our community will become even stronger if we are all engaged in this culture.

The start of every year is exciting, and this one is no different: Year 7 camp, exciting and productive UPLIFT programs and Valentine’s Day fundraising efforts by student leaders – all with a focus on crossing The Line of Opportunity every day!

It is truly a privilege to lead this work and interact with our school community every day. Please feel free to be in touch with your child’s Head of House, a member of the Student Services team or myself if you have feedback, ideas or would like to partner with us to strengthen your child’s engagement at school.

Messages from our Student Services Team

A message from the Heads of House

House Competition

We have started the year off with a bang in terms of house competition. As you know, we held our 2021 swimming carnival at the end of last year so each house started the year with the following points according to their places: Barnes 50, Francis 40, Karle 30 and Bilin Bilin 20. Since then, we have had house points allocated for a number of different events. These have included a teacher challenge, Year 7 activities and handball, a bonus live challenge, Showbie online challenge and the all-important attendance. In addition to attendance points each week, as well as whole school events, each term will see the houses able to compete in a different activity. Term 1 is our online weekly Showbie challenge. This is all about fostering participation and getting involved. As you can see, there is not a lot separating the houses, and with the full year ahead of us, we look forward to the continued friendly rivalry.

Student Leadership Team

This year, the student leadership team have come together with a strong sense of school spirit, events and building community connections. A number of committees have been introduced to capture interests in Academic, Sport, Community and Cultural connections across the school and our community. Among the 30 leaders, they are excited for the year ahead with various events, increasing visibility of academies, developing reading groups, building a sense of belonging and partnering up with community charities, sporting academies and cultural groups.

Sebastian Perez- Community Captain

Hey, I’m Sebastian Perez and I am the community captain for Shailer Park State High School. My main goals as captain this year is to ensure students gain a greater sense of belonging in our schools by including them in the school’s everyday activities. Whether that be showing off the skills or creating different experiences we want to include all students. With events and community connections throughout the year, I will strive to do the best I can and support the students any way possible to ensure everyone feels happy and safe while at school.

Yevin Samararatne- Sport Captain

Hi everyone my name is Yevin Samararatne and I am honoured to be your Sport Captain for 2021. As one of the leaders, my aim is to guide our school community to have a strong sense of belonging and create a great culture throughout all year levels especially in the sporting arena. One important thing I’ve already learned this year being a 12 student is that leaders aren’t the only ones who wear a badge, it can be anyone who decides to make a move to help direct the school community to a better place. My goal and role for this year is to develop a great sporting culture in this school and to also get students to connect and stay healthy through physical activity to make sure they can access their wild, emotional and smart brain to learn more efficiently. Once the multipurpose hall is finished construction, a partnership with Logan Basketball will be in place to create future opportunities for young athletes. The organisation of sport promotions and lunch time events will improve house spirit and overall school culture.

Year 7 Camp

It’s with great excitement the student services team will be facilitating a Year 7 camp for another year. The New Year 7 students who are attending the camp will be leaving on the 24th of February and returning the 26th. This year the camp has been specifically designed to help establish and build our new students with meeting new friends, push their boundaries, and assist in the transition into a new school setting. Without giving away too many of the surprises imbedded in the camp the students have been asked to be prepared for adventure! If your son/daughter isn’t attending camp this year they will also experience activities and team building games while at school.

Please see the update on how camp went in the next newsletter with photos and stories.

Messages from our Student Leader Team

Dakotah Hall and I, Aisha Barry, attended a three day leaders retreat at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus. Within the short time we were there, we made lifetime friendships, went on campus tours, woke up at 6am to play volleyball together and listened to inspiring leaders tell their story. I can definitely say this valuable experience was not one to forget.

Here are my key takeaways; If we set our minds to be positive, confident and encouraging, the more empowering and confident young men and women within our community will become. I learned that getting out of my comfort zone and getting involved in any opportunity will help me to be the best version of myself by boosting my confidence and having a positive influence on the others around me. Finally, I learned that you can achieve literally anything if you’re determined, passionate and keen.

A message from our Dean of Studies

Assessment Planners

In week 3 all of our students will be provided with a detailed assessment planner that outlines all of their Semester 1 assessment dates. Students are encouraged to use these planners to maximise their study time to ensure they give themselves the best chance to cross the line of opportunity in each of their classes.

Copies of Year Level planners will be available to parents and carers via the school’s website. Please access these by going to the link below. Any further questions please feel free to contact me via email salbe7@eq.edu.au.

Learning Policy

At Shailer we help support our students fulfil our vision of “Big Plans and Bold Ambitions” we have a comprehensive Learning Policy that covers our learning and assessment frameworks. During our Week 1 O Week key points of the Learning Policy was shared with all students and they are also summarised on pages 18 and 19 of the students’ resilience planners (diaries). The full Learning Policy document and important forms relating to assessment (planned absence or absence for sickness) are found on the Testing and Assessment page of the school’s website:

Free Elevate Parent/Carer Webinars

Elevate is an external agency that works with our students, delivering high impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. We’re excited to announce that as parents/carers of Shailer Park State High School you have exclusive access to Elevate Education’s Parent Webinar Series for Term 1, 2021. By tuning into their webinar series you will learn how to better support your children at home through reinforcing the skills they learn at school.

The webinars take place across term 1, beginning this Wednesday 10th February at 6pm. Registration is essential and is free for parents of Shailer Park State High School.

The webinar is run live online from 6pm – 7pm where the presenter will share Elevate’s key research and skills, and will conduct a live Q&A so you can ask them questions directly.

Other upcoming dates

• February 24th - Time Management techniques to align the family expectations on homework and school-life balance.
• March 10th - Technology devices and self-regulation strategies.
• March 24th - Note taking skills to help your child deepen their revision.

Should you have questions or would like to contact Elevate directly, their details are listed below.

1300 667 945
auscoaching@elevateeducation.com

A message from our Reading Coach

At Shailer Park, we are intent on ensuring that our children are able to access and understand information, read for enjoyment, develop critical thinking skills and explore worlds and subjects beyond their direct experience.

Renaissance Place

Our Year 7 and 8 students use a software programme called Renaissance Place at school. This reading platform provides each student with a reading age and level. Once students have completed their Star Reading Test, you will receive your child’s personalised information.

Students are able to use our school library or log onto Renaissance myOn, to select a book at his/her appropriate reading and interest level. Through the Accelerated Quizz and the quizzes available on myOn, teachers are able to monitor and target teach to improve comprehension and reading fluency at all levels.

The diagram above captures our work around Renaissance Star Reading. You will notice that there is Renaissance Home Connect that will guide you in having access to your child’s progress in Accelerated Reader.

myOn

Renaissance myOn offers our students a digital library of over 13 000 high quality age appropriate books. The following link will give you an idea of the scope of this resource:

Although teachers are setting reading projects on this platform, students have the opportunity to engage in reading wherever they are – at home or at school. At the end of each book, there is a 5 question myOn quiz, as well as a slightly longer Accelerated Reader (AR) Quiz.

If you have any questions, please contact me via bwill646@eq.edu.au

Vocational Education

Opportunities and Vacancies

Access to School Based Traineeships / Apprenticeships, TAFE courses and work experience for Vocational Students in Year 10, 11 and 12 is subject to the Traffic Light System.

The school reserves the right to refuse participation in an activity if any of the criteria falls within the Red Zone. The Student will be given a period of time (evaluated on a case-by-case basis) to adjust the criteria into the Amber or Green Zone.

Please access the Shailer High website for current opportunities and vacancies, including apprenticeships, traineeships, TAFE trades and courses. Visit our Vocational Education page for further information and vacancies.

Assistance is available. Please contact our Industry Liaison Officer, Annette Lee in A02, main administration building, on 3451 2782 ilo@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au

A message from the Business Manager

2021 STUDENT RESOURCE SCHEME (SRS) FEES AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR LEVIES

The 2021 School Resource Scheme (SRS) fees include a:

• Junior SRS fee (Years 7-9) of $320 per year;
• Senior SRS fee (Years 10-12) of $360 per year.

The School is pleased to announce the Senior SRS fee will now encompass both the ATAR and VET Career Ready Programs. The fees provide value to students as the School is able to source economic pricing for textbooks and consumable resourcing. Further information on the SRS inclusions and exclusions can be found on the School website using the link above.

An Early Bird discount of $20 is offered for the SRS fee. To be eligible, fees must be paid in full by Friday 12 February 2021 . If paying in full by this date, please only pay $300 for the Junior SRS fee or $340 for the Senior SRS fee. Invoices for 2021 fees have been issued. Payment plans are available by emailing finance@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au.

A new SRS Participation Agreement Form for each student has been forwarded to parents. This form must be completed and returned to the Office this year. Please note that from 2021, only one form per student will be required for the duration of a student’s enrolment. Parents who are participating in the SRS can choose to opt out of the SRS in future years by completing a new Participation Agreement Form.

Payment for all SRS fees and extra-curricular levies for Academy and Instrumental Music must be made in full or a payment plan in place by Friday 26 February 2021. Please note that ID cards and print allocations will be issued when fees have been paid or a payment plan commenced.

CANTEEN

The Canteen is open each day from Monday to Friday at first break only. Payments can be made with EFTPOS or orders can be placed using the Canteen menu on Qkr.

A vending machine with drinks and healthy snacks is also available for EFTPOS card purchases only.

Volunteers are invited to assist in the Canteen. Please contact the Office via office@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au if you are able to offer your time.

Messages from our Parents and Citizens

Thank you to all those who attended our first meeting of 2021. Our executive team can be contacted via email pandc@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au.

Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month. The next meeting is Tuesday 16 March 2021, at 6pm via Zoom. We welcome all new members. Please go to the P&C section of our School website for more information.

2021 meeting dates for your calendar.

30 March AGM Face to Face at R Block
20 April
29 May
15 June
20 July
17 August
19 October
26 November

Announcements

Facebook

Please follow us on Facebook to keep up with student successes and reminders.

Partnering with us

Shailer Park State High School values partnering with our community to ‘Lift Aspirations through Big Plans and Bold Ambitions for a Bright Future’. Working with parents and families of students is essential in strengthening educational outcomes. We respect that parents and families have different needs and therefore engagement with families is based on individual circumstances.

Please access our Partnership document on our website for detailed information.

If your enquiry relates to the classroom, your first point of call should always be the classroom teacher. You can contact them via email.

If your enquiry relates to the playground or is in relation to a pattern perhaps across several classes or it is an inquiry relating to behaviour, attendance, uniform or your child’s well-being, your first point of call should always be the Head of House or Case Manager.

If the staff member is unavailable, they will contact you within a reasonable and appropriate time frame (2 business days).

Contact details

There are times when we may need to contact parents and carers. Do we have your most up to date contact details? If not, please contact the school on office@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au so we can update our records. These details include parent/carer’s name, address, phone numbers, email address and emergency contact details. Please remember to contact the school if any of these details change.

Student Absences

Keeping our students safe is our priority. One important way families can partner to keep our children safe is to notify the school prior to 8:50am if your child will be absent via studentabsences@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au or (07) 3451 2766.

If your child is away from school and you have not let us know, parents will receive a text message requesting that you respond with a reason for the absence. It is extremely important that you respond to this text message promptly to enable us to follow up any possible issues.

The safety of students is of paramount importance to us and we take this responsibility very seriously. If you do not respond to this text message a second text message, email or phone call will be made to you. Thank you for partnering with us so that we know our students are safe.

Rugby Union