11 June 2021

Newsletter Articles

A message from the Principal

Do you remember those first few months, maybe years, of your child? The mornings when you would wake up and think, ‘Wow, I got four hours sleep last night,’ like it was a minor miracle? That feeling of walking around like a zombie due to the lack of sleep? I remember them very clearly, and am so grateful I was able to spend those months at home where I could focus on the basics of survival (and my son!), rather than having to function back at school. The thing to remember here is that eventually our babies do sleep for longer periods, and we can go back to looking less like extras from The Walking Dead. We all need sleep to function, and we need a certain amount to feed our Wild Brains to a level that we are ready to work, learn and participate in day-to-day activities. Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that some of our students are back in infant mode when it comes to their sleep.

In a recent survey at our school, we found that few students are getting the recommended eight hours of sleep per night. In fact, many students indicated that they were getting less than four! Remember how you felt on four hours sleep? Of even more concern, was that these students were up until between 1am and 2am, because they were gaming. An Australia-wide study said: ‘a quarter of 12-15-year old’s and half of 16-17-year old’s don’t get enough sleep on school nights and commonly try to catch up by sleeping longer on weekends.’ Sound familiar? The study went on to say, ‘12-17-year old’s not meeting minimum sleep guidelines were more likely to show symptoms of anxiety and depression.’ As adults, we know how lack of sleep affects us: we would struggle to attend work or even function with this kind of routine, let alone be energetic enough in our body and mind to sit down to learning.

We all want our young people to live a well life and function at their best. At Shailer Park SHS, we know that education is the key to this well life, but it is clear we must also support our students to maintain the foundations of a healthy routine to be at their best. Feeding our Wild Brains with the basic needs of sleep and food is essential if we want our young people to switch on their Smart Brain and learn. At the moment, I see lots of students at our front gates every morning who have clearly had little sleep, zombie-ing rather than striding across that line of opportunity. I’ll say it again: we need our young people to sleep a minimum of eight hours a night to function and most importantly, learn.

I understand that getting a good night's sleep isn’t always so simple. Luckily there is plenty of research and helpful strategies to help us:

• Stick to a routine. Set your alarm for the same time each morning and go to bed at the same time each night.
• What we eat and drink before bed matters. Caffeine in particular will make it harder to get to and stay asleep.
• Switch ALL screens off at least 30 minutes before bed (I know, this is a tricky one). The light from these devices tricks your brain into thinking it’s still daytime, not to mention the heart racing action of some series and games which makes it hard to relax into sleep straight away.
• Practice relaxation and meditation techniques. This will help switch off your mind in the evenings.
• Try not to nap during the day.
• Exercise first thing in the morning, outdoors. Sunlight can help reset your body clock and the exercise will energise you.

Getting adequate sleep is connected to mental wellness and it is through this basic Wild Brain need that students can be fuelled to turn on their Smart Brain and be an effective learner.

After the findings of our own school survey, I believe that we all need to set greater parameters around sleep and especially the use of technology at night time. Whilst technology is a part of our modern lives, we need to ensure we are in control of it and not the other way around. Ensuring that you have clear family routines around appropriate bedtimes must include the removal of devices from bedrooms or the internet being switched off after 9pm. It may not be received with great enthusiasm, but as adults, we need to support our children to feed their wild brains.

This week I set students a sleep challenge – to get at least 8hrs of sleep on at least 3 days consecutively in the school week! Help your child meet this challenge by reflecting on what routines you have as a family that support them to get adequate sleep. I look forward to seeing all students bright eyed as they stride across the line of opportunity at Shailer Park SHS.

Still struggling with sleep? Here are a few other strategies:

For more information on progressive muscle relaxation techniques:

Further information on how to get a good night’s sleep:

Apps to help with meditation aimed at young people:

Apps to help with meditation:

The Australian Institute of Families Study on Teens and Sleep:

Calendar

Please access our school calendar for upcoming events.

A message from our Senior Schooling Deputy Principal

Our lives have become increasingly fast-pace, and the effort to keep up often occupies all our time and attention. We are so busy rushing from point A to point B that we forget to enjoy the ride. We race to the shops without noticing the leaves on the trees or the clouds in the sky. We go through the checkout line feeling too pressed to converse with the cashier or the other people in line. At the end of a day filled with this kind of frantic pace, we may begin to wonder what it is we do all these things for, if we don't even have the time to occasionally stop and just take it all in.

Always being rushed and in a hurry doesn't allow time for the soul to enjoy life, which is composed of small, ordinary moments, like watching rain fall from the sky, having a spontaneous conversation with a stranger, or lingering over a meal for several hours. Small towns and the people who live in them can teach us all a thing or two about living life to the fullest as a daily matter. City people tend to think that their lives are full because they are doing so many different things, but in a small town, there tends to be more time left open to be spontaneous or take an extended moment of rest. This certainly doesn't mean that we can't live in a city and enjoy life fully -- we can and do; it just takes a little more awareness.

One thing we can do, wherever we live, is bring awareness breaks into our day and take 10 minutes to simply look out the window and observe what's happening outside. We might also choose to cultivate a relationship with someone we see regularly, such as a someone on the check out or a neighbour. Taking time to have a conversation that is not necessary is a true luxury in this day and age, as is staring out the window. Participating in these acts of timelessness makes the biggest city in the world start to feel a little bit more like a small town.

A message from our Junior Schooling Deputy Principal

ENROLMENTS FOR 2022

Making the transition from primary school to high school

The transition from primary school to high school is an important time in every young person’s life. Many things change. These changes may be exciting and possibly even daunting. We like to work with students, families and our primary schools to make this transition as smooth as possible.

In the past few weeks I have had the chance to visit the Year 6 students in our four main feeder schools – Shailer Park SS, Kimberley Park SS, Loganholme SS and Carbrook SS. It is always wonderful to see our incoming students in their Year 6 classrooms and to talk with their classroom teachers.

Enrolment Packs for 2022 are now available from our Administration Building and our school website. Inside these Enrolment Packs, you will find details regarding the overall enrolment process and specific information about the trial process for our programs of excellence, The Academies.

Trials for the Academic Excellence Programs – Altum and Nexus - have begun with the Academic Test Day scheduled for Tuesday 22 June (Week 10 Term 2). Interested students and their parents who have submitted their Enrolment and Academy Applications will receive emails directly from Mrs Thompson (HOD) regarding testing times and requirements.

Trials for the Sport and Cultural Excellence Programs – Sting Futsal, Sting Volleyball and Ignite Dance – are scheduled to start in Week 4 Term 3. Details regarding the different trials can be found on our website and will be emailed directly to interested students, closer to the date.

Semester 1 Report Cards – COMING SOON!

By the end of Semester 1, parents will receive an email with their child’s Semester 1 Report Card attached. Please let the Administration staff know if your email address needs to be updated. I also encourage you to use this Report Card as an opportunity to discuss your child’s current progress and other support they may need.

Some useful questions parents could use to start this conversation are:

Change in Semester 2 Elective Subjects – Year 7s and Year 8s only

At the beginning of Semester 2, all Year 7 and Year 8 students will receive a new timetable. This Semester 2 timetable will have their new elective subject from the Arts Faculty or the Technology Faculty. Over these two years, our Year 7 and Year 8 students rotate through a semester-long program in these two faculty areas. Each student is given an opportunity to select their elective preferences and are encouraged to experience a range of subjects. This is the best preparation we can provide students for more in-depth subject selection processes in older year levels. In Semester 2, our Year 9 students continue their year-long elective subjects.

Messages from our Student Services Team

Student services team members can be contacted via email or 07 3451 2745. Email addresses can be found on our website

• Deputy Principal of Engagement
• our four Heads of House
• Student Services Officer
• Guidance Officer
• Attendance Officer
• School Nurse
• School Chaplain and
• Youth Support Coordinator.

Please contact Student Services Officer on 07 3451 2745 directly for

• lost property
• sickbay
• uniform issues
• appointments with members of student services team

Please contact Attendance Officer on 07 3451 2739 directly for

• student absences
• late arrivals
• early departures

Messages from the Heads of House

The battle for points has really heated up this term. Students across the school have been fiercely competing. For the duration of Term 2, students have been earning points in the following ways:

• Attendance
• Handball
• Bonus live challenges
• Reading Challenges

Handball has been a great hit this term with a great turn out every Friday at first break by both students and staff. Competition between staff is definitely fierce! Karle have hit their stride in handball and made up a lot of ground with points.

Our Years 7 and 8 students are aiming to hit reading targets to earn points. At the end of the term, results for all students who have hit their target will earn valuable points for their house.

With the end of term culminating in our two-day Athletics Carnival, any house could hit the lead. Bring it on!

Points Update

Messages from our Student Leader Team

Semi-Formal 2021

The Semi Formal is definitely going ahead for the Year 10’s this year, thanks to all the collaboration and hard work put in by our Deputy Principal of Senior Schooling, Ms. Davies. The event is going to be held on November 23rd in Term 4, which is the Tuesday of the Year 10s last week of school: Week 8. Our Semi-Formal will be held on the Kookaburra Queen, which will be travelling down the Brisbane River from 6-9pm; students will need to be dropped off at Eagle Street Pier for boarding.

Excellence Academies

On Tuesday June 1, our sporting and cultural academy students attended the Spirit of Academies Retreat at Gold Coast Performance Centre.

The aim of this retreat was to give students the opportunity to develop their growth mindset and leadership skills across a range of activities and challenges outside of their chosen sport and art. Working in mixed age and academy groups, students learnt about how their actions influence others, how to use their strengths to help others and support the team, and the value of teamwork, persistence, patience and communication in solving problems to achieving success.

Students are looking forward to attending Day 2 of the retreat in Term 3.

Sting Volleyball Academy

Term 2 has seen the Volleyball Academy move back into the MPS with all new training equipment. This has been met with lots of excitement and pride in our new space.

Year 12 students Benjamin Lee, Ethan Guttenbeil, Emily Burke, Sereana Kunoqoro-Christie, Aisha Barry and Year 11 student Allegonda Zeydel competed at the Australian Beach Volleyball Schools Cup held at Coolangatta beach on the 30th April – 2nd May. This is the highest school level beach volleyball tournament in Australia which provided our athletes with a wealth of experience.

On the 28th-30th of May, 28 of our Volleyball Academy students headed to Toowoomba for theQueensland Intermediate Schools Cup. We entered a Year 9 Division 1 girls’ team, one Year 9 Division 2 girls’ team, and two Year 9 Division 2 boys’ teams. One of these boys’ teams was a development team made up of mostly Year 8 boys. It was a fantastic and very cold weekend with students competing across 3 venues and all staying together at accommodation organised by the school. Our Year 9 boys’ team finished in 3rd place bringing home the bronze medal, our development Year 9 boys’ team finished in 10th place, our Year 9 div 1 girls team finished in 7th place and our Year 9 div 2 girls’ team finished in 5th place. This was great experience for all our students and we look forward to seeing what they can achieve when we go back to Toowoomba next year with the same students as Year 10 teams. Thanks to all the coaches and managers who gave up their weekend to support our Volleyball Academy students.

We now begin preparation for our Juniors Super 5 day in Week 2 next term as well as Queensland Senior Schools Cup in Week 5 next term.

Sting Futsal Academy

Over the past few weeks, Futsal Academy students participated in the Calvary Cup. It’s with great pride that we share the success from this event with the school community. Congratulations to our 15 Boys and 13 Girls who won gold, and our 13 & 19 Boys who won silver. Congratulations to our two 15 Girls teams who finishing 3rd & 5th. Our winning trophies now sit proudly in the MPS trophy cabinet for the school community to enjoy.

The Queensland School Futsal Cup is the official cup for Queensland School Sport. This competition has the capacity to be a driver for future exposure and funding of the sport. I am excited to announce that Shailer Park SHS Futsal Academy has been invited to participate. I wish all selected 13 & 14 boys and girls all the best in this competition.

In Term 3, our 15 & 16 boys will be going to the State Champion of Champions competition while our other teams will be participating in a new competition which houses those that were unable to make states. In addition, the Australian Futsal Association are hoping to hold a one-day league for invited schools only which will see our 13 Boys, 15 Boys, 19 Boys, 15 Girls & 19 Girls all competing on the same day.

I’m looking forward to a busy and productive Term ahead.

Ignite Dance Academy

Term 2 has been busy for our dance academy students as they prepare for their first competition. After a year of no live performances in 2020, the students are extremely excited to return to the stage at the 2021 Brisbane Performing Arts Challenge, which will take place at the end of Week 9.

This year our dance academy students have had the privilege of working with an exciting array of industry professionals, including Demi Jenkins (RAW Dance), Errol Cenita (Mad Dance House, Brisbane Silver Bullets, Reset Dance Studio), and Ella Macrokanis (Killer Queens, Daddy Long Legs). The dancers have benefitted immensely from the tutelage of these choreographers, and have enjoyed experimenting with different styles of dance than they have previously experienced. Students are also excited about an upcoming opportunity to see Bangarra Dance Theatre’s production of SandSong: Stories from The Great Sandy Desert, which will provide further insights into the dynamic Australian dance industry.

In addition to their busy rehearsal schedule, last week saw many of the dance academy students partake in day one of the Spirit of Academies Retreat (SOAR). This was a highly valuable experience for these students, who spent the day developing their physical and mental resilience, collaborative skills, and leadership. I’d like to give a special mention to Luca, who demonstrated exceptional relational skills when working with the junior futsal boys and proved to be a phenomenal leader whilst completing a difficult task. It was fantastic to see how the dance students rose to the various challenges they were presented with throughout the day, and I look forward to witnessing even more growth on day two of SOAR next term.

Stay tuned for our BPAC results in week 10!

Sport

Representative School Sport

The following students were extremely busy in Term 2, adding representative sporting trials to their schooling schedules. The Shailer Park State High School community is extremely proud of the efforts of all students who represent our school at trials of all levels.

To remain up to date with all district trials, ensure you regularly check the Shailer Park State High School Facebook page and students check notices on our screens around our school.

Inter-School Sport

Our Junior CAST Netball girls recently represented Shailer Park SHS at the Pacific District Inter-School Rivers Gala Competition. Under the keen eye of Netball Coach and Coordinator, Miss Jemma Oxley, our students performed extremely well, finishing the day undefeated.

These students will now represent the Pacific District and Metropolitan Finals later this year.

The Creative Industries

Creative Industries Expo

You’re invited to Shailer Park State High Schools’ Creative Industries Expo; our totally free, 100% Arts curriculum exhibition. See performances and demonstrations from students in Years 7 to 12 who study Dance, Drama, Film and TV, Media, Music and Visual Art. Participate in practical workshops and hear from our students about the creative process behind their work. We’re looking forward to welcoming you to this event.

For more information, please contact your students Creative Industries classroom teacher.

Shae Sawdy
Head of Academies and Creative Industries

CAST

Access our CAST timetable and get involved

A message from our Library

Author presentation – Writers’ Workshop

We had an exceptional day for budding writers who gained encouragement and inspiration from Rhiannon D. Elton, author and publisher of seven books to date in the Wolflock series, available in the Hive for borrowers. Rhiannon, an ex-student of Shailer Park State High School, explained to her audience of enthusiasts, what it takes to make it in the competitive world of creative literature. She described how reading and writing was in her blood from a very young age, and how she navigated her way through the ups and downs of this artistic industry. Most importantly, Rhiannon was able to provide valuable tips to would-be novelists, with one particularly resonating piece of story-telling advice, to ask themselves, the “What if …” question. It was abundantly clear that students learnt a lot from this experience, keenly asking pertinent questions. I am confident that this workshop will assist them in their writing journey in the future.

Vocational Education

New Traineeships

Horticulture

Sam has been signed up into a Certificate II in Horticulture school-based traineeship with BSG. They will be working in the great outdoors with Logan Lawn Mowing and Gardencare over the next 12 months.

Retail

Ethan has been signed into a Certificate II in Retail traineeship with Business Success Group and will be hosted at Samios Plumbing Services.

Tertiary Studies Expo

Opportunities and Vacancies

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 Demosthenous in A02, main administration building, on 3451 2782 or 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 Senior fee includes either the ATAR pathway or VET Career Ready Programs;
• For students to remain in VET programs, fees must be fully paid.
• 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.

All fees for the SRS, Instrumental Music and The Academies are now overdue. Please email finance@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au to commence a payment plan.

BPOINT PAYMENTS

Please ensure:

• The 5-digit invoice number is inserted when making BPOINT payments via the statement to avoid processing delays so that funds are correctly applied to your student’s invoice.
• The exact outstanding amount is paid. To avoid overpaying your account, please check the updated balances on statements for the correct amount owing. For a statement re-print, please email finance@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au.

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 contactless EFTPOS and pre-paid debit card purchases only. Debit cards can be purchased from supermarkets and department stores.

Volunteers are invited to assist in the Canteen. Please contact the Office if you are able to offer your time.

Messages from our Parents and Citizens

Anyone interested in joining our association is invited to request a membership application by emailing pandc@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au or attending a meeting. Please note applicants are required to attend a general meeting to have their application accepted.

Please keep an eye on Facebook for further details.

Fundraising update: As we work on establishing our goals for this year we’ve also been working on kicking off another chocolate drive in the very near future as well as discussing plans for other great FUNdraisers including Lucky Numbers & other various raffle draws along with increased promotion of our ongoing fundraisers (mentioned below).

These discussions will continue over the coming weeks and we look forward to sharing decisions and hearing your thoughts as plans progress.

If you’d like to get involved in our fundraising, please contact the P&C via pandc@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au

Ongoing Fundraisers: We’re very fortunate to have several opportunities for our school community to contribute to fundraising efforts without costing any more than your family’s usual spend.

Together these provide thousands of dollars each year that go towards our fundraising targets. Please share these details with family & friends to help make the most of these opportunities!

With tax time approaching making a tax-deductible donation to our Building Fund is a great way to support our Fundraising efforts!

Mel Blankley
P&C President

Announcements

Facebook

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

Partnering with us

Shailer Park SHS 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.