21 October 2022

Newsletter Articles

A message from our Principal

I know that our students sometimes find it difficult to ‘see the forest for the trees’ in the day-to-day routines of classroom lessons and assessment work. Their concept of education is sometimes distilled into getting through to the afternoon or weekend (or for our Seniors, the Formal!), rather than understanding that each lesson in each day is building to realising some big plan, some bold ambition. The view of that forest is clearest in Term 4 when, as a school community, we celebrate the achievements of the past year while readying ourselves for the one ahead. It’s an emotionally charged time as our Year 12 students finalise their high schooling journey, and our Year 6 cohorts begin theirs. We look forward to our upcoming awards ceremonies, orientation days and the semi-formal. The graduation of our Year 12 students is watched closely by every member of the Shailer Park SHS community with a mixture of sadness and excitement, not least by all the other cohorts who begin to stretch into their new roles, one year level up.

Underpinning all this significant Term 4 forest-gazing, are our Shailer Park SHS traditions. These important customs cultivate a sense of belonging, stability and pride not just for our children in their school, but for our entire Shailer Park SHS community. These traditions serve as a positive and guiding force for our school, and I encourage all our families to take part. They are opportunities for connection, bring meaning to celebrations and foster special bonds. Most importantly, traditions create positive experiences and memories for our community. Each year, I am delighted to see the traditions surrounding our Year 12 Graduation ceremony. This is a significant milestone in the lives of our children; a ‘forest’ moment if ever there was one!

As Term 4 races on and we reflect on the year almost gone, it is also time to look forward to 2023. Our leadership team has been working extensively to review our school systems and structure so that we can ensure they align to our vision and values. We have been researching, exploring and testing structures to ensure all Shailer Park SHS members are included to be successful, to attend and engage in learning. There are many cornerstones in our school that are supporting student success academically, socially/emotionally and physically and we have identified how we might refine, improve and scale those to be even more effective. We look forward to engaging parents, students and staff in refining our structures to achieve this.

Term 4 also means you hear many speeches from me as I stand at the front of the hall bursting with pride. However, what I look forward to most are the speeches of our students and, those prepared by students who have nominated to be School Captain and/or House Leader. These students have stepped back from the trees, really had a look at the forest around them, and have made a deliberate step toward making their school a better place for the benefit of everyone.

I wish to commend all students who have had the courage to nominate for a leadership position and the effort they have shown to create their speech.

Hearing your voices and listening to how you will lead and contribute to our wonderful school is an inspiring highlight in what is a big term at Shailer Park SHS.

Calendar

Please access our school calendar for upcoming events and CAST activities.

A message from our Senior Schooling Deputy Principal

Year 12s

Wednesday 19 Oct was the last official class day for our Year 12 students. It comes with so many mixed emotions and feelings of entering into the unknown. I’m sure you can all look back on this time of your life as being such a significant transition.

Even though some of them have their plans firmly set in place it is still difficult to comprehend what the next chapter will feel like when they have spent the last 13 years attending formal schooling.

This week our wonderful Hospitality staff and students organised a farewell morning tea for our Year 12s and on Wednesday afternoon the students completed their formal lessons with our annual Year 12 Guard of Honour, where the whole school paused to celebrate them all and a very moving Haka was performed at the end from some of our junior students.

This is what is what’s ahead for our Year 12s over the next few weeks.

Week 3-6

• External exams and VET catch up Days

Week 7

• Wednesday night we have our Academic Awards night.
• Thursday night is Year 12 GRADUATION.

The advice I shared with our seniors this week was, “the way you exit your school is very important for you both personally and professionally and will say a lot about your character. You have spent many hours, weeks and years with us. You have been cared for and supported by many members of staff. Do not lose sight of that and chose to do something that you may later regret.

We would like to send you off in the most positive and supportive way. Seeing our Year 12s successfully graduate and get into their chosen pathway is one of the reasons why we all work so hard at Shailer Park State High for our students and it brings us a lot of pride.”

Year 11s

Thursday 20 October marked the first day of our Year 11s being the official leaders of the school, and what a perfect time for them to be heading off on the 2-day Leadership Camp Days.

They have had the chance to participate in a range of exciting events such as abseiling off the Kangaroo Point cliffs and kayaking in the Brisbane River. On day 2 they share a day of fun at Dreamworld to develop their team spirit and collaboration skills.

Year 10s

Recently our Year 10s participated in their SET (Senior Education & Training) confirmation conversations with parents and a member of our leadership team. I was very impressed at the level of student investment in these conversations and could truly see students ‘owning their learning’ and being clear on their pathway as they head into the non-compulsory phase of senior schooling and start the QCE in Year 11 & 12.

Our Year 10s also have the Semi-Formal to look forward to at the end of Week 8, which is at Harrigan’s Drift Inn, Calypso Bay. I can not wait to see them in their semi-formal attire, dancing the night away, to culminate the end of their compulsory phase of education.

Yours in education,

A message from our Junior Schooling Deputy Principal

As we head towards the end of another school year, it is always wonderful to join the many end-of-year events. In the past two weeks, I have greatly enjoyed a whole school musical at Kimberley Park SS and an Arts extravaganza at Shailer Park SHS. There are so many talented young people in our schools, and it is always delightful to see them showcased so wonderfully. Congratulations to all involved in these magnificent events! I am looking forward to the other celebratory events that our school community has planned before the end of this school year. Hope to see you there as well.

Orientation Program for Year 7 students of 2023

All incoming Year 7 students who have completed the enrolment process have been invited to attend our Orientation Program scheduled for Thursday and Friday of Week 9 Term 4.

We are busy preparing the activities for this important 2-day program that allows our incoming Year 7 students to experience life at Shailer Park State High School. These activities include lessons in the core subjects and in the elective subjects as well as team building activities run by our Heads of Houses.

By the end of this 2-day program, our new Year 7 students should be quite familiar with our school campus, several teachers and members of Student Services Team. Our new Year 7 students will also get to know many of their new classmates – at least for the core subject areas. These outcomes alone will help all new students move into high school as smoothly as possible.

If you live within our catchment area, it is still not too late to enrol your child for Year 7 in 2023. Please do so as soon as you can though because enrolment interview timeslots are almost full. To get the enrolment started, you can download an Enrolment Pack from our school website or contact our Enrolments Officer enrolment@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au

Finishing strong

As we approach the end of Semester 2 for our current Year 7, 8 and 9 students, we still have plenty of learning to do. It is important for our Junior Secondary students to keep working hard. There is much to learn in every classroom, and it is always important to attend every school day. I encourage you to remember the importance of resting and eating well so that you can pace yourself as we head towards the end of the year.

Our Year 7, 8 and 9 students have recently received their Term 3 report cards. As always, celebrate your achievements and any progress you have made. Soon, you will also receive your next TrackEd Report. When you do, take some time to reflect on your progress and to confirm or refine your next goals. Reflection and forward planning are important strategies to all future success.

FREE PARENT WEBINAR: Parenting in the Digital World

Parenting in the Digital World is a 60-minute information session with a Q&A opportunity that provides insight into the online worlds of young people. This information session will include information on the latest trends, risks and research including a strong focus on social media. It also offers advice parents can use to help manage a child’s life online. It is scheduled for Wednesday 16 November 7pm – 8pm AEST (Qld). For any interested parents, please register your interest here:

A message from our Engagement Deputy Principal

Brainstorm Week

In Week 5 of this term, we focus in on Mental Health with our annual ‘Brainstorm Week’. Brainstorm Week is about students understanding that feeding their Wild and Emotional brains – with healthy food, good sleep, plenty of water, strong connections, healthy relationships and passions like music, art and sport – to help them to activate their Smart Brains. There is a whole community here to support each other to achieve wellbeing and mental health. Please reach out to your child’s Head of House if you feel that they need support.

Look out for Facebook posts and on our TV screens telling you all about our activities for Brainstorm Week in Week 5. There will be a variety of activities all designed to nourish our Wild and Emotional brains so that our Smart Brains can finish the year strong!

Student Services Team

Our Student Services Team is expanding to support the needs of our school community. We welcome Renee Shivakumar as our Social Worker, who will be available to work with families to access support and remove barriers so that students can be successful. We also have three amazing Youth Workers – Bonnie Hurley, Jeevan Soares and Kirsty Hammel – who work as a team to ensure that Shailer students are well and can engage. These additions to our team support Empowered Engagement as a key priority in our school.

World Teachers’ Day

Australia will celebrate the teaching profession on World Teachers’ Day on Friday 28 October 2022.

Our teachers have shown great resilience during challenging times, all so they can give Australian students the best future possible.

We are encouraging students, their families and the community to celebrate teachers. What do teachers mean to you? Students will be given the opportunity during House Care Group next week to write notes to their teachers which will be distributed on Friday 28 October.

You can also find out more via the link below.

GP service

We are excited to announce that our GP service has commenced. Dr Vincent Lee is operating every Tuesday and Lynne Grimes will act as receptionist to our GP clinic. If a student would like an appointment, they can see Mrs Grimes directly at the Student Services window or email GP@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au

Thank you for your support as we trial offering a GP service to support our student’s health and wellbeing.

Here are the friendly faces of our Shailer Park SHS GP Clinic – Dr Lee and Mrs Grimes – and a beautiful rose from Dr Lee’s Garden.

A message from our Dean of Studies

Year 12 External Exams

External Exam Timetable starting next week.

• AM sessions start at 9:00am
• PM sessions start at 12:30pm

Students must be at school at least 30mins before their exams start.

Prohibited materials

The items below are prohibited in any assessment room, except if specifically approved as an AARA, or listed as approved subject-specific equipment for an assessment, e.g. for a subject that requires students to use a device or permits the use of a dictionary.

• mobile phones
• smart watches and fitness trackers
• any other electronic device that stores, retrieves, displays or communicates digital information
• correction fluid or correction tape
• dictionaries
• erasable pens
• blank paper, notes, any printed/written material
• tissues brought by students. (Note: The room will have tissues available for student use.)

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me

Messages from our Student Services Team

Messages from the Heads of House

House Points

Our big-ticket event for house points will be our annual Swimming Carnival that will be held in Week 7, stay tuned for upcoming information. As we do every term, we continue with our Inter House Friday challenge. This term we have Trivia – with a twist! No pen and paper required, our trivia is interactive and held in the Multi-Purpose Shelter each Friday at first break. Points each week are awarded on participation numbers, with points allocated for the number of wins a house has accumulated in Week 8.

In addition to our organised house events, curriculum subjects also contribute to our house points. Our current points tally includes points from students in each house in our junior levels reaching their reading targets in English and Humanities. Congratulations to those students in making a valuable contribution to their houses.

We have the Houses very close in points at this early stage and are sure the swimming carnival will make an impact!

Intra-house challenge

IT'S BACK! That's right, the intra-house challenge is on again!

In Term 3, we had the successful implementation of the Intra-House Challenge - SNAPS! A game that utilises a mixture of coding elements with letters of a celebrity's name. Whilst some students found this difficult at first, towards the end of the term most house care groups were able to decode the answers successfully.

This term we have 'Guess that Teacher,' where students will utilise visual clues to figure out who the teacher is within the images. Here is our Round 1 set of clues...

Ambassadors from each House Care Group must provide answers on the Showbie page that has been set for them AND the House Care Group from each of the houses (Barnes, Bilin Bilin, Francis & Karle) with the best attendance and the most challenge points will earn themselves a pizza party at the end of the year!

School Based Youth Health Nurse

Mental Health Week 2022

Awareness, Belonging, Connection

Queensland Mental Health Week (QMHW) is an annual awareness week that aims to shine a spotlight on individual and community mental health and wellbeing. It encourages all of us to think about our mental health and wellbeing and its effects on how we think, feel, handle stress, relate to others and make choices.

We are celebrating the event in Week 5 during Brainstorm Week

Theme

Awareness is about understanding the things we need to maintain and boost our mental wellbeing and knowing when we need to reach out for help and where to get it.

Belonging is about looking out for each other, ensuring we feel safe and supported, and understanding that however we feel, we’re not alone, and that there are others going through the same thing.

Connection is about our relationships with our friends, families, and those that we care about, as well as the groups, clubs, and networks around us that we rely on to help keep us happy and healthy, wherever we live, work, or play.

Building blocks of mental wellbeing

In addition to this year’s theme, QMHW is encouraging people to learn about the six building blocks of mental wellbeing and the activities that boost our mental health. The building blocks are:

Get Healthy – Be active, eat well and get enough sleep. Aim to do 30 minutes of physical activity each day, try to eat a well-balance and nutritious diet and aim for at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

Keep Learning – Challenge your mind and seek out new things. This could be as easy as doing a daily Sudoku, or something a little more challenging like learning a language with Duolingo or practicing an instrument.

Show Kindness – Give back, show gratitude and bring joy to other people’s lives. Unlock this happiness boost by volunteering or helping a neighbour, sending a thankyou note or simply writing what you are grateful for each day.

Connect More – Develop relationships, stay connected and care for each other. Spend time with your friends or family, sit with a different group of people at lunch, join a club or group in something that interests you or just chat with the person serving you at the supermarket.

Take Notice – Be mindful. Stay in the moment. Experience the world around you. Practice some mindfulness exercises by deep breathing, taking note of what your 5 senses are experiencing or use the Smiling Mind app.

Embrace Nature – Step outside, connect with the natural world and take care of the planet. Take a walk through your local park, go for a picnic, try stand up paddleboarding or simply do some gardening in your own backyard.

More Information

Queensland Mental Health Week | 8-16 October 2022 (qldmentalhealthweek.org.au)

Dear Mind | Your Mental Wellbeing (initiatives.qld.gov.au)

Messages from our Student Leader Team

Year 12 Legacy Committee

Mural Update

GIVE US A HAND: Our Year 12’s have left their handprint mark on the mural

Community artist Col McElwaine visited our school on the 5th of November to lay down the foundations of the mural.

Our Year 12 art students, the legacy committee and other volunteers gave up their breaks to get the project ready for the Year 12 cohort send-off.

Thanks to the helpers and to the team Morgan, Kacie, Paige, Charlie for leading this with Mr Harreman. They have been giving back to our school community and creating milestones for our Year 12’s to be remembered by and for.

Messages from our Creative Industries

Artstravaganza

Our much-anticipated Artstravaganza was a great success. Thank you to all the staff who worked with us to run such a fabulous event. Big thank you to our families for attending and supporting the arts.

We are very proud of our talented students

Laura Huxter
Acting Head of Department
Creative Industries

Visual Arts

Year 9 Visual Art CelebriTEA Mugs are out of the kiln! This year’s cohort are clearly mad for Minions as well as Ariel the Mermaid, Coraline, SpongeBob SquarePants and a few other favourites from Disney.

A message from the Business Manager

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

2022

Thank you to the families who have finalised their 2022 accounts. All fees for the SRS are now overdue. Please email finance@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au to commence a payment plan.

2023

The 2023 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, or a payment plan established and maintained.
• The fees provide value to students as the school can 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.

Invoices for the Student Resource Scheme fee and Academy levies for the 2023 Years 8-12 students have been issued and credits applied. The updated amount owing can be found on the statement issued recently. The link on the invoice will be required to process a BPOINT payment pre-populated with payment information. Payment plans for 2023 can now commence. To establish a payment plan, please email finance@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au to organise a BPOINT plan activation link. Please note that one invoice only for the full amount per student per activity will be raised.

BPOINT PAYMENTS

Please note – payments can be made in full or by instalment. Please do not pay more than the invoiced amount. If you are making instalments and wish to check your remaining balance, please email office@shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au or phone the Office 3451 2777.

For manually processed 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 .

For regular payment plans, please ensure:

• New card details are provided to the office if credit/debit cards are replaced.
• Contact is made with the office following a rejected payment due to funds not being available.

Canteen

Students can check our Daily Specials on the Television screens around the school. We encourage QKR pre orders.

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.

The Canteen will be closed from Wednesday 7 December for the remainder of the term.

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 can offer your time.

A message from the Industry Liaison Coordinator

Link and Launch

Need help to plan for after school with work, study and training options?

Hi, my name is Leah and I’m the local Link and Launch officer based at Beenleigh and servicing the surrounding suburbs. I know that finishing high school is both exciting but also scary.

Navigating yourself in the big-wide world can be a daunting experience but I am here to help support you. There are a lot of opportunities available for study, employment and training these days and sometimes we already think that our paths have been laid before we leave school but the reality is things just don’t go to plan. Whether that Twitch sponsorship deal fell through, you didn’t get signed to the Broncos or that influencer gig on Tiktok never paid off, don’t worry, we can help unlock those other talent’s you have.

The Link and Launch is a school-based program that is here to help you start, stay on track, get support and see results for a successful transition outside of school. You can help you navigate a range of post-school education, training and work options in line with your individual goals, aspirations, skills and strengths

Through Link and Launch we can help you weigh up your options and work with you until you are successfully linked to your future pathway. You can contact Leah on either lhunter210@eq.edu.au or text her on 0467 825 735 to make an appointment and get started.

Summer jobs

Believe it or not, Christmas is just around the corner and with this, the busiest season for the Retail and Hospitality industry. This is the reason why they are now already hiring for the Christmas period. This could be your opportunity to find your first job, gain work experience and most importantly for you, earn money.

Have your eyes open for jobs advertised when you walk around the shopping centre and have your resume ready to go.

For most jobs, you can also apply online, so turn your computer on and get your job searching skills up. Some of the biggest employers for the Christmas period are:

Woolworths:

Coles:

Kmart:

If you need help with your application, resume, cover letter or job searching skills, please come and see me in the Pathway Centre in the main administration building and I am more than happy to help you.

Daniela Farrell
Industry Liaison Coordinator

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.

P&C President

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.’ Collaborating with parents and families of students is essential in strengthening educational outcomes. We respect that parents and families have diverse 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 https://shailerparkshs.eq.edu.au/our-school/our-staff

If your enquiry relates to the playground or is in relation to a pattern 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.

Nominations now open for the myQCE Student Reference Group

The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) is recruiting new members for the myQCE Student Reference Group in 2023. The group gives students in Years 10, 11 and 12 the chance to have their say about the QCE system processes and senior schooling. Queensland students who will be in Year 10 (in 2023) are eligible to apply. The group meets four times per year and membership is ongoing until students graduate from Year 12. Nominations close on Friday 4 November 2022 — For more information about the myQCE Student Reference Group, please visit the myQCE website or email myqcestudentreferencegroup@qcaa.qld.edu.au

Closed Circuit Television

Our premises are monitored by closed circuit television (CCTV) for the safety of students, educational resources and facilities. Images are recorded by the Department of Education and may be provided to the Queensland Police Service.

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 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.

Connected Jobs & Training

Christmas Card Competition

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