4 December 2015

Newsletter Articles

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

As this is the last newsletter for the year, I just wanted to revisit some key messages as we plan our pathway forward in 2016.

This year has been a year of unparalleled achievement in the life of Shailer Park High.

I can announce that 90% of our OP-eligible senior students received a grade of A-C on their QCS test this year. This is up from 68% in 2014 and 60% in 2013.

This result complements the significant improvements that were announced across all five domains of this year’s NAPLAN tests. These improvements included increases in the number of students in NAPLAN’s “upper two bands” and a reduction in the number of students in the test’s lowest two bands. Our NAPLAN results positioned Shailer Park High as a leading school in Logan.

What all this means is that Shailer Park High is now performing highly on measures of both Junior and Senior secondary attainment. Parents can send their students to our school confident in the knowledge that they will receive a high quality education.

Added to this, firm plans have been laid to drive further improvement in both our Junior and Senior phases of learning.

In Junior Secondary, a dedicated team of teachers will be delivering a tailor-made curriculum to Year 7 and 8 students using a mix of Explicit Direct Instruction and Reading-to-Learn teaching strategies. We are extremely excited about this approach to learning.

In Senior Secondary, our 2016 year 11 students have chosen learning pathways through a detailed Senior Education and Training (SET) planning pathway that is engineered to ensure their success. Our programs are geared at ensuring every student passes onto further education, training or employment. We are convinced that we are on a clear pathway to success.

In further encouraging signs, enrolments for year 7 next year are strong and growing.  Indications are we will need to add at least one more class than we had this year with strong enrolment growth in evidence.  The community is responding to the message that our re-emergence is in full swing and that we are a strong, credible and high performing school.

As a school, staff recently dealt with the tragic news that Anna Welch, a teacher-aide at Shailer Park SHS since 1997, passed away following a period of illness. Anna undertook many duties at Shailer Park High, none more demanding nor more important than supervising our Withdrawal Room. Anna was also responsible for compiling this newsletter. We will miss Anna enormously and wish to pass all our love onto Anna’s family.

Parents are reminded that, in 2016, we will continue to be a uniform school with black, leather, lace-up shoes a must!  We are also a homework school, and the expectation that homework will be completed will be a strong and unyielding focus.

I would like to wish all our students and families a very merry Christmas and a happy new year and look forward to seeing you all again in 2016. I have no doubt that we have some very exciting times ahead!

Troy Ascott
Principal

HEAD OF YEAR 11

What a year this has been! The cohort has participated in many events which was a good practice run for next year. 2016 will be filled with an array of events that will be organized and facilitated by the senior cohort. The benefactors of these fundraising activities will be not only the school, but a variety of community sectors. These events will raise not only money, but an awareness of prevalent issues in today’s society. While the seniors, and in particular the leadership committee, will be very busy, it is all for a worthy cause.

The order for our Senior Jackets/Jerseys has now been placed. Students should receive these by week four, term one in 2016. I am looking forward to what will be a very smart addition to their uniform, we will be the best dressed seniors in the region!

I would like to congratulate all students on finishing the year. Hard work has paid dividends for many, the results of which will be apparent in the students’ upcoming reports.

Finally, I would like to wish all the Year 11 students and their families a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. I am looking forward to seeing all my senior students refreshed and ready for an awesome 2016.

HEAD OF YEARS 7 & 8

A big Congratulations goes out to the Year 7 and 8 students for successfully completing their first year at High School. You know what they say “Time flies when you are having fun!”

Alright, so I won’t deny that we have had our good days and not so good days; but overall I feel we can all wholeheartedly agree that we have started, and are on a pretty special journey. A journey, we will as members of the Junior Secondary School be afforded with opportunities to achieve great things. Some of the highlights of 2015 which solidly sets us on a course to excellence are:

• Outstanding NAPLAN results (most improved school in Logan);
• A reading and writing program that is contributing to an exponential growth to student literacy outcomes;
• Exceptional contributions and commitment to the School community by the Science Ambassadors;
• Unparalleled dance and music accolades;
• Second to none sporting achievements;
• A formidable chess club;
• A very successful Junior Secondary Leadership camp;
• Positive Behaviour for Learning reward, invitations extended to more than 50% of the Junior Secondary students to White Water World on Thursday 10th of December and
• The selection of a strong and highly dedicated Junior Secondary student leadership team:

Junior Secondary Captains

Junior Secondary Vice-Captains

Kathleen

Flynn

Robyn

Ayden

I would like to wish the families of all the Junior Secondary students a very safe and happy holidays.

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Music

Classroom music this year has moved in an exciting new direction with Mrs Denton’s return to the school after a seven year absence. We were excited to once again have with great audience participation in competitions such as “Shailer Idol” and “Raw Exposure”. The “You can’t miss hearing it” lunch time radio broadcast was also a big hit. The MUD (Music Industry) students enjoyed running these events as part of their assessment and there are many more events planned for next year along with a few surprises including a marketable jazz/rock fusion group that we hope will be an exciting move for the school. In 2015 the Music Department is humming along in 2016 we will be buzzing.

Drama

The drama students this year have thoroughly enjoyed their studies! The year 7 and 8 students have been energetic in learning about Melodrama and had quite a lot of fun filming their own work on their iPads. The Year 9s have taken on the role of designers and have created wonderful sets, costumes and make-up for a staged version of The Hunger Games. Year 10 students started off the year studying Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – immersing themselves in relating themes from the 1500s to today. They have currently been examining the genre of realism and have presented meaningful and well-rehearsed scenes from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (see the pictures below). Year 12 students finished their studies by investigating Australian Drama and presenting some very moving scenes – also in the style of realism.

Mikayla, Tiaha and Jess

Visual Art

What a year! This year has seen some 225 students demonstrate and push their creative talents to their limits in visual art. After many litres of paint, hundreds of paint brushes, kilos, (or maybe even tonnes), of clay, multiple reams of paper, dozens of pencils and rolls of masking tape too numerous to count, we are at the end of yet another fantastic creative journey. Students have excelled themselves yet again, both in school and at exhibitions that were participated in. Congratulations to all on an amazing 2015, looking forward to an even better 2016. Visual art would not be complete without some artwork to look at, please enjoy a selection from the final units of study.

Paris Yr7

Jenni Yr7

Trinity Yr7

Lyle Yr8

Casey Yr8

Callum Yr8

Jessica Yr11

Sierra Yr11

Emma Yr11

Neha Yr11

Instrumental Music

The Jazz Day of Excellence 2/12 was the last event on our calendar and what a packed calendar this was.

The annual Instrumental Music luncheon was attended by all members of the bands and ensembles, it was a huge success due to the wonderful catering skills of Morag aided by Julianne. Thank you to Sonja for the use of Sapphires.

The final “Music Support” meeting witnessed a large gathering of enthusiasts with a number of alumnae, parents, teachers and our 2016 Band Captain in attendance. A huge thankyou to the many supporters but particularly to Chair Andrew Huggins, Treasurer Morag Annetts and Secretary Julianne Lee for their tireless efforts in promoting Music over the years.

Artists in the Making

A number of students have shown interest in participating in “Creative Generation 2016” and are currently preparing their audition DVDs that have to be submitted to the school by Wednesday 9th December. We will look forward to their performances in July.

A performer to watch is Nastajia who performed a solo dance in Beenleigh Theatre Group’s production of Gypsy. Nastajia performed 9 shows across the season whilst balancing Showcase, Awards Night and school commitments.

Ashley and William demonstrated their talent and professionalism at their performance at the Shailer Primary Market Day. Ashley on the piano and William sang accompanying himself on guitar.

HEALTH, PHYSICAL EDUCATION & SPORTS

Volleyball Academy goes from Strength to Strength

The Volleyball Academy this year, has grown from strength-to-strength and has shown exceptional results under the leadership of Ms Angela King and the staff who have supported her. We have recently been advised that Shailer Park has achieved 18th position out 95 schools in Queensland. This result is based on the results and amount of teams we have fielded in the two major Queensland Schools Cup competitions. What makes this result exceptional is that this is the first official year we have participated as a full Academy and have dusted many established Volleyball schools in the process.

As a culmination of the students’ efforts, Shailer Park SHS will be participating for the first year at the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup competition in Melbourne. Two teams, boys and girls year nine, will be competing in the last week of school and will be accompanied by Mrs Oberholzer, Ms King and Mr Lee. We are very proud of these volleyball players and want to wish them all the success as they have trained very hard and are fully committed to doing their very best.

Go “STING!”

P & C NEWS

World Teachers and Support Staff Day

On 28th October the P&C celebrated this day by putting on a Morning Tea for the Teachers and Support Staff of the school. The Executive and Members of the P&C want all of our School's Teachers and Support Staff to know how much they are appreciated and valued for their work, dedication, commitment, patience and humour. The Morning Tea was well attended and all enjoyed a huge cake, some nibbles and a chance to connect and celebrate.

Year 12 Graduation & Farewell

The P&C would like to congratulate the Year 12 students on their achievements as they end their school days. Remember that this is not the end of your education, but the beginning of a whole new learning experience as you enter the next phase of your lives. May all your hopes and dreams come true, and you take fond memories of your school years with you. To the families of students leaving the school, we also wish you well.

Awards nights, Showcase and Presentations

It is again that time of year when there are many events happening within our school. As a P&C we have tried to have some representation at each of the events where possible. We would like to congratulate each and every student on their achievements, whether academic, sporting, performing arts or community based. It is always amazing to see the range of talent and dedication shown within our school. A thank you also to the teachers and parents who support these students throughout the year in their endeavours.

Last P&C Meeting for 2015 – 24th November

Our last meeting is to be held at 6:00pm on Tuesday 24th November in the Staff Common Room at the School. All are welcome, please come along and join in-

From the P&C Executive Team
Jo Quelch – President, Kevin Thomas – Vice President, Sonja Kalbaugh – Vice President, Annette Lee – Secretary, Andrew Huggins - Treasurer

Andrew Huggins
Chairperson, Music Support Group
andrew.huggins@bigpond.com

Jo Quelch
P & C Assn President

SCHOOL-BASED YOUTH HEALTH NURSE

A Big Month for Health Promotion

Before launching our senior students we had a week of lots of information sessions to help them to make good choices not just in the celebration at the end of their schooling but for life. Earlier in last month we had the RACQ realistic Docudrama where the students saw a simulation of a car accident where a young woman is thrown from a car and the driver is arrested. They learnt about ‘The Big 5’ the causes of most fatal accidents, fatigue, drinking, and distraction with the phone, no seat belt and speeding. During the last week we also heard from the Police, The Youth and Family Support Workers, The Safe Schoolies Panel and 3 School Based Youth Health Nurses talking about sexual health. Mr. Yabsley and Mr. Thomas spoke to the boys about TSE and I spoke to the girls about BSE and Pap Smears, The EdLinQ worker Pete from CYMHS spoke about good mental health and of course our committed staff adding their advice and support for safe healthy choices. Thank you to Miss Hall for her support and organisation of such a great program. She makes sure the best is given to our students and is so organised.

White Ribbon Day is always acknowledged at school. This year I displayed the posters from the ‘Love Bites’ program we run with the Year 10 students each year around healthy relationships. They had some great catchy lines on how to keep relationships safe and not controlling. Certainly domestic violence has now won some welcomed attention in the media at last. On average 1 woman dies every week in Australia. 1 in 6 woman experience physical or sexual violence, most know the perpetrator or it is in their own home. 1 in 4 children are present. On average 77,000 woman and children ask for help nationally.

White Ribbon on the 25th November is the world’s largest movement of men and boys working to end men’s violence against women. It is also a time when girls rise up to promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity.

White Ribbon Australia, as part of this global movement, aims to create an Australian society in which all women can live in safety, free from violence and abuse.

51 of our students pledged with a signature on a pledge slip that they would not excuse, stay silent or commit violence against women, showing you are committed to supporting community action and attitudinal and behavioural change to stop violence by men against women.

Most men do not commit violence against women. But when violence occurs, it is mostly males who commit it. The cause has been found that too many men believe the common myths about violence and in Australia, some men learn such traits as aggressiveness, control, a sense of entitlement to power, and emotional callousness, and this justifies men’s violence and men’s power.

While boys and men are the large majority of perpetrators of violence, boys and men are also the victims. Males are bashed up, bullied and sexually assaulted. Boys and men are most at risk of violence from other boys and men.

By-standers, like in any bullying situation are important and can make a difference. I say to any young man if you hear a mate sexually harass any girl about personal issues or make comment in a sly way about her, call her a demeaning name, try to control her by not letting her talks to other young men or her friends or hurt a girl than you need to step in and tell him it is not cool and to stop. They will end up in unhappy unstable relationships if they continue doing those things.

Ending violence to girls and women and ending violence to boys and men are part of the same struggle — to create a world based on equality, justice and non-violence.

Together, I believe we can be game-changers.

Pit Stop On 26th November, the Year 9, 10 and 11 boys and male staff were offered health checks for Men’s Health Month. Myself, another nurse and 2 workers from The Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Service manned (pardon the pun) at a 'Pit Stop’ where they had their blood pressure, BMI, carbon monoxide level, diabetes risk and nutritional assessments. The kit comes with checked flag tablecloths, flags and nurses shirts with the ‘Pit Stop’ theme. We also had displays with information on their nutrition (torsion), fuel additives (alcohol intake) and talked about the chassis check (waist measurement), exhaust output quality check (carbon monoxide analysis), Extractors (colorectal cancer risk), spark plugs (TSE), Duco (skin check), Shock Absorbers (stress) and Battery Check (fatigue). They were told even if they got around in sports, family, off-road car or a 'rust bucket' they needed a ‘Pit Stop’ regularly.

Some of the student’s carbon monoxide levels were high. They ranged from 1-8. The students that had the higher rating lived with parents that smoked in the car or the home. This highlighted the effect of passive smoking on young people. The students were given brochures with all the services that can help a motivated parent or carer to cease smoking. If you need more information call the Quitline 137848.

Remember KRANK for free or inexpensive holiday activities for young people. Young people can do marital arts, Go Karting, learn to surf, jewellery making, beginner golf, Polynesian dancing, DJing and indoor rock climbing. They also have this amazing 1 week program called ‘Bulletproof’ to help your young person develop leadership qualities, emotional intelligence, resilience and communication skills. This program aims to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of bullying. You will learn cooperation, trust, teamwork, respect, support, sportsmanship, communication, assertiveness, patience, leadership and perseverance. 3380 1777 or email: beenleighreception@pcyc.org.au

Go to the website:

I would like to wish everyone in our school community a safe and healthy Christmas. I hope your year has been productive, challenging and with some joyous moments.

Good Health Michelle the School Based Youth Health Nurse.

Michelle
School-based Youth Health Nurse

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

The Finance Window is now closed for 2015 and will reopen on Monday 18 January 2016. Payments can still be made via internet banking.