15 September 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

With the end of term comes the opportunity to gauge the progress of the school so far this year. We are successfully continuing our focus on the READING, WRITING and NUMERACY skills of our students with a significant improvement in reaching the National Minimum Standard from 2016 in our NAPLAN results for 8 of the 10 areas tested.

Our attendance is an area that we continue to work on in each year level. Currently our, whole school attendance rate is 88.6% with a school target of 90%. Students whose attendance is excellent are acknowledged and rewarded for their efforts throughout the year.

Finally, there many wonderful achievements by our students and staff throughout this term and I thank those who have gone above and beyond to ensure that Beerwah SHS is a place of opportunities where there can be “Success for All”. I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable vacation and look forward to seeing everyone for the start of term 4 on Tuesday October 3rd.

Glen Robinson
Principal

New Uniforms for 2018

Thank you to all of the parents, staff and students who took part in the voting process for the new uniform items which will be implemented for the start of 2018. The following decisions regarding new uniforms were voted on at the P&C meeting on Tuesday 12 September.

The successful FORMAL shirt for boys and girls was Sample A

Mid blue/self-stripe - $33 for boys and girls shirt Polyester/Cotton
Girls cross over button on tie is compulsory and is an additional $5.00
Boys do have the option to buy a school tie also $5.00

The successful girls’ skirt was Sample A

Navy blue, 2 inverted front pleats, Polyester/Viscose, Flat back Side zip (left), Zip pocket on right, (No red binding)

Although this skirt was advertised at a proposed price of $42 .00, through further negotiation with the supplier we have been able to reduce the price to a more manageable $35.00.

Consideration was given to the price disparity of the boys’ shorts options and the girls’ shorts options with the girls’ shorts being considerably more expensive. In light of this and due to the choice made regarding boy’s shorts it was voted on at P&C to move ahead with only 1 shorts option that would be suitable for both boys and girls.

The successful shorts option was Sample B

Navy blue straight shorts (unisex), 65% Polyester 35% Cotton, Elasticised waist and hidden drawstring
2 angled/slanted side pockets – 1 with inside zip pocket and 1 back pocket

Through negotiation with the supplier the advertised school price will be $35.

New uniform items will be in our uniform store for collection the week before school starts in 2018. Arrangements will be made for parents and students to order uniforms later in term 4 and further information regarding this will be in future newsletters and on our Facebook page.

Tanya Hayden
Deputy Principal

The Arts

Creative Generation

Creative Generation – Award for Excellence in the Visual arts had its opening at the Sippy Downs University Art Gallery on Thursday night the 24th August. We had two senior arts Students Maddy Lapham and Erin Hatcher who exhibited in the show and a third, Cassandra Payne whose work “Stone Gaze” was entered into the state wide competition, online. The night showcased the best of year 12 visual art students’ major works in the sunshine coast region, ranging from social comment paintings, expressive personal imagery, video and photographic installation and drawings. It is on for the next three weeks for any who would like to see the very creative and talented work of our local youth.

Maddy Lapham, “Reminiscent of the Creeping Figs”

Oil on canvas X 2 X 32 cm x 32cm
Oil on canvas and mixed media paper leaves
Wood board 1200 X 900 x 3mm

Artist Statement:

“Reminiscent of the Creeping Figs” is a contemporary artwork which arose from a fascination of decay and the past. I believe that the past can be connected to nature. The building in the new, symbolises an infant. It is accompanied by a painting of the same scene but unkempt by nature, representing a matured person, whose life has become overgrown with memories. The leaves hold memories from friends globally and locally, everyone’s past becomes a part of the art, in a wonderful verdant scene. Many people get caught up in the now, it is important to reflect on the past.

Erin Hatcher “Youth”, 70 X 84cm

Photographic series, with mixed media drawing

Artist statement:

My major for this task stemmed from Pop Art and how it can be expressed through costuming, wigs and makeup. Four different emotions were painted on each of my four sisters, in order to give insight into the emotions each of us have experienced throughout difficult and happy times. Utilising photography, the sixteen emotions were put in a frame of sixteen spaces. The wider, Op art border was completed by creating patterns with black pen. This artwork connects to past as the emotions are an interpretation of what we felt during various memories.

Cassandra Payne

Casssandra Payne’s artwork “Stone Gaze,
Mixed media drawing on brown paper
120 (ht) X 75 (w) cm

Artist statement:

“She was a wolf in sheep’s clothing with only the removal of her mask revealing her grotesque snake-like body and fearsome living tendrils protruding from her scalp…” This piece was created using brown butcher’s paper for the background creating an aged look, with white acrylic paint for her silhouette, graphite contour lines to express her scales and wrinkles and willow charcoal to show the ominous aura Perseus saw as she transformed in front of him. I ‘ve always had a fascination with mythology, Medusa being my favourite Greek figure, so not only is image connected to the concept of “Past” through ancient Greek Mythology, but also through my childhood.

Karen Massingham
Art Teacher

Junior Leadership Day

On Friday the 1st of September the student school leaders were lucky enough to go to the Fusion Sunshine Coast for a team building experience. It was a good chance to discover new things about the group and connect with them because we weren’t just put with our friends. We had a chance to mix, support each other and discuss ways to solve situations as a group. Yes we did struggle at times but in the end we got there. We shared ideas that solved problems. We discussed things without leaving anyone out and thought of better ways to achieve the goals that were set for all of us. The conductor Ryan taught us that although it is good to think outside the box we also need to use common sense .We learnt that the key to a great leadership team is communication, teamwork, persistent, trust and commitment. We were all privileged to be a part of this and got a lot out of the experience. We can all use the skills we learnt to become stronger as a team and use it to help make our school a better place. We would all like to thank the school and the fusion centre for giving us this opportunity.

Written by junior school vice captains
Trinity Gibson and Brooke Ferguson

Battle of The Bands

On Wednesday 25th October the school ‘Battle of the Bands’ will be happening. This will be our 6th Battle event in recent years and we look forward to seeing our talented students rocking it again on stage. Tickets will be on sale at cash collection after the holidays for $8. Tickets will be available for Beerwah High students and family members of the performers. Please put this in your diary so you can come along and support the performers and back stage crew who are working hard to put on a great show for 2017. The theme of the night is “The Teenage Years: Fun, Challenges and Optimism”. For more info please contact Mike Turner (Chaplain) or Will Audley (Music Teacher).

Academic & Cultural Cup 2017
Trivia Competition – Water Polo Style

By Peter Voigt (Academic & Cultural Cup Coordinator/Teacher Aide – Learning Support)

2017 Trivia Comp

Beerwah High students were splashed in the face with a whole new set of rules for our second annual in-school trivia competition. In keeping with the exciting sporting theme of our other academic competitions, teams of four faced off in matches based on a water polo scoring system.

Each team took turns answering a trivia question with four multiple choice answers. If answered correctly their metaphorical shot was on target, and the opposing team then had a chance to block the shot by answering a more difficult trivia question without the aid of multiple choice answers. Students warmed to this format extremely quickly, and competition was both fierce and exhilarating, with teams rarely getting ahead by more than a goal or two.

Similar to our Spelling Bee Tennis Tournament, several tactical cards were available for teams during each match, which had teams agonising over the appropriate time to use these aids. The ‘power play’ threw up a more difficult question for the shooting team, with the benefit being that their shot could not be blocked by the opposition. The ‘rebound shot’ afforded teams the ability of a second question when they misfired on the original offering. ‘Crowd Surfing’ allowed teams to ask the audience for a little help with a question that had them stumped, whilst ‘Hook Me Up’ offered the team a clue, provided by our esteemed match referee, Mrs Hansen. ‘Split the Defence’ knocked out two incorrect answers in a multiple choice question.

The new format of play proved to add another level of excitement and resulted in complete engagement in our trivia competition. All matches were battled out with good spirt, fair play, and all round sportsmanship. Congratulations to all who contributed to such a successful event. Next year many players will be familiar with the tactics on offer, so competition should be intense and full of thrills. See you in 2018!

BSHS 2017 Senior School Trivia Comp Grand Champions

Ngungun :- Brianna Griffiths, Shylah Howden (assisted by Miketeebumulgrai - Rose Mickelson, Molly Elwin, Eli Budd, Magdalena Matchett)

BSHS 2017 Year 9 Trivia Comp Grand Champions

Tunbubudla – Kiralee Roberston, Liam McKenzie, Aminee Sawyer and Breanne Howden

BSHS 2017 Year 8 Trivia Comp Grand Champions

Ngungun- Harley Treverton, Callum Byford and Jason Forbes

BSHS 2017 Year 7 Trivia Comp Grand Champions

Miketeebumulgrai- Noah Turner, Joshua Morrad, Matthew Blee and Ethan Ross

Academic & Cultural Cup 2017
Maths Competition – NBA Style

2017 Maths Comp

Last Wednesday the NBA court was prepared in L01 and L02, and teams of four tried their hands at free throws, two point shots and three point bombs. There were plenty of swishes, layups and banked shots from the backboard, along with many shots that rimmed out.

Beerwah High students from years 7 through to 10 were faced with a maths competition with a difference. As with all our in-school competitions under the banner of the Academic & Cultural Cup, this competition had a sporting flavour to it. Matches were played over two 20 minute halves, with scores imitating a basketball match, with all team scores being updated in real time, providing teams with the knowledge of where they were placing, and influencing which question bank they were taking their shots from.

Once the whistle blew, teams could choose mathematical problems from three difficulty levels. Three point shots consisted of some very challenging mathematical problems, two point shots were more achievable but still required quite a lot of brain power, while one point free throws were easier but took quite a while to get to the final solution.

The competition also had a mad-three-minute segment where students had to quickly solve ten mathematical problems without the aid of a calculator. The highest score from each team was then added to the team’s half time score.

The format of play added a thrilling layer to our mathematics completion, with students engaging in the theatre of the continually changing score line. The choice of one, two and three point questions also allowed students to try their prowess at varying levels. Tactics were entirely up to each team’s preference, with some teams working separately on four different questions, while others preferred to use some teamwork on particularly challenging questions.

Each tournament was battled out with high spirit, fast fingers (those poor calculators took a pounding, and plenty of smiles (which you don’t normally see at a maths comp). Congratulations to all students who had a go at our inaugural NBA Maths comp. It was a hugely successful event. Next year should prove to be bigger and better.

BSHS 2017 Intermediate School NBA Maths Competition Grand Champions

Tunbubudla/Tibberoowuccum – Mitchell Trimmer-Rowan, Paige Eeles, Zoe Williams and Tey Brooks

BSHS 2017 Year 8 NBA Maths Competition Grand Champions

Ngungun – Kane O’Brien, Callum Byford, Jason Forbes and Harley Treverton

BSHS 2017 Year 7 NBA Maths Competition Grand Champions

Miketeebumulgrai – Noah Turner, Joshua Morrad, Ryan McMullin and Tyson Baker

Geography Expo

This term 7B, 7E and 7D have been learning all about the water crisis. We all split up into groups of four to create our own ideas to solve the water crisis. At the end of the term we held an expo to show our ideas. We invited the community to learn about how we plan to stop the water crisis once and for all. The expo was a huge success! Everyone worked hard and produced amazing ideas and designs. Some ideas included small plays, power-points, and posters. We had other students visit us, as well as parents.

We thank our teachers for such an amazing experience!

Mia Cameron-Geerse

Youth Club

Every Tuesday during first break; the Youth Support Coordinator Initiative (YSCI) is running a YOUTH CLUB in the library (Indigenous Office).

If your student is known the Student Services Team, please ask them to come along. They are welcome to bring a friend.

Activities include:

Board Games
Rubix Cube
Adult Colouring-In
Simon
UNO
Card Games
Play Doh

SEE YOU THERE!

Marie Kelleher (Youth Support Coordinator)