29 March 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

As this term draws to a close it is timely to remind all families of the need to keep your contact details up to date. Interim Reports will be emailed to all families on the last day of this term, March 29. Please contact the office if you wish to change your contact details.

The end of term one is also the date that the school asks that all families have either paid or have established a payment plan for the School Resource Scheme and Subject fees. Letters have been sent to all families outlining the procedures for the payment of these fees and we ask that you commit to these as soon as possible. Without these funds the school and subject areas can become restricted in what can be offered to students. If you have concerns or any questions please contact the school administration.

Last Friday saw a number of significant events happening in the school aside from exams, assignments and reporting. The annual Shave for a Cure day was held and I would like to note the efforts of our Year 12 Head of Year, Ms Karen Sharp who individually raised over $4000. In addition to this Year 12 Student Sharni Drabsch raised over $1000. As well as these two outstanding efforts, student legs were waxed and had their hair coloured to raise funds. It was great to see the commitment to continue the fight against Leukaemia in the school.

Friday March 17 was also the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. Throughout the week leading up to this day students were involved in discussions focussed on “What is Bullying”, “What can you do about Bullying in an appropriate way?” The clear message that came from these discussions was that violence is not acceptable and that the students themselves are the key. As witnesses and bystanders they need to “STAND UP” and “SPEAK UP” to ensure that our school is safe and enjoyable for all. As such all students in the school were asked to sign a pledge board to act against Bullying and Violence.

Can I remind all parents that we offer an anonymous reporting process through STYMIE. Students in all year levels were involved in presentations by STYMIE creator Rachel Downie last Tuesday. We also had a parent presentation that evening - “HOW TO MANAGE TECHNOLOGY WITH A TEENAGER IN THE HOUSE”.

Can I thank all those parents and students supporting the school’s dress code. School parades where our students are in their formal shirts, skirts and shorts is an impressive look. We are also reviewing our winter uniform and have asked the students which type of jumper / jacket they preferred. They unanimously decided that their preference was a microfiber style jacket. Students will be presented with a couple of styles to vote on in the near future.

We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable vacation and remind everyone that school resumes on Tuesday 17 April.

Glen Robinson
Principal

Are you doing the best you can to succeed?

We all want our students and our children to do well in life. The ability/motivation to apply themselves to be the best they can be comes more easily to some than for others.

Beerwah State High School is committed to providing quality education for all students and also to motivating students to take that extra step and put in just that bit more effort in order to maximise their results and therefore future opportunities in life. In light of this we have engaged Success Integrated – a company that delivers highly motivational and relevant student seminar topics though very experienced, engaging speakers accompanied by a top quality live DJ playing the latest music guaranteed to capture even the most disengaged student’s attention.

Our first seminar for 2018 – STEP UP TO SUCCESS – focused on our year 11 students promoting a mindset that encourages students to Study, have Toughness, strive for Excellence and have a Positive attitude.

Discussions were focused around ideas such as ….

If you fail to plan then you plan to fail – the importance of having goals and a plan to realise them. Always aiming to have that positive attitude and being optimistic. Attitude and Effort are major aspects that need to be in play for us all to be successful because what you lack in skill you can make up in effort.

In order to be successful you have to make a choice – It’s never whether I can it is always whether I will put in the required effort.

Good time management is also necessary for success and here is a 4 step simple plan to follow.

1. PLAN – write a list of all of the tasks you have to complete
2. PRIORITISE – put this list into an order of importance (1 minute in planning can save up to 4 minutes in doing).
3. CHUNK – break tasks down into manageable bite sized pieces and complete one step at a time.
4. TIME – allocate a realistic timeframe that you think can be used to complete the task and stick to it as closely as possible.

Everybody has set backs at times and may not do as well on an assessment as they had hoped. Failure is not necessarily a negative thing. Failure is an event and provides an opportunity for FEEDBACK. Use this feedback to learn now/what you need to do to try again and be better.

Have GRIT and Determination and use the following mantra to help you be successful

TRY ….. FAIL (maybe/maybe not) …. LEARN …… TRY AGAIN ….. SUCCEED.

Developing a Growth Mindset using Reboot

Carol Dweck’s extensive research around mindsets, has firmly established the benefits of students attaining a growth mindset. Those of us who have a growth mindset believe that we can improve intelligence, ability and performance with the right practice and effort. The opposite, a fixed mindset, refers to the belief that our talents and skills are innate and not able to be developed. Fortunately, research indicates that our mindsets can be altered from fixed to growth.

The advantages of a growth mindset include students:

• More persistent in their learning and more included to seek feedback
• More motivated and able to self-regulate
• Improvements in stress levels and general wellbeing
• Improved learning orientation and a reduction in the sense of helplessness and giving up

Positive Change Highway

The Positive Change Highway can be used as a problem-solving tool, to support praise and feedback delivery, to develop learning tenacity and for student self-reflection.

The following questions have been shown to have a real impact on student learning resilience:

“This is just a speedbump people. Let’s see if I can find another way to explain it.”

“Can anyone think of a strategy we might use to get over this speedbump?”

“In the learning zone things can get sticky and we often feel very uncomfortable. What’s the roadblock you are experiencing now?”

“Does that strategy work in the long-term or is it a speedbump in its own right?”

“Has your group hit a speedbump or a roadblock? What strategy could you use to keep moving?”

The Positive Change Highway can be used to deliver quality feedback that is both informative and supports the development of a Growth Mindset. It becomes easier to reward the effort, strategies and learning gained by students.

This strategy can be used effectively in a variety of settings and not just at school to help young people develop resilience and a growth mindset.

Tanya Hayden
Deputy Principal

Year 8/9 Leadership Camp

22 students from Year 8 and 9 were identified as potential leaders of our school. These students attended Sunday Creek Camp for two days in March to assist them in developing positive leadership characteristics.

When they arrived at camp they were asked to identify a trait that they would like to improve upon. The students were initially very tentative in talking in a group. After some tough work on the high ropes, crawling through tunnels blindfolded and battling a legion of leeches, the students broke through barriers and talked freely of the strategies they needed to make the changes they identified.

Great food, good company and targeted individual growth – the hallmarks of a successful camp.

Sharlene Ballard Y8 HOY and James Kratzmann Y9 HOY

World’s Greatest Shave

Staff and students really got behind this worthwhile cause shaving heads, waxing legs and spraying hair a multitude of colours. Linda McRostie, parent of one of our year 9 students and tuckshop volunteer once again gave of her time to shave heads and teacher aides Angela Powell and Mary Anne Patterson waxed the legs of 2 very brave year 12 boys.

Special mention must go to our Year 12 Head of Year Karen Sharp who embraced this challenge and committed to having the “fro” shaved. Karen raised in excess of $4000 dollars to be donated to the Leukaemia foundation. Ms Sharp was joined by year 12 student Sharni Drabsch who raised over $1000 for this very worthy cause. An amazing effort from both of these ladies.

Our two year 12 boys Tyler May and Will Coleman braved the terrors of leg waxing and soon realised just how painful it can really be. The boys raised $150 so the pain was worth it in the end.

Student Council put on a sausage sizzle and many students had their hair sprayed a variety of rainbow colours. All in all the Student Council will be donating $400 to the cause. Thanks to Ms Young for rallying the Student Council to get behind this worthy cause and for all staff and students to be so supportive.

Tanya Hayden
Deputy Principal

Student Council Report

On Friday March 23, a small group of students participated in our school clean-up day.  The target of the clean-up for three students  were the school front gardens, with the final student cleaning up around student eating areas.  All were amazed at the amount of rubbish that they were able to collect in one school lunch break.  The Student Council will investigate ways to cut down on the amount of rubbish left by students in future meetings.

Senior School News

University Showcase visits Beerwah SHS

On Friday March 16, Year 12 students from Beerwah SHS and Glass House Christian College seeking a University Pathway upon graduation were able to learn about University Life including costs, accommodation and lifestyle when the University Showcase visited Beerwah State High School’s student centre on Friday afternoon. Numerous universities and other providers of post school pathways were present to answer questions after a general presentation was given.

Leanne Young
HOD Senior Secondary

Year 12 Visual Arts

Year 12s are in the final stages of a Community Arts project which focusses on improving our school environment. The Safety, Responsibility and Safety message is being communicated through a large scale mural.

Mrs Jordan

Year 7 News

7 EAP

During this term, students in the Extension Athletics Program have been training for the BSHS Triathlon that was held on Tuesday 27th March. For this event, students needed to swim 200m, Ride 6km and then run 2.5km. Although this sounded very overwhelming at the start of the year, students were much more confident after completing their term of training. Students had the opportunity to ride bikes and complete running training in and around the school, we also utilized the Beerwah Pool every Thursday. All students have done extremely well to complete the race; pushing themselves to do their best. Next term, we will focus more on our Athletics training, as we lead into our carnival on the final days the Term 2.

Congratulations Indy

We may just have a rising start here at Beerwah SHS. Yr 7 student Indy Munro has had a long history playing for the Girls Softball Queensland Team. She is the only girl to ever make the 10-12 yr-old squad at the age of 10. That year she represented Queensland in Werribee, VIC and won gold! In 2017 she made the Queensland team again and competed at the Pacific School Games with over 6000 athletes competing in Adelaide, SA. Indy was one of the main pitchers and helped the team take home Silver. Recently she was selected in the Sunshine Coast regional team (for the 3rd year) that will compete at Rockhampton in August to select the state team for 2018 at Canberra.

Stephen Little
Head of Year 7

Water in the world

We have had a great term exploring how the precious resource of water is used.

7H students brainstormed the impact of plastic on our water. We also decorated fish in our Brainbreak sessions to remain focussed during learning experiences.

Mrs Jordan

Junior School Update

Year 8 History

Assessment for the interesting unit of work exploring Vikings and their achievements is now over for Year 8.

Learning about the longboats resulted in this great display. Well done 8D.

Mrs Jordan

Year 8 Visual Arts

What a fantastic term of creativity in the Visual Arts.

We are very proud of the well-mannered 8A. Check out their very colourful and detailed work.

Mrs Jordan and Miss Massingham

Year 9 Printmaking

Year 9 have been printmaking. We are so impressed with the results of careful planning, patience and care with printing and unlimited imagination.

Mrs Jordan

Academic & Cultural Cup

Every month there will be a slightly left-of- centre riddle to solve, should you choose to take up the challenge. A bounty will be available to the first twenty correct answers that are emailed through to academiccup@beerwahshs.eq.edu.au

What is the bounty? The first twenty correct entrants will receive 2 points towards the Academic & Cultural Cup, 8 Vivo points and go into the draw to receive a $5.00 tuckshop voucher (that means you have a 1 in 20 chance of winning free food!)

Over the Easter break, I’m sure many students will be taking in some Commonwealth Games action. This month we have a mathematical Commonwealth Games riddle for you to solve. You will need to use an alphabet codebreaker to solve this riddle. ( A = 1, B = 2, C = 3 etc.) The letters in the word ‘Commonwealth’ need to be added together and the letters in the word ‘Games’ need to be added together.

Hint – the answer is a type of food. Good luck!

Commonwealth ÷ Games – 0.01396 = ? (Round to five decimal places)

Peter Voigt
Teacher Aide- Learning Support

Netball

The Monday night netball competition is well underway, and for the fifth year in a row Beerwah have a number of teams competing. The uniforms are holding up well, but we still have a few uniforms to be returned from last year. Please ensure these uniforms are returned to school in time for the start of Super 7s.

Our senior team have been very successful in their games and we will be coming up against our rivals Glasshouse Christian college on 30 April at 7.20 pm. We would love support from the school so please come along and cheer on the girls.

Our junior team are playing against many of the top players in their age group. They have battled through some incredibly tough games not giving up until the final whistle is blown.

Unfortunately, our intermediate team have been plagued with finding committed players often finishing a game one player down. This has finally been rectified and the intermediates are now positioned for a strong come back.

Every player from all three teams have displayed sportsmanship skills and team work that make them excellent ambassadors for our school.

Sharlene Ballard
HOD Year 8

Congratulations Jac Robins

Jac was awarded Community Solutions Disability Trainee of the year (2017) last Friday evening. This is awarded to a student with a verified disability who has shown how they have overcome adversity to successfully participate in a traineeship. They would have a positive attitude to work and be committed to the program. Jac is a real success story and is often mentioned to other students who may feel nervous or unsure about starting a traineeship. Jac was extremely nervous on his first day and asked Heath from Community Solutions if he could delay his start for a few hours. However, Jac rose to the challenge displaying a great ability to learn and adapt. Within two months of starting at Joyce Mayne Jac was able to confidently serve customers and often works more than one day a week. As his host employer, Joyce Mayne has also shown a great commitment towards supporting Jac. The fact that Jac is also now employed directly by them speaks volumes.

Beerwah High sincerely thanks organisations such as Community Solutions and Look Now Training and Sunshine Coast employers including Joyce Mayne for their ongoing support and commitment to providing alternative pathways for our young people.

Alternative Pathways 2018

The past few weeks have continued to busy with many students being pro-active in seeking alternative pathways and finding out about options that may be open to them.

School based apprenticeships and traineeships (SATs)

A number of students have secured traineeships and apprenticeships having participated in work experience or have sought their own positions. SATs are great opportunities for students allowing them to combine training with working in a real job and gaining QCE points. Trainees are able to learn the practical workplace skill and earn a part time wage while continuing full time school studies. Students wanting to participate in school based arrangements need to effectively balance school, work and qualification study and in some cases also travel. The level of commitment required should be carefully considered.

Congratulations to the following students:

Ethan McRostie – Traineeship, engineering with Bell Stainless, Kunda Park
Luke Roy – Traineeship, Sport & Fitness with Sunshine Coast NRL
Amber Johnson – Traineeship, Business with Meloo Studios, Brisbane
Ashley Rose Kelly – Traineeship, Business with Australia Post, Maroochydore
Noah Pemberton – Traineeship, Tourism with Landsborough Pines Caravan Park
Shannon Pilson – Traineeship, Tourism with Landsborough Pines Caravan Park
Darcy Pringle – Apprenticeship, Electro technology with Mingleford Electrics, Beerwah.
(Darcy completed structured workplace learning with this employer as part of his Cert II Electro technology pathway course studied through the Sunshine Coast Technical Trade Training Centre in 2017)

Special mention to Aimee Sawyer who progressed through a valuable application experience. Aimee presented an excellent resume and completed a successful pre-screening and interview. The employer made special mention of Aimee’s impressive motivation and high level of maturity. Another four students are participating in work trials for a retail traineeship with a local business. It is great to see so many students being motivated and interested to seek out and apply for positions.

New SAT opportunities for year 10, 11 and 12 students are advertised via school notices, on year level parades and on the noticeboards. Students are encouraged to also seek their own opportunities by talking with their current employers and networking with family, friends and neighbours. See Ms Skerman for details and helpful information.

DISABILITY TRAINEE OF THE YEAR

Community Solutions Apprentices and Trainees recently held their annual awards night in Caloundra and the inaugural Disability Trainee of 2017 was awarded to Jac Robins. Jac is undertaking a school based retail traineeship through host employer Joyce Mayne at Sippy Downs and has overcome personal and professional challenges with determination and commitment. In the work environment Jac is friendly and helpful particularly to the elderly customers. Jac is on track to complete his theory and practical components by graduation. Congratulations Jac on a great achievement.

CERTIFICATE COURSES

The SHB20216 Cert II Salon assistant & SHB20116 Cert II Retail Cosmetics dual course is due to commence in week 2 of term 2 (Thursday 19th April) and will continue through into term 3 for approximately 20 weeks. Enrol

Beerwah State High School is selling Entertainment™ Memberships and with your support, the funds we raise will be used to our fundraising. If you haven’t already purchased your Membership this year, this is your chance to support us and be rewarded with over $20,000 of valuable offers!

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Beerwah State High School
35 Roberts Road
BEERWAH QLD 4519
0412644684
sam@eeles.id.au

Thank you for your kind support.