26 June 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

It is my pleasure to announce that Mr Glen Robinson has been officially appointed to the role of Principal at Urangan State High School. We congratulate him on this position and thank him for all the work that he has done for Beerwah State High School during his time here from the start of 2016. For our new principal, the department will run a process and the new position will be filled at some stage during Term 3. Whilst this is happening, I have been asked to continue in the role as Acting Principal. I also congratulate Ms Hellen Nolan on her permanent appointment as Business Manager at the new primary school opening in Palmview in 2021.

This term is finally coming to a close and it is incredible to think what we, as a school, have accomplished during this time. Staff have had to adapt and work with students learning online; combine face to face and online learning as the Year Eleven and Twelve students returned; and then cater to all students returning to the classroom for the final 5 weeks. I thank them for their hard work and diligence in ensuring that students were able to transition back to school as smoothly as possible.

For Term 3, we look forward to moving further back to the normal ways in school. As restrictions are slowly easing we are able to reintroduce some of our usual events. We will be able to start Year Level parades, excursions to some venues, participation in organised sports, inviting parents to special events, and CEEP days will resume, as long as COVID-19 control measures are followed.

Student Leaders

Over the last week we have been completing the process to select our new leaders for 2020-2021. Every student is to be commended on the way they have conducted themselves, and their parents and they should be proud of this. I am pleased to announce that our new leaders for the next term are:

Senior Leaders

Junior Leaders

We will be looking to hold our Student Investiture Ceremony on Friday 31 July, in line with the latest COVID-19 restrictions.

Student Resource Scheme and Subject Fees

We will be sending out the latest financial statements to families over the holiday period and I thank those that have made the effort to pay or ensure payment plans are in place. A reminder that usually at this time of the year all Student Resource Scheme and subject fee payments have been made in full. Those wishing to arrange payment can contact the school and speak to our Accounts Receivable Officer.

CEEP – Coalition Education Enrichment Program Postponed

It was with regret that we had to postpone our first CEEP day for the year, where the future students from our feeder school have the opportunity to come and participate in various activities at high school. I am pleased to announce that we are now able to hold our planned CEEP day on August 20 and look forward to having students from our feeder school participate in the program.

Academic Reporting

Semester One report cards will now be emailed out to families after the holidays. With the many disruptions that occurred this term and timelines around assessment, we, as a school, decided to maximise our learning time. Therefore, we have chosen to hold off until after the holidays to finalise reporting. We will then work out a process for parents to contact staff if any queries about results are of concern.

As I have mentioned before, please do not hesitate to contact the school if there is anything that we may be able to do to support your child during these times. I wish all students a safe and enjoyable mid-year break and to my staff a well-deserved break after a very different time in our profession. I look forward to the start of Term 3 to continue working with everyone in making Beerwah SHS the great place that it is.

Wayne Lancaster
Acting Principal

Deputy Principal’s Report

Junior Secondary – CEEP & Yr7 Enrolments for 2021

CEEP – Coalition Education Enrichment Program

Beerwah State High School has invited our feeder primary school students to attend our Coalition Education Enrichment Program (CEEP) classes again this year. We have just over 100 primary school students attending for the day on 20 August 2020. The students are divided into several subject areas – Athletics, The ARTS, Science, Design Technology (Food), Design Technology (Industrial) and Exploring Robotics. We look forward to meeting everyone on the day.

Enrolments for Year 7 2021

Enrolments will be open on the Beerwah State High School website from Monday, 13 July 2020. Over the last two weeks, primary schools have received the application packs for all Year Six students to take home. Applications for the Athletics Extension Program, Pinnacle Class Academic Program and Academic/Sporting/Cultural Excellence Scholarships will also be available on the website from Monday, 20 July 2020.

To enrol your student, you are invited to our Year Seven enrolment interviews that will be held in the Beerwah State High School Resource Centre. The enrolment pack must be submitted to the school office prior to your enrolment appointment.

These interviews will be with a Deputy Principal or the Head of Year (HOY) for Year Seven and will cover important information related to Beerwah State High School to ensure your student transitions successfully into high school. You will be able to ask any questions you may have, at this appointment.

Prospective students and a maximum of two parents/carers will be offered group enrolment opportunities on 30 July, 4 August, 13 August and the 18 August. These will run from 3:15pm to 3:45pm and 3:45pm to 4:25pm. Please call the Beerwah State High School office on 07 5436 5333 to book an appointment.

To attend one of these interviews the application pack must be returned by:

• For interviews on 30 July, pack to be returned by 22 July
• For interviews on 4 August, pack to be returned by 27 July
• For interviews on 13 August, pack to be returned by 5 August
• For interviews on 18 August, pack to be returned by 10 August

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you here at Beerwah State High School.

School Opinion Survey

As advised by State Schools Division, the department is conducting shorter, sharper School Opinion Surveys (SOS) this year for students, staff and parents. The surveys will comprise a short number of questions about learning arrangements in Term 2, as well as a small number of the regular SOS questions that more broadly reflect the entire year.

We really value your feedback as it helps us to improve our way of working and celebrate any successes along the way. We know that this year has been an interesting one and we would love to hear what our community thinks with regard to the way we went about our on line learning platforms.

Sam Burchall
Deputy Principal

Teaching and Learning

Numeracy Update

One skill that students will come across in a variety of their subjects and potential future careers is ratios. The application of ratios is useful in many facets of life from mixing up the perfect cement combination in construction to calculating chemical reaction in chemistry.

A lot of key numeracy skills rely on students knowing their multiplication facts. It is essential for students to understand the foundational skills that numeracy is built upon to ensure success in applying mathematical concepts to everyday situations in a variety of contexts.

Numeracy Puzzle

(www.mashupmaths.com, 2017)

Maths Tutoring

Maths tutoring recommenced Term 2, week 7. Maths tutoring will continue to be offered to students in Term 3, Tuesday afternoons from 3:00 to 4:00 pm, in the Resource Centre. Students are asked to bring maths work that they would like to go over. There are textbooks in the library for all year levels for student reference.

Kayla Monk
Numeracy Coach

The Arts

Dance Students Honoured

Great news!

In April, our two dance captains, Ashley and Gabby, auditioned online for Brent Street in Sydney. This is Australia’s leading Performing Arts Training Centre and produces some of the industry’s top performers.

We are so excited to announce that they have both been accepted for 2021! Gabby has been accepted into the Performing Arts strand and Ashley into Contemporary. This is amazing news!!

Beerwah State High School and Beerwah Dance Company are very proud of both students! Over the years, they have inspired so many young dancers to achieve their goals, and have definitely put in the hard work, blood, sweat and tears to achieve their own goals.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Jess Rossberg
Head of Department

Communications

Student Short-Listed in Poetry Competition

Early this term, Year Ten student Maggie decided to enter her poem, “First Day Back at School,” in the 2020 Schools Poetry & Short Story Writing Competition.

First Day Back at School

As the books go into the bag
I don’t want to go to school it’s a drag
I hear the books land on my desk
I wish on my laptop there was an Autodesk
I need to eat before I am beat
Luckily for lunch I have got some meat
Once it becomes lunch, I rush to my friends
I know when I am with them dreams never end
Now before the day ends
I need to first bend
Now I must go to math
Then I can go home and have a bath
I finally finish school and hop on the bus
I ran very quickly and did not make a fuss
I was back at home safe and sound
Now my head is spinning around and round

There was no theme so entrants were encouraged to let their imaginations run wild and write on any topic, in any style. Maggie said she had no particular inspiration for her poem, she just wrote what she felt at the time.

Maggie’s English teacher, Kylie Brown, said she was “pleasantly surprised when she told me about entering the competition as she was quite shy about it and then I gave her a huge congratulations and praised her for entering the competition and wished her luck with the finals. She is a lovely girl so it was nice to see her so proud of her efforts.”

Poems and short stories entered into the competition will be considered for inclusion into the 2020 Write4fun anthology. First, second and third place prize winners will receive a complimentary copy of the book.

Kylie Brown
Senior Teacher

Health and Physical Education

Cross Country Challenge

After the cancellation of our school cross country due to coronavirus restrictions, a challenge was set to students to see which house could track the most kilometres using a fitness tracker or smartphone app over a three-week period. Many students took part in this challenge and some are now hooked on tracking their walks and runs, and challenging themselves to be physically active.

Our top two students were Breanne, who tracked 54.4km for Tububudla, and Gabby, who tracked 33.3km for Miketeebumulgrai.

Will this be enough to put one of these houses in first place? Totals for each house have now been calculated and the winning house will be announced on the next parade.

Run the Corridors

Run the Corridors took on a new look this year, again in response to coronavirus restrictions.

Usually the entire school would watch on as four athletes from each age group raced through our school walkways over a gruelling 500m course. This year the races took place on the oval with very little crowd support. This did not stop our athletes from performing to the best of their ability in this challenging event, which requires participants to strike a fine balance between speed and energy conservation.

Congratulations to our winners:

Coming Up

Stay tuned to our school Facebook page in Term 3 for further sports updates including results from our Year 12 House Dodgeball Championship and the school OzTag competition.

Belinda Kerr
HPE Teacher

Humanities

On Tuesday, 23 June, students in Miss Patching’s Year Eight History class were given the opportunity to participate in a Mesoamerican feast as a fun way to wrap up a unit about the Spanish conquest of the Americas.

Students had spent six weeks learning about the civilizations that lived in the Americas before the Spanish conquest, and the events of the Spanish conquest. On the menu were tortillas and an Aztec version of chilli con carne. The chilli con carne recipe specifically used vegetables, herbs and spices that the Aztecs would have had access to (or appropriate substitutes in cases where authentic ingredients could not be sourced). The meal was also vegetarian, as most Aztecs peasants had a predominantly vegetarian diet, due to the lack of available protein from animals.

The students enjoyed the lesson, even if they did not enjoy the food.

Year Eight student, Indyanna stated, “I was not a fan of the food! I’m glad I am not an Aztec peasant!” Cooper was a much more positive critic, stating that, “The food was good, it tasted exactly the same as something with meat in it, although it didn’t have meat in it.” Alex claimed, “It was good to eat something we have been learning about.” At the end of the day, it was all about the learning, which Eli summed up nicely with his remark, “It was a fun lesson and I learned loads!”

Industrial Technology

Beerwah State High School’s Building and Construction classes have been enjoying the practical side of their subjects.

Students have been consolidating the skills they have learned this semester and are building aspects of a house such as floors, frames, walls and a roof. Each step in the process has given the students a taste of different trades, such as carpentry, plastering and brick laying.

Year 12 Building and Construction

Scott Forrest
ITD Teacher

Student Services

Motiv8 Program

Our 2020, Semester One Motiv8 Students have created a series of awesome mosaics to be displayed around Beerwah State High School. This community project made the students proud to belong to such an inclusive school. Well Done, Motiv8 Students!

Lyn Schloss
"Motiv8" Program Co-ordinator

Education Services

Career Afternoon 18 June 2020

We enjoyed a great afternoon with parents of Year Ten students from Education Services who attended an information session with presenters providing knowledge related to future career pathways in various trades, occupations and school-based traineeships.

Disability employment providers, Mylestones and Joblife Employment, exchanged interesting points to assist the parents and students to reflect upon future job seeking skills required and the process to achieve their required goal. National Disability Information Scheme (NDIS) information was given to those parents who have not yet registered to participate in community services and reach their goals which will include their pathway to work.

We thank representatives - Kim, Rachel and Matt - for their time and effort engaging our students and families in their services.

Suzanne Tennison
Special Education Services

From the Office

2020 Student Resource Scheme and Subject Fees

We understand that, in this current economic climate, some families are struggling and that payment of school fees may not always be a priority. The date for payment of the Student Resource Scheme (SRS) and subject levies has now passed. It is very important for these fees to be paid in full to ensure that students have full access to all the consumable materials they require to effectively engage in the best learning activities in their chosen subjects, or a payment plan is put in place for your student.

Earlier this term, statements were sent out via both email and to your postal addresses. If you have not received a statement and would like to request a copy, please contact Accounts Receivable (Linda Alberts) on 5436 5304.

If you are having difficulties in making payment in full for your student’s SRS or subject fees, we are happy to organise a payment plan for the outstanding account. This can be done via BPOINT (automatic direct debit payments) or Centrepay (funds are automatically taken from your Centerlink payment and deposited into the school account)

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind parents/carers that, until school fees are paid in full, students are unable to attend any school excursions or extra-curricular events (even if you are prepared to pay for the event).

Thank you to those families who have made payment in full or contacted the school to organise a payment plan for their students' school fees.

If you have any queries regarding your account, or if you feel you may have difficulty in making payment in full and would like to organise a payment plan, please contact the Administration Office on 5436 5333 to schedule an appointment with the Deputy Principal of your student’s year level.

Do we have your current contact details?

There are times when we may need to get in touch with you. Do we have your current contact details?

If not, please contact the school on 5436 5333, or register with QParents, so we can update our records. These details include your name, address, phone numbers, email address and emergency contact details. Please remember to let the school know if any of these details change.

Office Opening Hours

There has been a recent change to our office opening hours. Please be aware that our office is now open from 8:00am to 3.30pm each day. Any phone calls outside these opening hours will be sent through to our voicemail system for you to leave a detailed message.

Hellen Nolen
Business Manager

Uniform Shop

Parents and Citizens Association

Who is the Parents and Citizens Association?

The Beerwah State High School Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) is a dedicated group of parents and citizens who contribute to building our school community in a number of ways, including consulting on school policy, managing the Tuckshop and Uniform Shop, and fundraising.

P&C Meeting

The next general meeting of the Parents and Citizens Association will be held on Tuesday 11 August, 6:00pm, in the Resource Centre to allow for social distancing.

All enquiries, suggestions and agenda items can be emailed to: pandc@beerwahshs.eq.edu.au

Entertainment Books

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Thank you for supporting Beerwah State High School Parents and Citizens Association.

Tia Law
P&C Secretary