30 October 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Community

I feel extremely privileged to have been appointed to the position of Principal at Beerwah State High School (BSHS). I’m looking forward to working with you to support the school and students in the Beerwah community.

I thought I would share with you a little about me. I started my teaching career on the coast, at Burnside SHS 32 years ago. Since then I’ve taught at various locations across the state including Ayr SHS, Morayfield SHS, Narangba Valley SHS, Qld Academy of Creative Industries and Dysart SHS. I’m a mum to two adult children and a very proud GG (Grandma) to one little cherub. I’ve relocated from Dysart to the coast and am looking forward to settling in to the area.

I’m a relational leader and I look forward to meeting everyone and talking to staff, students, parents and community to understand how Beerwah SHS works and how I can best lead and support the vision and improvement agenda of the school.

My background in teaching is Business and ICT and I obtained a Masters in Educational Research in 2015 from QUT which focussed on Professional development of teachers in the field of ICT. In addition to this, I have a keen research interest in Boys in Education. One of my favourite books is ‘Boys Adrift’ by Dr Leonard Sax where he describes the factors that are impacting on boys and their development. It is insightful reading for educators and parents/carers of boys.

My first 50 days at the school will revolve around:

• Developing relationships – talk and listen; visit staffrooms; classes; talk to staff; students & stakeholders including industry, coalition/cluster schools, parents and carers.
• Gather information – Read and observe; refer to strategic documents; frameworks – Curriculum and reporting framework; Pedagogical framework; Student learning and wellbeing framework; Positive behaviour for learning; Human resources and workforce planning; Role descriptions; Leadership teams; Aspirants programs; Committees, Data – Academic; Attendance, Behaviour; WHS processes; Budget/financial and facilities maintenance.
• My Priorities will include reviewing the Australian Curriculum and the Student Code of Conduct, and developing boththe Strategic Plan for the four year period from 2021 and the Annual Improvement Plan for 2021.

Year 12 students

A reminder that we have moved into the Exam period for the Year Twelve students. This last week will be pivotal in ensuring that we obtain all necessary items from our students. I know the Year Twelves progress in the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE)/Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is being closely managed by the senior schooling team. Thank you for the numerous hours of support you are providing to the students. Congratulations to the Year Twelve Students on reaching such an amazing milestone in your lives in what has to be one of the most challenging years. You should be extremely proud of yourselves for showing such commitment. I wish you all the very best in your exams and your future careers and I look forward to congratulating you on your graduation.

My highlights from the last two weeks

I’ve met so many lovely students who have been very willing to have a chat to me about their school. The manner in which they have introduced themselves and have spoken to me, really demonstrates the culture of respect which is widely evident across the school both in class, at lunch times and also outside of school.

I would like to acknowledge some of the wonderful student achievements from the last two weeks:

Beerwah Dance Company (BDC) for performing recently at Noosa District and winning so many deserved accolades, followed by many other class performances in the Performing Arts Centre during week two. In addition to this, the touch football students and the surfing students, amongst so many other events. Well done to all of the staff involved for the many hours of hard work that go into preparing these learning experiences.

In my travels around the school I’ve met and observed so many positives. The Year level assemblies and how well they are managed by the Heads of Year; the Certificate II in Salon Assistant; the Certificate II in Bicycle Maintenance and the fantastic work done by Helen Forrest; the support given to our Education Services students; the Chaplaincy Committee; the incredible work from the Student Services support team and the Tutoring programs that are offered to students on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

The week finished with this amazing feedback from Jocelyn Perritt - Tour Coordinator from Brainstorm Productions which presented to our Year 10 students on Friday, 16 October:

Congratulations to all of you for being part of such a wonderful school. You should be extremely proud to be part of Beerwah SHS.

Kind Regards
Lyn

Lyn McDonald
Principal

Year Ten News

Brainstorm Productions

Brainstorm Productions presented a highly engaging one-man show for high school students that addresses risk-taking, substance use, resilience, mental health and choices. This was a confronting and very relevant performance.

While this was a worthwhile opportunity for our students, it was also amazing to note that the Brainstorm performer, Sam (pictured), took time out from his schedule to provide feedback to the school on how fantastic the staff, and in particular, the Year Ten students are at Beerwah. Sam believes Beerwah is an amazing place and wanted to pass on his thanks to all staff and Year Ten students for the shared experience.

Sam has toured with Brainstorm for a number of years, across three or four different states; at private and public schools; and this was the first time he had felt compelled to acknowledge the excellence of a cohort in any school.

This is a powerful reflection of the quality of our Beerwah students. Congratulations to all those involved.

Sharlene Ballard
Head of Year Ten

Environment Group

Litter Audit

In Term Three, our twelve environmental students worked as a team with an environmental consultant and what they discovered was staggering. They collected a sample of bins from various locations throughout the school, donned gloves, tipped out the litter and sorted. Calculations were then completed to determine the average volume of waste generated per person, per day.

What does this look like? How many litres of waste do you think each person is producing at school per day? Well, it equates to one and a half litres per person, per day. To some, this may not sound like much but let’s keep doing the maths. Currently, 269,216L of waste per school year is going into landfill and if tipped out, would cover an average sized school oval with a sixteen centimetre thick layer of waste.

Why did they sort it? The group’s aim is to reduce what ends up in landfill and they discovered that seventy-four percent of the school’s waste is suitable for diversion from landfill.

These wonderful students will continue to meet, plan and implement strategies to ensure our school is a more environmentally conscious campus.

Ms Grant
Teacher

Humanities and Business

Visit to the Law Courts

This week, COVID-19 restrictions were finally eased enough for the Year Eleven Legal Studies class to complete their visit to Brisbane’s Supreme Court. This visit gave the students a great opportunity to speak with a Supreme Court Judge where they got some advice on their current assignment and gained a valuable insight into the workings of the court.

The students observed the sentencing of a number of individuals where they saw first-hand the use of precedents, witness impact statements and judge’s deliberations.

Each student represented the school beautifully and are now well-positioned to tackle their next assessment.

Some of the Year Eleven Legal Studies class outside Court 37

Sharlene Ballard
Head of Department

Health and Physical Education and Sports News

Queensland Representative Softball Team

A huge congratulations to both Indy and Ethan Munro who were selected in the Queensland Representative Team for Club Softball recently. This is an outstanding achievement for the siblings who continue to excel in their sport.

Steve Jeffery
Head of Department

Queensland All Schools Touch

In the first week of Term Four, Beerwah State High School sent three Touch teams to compete in Brisbane at the Queensland All Schools Touch competition. This is the premier event on the school Touch calendar, with hundreds of teams participating from schools Queensland-wide.

The Beerwah SHS students who competed in our Under Fifteen girls, Under Fifteen boys and Open Mixed teams did a great job of representing our school in regard to their behaviour, participation and their performances. All of our teams won games, improved their skills and teamwork and had a fantastic time at this competition. The coaches are looking forward to seeing what our Touch teams can do next year!

Belinda Kerr
Teacher

Girls Attend Rugby League Day

On Friday of Week Three, thirty-five girls from years seven to ten participated in the annual Annette Brander Girls Nine-a-Side Rugby League Gala Day. There were two divisions within each age group (experienced and in-experienced). Beerwah fielded two teams, one in each division, within the Year seven to eight competition and one team in the Year nine to 10 competition. The inexperienced division is to encourage those girls who don’t play (or wouldn’t normally play) to have a go at playing rugby league.

All Beerwah students played with heart, going up against some much stronger and bigger teams, but still scoring many tries and having fun while doing so. A big congratulations must go to these girls for putting their hand up to play, with some students being awarded some prizes at the end of the day.

A special thank you must go to Mr Cavanagh and Mr Jeffery for helping to coach a team and encouraging these girls to give the very physical sport a go.

Emma Liesegang
Teacher

Future Pathways

Term Four has gotten off to a flying start with 2020 courses being completed and applications submitted for 2021 opportunities.

The Sunshine Coast Trade Training Centre (SCTTC) round one interviews took place on Tuesday 20 October and saw twenty-five students participate. A preparation lesson, delivered by Mr Forrest and Mr Bell, was held the day before where students were given instructions on how to approach and make the most of their interview. Well done to all applicants on their efforts with their applications and interviews. The SCTTC will inform students on placement outcomes before the end of term.

Applications and expressions of interest are still being taken for a number of 2021 programs. Students should see Mrs Forrest as soon as practicable in relation to these.

• SC Trade Training Centre, current Year Ten and Eleven – Round two, if places available.
• Cert II Automotive Vocational Pathways AUR20716, proposed, delivered at Beerwah SHS on Fridays, current Year Ten and Eleven – Expressions of Interest ongoing.
• Kawana Waters SC Health Program, current Year Ten – Applications due 23 October 2020.
• Cert IV Crime & Justice Studies 10283NAT, current Year Ten – registration of interest ongoing with application on line.
• TAFE at School programs, current Year Ten and Eleven (depending on course) – online registration of interest ongoing.
• Distance Education, current Year Ten – Applications submitted during Term 4.
• Dual Cert II Salon Assistant (SHB20216) & Cert II Retail Cosmetics (SHB20116), propose, delivered BSHS on Fridays, current Year Ten and Eleven– Expressions of Interest ongoing

Year Twelve Graduate Opportunities

These past weeks have seen a number of full time opportunities been advertised to our Year Twelve cohort. These have included positions advertised on social media and through websites such as MEGT and East Coast Apprenticeships. With a Federal Government increase in subsidies for employers taking on new trainees and apprentices, a great Sunshine Coast opportunities have become available. Graduates are kept up to date on vacancies via student notices and our school Facebook page.

Defence Force Mini Expo

On Wednesday 21 October two Australian Defence Force (ADF) members came on campus to meet with senior students interested in defence careers. A display was set up in the Home Economics under-covered area and students took the opportunity to meet face to face to ask questions.

School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SATs)

Congratulations to Year Eleven student, Ana, who has secured a school based automotive apprenticeship. Ana has studied Certificate II in Automotive Servicing at the SCTTC in 2020 and was placed with Ultra Tune, Currimundi for her work placement. This employer was very impressed with Ana commenting on her drive and enthusiasm and has offered her this amazing opportunity. Ana will commence work release soon and will enrol in a Certificate III in Automotive. On graduation in 2021 Ana’s apprenticeship will convert to full time and she will continue with her trade career. Congratulations Ana!

More good news this week with two Year Ten students having secured second round interviews for school-based health traineeships with Metro North Hospital & Health. This is a great achievement as these vacancies attract hundreds of applications. Congratulations Mikaylah and Georgia.

Current School based traineeships and apprenticeships

These local opportunities are now available:

• Year Ten students: School based Hospitality traineeship with Banjo’s Bakery Beerwah. The duties include front of house, customer and food service, coffee making, cleaning and money handling. Students must be able to commit to successfully balancing school with paid work and qualification study. Application is in person. See Amy Nicholson in store.
• Year Ten, Eleven and Twelve students with a genuine interest in a bakery pathway are invited to apply for a school based OR part time baker's apprenticeship with Banjo's Bakery, Beerwah. This could suit a student wanting to start an apprenticeship while at school or be suitable for a Year twelve student about to graduate. First year baker apprenticeship duties include 3:00am or 5:00am starts, dough preparation, baking/cooking bread, minimal cleaning, front of house duties including customer service and coffee making. An apprenticeship converts to part time or full time after graduation. Commitment required. Apply in store to Amy Nicholson.
• Year Ten students are invited to submit a resume to Mrs Forrest in application for a school based hospitality traineeship with Subway, Glass House Mountains. Duties include customer service, food preparation and service, money handling, cleaning and food hygiene processes. Students must be able to commit to school, study, work and travel (to and from the Bruce Highway, Glass House Mountains location). A work trial may be required.

CERTIFICATE COURSES

Dual Cert II Salon assistant & Cert II Retail Cosmetics

In week two, our trainees successfully completed their training and will be signed off as qualified in Certificate II Salon Assistant and Certificate II Retail Cosmetics. Our trainer, Gloria commented again on what a pleasure it has been to come to Beerwah and how this year’s cohort has been enthusiastic and motivated throughout the duration of the course. Gloria has seen strong development in skill sets and wished all of our trainees the very best in the future study and pathways.

Students interested in our dual Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS) funded program in 2021 can see Mrs Forrest for the current information and complete an expression of interest. The program gives six QCE points and will run on Fridays across two terms. It provides a mixture of theory and practical units with all training and resources provided by CSaT and 2 Study.

Final Day of Salon and Retail Assistant Course

Certificate II Automotive Vocational Pathways AUR20716

We are proposing to run this course (vehicle mechanic stream) in 2021:

• Open to current Year Ten and Eleven Students
• Delivered on Fridays at Beerwah State High School (Flexi-Day) in 2021
• VETiS funded (no cost) STUDENTS ARE ONLY ALLOWED ONE VETiS FUNDED PROGRAM
• Four QCE points
• Delivered by external trainer from Tactile Learning Centre
• All resources, tools, equipment and vehicle provided
• Twelve units, mix of theory and practical
• Hands on program
• Runs for fifteen to twenty weeks (two terms)
• For students interested in a trade pathway or working the automotive industry
• Minimum enrolment required before program can commence

Interested VETiS eligible students should see Mrs Forrest to register their interest and secure a place in this program.

We are currently continuing with running a very successful bicycle mechanic stream of this certificate this term. Students are engaged and thoroughly enjoying the program and trainer Alex has a wealth of knowledge and experience which he loves to share. In week three, Alex arrived with his motorbike to identify and discuss its systems and components. This bicycle mechanic stream, which includes scooters and skateboards, could also run in 2021 if minimum enrolment numbers are reached.

Kawana Waters State College Health Program

The Health Program combines VETiS funded dual HLT23215 Certificate II in Health Support Services and CHC22015, Certificate II in Community Services in Year Eleven, with HLT33115 Certificate III in Health Services Assistant (fee-for-service) completed in Year Twelve. It is designed to support students wishing to pursue a career in the health industry. Students attend Kawana Waters State College Health hub one day a week over the course of the program (usually on the Flexi-Day).

Applications are due by Friday, 23 October, and we are planning to have the Health Unit Coordinator to deliver a face-to-face information session in coming weeks. Students will be notified via notices and our school Facebook page if this goes ahead.

Sunshine Coast Technical Trade Training Centre

Year Twelve students will attend their last week at the TTC in week three. Year Eleven students will continue until week five. It was a challenging year with the disruption COVID-19 caused to training however with the amazing support and guidance from TTC staff and trainers, students have been able to successfully complete their courses. Students should be commended for their commitment to study and work placement. Our 2021 cohort should look to these students as role models as they have set the example of what is required to be successful in their chosen program and make the most of opportunities that become available.

Students intending to study at the TTC in 2021 should be able to commit to attending Caloundra one day a week, participate in structured workplace learning (eighty hours) and balance school study with TTC attendance and travel. These programs are VETiS funded – remembering that students are only allocated one VETiS funded course – and TTC administration fees also apply. This is an adult learning environment and there are high expectations in relation to behaviour and participation.

Helen Forrest
Industry and VET Training Officer

From the Office

Reporting Student Absences

To report student absences (whole day absences only), parents/carers may contact the school via:

• SMS: 0476 850 614 [text messages only - no voicemail, symbols, emojis or attachments]
• Telephone: (07) 5436 5360 [leave a voicemail message]
• Email: studentabsences@beerwahshs.eq.edu.au

Please include the following details in the message:

• Student name
• Date of absence
• Reason for absence

To report a student arriving late to school, arrange early collection or a uniform pass, please phone the Office on (07) 5436 5333.

Final Dates for Student Attendance

Friday, 20 November, is the final date for Year twelve attendance for receipt of a Senior Statement.

27 November is the final date for student attendance in Years Ten and Eleven.

School finishes for all other year levels on Wednesday, 9 December.

Parents and Citizens Association

Save the date for Tuckshop Day

Mark your calendar for Tuckshop Day on Friday, 6 November, 2020.

General Meeting for November

The Beerwah State High School Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) usually meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Our last meeting for 2020 will be held in the Resource Centre, Tuesday, 10 November, from 6:00pm. All are welcome.

Tia Law
P&C Secretary