27 November 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Community

This month is shaping up to be a wonderful month with lots of opportunities to celebrate Success for All with both Awards Day and Clap out Graduation. I’m looking forward to seeing how Success for All is celebrated in the school.

My highlights from the last 2 weeks

World Teachers’ Day

Friday, 30 October was World Teachers’ Day. Thank you to the P & C for acknowledging our teachers on this day with a fabulous lunch. I know the P & C members appreciate the work all the staff do for the students of Beerwah State High School. It’s important that we show our appreciation for the commitment and care they provide our students. I know many students took the time to thank staff on World Teachers’ Day and this was greatly appreciated.

Men’s Talk finale

Thank you to Mike Turner (Chappy) and John DeVries (Teacher) for inviting me to this important event and I look forward to hearing and seeing how this program continues to guide our young boys into young men. The data in relation to engagement and academic achievement of boys continues to be concerning and this problem is endemic in our society. A quick glance at Year 7 End of Semester One 2020 academic data shows that females outperform males in EVERY subject, except Music. This trend continues across different year levels.

Any project that supports our boys to improve their outcomes is very important. Well done Mike and John and thank you.

Remembrance Day

I’ve received a very warm welcome into the community and was privileged to be the MC at the recent Remembrance Day service on Wednesday, 11 November in Beerwah where over twenty student leaders from Beerwah State High School represented our school at the highest standard.

For 2021, I’m going to work with the local RSL representatives and the school leaders to establish a garden area in the school to show respect to those who have served and sacrificed so much for us.

State Schools

Over the last two weeks, I have visited Beerwah, Landsborough, Beerburrum, Elimbah, Glasshouse and Peachester State Schools. I still have a few more state schools to visit, but all schools have been absolutely delightful and I have been keen to introduce myself to their Year 6 students.

I am inviting all of the state school principals to the school before the end of term for a tour and to meet with a view to working collaboratively with Beerwah High. Undoubtedly, this collaboration will help to enhance the transition from primary school to secondary school. The principals will be rewarded with a delightful lunch prepared by our Senior Hospitality students.

Thank you to the Hospitality teachers who will be guiding the students in this area.

In Other News

Facilities

I’ve met with Regional infrastructure staff last week about the leaking roofs. Unfortunately, this is an issue with a number of schools that were built around the same time as Beerwah State High School and is in relation to the pitch of the roof. Regional infrastructure have acknowledged that it is a high priority for replacement and have given assurances that it is on the radar for replacement. The learning environment is an important part of the school and the front of the school will be receiving a makeover so that from the road we present as a well maintained and proud school.

Uniform

Over the last five weeks, I’ve been observing, listening, asking questions and talking to people about the school and as I have said many times, I’m so impressed and pleased that I’m now part of this wonderful school. Many of you have told me about the uniform issues and it is easy to see that the shorts, in particular are looking a little on the shabby side. Wearing a uniform with pride improves our reputation in the community and we all want the best for our students so it is important that our students look tidy and represent the school at a high standard.

Students who are wearing shorts that are not school shorts need to ensure that they obtain the correct uniform and wear it with pride. If there are any special circumstances around the uniform please communicate this to the relevant Heads of Year. If there are financial circumstances which prevent the purchase of the uniform, please let Heads of Year know as we have processes in place to support families in need.

2021 – 2024 Strategic Plan

Below is the current draft version of the overview of the Strategic Plan for the next FOUR years. Please feel free to send me your valued opinions about what you think the school needs to prioritise in the short and long-term future. The next step will involve expanding on these strategies to include actions, timelines, roles and targets. I will continue to update our community with this plan as it expands.

I’ve been so impressed with the respect that our students have shown to me, the care and commitment that our dedicated, capable and experienced staff show on a continual basis and the number of interesting and engaging curricular and extra-curricular activities that are occurring in the school.

I would love to meet and greet with community members, local business and community organisations.

Feel free to make contact at any time with the school or through my email at principal@beerwahshs.eq.edu.au if you would like to visit the school, work with our staff or students or if you would like to discuss how we can work together to support the students.

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

Be safe,

Looking forward to meeting you.

Lyn McDonald
B. Bus, M. of Ed. Research
Principal – Beerwah SHS

Senior Secondary

CONGRATULATIONS to the Graduating Class of 2020. Well done to you all!

Year 12 Subject Results and Student Education Profile (SEP)

Year 12 students will be able to access their Final Subject Results and their SEP documents-Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) if attained, and their Senior Statement in their Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) Learning Accounts from 9.00am Saturday December 19.

The parents of students who have not activated their Learning Accounts were emailed on Tuesday 17 November. Students who have not activated their learning accounts will not be able to retrieve their subject results or SEP documents.

The electronic versions of SEP documents in the students’ learning accounts are official – they contain a unique validation code and digital signature to confirm they are authentic.

Please be advised that the QCAA is not automatically mailing the QCE or Senior Statements to students as they have in the past.

Students may request a print copy of these from the QCAA (not the school).

If these requests are made by January 31, the printed copy of the documents will be mailed in March 2021.

Students are reminded that their Learning Account with the QCAA must have a personal email as their contact address as their school email address will be deactivated early in the New Year.

Leanne Young
Head of Department

Education Services

Equine Therapy

During Term four and five Education Services students were able to participate in an equine assisted therapy program. Students become involved in a non-riding program. The sessions are designed to best create metaphors for “real life”. This allows for metaphorical learning as everything done with the horses is related to what is happening at home; school; work; and in relationships.

The program assisted the students to be aware of boundaries, respect, raise self-esteem and improve confidence. Over the six week program students were observed and engaged with two facilitators, an equine specialist and a counsellor who helped the students manage their communication and problem-solving social skills and self-regulation.

All students gained more awareness of their social skills and better ways to interact. The students showed empathy and were considerate towards the needs of the horses. One student wasn’t aware of the boundaries with other students at first, but over time progressed to work independently and only check in towards the end with other students.

Great progress was achieved by all. Well Done!

Suzanne Tennison
Education Services teacher

Science

Beerwah CSI

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Year 10 Science Forensic Studies students embarked on a crime scene investigation. As part of their science curriculum, they attended an imitation crime scene established in the science courtyard.

The students underwent rigorous observations and detective investigations, as they attempted to solve a fictitious crime of a stolen television, break and enter, and a murder.

It was a realistic event where students were able to practically utilise the skills and theories they have been studying for five weeks. Students successfully identified blood spatter patterns, handwriting, shoe and fingerprints, hair and fibre samples. They are currently studying the evidence from the six suspects. Within the next week, they should be able to scientifically determine the offender.

This experience adds an element of practical analysis to science and is one of the highlights of the Year 10 forensics science unit.

Peter Muchow
Science Teacher

The Arts

Dance: A Year in Review

2020 was going to be the year of opportunities. Our dancers were gearing up for a year of amazing competitions throughout South-East Queensland and even heading to Sydney in September for the Australian Dance Festival where they would learn from industry professionals.

Well, thanks to COVID-19, those opportunities were cancelled…real quick! For the students and myself, this was incredibly hard. But, I knew that, despite lockdown and social distancing, I had to stick to my word and give them a year of opportunities.

During lockdown, our Dance students learnt choreography from online tutorials (several thousand takes later), submitted choreographic tasks through Daymap and uploaded their videos to OneDrive for feedback. By doing this, our students demonstrated their passion, resilience and hard work, showing me just how lucky I am to work with incredible students.

As the restrictions started to ease, teachers and event organisers within Queensland knew how much Dance meant to the kids and created a number of online dance challenges. Beerwah Dance Company competed and placed in the following online competitions against schools all over Queensland and interstate:

Semester Two was looking promising as restrictions continued to ease; however, we were still remaining cautious. Even though our students couldn’t travel interstate, we were very fortunate to have visiting artists work with our students. The following artists shared their knowledge and passion for Dance:

Andrea Lam from Dance Masala: Fusion/Bollywood workshop with Year 9 Dance

Shari Crump from The House of Sole: Two hip-hop workshops with students from BDC and Cert III Dance

Riley Hinds from The House of Sole: Hip-hop workshop with Year 10 Dance and a hip-hop routine for BDC

Vanessa Friscia from VHub

Contemporary routine for BDC

Hip-hop class routine for Year 10 Dance

Greta Gilby: professional dancer for the Moulin Rouge in Paris and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines

Heels workshop for Dance students in years 10-12

Mock audition workshop

Musical Theatre routine for BDC

As October was fast approaching, BDC were gearing up for their one and only live competition - The Australian Pinnacle Dance Challenge. This competition was run in a COVID-safe way and we were incredibly fortunate to receive the following results:

1st place: True Blood (Jazz)
1st place: Breaking Ice (Contemporary)
1st place: Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels (Jazz)
1st place: Amen (Contemporary)
2nd place: Bojangles (Musical Theatre)
3rd place: Bigger (Lyrical)
3rd place: Started From The Bottom (Hip Hop)

Highly Commended: Alice in Wonderland (Jazz)

One of our most anticipated events of the year, Dance Showcase, was missing something this year; our biggest supporters, the performers’ families. However, we were still incredibly grateful that we could perform for the students and staff during school hours. Let’s hear what our 2020/2021 Dance Captains have to say about the year that was 2020:

“This year has been a rocky one for us all, including the members of BDC; a year normally spent preparing for competitions and our beloved Dance Showcase. But, what can you do when there is a global pandemic? However, no challenge is too big for BDC. We flipped it around and achieved our vision. While we may have been staring at cameras most of the year, we were able to perform in front of our peers and teachers for Dance Showcase: Stage to Screen. Not only did it reflect a range of music from movies and stage productions, but it also reflected the way we adapted to this year. Nonetheless, Dance Showcase was definitely a blast and apart from when we were dancing and enduring ALL the quick changes, it was pretty chill - with many saying this was our strongest year. It is definitely one to be remembered…that is for more than one reason. But we can’t forget the highlights, with Miekayla’s quick change disaster and Mary’s 3-part vlog series. But it was so much more than that. It was our time to shine and to show off our hard work and dedication. In the year that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons, the year of COVID-19, Dance Night will be a shining moment amongst the rest.”

Brooke Ferguson and Georgia Lister, 2020 – 2021 Dance Captains.

Students, I am so proud of you and what you’ve achieved this year. Thank you to everyone who has supported Dance at BSHS. I’m looking forward to 2021.

Jess Rossberg
Head of Department

Academic and Cultural Cup 2020

On Wednesday 18th November, Beerwah High celebrated its sixth annual Academic & Cultural Cup.

In a year that has been a difficult one for all lovers of the arts, our celebration was more subdued than normal and joined forces in the Performing Arts complex with our annual formal Top of Subject awards, Academic Excellence and Achievement awards, other special awards and the Junior and Senior Dux awards.

Congratulations to Team Tibberoowuccum who managed to take out the cup for the first time after coming excruciatingly close last year. The resplendent light blue mortarboard will adorn the top of the beautiful Academic & Cultural Champions’ trophy for the next twelve months.

Support from local businesses during the lifespan of this culture-bending initiative has been amazing and our awardees were thrilled to receive their prizes. This year our two major sponsors made it a sixth year in a row of coming aboard the BSHS airliner and metaphorically reaching for the skies in our endeavours to visit new and exciting destinations made available within the Academic & Cultural Cup world. A massive thank you to Vianta Espresso & Exotics Coffee Shop and Beerwah Newsagency for this year contributing amazing prizes for all twelve of our age champions. A huge thanks also to the Beerwah State High School P & C Association and the Positive Behaviour and Learning Team for also gifting some support and recognising our amazingly talented and motivated students with some just rewards.

This year six new and six returning year level male and female champions signed the beautiful leather-bound BSHS Scholastic Almanac, adding to the history of age champions which is held within its parchment paper pages. Students earn 10 points for achieving an A standard in a subject, 5 points for a B and 1 point for a C. Points are also earned for all extra-curricular endeavours undertaken by students using a scoring system of 50 points for a High Distinction, 30 points for a Distinction, 10 points for a Credit and 2 points for participation. Students also earn points for being part of a school team within the academic and cultural fields. Points are allocated using a system of 25 points for a Team High Distinction, 15 points for a Team Distinction, 5 points for a Team Credit and 2 points for Team Participation.

A special mention in 2020 for our Dance Company (Team High Distinction) who surprised many by jiving and twirling through a year that had plenty of its own twists and turns. While audiences were absent and many performances were in front of a recording device, students practised throughout the majority of the year and their hard worked paid off with a swag of first, second, third and highly commended placings.

The enthusiasm and talent displayed this year by so many of our gifted students has given 2020 a much needed injection of art, music and academic medicine!

2020 Age Champions

A male and female student were selected from each year level based on the amount of points they had achieved and with some students receiving as high as 114 points they have definitely been doing some amazing work in many areas in order to achieve these goals. Well done to you all!

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

Future Pathways

Congratulations and best wishes to our graduating class of 2020!

Many of you have completed VET courses, successfully participated in school-based traineeships and apprenticeships or studied Distance Education subjects. Some students have even done a combination of these. In particular, Congratulations go to the recipients of our School-Based Trainee of the Year and VET Student of the Year.

Kiara Chapman-Fraser, School-Based Trainee of the Year who was employed by Truck-a-Luck Kennels and successfully completed a Certificate III in Companion Animal Services.

Shaneika Hill, VET Student of the Year, who completed a Certificate III in Retail as a School-Based trainee as well as a Certificate II in Business, Certificate II in Hospitality and Certificate II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways.

Best wishes to all graduates as you leave Beerwah High and commence on the next exciting phase of your lives.

Year 12 graduate opportunities:

Over the past month I have continued to communicate to Year 12 students and parents regarding full time employment opportunities including apprenticeships and traineeships. Information regarding study options have also been forwarded via email.

Students are encouraged to access the websites and job boards of MEGT, East Coast Apprenticeships, MAS Experience, Sarina Russo Apprenticeships and Busy at Work for Sunshine Coast vacancies and resources that can assist in job search and preparation.

Local employment opportunities include:

• Fresh & Save, Beerwah and Morayfield – full time retail butcher apprenticeships. Application, with resume and cover letter, to the training organisation delivering the Certificate III in Meat Processing (retail butcher) Axial Training – Tony Cousins tony.cousins@axial.edu.au

• Subway Beerwah & Glass House Mountains – full time / casual sandwich artists. Application outlining suitability and to arrange an interview to beerwahsubway@westnet.com.au or glasshousesubway@westnet.com.au

Study options include:

Redmako Learning – Dual SIT20116 Cert II in Tourism & SIT30516 Cert III in Events, BSB50215 Diploma of Business and 10118NAT Diploma of Social Media Marketing as well as a graduate program enrolling in the Diploma of Social Media Marketing and undertaking a 12 week internship.

2021 Courses

With the year drawing to a close students have been working towards completing courses and finalising new opportunities for 2021. It is exciting to see so much interest and students making the most of the opportunities offered to them.

• There will be 25 students heading over to the Sunshine Coast Technical Trade Training Centre in 2021. Students will be participating in a variety of qualifications including Certificate I Construction, Certificate II in Plumbing or Automotive or Electro Technology. We also have students enrolling in Certificate II Salon Assistant and Retail Cosmetics and Certificate III in Aviation.
• We have two students heading to the Coast Cookery Trade School at Maroochydore High next year. These students will enrol in a Certificate II in Kitchen Operations and will have an amazing experience working in the commercial kitchen and training with TAFE staff during the course of the year.
• Another 11 students will commence with the Health Unit at Kawana Waters State College participating in Certificate II Health Support Services and Certificate II Community Services in 2021 before transitioning into Certificate III Health Services Assistant in 2022. On completion students will hold the qualification of Assistant in Nursing, allowing them to work in the health industry.
• There will be seven new Brisbane School of Distance Education students commencing in 2021 and subjects to be studied include Modern History, Ancient History, Music, Digital Solutions, Economics, Accounting and Psychology.
• Students are also enrolling in Certificate IV in Crime & Justice Studies delivered by Unity College. This program includes 10 online units with some face to face workshops during the year.
• Applications and expressions of interest are still being taken for the two VETiS funded programs proposed to run at school in 2021. These are open for registration by current year 10 and 11 students. The courses are:

• Cert II Automotive Vocational Preparation AUR20716, proposed, delivered at BSHS on Fridays, current Year 10 & 11 – Expressions of Interest ongoing.
• Dual Cert II Salon Assistant (SHB20216) & Cert II Retail Cosmetics (SHB20116), propose, delivered BSHS on Fridays, current year 10 & 11– Expressions of Interest ongoing

Bicycle Mechanic Course completed

Our bicycle mechanic trainees completed their program last week and have all graduated with the qualification of Certificate II Automotive Vocational Preparation.

Students were engaged in the fifteen week program, attending every Friday and completing theory units and hands-on practical tasks in the bicycle stream. The course provides foundation skills and knowledge to commence a career as a bike mechanic or a pathway into the automotive industry.

Alex, our trainer has commented on how much he has enjoyed working with the Beerwah students and staff. He has found the culture empowering and he hopes to return to training with us again next year.

The light vehicle stream course, which we propose to run in 2021, will provide students with similar opportunities and is also a worthwhile program for any Year 11 or 12 student wishing to gain the skills to maintain their own car.

School based apprenticeships and traineeships (SATs)

A number of new traineeships will be finalised before the end of the school year. Congratulations to the following students who have successfully completed interviews and work trials:

Marney - school-based baker’s apprenticeship with Banjo’s Bakery, Beerwah
Bree-Anna - school-based companion animal studies traineeship with Truck-a-Luck Kennels
Jazmyn - school-based hospitality traineeship with Subway, Glass House Mountains

2021 Certificate Courses

Beerwah High is committed to assisting students with options for alternative pathways. We are proposing to run the following courses in 2021:

Dual Cert II Salon Assistant & Cert II Retail Cosmetics

In 2021, we are again proposing to facilitate a dual course SHB20216 Salon Assistant and SHB20116 Retail Cosmetics delivered on-site through an external Registered Training Organisation, Change Safety & Training (CSaT) and 2 Study. In the past four years, a total of forty-eight students have successfully gained this qualification.

Details of the proposed course are as follows:

• Open to Year 10, 11 and 12students
• Delivered on Fridays at BSHS (non timetabled day) in 2021
• VETiS funded (no cost) STUDENTS ARE ONLY ALLOWED ONE VETiS FUNDED PROGRAM
• Six QCE points
• Delivered by external trainer from 2 Study (CSaT)
• All resources and equipment provided
• Fifteen units, mix of theory and practical
• Hands-on program including local salon placement
• Runs for a minimum of two terms
• For students interested in hair and beauty or in a salon industry pathway
• Minimum enrolment required before program can commence

Current 2020 Year 10 and 11 students are encouraged to discuss this course option at home and complete an expression of interest to be returned to Mrs Forrest. On confirmation of student’s eligibility an enrolment pack will be distributed. At this stage the 2021 course is dependent on student enrolment numbers.

AUR20716 Certificate II Automotive Vocational Preparation

In Semester 1, 2021 we are proposing to facilitate AUR20716 Certificate II in Automotive Vocational Preparation delivered on-site through an external Registered Training Organisation, Tactile Learning Centre.

Details of the proposed course (vehicle mechanic stream) are as follows:

• Open to current Year 10 and 11 students
• Delivered on Fridays at BSHS (non timetabled 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-twenty weeks (two terms)
• For students interested in a trade pathway or working the automotive industry
• Minimum enrolment required before program can commence

Current 2020 Year 11 and 12 students are encouraged to discuss this course option at home and complete an expression of interest to be returned to Mrs Forrest as soon as possible.

SC Technical Trade Training Centre Scholarship

During our Awards Day, celebrated in week seven, the recipient of the Beerwah SHS P & C scholarship to the Sunshine Coast Technical Trade Training Centre (SCTTTC) was announced. The recipient is Madison Pryde who will be studying Cert II Electro technology in 2021.

Congratulations Madison and best wishes for your year at SCTTTC.

Helen Forrest
Industry and VET Training Officer

From the Office

Final Dates for Student Attendance

School finishes for all Junior year levels on Wednesday, 9 December. The office will close at 3.30pm.

2021 Stationery requirements

Stationery requirements list for 2021 can be found on the Beerwah State High School webpage under Enrolments tab, Related Links.

Office opening hours

We will re-open on 18 January 2021 at 10am and close at 2pm.

These hours will continue until the 22 January 2021.

25 January 2021 is a STUDENT FREE DAY and the school is CLOSED.
26 January 2021 is Australia Day Public Holiday and the school is CLOSED.
27 January 2021 is the first day of term and we will begin our normal opening hours of 8am-3.30pm.

Uniform Shop Opening hours

18 January 2021 Uniform Shop is CLOSED
19 January – 22 January 2021 Uniform shop is OPEN from 7.30am - 2.30pm
25 January 2021 is a STUDENT FREE DAY and the Uniform Shop is CLOSED.
26 January 2021 is Australia Day Public Holiday and the Uniform Shop is CLOSED.
27 January 2021 will see our regular opening hours apply which is 8am -9 am on Tuesday and Friday.

Cash Collection Office Opening hours

18 January 2021 Cash Collection Office is CLOSED
19/20 January 2021 8am – 2pm
21/22 January 2021 10am - 2pm
25 January 2021 is a STUDENT FREE DAY and the school is CLOSED.
26 January 2021 is Australia Day Public Holiday and the school is CLOSED.
27 January 2021 is the first day of term and we will begin our normal opening hours of 8am-12pm.

Important Dates to remember for 2021

Monday January 25 2021: STUDENT FREE DAY- school is CLOSED
Tuesday January 26 2021: Australia Day Public Holiday- school is CLOSED

School Resumes for 2021

Years 7, 11 and 12: Wednesday 27 January 2021
All Students: Thursday 28 January 2021
Years 7, 8, 9, 10: Friday 29 January 2021
Year 11 and 12 Flexi-Day for 2021 is Friday so no attendance is required for students in these year levels

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.

If possible, please do this PRIOR to the school day beginning, unless it is an emergency. Thank you for your support in this matter so that we can avoid class disruptions as much as possible.

Parents and Citizens Association

Tia Law
P&C Secretary