26 February 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Community

Welcome to the first edition of the newsletter for Beerwah SHS for 2021.

The staff have all been working very hard to prepare for this year, to ensure our students have the best outcomes. We have started the year with a few new staff and lots of new students and families, so a very warm welcome to everyone new to our community. This year sees the commencement of a four year strategic plan which is based on our school’s vision. My vision is that we all work together as a team to improve learning outcomes for our students to ensure that every student succeeds.

As a team we can lead our school with positivity and a clear plan moving forward. Of course there are always challenges and problems, but if we work together we can raise the expectations and the success.

The Vision and Values of Beerwah SHS are shown in the new banners which are visible in all spaces across the school.

The three strategies that we are focusing on this year are based on our vision statement.

• Together we learn
• Individually we grow
• Success For All

Together we learn

The word ‘together’ is important because it identifies that everything we do is based on teamwork. The team includes staff, students, parents and carers, community and our industry partners all working together in a respectful climate to achieve success.

The strategies and actions are based on developing leadership, building capability and quality assuring our leaders, both staff and students. The actions are also focused on capitalising community support from our key stakeholders, ensuring that the reputation of Beerwah SHS is of the highest standard.

#togetherwelearn

Individually we grow

The word ‘individually’ is critical and is fully aligned with Education Queensland’s goal of every student succeeding. We cater for all individuals and considers behavioural, emotional and cognitive challenges which may cause obstacles to learning and create behaviours that are not always appropriate. It is our moral purpose to differentiate for every child.

The strategies and actions are based on continuing to develop the school culture where attendance, behaviour and academic outcomes are our key targets. In addition to this we understand some students or staff require differentiated support in order to reach their highest potential. It is important to ensure that all individuals specific health and wellbeing needs are catered for.

#individuallywegrow

Success for all

Success can be viewed in many ways but the definition of success is about achieving a goal that is very much tailored to the specific person. Success must be holistic and include health and wellbeing as well as educational success. Both are important and one most not be sacrificed in order to achieve the other. Setting both short term and long-term goals is essential. Setting high expectations ensures students will have the most opportunities to achieve their goals in order to be successful.

#successforall

Kind regards,

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

Senior Deputy Report

Happy New year to all our families, students and community. A special mention and welcome to all of our new families to Beerwah SHS.

It has been a fantastic start to 2021 at Beerwah SHS! Firstly, I welcome our Year 10 students into the Senior School as they begin their journey in attaining their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) at the completion of Year 12. All year 10s will be striving to finish a Certificate II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways. This will give them 4 points towards the 20 needed to attain their QCE. I look forward to working with the students, parents and Mr Little as the Year 10 Head of Year to ensure students are heading towards their future career aspirations.

The Year 11 cohort have settled into their Senior Phase of Learning and are now well on their way towards their first piece of assessment for Unit 1. We continually work with the students to ensure that they are following the correct processes for assessment as set down by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA). Many students are not only completing subjects here at Beerwah but are also enrolled in other courses across the region. We have many students attending the Trade Training Centre, Kawana Waters State College and Maroochydore State High School to complete many different Certificates. We also have many other courses that our students are involved in, either running here at school or as various school-based traineeships. Mrs Ballard continues in the role of Head of Year for the Year 11’s and does a fantastic job in ensuring students are doing their very best.

Our Year 12’s have all settled back into Unit 3 and are well into their first piece of assessment. As mentioned for the Year 11’s, the year 12’s must ensure that they are following the correct processes for assessment and meeting deadlines on time. Students need to ensure that they are balancing their school obligations with work or sporting commitments. All year 12’s must be focussed on their chosen course of study and ensure that they are fulfilling their assessment to the best of their ability. Mr Kratzmann will continue to work with myself and Ms Young on tracking 12’s towards their QCE attainment.

I would also like to thank parents in their supportive role that they provide for their child. Making sure they are prepared for their lessons, are keeping that school-life balance and attending all lessons is so valuable. As Ms McDonald has asked, it will be more beneficial to students if medical appointments are made outside of school hours. Parents and students also need to be aware that even though we have our flexible learning day on Fridays, this is also a day that we as a school can request students attend to catch up on work that may have been missed or not completed.

I look forward to working with all senior students this year and the continued support that the school has from parents in their child’s success.

Wayne Lancaster
Deputy Principal – Senior School

Junior Deputy Report

I am very excited to be working here at Beerwah SHS and I am extremely grateful with how welcoming staff, students and parents have been in helping me to fit in quickly into the school. I have been really impressed with the amount of school spirit and pride that is present. It was amazing how much effort each house put into the Cheer Cup and Swimming Carnival and I hope to see this level of spirit continue throughout the year.

We have welcomed our new Year 7 cohort into Beerwah SHS and recently held a Parent Information Evening to provide further clarity as to how our school works and to answer any questions to ensure students are transitioned successfully. We continue to emphasise the importance of Respect, Responsibility and Safety at every opportunity throughout the whole school.

As the Deputy Principal of Year 7, 8 and 9, I understand just how important the junior years of schooling are in laying the foundations for students to achieve later in schooling and in life. Junior school provides opportunities for students to find out what they like, what they don’t like, but more importantly, how to work with others. We are here to help every student succeed to their fullest potential, and to prepare students academically, socially and emotionally for the real world.

We set high standards around attendance and uniform to best prepare our students for employment, and we emphasise just how important a team approach is in contributing to the overall success of each student. Students, teachers, parents and the community all have a role to play, and more importantly, we all need to work together. From my experience, students that have a great team around them tend to be more successful in achieving their goals then those that do not.

Some things that we can do to help strengthen our team approach is to enhance our communication. It is important that every student is able to communicate what they are learning, how they are going, and what they need to do to improve. We as teachers and parents need to continually prompt our students to update us on their progress so we can support them better. At school, our teachers are continually gathering information from students to determine what they need to do next to have the most impact. In order to help us, we also encourage parents to ask questions at home so that students are encouraged to think about their learning.

I look forward to continuing to share the great things that our students are doing throughout the year and working together as a team.

Kind Regards,
Scott Siddell
Deputy Principal – Junior School

Education Services

Success for Kirralea in the Pool

Beerwah State High School student, Kirralea, competed at the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Qld State Championships over the summer holidays, bringing home two bronze medals. Kirralea placed third in the Multi Class (for Swimmers with Disability) 400 metre Freestyle and Multi Class 100 metre Breaststroke events.

She has recently nominated to compete in the Multiclass Sunshine Coast Regional Trials, which will qualify her to compete in the State Championships, and, at our own swimming carnival on 9 February, Kirralea was runner-up Age Champion.

The weekend of February 13 and 14, Kirralea also competed in the RMHC Qld Sprint Championships. At the time of writing this article, we did not yet have the results and hope to provide an update in the next newsletter.

In April, Kirralea will race at the Nationals. If she places, she will qualify to compete at the Tokyo Paralympics.

We are extremely proud of Kirralea’s efforts and wish her all the very best for the upcoming competitions.

Tia Law
Education Services Administration Officer

Mathematics

Number Facts

Year Seven and Eight students have started the year off by developing their number facts and exploring the relationship between multiplication and division. Knowing number facts is the foundation of various mathematic concepts. Students are fluent in their number facts if they can recall all 4 facts from the fact family.

Excluding 1 times tables, there are 36 unique facts for multiplying single digits together. If students know their 2, 5 and 10 times tables there are only 21 other unique multiplication facts. Test your child to see what multiplication facts they know.

Mathspace and Manga High

Year 7 – 9 students have access to Mathspace, an interactive learning platform that has inbuilt textbooks, videos and corresponding worksheets. All students have access to MangaHigh, a maths program that adapts to the student’s ability. Students can access these programs at home to consolidate their learning.

Maths Tutoring

Maths tutoring has re-commenced for students in the library every Tuesday from 3:00-4:00 pm. Students from any year level can attend. Students are asked to bring work that they would like to review.

Kayla Monk
Acting Head of Department Mathematics

Science

The first 3 weeks of school in Science have involved many engaging and exciting learning experiences for the students. Some of the highlights have been:

• Year 7’s learning how to use Bunsen Burners and using them to conduct experiments on the separation of mixtures.
• Year 8’s learning about the states of matter with Dry ice and liquid Nitrogen demonstrations, including making ice cream.
• Year 9 learning about the body systems by doing a heart dissection (see below for details and pictures).

This year we continue with the use of STILE as an online platform for junior school students to consolidate the work done in class. All Year 7-10 students should be now subscribed to STILE and can complete the tasks set by their teacher each week. If unsure how to access this please contact the class teacher or myself.

Everyone should also be aware that safety in Science classes is always a priority. We manage risk very closely with regards to monitoring and reviewing chemicals and equipment used, ensuring correct PPE is worn at all times and providing students with clear, specific directions. Students need to be conducting themselves in a safe manner at all times to be allowed to complete the experiments. This year any experiments deemed high risk will require parent permission and any year levels with high risk activities in term 1 will already have received the form (Year 8 Science, and Senior Physics).

We look forward to an exciting year ahead with upcoming events being the Year 12 Science in Practice camp in March and the Australian Science competition in term 2.

Paul Schneider
Head of Department

Year 11 Biology Mandatory practical 1

The year 11 Biology classes completed their first mandatory practical. They investigated the effects of the increase in cell size on the rate of diffusion of substances in and out of the cell. Pink agar cubes were placed in sulfuric acid and the volume of the “cells” where diffusion occurred were measured. The bigger the cells get, the less able they are to get access to vital molecules and the less efficient waste removal becomes. As a result, all cells remain small so that these life processes can occur effectively and efficiently. The class collected useful data that will be analysed during the data test later this term.

Year 9 Heart dissection

This term the year 9 Science class have been learning about the circulatory and respiratory systems. This week the students had the opportunity to dissect a sheep’s heart. This allowed them to get a hands-on feel for the different parts of the heart, observe the pathways of blood through the blood vessels and heart chambers and practice safe handling techniques.

While some students were a little squeamish, most enjoyed being able to see a real heart instead of photos and diagrams.

Peta Clark
Senior Science, Biology and Maths teacher

Sports news

Cheer Cup 2021 from a Student’s Perspective

The New Year has come flashing by our eyes. School is back with the whole she-bang, including the awesome Cheer Cup that we have straight-up to kick off the sporting calendar. With the student’s roar of excitement, they do what it takes to win the first cup of the year for their house: Budla, Tibro, Miketee or Ngungun.

The winner of this year’s Cheer Cup was Budla and let’s face it, Budla always wins! Not a bad thing, but they could at least tone it down a bit so some other house could maybe win for a change (*cough*Tibro*cough*).

Anyway, all houses did exceptionally well with their creative songs and chants.

Congratulations to Budla for the win, you guys did an awesome job!

Cheer Cup is such an awesome way to make new friends and catch-up with old, even if it does make you lose your voice. It has a way of bringing people together and making the last year for the year 12’s a great one.

Lucy Sanders
Year 11

Cheer Cup:

Our annual Cheer Cup heralds the start of our school sporting year at Beerwah High. Students were impressive in their displays of house pride this year and the competition was close. Congratulations to Tunbubudla house on winning our first house trophy for the year.

Swimming Carnival:

Thank you to all students who participated in the school swimming carnival. It was great to see so much colour and fun at this year’s carnival. There were some amazing times swum, with Tyla breaking three school records and Liam breaking one record. All houses had some great performances but it was Tibberoowuccum house who claimed the trophy for this carnival.

Swimming Age Champions:

12 – Stevie, Lucas and Declan
13 – Alexandra and Sam
14 – Emilia and Maverick
15 – Tyla and Lachlan
16 – Poppy and Kayleb
17+ - Jessica and Dallas
17 Multiclass – Kirralea

Sunshine Coast Representatives:

Congratulations to Callum, Indy and Ethan who have qualified for Sunshine Coast Regional teams. Callum will compete at the State Cricket Championships; while Indy and Ethan will compete at the State Softball Championships. We wish all the best to these students.

Triathlon:

School triathlon will take place on Tuesday the 30th of March. Nominations will be available shortly for this unique school event. All interested students are encouraged to participate. It is a great accomplishment to complete a triathlon individually, however team participation is also available. Students should listen out to school notices for more information, or speak with their HPE teacher.

HPE Week:

HPE Week is a week that celebrates the role of Health & Physical Education in schools and communities. The aim is to promote the importance of HPE in the Australian Curriculum and highlight the importance of HPE to the learning and development of children and young people. In 2021, HPE Week will run from Monday 1 March - Friday 5 March. We will have a program of lunch time activities including funny hats and handball, teacher’s versus senior’s volleyball, footy passing comps, basketball shoot-out, as well as some prizes to give away.

Belinda Kerr and Steve Jeffrey
HPE Teacher and Head of Department

Lunchtime Activities

Chess Club

A great turnout for lunchtime chess recently. This lunchtime activity was initiated by students and provided a stimulating and relaxing way to avoid the recent wet weather.

Mrs Jordan
Art, Humanities, English Teacher

Future Pathways

Welcome back to 2021 and another exciting Term 1. Many students have been busy over the holidays seeking opportunities, commencing traineeships and apprenticeships as well as progressing with qualification study. It’s shaping up to be another successful and busy year with students engaged in many alternative pathway options including school-based traineeships and apprenticeships, Distance Education, Sunshine Coast Technical Trade Training Centre, Kawana Waters State College Health Program, TAFE courses and other certificate studies.

This year I will again be working five days a week out of the Industry & Vocational Training office located inside the resource centre (next door to the computer tech’s office). Students are welcome to call in before school and at lunch breaks. Information including current vacancies and courses will continued to be displayed on school noticeboards and outside the IVTO office as well as through student daily notices, year level parades, school Facebook page and newsletters.

School based apprenticeships and traineeships (SATs)

SATs provide students with opportunities to:

• Combine training with paid work
• Learn practical workplace skills
• Gain QCE points
• Continue full time school studies

We currently have trainees in hospitality, retail, business, horticulture and companion animal services. Trainees complete their qualification over senior, graduating with a certificate II or III. Our school- based apprentices are working in the trade industries including hairdressing, baking, electro technology, bricklaying and automotive and engineering. Apprentices complete around a third of the qualification while at school and then convert to full time apprentices upon graduation.

While any new SAT opportunities are advertised, Year 10 and 11 students are encouraged to also seek their own opportunities by talking with their current employers or networking with family and friends. Please see me for details and helpful information. We place high expectations on all of our trainees and apprentices and students wanting to participate in school based arrangements should be willing to effectively balance school, work, qualification study and in some cases, travel.

Trainees are required to work a minimum of 50 days or 375 hours based on a 12 month full time nominal term. Generally, this would be to work a minimum of one day a week with extra days worked on the weekend and school holidays. The SAT must impact on the school timetable and this is achieved with trainees and apprentices using their flexible learning day for work release. There also needs to be clear progress made in the qualification study, with all training plan deadlines met.

New Trainees & Apprentices:

Congratulations to the following new trainees and apprentices –

Eloise – Cert III Hospitality, Gloria Jeans, Mooloolaba
Alexa– Cert III Hospitality, Gloria Jeans, Mooloolaba
Tyson – Cert III Retail, Banjo’s Bakery, Beerwah
Jazmyn – Cert III Hospitality, Subway Glass House Mountains
Bree-Anna – Cert III Companion Animal Studies, Truck a luck Kennels
Ana– Cert III Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology, Ultra Tune, Kawana
Marney – Cert III Baking, Banjo’s Bakery, Beerwah
Jack – Cert III Carpentry, ATC Contractors, Peachester
Jordan– Cert III Business, Burrum Coffee Shack, Beerburrum
Jimmy- CIII Bricklaying
Randal - Bricklaying

Recent vacancies include Hospitality traineeships with Beerwah Hotel and Subway and Business traineeships with Domino’s Pizza.

Sunshine Coast Technical and Trade Training Centre (SCTTTC)

In 2021, we have 28 students participating in programs with the SCTTTC. Most of these students participated in an application and interview process before securing placements. Congratulations students and best wishes for an enjoyable and successful year.

Every year the Beerwah SHS P & C Association provides a scholarship to one student attending the SCTTTC. This year’s recipient is Madison Pryde who is studying Electrotechnology. Congratulations Madison and have a great year.

Students in Year 11 or 12 attend the TTC one day a week completing theory and practical training in their Certificate 1 or II qualifications. These include Automotive Servicing, Plumbing, Electro technology and Construction. Some additional programs in 2021 include salon assisting, retail cosmetics and aviation. Our current Year 10 students will be invited to register their interest and commence the enrolment process in term 3. Look out for SCTTTC Facebook page to follow some of the activities and great student outcomes.

Certificate Courses and External Study

Many students have enrolled in courses and programs and are ready to begin study in their chosen area.

Cert IV Crime & Justice Studies – Several students are continuing with their study in 2021 and students are still able to enrol in this program. This Certificate IV level on-line course, which is fee for service, is studied outside of the school timetable and generally over year 11 and 12. Delivered through Unity College, it prepares students for further study and employment in the criminal justice system. Students should contact me for further information or speak to our Legal Studies teachers.

2021 TAFE at School students include -

Tahlia Lovegrove – Cert II Health Support Services, Sunshine Coast Health Institute

Kathleen Dela Rosa - Cert II Health Support Services, Sunshine Coast Health Institute

Ella Eade – Cert II Community Dance, Theatre & Events, Southbank TAFE

Lilly Howard – Cert II Applied Fashion Design & Technology, Mooloolaba TAFE

TAFE will have mid-year enrolments open from April and interested students, including those who may have missed out on a place in term 1, should watch for notices regarding expressions of interest.

Kawana Waters State College Health Unit

We have ten Year 12 students continuing and 14 Year 11 students enrolling in the health program this year. Students will attend Kawana Waters State College on Fridays participating in training of Certificate II in Health Support Services and Certificate II Community Services. Year 12 students will complete Certificate III Health Services Assistance in semester 1. This program will provide students with the foundation skills for a career in the health and social services industries as well as provide a pathway for further study.

Distance Education

A number of Year 11 students have elected to begin study of a subject through Brisbane School of Distance Education. Subjects include Psychology, Digital Solutions, Economics, Accounting, Music, Ancient History and Visual Arts. Best wishes for a great year ahead to all new and continuing students.

Certificate II Automotive Vocational Preparation

Our auto trainees commenced on Friday 12 February with induction, enrolment and a ‘come and try’ day. This engaging and worthwhile program provides students with foundation skills and knowledge in the automotive industry. It is not just for someone who might be considering a trade in this field, but also for anyone who has an interest in cars, motorbikes or is wanting to maintain their own vehicle.

Interested VETiS eligible Year 11 and 12 students are welcome to contact me asap as there are still a few places left. Details are:

• Delivered on Fridays at BSHS (non-timetabled day) in 2021
• VETiS funded (no cost) STUDENTS ARE ONLY ALLOWED ONE VETiS FUNDED PROGRAM
• 4 QCE points
• Delivered by external trainer from Tactile Learning Centre
• All resources, tools, equipment and vehicle provided
• 12 units, mix of theory and practical
• Hands on program
• Runs for 15 – 20 weeks (two terms)

Dual Salon Assistant/Retail Cosmetics

The dual course SHB20216 Cert II Salon assistant & SHB20116 Cert II Retail Cosmetics has been delivered at Beerwah High for the past four years and we will commence for 2021 on Friday 19 February. A minimum enrolment needs to be met and there some places left. Training will take place in the Resource Centre on Fridays over approximately 25 weeks. This course is for VETiS eligible Year 11 and 12 students and provides 6 QCE points.

This is a foundation course giving students skills in basic hairdressing tasks, communication techniques and product knowledge. Potential career outcomes include salon assistant, sales person, make-up artist and can lead into apprenticeships. VETiS eligible students interested in hair and make-up are also invited to enquire about a placement.

A Note on Funding:

Dual Salon and Automotive programs are VETiS funded – that is at no cost to eligible students. To be VETiS eligible, students must not have previously accessed or be currently enrolled in another VETiS funded certificate course including Certificate II in Hospitality or FIT at school or other programs such as the Trade Training Centre or Kawana Waters Health Program. Students utilising VETiS in Year 10 need to consider all options and any further study interest areas.

Helen Forrest
Industry and VET Training Officer

From the Office

Office opening hours

Monday – Friday from 8am-3.30pm

Uniform Shop Opening hours

Tuesday and Friday from 8am -9am

No direct line now- please call the office on (07) 5436 5333 to be put through

Important Information to remember for 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 a student arriving late to school or to arrange early collection 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.

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

Keeping our School healthy and safe in Covid-19

Advice from Queensland Health

Schools are considered to be safe places for students at this time and present a low risk in relation to the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).

Children’s Health Queensland recommends all families follow the Government advice about children attending school, unless a child has a chronic or complex health condition and have been advised by a specialist that they should remain at home. If you are concerned about your child, please contact their specialist or GP.

The advice from Qld Health is that:

Any child who is showing signs of illness such as COVID-19 symptoms, or feeling unwell, must stay at home and get tested.

If a child is showing signs of illness at school, the school will contact the parent or carer to collect the child.

For the latest school-related information, read

Finance Information

School Fees

SRS Payments were due by Friday 5th February 2021 or by the end of Term 3 if a Payment Plan has been finalised. Subject Fee payments are due by the end of Term 1 2021 unless an arrangement has been put in place and finalised within a current Payment Plan. Please contact the Cash Collection Office to initiate a new Payment Plan.

Before a student can be considered for participation in an optional school activity, SRS and Subject Fees must be paid in full OR regular on-going payments are being made towards these fees as outlined in a previously arranged Payment Plan. If for any reason you are unable to make these payments, please contact the school office to schedule an appointment with a Deputy Principal to discuss.

Payment Methods

The preferred payment method is BPOINT and additional payment methods include EFTPOS, CHEQUE, CASH and QPARENTS.

Direct debit options for bank account/credit and debit cards are also available via BPOINT which can be set up through the Cash Collection Office and telephone payments for credit and debit cards can be made using BPOINT by phoning 1300 631 073.

You can also use Centrepay to arrange regular deductions from your Centrelink payments. Centrepay is a voluntary payment option available to Centrelink customers.

If you are not currently receiving invoices and statements via email, please make your request by email to admin@beerwahshs.eq.edu.au

Cash Collection Opening Hours

Cash Collection is open MONDAY, WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY from 8am-12pm.

Parents and Citizens Association

P and C meetings are held in the Conference Room on the 2nd Tuesday of every Month during Term Time at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Tia Law
P&C Secretary