28 October 2022

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal 

Dear Parents, Carers and Community - Term 4, week 4

Welcome to Term 4

How quickly the year has gone. I’ve now been at Beerwah SHS for two full years and I am proud of everyone who helps support the Beerwah school community to reach our ‘Success for All’ goals. Thank you so much to our parent community for your ongoing support. Working in schools is a complex role and we all appreciate your support and encouragement.

Staffing update

We welcome several new staff to our school, some permanently and some temporarily.

Warm welcome to new permanent teachers Mr Anning to Arts, Mr Abnett to Science/Maths, Mr Woods to Design Technology, Mrs Rolfe to Maths/HPE. We welcome Mrs Landers to the role of GO and Mrs Bland to the role of Business Manager for Term 4.

We say farewell to Mrs Croft who was our Business Manager and to Mrs Davit-Barnard our Arts Head of Department who has been successful in an appointment to another school on the Sunshine Coast.

Focus for Term 4

Our focus for Term 4 is to do everything possible to reach our academic goal of 90% of our students achieving an A, B or a C on their final report card and for our Year 12s to all attain their QLD Certificate of Education. It is our responsibility to ensure we set the right conditions where every student can succeed. We all know sometimes this is difficult if a student is facing obstacles to success. Please contact your child’s teacher if you are concerned about their progress in any of their classes.

End of year exams

Good luck to the Year 12s this week for the start of their external exams. Reaching this point of Year 12 is an especially important milestone and we wish our many wonderful Year 12s all the best for their final assessment and for their upcoming graduation on November 17. Good luck also to our Year 11s who are completing their Unit 2 assessments and will be commencing Unit 3 very shortly. It is a busy time of year for our senior students.

Year 12 Formal

Congratulations to all the team for a wonderful Year 12 formal. I describe this group of Year 12s as kind, friendly, funny, polite, intelligent and sweet young adults. It was a delight to see them interacting with each other and with our staff. The awards were funny, the dances were hilarious and their behavior was of a very high standard. They all made us enormously proud and they looked spectacular.

Dance success

Beerwah Dance Company continue to enjoy marvellous success competing at the ‘Get the Beat’ challenge and the results were outstanding. Look out on our Facebook page for the communication of these activities, as well as many of our other wonderful events or outcomes. I very much enjoyed the evening’s entertainment at our recent Dance Night. Beerwah SHS’s Dance Night is a slick, polished, high quality, creative and entertaining performance and the accolades that are awarded to the team are justly deserved. Thank you to Ms Rossberg and Ms Cowan as they continue to inspire our students to achieve success at so many levels.

Raceday

Congratulations to Mr Philpot and our Formula One engineering students for their work recently at Raceday at Lakeside. A lot of work happens to build a car ready for the track and the skills the students learn are impressive. This year we had two cars on the track and the outcomes were fantastic!

Mental Health Week 10 – 14 October

Thank you and congratulations to all the staff from the Wellbeing team who have inspired more awareness of the importance of acknowledging and having conversations about preventative approaches to managing mental health. The participation from staff and students in the many activities that were on offer demonstrate how much everyone's wellbeing is at the forefront of our priorities.

Local Youth Feedback

Feedback from IFYS who have commenced outreach social work at the Beerwah skatepark for Youth at risk.

“Overall it is progressing well. We have made some connections with a few young people around the place and looking to keep building on this. We ran our first BBQ yesterday and had some good interest from young people including some from Beerwah but also a few who are not attending school. We will run a BBQ each fortnight as that seems to be the best way to connect so far.

We have a grand plan of looking to revitalise the underpass walkway which is near the Hub and skatepark. It’s pretty gross and in need of a clean up and would be a good activity to have young people involved in.”

Nathan Andrews – IFYS

Link and Launch

The Link and Launch service continues to provide outstanding outcomes for our graduation students. All of our current Year 12s can access this service to assist with their transition to further education, employment or training after they leave school. All of our current Year 12s have been asked to provide the email addresses they will use next year so that we can assist them with their next step pathways. Students or parents can contact Mrs Ballard or Mrs Forrest for further information.

Mobile phones

If students use mobile phones to disrupt learning, to cyberbully others, to record other students or staff at school or out in the community whilst wearing school uniform, they are breaching the school’s mobile phone policy. It was interesting that Michael Carr-Gregg, well renowned child and teenage psychologist, recently stated that all schools should ban mobile phones. Some schools have already taken this step and I have to say the momentum in QLD is definitely shifting this way.

Uniform

Thank you to all of the students who are wearing the uniform with pride. I’ve noticed an increase in students wearing ‘branded items’ eg. navy shorts with Nike ticks. These are not allowed. The policy is clear – school shorts with the BSHS logo. The alternative for those is PLAIN NAVY SHORTS. NO NIKE TICKS. Detentions will be issued and students must be sent to the uniform swap shop to change. We will also be focussing on jewellery this term to ensure students are compliant with our school systems and rules.

Responding to incident of bullying

I would like to remind parents of the program at our school called STYMIE. All students are able to anonymously report any incidents of bullying. Please remind students of this and the actions they can take to deal with this behaviour.

BSHS has a procedure to do with these behaviours and parents can find this on our school website in our Student Code of Conduct.

There are many resources that are available to students and families as well as schools.

I’ve attached a fact sheet for secondary students to this newsletter. Please encourage any students to seek out help from our staff if this is happening to them.

I am very confident in our school, our students and our staff and know that we are an amazing educational setting, with absolutely beautiful students and highly capable staff, who all work together as an amazing team and we are achieving Success for all!

Stay safe, take care

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

Launch of our new house mascots and logos

It is with much excitement that we are launching a new look for our house mascots and logos.

These images have been designed by a professional graphic design artist, after consultation with our school community this year. We are excited to announce that we are currently organising some large signs and banners of these images and these will be installed and ready for use next year. We are going to be getting some banners for sports day, some signs for the student centre and some signs for each staffroom door. We love the fierceness of these mascots and logos. Thank you to everyone who has contributed ideas and suggestions.

A word from Deputy Principal, Cherie Smith

Our Year 8 and 9 students have recently listened to subject talks about future pathways into 2023. Over the next couple of weeks, they will be required to choose their elective subjects which will be entered into their One School profiles.

Year 9 students will study the core subjects of English, Maths, Science, Humanities, Health and Physical Education plus choose 4 elective subjects, studying two per term. Year 10 students will study the core subjects of English, Maths and Science plus complete the Certificate II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways. They are then able to choose a total of three year-long elective subjects. Year 10 students also participate in a week-long work experience program which has been highly successful and informative for those who participated this year.

Our Junior (Year 7, 8, 9) and Senior (Year 10, 11, 12) School Handbooks are available on our website and we would encourage you to discuss the options with your child. Although your child may already know what their future pathway is; be it University study, a traineeship or apprenticeship, or working in their chosen industry; it is important they choose a subject they are committed to and will apply themselves to consistently. We are fortunate here at Beerwah SHS to be able to offer such a wide variety of subject for students to choose from and help set them up for learning success.

If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to offer any feedback around what we are getting right or what we could do better at BSHS, I would be happy to hear from you via email csmit88@eq.edu.au or (07) 5436 5333.

Thank you
Cherie Smith
Deputy Principal

Finance Update

Welcome back!

Now that we have begun Term 4, we also come closer to end of year celebrations and excursions. Please see the below list of excursion/celebrations that have already been invoiced and their due dates.

As part of our enrolment process, you would have signed to acknowledge that if you are not meeting the financial requirements, your child/ren will be unable to participate in extracurricular activities and excursions.

All outstanding invoices have been emailed. To ensure your child’s ability to attend, please pay all outstanding fees or contact our Finance team if you are experiencing financial difficulties.

For our students beginning senior studies in 2023, they would have met with one of our team to discuss SET plans for subject selection. Timetabling in preparation for 2023 has begun. To secure your child’s place in their chosen subjects a 40% subject fee deposit was requested. If you haven't already done so, please pay this deposit at the payment office by 18 November 2022 during their opening hours (Mon, Wed & Fri 8-12noon) to secure their place as some subjects fill fast!

Digital Technologies Update 

Head of Department Update – Digital Technologies and Humanities  
BYOD and Laptop Hire  

Thank you to our parents and carers who ensure that students are bringing a device every day to school to support their learning in our 21st Century classrooms. Students need to bring a fully charged device every day and will be provided with opportunities to use this in all subject areas.

We will continue to ensure students are supported to be connected with a device for the remainder of the year and beyond.

If you are still looking to purchase a BYOD device, it is strongly recommended that you refer to our purchasing letter and provide this to your preferred retailer to ensure that any device purchased will be compatible with the school network environment. Google Chromebooks are not compatible with our network.

This document is available here

We also have a range of Laptop Hire Options where we can supply a device to your child for a fee with payment plan options available.

If you aren’t able to commit finically to a device option for your child to, please contact us to discuss your circumstances. We want to work with you to connect your child at Beerwah SHS. Students are required to access a range of digital textbooks and other online resources in class on a daily basis.

Hire Devices are required to be returned at the end of each year and will be restored, ready for rehire in 2023. Information to existing families with hire devices will be communicated in coming weeks about our return process and dates.

Onboarding Support

Students are encouraged to on-board their own devices at home by following the instructions available on our website. Alternatively, Mr Woolner, our Technical Officer is available to assist at the following times via the IT Support Office in the Resource Centre.

Please visit our website to learn more about options currently available to support you in getting your student Connected @ Beerwah.

If you wish to discuss your BYOD needs further, please contact our IT Department via itsupport@beerwahshs.eq.edu.au or encourage your student to pop in and see us at the Resource Centre. We will work with you to ensure that your child can be connected @ Beerwah.

CERTIFICATE III IN BUSINESS SUCCESS FOR ALL

Congratulations to our Year 12 Certificate III in Business students who have successfully completed their Certificate III in Business delivered in partnership with Binnacle Training. This nationally recognised qualification provides students with a wide range of skills and knowledge to transition successfully into employment, further education or training. This is the goal for all students graduating from Beerwah SHS.

Should you have any other queries about our programs, please do not hesitate to contact me directly via pwald9@eq.edu.au or 5436 5326. I look forward to connecting with you. 

Patrick Walden 
Head of Department – Digital Technologies & Humanities 

Arts Update

Grade 11 Visual Arts in Practice are currently engaged in a Surrealism unit focussing on pencil drawing. Some of surrealist activities we practice to engage the subconscious and collect ideas for our final drawing include surrealist collage, blackout poetry and automatic drawing. Students have also been learning composition and perspective. This striking surrealist collage is by Dakota Gibson.

Science Update

Students in Year 11 Science in practice have been working diligently since term one creating fruit wine and camembert cheese masterpieces to be entered in to the RNA. All their hard work paid off at the end of term three when they were overjoyed by the results they achieved. We would all like to congratulate all student in their outstanding achievement.

Kim, 1st Place in Berry Wine division for her Mixed Berry entry.
Connor Clinton, 2nd Place in Berry Wine division for his Mixed Berry entry.
Jack Ogden, 3rd Place in Berry Wine division for his Mixed Berry entry.
Dustin Tranter, 4th Place in Berry Wine division for his Mixed Berry entry.
Kiera Sweeney, 2nd Place in Citrus Wine division for her Lemon and Lime entry.
Patrick Newby, 2nd Place in Tropical Wine division for his Kiwifruit entry.
Macklin Curtis, Class champion for his Camembert Cheese entry.

A special thanks to Mr Muchow and our Scientific operation officers Lyn and Amber for all the time put into helping the students with this activity.

Instrumental Music – Year 6 Transition Day

On Monday 10th October, Year 6 students from our feeder primary schools came to Beerwah for an Instrumental Music Transition Day. In total we had 8 students from Beerburrum SS, Beerwah SS, Glasshouse Mountains SS, Landsborough SS and Peachester SS. Students spent the day as part of the Concert Band, working with Miss Dalzell, Mr Audley and the ensemble to learn 2 pieces. Being a part of the Instrumental Music Program is a wonderful way for students to engage with the school and the community, foster a sense of belonging within our school and ease the transition into high school. Congratulations to all students for your hard work on the day!

Senior Schooling News

Term 4 sees the Year 12 students complete External Assessments (EAs) for their General Subjects during a 3 week exam block. Students have been emailed a copy of their EA timetable and were also sent their Student Directions and Equipment List prior to the start of the EAs. EAs begin on Monday October 24 and finish for Beerwah State High School students on Friday November 11. Further information including the External assessment timetable, Equipment List and Directions for Students can be located at:

Year 12 students will be expected to be in attendance at school in Week 7 of Term 4. Tuesday 15 November, Wednesday 16 November and Thursday 17 November (until Lunch 1). On Monday 14 November there will be a Year 12 excursion for eligible students to nominate for and attend.

Clap Out will be held in Lesson 2 on Thursday 17 November.

Final subject results and Senior Education Profiles will be released to Year 12 students via the QCAA Student Portal on Friday 16 December. Students must Log onto the QCAA Student Portal and access their Learning Account to view their results and obtain their Senior Statement (of Results). Students who have achieved their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE)will also be able to access it from this location. Students can apply for printed copies to be sent to them via their Learning Account. Students can access the Student Portal via the myQCE page.

All students were asked to register for their Learning Accounts through Life Skills lessons and those who have not completed their registration have been contacted.

Ms Leanne Young
Head of Department: Senior School

Future Pathways 2022

Welcome to Term 4! Some exciting events and experiences have been planned for the first part of the term. Year 10 Mock Interview Day took place on Wednesday 19 October. As part of their study in FSK20119 Certificate II in Skills for Work & Vocational Pathways, students have been completing units on career development, job research, resumes and cover letters. We have had the valuable support of 13 community volunteers, who have kindly taken the time out of their busy schedule to act as interviewers on the day. The day is always a great success for all involved, and though students can feel nervous, it’s great to see so many receive excellent feedback and take pride in having completed a ‘first’ interview.

Gateway to Construction – site visit

As part of our involvement as a Gateway to Building and Construction school we were invited by Construction Skills Qld and Paynters to take 20 Beerwah High students to The Bower Tree construction project on Wednesday 19 October. The Bower Tree is a new dining, entertainment and community hub located in Sippy Downs. The morning included a presentation from Paynters followed by a site tour. It was great to see so many year 9 students readily take advantage of the chance to secure a place to attend. Experiences such as these allow students to gain some awareness of roles within the construction industry while taking a behind the scenes look at a major construction project. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with industry and business, allowing students who may be considering a construction pathway or are interested in career research, to be involved in such an informative and rewarding experience.

Work Experience & School based traineeships and apprenticeships (SATs)

A number of students have commenced work experience placements already this term and others are making enquiries for opportunities early in 2023. Work experience is a valuable career research tool and an important part of the process leading into a potential school-based traineeship or apprenticeship.

As the school year draws to an end our year 9 cohort can begin to think about work experience and traineeship opportunities. We are always seeking employers and businesses who might be interested in hosting placements or employing trainees. There are benefits for all stakeholders involved, including an employer’s chance to mentor and develop employability skills of their trainees, grow their workforce and support future pathways for our young people. Government incentives also apply to businesses who engage school-based trainees or apprentices. Industry areas are wide and varied with the most popular traineeships being in hospitality and business. We encourage our wider school community to consider work experience and school-based traineeships/apprenticeship arrangements in their workplaces. Please contact me if you would like to discuss further.

SATs can be commenced in year 10 and 11 and provide students with the advantages of combining training with paid work; learning practical workplace skills, gaining QCE credits all while continuing their full-time school studies. We encourage students to seek out their own opportunities by networking with family and friends or consider turning an existing casual role into a traineeship. As we hear of new vacancies, students are notified through student notices and on year level parades.

Congratulations to Paige, year 10 who has recently been signed up to a Cert III Companion Animal Services school based traineeship with Truckaluck Kennels in Glass House Mountains. Paige applied via resume and participated in an unpaid work trial before securing the traineeship.

Congratulations to Year 10 student, Jaksen Robertson who successfully completed a first round interview for a health traineeship with Metro North Hospital & Health. Jaksen has progressed through an application process and was short listed from a pool of hundreds of students. Well done Jaksen on your success so far and in your participation in a rigorous process.

2023 courses and programs

Following SET Plan choices for 6th subject options last term, student applications are being processed and interviews are currently taking place. Congratulations to all students as they finalise their 2023 programs and courses. Some of the options available include:

• A trade course at the Sunshine Coast Technical Trade Training Centre
• Health Education unit program at Kawana Waters State College
• Certificate II in Kitchen Operations at Coastal Cookery Trade Training Centre
• Formula Student Certificate II in Engineering Pathways (BSHS, Fridays)
• Certificate II in Automotive Vocational Preparation (BSHS, Fridays, proposed)
• Certificate IV in Justice Studies (Unity College, online)
• Distance Education
• TAFE at School programs

Interviews for the Trade Training Centre took place at Beerwah SHS on Tuesday 18 October and student offers are expected in the coming weeks.

Heath Program enrolments at Kawana Wates SC are being processed and students will also have these confirmed soon.

Note on funding:

Many certificate II level courses are VETiS funded – that is 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 at school or other programs such as the Trade Training Centre or Kawana Waters Health Program.

Helen Forrest 
Industry & Vocational Training Officer

Mental Health Week

QUEENSLAND MENTAL HEALTH WEEK October 8th to 16th 2022

Thank you to all staff and students who assisted with the organisation of Queensland Mental Health Week at Beerwah State High School this year. Our introductory activity on Monday focussed on all three aspects of this year’s theme, ‘Awareness – Belonging – Connecting’. Our promotional table, manned by members of our Student Wellbeing Team and students provided the opportunity to display and distribute information on all aspects of Mental Health and Wellness, raising awareness with and promoting health seeking behaviours with students.

The roving ‘Breakfast Basket’ was popular, distributing breakfast items and promoting the importance of eating a healthy breakfast as a strategy to promote mental wellbeing. This activity also provided students and staff with the opportunity to connect and converse in a positive and relaxing way. Meaningful, positive, mental wellbeing messages and stickers were distributed to students as a positive start to their day, again promoting a sense of connectedness. Surprise gifts from Headspace were also distributed to students visiting the table.

Tuesday’s activities included ‘Come and Try’ Ultimate Disc with Chappy Mike and Mr John DeVries and Peaceful Potting in the school nursery with Mrs Helen DeVries.

On Wednesday students were offered Calm Colouring activities in the Flexi Centre in the Resource Hub while staff participated in a Guided Mediation session conducted by Mercia in the Sensory Room Education Services. Super relaxing even with the sound of students enjoying connecting and chatting outside the room during their break.

Thursday saw the Ultimate Disc Challenge, Teachers verses Students held at first break on the small oval. From all reports a great time was had by all, participants and spectators alike, with the music pumping to enhance the atmosphere! On this occasion the teachers came out the victors. However, it was reported that the students made a valiant effort, executing some excellent manoeuvres with displays of exceptional sportsmanship. Well done to all!

A second session of Calm Colouring was conducted on Friday where some students enjoyed completing an individual section of a collaborative colouring collage to be displayed at the Student Wellbeing Centre. Mercia again extended her talents leading a Pilates class for interested staff.

Plenty of activities to see and do this year during Queensland Mental Health week at Beerwah State High School

Safe Work Month

October is Safe Work Month, which is an annual event aimed at putting the spotlight on the importance of safe and healthy workplaces, improving rehabilitation and return to work outcomes for injured staff, and taking time for mental health.

The department’s theme for Safe Work Month this year is ‘Safety 365’, which is about working together to demonstrate and ensure our commitment to the health, safety and wellbeing of ourselves, students and anyone else who steps into our schools and workplaces every day of the year – not just in October.

Safe Work Month also ties in with the department’s value 'Work safe, learn safe, be safe'.

You can access the below link to participate in Safe Work Month to lead and model safety 365 days of the year.

From the Resource Centre 

Did you know…. 

• Our school library has access to a range of eBooks that can be accessed by all students and staff on portable devices. See Mrs Mullins or Mrs Dutton in the Resource Centre if you would like to access the eBook library and are not sure how. 
• Families and siblings of Beerwah State High Students are welcome to access our collection of fiction, picture books and graphic novels as well as our non-fiction section. Contact one of our library staff through our email resource.centre@beerwahshs.eq.edu.au to organise your loan account, or drop in and see Mrs Barb Mullins or Ms Glenis Dutton between 8am and 3.30pm on school days.

P and C News 

P & C Raffle 

Jason Hunt, our State Member has donated a large flat screen to the P & C for us to raffle and raise money. We appreciate Jason’s generous gift! 

Tickets are on sale through the QKR! App or at the canteen at $5 each or 5 for $20.  

P & C Meeting  

The P & C general meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month - commencing at 6.00pm in the School Resource Centre. All are welcome to attend. 

If you would like to know more about the P & C, you can contact members of the executive through the school administration, or email the President, Ms Justine Baker, at pandc@beerwahshs.eq.edu.au.

World Teacher Day

No parking reminder