23 November 2017

Newsletter Articles

Executive Principals Report

Dear Parents and Friends

What an amazing week of celebration we had last week. Our year 12 students made us all very proud as they graduated last Friday. The Graduation Ball was a special evening and thoroughly enjoyable for both staff and students. Our Graduation Ceremony last Friday at Pat Rafter Arena was fantastic and it was wonderful to have the whole school together to celebrate this significant milestone in our school calendar.

We are now patiently waiting for the year 12 OP scores to be released. This will be accessible via student learning accounts on Saturday 16 December. We are very happy with our QCS results and we believe this will have a very positive impact on OP scores.

Congratulations and best wishes Seniors 2017! What a special group of fine young adults you are.

This week our year 10 and 11 students will finish for the year. I am sure they are ready for a well-earned break. Congratulations to our incoming school captains: Josie Christianson, Roy Hay, Jack Irwin, Samantha Vo, Dhruv Singh and Natalie Ward. I look forward to working with these very talented young leaders in the coming months and wish them well in their new roles.

On Wednesday evening the year 11 students had their end of year celebration evening at Hillstone Golf Club. What a fantastic evening it was and the students really enjoyed themselves. They are to be congratulated on the way in which they presented and for their conduct at the event. A great way for them to finish the year following their block exams. Special thanks to Ursula Sorenson and Nathan Rye for organising a very successful evening. We do look forward to seeing them return as our 2018 seniors.

Students at Coles

The school has informed the school community of the decision to not allow students to stop off at Coles before school. This rule is in place in order to protect the reputation of our school and the students in our community. When students are wearing our uniform they are representing the school and the school rules apply. A large number of schools implement similar rules for the same reason as we have. We are conducting random patrols in the morning and students found in breach of the rule will receive consequences. Repeat offences will result in a secondary behaviour consequence regarding refusal to follow a reasonable instruction.

I am more than happy to discuss this with any parent who wishes to clarify the reasoning behind this and the enforcement of school rules. Please do not hesitate to contact the school and make an appointment. It is important that parents work with the school to reinforce the high standards and expectations with students. At the end of the day it is the reputation of our school name that influences employer choice and we want to ensure that our reputation is highly regarded and assists our students in being competitive when seeking part time and permanent employment.

Thank you for your support with this issue.

Helen Jamieson
Executive Principal

Coming Events

Mathematics

The Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC)

In July, 91 students participated in the 40th annual Australian Mathematics Competition. This year was the first year Corinda participated in the competition online. This new online format suited our students as we saw the best results Corinda has had in three years, with students achieving a credit or higher.

• 45 students were awarded a credit, placing them in the top 55% of students in Queensland.
• 23 students were awarded a distinction, placing them in the top 20% of students in Queensland.
• 6 high distinctions, placing them in the top 3% of students in Queensland

Congratulations to Andrew in Year 8 who won the ‘Best in School Award’ from the Australian Maths Trust.

International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) – Mathematics

Eighty-one students participated in the ICAS Mathematics competition in August. Again, our year 7 to 9 excellence students exhibited remarkable results.

• 26 students were awarded a credit, placing them in the top 35% of students in Australia.
• 15 students were awarded a distinction, placing them in the top 10% of students in Australia.
• 1 high distinction, placing them in the top 1% of students in Australia.

Science

Wildlife Whisperers

This week the Wildlife Whisperers were visited by entomologist, retired curator of the Queensland Museum and dung beetle expert, Dr Geoff Monteith. Geoff lead the group in a fascinating discussion on why insects are one of the most successful group of organisms on earth. After a quick field walk, students inspected the content of pitfall traps which had been set out with carefully prepared baits made of rotten mushrooms. The focus of the exercise were dung beetles such as Onthophagus Taurus. These small insects do a mighty job aerating soil, controlling parasites and storing carbon below ground.

Congratulations

National Schools Constitutional Convention

A big congratulations to Saron Libanos, who has been elected as a Queensland delegate to the 2017-18 National Schools Constitutional Convention (NSCC). She is one of 23 Queensland delegates who will attend the National Schools Constitutional Convention (NSCC) to be held in Canberra from 20 to 22 March, 2018. We wish her the best of luck.

Aerospace Industry Education Awards

The Aerospace Industry Education Awards recognises the efforts and achievements of students and teachers from all 17 Aerospace Gateway Schools across Queensland. We are very proud of our teacher Stephen Thrum for being recognised as a finalist for the Teacher Excellence Award.

International

On Thursday 2 November, the international department hosted Chinese delegates from the Jiangsu International School Principals Forum. During their visit they got the opportunity to learn about our school, the educational opportunities that we provide and get an understanding of our school timetable structure. The principals had the opportunity to meet some of our Chinese students and asked them questions about life as a Chinese student studying at Corinda. The delegates were taken on a tour of our school facilities which included visiting classrooms and meeting our staff and students. Helen Jamieson and the delegates discussed future opportunities that could exist between our schools with a forward thought of bridging opportunities for our schools’ students.

On Tuesday 7 November, the International Department hosted the Juying delegation consisting of three heads of department from Singapore. These three ladies were from the same school that Helen visited earlier in the year, so it was a wonderful opportunity to return the hospitality. During their visit the heads of department, who were from Science, Mathematics and Arts faculties, were delivered presentations by many of our

heads of department on educational and excellence programs offered here at Corinda, including: Actively Global, Agriculture, Arts Excellence Programs, STEM and Sporting Excellence Programs. During the presentations the delegates also got to hear from some of our students and ask them questions about their learning and student life. The delegates also toured our school facilities and visited classrooms getting an opportunity to see our students’ learning in action.

On Wednesday 15 November the International Department took the graduating year 12 international students out to a farewell dinner at Mt Cootha Summit Restaurant. The incredible view was a fitting match to the delicious three course meal and very enjoyable conversation had amongst the group. It was lovely to talk to the students about their entire journeys as graduating international students and what they enjoy and learnt from the opportunity. We wish Alice, Caroline, Darin, Han, Jack, Liz, Sarah and Vivian all the very best for their very bright and prospective futures.

By the end of the 2017 school year we will sadly say goodbye to many of our wonderful international students. In addition to the eight year 12 students departing us, we will also bid our farewells to Davide, Franziska, Haruto, Natsuho, Marco Mavis, Vincent and Zeruiah. They have either been successful in transfers to other educational opportunities or their international student program visit has come to an end. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time with each of these students and will miss their happy faces. We wish them all the very best for their futures.

Sport

Australasian Futsal Championships

Good luck to our under 13 and under 14 boys’ futsal teams who will compete at the Australasian Futsal Championships from Friday 24 – Sunday 26 November. Our under 14 boys’ are looking to win their tournament for a third consecutive year. All games will be played at Cornubia Insports, Bryants Road, Cornubia. For those interested in attending and supporting, a detailed draw is provided below.

Friday 24 November

9.00 am – U13s v St Andrew’s Lutheran
12.00 pm – U13s v Mirani
2.00 pm – U14s v St Columba
5.00 pm – U13s v Albany Creek
5.00 pm – U14s v Toowoomba Grammar

Saturday 25 November

9.00 am – U13s v Bellingen
10.00 am – U14s v Albany Creek
12.00 pm – U13s v Bishop Druitt
2.00 pm – U14s v Chancellor
4.00 pm – U13s v Chancellor
6.00 pm – U14s v Bellingen

Sunday 26 November

8.00 am – U13s v John Fawkner College
9.00 am – U14s v John Fawkner College
11.00 am – U13s Semi-Finals (Top 4)
1.00 pm – U14s Semi-Finals (Top 4)
2.00 pm – U13 Boys Final
3.00 pm – U14 Boys Final

Student Services

QParents

Have you joined QParents?

Parents will have received an invitation email or letter by now and it’s great to see that so many parents have registered already. If you have not received an invitation, please advise us immediately by emailing info@corindashs.eq.edu.au. Over time, QParents will become an integral part of how we communicate with parents. Get on board to enjoy the ease and convenience that QParents offers.

University of Queensland

The University of Queensland are looking for students to participate in research and earn $30. Please click on the attached PDF for more details.

The Smith Family

The Smith Family delivers a program which assists families with $500 to be used towards school costs. The aim is for participants to achieve a savings goal of $500, which Saver Plus matches with a further $500 per family to be spent on designated educational expenses. The program has now been running for 13 years and has assisted over 32,000 families.

Many of our successful families have received $500 in matched savings to assist with costs such as:

• School uniforms and shoes
• Text books and stationary needs
• School camps and excursions
• Sporting, art, dance or music fees
• Laptops or iPads

With the end of the school year looming, parents will soon be looking towards managing back to school costs for 2018. Saver Plus can assist greatly in this regard.

Positive Parenting

When Young People Catastrophise

Recently, Deidre (not her real name), a mother of two children, told me how her 13-year-old son would often exaggerate his woes with comments such as “This is the worst day ever” when he came in the door after school. She was seeking my advice on what approach she should take with her son.

Diedre was attuned to her son’s needs. She realised that he had a need to talk about what was on his mind, which put her at odds with her husband who viewed her son as a pessimist. So what approach to take?

Place time limits on pessimism

Her son was more than likely down the pessimist end of the pessimism-optimism continuum. There’s nothing wrong with that although it would be limiting if he saw the world only through a negative lens. Pessimism and optimism are part genetic and part learned so regardless of how sunny and optimistic the adults around them are, some kids are just more prone to seeing the downside in most situations. It’s important to listen to kids but at the same time don’t allow them to wallow in self-pity or go over old, negative ground. Listen to their tale but at some point it’s best to say, “Enough! It’s time to think about other things.”

Cue kids to talk

Children of all ages have a need to talk about their days and get things off their chests. The Kids Helpline busiest part of the day is the time immediately after school when kids call to talk about problems with teachers and peers. It’s healthy for young people to talk to adults to debrief. “The worst day ever” is a type of cue for Deidre’s son to vent. Perhaps Diedre can let her son know that she’s always available to talk and that all he needs to do is say, “Mum, I need to talk”, letting him know that he doesn’t have to be negative in order for her to listen.

Allow kids to vent and be understood

There’s nothing more therapeutic than knowing someone understands you. As a listener that means you need to stop what you are doing and really tune into the feelings behind your child’s venting. If your child is feeling sad, mad or rejected think of a recent time when you felt the same way and share that with them. It will allow you to get on the same wavelength as your child. This takes time and a willingness to be vulnerable, but it is probably what your child wants from you.

Call kids out on extreme black-and-white language

Many young people catastrophise or see situations in extreme terms. “The worst day ever”, “Everyone hates me” and “The teacher never says anything nice to me” are examples of extreme views. The world is rarely so black and white. Challenge extreme language. Wind it back with more realistic responses such as “Yes, it sounds like you’re having a bad day”, “Some people can be unpleasant but you have some terrific friends” or “That teacher can be grumpy sometimes but I think you’ll find he can be reasonable too.”

Encourage kids to show gratitude

If you have a child who constantly brings the negative parts of their day to you then it may be wise to bring some balance to his or her viewpoint. Do this by encouraging them to show some gratitude for the good or positive things that happened to them. Many resilience experts encourage children and young people to keep a gratitude journal. At the end of each day they should note in this journal three things that happened to them that they are grateful for. Not only does this add some much-needed perspective but routinely looking for the good and positive sides of life can become habit-forming even for died-in-the-wool negative Neville’s and Nellie’s.

Deidre’s initial approach – listening to her son when he wanted to talk about his day – was the right one. However, she admitted she was tired of being the sole recipient of her son’s constant negativity. If you can identify with Deidre then I encourage you to be empathetic and understanding but also to have some different strategies at your fingertips to steer your child or young person towards a more positive, more realistic appraisal, not allowing one bad event or incident define their entire day.

Community News

Event Reminder

A ‘Life Celebration’ for Robin Stanley (Johnno) Johnston is being held in the ‘Rob Johnston Sports Centre’ at Corinda SHS on Saturday 25 November at 2 pm. There will be a social gathering at the Corinda Bowls Club, in Hall Avenue Corinda, afterwards to chat with his family and friends and share memories.

Arboretum Bird Walk

A bird walk with an expert guide is certainly an experience not to be missed. Professor Hugh Possingham, Chief Scientist with The Nature Conservancy, will introduce you to Sherwood Arboretum’s stunning birdlife at 6.30 am on Sunday 26 November, starting at the Jolimont Street entry.

Over the past 15 years, some 170 species of birds have been recorded in the Sherwood Arboretum thanks to its well-protected wetlands, a stunning collection of more than 1,000 Australian native trees and the ‘wildlife corridor’ of the Brisbane River at the front door.

Sunday’s walk will finish with a relaxing morning tea by the river. The cost of just $5.00 for adults for morning tea (students are free) helps support the voluntary work of the Friends of Sherwood Arboretum Association.

Please remember to RSVP as soon as possible by emailing info@sherwoodarboretum.com.au or by calling (07) 3278 6525.

Choose how to add this event to your calendar:

Apple Calendar iPhone, iPad, Mac - Download .ics file

Outlook Desktop Outlook - Download .ics file

Android Calendar Android devices - Download .ics file

Other Calendar Google Calendar, Yahoo, etc. - Download .ics file

Download Event