9 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

Executive Principals Report

Dear Parents and Friends

A big thank you to our student leaders who joined me at the ANZAC Day dawn service at the Sherwood-Indooroopilly RSL. Our students represented our school with great pride and respect for this very important service. Our students were able to lay the wreaths created by all of our students at school. It was a wonderful contribution to the meaning of ANZAC Day with all of our students writing a message which formed each House Wreath.

Big thank you to all our students who volunteered their time to be Buddies for our visiting students from Thailand. It was great to see the formation of new friendships and the sharing of both cultures between the students. Our students are to be congratulated for the way in which they welcomed our special guests into our school and took up the responsibility of taking care of them while at school. Our students learn so much from this experience and hopefully will continue to communicate with their new friends across the globe.

Special thanks also to all families who hosted students for this Study Tour and embraced them into your family life. This experience is a valuable part of their immersion in our culture.

Student Leadership Day

Last Friday our student leaders engaged in a special program provided by Unleashing Personal Potential. It was an opportunity for our leaders to come together to explore leadership challenges and focus on Positive Education in the context of their leadership roles in the school. This program links closely with our whole school focus on the delivery of Positive Education in our school.

A great day had by all and it was great to see the students so engaged in the program during the day. They certainly impressed our presenters.

Positive Education

In a previous newsletter I talked about a Growth Mindset. This week I have included an extract from an example provided on how to develop a growth mindset in the context of – Neuroplasticity. This has to do with ‘Accomplishment’ and it might be a good discussion point with your teenagers following Parent Teacher interviews where they might comment to you that ‘they are no good at something’. Well this can be addressed and below is an introduction to the theory behind this and how you can develop new and refined skills:

Rationale

Not that long ago, it was believed that our brains ability was fixed and set after childhood. Recently however, neuroscientists have discovered that the brain never stops changing and adjusting. Our brain is actually malleable - it can be changed and shaped through training. This process is called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the nervous system to make large increases in the strengths of existing neural connections and also establish new connections (Pascual-Leone, et al., 2005). It is true that our thoughts and actions change our brain. This means that by directing our focus, attention and action towards certain things we can strengthen our neural connections. Stronger neural connections means that it is easier for us to do those things- like how we remember how to ride a bike. The plasticity of our brain allows us to improve skills through practice and repetition. For example a right handed person might write their name poorly with their left hand. However through practicing with the other hand, we can experience large improvements, as our neural connections strengthen. Neuroplasticity is one “super powers” of our brain- allowing us to learn many things as our brain adapts and changes.

Description of Positive Education Practice:

1. Try to practice writing your name with your less dominant hand. Write your full name 3 times on a piece of paper.
2. Try to brush your teeth with your less dominant hand for 30 seconds. Then finish brushing your teeth with your preferred hand. Continue this practice each time you brush your teeth for one week and observe how much you improve. The improvement is due to strengthening neural connections. You can strengthen neural connections for just about any skill that you choose to practice. Now let’s talk about that Maths problem!

Main message:

“When it comes to learning a skill, repeated experiences are essential- as connections become stronger and more efficient through repeated use.” (Nagel, 2009)

10 Apps Teens are using that Parents need to know about…

Helen Jamieson, Executive Principal

Coming Events

Student Services

2019 Excellence Program Information Sessions

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.

Enrolments for Year 7 2019

Applications for enrolment for year 7 2019 are now being accepted. The enrolment forms are available from our administration office.

Uniform Shop

Opening Hours

Monday – Wednesday 7:30 am – 9:30 am
Thursday and Friday – by appointment only
Phone direct: 3379 4801
Main office: 3379 0222

Resource Centre

Corinda’s Library is open Monday – Friday 7:30 am – 4:30 pm

Open Classrooms – After School Tutoring

Students can get expert help for assignments and assessment, every Monday to Thursday

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm in the air-conditioned comfort of the library. Each day offers a different tutor for each subject area.

International

Thailand Visitors

We have had 24 students visiting us from Thailand over the past 2 weeks. The students have been a delight and have made some really great friends especially with their buddies. During their visit they have participated in PE lessons and they have been on the farm. Students also worked on their English, in particular how to introduce themselves and go shopping. Our visitors will now spend a week in a local Thai Temple. We hope our Corinda students can one day visit Bangkok and rekindle their friendships.

Homestay Families Required

Homestay families are required for upcoming study abroad tours.

Students will be here for 3 – 12 months.

Please contact Janelle Peacock for an information pack if interested. jpeac99@eq.edu.au

Languages

Winter Language School

Year 11 and 12 students who are currently studying a language are invited to attend a Winter High School Program at the Institute of Modern Languages at the University of Queensland. The program runs from 9-13 July for Chinese, Spanish, French, German and Japanese. These courses enrich the student’s knowledge of the language and culture they are currently studying and practice their language skills over the winter holidays. The content is based on the QCAA Senior syllabus.

The fee is $275 for early bird and $300 for the full fee. If you are interested, please see the University of Queensland website for details:

Japanese Week

Week 3 of term 2 has been all about Japan. If you were in Japan this week you would be celebrating Golden week. At Corinda this week students have been involved in writing wishes, making origami, writing calligraphy, watching Japanese anime and participating in a tug of war. The tug of war was a huge success, Bunar was the winning house.

Humanities

Geography

On 30 April, our year 12 Geography students, along with their teachers Ms Pearce and Mrs Bates, completed extensive fieldwork along the Mountains 2 Mangroves wildlife corridor in North Brisbane. Students were able to refine their geographic skills, by collecting primary data on both abiotic and biotic features. Students tracked the wildlife corridor through a range of suburbs, observing how land use and urban sprawl affect biodiversity. Students ended the day at Nudgee Beach, observing the impact industry and human activities has on the wetlands. This was an excellent opportunity for students to apply their Geographic knowledge and skills to the real world.

Debating

We hosted Moreton Bay Boys College on Friday night and our year 10 and 12 teams had wins against them, with Jemima Noller and Hana Yavari receiving Best Speaker awards. A huge thank you goes to Alex Griffin, Caitlin Brown and Kev McMahon who gave up their Friday night to adjudicate and to the coaches Alex Griffin, Jess Pearce, Lisa Mauriello and Amy Heymer for all their time and effort in helping teams to prepare and supporting them during their competitions.

Science

Corinda State High School has an after school club with a difference. Wildlife Whisperers is a group of students that meet on Monday to study all things ecology. Recently, the students were very lucky to have a visit from Queensland Museum spider expert, Dr Robert Raven. Robert brought with him a live Funnelweb, Tarantula, Brushfooted trapdoor and two water spiders. It was not hard for the group to get caught up in Robert’s passion for his eight legged friends. After describing some of the basic features used to identify spiders, there were many fascinating stories such as how barking spiders resonate sound. It was also interesting to learn that some arachnids’ have the ability to spread from place to place by the newly hatched spiders releasing threads that get caught in updrafts, lifting them high into the air. There were other tales about tarantulas shedding their exoskeletons in the hot moist conditions before a cyclone. It was an afternoon where Dr Raven posed many questions and the answers led to learning!

Chemistry

David, Craig and Natalie from Pepsico working with year 12 Chemistry students on an oil titration as part of their EEI

The Arts

We are pleased to introduce the wonderful captains for our Extra-curricular Dance and Instrumental music programme. The captains will be introduced to the school at Assemblies this term.

Drama

Drama students from year 7 to 12 and English students from year 7 enjoyed a performance of 'Ruby Moon' by the Youth Touring Company this morning. The students were thoroughly entertained by this gothic tale written, produced and performed in Australia.

Time to Shake your Tail Feather

The Supreme Dreams are known for their musical tributes to vocal powerhouses such as Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin and on Friday 25 May they will be bringing their high energy show to Corinda.

The trio of singers – Taryn Stewart from Coorparoo, Giuliana Russo from Clayfield and Rebel Bliss from Bracken Ridge – will bring their 60’s swagger to raise funds for the Friends of Corinda Music.

“Each of us were involved in music or dance when we were teenagers” says Giuliana, who plays the role of Cindy in The Supreme Dreams, “So we are thrilled to be bringing our show to raise funds for the Music programme at Corinda State High School.”

The President of Friends of Corinda Music, Patricia Steenstrup recalls “We were looking for a fundraising event that had a real wow factor. Then a relative of one of our students approached us with their Mo Town Show, The Supreme Dreams and we knew we were onto a winner!”

Tammi, Cindy and Kiki are The Supreme Dreams and, just like the best “girl groups” of the 60s, The Supreme Dreams salute both the fresh, optimistic buoyancy of this 60’s movement as well as the energy and throbbing rhythms. “You’ll be out of your seat and dancing.”

Think The Supremes, The Crystals, Martha and the Vandellas and Tina Turner and then you’ll start humming the songs that made them legends:

Baby Love, Nowhere to Run, Proud Mary and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough always get the audience Dancin’ in the Streets!

“It’s a fun show filled with singing and dancing – from us and the audience!” says Rebel Bliss, who plays the part of Kiki. “Wear your grooviest 60’s, 70’s and Disco gear, bring the family and come and join the singing and dancing.”

Mo Town is Back!

Details:

7:30 pm Friday 25 May 2018
Old Hall, Corinda State High School
Lynne Grove Ave, Corinda
Tickets: Full price $35, Concession $30 and Students and Children $20
Family packages: 2 adults and 2 children $95

Prizes for Best Costumes

Media Contacts:

Leslie Martin 0416 043 785 supremedreamsinfo@gmail.com
Promotional Video via YouTube

Instrumental Music

The 2018 Corinda SHS Instrumental Music Rehearsal schedule is as follows:

Music Lessons

The 2018 Corinda SHS Instrumental Music Lesson schedule is as follows:

The 2018 Corinda SHS Private Music Lesson schedule is below. Contact Mardi Mansfield (HOD – The Arts) or Belinda Stewart (Music Excellence Teacher) for further information.

Senior Schooling

Last week we held another very successful My Future Options Careers Expo at Corinda SHS. There were 30 exhibitors, from the University, Training and Trade sectors in attendance. Students were able to gain a wealth of information from these experts and were able to exposed to a wide range of career and study opportunities that will assist them to explore their future options.

Student Positions Vacant

School Based Traineeship opportunities in local area.

A number of Certificate III in Retail Operations School Based Traineeships available at various Bakers Delight stores in your nearby area.

Bakers Delight – Kenmore
Bakers Delight – Graceville
Bakers Delight – Toowong

And

Two (2) school based vacancies front of house, food & beverage positions are available at Arte & Gusto, located at 409 Honour Avenue, Graceville.

Please contact Leanne Hixon – HOD Senior Schooling for details on how to apply.

Positive Parenting

As a Parenting Ideas Schools member, our school has special access to vouchers for parent webinars. These vouchers allow those in our school community to attend the webinars at no cost.

This webinar is valued at $37 per person, and we are happy to share the voucher with the families in our school community.

There's no limit to how many people at our school can register —please email info@corindashs.eq.edu.au for a copy of the voucher/s.

Sibling Fighting: What to do

About

Parents often don’t know how to react when children fight. Often their reactions simply promote more fighting rather than reduce it. So what parents do when kids fight is critical to relationship-building and family harmony.

Healthy families know how to fight well. When parents take an active approach to helping their children resolve their fights, they are teaching them a valuable life skill as well as reducing the incidence of fighting over the long term.

Spend a rare hour with premier Parenting Educator Michael Grose as he explores the weird and wonderful world of sibling relationships. He’ll help you develop an active approach to resolving sibling disputes so they learn valuable life skills and will provide you with some handy schoolyard survival skills.

When

Tuesday 15 May 2018 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm AEST

Price

Free of charge to families at Corinda SHS

Who is talking

This webinar will be hosted by Dr Jodi Richardson with presenter Michael Grose.

Michael Grose
Parenting Ideas Expert
Author, Speaker, Founder Parenting Ideas

Michael Grose is a popular parenting educator widely recognised for his expertise in birth order, sibling relationships and what makes healthy families tick.

Michael is the author of the ground-breaking book Why first borns rule the world and last borns want to change it.

He’s given countless interviews in Australia and internationally about sibling relationships, and was contacted for comment by British media about the impact of the birth of a new sibling in Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's family.

Michael believes that sibling rivalry and subsequent conflict comes with the parenting territory, but there’s a lot parents can do to improve family relationships and reduce the incidence of noisy, fractious fighting. Dr Jodi Richardson

Dr Jodi Richardson
Parenting Ideas Expert
Wellbeing and Mental Health

Jodi is a mental health, wellbeing and happiness science speaker and educator. She is a mother of two primary-school-aged children and is the founder and director of Happier on Purpose, the mental health and wellbeing expert for Parenting Ideas and writer for both print and online publications.

Jodi has developed her expertise over two decades of professional work in teaching, wellbeing, clinical practice and elite sport, including working for Beyondblue on the national schools-based initiative for the prevention of depression.

Integral to Jodi’s work is helping parents and teachers to nurture resilient, relaxed, playful kids who develop lifelong habits of happiness and flourishing mental health.

Community News

Domestic and Family Violence

May is Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Prevention month. This year, the department’s campaign encourages us all to do something to prevent DFV before it starts. Actions we can take include:

• challenging gender stereotypes
• modelling respectful relationships
• speaking out if you hear excuses for violence
• celebrating positive role models.

Schools and work places are encouraged to use DFV Prevention month as an opportunity to look at the positive ways in which we can show mutual respect and promote equality of opportunity.

Actions you can take include:

• completing the Recognise, Respond, Refer: Domestic and family violence online modules
• linking with a local domestic violence service and the community to raise awareness and funds to prevent DFV
• using one of Our Watch’s “#BecauseWhy’ short videos at assembly, or at a staff or parent meeting, to discuss how stereotypes limit opportunities for boys, girls, men and women
• implementing the department’s respectful relationships education program
• being aware of the department’s DFV policy and resources
• acknowledging actions that demonstrate respect and equality.

For more ideas on positive ways to influence attitudes, build respect and prevent domestic and family violence, visit the department’s ending DFV page.

The Smith Family

With increasing financial pressure on families, the Saver Plus Program has proven to be a great way to help by providing $500 towards back to school costs.

The aim of the program is for participants to achieve a savings goal of $500, which is then matched by a further $500 per family, which must be spent on educational expenses, with parents and carers taking part in free financial literacy workshops. The program has now been running for over 13 years.

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 IPad

Sherwood District Meals on Wheels

Do you know someone who is having difficulty shopping for food or cooking?

Sherwood District Meals on Wheels is able to help. Our volunteers deliver meals to the suburbs of Chelmer, Graceville, Sherwood, Corinda and Oxley. Each meal pack includes soup, a main meal, juice and dessert. The meals are nutritionally prepared for us by our supplier Gourmet Fresh and are delivered by our friendly volunteers on week days between 8:30 am and 10:00 am. The meals are delivered frozen with simple heating instructions, thus allowing more flexibility for our clients (for example, delivery on certain days of the week, if required). Special dietary needs can also be catered for.

Who is Eligible?

• People who are 65 or older
• People who are having difficulty preparing meals for themselves or shopping
• People who have a disability and their carers
• People recovering from hospitalisation or illness

Volunteers

Volunteering for Meals on Wheels is a satisfying experience as we enable people to maintain their independence by continuing to live in their own homes. We provide a friendly daily contact for people, many of whom may be isolated or frail. We welcome new volunteers to either do a delivery run to people in their homes one morning a month starting at 8:30 am and usually finishing around 10:00 am, or to help in our kitchen by packing the meals for delivery.

If you know someone who needs help with meals or you would like to volunteer, please contact Donna at Meals on Wheels on 33797715 or email: sherwoodmow@gmail.com.

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