6 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

Executive Principals Report

Dear Parents and Friends

It was great to meet parents at the Year 11 Information Evening last week. We are committed to keeping parents and students informed on the implementation of the new QCE as we progress. This is a significant reform for Education in Queensland and a very different system for calculation of the student ATAR and QCE for 2020 graduates. It is important that year 11 students ensure they are in full attendance and working at their expected level within the requirements of the courses of study. It must be remembered that this system does also include school based assessment in units 3 and 4 and it is important that students perform at their optimum level in all pieces of assessment.

This cohort of students will be experiencing a whole new language and a very different timeline in relation to the completion of units as opposed to semester units. Programs of study will be organised in units and reported accordingly which will be different to the semester units and reporting. It will be crucial for students to continually seek out feedback on their progress within each unit in order to work towards improving their performance and achieving the best possible scores for each unit.

This new system calculates the student ATAR based on a combination of their school based assessment and the final external exam at the end of unit 4, and is calibrated against subject state mean scores. The calculation is not dependent on the performance of the cohort in the school, but is measured against the performance of all students across Queensland. This is the major difference in how the ATAR is calculated compared to the OP system. It is important that parents and students familiarise themselves with the assessment outline for each subject they are studying. The weighting of the assessment and the units assessed in the final external exam varies with each subject.

Our priority as a school is to ensure we continue to focus on individual student growth, lifting and stretching student performance in accordance with their capability. With a strong focus on this, we anticipate that they will be well prepared for their external assessment and will achieve the highest possible scores.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions, concerns or need for further clarification. We are here to support you and our students through this change.

Building Program

Our proposed new building program is progressing, with the aim of completing our new Library and Technology centre by mid-March 2020. We are very excited about the provision of this facility and it will certainly be a much-needed resource for our new generation of learners. Plans are being constructed to erect a new Library / Information Services centre including IT rooms, research spaces, flexible learning, student support services, and auditorium. As plans are developed, we will be tabling them at our School Council meetings for further consultation. Stay tuned as we share progress on this very exciting development for our school. Of course, with all new building projects, there is always disruption to classroom space and we will be relocating classes to temporary buildings during the construction phase.

Helen Jamieson
Executive Principal

Open Day 2019

2019 Next Step survey

The Queensland Government is conducting its annual statewide survey of all students who completed Year 12 in 2018. The Next Step survey is a brief, confidential survey that gains a comprehensive picture of the employment, study and life choices made by Queensland school completers in the year after they finish Year 12.

Between March and June, all our students who completed Year 12 last year can expect to receive instructions to complete a web-based survey or a telephone call from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office. Please encourage them to take part. If their contact details have changed, please assist the interviewer with their updated details or forward the survey to their new address so they can participate.

Thank you for your support of the Next Step survey in 2019.

Further information on Next Step is available online at the link below or on toll free telephone 1800 068 587.

Coming Events

GenIN

This term, we will be offering up to 40 student the chance to take their entrepreneurial skills to the next level through the Gen[in] Student Innovation Challenge - with $15 000 prize money on offer, and support from The Queensland Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance (QSIEA) consortium. On 27 March at 3:00 pm, Corinda SHS students that sign up to take the challenge will participate in a free workshop with Gen[in] Project Manager Ms Megan Short.

Some testimonials from 2018 Finalists:

• Jack (Jiyuan) from St Peters Lutheran College who won $4,000 for his 61 Homestay App for International Students:

(Here is a written case study for Jack too)

• Lara from Craigslea State High School who made it to the finals with her idea Well-Reading which was to help children learn more about health in doctors’ waiting rooms:

Corinda Students, look out for more information in your email and via student notices. Contact Mr Rye for more details.

Year 11 Learning Feedback

All students in General and Applied studies subjects in year 11 have completed a diagnostic task that their teachers have used to generate Learning Feedback, which will be emailed home to all parents and carers.

It is extremely important that we support the year 11s by making sure they are in the correct subjects for them to have success and achieve a QCE.

This feedback will cover these keys points:

• the learning expectations for the student;
• the student’s achievement against expected standards;
• how well the student is engaging with the expected learning; and
• how the student may be able to improve.

Parents will be able to make appointments for the normal Parent Teacher interviews with this information, but are encouraged to make contact as soon as possible if your student is having difficulties.

Some of our best …

School Leaders

Our leaders were recently introduced to the Junior School at Year 8 and 9 assembly. School pride and house spirit were evident in their introductions from fellow House Captains and reception from the school body. Students are looking forward to turning dreams into actions in true Disney style.

Congratulations to our Year 9 Year Level Representatives who lead the Junior Assembly. Please take time to view the photos of the Leadership Investiture and Scholars Assembly on our school Facebook page

Dominic Turnbull - Triathlete

Congratulations to our own Dominic Turnbull of year 9. Dominic returned from a short trip overseas to New Zealand to compete in a Kids Fun Run. Dominic trains weekly for triathlons and will compete several times a year.

Rebecca Yao – AMusA piano Diploma

Just thought we would share with you Rebecca’s achievement in being awarded the AMusA piano Diploma. Rebecca passed the piano exam last year, and last week received her Diploma award from AMEB at the annual awards presentation.

For the non-music teachers among us – gaining your Diploma in year 10 is a VERY impressive achievement! We are very proud!

Lions Youth of the Year

On Saturday 16 February, three Corinda students competed at the local club finals for Lions Youth of the Year. They had already submitted written applications to become our school’s candidates and been interviewed by a panel of judges the weekend before.

For the speaking section, they had to deliver two separate impromptu speeches – for two minutes each – on questions without any prior notice (“Should vaccinations be compulsory?” and “What are the greatest challenges facing today’s youth?”). They each then spoke on their prepared topics.

Hannah Hall-Young (Yr11), spoke about dance and the environment, Tristan Nutley (Yr12) shared his rules for life, and Ravena Viana (Yr12) gave an impassioned speech about human rights, which earned her second place in the speaking competition (and only one point off first!).

Congratulations to these three on a fine job and for being wonderful representatives of our school.

Raising Bright Sparks Parent Seminar

Michel Juratowitch from Clearing Skies provided an insightful and informative presentation around supporting our high achieving children to approximately 115 parents on Tuesday 26 March. Some key messages were:

• Children are “gifted” through chance of genetics. This is developed into talents through the developmental process including environmental and intrapersonal catalysts. A child may have natural ability however moving through into adulthood effort and training must be put in.
• Sharing information about the child is a two way street between the parent and school.

• Raising successful bright children is not a nature vs nurture debate. It is a combination of the two. This is supported by Frances Gagne’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent.
• Parents can nurture bright sparks through assisting with nutrition, sleep, exercise, positive communication, health (physical and mental), providing a specific place and time for students to study, promoting independence, manage perfectionism, avoid over-scheduling the child into many extracurricular activities and focus on students achieving their “personal best.”

• Students require appropriate levels of challenge with their ability peers, opportunities to build social relationships with their age peers, socio effective support and differentiated curriculum. Students can underachieve relative to their ability.
• A study completed by Michele in 2015 found that student happiness is related to challenge. Students can achieve and be happy when they are challenged.

P&C Association

Parents and the broader community play a vital role in supporting successful learning outcomes for our children.

Our P&C is about engaging with parents and the local community to work together to maximise student learning outcomes. Research tells us that the most meaningful partnerships are those where schools, parents, students and the community work together to focus on student learning.

Corinda State High has an active P&C Association that works strongly with the community to enhance student outcomes and support achievement of key school targets.

The P&C Association will again be seeking parents/carers who would like to join this highly motivated and dedicated team in 2019. If you are interested in participating or would like to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to contact us on pandc.secretary@corindashs.eq.edu.au .

P & C Annual General Meeting 27 March 7:00 pm

The next P&C Association Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 27 March at 7.00pm in the Paradox Room.

The AGM is a very worthwhile meeting to attend as it provides the opportunity to reflect on the association’s 2018 accomplishments and importantly, setting our goals for the year ahead.

All executive positions are declared vacant and nominations are held. To fulfil an Executive role or to be eligible to vote on matters raised at meetings throughout the year you must be a registered P&C member. The AGM is the ideal meeting for you to attend to secure this membership for the year.

Membership forms will be available at the meeting or you can download a copy from the school website.

Community News

Have your say about the former Oxley Secondary College site

Day Camps at PGL Kindilan, Redland Bay - School holiday program 8 - 18 April 2019

School holiday workshops, Program with Python, Web Development, and more

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