22 July 2020

Newsletter Articles

Executive Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Friends

A very warm welcome to term 3. I do hope that this term will be a more settled one for everyone. We still remain proactive with hygiene and social distancing across the school. We watch the Victorian scenario play out and hope that Queensland continues to remain clear of a potential second wave. We remain prepared should this occur and can assure you that we have plans in place to ensure continuity of learning is our priority.

We ask parents to ensure they keep students at home if they are unwell and have any flu like symptoms. Any students who present as unwell to sickbay will be sent home immediately following parent contact.

Year 10 SET Planning

This week our Year 10 students are undertaking their SET planning interviews. It is great to see parents taking the time to work with us in developing suitable and attainable pathways for our students. It can be a difficult time for some students and I encourage you to come and talk through any further questions or concerns you or your student may have. It is early days for year 10s and there is a lot to consider, so it is not uncommon for them to rethink their choices. Our dedicated staff are only too happy to assist and work through this with you and your student.

Year 12 Formal & Graduation

I understand there are many questions around the organisation of these two significant events. We will make every endeavour to ensure both these events create special memories for all our year 12s and their families. As you know we do need to navigate expectations around COVID-19 restrictions and hopefully these will continue to ease. We can only work on the now and use the current guidelines as our reference.

We do need to ensure all venues have COVID safe plans and we must adhere to these. This means that some of our past practices may not be acceptable eg. Parents gathering at the front of the venue to watch students arriving and family photographs in the venue adding to the numbers. We are currently putting plans in place around these restrictions and considering plans to offer family photographs at school through a booking process as we have done so in previous years. I ask that Parents be patient with us around this organisation as it is early days and I just want you all to know that we are considering all options dependent on the circumstances in Queensland.

The Graduation Ceremony will be held at the Queensland Tennis Centre, which will be able to accommodate families easily while adhering to social distancing. This will as always be a very special and memorable event for our Seniors 2020.

Speech Night 2020

We have made the decision not to proceed with Speech Night this year as our venue would not be able to accommodate social distancing. We are also aware that due to the lockdown many students have not had opportunities to participate in special events that are worthy of award recognition. We also would like to calculate academic and merit awards based on Semester 1 and 2 data to ensure students are not disadvantaged due to COVID-19.

We intend to conduct an Awards events in either week 2 or 3 at the beginning of 2021 to acknowledge all recipients. This will be combined with Scholars assembly and Leadership induction and will allow us to announce Dux of the School – which will not be available until ATAR scores are released. We will ensure this is a special event for our students and parents.

Wi-Fi Issues

As you may be aware we have had significant Wi-Fi issues at school recently. Our IT Technicians have been working with Systems Technicians in the Department of Education to resolve this and we believe that we have finally found a fix for this. I acknowledge that this has been extremely frustrating for students and staff and hopefully we now have a solution.

Lost Property

We have discovered a large quantity of lost property over recent weeks and this is quite often due to students misplacing or forgetting they have put items like sweaters down somewhere at lunch break. A large amount has been found at the farm. All lost property will now be housed at Student Services and collated. Support staff will notify parents if the item is labelled and a list collated of items as they are handed in. If you would like an item to be checked please contact Student Services (Payments and Roll Room) and provide details of the lost item. We will make every effort to follow up and locate the item.

Here’s hoping we have a smooth term 3. Stay healthy.

Helen Jamieson
Executive Principal

Coming Events

Some of our best

Student Spotlight – Kim Nguyen

We are so proud of Kim Nguyen in Year 11 who has received the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Bronze level. Kim has worked hard to achieve this award, spending countless hours learning about nature and increasing her physical and mental strength in preparation for the expeditions. Kim spent the holiday break participating in the Adventurous Journey section to qualify for the higher level of Gold and is earning credit points towards her QCE by completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Congratulations Kim!

Language Perfect Competition

Corinda students and students from around the globe took part in the Language Perfect competition during Term 2. Students who were learning from home during this time found the Language Perfect platform particularly useful for improving their language skills. This year we had students answer over 440 000 questions and 78 awards were distributed to our students. This was an amazing effort from Corinda students and we have seen a noticeable improvement in their language ability. Special mention must go to Jemma Gossow who received 10 000 points in just one week, earning her an Elite award. Well done Jemma!

Corinda Art in the Community

The Corinda Library proudly displays student artwork from our school on a regular basis. The latest displays of artwork can be credited to our Year 7 Art Excellence Students! The students were asked to research an artist, and subsequently appropriate that artist’s imagery to create a letter art design to fit in to the first letter of that artist’s surname. Students created inspiring artworks by artists such as Van Gogh, Basquiat, Hokusai, Khalo and Monet, amongst others. See these amazing artworks for yourself in our local Corinda library!

Construction Students Building for the Community

Our INTAD Department have embraced our strategic priority of Community Engagement and have spent the last term building quality outdoor furniture for our local primary schools. The tables are a very sturdy design constructed from Blackbutt hardwood and galvanised fasteners.

Two senior VET Construction classes, each responsible for the construction of two tables, commenced work towards the end of term 1, aiming to complete the project by the end of semester 1. The students have worked effectively in teams to produce components to very specific standards of fit and finish.

Despite some considerable hurdles, it was exciting to see the construction team meet the due date for completion. Well done to Mr Dix for his design and leadership throughout the project and of course to the talented senior Construction students!

School News

Changes to Bus Routes

As of Monday 20 July, the bus route for the 791 bus has been extended from Inala Plaza ‘A’ via Corsair Ave, Wirraway Pde, Partridge St, Woodland Ave and College Ave to St John’s Anglican College approaching Forest Lake Blvd. Students who currently catch the 770, but alight at the College Ave at Hillbrook bus stop, should be catching the 791 starting this week. The 791 bus departs our school at 3.05 pm from Bus Stop 1 and arrives at College Ave Hillbrook bus stop at 3.42 pm. Students catching this bus should line up at B Block/D Block under the stairs.

After School Tutoring is back!

After school tutoring is back for Term 3 and will continue until week 9. Tutoring runs every Monday to Thursday 2:50 pm to 4:00 pm in Q1 and Q2. Our after school tutoring sessions allow for students to be given extra assistance in all four core subjects; Maths, English, Science and Humanities. There is no cost involved with this program and is open to all students. Please find the tutoring schedule below:

Teaching and Learning @Corinda

As we complete our first week of Semester 2, parents are reminded that student report cards will be coming home via email on Monday 20 July (year 11 Unit One) and Friday 24 July (year 7 -10 and 12). We understand there may be some anxiety around reports and we ask you to reassure your child that Semester 1 was an anomaly in our world of education. It was not what anyone expected and we understand that our students have tried their best to engage and continue to learn. The report card may not reflect where they would normally be performing at this time of year and all staff at Corinda understand this. We encourage you to focus on the effort and behaviour grades on the report card where appropriate, and to chat to your child about setting some goals for Semester 2 and focusing on future success and exceeding their own personal expectations.

In alignment with Academic Reporting requirements for State Schools and QCAA directed changes, we modified our assessment program by reducing either the number of tasks students were required to complete, the assessment technique and conditions, or the timing of when the assessment was due to cater for the five weeks of learning at home. Corinda State High School will report on all subject areas that students study. Teachers will analyse evidence from learning at school and assessment that was submitted during both Term 1 and the second half of Term 2. Teachers will acknowledge participation in Learning at Home, taking into consideration that all students did not have equal access to technology and reliable internet when making their judgement about efforts.

Our reporting rubric will assist in understanding what constitutes the different levels of achievement for behaviour and effort, noting that Satisfactory (or higher) is what we expect all students to strive to achieve. Students who are enrolled in a Program of Excellence are expected to maintain a Very Good standard in both effort and behaviour across all their subjects.

Please do not hesitate to contact your Head of Department or year level Deputy if you have any concerns:

Community News

Lions Football Club – Players Wanted

Corinda Football Excellence partner organisation Lions Football Club are seeking Players for the U15 Division football competition. See below for details!

Hounds Graceville Touch Football

Hounds Graceville Touch Football Association are hosting a Junior Touch Super Six Series! This is a fantastic opportunity for individual participants or existing teams (league, union, touch football) to come along, learn some touch basics and play some touch football as a team in the junior competition. Open to all year groups.

Volleyball Australia 2020/21 Emerging Talent Squads

The Volleyball Australia Emerging Talent Volleyball program has been established to provide a high-performance practice environment opportunity for young athletes aged 10-18 years who are interested in furthering their skills in the sport. See below for details.

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