10 December 2021

Newsletter Articles

Executive Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Friends

It is hard to believe that we have come to the end of yet another interesting year. Our school theme: True Grit – The Cowboy Code certainly resonated with us all as we survived challenging conditions, lockdowns, masks and still remained true to our brand. I am very proud of our staff and students and their achievements this year. I still think we have a few ambushes ahead of us as we enter the new year.

Last week we welcomed our 2022 Year 7 students to the school to assist them with their transition into high school. It was wonderful to be able to meet with parents and carers and of course see so many excited young faces eager to immerse in their next new adventure. We are all looking forward to having our new Year 7 students join our Corinda family in the new year.

This week our students have been engaged in an alternative program, designed to challenge their thinking and engage in problem-based learning. Carri-Ann Smith our Teaching and Learning Deputy Principal has collaborated with STEM Punks and been able to provide a very rich, engaging and enjoyable program for our students this week. It has certainly taken them outside their comfort zone and enabled them to draw on their learning from a variety of subjects this year. We’ve captured some of the week’s highlights here and in the images below.

I am very much looking forward to the release of our Year 12 results next weekend. We feel very optimistic with how they have been tracking and no doubt they will be very relieved once they receive these.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our parents, carers and community members for your continued support throughout the year. Without your support we would not be able to provide the extensive opportunities, programs and resources that are afforded to our students here at Corinda. It is an amazing school with so much on offer.

I look forward to seeing you all at our Academic Awards of Excellence Evening in Week 3, 2022 where we will be acknowledging the amazing achievements of our students and the 2021 Dux of our School.

Time to dismount and hang up the saddle for 2021. It has been a wonderful ride. Stay tuned for next year’s theme!

Best wishes to all our families for a relaxing and enjoyable break. I look forward to an exciting year ahead at Corinda.

Stay safe
Helen Jamieson
Executive Principal

Coming Events

Some of our best

Corinda student awarded life-changing scholarship

Congratulations to Year 8 student Clare Owens who has been chosen to be a Harding Miller Education Foundation Scholar. The Foundation identified Clare as a student with enormous potential to achieve academic excellence and significant professional success. The popular scholarship received 556 applications from girls across the country and a total of 160 scholarship packages were awarded. Harding Miller provides scholars with tools, resources, experiences and support to boost their educational achievements and career aspirations.

Friendly football match caps off a momentous year for FEX program

The first ever Staff vs Students Futsal game was recently played to honour our Senior Boys and their tremendous efforts during their time at Corinda. The Seniors have been one of our most successful teams to date; most notably winning Met Finals three out of four years.

The atmosphere was electric on game day as the match was played in front of a full house with all staff and the FEX program cheering on and showing their appreciation for the boys’ efforts and leadership within the football program. The game capped off a bumper year for our Football Program of Excellence (FEX). Highlights included:

• 23 selected Met West representatives for school Football and Futsal
• Bill Turner Boys - Best result for our FEX program
• Year 7 Girls Met Final Champions – First time in our FEX program
• Open Boys Met Final Champions – 3 times in 4 years
• 12 Year Girls and 15 Year Boys Australasian Futsal Titles Champions. First time for both age groups!
• Two students, Dylan Proctor and Anna Maddox selected for 2021 SPL ALL STAR side
• Former Corinda FEX student Layla Proctor – now representing SV Elversburg in the Women’s Bundesliga, the top level of league competition for women's association football in Germany
• 12 Years Girls 2021 AFA School Australasian Champion of Champions player Micaela Anstey named co-School Captain for 2022
• Bogdan Radovanovic named MVP for the Open Boys Futsal team

Planning is well underway for the FEX program in 2022 with a key area of focus being player and character development. This focus area will be supported by staff including new recruit and Lions FC NPL Men’s squad player Joe Duckworth and third-party organisations who will assist our athletes with strategies to deal with mental, social and emotional difficulties that may surface during high school.

Heron Island Extension Program - Ecology of a Coral Cave

For the past 55 years, a group of Science students have made an annual trek up the Queensland coast to study one the world’s most unique living organisms, the Great Barrier Reef. Based at the Heron Island Research Station, students spend a week studying corals, reef formations and marine animals alongside experts from the CSIRO and the University of Queensland who are investigating the current health of the reef and implementing a plan for its recovery.

For students, this real-world experience gives them an understanding and appreciation of the sensitive nature of our coral reef and the need to protect it from the threat of climate change. The excursion also gives students an opportunity to view different marine science avenues that which they may wish to pursue as a career in the future.

The 2021 excursion consisting of 23 Year 10 and 11 students returned last week and highlights from the trip included:

• Seeing marine life including turtles, yellow tipped coral sharks and stingrays up close during early morning dives
• Finding a ‘girl’ ready to lay during a late-night turtle walk
• The students counted 28 in the small area between the Jetty and the Research Station, but were told that over a hundred were coming up each night to lay

The students are to be congratulated on the very high academic level they showed in their research investigations and transects and on their group research presentations. We wish to thank the University of Queensland for the superb accommodation and access to their research facility during our stay on the island. We also wish to thank the students from the Australian School of Maths and Science, who joined the excursion, plus the very expert assistance of our parent Mr Ken Aberdeen, whose knowledge and expertise with the coral reef species, was invaluable.

School News

Changes to sun safety at Corinda

The new sun safety procedure for Queensland state secondary schools becomes effective from January 2022. Corinda students must be sun safe when outdoors – slap on a hat, seek shade and slop on SPF30+ sunscreen. Sun safe school bucket hats and caps can be ordered online or purchased directly from School Locker Oxley.

Young artists produce perfect paw-traits

Year 8 Visual Art Excellence students have completed their first ever ‘commissioned’ pet portrait as their final practical task for the year.

The students were very proud to present their acrylic portrait paintings on canvas to Corinda staff who kindly provided their pet’s beautiful faces. Students also had the expertise of resident artist Kim Woolley, who provided expert workshops to assist with painting techniques for this task. For many students, this was their first venture into the world of portraiture.

Recycling program drives behavioural change

A pallet load of cardboard leftover from our 2021 Koondoo yearbook delivery was promptly sent to the Farm where it was repurposed as a weed barrier in the garden beds.

Clean cardboard helps prevent the growth of weeds until our seedlings are established and over time, it degrades and rots into the soil. This year alone, we have repurposed eight pallet loads of cardboard from around the school in our gardens, including all the furniture packaging from our shiny new RIC building.

Whether it’s plastic, paper or cans, our recycling program helps drive behavioural change by creating the habits of adulthood and, hopefully, inspiring our students to develop new and better ways of eliminating waste in the future.

**REMINDER** Has your student received the 2021 Koondoo? Yearbooks are available for collection at Student Services.

Creative connections with 2022 Year 7 students

The transformative power of poetry was on display in Week 9 at an exhibition showcasing the creative talents of our Year 7 English and Humanities Excellence and Year 7 Platinum students. The exhibition was a culmination of students’ work this term which explored the power of poetry to move an audience and reflect on their personal experiences beginning secondary school in 2021.

The event was well timed as Corinda’s 2022 Year 7 students visited the exhibition during Orientation Day and were asked to respond, reflect and create their own poems about transitioning to secondary schooling.

Will your student be travelling home from Corinda on a bus in 2022?

The afternoon bus timetable for 2022 is now available. Please make your student familiar with the assembly areas detailed on the map within the timetable linked below.

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