28 October 2022

Newsletter Articles

Executive Principal’s Report

This Monday our Year 12 students officially began their external examinations and no doubt there is some anxiety around this, but our seniors are very well prepared for their exams. It was a wonderful opportunity last Friday to have a special ‘lunchbox’ with them and listen to our guest speaker – well known adventurer Brian Freeman. He certainly provided them with inspiration and encouragement for their external exams and it was a lovely way to conclude their week together. A special exam pack was provided to all the students to assist them with their equipment requirements. I wish our Seniors the very best for their exams – they are all in our thoughts over the 17 days of assessment. Then the fun begins!

Congratulations to our incoming school leaders. It was a wonderful Leadership Week last week, and it was great to be able to conclude the week with their Semi Formal. It was such a great night and the students are to be congratulated – lots of fun and dancing was had. This week they have begun their unit 3 work, ready for a big year ahead.

This Friday we celebrate World Teachers’ Day. It is a wonderful opportunity to express our gratitude to our amazing teaching staff who go above and beyond to ensure our students are provided with every opportunity to succeed and reach their goals. The #WTD2022 overarching theme is “hats off to teachers”, an idiom that means to respect, admire or congratulate someone. I invite you to join me in saying “hats off to you”, our wonderful teachers.

Helen Jamieson
Executive Principal

Coming Events

Some of our best

Year 11 Leadership Week bonds students before senior year

The Year 11 Leadership Week was a great way for students to come together to build a strong Year 12 cohort for 2023. The organisation ‘Character Builders’ led the week by facilitating a City Treasure Hunt, as well as an incursion focused on building and strengthening relationships between social groups. House Masters then continued with team building challenges including untangling a human knot, as well as mental and physical challenges requiring good communication and social skills. The week wrapped up with the very successful Future Agent Day, cohort breakfast, and the much-anticipated semi-formal.

A sincere congratulations must also go to our incoming 2023 Student Council for your well-deserved appointments, which were announced on the final day of Leadership Week.

Language students dazzle during speech contest

Corinda students proudly represented the school at the annual Modern Language Teachers Association of Queensland (MLTAQ) Brisbane speech contest. Collectively, they brought home five medals and three highly commendable awards in the French category. Such amazing results! Well done to all students who attended and performed at their very best.

Bright future with ADF for Corinda graduate

Corinda alumnus Leilani is a wonderful example of how rewarding a career path with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) can be. Throughout Years 9 – 11, she undertook a RAAF Cadetship program after school every week. On completion of her Year 12 certificate and Diploma of Business, she applied for the advertised role of Human Resource Advisor through the Defence Jobs website in 2021.

She completed the Defence entry requirements which included both physical and psychological assessment, and an interview process. She was enlisted in July 2022 and offered the role of Personnel Capability Specialist in Human Resources Division. After completing 13 weeks of basic recruit training in Wagga Wagga, Leilani graduated in September and is now completing seven weeks of job training in Wodonga, Victoria. We look forward to watching your career progression Leilani.

Corinda students compete in State Basketball Titles

This week, the Boys and Girls Sophomore Basketball team (Year 7 and 8) are attending the Championship Basketball School of Queensland State Titles competition on the Gold Coast. This competition has been running since 1974 and this is the fourth year in a row Corinda has participated. These students have been training twice a week all year for this event, and are competing in Division 2. We look forward to hearing how they performed and will share their news with you.

Dance spectacular showcases Corinda’s best

Dance Night 2022 was another roaring success for our talented dancers. Featuring performers from Years 7 – 12 in Curricular, Extra-Curricular and Excellence classes, the night was filled with talent, enthusiasm and strong cheering from the Corinda community at Riverlife. We were also grateful to have guest performances from our local primary schools, Corinda State School and Sherwood State School. More photos of the performances can be found here:

If you missed the event but are still keen to see all the performances, they were filmed and are available here:

Act 1:

Act 2:

School News

Future Agent Day has students aiming high

Industry experts and employers converged at Future Agent Day last week, to share real world experiences and offer career advice to support students to achieve their pathway goals. The extensive program saw students attend a presentation on emerging trends in the Australian job market, attend a bustling industry exhibition, and Q&A sessions across a range of industry expert panels spanning allied health, trades, business and commerce, professional services, property and finance, creative entrepreneurship, military, and emergency services.

Our Senior Schooling faculty works with employers to give students work experience and employment opportunities, and Future Agent Day was the perfect platform to showcase how Corinda supports students to enter the future workplace as informed, capable and active lifelong learners.

A sincere thank you to all industry experts for attending this event and for helping inspire our students to aim for the sky when they finish school.

Nostalgia for seniors as they enjoy Leaders Luncheon

The Year 12 Leaders Luncheon last week brought together the senior cohort for one last time before external exams and graduation. During a special lunch, students connected with their inner child over one last school lunchbox while being enthralled by guest speaker and endurance athlete, Brian Freeman’s tales of bravery and adventure.

Thank you to all other presenters including Red Frog and Nurse Nicola, and a special mention to our dance instructors, Mr Noble and Mr V for helping students perfect their dance moves for the upcoming formal. Thank you also to the following year levels for providing delicious lunchbox items: including Year 7 and 8 Food Tech classes for the vegemite scrolls, Year 9 Food Tech for the muffins, and the Year 8 Culinary Excellence class for the gourmet wraps.

Have you considered becoming a homestay family?

We have a long and rich tradition of having overseas students study at our school and live with local families as part of the Education Queensland International (EQI) International Student Program.

As international borders are now open, we are looking for families who may be interested in joining our homestay providers network and hosting one of our international students. We welcome students from countries such as China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Germany and Italy, and the study duration ranges from one term to five years.

To be selected as an EQI approved Homestay Provider, you must meet certain criteria, which can be provided by the Homestay Coordinator by emailing 2055_international@eq.edu.au

Students given valuable insight into construction industry

Construction Skills Queensland recently met with some of our Year 10 students to discuss current trends in construction and share the 70 different trades within the industry. Students then experienced a virtual reality residential construction site and spoke with an electrician, tiler, cabinet maker and painter about their experience, and what makes it such a rewarding career. What a valuable session for all students.

Agricultural experts demonstrate new technology to students

Dr Jazmine Skinner and Dr Jacob Humpal from the University of Southern Queensland recently visited Corinda to speak with the Year 9 and 10 Agricultural Technology classes. Our visitors encouraged students to think about all the opportunities opening up in the agriculture industry, with a new wave of technologies giving producers insights into what is going on in their crop or paddocks.

Students were able to use thermal imaging scanners to analyse the heat patterns and blood flows of animals to determine their health and comfort. A special thanks to Dr Skinner and Dr Humpal for making time for us – our students were certainly inspired.

Language no barrier for Corinda students studying Japanese

Our Year 10 students once again dialled in to speak with their Japanese friends during class. The students enthusiastically discussed foods they loved, and introduced their virtual peers to vegemite and lamingtons. These online catch-ups offer a fantastic opportunity for students to use their recently learnt language skills in a real situation. We have no doubt the experience is invaluable!

New date for next P&C meeting

Please note the upcoming P&C general meeting has been rescheduled. This will now be held on 2 November at 7:00 pm in A Block. Thank you for your understanding.

Uniform Advisory Meeting

A reminder the next Uniform Advisory Meeting will be held on Wednesday 30 November at 8:00 am in the D11 Meeting Room.

Are you missing something?

With the final term of learning well underway, it’s a timely reminder to make sure all clothing worn at school or on school excursions as well as personal items are named so that misplaced items be easily reclaimed.

Community News

Charlie Bell Scholarship applications open

Applications for Ronald McDonald House Charities’ Charlie Bell Scholarship for 2022 are now open.

The scholarship offers one-off grants of $5000 to students or apprentices aged 15-20 years who have suffered a serious illness or injury during childhood, to assist them to further their education or career.

Applications close 30 November 2022. Please see flyer below for more information.

Smith Family supports families in need

The Smith Family continues to run its matched savings program for families to help with school related expenses. Saver Plus supports eligible families to save for education related expenses by providing up to $500 for school costs via our free budgeting and matched savings program. They have now had over 55,000 families complete the program, and the program is now delivered virtually.

You can find more information about the program on their website:

Yeronga Eagles Football Club trial sessions

Yeronga Eagles Football Club (YEFC) is a local soccer club located on Cansdale Street, Yeronga.

YEFC is committed to developing football opportunities and pathways for our existing playing community while also offering places on the field for new members of the community.

They are currently holding Women’s Free Come and Try Sessions for 14 +, with the final session on 3 November. Get in touch via the link below:

Learn valuable life skills at upcoming Orienteering Series

Orienteering is a competitive international sport that combines racing with navigation. Participants use very detailed maps to select routes and navigate through diverse and often unfamiliar terrain in the fastest time.

Orienteering Queensland is holding a Park Orienteering Series, involving 5km courses across Brisbane parks. More information about orienteering in Queensland can be found at the link below:

Join upcoming pink triathlon to support NBCF

Ramsay Health Care Triathlon Pink is held in Brisbane (and across Australia) each year, with this year’s event on Sunday 27 November 2022 at the Sleeman Centre.

It is an inclusive, non-judgemental and empowering environment, with girls and women taking part in the triathlon event, and boys and men taking part in the fun run.

The event is held in a secure pool, secure road, and they have people of all abilities, ages, and confidence levels taking part, while raising funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Find out more here:

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