26 June 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents,

As this is the last newsletter of the semester at Coolum State High School, it’s a wonderful time to reflect and consider the achievements of our students in their academic, cultural and sporting lives. The young men and women of Coolum are very talented and have demonstrated their abilities in a wide range of arenas. In fact, a quick overview of everything that has gone on this semester shows just how exciting it is to be at Coolum High.

Highlights of our term have included the success of Work Experience for Year 10 students and the growth of our Industry Reference Group that continues to provide opportunities for our students. Reconciliation Week allowed us to strengthen bonds between indigenous and non-indigenous students and was headlined by wonderful performances from the Gubbi Gubbi dancers and our Maori friends from New Zealand. Coolum High took flight with the arrival of the air force simulators that gave students an incredible opportunity to practice flying “over” the Sunshine Coast. Added to this, our students grew in their understanding of some breaking technology including the 3-D printer, laser cutter and advanced drones.

Health education continues to take shape at Coolum High led by our Certificate students in Health. Bring on all of those wonderful health careers! Music continued to hit amazing notes at Coolum High with the wind symphony performing at a celebration of female composers at Chancellor State College, the choir winning silver at their very first outing at Fanfare and the addition of percussion groups giving us a wonderful sense of occasion. Exams for the ALPHA program for incoming Year 6 students showed great demand for this program. In Term 3, our International Program will hit its straps almost reaching near capacity for the first time. And, on the holidays, our students participating in the Kokoda Challenge will be taking off on either the 48km or 96km overnight treks. It’s hard to keep up! I am exceptionally proud of our school and the endless number of achievements of our students.

It’s also my responsibility to inform you of the building works that will be occurring at Coolum High in the near future. Very soon, we should have sign-off on the building-in underneath the Smart Futures Centre that will provide us with a further eight state-of-the-art classrooms. This work will create some disruption, but will leave the school with a fantastic facility. Access will remain to all the classrooms upstairs throughout this process. While it will be disruptive for a short time, I am looking forward to these wonderful classrooms being available to students in 2020.

Also, beginning on the school holidays, work will occur to start the process of bringing the STEM Supercentre building at the front of the school closer to the Admin building. This will involve moving the fences across the current Admin carpark and onto some of the grassed area at the front of the school to allow for exploratory work in preparation for construction. Coolum High will be a hive of activity as we prepare for the significant growth of our region and our school. We are very fortunate to have the confidence of the government who continue to invest heavily in the growth and success of Coolum High.

With regards to our school uniforms, our Head of Student Services and long-time Coolum High teacher, Robbie Koch, recently remarked that we have never been in a better place with regards to our uniforms. The wearing of well-presented uniforms showcases our students as who they really are – resourceful, caring and respectful young men and women. I know that the professional presentation of our students in the community makes things like work placements so much easier to access and that our community are commenting upon how smart our students look around town. As we approach the winter term, it’s time to consolidate the wearing of the uniform and ensuring that students wear our official school jumper and not items including hoodies or undershirts. Also, it’s important that all students wear shorts and skirts that are of a corporate and professional length to ensure that students are presented in the way that is received so positively in the community. The holidays may represent a time to invest in any items of uniform needed at School Locker.

I would like to wish all our families the very best for the holidays – let’s enjoy some time off before we embark on our next Semester!

Troy Ascott
Principal

Deputy Principal - Junior Secondary Year 7

Tutorials

Our tutorial service at Coolum State High School is incredibly valued by the staff, students and the community. As the tutorial service has become increasingly popular—often exceeding 80 students—there has become a need to formalise the proceedings. As such students will need to sign in at the start of each session and these rolls will be retained as a record of attendance.

Term 3 tutorials will be facilitated in G Block from 3:00pm to 4:15pm on Wednesdays beginning in Week 3 and ending in Week 9. This is a fantastic opportunity for your child to receive extra assistance. Many of our staff freely give their time on a regular basis to support this program. It is another wonderful example on how Coolum State High School cares for the students learning.

Touch Academy

Congratulations to the Touch Academy Boys who won their Grand Final 9-6 yesterday afternoon at the Coolum Junior Touch Association. The girls narrowly lost their semi-final in 3-2 Drop-Off. Well done to all players involved, another fabulous season for both teams, we are looking forward to the competition next term.

Basketball Academy

With two of our three teams progressing to the finals tonight (as I write this article) we would like to wish them all the best. Our third team has performed excellently as well after a great demonstration of ability, just missing out in the semi-final. Their efforts have been rewarded this season and we look forward to their reports and the Term 3 season.

Academy Applications

If you would like to apply for one of our academies for 2020, you will need to obtain an application form from our school office asap. The academies include: Wind Symphony, Basketball, Touch, Surfing, Young Entrepreneurs and Cheerleading.

Anthony Swan
Deputy Principal

Deputy Principal - Junior Secondary Year
8 & 9

Our Vision: That students have the confidence, desire and belief to succeed through strong foundations in literacy and numeracy.

Staffing update for Term 3

Next term we welcome back Mr David Williams who returns from being on long-service leave in Term 2. I would like to thank Ms Leonie Corcoran for being with us in Term 2.

We also welcome back Mrs Belinda Lohmann and Mrs Shon Evans from maternity leave. It will be great to have both Shon and Belinda back on classes with us.

Year 8 Inter-school Sport

Well done to all of our Year 8 inter-school sporting teams this term. It was great to see them competing in touch, basketball, soccer and volleyball with a lot of success. Thanks to our teachers who managed the teams each week throughout the season and to Mr Smyth, our Sport Coordinator, for his leadership of this area.

Terry Proctor
Deputy Principal Junior Secondary

Deputy Principal –Senior Secondary Year
10

Excellence in everything we do

As we near the end of Term 2 and welcome the winter holiday break it is important that students finish the term with their best effort. Ensuring students have all of their assessment requirements complete and have sought feedback from teachers will allow students to understand where their areas of strength in learning are and where they need to target energy for improvement in Semester 2.

As always, we expect our students to strive towards improving their attendance percentage by coming to school up to and including the last day of Term 2.

Year 10 students are reminded to check the published academic benchmarks against their Semester 1 report card. I am so proud of all our students in Year 10 and all the achievements they have made as individuals and as a year level in Semester 1. I am looking forward to reading their report cards and celebrating their success with the students.

I wish everyone a safe and happy Winter holiday break spent with friends and family. Looking forward to a wonderful Semester 2!

Emma Clarke
Deputy Principal Senior Secondary Year 10

Deputy Principal - Senior Secondary Year
11 & 12

With the end of term approaching rapidly it is important that students attend school each and every day as there is still significant events for senior students’ right up to and including the last day of term. The Year 12 students will be visiting the University of the Sunshine Coast to explore what exciting things they have to offer for our students in 2020. Our Year 11 students are out Thursday Week 10 visiting the Queensland University of Technology at the Gardens Point campus or the TAFE campus in Southbank Brisbane. These Hello wold excursions have been a fantastic opportunity to investigate possible future educational options post Year 12.

Report cards are currently going through a final checking process and will be emailed home on Friday afternoon. If you wish to receive a hard copy of the report you can contact the office or for those on Q parents simply print the report card from there.

Finally we wish everyone a safe and enjoyable break.

Lee Merrett
Deputy Principal Senior Secondary

Business Services News

NOW is the time to complete your Student Resource Scheme form and make payment of the $300 fee. All other fees are also due and payable now. We move into SET Planning for senior schooling so it is vital that you have paid your 2019 SRS and all other outstanding fees to be eligible for subject selection.

Don’t forget that there are many payment options available to you such as BPOINT which is a direct debit into the school bank account, call the office to find out how to set this up. It’s very easy to do and takes only a couple of minutes to set up. I encourage all families to take up this option.

Have a safe and happy winter holiday break and we look forward to seeing you in Term 3.

QParents information

QParents is an Education Queensland Portal that allows parents to access their student’s financial invoices/payments, reports, absences/attendance and timetable all in one place. You are also able to make payments directly from this portal for outstanding invoices and is Education Queensland’s preferred method of payment. Please refer to the flyer below for more information.

Nolly Griffiths
Business Manager

English News

A change on the horizon

Semester 1 has been a great term for the students and teachers in English. Everyone has been working extremely hard to produce high quality assessment tasks in order to showcase their skills. Our Junior Secondary students are engaging with a Literacy Block at the start of every English lesson in order to improve and develop literacy skills. We are looking forward to see how much of an impact this has made on their Language Conventions test in Term 2.

Our first cohort of Year 11 students are well and truly underway with the new Senior English curriculum. We now offer three strands of English as part of the new QCAA course: Essential English (non-ATAR), General English (ATAR) and an additional elective–Literature. We have seen students step up to the mark and produce some great assessment items. We look forward to watching students develop and refine their skills in preparation for Units 3 and 4.

Our Year 10 students will experience a shift in Semester 2. Our Year 10 team has designed a course to allow students to be prepared for the new Senior English courses and in order to do this, classes will be readjusted from the start of Term 3. This will be based on a range of factors: future pathways, academic results, writing on Demand and previous NAPLAN results (if required to make an informed decision about the best subject choice). We hope to give students a preparatory experience in Essential and General English, as well as Literature to allow them every opportunity for success.

Emma Curnow
Head of Department English

Year 7C English and Humanities

MISS WALSH’S Year 7 Humanities and English SEMESTER WRAP-UP By Brianna Dietrich

This semester Miss Walsh’s Humanities and English classes, 7C, have been working very hard on their persuasive and narrative writing. They have explored topics such as The Water Cycle and Liveability and Songs of Social Comment.

In Week 2 of Term 2, ENG071C borrowed books from the library to read for homework. Students aim was to read for a minimum of 15 minutes per night. They also had spelling for homework as Miss Walsh made sure her class kept up on their amazing vocabulary. In this Term’s assessment the word limit was 500-700 but exceeding all expectations, some students went over these as keen writers of narrative. Next term in English, they will be doing a novel unit on Black Snake by Carole Wilkinson. This is an exciting novel on Ned Kelly which leads them to discuss if the famous bush ranger was a hero, victim or a villain.

In Humanities, 7C were the first in Year 7 to get 100% accuracy on a quizizz game and they put the challenge out to all classes. In the Term 1 Water Cycle culminating day, they had a little fundraiser for a charity they chose (e.g. Thankyou) and students made posters and learnt the water cycle dance. They had the moves too! In Term 2 they worked on liveability and have just completed a report based off the liveability of Albany, Broken Hill, Bathurst Island, Halls Gap or Mt Isa. Next term in Humanities, Year 7 will be working on Ancient Historical Civilizations, such as Greece and India.

This semester Miss Walsh’s Year 7 classes have completed every task handed to them. Tasks have been made easier with help from Miss Walsh and teacher aides (Kristal and Heather - Thanks so much for all of your help this semester). Both the English and Humanities classes have left a positive impact on their teacher’s teaching experience and the bonds we have formed this semester will continue to strengthen as we work together next semester.

Jennifer Walsh
Teacher

Performing Arts News

Year 8 Art students have been busy creating dot paintings during their recent lessons.

Chloe is pictured with her beautiful artwork titled 'White Snake'.

"My painting is about the movement of the white snake from the cool swamps to the hot deserts," said Chloe

Rohan Hardy
Head of Performing Arts

Year 12 News

The class of 2019 have had an excellent start to their final year of schooling. With an attendance level consistently close to 95% they have demonstrated care, respect, and excellence in all levels of their schooling. The students have been involved in exam week and are handling the pressures with their usual class.

This semester will culminate in the annual Midwinter’s Ball at Ramada Surf Air. This is a lovely, coming of age occasion enriched with suits, ball gowns, hairdos, flash cars, and all things glamour. As a school, we are very proud to host this auspicious event. It’s our way of telling the students we are cheering for them, and as teachers, it gives us no greater pleasure than to see the students transform from children into responsible adults. In my role as HOY, I am reminded every day of the care the teachers have for your children and we look forward to joining with you as parents to celebrate them.

Jeanette Samson
Head of Year 12

Vocational Education and Training (VET)

At Coolum High, we are committed to every student transitioning into further education, training or employment. Our vocational programs play a huge role in making this achievable and offer a range of pathways that see every student succeeding.

Year 10 Trade Taster Program Term 3 in-take

A number of Year 10 students submitted applications for the Term 3 in-take of the Trade Taster Program. The outcome of these applications will be advised by TAFE as soon as possible. Please note this program does not commence in Week 1, further information will be provided to successful applicants before the program starts.

TAFE at School Courses – Semester 2, 2019 Mid-Year intake (Years 10 and 11).

TAFE are offering a select number of programs across our TAFE campuses for a midyear intake. Please note due to the courses extending into 2020 or beyond the QCE crediting deadline, these are unsuitable for current Year 12s.

Courses now open for applications through the link below. Please use code 'TQEC1902' to access the application form.

School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeship (SATs) Vacancies

Under a SAT arrangement, a senior school student is released from school time to undertake an apprenticeship or traineeship in their chosen field. For further information, please speak to a staff member at the VET office in DBA.

Full Time Apprenticeship Vacancies

These opportunities are not school based. They would suit those looking to leave school as a priority and transition into the workforce.

By completing a Vocational Pathways Expression of Interest (EOI) form students will be registered to receive further information and support.

Defence Force Work Experience Program

Defence is committed to providing a national work experience program designed to:

• demonstrate the wide variety of interesting careers available within Defence;
• ease the transition of students into the workplace; and
• contribute to the development of the skills of young people.
• Please Note: The Defence Work Experience Program offers unpaid work experience for students residing in Australia.

See the exciting work experience placements that are on offer.

Full details can be found online at the link below.

Please contact me on pwald9@eq.edu.au or 5471 5321 to discuss matters relating to Vocational Education and Training at Coolum State High School.

Patrick Walden
Head of Department - Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Tutorials – Term 2

Sports News

Year 8 Interschool Sport

Our Year 8 sport team had a solid final round against Noosa District SHS. Results are as follows:

• Boys Basketball – won 56-36
• Girls Basketball – won 35-4
• Boys Volleyball – won 2-1
• Girls Volleyball – won 2-0
• Boys Touch – won 5-3
• Girls Touch – lost 6-1
• Boys Soccer – won 10-0
• Girls Soccer – lost 4-0

This meant that all 8 of our teams qualified for the finals day last week at Burnside. In a strong semi-final showing – five of our teams qualified for the Grand Final. Both Boys Touch and Boys Basketball had big wins over their opponents whilst Boys Volleyball and Boys Soccer went down and Girls Basketball had a nail biting 22-20 loss to Sunshine.

The overall winning school points came down to the last game with Sunshine narrowly pipping us at the post to take out the trophy 65 points to our 64.

I would like to thank all students who played this term they all displayed exemplary fair play and sportsmanship each week.

Full results from the Finals day are as follows:

• Boys Basketball def. Nambour in the final to finish 1st
• Girls Basketball def. by Sunshine Beach in the final to finish 2nd
• Boys Volleyball def. by Burnside in the final to finish 2nd
• Girls Volleyball def. by Sunshine in the 3/4 playoff to finish 4th
• Boys Touch def. Noosa 8-1 in the final to finish 1st
• Girls Touch def. Burnside 6-1 in the 3/4 playoff to finish 3rd
• Boys Soccer def. by Sunshine in the final to finish 2nd
• Girls Soccer def. Nambour in the 3/4 playoff to finish 3rd.

Year 7 Interschool Sport

Year 7 Interschool Sport permission forms are due back by today. We are looking forward to a smooth start to Year 7 Inter school sport next term in Week 3. See below for the draw:

• Week 3 v. Good Samaritan (A)
• Week 4 v. Burnside (H)
• Week 5 v. Nambour (A)
• Week 6 v. Sunshine (A)
• Week 7 v. Noosa (H)
• Week 8 – Catch up week for any washed out rounds
• Week 9 – Finals day at Nambour SC

Sporting Success

Well done to our Rugby League teams who won their games last week against Burnside and Nambour.

Congratulations to the Touch Academy Boys who won their Grand Final 9-6 yesterday afternoon at the Coolum Junior Touch Association. The girls narrowly lost their semi-final in 3-2 Drop-Off. Well done to all players involved. Another fabulous season for both teams, we are looking forward to the competition next term.

Coolum SHS Athletics Carnival

Our school athletics carnival is 25 and 26 July. Nominations are now closed. We are looking forward to two fantastic days of Athletics competition next term.

Girls Rugby

Girls Rugby 10s starts in Week 2 next term. We are reigning U14 undefeated premiers from last year and looking to extend on our success. If your daughter is interested in playing, please see Mr Smyth in the HPE staffroom. All age girls are welcome to sign up.

Eric Smyth
Teacher and Sport Co-Ordinator

Student Contribution - Jye Parkinson

GREEN STUFF

Top tips to reduce plastic use when eating out over the holidays:

1. BYO. Take your own reusables: water bottle, coffee cup, straw, utensils
2. Eat in. You typically get way less plastic waste eating in & more control over what you receive i.e. requesting coffee in a mug instead of a single use takeaway cup
3. Say No. If you don’t have your reusables on hand, say no to plastic lids and straws. They aren’t really that necessary.
4. Ask for a glass. It doesn’t hurt to ask. Many places giving out drinks in plastic cups, have real glassware behind the counter on request.
5. Choose wisely. Choose places that have good plastic free etiquette: providing table water in glasses, water jugs, or refillable stations; discounts for customers with BYO reusable cups; using takeaway foodware like cutlery & containers made from non-plastic materials like wood or bamboo

Enjoy the break!

Jye Parkinson
Student

International Study Tours

Enjoy hosting international students?

Hosting students is a lovely way to make a difference to the lives of growing individuals, while sharing your way of life and discovering more about theirs. We have a group visiting from South Korea from 21 July to 10 August. Please enquire with Choice Homestay for more sense of hosting opportunities, by visiting and expressing your interest at the link below.

Bus Pass Information 2019

Q: What is a Buslink Bus Pass?

A: The Queensland Government’s School Transport Assistance Scheme (STAS) provides assistance to enable eligible school students to attend education facilities. The Buslink Bus pass is distributed if you are eligible for such assistance

Q: Will I need to apply for a new bus pass for 2019?

A: If the below circumstances have changed for you and/or your student then you will need to apply for a new Buslink Bus Pass:

• your child is moving from primary school to secondary school
• you have changed address
• you have changed travel days
• you have enrolled them at a different school

Q: What happens if I currently have a Buslink Bus Pass and my circumstances haven’t changed?

A: Buslink will automatically print off a 2019 Buslink Bus pass for you and you will need to collect it from either your AM Buslink Bus Driver or at published pick up points at your school.

Q: How do I apply for a Buslink school travel pass?

A: Your child may be eligible for free bus travel. To download an application form head to your bus service Sunshine Coast. You can email your completed application to info.sunshinecoast@buslink.com.au or post to 11 Page St, Kunda Park Qld 4556.

If you don’t have access to a printer you’re welcome to ask one of our friendly Buslink drivers or come in to our office for an application.

Q: If my student is ineligible for a full Buslink Bus Pass travel, and only eligible for a Part Buslink Bus Pass, how do I pay the top up fare?

Students with a Buslink part pass (part payment) can purchase single, daily or weekly tickets from the bus driver using cash. If your student is travelling Monday to Friday in both morning and afternoons, it is cheaper to purchase a weekly ticket as you’ll receive a day free travel. Please do not pay your top up with a Go Card or you will be paying the full fare.

Q: If I’m not eligible for a Buslink Bus Pass, can I still travel on a Buslink Bus and how do I pay a fare?

If a student doesn’t qualify for a Buslink pass they will be required to pay the full cash fare or purchase a Go Card to save up to 30% off the full fare.

Q: If I or my child need a reminder of the Code of Conduct where do we find this information?

Buslink Buses are governed by the Code of Conduct. Similar to schools we have an expectation of behaviour that is acceptable on each bus and if that behaviour is breached then students will receive consequences for their behaviour. To view the code please go to: Code of conduct

General News

Dates for your Diary