16 September 2016

News from the Principal

The end of Term 3 is always a critical period for our senior students. In recent weeks our Year 12s have sat the Queensland Core Skills Test followed by an exam block. Performance in this testing period will be critical to informing final subject achievement. During the QCS, students who did not sit the test were engaged in a Transition Program which required them to complete outstanding coursework, engage in Work Experience and attend a mock job interview. Additionally students with outstanding course work were required to attend school during the exam block. The raising of the bar in respect to coursework requirements will realise more students completing the Queensland Certificate of Education upon school exit.

My congratulations to all involved in the organisation and running of the QCS Test. Certainly our senior cohort, after a thorough preparation program, applied themselves well over the two days of testing. Special thanks to the school’s P&C and in particular the canteen staff for the preparation of the lunches across the two days and Jindalee Rotary who supported our Chaplain Bernie McMullen in the provision of breakfast.

I also extend my thanks to all the Year 10 families for the strong engagement in the school’s SET Planning process. I trust that the quality dialogue around student aptitude, achievement and aspiration will realise good decision making in Senior School pathway and course selection.

Production

Congratulations to all staff and students involved in the recent Ferris Bueller’s Day Off production. The show was thoroughly entertaining and highlighted the talents of students from Years 7 to 12. The school’s enviable reputation for excellence in the Performing Arts appears in good hands with a host of talented young performers in our Junior years.

International Study Tours

Over the September holiday period we have eleven students and two teachers touring China. The group will visit a number of China’s renowned attractions as well as participating in a language immersion program at the Suzhou Science and Technology Town Foreign Language School. Centenary SHS has a strong connection with Suzhou having hosted several study tours from the city over the last 6 years.

International travel and cultural experiences are an important component of internationalism in schools. Many of our students will engage strongly with the global world as adults. The development of cultural sensibilities is a key attribute in this interconnected world.

Data Snapshot

The Next Step survey, undertaken by the Queensland Government, targets all students who completed Year 12 and gained a Senior Statement in 2015, whether they attended a government, Catholic or independent school, or a TAFE secondary college. The Queensland Government Statistician’s Office conducted the survey between March and June 2016, approximately six months after the young people left school.

In 2016, 63.1% of young people who completed Year 12 at Centenary State High School in 2015 continued in some recognised form of education and training in the year after they left school. The most common study destination was Bachelor Degree (45.8%). The combined VET study destinations accounted for 17.3% of respondents, including 11.2% in campus-based VET programs, with 7.8% of Year 12 completers entering programs at Certificate IV level or higher. 6.1% commenced employment-based training, either as an apprentice (3.4%) or trainee (2.8%).

In addition to the above study destinations, a further 10.1% of respondents from this school deferred a tertiary offer in 2016 (deferrers are included in their current destination). 36.9% did not enter post-school education or training, and were either employed (22.3%), seeking work (11.2%) or not in the labour force, education or training (3.4%).

Work Experience

Year 10 students undertook structured work placement in Week 10 of this term. Work experience has a valuable place in the school curriculum and is positioned in Year 10 to inform students around career options and consequent subject selections. Additionally the program forms part of the requirements of the Certificate II Skills for Work and Training. My thanks to the many members of the Centenary Business Community who have provided placement opportunities for students as well as the Senior Schooling team who have worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the program.

Student Success

Congratulations to Year 10 students Abigail Kassing and Vy Nguyen, who have won the UQ Young Achievers Award for 2017.

Topping off a fantastic term of Sport Achievement, congratulations to Jordi Capdevila (Year 10), Michael Melvin (Year 10), Aaron Berkeley (Year8), Sam Berkeley (Year 8) and Jakob Houghton (Year10) who have been selected in the Metropolitan West Athletics team.

Enjoy your Spring Holiday.

John Brew, Principal
Email: admin@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au

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Newsletter Articles

News from the Business

Keep a watch on our school these holidays

With the holidays fast approaching, we need you to look out for after-hours crime in our school. If you see anything suspicious, please call School Watch on 13 17 88.

The School Watch program is a partnership between the Department of Education, Training and Employment, the Queensland Police Service and the State Government Protective Security Service. It aims to reduce vandalism, theft and arson in Queensland schools.

If you do see something suspicious, please don’t attempt to intervene. Call the School Watch number and let the local police or State Government Protective Security Service deal with the matter. Keep the number handy—13 17 88—and let’s work together to help create a safer school community.

Clearance Forms

At the end of each school year, all students are required to complete an End of Year Clearance Form and return it to the office. This form ensures that resources borrowed from the school are returned and accounted for. These items may include textbooks, library books, musical instruments and other equipment.

This checklist also assists parents to confirm all absences are explained, outstanding fees have been finalised and gives the opportunity to update personal information.

Clearance forms will be issued in the first week of term 4 and will also be available on our website.

School Fees

All school fees for 2016 are due on the 31st October, unless you have entered into a payment plan. If your family is experiencing financial difficulties, please contact the school office to make alternative payment arrangements.

Payment Options

Payment of the participation fee may be made over the counter by cheque or cash or EFTPOS (Debit Card; MasterCard or Visa) or by direct deposit (internet banking), or BPOINT. The Direct deposit, BPay and BPOINT option allows parents the convenience of making payments from home and alleviates the need to pay over the counter transactions in person.

BPOINT

BPOINT is an additional payment method which is available to all parents/carers to pay school invoices. The internet web link enables you to authorise to have your credit or debit card in a secure environment. BPOINT offers several payment options including:

• Internet payment via web link
• Single direct debit
• Re-occurring direct debit

All future invoices and statements will display this payment option. You will need the Customer Reference Number (CRN) which is printed on the bottom of your invoice or statement before payment can be processed.

For more information and the link to BPOINT please see our website:

Internet Banking

For payments made by direct deposit (internet banking) use the details that are indicated on the front of the invoice or statement. The reference space provided for these payments is only 15 characters long. Please ensure that either the Debtor ID or Invoice number is recorded in this space.

Parent Experiencing Financial Difficulties

A parent wishing to participate in the Student Resource Scheme and are experiencing financial hardship is encouraged to contact the Business Services Manager to discuss how their financial obligations can be met throughout the school year, or to negotiate alternative arrangements that may be available to accommodate their individual circumstances. All discussions will be held in the strictest confidence.

Charmaine Macaulay
Email: cmaca5@eq.edu.au

News from Education Adjustment Centre

This week all students studying Pathways to Success are heading to Bribie Island for the annual camp. This camp provides students an opportunity to practice the skills they have been developing in class throughout the year. Years 7 and 8 students will be assessed on trying new things and various life skills, Years 9 and 10 students will be assessed on their team skills and life skills and the senior students will be assessed on their ability to lead a team and also run activities on camp. All students have been involved in preparing snacks for camp and have enjoyed the process of choosing and baking foods for morning and afternoon tea. On camp all students will be involved in preparing at least two meals. Everyone is looking forward to the experience of camp and a chance to try activities that are new and exciting.

This term we welcomed two new staff members, Miss Cyan Curtis-Taylor and Mr Ken Zylstra. Miss Taylor has taken over the role of Case Manager for Year 11 students and Mr Zylstra is looking after the Year 9 students.

Finally, it was fantastic to see a large number of SWD involved in the school production. I know these students spent many hours preparing and practising for the performances and it was wonderful to see students pushing through some of their fears and anxieties as they got up and performed in front of an audience. It is also wonderful that so many students were working behind the scenes, painting sets, organising lighting and managing the show. Congratulations to all involved!

Nicole Donaldson
Email: ndona5@eq.edu.au

News from the Chaplain

Whether we like it or not, the fact remains that the adults who are in charge of us as we grow up have a significant influence on our lives and on our behaviour, regardless of whether they are birth parents, step-parents or foster parents.

As parents, it is our job to guide our children to become responsible and respected members of society. We need to teach them to be considerate of others, to talk through problems instead of getting into arguments, and to obey the law.

Please be aware though, that our children learn much more from what we do, than from what we say. You are your child’s role model. If you are not considerate of others, if you yell and scream when things aren’t going your way and you are in the habit of breaking road rules and other laws, then that is the pattern of behaviour that your child will most likely adopt.

Work hard at being the best role model you can be for your child. Be a loving, thoughtful and responsible parent, and you are more likely to have the pleasure of watching your child grow into an adult son or daughter that you are truly proud of.

A message from Chappy Bernie

HOW TO BUILD CONFIDENCE
Andrew Fuller

Confidence is one of the most powerful, and one of the most elusive, qualities that creates success in life. Building confidence means that we develop the courage to try out new things. Unless we are exceptionally talented, most of us approach new activities with a slight apprehension, which is usually followed by bewilderment and confusion. Our first attempts may be feeble but if we persist we often gain a sense of mastery. If, however, someone rescues us when we are bewildered we learn that someone else can do what we cannot. This is why rescuing children when they are struggling with a new activity is toxic to confidence. There are several steps to creating and building confidence.

Trust your child - Nothing builds confidence more than trust. One of the best ways of communicating your trust is to ask your child for help. Requesting assistance communicates to a child that you regard them as capable and competent. Letting your children cook with you can be a good place to start.

Live a bold and adventurous life - One of the best ways to develop confidence is to live an expansive life in which you do different things, eat new foods, go to strange places, see new shows or movies and try out things you wouldn’t usually have a go at.

For parents this means encouraging adventure and teaching safety along with way. Kids are more durable than we give them credit for.

Develop a yes bias – This means developing a personal motto that generally says “why not?” For example, if someone says, “Let’s go to France”, you try to say, “Sure let’s find out a way we could do that”. If a child says I want frog legs and ice cream for dinner you say, “You find the frogs, I’ll get the ice cream”.

Trust your own intuition - If you're full of self-doubt, your kids will be too. Practice trusting your intuition and hunches and follow them wisely.

Don’t fall into the avoidance trap - When you avoid something you fear, your fear grows. What is avoided looms larger and appears more daunting, what is attempted lessens in size. While it might seem like a kindness to help people opt out of things they are fearful of doing, mostly it just makes them more fearful.

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that things are difficult.” – Seneca

Copyright Andrew Fuller www.andrewfuller.com.au

Follow the 80/20 rule – No-one is confident at everything all the time. We all have hesitations and setbacks. Aim to be bold and confident about 80% of the time. In many areas of life, it is the predominant pattern that counts long term.

Know that first past the post isn’t always the best - The person who can achieve a skill first is often not the best at that skill long-term. In fact there are considerable advantages in being a little bit older when you start new activities.

Set Probability Goals - A probability goal is a challenge that includes an error margin. For example, a parent might say to a child, “Let’s see if you can throw a ball into a hoop on the ground 7 times out of 15 throws”. As a child becomes more skilful we might then increase the challenge of the task by moving the hoop further away and say, “Ok, it’s harder now. Let’s see if you can throw the ball into the hoop 9 times out of 20”. Probability goals help us learn how to challenge ourselves and also make it less likely that we will give up if we don’t get 100% first time.

Little steps lead to giant leaps - When we focus on our strengths we build the confidence to tackle areas where we are not so capable. Most highly skilled and confident people deliberately practise skills that they are not good at. They go out of their way to put themselves in challenging situations so they can become more skilled. For example, top golfers often put golf balls into the trickiest part of a bunker so they have to develop the skills to make those shots. People only learn to deliberately practice skills that they are not so good at when someone has clearly told them that they believe in them and that mistakes are the only way to get better at something. If we can’t learn to make mistakes, we can’t learn to improve. People who make no mistakes do not usually make anything.

Build a have-a-go culture - People often express their insecurities by claiming that they can’t do something or by comparing themselves negatively with others. For example, “I am the world’s worst dancer” or “I’m no good at Maths”. When someone makes comments like these, acknowledge their feelings and help them to express them verbally. Ask them what makes them feel that way. Accept their fears or insecurities as genuine but don’t agree with their self-assessment. For example, you might say, “I get it that you are struggling at Maths, how can we work on it to make it easier? Confident people make plans to improve in areas they initially find difficult.

Be on a continual treasure hunt – Devote your life toward looking for the best in yourself and in others. Focus on successes, skills and abilities. Be resolutely positive and follow the role model of Thomas Edison who, after trying 10,000 times to develop an electric light bulb, said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Copyright Andrew Fuller www.andrewfuller.com.au

If I can help in any way please contact me: bmcmu27@eq.edu.au or phone the office 07 33734531.

Bernie McMullen, Chaplain
Email: bmcmu27@eq.edu.au

News from the School Nurse

Help your teenager to beat exam stress

It’s normal for teenagers to feel stressed out in the lead up to exams, particularly those teenagers in Year 12. Your teenager may only get stressed about just one or two exams or it may be that every exam leads to increased stress.

Stress around exam time can not only impact on a young person’s general wellbeing, but it can also be difficult for the whole family. It’s important to learn how to support your teenager during exam time to help them manage their stress and reduce tension at home.

ReachOut Parents has over 140 fact sheets and practical tools. Here are a few that will help you support your teenager with exam stress:

The service also provides an online community forum so that parents/carers can connect with each other to share experiences in an anonymous, supportive space.

Dyanne Moxham, School Based Youth Health Nurse
Email: admin@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au

News from the Sports Director

Metropolitan Finals

The Year 7 Girls Volleyball team went through to the second round of Metropolitan Finals for the winter season. The girls trained hard with their coach Ms Moon every Friday AM break in order to prepare. The improvement in the team was amazing and their commitment and dedication was truly admirable. Mr Webber also attended training sessions in order to help the team with their volleyball skills. On Thursday September 1 the Volleyball team played against Redbank Plains SHS and unfortunately after two close sets we did not come away with the win. With continued training and commitment I am sure that this team will continue to do well in the future.

Interhouse Competition

We have now concluded our first round in futsal which saw Jarup take a clean sweep in every year level. Two finals had to go to penalty shoot outs which was very exciting. It was amazing to see so many students at lunch time either playing or watching their houses compete. This is organised and led by the house captains so if you are interested in competing in one of the competitions make sure you listen to the notices and see your house captains in the sports foyer to nominate on the day.

The next sport the houses participated in was basketball. It was nice to see other houses win! Curragundi won the Years 7 and 8 competition - 7 to 4 against Moolanda in the final. The Years 9 and 10 competition saw Moolanda have their first win in the interhouse competition. The highlight of the week was the Years 11 and 12 students competing for the title. The games were very intense and were played with great sportsmanship. The final result saw Moolanda defeating Curragundi in the final.

Next term the two sports that the house captains have chosen are volleyball and touch football. It is great to see the students participating in physical activity at AM break and I strongly encourage everyone to get involved.

QLD AllSchools Touch Football

Centenary SHS has an Open Boys Touch Football team that has entered the QLD AllSchools Touch Football Championship to be held in October. This is the first time we have entered this Championship and the team has been training extremely hard throughout the year. The team also competes every Friday night in a competition run by Brisbane Metropolitan Touch Association at Whites Hill. The competition at Whites Hill is extremely competitive and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the team improve and step up to the level that they need to play at in order to be competitive. Results will be published on Facebook if you wish to follow the successes of the team.

Rugby League Detention Centre Friendly Game

This term our senior boys from Centenary SHS went to the Wacol Youth Detention Centre to play a Rugby League game. The final score was 28 to 20 to the Detention Centre. It was a hard fought match that was played with a great spirit. Apart from a brief structural defensive lapse late in the first half the boys played with aplomb and heart.

Reporting Results

• The annual sports awards will be held in Term 4. In order to ensure that students are receiving the correct awards and are not missing out, it is important that I am informed of any sporting team that a student makes. This way our records will be up to date and the awards night will run smoothly.
• Students can see me in Staffroom 4 or results can be emailed to tnasa1@eq.edu.au.

Sports Calendar

Centenary SHS Sport Calendar can be accessed via PDF and is available at the following web address:

It contains all the latest sporting events and dates. Please take some time to have a look at this to keep up to date with all the latest happenings in sport.

Tamara Nasalio, Sports Director
Email: tnasa1@eq.edu.au

Cultural News

Welcome to the end of Term 3. I hope that everyone has a wonderful spring break, and catches up on rest ready for a busy Term 4.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off - The Musical!

Wow!!! What an amazing show!!! A huge effort from everybody involved to create three spectacular shows across two days. The 130 plus students involved did an outstanding job in their range of roles including actors, dancers, singers, musicians, and backstage crew. Thank you to everyone who came to watch one of the three performances. Big thanks to all of the Arts staff for their tireless and outstanding work. Congratulations to all involved who made our major performance for the year such a successful occasion!

Vocal Ensemble Melbourne Trip

As we go to “print”, the Vocal Ensemble will be in Melbourne competing at the AUSACA National A Cappella championships. The students have worked extremely hard to produce some wonderful music, and we wish them every success in the competition. A huge thank you goes out to Alex Van den Broek who has done an absolutely stellar job in preparing the ensemble!

Cultural Awards

Nominations for Presentation Night Cultural Awards are now open. These awards are given to students based on their efforts in Extra-Curricular Cultural activities at Centenary SHS. Forms are available from the CPAC box office, and all nominations close Friday 16 September (last day of Term 3). Please make sure you get your nomination in if you wish to be considered for an award, as late nominations will not be accepted.

Music Supplies

As most of you would be aware, The Best Music Shop at Jindalee recently closed its doors for good. It was always handy having a music shop nice and close for consumables and other items. The closest music shop for us now would be School Locker at Oxley, or Music 440 at Indooroopilly. The education department has recently released a list of preferred musical instrument suppliers who also offer special rates for instrument purchases for state school students who are in the instrumental music program. Should you be interested in purchasing a new instrument, I can supply a letter to take to any of the listed retailers to confirm that you are a state school music student to obtain the special rates. Below is a list of those suppliers and their specialties (please note that not all stores are based in Brisbane).

Upcoming Events

Some of our flagship events are coming up in Term 4, so please check your email and notices for announcements, due dates and required payments. Events include the Primary School Tour, Presentation Evening, Arts Shirt Embroidery and Cultural Dinner.

Looking forward to seeing you at one of our events over the next couple of months.

Mark Watkins, Cultural Director
Email: mwatk16@eq.edu.au

Junior Secondary News

The past few weeks have seen a great deal of positive student activity in the Junior School across all three year levels.

Pirate Day was a hugely successful team-building experience held last month for our Year 8s. It was wonderful to see the students working collaboratively with their HG teachers on a range of team challenges throughout the day. Staff and students alike donned their best pirate gear – all seemed to enjoy wearing their pirate hats, eye patches and fake tattoos! The fun and festivities culminated in the heats and final Pirate Ship race, which was won by Yallambee 8B. Well done Mr Naidoo and students! A huge thank you to Mrs Debra Mansini who organised this fantastic event!

Last Friday night we hosted a fundraiser for Chaplain Bernie in the form of a Blue Light Disco. Whilst open to all students in the Junior School, it was most heavily attended by Year 7s and some Year 8 students. CPAC was abuzz with loud teenage music, flashing lights, glow sticks and very excited young teens! It was wonderful to see them enjoying themselves so much. Many thanks to Mitch Holmes and his crew of backstage/lighting students who ran the disco, to the P&C volunteers who greatly assisted with the organisation, and teaching staff who helped with the supervision.

In 2015, HPE teacher Lachie Gibbs introduced the inaugural Centenary SHS Junior Gift Race. This Junior School event involves not only our greatest athletes from Years 7, 8 and 9, but also some very talented performers from the Junior School. This year’s race was just as exciting as the first. Twenty-four of our fastest Years 7, 8 and 9 male and female students competed in the handicapped start race. It was very much a student-centred event. Year 9 students, Mohammad and Melanie assisted Lachie Gibbs as roving reporters. Students from the Performance Plus and Music Extension classes provided the entertainment between the exciting heats that were fiercely competed. The final event was a closely-run final which saw Year 8 student Cole Pirrit cross the line first – well done Cole who is the Centenary SHS Junior Gift Champion of 2016! Thanks, too, to Lachie Gibbs who organised the event again this year.

2016 has seen many of our Junior Students achieve at high levels in the areas of sports, the Arts, academically, or in making contributions to the school or wider community. It will be fantastic to see these students recognised at our annual Presentation Evening on Thursday October 27. For students and parents/carers new to Centenary SHS, this is a signature event on our annual calendar, one not to be missed.

As Term 4 quickly approaches, we look to planning for 2017 in the Junior School. One of the foremost events is the selection of our incoming Junior School Captains. Over the next few weeks the applicants will be shortlisted based on their written applications. Students will then give a speech to the Year 8 cohort, before staff and student voting occurs. The final part of this selection process will involve an interview with two staff members. This cohort has such great depth of leadership skills! Our 2017 Junior School Captains will be announced at the Presentation Evening. I hope to see many of you there!

Regards,

Angela McKay, Junior Secondary
Email: amcka18@eq.edu.au

News from English

As we are almost at the end of Term 3, and students in all year levels are busy with assessment in their subjects, it is timely to give a reminder about the school policy on due dates:

1. Drafts are expected to be submitted on the due date. These dates have been carefully planned to allow time for feedback and for students to edit and improve their work.
2. Final copies, along with task sheet and draft/s, must be submitted on the due date.
3. Students may apply to the Head of Department for an extension if unforeseen circumstances occur. This application must happen before the due date.
4. If students are absent on a due date, they must still submit their work by email to their teacher. A hard copy can be brought to school on the next day the student attends, along with a note (medical certificate in the senior school - QCAA requirement) explaining the absence. Scripts for speaking tasks must also be submitted on the due date.
5. Technical/computer issues are often the reason for assignments being submitted late. Students must develop the habit of backing up their work, so that if a computer crashes, there is still a copy on a USB, on the student’s home drive at school or sent as an email attachment, and the task can still be submitted on time. The school’s assignment policy, as outlined in the student diary, clearly states that no allowance will be made for work lost due to computer failure.

At the start of Term 3, students were provided with detailed semester overviews, and therefore have plenty of notice of their due dates for English. Students, developing good personal organisational skills will stand you in good stead for the future.

Two weeks ago our Year 10 students, and their parents/carers, completed the SET Plan process. The decision in English is whether to enrol in Authority English or English Communication for Years 11 and 12. Students need to be aware that, in each of these subjects, they will be required to complete speaking tasks with their class as their audience. Tasks of this kind are also completed in Years 7 to 10 so, by Senior, all students should be comfortable in giving speaking presentations. Developing this confidence is critical so that our young people can go out into the world and successfully interact in many different contexts; such as job interviews and dealing with customers or clients.

ICAS: the results of the Writing and English competitions will be announced, and certificates distributed, early in Term 4.

Angela Maguire, English HOD
Email: amagu7@eq.edu.au

Brisbane Writer’s Festival

On Friday September 9, 50 students from Years 8, 9 and 10 attended the Brisbane Writers Festival. The Brisbane Festival: Word Play was an opportunity for students to be connected through story. We had the pleasure of listening to and being inspired by a number of successful authors including Mark Levithan, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Jaclyn Moriarty, Melina Marchetta and Mark Smith.

There were are number of messages students took from this experience however the one message that emerged as the most significant was to learn to use your own life as inspiration because every voice matters.

Bree Hudson, English & Visual Art Teacher
Email: bhuds42@eq.edu.au

News from Health & Physical Education

Met West Track and Field

After a very successful District Competition, Centenary SHS’s Track and Field students moved on to the next level of competition at the Regionals. This is where students compete against the top students in the region for a place in the Met West team to compete at the State Secondary School Championships.

A record number of students from Centenary SHS competed and acquitted themselves well in the main stadium at QSAC. Many students attained PBs and a number gained selection in the Met West Team. It was awesome to see so many students doing so well representing themselves and the School and displaying the legendary ‘Croc’s Creed’.

A number of students narrowly missed out on selection and this has whet their appetite to come back stronger in 2017. Well done to all students who competed and we look forward to the State Championships. Centenary will also be entering a team in the Queensland Athletics All Schools early in October.

Overall the Athletics season has been a resounding success and I thank all students and staff who have worked tirelessly in the program.

Please see below for some highlights from Met West Athletics

Selected in Regional Team:

Jordi Capdevila (Gold Hurdles; Silver High Jump, Triple Jump; Bronze Long Jump)
Samuel Berkeley (Gold 400m; Silver 200m)
Michael Melvin (Silver Steeple)
Jakob Houghton (Long Jump qualified on the basis of distance)
Aaron Berkeley (1500m qualified on the basis of time)
Other Notable performances:
Arno Vermeulen (Silver Javelin)
Kirstyn Hagger (Silver Hurdles)
Emma McCulloch (Bronze Hurdles)
Melina Burns (4th Shotput and Javelin)
Amy Lightbody (.06 off 100m selection)

Richard Haines, HPE HOD (Acting) / Track and Field Coordinator
Email: rhain0@eq.edu.au

News from Humanities

The National Geography Competition results are finally in. Geography teachers have hosted this international competition every year for the last 14 years, but we had a record number of participants this year, thanks to the drive and enthusiasm of all Humanities staff. It was great to see so many students interested in this annual event. Congratulations to the many students from various year levels who achieved the following results and who were presented with their certificates on a whole school assembly in Week 10.

Participation is voluntary and students must respond to 30 – 50 multiple choice questions, similar to the QCS Test, relating to geographical concepts. This year’s International Geography Olympiad was in Beijing and Australian teams took out Gold and Silver places.

Deb Mansini, Year 8 Coordinator / Senior Languages & Geography Teacher
Email: dmans17@eq.edu.au

News from the Arts

Term 3 has been a very successful term for the Arts Faculty. I have been blown away by the amazing performances and the high quality work that students are achieving across the Arts subjects. We have some very hard-working and talented students at our school.

This Saturday is the culminating performance night for the Year 12 Music Extension students and it is promising to be a very special night. They will be joined by members of the Year 11 Music class who will be performing their assessment work.

This week I saw two performances by the Performance Plus students. The first was the rehearsal of the opening and closing scenes of their musical which will be performed next term. It looks and sounds great. There was so much energy on the stage, it made me want to be young again!

The second event was several small group performances at Mt Ommaney Special School for the Sports Day. The Performance Plus students were very keen to perform at this event and they were a wonderful support to the students as they competed in their sporting activities.

A big congratulations to all the Arts students for the brilliant work they have completed this term, and I wish all of you the very best in your upcoming assessment tasks.

Daniel Philippe, The Arts HOD
Email: dphil31@eq.edu.au

News from Year 12

You and your students may have noticed how many key events have been ticked off for your Year 12 student in the last couple of weeks. The QCS Test went smoothly for everyone, most students were smiling even before they went into the exam. Support and acknowledgement needs to be given to Mr McDonald and Ms Raven for their professionalism and efficiency in running the four exams, and to John Pitt, Terry O’Brien, Bernie McMullen and Rotary for their friendly and generous cooking skills.

A huge hand needs to be given to Mr Homer, for organising such good-quality interviewers for our Transition students. Approximately 60 students had appointments for practice job interviews at both South Bank and Ipswich, and almost all received really good responses. Students commented about how useful the immediate feedback was, they looked very professional. Special commendation needs to be given to Jessica Marquardt, Holly McCulloch and Aleah Hagger, who received exceptional feedback for their enthusiasm, presentation and for almost being over-qualified for their age!

A small follow-up for our 25 students who participated in the Mission Australia Winter Sleepout in August: the students successfully raised over $650 for their efforts. Congratulations! The Year 12 Council will have a follow-up food drive for the homeless in Term 4.

The Red Cross Blood Drive is occurring very soon on October 31 and November 1 in Term 4. We still have over 40 students who need to return their registration forms by the end of the term to participate. A visit this week from Paul Stanley, from the Matthew Stanley Foundation and the One Punch Can Kill campaign, highlighted what positive differences students can make by donating blood, or already signing up for the organ donor registration.

Naturally, Term 4 is the culmination of so many milestones. The most obvious ones are our Formal, Mystery Tour and Graduation. Many students are in the process of booking their pre-formal services. To help confirm those bookings, the following info will be useful.

Formal date: Wednesday November 16.
Time: 7-11pm. Students may start arriving from 6pm, for the parents’/carers’ reception on the terrace.

Costs have not been finalised for these events, but the Formal will be approximately $100, and the Mystery Tour around $120.

Underlying all of these goings-on is the message for students to keep their eye on the main purpose for being here: to complete their studies to get their QCE. This doesn’t just mean making sure work levels don’t fall away in Term 4, but also making sure good self-care practices are kept in place. This means 9 hours of sleep, good quality food for brain function, a balance in their social life, and knowing who their support people are.

Enjoy a well-earned break! Not long to go!

Danielle Ringrose, Year 12 Coordinator
Email: dring3@eq.edu.au

News from Year 10

I has been an extremely busy term for our Year 10 cohort. Students have been bombarded with information regarding subject selections, SET planning and work experience. Earlier in the term we enjoyed an incredible three days away on camp. Close to 200 students embarked on Maranatha Outdoor Education Centre in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Students participated in a range of challenging activities including a High Ropes Course, Possum Pull, Tower of Tremble and lots more. It was an amazing time of bonding and team building and I’ve only received positive feedback from the camp.

It was extremely exciting to be a part of the SET plan process back in August. A highlight for me was to witness our young people take ownership of their senior phase of education and sit down with parents/carers and mentors to discuss their future path.

Work experience commenced at the beginning of Week 10 and I’m looking forward to hearing all the fantastic stories that filter back in from our community.

I hope everyone has a relaxing break over the September holidays and I look forward to starting Term 4 with a bang!

Regards

Lachie Gibbs, Year 10 Coordinator
Email: lgibb23@eq.edu.au

Cupcake Day

The Student Forum supported the RSPCA on August 15 by holding a CUPCAKE DAY. A lot of preparation had gone into planning and making this event happen which included advertising the day, baking cupcakes, setting up and decorating the stall, deciding on the prices and selling the delicious cupcakes.

Thank you to the staff and students who supported the day. We raised $480 to donate to RSPCA. Also special thanks to the families who baked cupcakes to sell AND special thanks to the student leaders for their hard-work, dedication and enthusiasm. GREAT team effort.

Berenice Furlong, Year 9 Coordinator / Student Forum Coordinator
Email: bfurl1@eq.edu.au

News from Year 8

Dear Parents and Carers,

Ahoy! Well, the Pirate Day has been and gone, an enjoyable day was had by all concerned. The costumes were great and a great deal of enthusiasm was obvious. (And that was just the teachers!!!) The aim was to build team spirit and challenge students to work with each other in small groups to perform small tasks to earn ‘pirate dollars’ for their HG, in order to ‘buy’ building materials for their Pirate Ship. The other main aim was to have fun. Pre-teens and teens can be a hard audience (as you would well know...), but I believe that most students did enjoy the day as evidenced by the many happy snaps taken on the day, there wasn’t a face without a smile all day. I have asked students for feedback and will incorporate this into planning for next year’s event where possible. (Sorry to whoever suggested the wall to wall Gummibears)

Sea Captain Homer with Guidance Officer Robyne and Nurse Dy

The formal applications for leadership will have been submitted by the time you read this newsletter. All applicants will be notified before the holidays as to who was successful in being shortlisted for next term’s speeches and interviews. This gives students an opportunity to gather their thoughts over the break. Speeches will be presented to the Year 8 cohort in Week 2 with voting and formal interviews to take place after that. The successful applicants and their parents/carers will be informed in time for an announcement on Presentation Evening which is on Thursday October 27, 7.00pm start in the Sport and Recreation Centre.

A huge thanks also to Lachie Gibbs, the Year 10 Coordinator and sports teacher extraordinaire who, along with his band of hard-working student helpers, organised and ran the recent GIFT Race. Students are invited to race, depending on their performance at the Sports Carnival and the whole Junior School gathers on the oval to cheer them on. This annual event is a fixed highlight on the school calendar.

Next term our focus is on planning for Year 9. In HG sessions, students will also rotate through a series of talks from our guidance officers and other support staff around the issues of friendship. Students will be provided with a valuable resource, which I will flag in an email so you know when to expect it. This brochure will hopefully go some way in helping to outline some strategies that you, as parents/carers may find useful.

A list of Year 8 HG Teachers

CU08A - Bree HUDSON
CU08B - Vanessa DUSCHKA
CU08C - Siew Lin TEH
JA08A - Alison WILLIAMS
JA08B - Shanti REDDY
MO08A - Amy KITTER
MO08B - Peter WINN
YA08A - David FREELAND
YA08B - Tony NAIDOO

Please contact me any time if you have concerns regarding the welfare of your student.

Deb Mansini, Year 8 Coordinator
Email: dmans17@eq.edu.au

News from our Canteen

The Canteen held its last Red Day of the term on Friday September 2 and it was a very successful day. The theme was Goodbye Winter and Hello Spring.

The Canteen also offers hot meals for the students. The meals are all prepared and cooked in the Canteen. A selection of meals that have been on offer over the last month have been:

Crispy Sweet and Sour Chicken and Rice
Fried Rice
Spaghetti Bolognese
Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta
Green Chicken Curry
Roast Meal - Mashed potato, Vegetables, Meat and Gravy
Nachos - Healthy School Approved version
Peanut Chicken Satay and Rice
Country Vegetable Pies
Chicken Korma and Rice
Butter Chicken and Rice

A selection of different salads will be offered next term and also some Vegan meals.

Cheryl Mulcahy, Senior Managing Convenor
Email: cmulc11@eq.edu.au

News from our P&C

FACEBOOK page – The P&C have started a Facebook page called Centenary SHS Parent Group. You can do a search in Facebook and it will come up. Please send a request to join and Lucinda or Jenny (our administrators and P&C Executive members) will check that you have a current or future student at the school. It’s a forum where parents/carers of children attending Centenary SHS can seek and share information regarding local school events, daily general information, reminders about events coming up within the school, uniform sales, lost property at school, etc. Updates to our Trivia night will be posted here as well. No negative posts at all will be tolerated.

P&C UNIFORM SHOP NEWS

October Uniform Try-On Sessions

The Uniform Shop will be conducting 'Try-On ' afternoons for the 2017 Year 7 students in October. We will be having 4 afternoon sessions as follows:

Volunteers Needed

We need volunteers to help us at each of these sessions to facilitate the smooth running of this event. No previous experience needed, just a willingness to help the new pupils and their parents/carers become familiar with our uniform and what their needs will be for next year.

If you can spare a couple of hours on one of these afternoons, then please let me know at pandc@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au, your assistance would be greatly appreciated. You do not have to be a member of the P&C to help out. We will also need volunteers to help us on the January dates below.

If your student grows over the holidays, the uniform can be exchanged for a larger size in January as long as it is unworn, unwashed and in its original condition.

January 2017 Uniform Sales

Please try and purchase/order all your uniforms before the end of the current school year as we have limited opening times in the week before school goes back in January 2017. There will be opportunity on the following dates for sales and collections to be made from the Uniform Shop, however, QUEUES ARE USUALLY LONG AND THE TEMPERATURES ARE HIGH. Your patience will be required.

Uniform purchases can be made on any normal uniform shop day until the end of the school year (8am to 11am Mon-Wed) and we encourage you to take up this option.

Secondhand Uniforms - Secondhand uniforms can be donated to the uniform shop or you can advertise what you have to sell or would like to buy on our Facebook page (see details above).

ATTENTION ALL YEAR 9 STUDENTS

Senior Shirts for 2017

Please head down to the Uniform Shop

WHY: To order/purchase your white Senior Shirt for next year
It is compulsory for all Year 10 students to be wearing the white senior shirts.
WHEN: Between 8am and 11am Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday
WHY: Because if you do not do this, then you run the risk of not having a shirt for the start of the new school year.

You must do this before the end of October, because if your size is not currently available in stock, then orders will need to be placed for delivery the week before school starts in January.

Girls Senior Blouse - $45
Boys Senior Shirt - $42

You are most welcome to attend any of our meetings to find out more about our school community.

The next P&C meeting will be Wednesday October 19 at 7pm.

Helen Shogren, P&C President Centenary SHS
Email: pandc@centenaryshs.eq.edu.au

World Education Program Australia

Year 9s! What are your plans for 2017? Spend Semester Two on exchange and gain memories and skills for life! WEP is offering students in Year 9 a $500 discount off their student exchange program fee for programs departing in 2017! Don’t miss out! Apply before 30 November 2016!

Project Solar Air

Scorpion International Tennis Vacation Clinic

Jamboree Heights Swimming Club

The Jamboree Heights Swimming Club held an Open Day and Sign On for the 2016/17 Season on Saturday September 3, from 10.30am to 1.30pm.

We welcome any new swimmers aged 5 and up, who are keen to join our club.

The Jamboree Heights Swimming Club is located in Beanland St, Jamboree Heights, just next to the Jamboree Heights State School. You do not need to be attending this school in order to swim with us. The club trains in a 25m heated pool all year.

Our Head Coach, Olympian Kenrick Monk, and members of our committee were there at the Open Day and answered questions. New swimmers to the club are welcome to come along with their swimwear, and be assessed on their swimming ability to determine their level in our swimming program. The club offers both swimming lessons and squad training for all ability levels.

You can book an assessment by contacting Angie at minisquad.jhsc@gmail.com.

Venom Futsal