11 November 2016, Volume 18 Number 11

News from the Principal

Awards Night

The school’s recent Annual Awards Evening was a wonderful celebration of achievement across our school community. The night has become to me a personification of our school values - Aspiration and Achievement; Collaboration and Community; Innovation and Creativity; Resilience and Commitment; Respect and Integrity - all clearly evident on the night. Thank you to the many members of our community who contributed to the highly successful night. In particular I take this opportunity to acknowledge the enormous contributions of Ms Sallyann Griffith and Ms Kathryn Roberts in the event’s organisation.

The major individual award winners on the night were:

Data Snapshot: Parent School Opinion Comparison to Like Schools 2016

The annual School Opinion Survey provides quality information to the school on stakeholder perception. This information certainly informs school decision making as we plan for following year. The parent survey results this year were the strongest in my 8 years at the school with the school performing above like schools in all 35 survey items. Whilst this is certainly an endorsement of the school’s general direction and operations we appreciate the necessity to continually refine our service to ensure that we provide our students with the best possible education.

Students and Cars

As we enter the final weeks of the school year we have an increasing number of senior students driving to school. Whilst we appreciate the convenience of car travel for many families, there is an overwhelming need for drivers to accept the responsibilities and school requirements of student driving.

• All student drivers need to register their car at the office.
• Other students are not to travel with student drivers unless parent/carer permission is received in writing at the office.
• Students are to park in the lower car park and not in the streets adjoining the school.
• Road rules are to be followed at all times.

We all wish for happy and safe final weeks of the school year. Please discuss these responsibilities with your students.

Sun Safety

With the warmer weather it is timely to remind our families of our Sun Safety policy. All students on the oval and court area must wear a sun safe hat. In HPE classes, students are expected to wear a hat but in the circumstances where it is not practical due to the nature of the physical activity, sunscreen must be applied.

Student Achievement

Congratulations to our newly elected student leaders for 2017:

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

Newsletter Articles

News from the Deputy Principals

2017 Timetable

We are currently in the process of developing our timetable for 2017. Most students have now completed their subject selection processes which included parent information evenings for the various year levels and individual SET planning for Year 10 students. There are a number of factors which have to be considered when developing the timetable such as; how many students select a particular subject, where to place the subjects in the timetable and how many teachers and facilities are available for specialist subjects. With all of these factors in play, it sometimes becomes necessary to move subjects around in the timetable which can cause clashes with a student’s subject selection. We aim to keep these changes to an absolute minimum but if, in the event of a subject clash occurring, students will have an individual meeting with the Deputy Principal where all of the options will be explained and a new subject will be selected. If you have any questions about subject selections or the timetable for next year, please contact the relevant Deputy Principal.

Year 10 Exam Block

This year we are introducing an exam block in Year 10 for the period of Monday 21/11/16 to Wednesday 23/11/16. All Year 10 students will only be required to attend school for their scheduled exam, the normal timetable will be suspended for this period. In alignment with this process, all Year 10 students will be required to complete an assessment tracking sheet where they will need to complete all assessment and have their teacher sign off upon completion for each subject. Any students with any outstanding assessment items will be required to attend a ‘catch up’ room at school during the exam block. Students will be required to remain in the ‘catch up’ room until all assessment is up to date.

Semester 2 Reports

Teachers are currently busy preparing and implementing assessment items across all year levels. The information gathered from these and various other assessment instruments will form the basis of the Semester 2 results. All Semester 2 report cards are scheduled to be e-mailed by the end of week 10 this term. It is important that all contact details are correct, especially your e-mail address, so that you receive this valuable feedback about your son/daughter’s progress. Please contact the office staff to update any details that may have changed.

Tuckshop Day – Friday 4/11/16

The mighty tuckshop – Providing fuel for our school

P&Cs Qld celebrated Tuckshop Day with school communities across the state on Friday 4 November to recognise the important role played by tuckshops in our schools.

Aligned with healthy eating initiatives including Smart Choices, our children’s learning environment is enhanced by the work that occurs up and down Queensland on a daily basis.

P&Cs Qld CEO, Kevan Goodworth said, “We recognise the importance of tuckshops and thank the thousands of staff (both paid and volunteer), who make this possible.” Mr Goodworth continued, “The levels of commitment and support of parents and the wider community in schools is admirable and quite rightly we take time today to recognise this contribution. Without our tuckshops and the hours gifted to run their services, we would not have the strong education system that we are fortunate to have in place.”

“We join with school staff and students in thanking the people who make this happen.”

News from the Business Services Manager

Clearance Forms

All year levels have now been issued with the “2016 Clearance Form”. Students are required to complete the form and return it to the office by the due dates listed below. This process ensures that resources borrowed from the school are returned and accounted for. These items may include textbooks, library books, musical instruments and other equipment that will be required in 2017.

This checklist also gives parents/carers the opportunity to update personal details, explain any outstanding absences and finalise any outstanding fees that may be on the system.

The following important deadlines are outlined for Years 10, 11 & 12 students.

Due dates can be extended if items are required for assessment.

NOTE FORMAL ATTENDANCE: A condition for attendance to the FORMAL and/or MYSTERY TOUR is the return of the completed 2016 Clearance Form.

School Fees

All school fees for 2016 are now due, 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 and BPOINT option allows parents/carers 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/Carer Experiencing Financial Difficulties

A parent/carer wishing to participate in the Student Resource Scheme and 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 the Chaplain

Food for Thought

Is there someone in your life who has greatly upset you? Does the mention of their name cause you to become angry and grumpy? If that is the case, then I hope the following words of wisdom will release you from that burden:

‘Talking about every little irritation and piece of gossip only keeps the fires of anger going. Refusing to discuss them cuts the fuel line and makes the fires die out.’ (Life Application Study Bible)

When thoughts of past hurts come into your head, don’t allow them to control your moods and steal your peace of mind. Take back control of your life and deliberately distract your mind with doing something positive. That might be going for a walk, doing housework, playing some music or doing something fun with your family, whatever works best for you. The more you practise this, the easier it becomes to leave the past in the past and to enjoy your present.

A message from Chappy Bernie.

Ten Ways Schools Can Reduce Anxiety

Andrew Fuller

The biggest barrier for most students to doing well at school is not their attitude, intelligence or motivation; it is their levels of anxiety.

Recent research by Resilient Youth Australia has found that 25% of girls and 21% of boys feel anxious and under strain. These levels shoot up to 69% of girls and 36% of boys by Year 12.

These levels of anxiety are accompanied by sleep and concentration problems, memory difficulties and distractibility. Not to mention a lessening of the joy of learning.

Develop security and safety

Our sense of belonging and attachment is the foundation stone of resilience. Schools are an essential element of belonging.

Identify the fringe dwelling students who no one really knows and devise strategies to link with them.

We need to support teachers to create vibrant stimulating classrooms that are comfortable, safe and where a caring friendly adult is clearly in charge. Now that we have the research on optimal classrooms, we can no longer be content with barren, visually dull spaces that are anonymous and unowned by anyone.

Great schools nurture great souls

Education is about much more than just the marks. You can be good at passing the test but be bad at life.

If we allow the international rat race of PISA results and national testing programs to narrow our focus we will have collateral damage. The cost will come in a lessening of imagination, courage, character and empowerment.

The result on one specific test is transitory. The attitude people take towards learning has life-long consequences.

Mistakes are opportunities for growth

Shame causes low motivation. It is better, some kids reason, to opt out than to endure humiliation.

Classrooms should be more about questions and less about answers. Many people say they learn more from their failures than their successes. Use estimation games, quizzes, puzzles, mazes, mysteries, forensic clues and problem solving games to build a have-a-go mindset. Ask students to give you a wrong answer and to tell you one reason they think it might be wrong.

Mindfulness is presence

Mindfulness is about being aware and being present. Now! Create rituals where everyone can stop and bring their energies and their awareness into the present.

To get great outcomes we need to lessen anxiety. We can achieve this by focusing less on the results and more on awareness and commitment.

Relaxation and Focusing Methods

Make sure staff know and use relaxation and focusing methods. These include guided relaxation, brain gym, breathing exercises, creative problem solving, yoga, drama games, visualisation, art, sport, chanting and body mathematics. Relaxation and focusing methods are not always passive or quiet. Exercise, sports, and rhythmic activities energise and focus brains.

Resilience based coaching

Use the increased presence of mind and focus to empower students to develop skills through resilience based coaching. In resilience based coaching everyone in a school, staff, parents and students, is asked to take on an area to improve upon each term. One of the mottos we use is, “Here everyone gets smart”.

The process is to have each person select an area to focus on and rate their current level on a ten point scale (10 = totally awesome to 1= dreadfully incompetent). They are then asked to describe what it would look like if they were two points further up that scale. What would be happening differently?

They are then asked to focus on noticing when that happens. That’s it. They aren't asked to work at it, develop improvement plans or have additional coaching to make gains in that area. Just notice it when it occurs.

Instead of focusing on the outcomes and results, direct your attention to what you need to do each day in order to get the results.

Our energy follows our attention. If you can, review progress each term and then either select a new area to focus on or continue working on the current skill. Resilience based coaching reinforces the idea that schools are learning communities where everyone can get better at things.

Think long and hard before you introduce open learning areas

Open learning areas work well in some settings but can be factories for anxiety in others. Sixteen percent of students will have hearing problems to the extent that they will be unable to hear in an open learning area. Creative, independent thinking is often harder in noisy distracting circumstances.

Students who have traumatic backgrounds, have been bullied at schools, have family difficulties or are new arrivals to the country often report higher levels of anxiety in open learning settings.

When you are anxious, your levels of cortisol and adrenaline increase, blood is shifted away from your brain and you are focused on survival rather than learning.

Use apps

There are some wonderful apps that can be used to help schools implement relaxation and focusing programs. At the time of writing two of my favourites are Brainwaves and Buddify.

Teach kids about how their brains work

When students and their parents/carers learn about how their brain works they have a choice. Learning about what drives anxiety and how to shift your gears down is useful information, Also learning that you can’t believe all of your thoughts and some of your feelings are pretty shifty too, helps people to start thinking about their thinking rather than just being a victim of the latest idea that flies into their heads.

Anxiety is a sign of an overloaded brain. It is toxic to creativity and memory. Learning the signs of stress and knowing what to do to come back to a state of relaxed focus is a skill everyone needs.

We all need good refreshing sleep to learn well. It is a revelation to some people that if you start your day either by denying yourself some fuel or by having a few energy drinks and a bowl of chips you might feel like something has crawled into your head and died there by midmorning.

Put the fun back into learning

Let’s make happiness the key goal of schools. Happiness is the antidote to anxiety. Little kids move, play, explore and question. Then they are told to sit down and do some hard work called learning.

When we put the playfulness back into learning, motivation and engagement increase and performance improves dramatically.

When students are encouraged to take risks, play, create and learn, neuroplasticity increases. If we combine this with good sleep, nutrition and enough physical movement, learning outcomes soar.

Copyright Andrew Fuller

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

News from the School Nurse

On Monday October 31 and Tuesday November 1 Centenary SHS hosted the Red Cross Donor Mobile Van in the front carpark.

This is a legacy project, left for us from the class of 2014. A way of giving back to the community and raising the profile of young people in our suburbs.

As a school, we had approximately 90 staff and students roll up their sleeves to donate blood, many for the first time. Every donation will save 3 lives and the students and staff have done the community proud.

Ms Huber has already expressed an interest in running it again next year.

Congratulations to all who participated in the promotion, chasing, paper sorting and distributing, appointment booking and all round problem solving.

Many thanks to Ms Ringrose for her tireless support of the Year 12s and the project.

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

News from Sports Director

Awards Night

Centenary SHS’s Annual Awards Ceremony saw students being recognised for their sporting achievements. Congratulations to all award recipients. At the beginning of the year the HPE department set goals that they wanted to achieve in 2016. It is amazing to report that every goal set was achieved and it is all due to the hard work and commitment displayed by the students and staff at Centenary SHS.

A goal was set to take a full squad of 80 runners to the District Cross Country and to win the percentage trophy. Training commenced in Term 1! Mr Gibbs and myself held sessions before school and began preparing our squad for the upcoming competition. Mr Gibbs worked hard to get the full squad of 80 runners and he did it. For the first time we met that goal and we were the only school at the carnival that had a full squad. As a result we achieved our goal and Centenary SHS won the % trophy!

Another major goal that was set and that was announced at awards night was our huge success at the District Athletics Carnival. The HPE department set a goal to win back to back Champion School. Not only did we achieve this goal but we made history and won every single category. No school has ever achieved this. Centenary SHS won the Champion School Trophy, Boys Trophy, Girls Trophy and the % Trophy. This was achieved only through hard work and commitment to training sessions throughout Terms 2 and 3. Mr Haines was the driving force behind this success, but every single teacher in the HPE department worked hard as a team which resulted in this record being achieved.

Junior and Senior Sportsperson of the Year

The Junior Sportsperson for 2016 was awarded to Sam Berkeley. Throughout 2016 he participated in the following sports:

• AFL – School Representative
• Basketball – School Representative
• Cross Country – School Representative
• Cross Country – District Representative
• Cross Country – Age Champion
• Athletics – School Representative
• Athletics – District Representative
• Athletics – Regional Representative
• Athletics – AllSchools Representative
• Athletics – Age Champion

Sam is a very gifted athlete who demonstrates outstanding sportsmanship both on and off the field. He has trained extremely hard in his chosen sports and the hard work and dedication definitely paid off.

The Senior Sportsperson for 2016 was awarded to Michael Melvin. Throughout 2016 he participated in the following sports:

• Touch Football– School Representative
• Soccer – School Representative
• Cross Country – Age Champion
• Cross Country – School Representative
• Cross Country – District Representative
• Cross Country – Regional Representative
• Athletics – School Representative
• Athletics – District Representative
• Athletics – Regional Representative
• Athletics – AllSchools Representative

Michael attended all of the morning training sessions for Cross Country and it is because of his determination and dedication that he represented Met West at the State Trials. His commitment to his training and his sportsmanship are truly admirable qualities.

Interhouse Competition

During the lunchbreaks the house captains have been running a very successful Interhouse Competition. The students have been thoroughly enjoying participating in sport during the breaks and the house captains have been doing a wonderful job coordinating the events. Students have already competed in basketball, touch football, futsal and we are now finishing with volleyball. I am very pleased to announce that Yallambee won their first competition thanks to the Years 9 and 10 Volleyball team! Moolanda and Jarup competed in the grand final for the Years 7 and 8 touch football competition which resulted in a drop off and then finally a draw was called due to time constraints. Moolanda dominated the Years 11 and 12 touch football interhouse competition with Curragundi winning the Years 9 and 10. It is fantastic to see so many students getting involved and for being active in their breaks.

Touch Football

Centenary SHS has a team entered into an open boy’s touch football competition that compete every Friday night at Whites Hill Reserve, Camp Hill. This team is extremely committed to training sessions each week and to the weekly games. Last Sunday saw the team having to play two games in the heat but they did an amazing job. Centenary SHS is currently 3rd on the ladder and we are fast approaching finals. The results for this team are as follows:

Round 7 – Centenary defeated Southern Storm Whirlwinds 7 – 1
Round 8 – Centenary defeated Panthers 4 -1

Friday night, November 11, Centenary will be playing Balmoral Crocs at 8.10pm and hopefully hold 3rd position on the ladder. Thank you to the parents/carers of the players for supporting our school and driving the players to the game each week.

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

News from SCRAM

STEP INTO MATHMANIA!

So you think maths is boring……… really? Can you solve the Rubik’s cube? Did you know that Maths is the way you learn to solve it? Our group of Mathmania students do and they can now solve the cube thanks to the opportunity they have had during the STEP program for trimester 3.

The group of students in the Mathmania Club, which is expertly led by Mr Miguel Angeles, have become crazy about solving Rubik’s Cube. All of the students have learned the maths behind solving the cube and have then practised and applied that learning to the point where they can all now solve the cube.

It is truly fascinating to see how fast the students’ fingers move as they played their Rubik’s cubes whilst simultaneously discussing politics and other random topics. Some students said solving a Rubik’s cube is fun and challenges them to solve the puzzles with different strategies. Others found the game relaxes them and helps them focus. This puzzle stimulates not only the left part of the brain to develop logic and mathematical skills, but also the right side of the brain to improve creativity and intuition in decoding the puzzle.

During a visit to their classroom recently I realised that the students can not only solve the puzzle, but they can solve it FAST!! I watched in awe as I witnessed one of the fastest times to solve the Rubik’s cube - 17 seconds! That was amazing!

Well done to all the students involved in the Mathmania club. The students joined the club as novices and unable to solve the cube. In one short trimester they have now developed and grown to be our Centenary SHS Rubik’s cube geniuses! I was totally lifted by the positive energy in the room as the students learn, play and laugh together. An example of the great opportunities that students get through our STEP program.

Sin Woo Thoon, STEP Coordinator
Email: sthoo2@eq.edu.au

Cultural News

Primary Schools Tour

Our annual Primary Schools Tour took place on Tuesday October 18 with the String Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Stage Band, Percussion Ensemble and Vocal Ensemble performing for the very enthusiastic primary schools students of Middle Park, Jamboree Heights and Jindalee. It is always a fun day, and a great farewell performance for our Year 12 students.

Presentation Night

Well done to all of our performers on the evening, and congratulations to all of the students who received Cultural Awards on Presentation Evening.

We had a particularly large group of Gold recipients this year due to our Vocal Ensemble national success. Recipients of gold awards this year were:

Senior - Zahir Ali, Jewel Csanyi-Vo, Ben Cuskelly, Nirav Joshi, Natasha McDonald, Rebecca McMahon, Jemima Moore, Sarah Olsen, Zoya Sarapa, Bianca Schoeman, Jessica Williams, Lachlan Crawley, Sabrina Finsterle, Lauren Hooper, Abigail Knight, Alexandria Lagos, Sally Manton, Nathan Merry, Louis Minett, Gianna O’Brien, Ethan Smith, Ashleigh Vandermaat, Grace Williams, Isabelle Djordjevic, Emma Hosegood, Liam Sands and Nina Sarapa.

Junior - Aniella Baquiran, Lara McGahan, Katie-Lee Spresser, Kimberley Holmes and Bethany Nairn

It is always wonderful to see so many of our Arts students receiving academic, sports, community awards and subject prizes. The major awards also saw many students who have been heavily involved in the cultural program receiving accolades. Sincere congratulations go out to:

Benjamin Surgeoner (Student Citizenship Award)
Sam Berkeley (Junior Sportsperson of the Year)
Rhys Smith (Vocational Student of the Year)
Zoya Sarapa (UQ Humanities Award; Student Leaders Forum Award)
Jade Wilson (UQ Maths and Science Award; Caltex Best All-Rounder Award)
Ana Martins (ADF Long Tan Award)
Nathan Merry (UQ Create Change Achievement)

And of course we cannot forget the announcement of the 2017 school captains and vice captains, with some of our most active cultural students taking on these positions.

Senior School Captains: Nathan Merry, William Chandler
Junior School Captains: Dru Callaghan, Amy Lightbody, Samuel Berkeley, Imogen Crawley

Excellence in the Arts Prize

The recipient of the top Cultural Award is never an easy task with so many outstanding students doing wonderful things in the school. This year the award went to Year 12 student Sarah Olsen who has been strongly involved in many extra-curricular activities in and out of the school. Congratulations on an outstanding year in the Arts Sarah!

The winner of the Junior Excellence in the Arts award went to Year 9 student Aniella Baquiran who has been heavily involved in the instrumental and choral, and performance programs. Congratulations Aniella!

Staff and School Community Service Award

A huge thrill this year was the announcement of Fiona Harvey as the 2016 recipient of the Staff Community Service Award. Fiona has been an amazing teacher at the school since it opened in 1999, guiding thousands of students through musical adventures. There would certainly not be a more deserving recipient of this award, and we are thoroughly proud of your achievements in the school and wider community. Congratulations Fiona!

Cultural Dinner Arts Leaders 2016

And of course awards season would not be complete without our 18th Annual Cultural Dinner!

The event was held at the Jindalee Entertainment Centre on Friday November 4. As well as celebrating a wonderful year, the evening is a chance to farewell our current Year 12 students, and welcome the new Leaders and Seniors for 2017. Congratulations go to the following students:

Visual Arts Ambassadors: Emma Love, Shana Samedani
Film Ambassadors: Byron Queale, Caitlin Glastonbury
Performance Captains: Abigail Knight, Hayley Robinson, Lilly Taaffe, Nina Sarapa
Backstage: Natasha Burmeister, Zac Williams
Junior Backstage Captain: Jordan Scott
Choir: Ash Vanderrmaat, Grace Williams
Strings: Allie Lagos, Lauren Hooper
Band: Louis Minnett, Ethan Smith

Also presented at the cultural dinner was the recipient of the Dale Partridge Perpetual Shield, which is awarded to the Year 12 student who has been judged to have contributed the most to the Arts program over 5 years at Centenary SHS. This year the award was split between two very worthy recipients: Jemima Moore and Jess Williams. Both students have been highly involved in the Arts community at Centenary SHS since Year 8, and we were thrilled to give the award to them. Thank you Jemima and Jess for your wonderful contributions to our school, and we wish you all the best in the future.

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

News from English Department

This newsletter article is all about celebrating the fantastic work of our English students. To begin with, and most significantly, I am very proud to report that Year 11 student Darly Ngwe won the Queensland Writing for Life competition with her poignant short story entitled Fin. Writing for Life is one of the competitions I advertised in the newsletter earlier in the year. These competitions come up regularly, so students who enjoy creative writing should keep an eye on the notice board outside Staffroom 1. Darly’s achievement shows that winning these competitions is indeed possible. Congratulations, Darly.

I am proud to also report that we had a number of students who achieved Distinctions and High Distinctions in the ICAS English and Writing Competitions this year. The following students were presented with their certificates on Assembly last week:

Congratulations to all students. Whatever your result, you should all be very proud of your efforts and achievement.

The QDU Year 7 Debating competition has now finished for the year. Our students learned a great deal and grew in confidence and skill. Ms Van Soelen has worked hard with the two teams throughout the year and I want to thank her for all her efforts. She has been an inspiration and has watched our young people develop into very capable debaters. I hope these students will continue with debating next year in the Year 8 competition.

I had the great pleasure of visiting some Year 7 classes a couple of weeks ago and watching as they worked in groups presenting some performance poetry at the Lower Shelter. Our Year 7s are learning that poetry is not old and dusty, but can be fun, creative and made more interesting by playing around with language and movement. Good work Year 7s, and thank you for inviting me to watch your performances.

We are almost at the end of the year. Students are busily working on their final pieces of assessment and soon teachers will be swallowed up in marking. Every student in every year level should be putting in their very best effort in order to achieve the best results possible. One final push, and then we can all go on holidays.

Finally, congratulations and farewell to our departing Year 12 students. It has been my privilege to work with you since my arrival here in Term 2 and to see you develop into such amazing young adults. I wish you the very best for the future. Learn how to balance work and play as you move into your adult lives. Stay safe.

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

Senior Schooling News

Employment Opportunities Post-School

We strongly encourage Year 12 students or those students interested in moving into full-time employment to take advantage of the many opportunities being advertised through the school. Please encourage your student to check with Mr Homer (ahome5@eq.edu.au) or Ms Raven (arave7@eq.edu.au) for advertised positions. There are many wonderful apprenticeship/traineeship opportunities across a variety of trades and industry areas, including plastering, tiling, business administration, child care, carpentry, boiler making, estimating and bricklaying.

Year 12

As the Year 12s edge closer to finishing the year, students should remain focussed and organised to meet the challenges that lay ahead over the next week. This includes completing all course work required to gain the QCE and remaining aware of their obligations as part of their continuing enrolment. Students have also been reminded to check their Student Connect account, using their LUI and password as a login in preparation for the following:

• Wednesday November 16: QCS results available in Student Connect Account
• Saturday December 17: Year 12 results available (including QCE, OP, FPs, etc.) in Student Connect Account
• QTAC Offers

New VET Student Loans:

Last week the Federal Government released important information about the new VET Student Loans which will be implemented from January 1, 2017. This will impact any student attending TAFE or other Tertiary providers in 2017 who deliver Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Graduate Certificates, and Graduate Diploma programs.

The new funding arrangements have abolished the VET-fee Help scheme. Only some courses are being funded and there are specific criteria students must meet to be eligible for a loan through VET Student Loans, including being assessed as academically suited to undertake the eligible course. Two information sheets have been attached:

• Information for Students
• Eligible Course lists

Funded courses are those deemed “skill shortage” in at least two States or are related to STEM. This supports the Federal Government’s agenda to promote the National Innovation and Science in all Australian classrooms.

For more information, please visit:

Year 11

QCS and Transition Preparation began in earnest this term and all Year 11 students were required to participate in the school’s STEP program every Wednesday during Lesson 4. The program has been designed to maximise student’s success in Year 12 and beyond. Students have been reminded that attendance at each session over Trimesters 1 & 2 in 2017 is mandatory. Our school provides an outstanding QCS & Transition program, delivered by a group of experienced and committed staff who are dedicated to ensuring that all of our students achieve more. Please support us by ensuring your student’s attendance at these lessons every Wednesday afternoon.

As a general rule, we recommend senior students “invest in themselves” by completing at least 3 hours of educational activities (i.e. homework, assignments, study, reading, etc.) each evening (15 hours each week a minimum). At least 1 hour per week of their own time should be set aside for revision of skills required for a successful QCS result.

Year 11 Practice QCS Test and RSA

Year 11 students undertaking the OP pathway will be sitting a practice Short Response Test on Friday November 25 (final day). Attendance is mandatory for those students wishing to sit the QCS test in 2017. Those students not sitting the QCS test have the opportunity to complete a Responsible Service of Alcohol course instead. To register, they must return the permission form provided by Mr Homer.

Year 10 Work Experience & Certificate II in Skills for Work and Training

Over 270 Year 10 students participated in our school’s work experience program during the last week of Term 3 as part of the Certificate II in Skills for Work and Training. Overall, feedback from employers was outstanding and students are to be commended for their superb efforts.

Students will complete work toward this certificate in STEP classes beginning in Term 1, 2017. A Certificate II qualification will provide 4 core credits toward the QCE. Attendance at these sessions is mandatory.

Angela Raven, Senior Schooling
Email: arave7@eq.edu.au

News from Arts Department

As I am writing this, we are preparing for the final celebratory events in the Arts calendar, some of which will have already occurred by the time this goes to print.

November 4 was the Cultural Dinner, which I enjoyed as a great celebration of the Arts at Centenary SHS and of all the students, staff and parents/carers who put in such a massive effort to make this the successful program that it is.

Next week, we have two celebrations of our Year 12 Arts Students. On Wednesday November 9, the Year 12 Music Students will be showcased their talents by presenting some of the quality work they have achieved throughout this year. Then on Friday November 11, the Year 12 Dance, Drama and Media Students will showcase their work for the year. At both of these events there was also a display of the excellent work achieved by the Year 12 Visual Arts Students. I can’t wait to join with parents and friends to witness the amazing work that I know our Year 12 Students have achieved this year and to celebrate with them as they finish one chapter of their lives and move onto the next.

On November 25-26, we have the final production for the Years 8 and 9 Performance Plus students, Suessical - The Musical. Performance Plus is a unique program that gives our high achieving Performance Students an opportunity to display their considerable talents through a professional quality musical. I have seen rehearsals for Suessical and I know it is going to be a fabulous show you won’t want to miss.

Congratulations to all students who were awarded prizes at our recent Presentation Night. Thanks to Fiona Harvey, Matthew Hoey, Alex van den Broek and Damon Lougheed for conducting ensembles on the night – they sounded great! Also thanks to Sarah Olsen and Zoya Sarapa for their performance on the night. I know they practised very hard for this and it certainly showed in the excellent performance they gave.

This will be my last newsletter article for 2016 so I want to take this opportunity to thank all the staff, students and parents/carers for a year filled with so many highlights. It is certainly a year that I will remember with great fondness and appreciation of the high quality results our students have attained, through the encouragement of motivated staff and supportive parents/carers. Thank you all!

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

News from Year 12 Coordinator

Formal, Mystery Tour, Graduation. Three events that Year 12s look forward to from the moment they step into Senior. These events are coming up incredibly quickly for all of us, and information has recently been sent out regarding the Formal and Mystery Tour. Payments will need to be made by Friday November 4 to secure final bookings at our events. I look forward to seeing you all at Hillstone, St Lucia before the Formal commences! Information about final day of classes and Graduation will be sent out shortly.

By now, I’ll bet everyone – parents/carers, students and teachers alike – are on a countdown to the end of their high school years. Some are counting with joy and expectation, and some are counting with trepidation. When speaking to many of our students over the last few weeks, I’ve realised they are incredibly full of mixed emotions about leaving Centenary SHS. English Communication students are using their class time to reflect on their time, and have reflected on how much they’ve changed, what they’ve loved, their regrets, and who they need to thank for helping them. Almost all speeches I’ve read have acknowledged the hard work parents/carers have put in over the years to support them, and I hope these students offer you these thanks over the next few weeks.

On a personal note, I would just like to also say thank you for all the support I’ve received from parents/carers over the last two years: the emotional support (and last-minute nagging!) you’ve provided for your young ones may have been taxing, but I’m sure we will agree on Graduation Day it’s all been worth it. It’s been wonderful working with you all (and in some cases, the second time around!).

This has been an incredibly fine cohort, with some amazing experiences, and it’s been an honour to serve them. They are incredibly talented, passionate and intelligent, and defy many of the negative stereotypes that plague their generation. These 12s will be missed.

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

News from Year 10 Coordinator

With only a number of weeks to go before the completion of the 2016 school year now is a great time to reflect on the incredible successes achieved by our Year 10 cohort. I was proud as ever at the annual presentation evening where a record number of Year 10 students received awards for academic, sporting, community service and cultural success. Well done on your incredible achievements.

It is an exciting end to the school year with the group taking part in only the second ever Year 10 exam block from Monday to Wednesday of Week 8. This experience will provide students with an opportunity to simulate an exam block setting prior to the commencement of their senior phase of learning in 2017.

I’m also excited to announce a number of Year 10 students who have been successful in applying for University sponsored initiatives for 2017. Congratulations must go to Abby Kassing and Vy Nguyen who were selected as UQ Young Achievers and Kyle Leyden who gained entry into the QUT Future Leaders program. Furthermore I’m pleased to announce that Jonathan Mueller was selected as part of the Brisbane Roar Youth Team for Football. What a tremendous accolade! We wish all these students well in 2017.

With exam block coming up soon please help encourage your child to maintain and develop positive study habits. Thanks again for your support throughout 2016.

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

News from Year 9 Coordinator

Presentation Evening

Firstly I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to recipients of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Academic Awards. These awards are presented to students who have received outstanding achievements. It was very impressive to see so many Year 9s receiving awards on Presentation Evening (Gold and Silver) and Year 9 Assembly (Bronze). It was a spectacular night and I was pleased to share and celebrate this special occasion with students and parents/carers.

Cyber safety

The media has been reporting numerous incidents of cyber-bullying. This is a timely opportunity to reinforce with our students about cyber safety. Our young people must follow the guidelines frequently given to ensure their safety online. I have spoken to the Year 9s about cyber safety and this has been reinforced by their HG teachers in class. The link below has some helpful tips to keep your children safe online.

Year 9 Exams

This is a busy time for all students. Year 9s should be revising for their final exams. If students do not have any set homework they should use the time to read over class work and start preparing for their final exams. One strategy is to have students write down everything they learnt in each lesson each day. It is amazing how quickly this information will then move from short-term memory to long-term memory. Happy revising.

Upcoming events for Year 9s

• Nominated Year 9 students to attend the National Leaders Day on November 14
• High Resolves students to attend the National Summit at UQ St Lucia on November 22.

If you have any concerns or issues regarding your child, please don’t hesitate to email or phone me.

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

News from Year 8 Coordinator

Mid-way through Term 4, the words exam, test and assessment are heard often in the school yard and staffrooms. This is what is called the ‘pointy end’ of the year. Having been in the main area of the school all year, the Year 8s will have no doubt picked up on what can be a stressful time, particularly for our senior students. Assignments seem to be due “all on the same day”. This year presents additional challenges in the ‘when-is-what-due” shuffle. The key is time management. Breaking down various tasks, allocating time to each of them, helps prevent feeling anxious and overwhelmed. ‘Learning to learn’ is a skill to be mastered, along with the ‘ABC’ of school. Please encourage your son or daughter to see their teachers for some tips on how best to be organised for both sanity and success.

Many of you would have been at the recent Presentation Evening where each year, academic success is celebrated. It is a personal highlight of the year for me, as the hard work that goes into receiving those gold and silver scrolls is openly recognised. Being proud of achievement is something we strongly encourage here at Centenary SHS. Congratulations again to all recipients!

Congratulations also to our 2017 Junior School Captains! The successful applicants were announced on the night. Our Junior School Captains for next year are Amy Lightbody and Dru Callaghan and the Vice Captains are Imogen Crawley and Sam Berkeley. I am so glad I was not on the panel who had to make this decision! We had a large number of very high calibre applicants, and I extend my congratulations to these folk as well. Their commitment and ability does not go unnoticed. I will be tapping into it regularly over the next few years! This brings me to the Halogen Leadership Conference.

This conference is held at the end of each year at the Brisbane Convention Centre. The Year 7 Coordinator Karyn Abraham and I will be accompanying a group of 45 Years 7, 8 & 9 students on November 14 (*report to follow). Our freshly-elected 2017 leaders, along with a group of successful applicants will attend this exciting day.

This year’s inspiring presenters include:

• Leadership : Samantha Skinner
• Explorer: Alyssa Azar
• The Arts : Robbie Miller
• Sport : Danielle Prince & Poppy Starr
• Social Entrepreneurs : Nic Marchesi & Lucas Patchett

(Please see the link below for more details) It will be a great day!

Other leadership initiatives this term were Y-Lead, a CLASS initiative. The entire cohort also participated in a second “High Resolves” half day session in Week 3. The theme was “Integrative Thinking” with students learning that, sometimes, working in groups is a more effective way to solve problems … Ask them about the elephant they thought was a wall.

(Please insert ‘Year82’, Year83’)

Our focus this term has been on planning for Year 9. In Home Group, this means preparing students for all aspects of school. Year 9 can present a unique set of challenges, as parents of older students can attest (including me!). In keeping with the term motto “Positive Relationships”, students rotated through a series of sessions, in which boys and girls discussed, with guidance and nursing staff, issues around friendship and conflict management. These sessions will assist in planning for next year’s workshops. One key ‘positive relationship’ we encourage students to have is with themselves. We will build on this next year with a series of talks and activities that focus on well-being at their core. From there, we deal with other relationships likely to occur at this stage of their development.

Hold onto your hats folks!

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

A list of Year 8 HG Teachers

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

News from our P&C

Well this month has been all about Trivia night. The Trivia committee worked extremely hard chasing sponsors for our event and organising all the details. A big thank you to all the local businesses (see list below) who have been extremely generous in making prize donations to help us raise funds for our Student Care Fund so we can continue to help those students most in need in our school community.

It was a very successful night. We had over 120 people there on 14 tables. A lot of fun was had by all. We have had many positive responses from staff and parents/carers who want to book their table for next year already and are bringing more people with them. I don’t think the Olympic Legends (our HPE teachers and friends) have come down from their high yet after being crowned winners yet again!!!

Congratulations to our canteen ladies (aptly named Meals on Wheels) who took out the best dressed table prize dressed as a cycling team complete with bike. 3 of our 4 major raffle prizes went to school staff and one to a patron on the night. Congratulations to them all.

So well done Team Trivia and thank you for all your hard work.

The 2017 Year 7 Parent information night was held in October and a P&C rep was there to give a talk to parents/carers and let them know what the P&C do and promote our Trivia Night. She also spoke at the Year 8 information night.

Thank you to all those who helped with our Year 7 uniform try on days in October. We were kept very busy for 4 afternoons and Jenelle has served many more during normal uniform shop hours. It is still going to be a busy time in the week before school starts in January though.

We have been very busy getting the Uniform Shop project happening. It is all systems go with our new demountable building ordered. Installation should happen on November 28, with the fit out following shortly afterward. After that we can start to look at our Canteen expansion.

Congratulations to all students who received awards at our recent Presentation evening. Well done on all your hard work this year. We wish all Year 12 students well in their future endeavours and to all of our students, well done on another year of hard work and achievement.

A BIG THANK YOU to our sponsors for our Trivia Night on October 28

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT

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

***NEW****FLEXISCHOOLS ONLINE ORDERING FOR UNIFORM SHOP

We now have our Uniform Shop purchases available through our online shop via FLEXISCHOOLS to make it easier for you to order your uniforms. You can simply place your order online for pickup at a nominated date to suit you. This will save waiting in line and provide a convenient shopping option for those who cannot get in to school.

Follow this link to logon if you already have an account and simply add the new school, or for those who don’t have one, you can create a new account.

Details of how to use the system are on the information brochures below. A link is on the school website as well.

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 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.

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.

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 days, 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.

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).

The final P&C meeting for 2016 will be Wednesday November 23 at 7pm in the Resource Centre.

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

Community Notice

BRING FRENCH CULTURE TO LIFE!

Why not volunteer to host an international student from France next year? We have a small group of delightful French students coming to Australia for 10 weeks to immerse in local culture, experience our schools, sports, environment and lifestyle. All students speak excellent English, have their own spending money, cover all school expenses and we arrange all aspects of their program. It’s fun and interesting to help these young people achieve their Australian dream. If you’d like know more, please email your interest to rl@scce.com.au.

FREE SPECIAL NEEDS NETBALL PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Special Olympics Queensland along with Western District Netball Association are offering people with an intellectual disability the opportunity to get involved in Netball.