Last week was an eventful week at Wynnum State High School.  After significant rain delays, the outdoor courts are open and operational.  We encourage everyone to get out and give the new blue surface and basketball hoops a go.  This court upgrade was sorely needed for recreation, HPE and Sport and we are grateful to the school team that have worked to gain the grant and oversee the implementation of this with infrastructure – many thanks!

This term we have also staged our annual SET Plans with all year 10s.  Senior Education and Training Plans (SET Plans) are a important juncture for students, school and families to meet, discuss and formalise plans for senior schooling.  A large amount of time and energy has been given to the planning and preparation of these interviews across the last term of school by the Year 10 team. Congratulations and thank you to all staff, students and parents involved in the organising and completion of an entire cohort on one very long, big day. Parent and student meetings like this are so important to ensure you student has an appropriate learning journey ahead of them where they can achieve their personal success.

On Thursday 14 August, we also celebrated our school Chaplain Greg Deighton at the Annual SU Chaplaincy dinner.  Chappy Greg is a much loved and valued addition to our school, and has been with us now for 20 years.  To commemorate Greg’s contributions to our school as a chaplain, I gave a short speech to the attendees at Chaplaincy fundraising dinner.  A speech could not summarise all of the things he has contributed to our school in support of students, families and the community over the years, but I know he has made a huge impact at WSHS, and will continue to as time progresses.  SU is still looking for ongoing sponsorship to support their chaplain in schools program, please click here if you can support the fundraising attempt for our school.

Exciting Partnership Announcement – Bartons Automotive Group

We are delighted to announce that Bartons Automotive Group has formally joined the Wynnum State High School community as a Silver Sponsor.

Bartons have proudly supported our students for many years through their annual bursary program, which has provided valuable assistance in creating pathways and opportunities for success. This sponsorship formalises our partnership and will enable us to expand these opportunities even further, enriching the learning experiences and future prospects of our students.

We sincerely thank Bartons Automotive Group for their ongoing commitment to supporting local students and investing in the next generation.

Lastly, every year we ask parents, staff and students to take 5-10 minutes to complete a short survey giving feedback about our school. Currently, the survey response from students and parents is lower than previous years.  This survey is important to us to hear our stakeholder perspectives.  To have your say, check your email for an invitation from the Department of Education titled School Opinion Survey for parents and carers, 2025. The survey closes on Friday 22 August so there is still time to provide your feedback. 

Kind regards,

Sandra Quinn
Principal

Year 7 Science Excursion

During Week 2 and 3 of this term, our Year 7 Science students enjoyed an exciting excursion to Moreton Bay and St Helena Island. On the waters of Moreton Bay, they collected plankton samples and examined them under microscopes.  They also explored the ecosystem of St Helena Island and investigated the feeding relationships between the organisms they discovered.

It was a fantastic hands-on learning experience that brought their Science studies to life.

Year 12 Certificate III Education Support

On Tuesday 29 July, our Year 12 Certificate III Education Support students travelled to Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island) to work as Teacher Aides at Dunwich State School.

Dunwich State School has an incredibly rich and vibrant Indigenous Culture at the heart of the school. This first hand experience provided valuable insight into how to better support both Indigenous, and non-Indigenous students.

All students that attended excelled, and were given personal commendations from the staff at Dunwich State School. They were a credit to our school, demonstrating professionalism, maturity, and team work.

Exploring Quandamooka Knowledge: A Special Workshop with Mick Watego for Visual Art in Practice students

On Thursday, 31st July, the Visual Arts in Practice students were privileged to welcome a distinguished guest speaker, Mick Watego, who conducted a workshop during their class. This semester, the students have been exploring the Quandamooka Rangers and the First Nations' profound methods of land stewardship, waterway care, and traditional fire management practices. Drawing upon this knowledge, the students will craft ceramic vessels that embody elements of the environment, and the strategies employed to protect it.

Mr. Watego brought valuable experience as a First Nations Bush Safety Officer with the Quandamooka Rangers and is a proud Nhughi man of the Quandamooka Nation. The students had the unique opportunity to engage with Mr. Watego, gaining insight into environmental management and posing questions to deepen their understanding.

The event proved to be an enriching experience for all participants, and we extended our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Watego for generously sharing his expertise and time with us.

During Semester One, a number of our staff were involved in a range of innovation projects looking at different, creative ways to help students improve their learning.

Our EALD (English as additional language/dialect) teacher, Mrs Kreis wanted to investigate ways to support non-English background students, looking at whether AI can help students to improve their writing without simply just doing it for them. The key with the strategy was to find ways for students to identify errors in their writing and create or refer to lessons for them to develop their skills to improve these areas rather than AI just correcting it for them. It is an interesting area and relies on a precise prompt being created. In testing, AI was very good at identifying writing errors and categorising them. It can be a very useful tool for assisting learning but care needs to be taken to ensure learning still occurs and any writing is the students work, not AI. As such, Mrs Kreis continues to work in this area and we are looking at Microsoft Co-pilot as an option as only certain AI platforms are accessible at school.  

Our languages teacher, Miss Morris had noted our senior French students were lacking confidence in speaking conversational French with her. As their upcoming assessment involved doing exactly this, she was interested in finding ways to help students improve. She decided to use iPads with different apps and headphones to help students practice speaking. Students had access to DuoLingo, Google translate and Speechling. These could be used in different ways including having the app pronounce or speak the phrases for them but also practice speaking the phrase whereby they would get feedback from the app. Prior to using the apps students were surveyed and it was found 87% of them believed their speaking skills were not good. The great news was 100% of them believed they could improve and by the end of the unit a new survey revealed 100% believed they improved. When asked which strategy helped them the most, 70% nominated the apps with the remaining 30% stating the teacher was their preferred way to practice. Amber was our winner of the Digital Pedagogies award for Semester One for her work on this project as well as her involvement with the Digital team.

Finally a special thanks to all our innovation project teachers who had great success in Semester One covered here and in our previous newsletter. Your time and effort in looking for new ways to improve student learning is admired and appreciated. We look forward to working with other teachers and seeing the results of new projects in Semester Two.

Adam Christie
HOD Innovation, Technology & Interactive Teaching

NAIDOC Week Celebrations

Our NAIDOC Week began on Tuesday 29 July with a full school parade, where we welcomed guest speaker Patrick Coolwell — a proud Quandamooka man, dancer, songman, and Indigenous Ranger from Minjerribah. His stories and cultural knowledge inspired us all.

On Friday 1 August, we continued the celebrations with a day full of culture, connection, and community spirit. Students and staff sampled kangaroo and emu sausages, enjoyed freshly baked damper with jams, and took part in traditional face painting led by our talented First Nations students. Handmade beaded necklaces and bracelets added to the day’s creative energy.

Messages of hope and gratitude were tied to the teepee, creating a powerful display of our shared dreams for the future and respect for First Nations cultures.

Thank you to everyone who helped honour the history, culture, and achievements of our First Nations people.

Erin McFetridge
First Nations Alliance Teacher

It's a wrap on Spamalot!

After 6 months of rehearsals, countless hours of hard work, and an incredible amount of laughter, our production of Spamalot has come to a close – and what an unforgettable journey it’s been!

Every part of this musical was brought to life by our amazing students – from the hilarious and heartfelt cast, to the energetic ensemble, the talented live band, and the dedicated teams working backstage, on costumes, and behind the scenes in sound and lighting. Every laugh, spotlight, and music cue was powered by student passion.

A big thanks needs to go to the dedicated teachers and creative team who guided our students every step of the way – this production was nothing short of magical.
Over the course of 6 spectacular performances, we were thrilled to welcome more than 1,300 audience members who joined us to share in the fun, the music, and the outrageous spirit of Monty Python’s Spamalot.

Thank you to everyone who supported us – on stage, behind the scenes, and in the crowd. Your energy made every moment shine. 

Until next time… always look on the bright side of life!

Kat Hodgess
Arts Coordinator

  

Throughout Terms 2 and 3, eight of our Year 8 boys participated in the Connections Program.  The students engaged in this leadership program designed to build resilience, foster respectful relationships and strengthen teamwork skills.  Through a series of physical challenges and collaborative tasks, students were encouraged to step out of their comfort zones, communicate effectively and support one another.  The 8 week program provided valuable opportunities for personal growth, helping students develop confidence, perseverance and a strong sense of community. 

Kath Gallichan and Greg Blaxland

Port of Brisbane Careers Day

We kindly remind families that all school fees for 2025 (and any prior years) should now be finalised.

Monthly student statements are automatically emailed to help keep families informed about their account status.

If you have a payment plan in place, please ensure it remains active and up to date.

To ensure your student can participate in upcoming year-level events such as end-of-year camps, celebrations, or the ordering of senior jerseys, all accounts must be fully paid.

With a number of activities planned for Term 3, we encourage all families to ensure they have access to QParents for managing permissions and payments.

If the 2025 SRS Agreement Form has not yet been returned, affected students will access to learning resources. For any questions or further clarification, please don’t hesitate to contact our accounts team on 3906 7312 or via email at accounts@wynnumshs.eq.edu.au

Callum McWaters
A/ Business Manager

From 23 August to 29 August, Wynnum SHS will be hosting students from Iwatsuki High School, Japan.  If you would like to host a student, please see the below flyer for more information.