28 June 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Well that’s a wrap on another term at Wynnum SHS. Once again this term has provided so many sporting, cultural and academic opportunities for the students. On one end of the spectrum, students have supported charities, the community and each other as they have collected donations of clothes and money for the homeless and less fortunate, while on the other end they have cheered each other on as they participated in the annual Athletics Carnival. Academically, students and staff have been preparing for the end of semester assessment. We are sure everyone has strived to achieve their best.

We recently hosted FANFARE. This is an outstanding musical experience for students in our Instrumental Music program. I am pleased to say that the results of the recent Musical Fanfare are confirmation of just what a great job our Instrumental Music and Music teachers are doing. These results are:

• Big Band - Gold Award
• Symphonic Band - Silver Award
• Concert Band - Silver Award

What a fantastic team!

We look forward to seeing each and every child back at Wynnum SHS on 16 July, after a refreshing break. Please keep safe and well. Should your child not be able to return as expected please contact the school absence line on 3906 7366 on the day of the absence and state your child’s name and the reason for the absence. An email to studentabsences@wynnumshs.eq.edu.au or a medical certificate/letter brought to Student Services the first day of return is also acceptable and appreciated. Our goal for attendance in 2018 is 92% or 95% attendance and 100% of absences explained. We appreciate your support in this matter. Every day counts at Wynnum State High.

Report Cards and Parent Teacher Interviews

Years 7 – 10 report cards will be sent at the end of this week and Years 11 and 12 will be sent at the end of the first week back next term. Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on Tuesday 24 July for Years 7 & 8 and Tuesday 31 July for Years 9 – 12. Information regarding the online bookings will be sent with the report cards.

Senior School News

Here’s a brief summary of what’s been happening in the Senior School:

Students in Years 11 and 12 are currently in their Semester One Exam Block. Hopefully they are achieving well and as Cath mentioned in her Principal’s Report, you can expect the semester report card to arrive early in Term 3. When the results are finalised we will undertake QCE tracking to ensure each student is on a pathway to achieving their QCE.

On Thursday and Friday of this week all students sitting the QCS tests will undertake a two day QCS practice in preparation for the statewide QCS tests on 4 and 5 September.

33 Year 10 students are undertaking a week of work experience this week. We hope they are finding this experience worthwhile in helping to decide a possible career path after school.

Year 10 students are now half way through the Subject Selection preparation program for Year 11 in 2019. This will culminate in the Info Night on Thursday, 9 August. Parents and students are strongly encouraged to attend this important evening. Students will be required to finalise their subject choices for 2019 at the SET Plan interview on Thursday, 16 August. Further information regarding these two important events will be emailed to Year 10 parents and carers early in Term 3.

Cybersafety Parent session

On Thursday, 2 August, a representative from the Alannah and Madeline Foundation will give a Cybersafety presentation to some of our students.

Session Outcomes for the presentation are:

• Participants develop media literacy skills that enable them to promote respect and highlight social inequalities relating to gender through healthy online relationships and interactions.
• Participants establish respectful behaviour protocols that lead to a reduction in victim blaming, create supportive peer relationships and minimize the harm experiences as a result of sharing online images.
• Participants develop a range of strategies on what to do if an online incident occurs.

After the student sessions, a parent session will be offered from 5.15 – 6.15 pm in the School Library. Please see the accompanying handout advertising this event. Parents and carers wishing to attend are required to RSVP to the school office no later than Monday, 30 July.

Early Childhood Studies

This term in Early Childhood Studies, the Year 12 class have been looking at the nutrition needs of young children and the role good nutrition plays in a child’s growth, development and general wellbeing. The class were busy analysing lunchboxes and The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, looking at the importance of food safety and hygiene in daycare settings. Next term the class will be focusing on the importance of indoor and outdoor play and how daycare settings implement and balance these types of play to enrich the learning and development opportunities for young children.

From the Junior Secondary School

Enrolments for 2019

To date, we have had three very successful Saturday enrolment days and we now have over 130 Year 7s enrolled for 2019. Our next enrolment day is on Saturday 28 July commencing at 8.30 a.m. and the venue is the school library. If you have family or friends who are intending to enrol at Wynnum High in 2019 and who have not done so to date, can you please encourage them to ring the school office and make an appointment for an enrolment interview. Our Year 7 cohort is filling fast for next year!

An information evening for Year 7 in 2019 will be held on Thursday August 9 from 6.00 p.m. – 7.00 p.m. and the venue is the Star Theatre. We invite all new and prospective parents and their children to attend.

Next term, Working Memory training is coming to Year 7!

Working Memory is the ability we have to hold information in our minds, keeping it active for a short span of time so that we can use it in our thinking. It is critical for, focussing our attention, shutting out distractions, following directions and learning and successfully completing complex tasks.

In Term 3 all Year 7s will participate in a program called COGMED to help improve and or enhance their current working memory capacity. Each students will do four sessions of thirty-five minutes each per week – two of these sessions will be completed at school and two will be completed at home. Their core teachers will monitor their progress and the program should run for approximately seven weeks.

We have been working with Working Memory training for a few years now and have found its benefits to be invaluable for all students. Some of our students may need to participate in a more intensive program but we will contact parents separately about this as it arises.

Year 7 students will need headphones to do COGMED as it is an online program so can parents please ensure that all students have a set of headphones (if they don’t already have them!). They will also need to bring their laptops as COGMED is an online program.

Year 7 and Year 8 Elective rotation in Semester 2

In the first week of term 3, the Year 7s students will choose their Technology elective subject for the semester and the Year 8 students will choose their Creative Arts subject for the semester. The Technology rotation offers four different contexts - textiles, food, digital and wood and plastics and the Creative Arts students can choose from art, drama, music or dance. They will be excited to try a new elective.

Manly State School High School Experience program

Earlier this term we hosted a six-week ‘High School Experience’ program with Manly State School and their Year 6s. The students did three rotations and explored the subjects of Science, Visual Art and Food Technology. It was a pleasure to host the program!

Holiday time is a good time to clean out our school bags!

Over the holidays, we ask that our students check out their educational supplies for next term. They will all need to come back with a full pencil case, a notebook for each subject, their school Planner and their laptops charged. A new semester and new beginnings!

To all of our Junior Secondary students and families, we wish you happy holidays and we will see you back here on Monday 16 July.

Creative Arts News

Bush Dance

A great night was had by all at the annual Bush Dance hosted by the IMPS committee. Thanks to all the families who came along to support this event. The Burning Bush Band played all our favourite tunes and Megan taught all the dances to an enthusiastic crowd.

The IMPS raffle was drawn at the Bush Dance and the winners of the raffle were:

• Rhonda Davidson - 1st prize of the 5 days away at any Ridges hotel in Australia or New Zealand
• Russell Clay – 2nd prize of the TV
• Liz Williams – 3rd prize of the Tanglewood guitar

Congratulations to all winners. Thanks to parents for selling raffle tickets.

Variety Night

In late May, Variety Night played over two nights to sell-out crowds in the Star Theatre. Over 120 students participated in the performances from the Symphonic and Concert Bands performing in the Corso to the dancers, musicians, actors and comedians who all did a magnificent job over the two nights. Well done to everyone, from the front of house staff through to the technical team back stage. A big shout out goes to the teachers who worked with the students to present a professional performance.

Fanfare

This year Wynnum SHS was a host venue for Fanfare 2018. We had a full day of bands from primary and secondary schools in the region playing for the adjudicator Mr Mark Sullivan. We are so thrilled at the achievements of our three ensembles:

• Symphonic Band received a Silver Award (1st Division)
• Concert Band received a Silver Award (2nd Division)
• Big Band received a Gold Award

Congratulations go to all the students for doing the hours of practice and rehearsals in preparation for the adjudication and to Mr Cosic and Mrs Anderson for their hard work in rehearsing and preparing the bands for their performances.

Semester 1 Junior Secondary Showcase

We recently enjoyed a wonderful night of performances from our Junior School students who selected an Arts elective this semester. Years 7 and 9 Music, Dance, Drama and Visual Arts students presented to family and friends songs, dances, drama scripts and art works that they had been working on this semester.

Well done to all students who performed and to their teachers for preparing them, for what can be a very scary thing.

Next semester there will a change to the organisation of Junior Showcase due to the large number of family and friends who come along to support their child. The showcases will be split across two nights:

• Year 8 and 9 Music students - Tuesday 27th November from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
• Year 8 and 9 Dance and Drama students - Wednesday 28th November from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

All performances will be in the Star Theatre.

Band Tour

Starting back in Term 3 we are preparing for our tour to Tasmania which is from Tuesday 14 to Saturday 18 August. There will be a Tour Band rehearsal on Sunday 22 July from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm in the Star Theatre. The Tour Band is then performing at Bands in the Park on Sunday 29 July from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm.

News from the Language Department

Year 10 French Immersion Afternoon

On Thursday 24th May, Madame Peters and seven Year 10 students travelled to Stuartholme School in Toowong to participate in the Year 10 French Immersion Afternoon. Annika, Dakota, Emily, Igor, Harry, Lauren and Marianthi participated in different workshops run by French teachers and met other Year 10 French students from all over Brisbane. They were required to speak French the whole time and everyone enjoyed playing Jeopardy, learning French slang, speed “dating” and other activities. The students enjoyed some French snacks and won prizes for their efforts. Félicitations à tous!

Japanese Culinary Excursion

On 22nd June, Year 10 Japanese students celebrated the end of exams with a Japanese culinary excursion to our local Japanese restaurant, Chidori. The generous Japanese chef created a special bento box for Wynnum students, with six signature Japanese dishes all in one bento!

Everyone absolutely loved the food, and some could not even resist ordering more dishes or desserts as they were too good to ignore!

Again, big “arigato gozaimasu!” to the kind and supportive staff at Chidori. Sadamoto Sensei, Tao, Lily, Elizabeth, Samantha, Shana and Tracey look forward to going back again!

HOST FAMILIES

Sport News

Interhouse Athletics Carnival

On Friday 15 June, we held our Interhouse Athletics Carnival. For the first time we had a ‘Superhero’ theme and both students and staff thoroughly enjoyed dressing up! Students turned up in droves with a huge increase in participation from previous years.

The participation and behaviour of our students throughout the day was representative of our PROUD mantra. This year, the students travelled around to their events as a whole year level. This not only resulted in significant increases in participation, but also helped build a positive atmosphere of support and encouragement at the events. Well done to our Year 7 students who experienced their first high school athletics carnival and some events for the first time. Participation was especially high amongst these students, which was great to see. Hopefully this is a trend that continues into their senior years.

Congratulations to all who participated and of course the Age Champions and the Runner-Up Age Champions for the day. These students were heavily involved in the events and their hard work was rewarded.

It was a close finish with Mitchell House pipping Cunningham House at the post!

Thank you to all staff for ensuring the day was a success.

Overall House Points

1st – Mitchell - 1766 points
2nd – Cunningham 1746 points
3rd – Kennedy - 1563 points
4th – Oxley - 1467 points

Percentage Points

1st – Oxley
2nd – Cunningham
3rd – Mitchell
4th – Kennedy

Age Champions and Runner-Up Age Champions

Maths Department News

Dream Big

‘Engineering our world’ and experiential activities for children in Years 3-8.

Hosted by: Engineers Australia
Start time: 2:00 pm
Location: The Cube - Queensland University of Technology

Real Engineers! Real Engineering!

Registrations for the SQ Engineering Link Project (ELP) are now open.

What did students say about the ELP last year?

"It was a very enjoyable experience and allowed me to understand the different disciplines better"

“ I loved the learning experiences which can’t be found in a school classroom"

"Each activity clearly enabled me to see the links between maths learned at school and real-world applications."

Participants will work directly with professional engineers and QUT Engineering Ambassadors.

Where: QUT Gardens Point Campus, Brisbane
When: Thursday 12 and Friday 13 July 2018
Cost: $66 (lunches and materials provided)

You can download a flyer for this event to distribute to your students by clicking here:

The flyer has information on how to register for the event.

Registrations close - July 6th.

For more information please see Mr Wilson.

Technology Department News

Year 10 Design

This year Wynnum State High School introduced a Year 10 Design subject and students have had the opportunity to explore and apply design thinking to solve real-world problems. The budding Year 10 designers applied their problem solving skills to generate creative solutions for a hypothetic Juice and Smoothie Bar in the local community. This included design of architecture, branding and products. Next semester students will explore mechanical and electrical concepts as they design, produce and race model dragsters. In 2019, Design is being offered as a Senior subject as part of the new QCE system, providing a practical academic pathway for students interested in Design careers such as Engineering, Architecture, Information Technology, Graphic Design, Industrial Design and Product Design.

Cubby Houses for Sale!

Year 12 students enrolled in the Certificate I in Construction course have been developing their competencies in framing by building a number of scaled houses ie Cubby houses! Anyone interested in purchasing a cubby house needs to send a bid to the school office stating how much they are interested in paying. Successful bidders will need to organise transport of the house. Two of the three houses won’t be completed until Semester 2 but anyone interested can register their bid now.

Year 10 Food Technology

This semester, Year 10 Food Technology students studied a Food and Nutrition unit in preparation for the new Food and Nutrition subject being offered in 2019. Students studied the six key nutrients and tackled a design challenge. They researched and adapted a food product to meet the nutritional needs of a person at a specific stage of the life span. Students followed the design process to investigate their chosen life span stage, generated a design brief and possible solution, produced a quality product, evaluated and reflected on their processes using criteria for success. Some examples of solutions produced were Beef and vegetable sausage rolls, Chia oatmeal bowl, Chicken broccoli and cashew stir-fry and Eggs benedict with avocado and bacon.

Every 10 minutes in Australia over 6000kg textile items are added to landfill.

This semester in Year 9 Design Technology Textiles the students explored the notion of sustainability and investigated the idea of upcycling. Using preowned jeans, the students were required to use the design process to produce a non-apparel item. The students were really creative and produced some fantastic items including; aprons, pencil cases, book bags and backpacks. Next term the students will learn how to read patterns and will design and produce their own pyjamas.

Career News

Work Experience

This week sees thirty-five Year 10 students participate in a full week of work experience. The purpose of work experience is to allow students to connect with industries that they are interested in, finding out how these business run, requirements needed for this occupation and to help with the transition from school to work.

The school would like to take this opportunity to thank the following business for providing work experience for our students. Without your help this program could not continue.

• Bayside Discount Trophies
• Wynnum Vet Hospital
• Smooch Boutique
• Brisbane City Council
• Cambridge Lane Hair
• Stein Art
• Best and Less
• Crossley Cycles
• Wynnum State School
• Future Auto
• Manly Road Veterinary
• Bunnings Cannon Hill
• Manly Kitchen
• Aim Labs
• Citiscan Radiology
• Everton Park State School
• Moreton Bay Childcare
• Piccardi Legal
• Belmont Road Veterinary
• Department of Human Services
• Big W Capalaba
• Chemist Warehouse
• Bulimba State School
• Milla Café Wellington Point
• Wynnum Music
• Guardian Angels Primary School
• Wynnum West State School

Tertiary Studies Expo – Brisbane

This is an important event for students in South-East Queensland. It is an opportunity to talk to representatives from Queensland and interstate universities, TAFE Queensland, private colleges, the Defence Force, the Queensland Police Service, Gap Year programs and other education and training organisations about their courses and career pathways. The Expo will be held from 10 am – 4 pm on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July 2018 at the Royal International Convention Centre, RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane. The website provides information about the exhibitors, the seminar program and competitions.

You will be able to go into the draw to win a $500 JB Hi-Fi gift voucher by downloading the form and putting it in the entry barrel at the QTAC stand during the Expo.

Years 10, 11 and 12 students with a passion for social media can register to be a 2018 TSXPO Student Ambassador and help promote the Expo. Students Ambassadors will have a chance to win a $100 Myer voucher or a $50 Event Cinemas Voucher.

Apprenticeships

2019 Australian Government Digital Apprenticeship Program

The Australian Government Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Apprenticeship Program targets students who are currently completing their Year 12 studies. As an apprentice, you will complete an ICT qualification as well as work within an Australian Government agency in ICT related areas such as:

• user research
• cyber security
• interactive media
• software engineering
• infrastructure support
• big data
• data analytics
• applications development
• networking
• programming
• web development
• systems testing
• systems analysis and design
• help desk

Applications for the 2019 Program are now open and close 2 July 2018. Visit their website for more information about:

• Who it is for
• What you’ll get to work on
• Locations
• Who you’ll be working for
• Benefits
• Support and coaching
• How to apply
• Three stages to success

From the School Nurse

Teen Sleep – Explained

Your teen is not trying to be difficult when they can’t sleep.

It’s actually their changing biology and physiology:

Changes in Circadian Rhythm (Body Clock)

Medical experts know that during adolescence, the body's circadian rhythm (sort of like an internal biological clock) is temporarily reset, telling the teenage brain to fall asleep later and wake up later.

This change is due to the brain hormone melatonin being produced later at night for teens, than it is for young kids and adults. Melatonin increases in a cyclic fashion at night making you feel sleepy. For teens, this delay in the release of melatonin can actually make it harder for teens to fall asleep at the right time.

From age 12 to 18, the amount of sleep biologically required plateaus at around 9 hours per night. The teenage years are actually the only time in our human lifespan when sleep does not decrease with advancing age. So whether your teen is 12 or 18 years, they’ll still need around 9 hours sleep on average.

Busy Lifestyle

Your teenager is busy and this has a critical effect on how much sleep is achieved:

• Early start times in schools - Teens who fall asleep late still have to get up early for school, meaning they might only squeeze in 6 or 7 hours of sleep a night.
• Other time demands in the evening or early morning - Everything from sports to extracurricular activities to catching up with friends.

Pressure to do well in school – The pressure to do well academically is high. Typically the need to study and do homework extends into the night.

Electronic Devices

Whether it’s their mobile phone, iPod Touch, iPad, School Tablet, MP3 player, TV in the bedroom…all these electronic devices get used at night when your teenager is meant to be asleep.

Rather than sleeping, your child can be chatting and interacting online with their sleep deprived mates. With their strong drive to be socially connected 24/7 teens are fearful of missing out on any social developments, even through the night.

And it’s not just this frenzy of electronic activity that’s waking up a sleepy brain, but additionally the light emitted from these electronic screens, particularly short wavelength blue light, further delays sleep by suppressing the sleep hormone melatonin.

Teenagers require about 9 hours sleep per night. However a recent study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found 70% of high school students get insufficient sleep on school nights. Effects of this poor sleep include:

Learning & memory

• Lack of sleep impairs learning and memory. Medical studies have shown teenagers who regularly score C, D or F in school tests average 30 minutes less sleep per night than teens who regularly get A and B grades.
• When a teenager is sleep deprived, their body is only able to focus on being tired, resulting in a reduced willingness and motivation to learn.

Emotional & mental health

• A 2010 study found that teenagers who go to bed after midnight suffer more negative mood swings, are 24% more likely to suffer from depression & anxiety, and are 20% more likely to consider harming themselves.
• Sleep deprived teenagers are more prone to developing a negative body image, subsequent low self-esteem, and a loss of their sense of humour.

Behaviour & lifestyle

• Sleep deprivation is the number 1 cause of motor vehicle accidents with 20% of road deaths caused by micro-sleeps. Around half of these types of deaths are of 16-25 year olds.
• Sleep deprivation switches off the prefrontal cortex of the brain, thus increasing risk-taking behavior especially in boys.
• Poor sleep affects sporting ability. A recent study on NBA basket ballers showed significant improvements when their sleep was optimised including: reacting quicker, remembering plays better, greater shooting accuracy and sprinting faster.
• Sleep deprived teens have a more difficult relationship with their parents, a higher incidence of being late for school, increased school absenteeism & detention.

Body systems

• Sleep deprivation in teens has been linked to lower levels of Human Growth Hormone, which is integral to a teenager’s physical growth, brain development and maturation of their immune system.
• Not getting enough sleep causes the number of T cells in a teenager’s body to fall by 30 to 40% thereby reducing the ability of their immune system to fight everyday infections.
• Sleep deprived teens get more headaches than those that don’t.
• A 2011 study published in the International Journal of Obesity showed teenagers who slept less than 8 hours had higher values of BMI, body fat, waist/hip circumferences and fat mass index.

Teen Sleep Myths - Exposed –

What can parents do –

Talk to your child about the benefits of a good night’s sleep – sleep physicians recommend this be will be more helpful in early teens as poor sleep habits begin to establish then and younger adolescents may be more receptive to strategies

Help your child establish a pre sleep routine – warm baths, reading from non-backlit sources, music, light snacks can all help, routine and order helps establish readiness for sleep

Retrain the brain – bedtime and lights out occur at the same time, avoid activities on or in the bed not related to sleep, this helps to condition the brain that bed is for sleep

Avoid having digital devices in the bedroom – this can take some negotiation, and again may be more readily done with younger adolescents. Find some ideas on how to manage this click below:

FULL CONTENT OF REFERENCE ARTICLES at -

Gabrielle Nolan
Youth Health Nurse