21 August 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Community and Innovation are two of our 4 Pillars of Learning certainly being tested this year. It’s been difficult to maintain those things, rituals if you like, of public events, ceremonies, even gathering to watch Cav beat the school down the road at sport fixtures having potential to take away some of those connections we took for granted. Nonetheless the challenge this year is not only to maintain one’s sanity – and I do not make that comment lightly as mental health and strength is serious business – but the need to be intellectually agile and innovate in the daily business.

To date our school is travelling well and in particular our journey this year punctuates the need for our students and families to remain resilient, not give up and face these challenges. Some year levels will have to face not having some social opportunities this year but not without considering every angle. As I reported to P and C this week we will need to investigate how annual awards and graduation will be conducted and I will by next newsletter have plans to share on these two occasions in our annual calendar of celebrating student success.

Parents and students will know that we run a theme through PS and PSC classes related to our school values of the 5 C’s. I suggest we could add another C for Courage given these current times but 5 will do for now.

3 out of 5. Commitment and Challenge have been explored and in previous newsletter I have spoken about our students’ unwavering commitment to community in their philanthropic work. The canned food drive for charity (another C?), CavKoda and Year 10s in their Rite of Passage latest was to make 2500 sandwiches one afternoon for “Eat Up” to distribute to the homeless. Pictures and stories in this edition.

In our last school assembly, which is posted to our YouTube channel for the brave who would like to view it, I spoke to students about identifying and conquering their own personal challenge. This takes a measure of maturity and reflection. Senior leaders were of same mind and a number of students made comment to me of their understanding of the importance of staying true to our 5 C’s.

I have no illusions that the ‘mail got through’ to everyone. Little things matter and behaviours and attention to detail conveys many things. An anecdote to share is that challenge for me of late in the great collective pride in our school is that amongst the sea of green entering the school each morning is the odd but all too frequent Year 10 or 11 boy strolling in with their white shirt out, or having to deal with the occasional insolence referred to me that I have had to deal with recently that isn’t the norm at Cav. I have to wonder. We have expectations, and importantly support for students for which our school is renowned and to wear their correct uniform and to a high standard without penalty is not complex. Put simply, though easily corrected another C occurs to me – Caring. I will say that a word of correction fixes things and parents would agree with me I’d rather be addressing other more important matters, but that is the point. There is nothing more important than a conscious connection and willingness to contribute and be a part of a community where we find our collective strength and resilience amidst challenge. I squeezed a lot of C’s in that last sentence!

We are travelling well. Academically and on the sports field for students, and the capacity building of teachers through our professional learning teams and innovations in that space are being valued and applied. A message to be understood is that we all care enough to ensure we meet and beat these current challenges.

Richard Usher BA LLB Dip Teach
Executive Principal

Associate Principal

Darren Beebe

Year 11 and 12 students studying General subjects have key assessment items to set them up for the end of Year 12 External Assessments coming up over the second half of the term.

Year 12 students will embark on the Mock External Assessments across 2 weeks starting on Monday 31 August. The QCAA has produced “mock” or “practice” external exams for schools to use to help prepare students for the exams. There are two types. Public mocks are available for download via the QCAA website. Our teachers will tend to use the public mock for classroom learning and/or classroom exam practice as further familiarisation for the Year 12s but are also available for students and parents to download. The secure mocks are only available to schools and these are the exams Cav Rd will be using for our formal practice external assessments. It will be an opportunity for students to practise responding in this formal setting, view their progress and understanding of their knowledge, skills and application and receive feedback from teachers about their strengths and areas to focus on. These mock assessments and then the remaining 4 weeks of classes before the External Assessments will be designed around ensuring the students are the best prepared they can be.

Below are 2 links to QCAA documents to help our Year 12 students be ready for the way the exams will be conducted: an external exam equipment list and directions for students.

Year 11 students commence a six-day block exam period on Friday 11 September. Students will only be required to attend during the exam sessions during this block, with exception for students who have other school work or assessment to finalise. These students will be directed to attend by the Deputy Principal or Senior Schooling Head of Department. These block exams are end of Unit 2 exams and will be based on the type of assessment the students can expect to sit at the external assessments at the end of Unit 4 next year. Student achievement on these exams will be reported in the Semester 2 report cards and will provide feedback on progress to-date. They will also be an excellent practice of the type of external assessment the students will sit in Term 4 in 2021. Assessing their own achievement and using teacher feedback are important strategies students can use to develop their own capacity for improvement. Students can also access the Senior Schooling Head of Department, Karyn Trapp, and the school Guidance Officers for help and support in seeking academic improvement.

Finally, one of the changes that this new Year 11 & 12 curriculum brought us is a change to the Semester 2 Student Free Day. The Student Free Day, which previously occurred in October, will now occur on Friday 4 September. This allows teachers across Queensland to participate in QCAA Confirmation activities where samples of student work across all subjects in all schools are reviewed independently by markers to assess accuracy to standards. At Cav Rd, there are many teachers participating in Confirmation. The remaining teaching staff will participate in professional development during this day.

Associate Principal

Catherine McCarthy

I have had the pleasure of attending a number of year level parades recently. I was at the Year 8 parade to see the acknowledgement of recent student recent success in their Semester 1 report cards; not just academic achievement but behaviour and effort. It was heartening to see the number of students being recognised. I also visited Year 7 parade and heard about the wonderful number of CavRoadian tickets that have been handed out. It is pleasing to hear that students are appreciating the recognition of their efforts in implementing the 5 Cs and showing what it is to be a CavRoadian.

It has been great to have a year level parades back in recent weeks. I know the Deans are enjoying being able to meet with their year levels and celebrate the successes of their students face to face. The role of the Deans in our school is very important as part of supporting the wellbeing of students. I see our Deans in the playground during breaks chatting with students, laughing and developing positive relationships with students. Ms Laidlaw, Mr Brent, Ms Williams, Mr Batchler, Ms Schafer, and Ms Potter do a great job of supporting their year levels as Deans and leading and contributing to the great sense of community in the school.

I would also like to welcome Mrs Jane Larsen to Cav Rd in the role of Guidance Officer. Ms Shauna McVie has taken leave and Mrs Larsen will be with us through to the end of the year. Mrs Larsen brings a wealth of knowledge to her role at Cav Rd and I know that we are excited to have her here. The Guidance team are working hard at the moment in supporting the SET Planning process for Year 10s as they transition into Year 11 while also conducting the one on one interviews with Year 12s around their plans for next year and QTAC applications.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

The NCCD is an annual collection of information about Australian school students who are receiving adjustments due to disability. The school team is currently going through the process of recording and verifying NCCD data to be submitted during August each year.

A student is counted in the NCCD is they receive reasonable adjustments at school due to disability. Each year, schools collect the following information about the student, including:

• Their year of schooling
• The level of adjustment received
• The broad type of disability (physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional)

Please note that while data is collected at a school level, personal details such as student names or student identifiers are not provided to federal education authorities as part of the NCCD.

Please read the 2020 Information Notice and the Fact Sheet for Parents, Guardians and Carers if you require further information.

Parents and Citizens’ (P and C) Association

Next Meeting

Join us for the next P&C meeting – it will be on Tuesday 15 September at 7pm. Details will be on our facebook page closer to the date.

Canteen and Uniform Shop – (My Student Account)

As mentioned elsewhere in the newsletter and in the email from the school last week, we are very excited that payment by Student ID card at the canteen and Uniform Shop is now available to all families. Please see the note from the canteen convenors in the Canteen Update regarding correct entry of the Student ID card number in My Student Account. This will help keep the queues moving at lunch times.

The canteen is looking for more volunteers, please see the Canteen Update for more details if you are able to help out – every bit of help is very much appreciated.

The uniform shop has new Terms & Conditions – you can find these on the Uniform Shop page of the school website. In summary:

• Emails will no longer be sent to let you know that your order is ready for collection. If items are out of stock you will be emailed, otherwise your order will be ready for collection on the next day that the uniform shop is open (Monday 8am to 11:30am, Wednesday 8am to 9am, Friday 8am to 9am)
• Returns or exchanges will only be allowed within 1 month of the order date. For Back to School Orders in November and December this will be extended until January 31.

And the Rest

We have had fun spending money so far this year. The Cav Rd Mountain Biking Team (MTB) are very happy with their smart new shirts. The P&C is very proud to have contributed to the cost. See the photo below.

We also wish the eighteen Cav-Koda teams all the best tomorrow for their 28km or 56km hikes wearing the shirts and caps provided with P&C funding. Well done to all the teachers and students who have kept up their hiking training despite the cancellation of the official Kokoda Challenge events and a huge thank you to Ms Mitchell and Mr Kalpakidis for organising the replacement event.

How to participate

1. Attend Meetings

7pm on the third Tuesday of the month in the Resource Centre – next meeting is Tuesday 21 July 2020.

2. Parents and Citizens Facebook page

3. Email list

If you would like to be added to our mailing list and receive reminders about future meetings and copies of our minutes and agenda please email pandcsecretary.cavrd@gmail.com

4. Volunteering

The canteen and uniform shop are always looking for helpers. If you have a little time and would like to help, please feel welcome to pop in. Even coming along for a short time to assist on one of the days would be a huge help. For more information or to advise when you are available to assist please contact:

the Canteen team on 3394 0723 or canteen.cavrd@gmail.com

or the uniform shop - uniformshop.cavrd@gmail.com

We are always looking for new members for working groups or to assist at events – if you are interested please contact pandcsecretary.cavrd@gmail.com

We’ve had two successful online P&C meetings now and have loved having so many people join us. We’re not sure yet when face to face meetings can start up again but we will let you know. We do have a few things to discuss and some money to spend, so please come along and have a say.

See you all at the next meeting!

Melanie Rieger - Vice-President Communications
Cav Road SHS P&C Association

Canteen News

Reminders:

• All bags are to be left outside the canteen.
• Please use hand sanitiser available upon entry.
• Hats and jumpers to be worn properly inside the canteen, NOT carried.
• Please do not give us foreign coins.
• Do not litter! Put your trash in the bins provided outside.

Payments:

• Eftpos/Credit cards/Student ID cards preferable.
• We still accept Cash.
• Student ID cards – make sure you enter the correct Student ID number on their card, including the letter at the end
• Please make sure you have enough funds in your account before you get to the counter

Pre-Orders:

Available between 8am-9am. Grab your breakfast while you’re here!

With the popularity & demand of pre-ordering, we have opened up the room between the canteen & uniform shop to ease congestion. This will be opened at 1st breaks on both Thursdays & Fridays.

Volunteers:

Due to this year’s circumstances, we have lost a few volunteers to fulltime work, so if you have some spare time and would like to volunteer, please send us a message.

Roberta or Madonna
canteen.cavrd@gmail.com or phone 3394 0723 7am-2pm

Finance

Cavendish Road State High School is now a cashless school.

How to Make Payment at Cavendish Road State High School

DET Preferred Payment Method - BPoint

Please use the CRN (Customer Reference Number) located on the bottom left hand side of your invoice. Payment can be made through the Payment Portal:

This is a secure site and receipts are issued immediately. Our records are updated within 24 hours.

Copies of invoices and receipts are available on your QParents Portal. Payments can also be made in QParents.

Payment Plan Via eDDR (Electronic Direct Debit Registration)

Contact finance@cavendishroadshs.eq.edu.au or phone 07-3394-0777 to speak to our Finance Team to discuss a payment plan.

By Phone with a Credit/Debit Card

Please phone 1300 BPoint – 1300-631-073.

When making a payment please have your invoice ready as you will need your CRN (Customer Reference Number) and Invoice Number.

In Person at Cavendish Road State High School

Office Hours are Monday to Friday 8.00am to 1.30pm on school days.

Payment can be made by EFTPOS. We do not accept cash payment.

CentrePay Deductions

Please contact our Finance Team to discuss this option.

Guidance Service

Year 12

Post school options interviews have commenced. This is an opportunity for students to explore what options are available, and to start the process of ‘fine tuning’, their preferences post school.

The interviews will continue until the end of term 3. Students should have also registered with myQCE (QCAA results), QTAC – there are two (one for QTAC applications and one for the ATAR portal). Additional information to support this process is available to students on the Yr 12 Career Development page (Learning Place).

Additional information is also available on Virtual Open Days, scholarships, dealing with exams, study and the future.

Year 10

SET-P processes have started and students have been selecting subjects for 11 / 12. A large amount of information has been forwarded to students and parents already, however if you need assistance with this process, please feel free to contact the guidance team – 2025_guidanceofficer@eq.edu.au

Year 8 and 9

Students are in the process of selecting subjects for 2021 – again if you need assistance or further clarification, please contact the guidance team - 2025_guidanceofficer@eq.edu.au

2020 has been a challenging and changing year, which has caused disruption to the study and routines for many students. This, for some, has not returned to any set pattern and has affected some students’ ability to engage, complete or submit academic requirements. If these areas are raising some concerns, please feel free to discuss with the wellbeing team at Cav.

Guidance Team – Rob Stewart, Michael Lynch, Alycia Wilkinson and Jane Larson

Year 7 Dean Report

The Year 7 students have eagerly settled into term three and learning routines. The students have also been excited to see interschool and recreational sport return this term. An exciting occasion last week was our fourth (socially-distanced) year level parade for the year. Year level parades came to a grinding halt after Year 7 camp in term one, so it was wonderful to get the cohort together last Monday to deliver important messages and celebrate the academic achievements from semester one. Seventeen students received academic awards for achieving all A's and excellence in effort and behaviour in all subjects in semester one. Forty-six students received awards for achieving all A’s in behaviour and effort for semester one. The Year 7 teachers and I are tremendously proud of these students and congratulate them on their achievements.

Semester One Reports

Please make sure you have read your child’s report emailed in Week 2. While there hasn’t been formal parent/teacher interviews this term due to Covid19 restrictions on schools, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher if you would like to arrange a phone interview.

Absences and school work

I would like to extend a giant thank you for your attentiveness in keeping your unwell children at home. Normally classrooms in winter are a chorus of sneezes, coughs and sniffling but this is all noticeably absent this year.

If students are absent due to illness or awaiting Covid19 test results and need to complete work at home, students should contact their class teachers to arrange work. Many teachers have continued to use online learning platforms like OneNote to store lesson content and students know how to access these.

Tutoring for Year 7 Students

If you would like your child to gain some additional assistance in Maths, Science, English or Humanities, tutoring is available for year 7 students Wednesday afternoons 3-4pm in Y01 and Y02. Students just need to stay back after school and choose the subject area they’d like support in. A roll is marked and students are dismissed at 4pm.

Uniforms

At breaks I have noticed a number of students without hats. Can you please ensure your child is wearing their hat to school every day. Students are not permitted to wear fashion necklaces or rings. Only cultural or religious necklaces are permitted and these must hang lower than the collar and require Executive Principal approval. A simple form is available at the school Administration. Please tell your child to visit the uniform correction room when they arrive to school if they don’t have a correct item for the day. We can loan them the correct items.

Charged Laptops for School

Please ensure your child charges their laptop each night and comes to school with a fully charged laptop. When students have flat laptops it presents problems later in the day when students are unable to complete classwork.

Wellbeing and Student Concerns

Thank you for your emails and communication in the past few weeks about your children. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Tracy Laidlaw - Year 7 Dean
talai0@eq.edu.au or Direct staffroom phone: 3394 0731

Year 10 Dean Report

SET PLAN

It has been a very exciting and busy term for our Year 10 students. The last 10 weeks has seen all students engaged in a career development program. This program asked students to reflect on study options for Year 11 and 12 as well as post school career pathways. Senior subject applications have been submitted this week using the ‘SETP at HOME’ platform to help guide parents and students through the process.

All subject applications will be reviewed by the Senior Schooling HOD (Mrs Trapp) and a Guidance Officer. Subject applications which are agreed by both parents and school will not require an interview. Subject applications which raise concerns will require an interview and parents/carers will be contacted for a suitable time. Interviews will be completed via phone or face to face as negotiated in Week 7 and 8.

RITE OF PASSAGE

Approximately 150 students have completed their rite of passage challenge over the last 10 weeks. A range of challenges both personal and community have been completed. Namely, the ‘Cavrona 100km isolation challenge’, EATUP charity lunch making, ‘Cav-Koda’ 28km & 56 km hiking event, Duke of Ed and weekly after school maths tutoring. Looking towards the future, students will have the opportunity to participate in the 40 hr famine, the SUDSY challenge and more EATUP lunch making sessions.

EATUP FOUNDATION LUNCH MAKING:

EATUP makes and delivers thousands of lunches each week to schools around Australia proving lunch for the less fortunate families. Lunches are a vital part of the day to keep students engaged and focused for their learning. On two occasions in the last fortnight around 75 year 10 students through the Rite of Passage program gave up their Monday afternoon. They were challenged to making over 2500 cheese sandwiches. These sandwiches were then distributed to 24 schools on the north side of Brisbane. For more information on the foundation please follow this link, or check them out on Instagram.

Paul Batchler – Year 10 Dean
pbatc4@eq.edu.au or Direct staffroom phone: 3394 0754

The Arts

Drama

Welcome to our new Drama students this term in Years 7, 8 and 9. As you are half way through the term you will be totally immersed into drama skills, activities, viewed live on-line theatre and begun reading play texts.

Senior students are working on MOCK EXAMS preparing for exam block later this term and then the real deal in November. Senior students are reading a combination of plays from HOODS by Angela Betzien, CHILDREN OF THE BLACK SKIRT by Angela Betzien and BLACK DIGGERS by Tom Wright. Senior students will be viewing DVD productions of these performances in class.

THEATRE PERFORMANCE - ONLINE THEATRE PERFORMANCE by SHOCK THERAPY - UNDERTOW

On Monday 3 August all Drama students in the Semester 2 program viewed the LIVE ON-LINE STREAMING of the production UNDERTOW by Shock Therapy Theatre Company. This was an incredible production reinforcing in class teaching and learning. The issues and themes within the production are ones students can relate to given the age of social media, gender identification and family matters. This was an outstanding production which all students have since used for assessment.

Toni Ryan - Drama Coordinator

English

The subject of English is one that is full of creativity and wonder, one that challenges the expectations of our reality, and one that teaches life lessons to all. While not every student loves the subject as much as their teachers do, all students will engage positively in a component of the subject at some stage in the education.

In term 3, we have students from four year levels completing a novel study, while others are immersing themselves deep into poetry and Shakespeare units. The English staffroom is full of positive stories from all year levels – I am hearing of everything from brave Year 7s standing up and volunteering their opinions for the first time, right through to Year 12s creating out-of-this-world cartoon analyses of Macbeth. All of these stories give me hope for our future; although there is so much at the moment that could damper our spirits, students are going above and beyond both in and out of class and are learning of resilience and flexibility along the way.

This term, I have taken on a new course for some select Year 10s, in lieu of their general English class: a Literacy Short Course. The Short Course is one that provides real life literacy skills for students, and gives opportunity for these skills to be developed in a safe and supportive environment. Students have been learning how to: fill out forms accurately, apply for rental vacancies, read and understand invoice terminology, understand what news is and how it is delivered, and what our rights as consumers are. For the majority of these students, completing this course is something that they look forward to weekly, which is in direct comparison to how some have previously felt about school. Through in-class reflections, students have said that the Short Course is, “The best thing I am doing at school right now” (JS) and that, “Everything we are learning in class is useful for the real world and I want to know more” (CS).

To me, this course is about empowering the students who do not always find success in their studies – teaching them that they can experience accomplishment academically, whilst also giving them the life skills that the curriculum does not provide. Students, whom I have taught for years, are the most engaged I have ever seen them. I have watched on as they are making better choices not only in class, but out in the grounds during breaks. They have matured so much in just the past few weeks that they are beginning to become unrecognisable as the kids that they once were – they are growing into positive young men and women.

As the year moves on, and the uncertainty of the times continues, I urge all students to take the time to reflect on your learning practices, especially those of you who are inching closer and closer to the end of their secondary studies. Use your teachers and peers for guidance and seek help when you need it. Finally, keep a smile on your face and remain optimistic about what life is throwing at you, after all, “It is our choices… that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Ms Keri Vincent (English Teacher)

Humanities

Social and Community Studies

This term in Social and Community Studies students studied The Science of Character and developed an understanding of gratitude, how to practice it and why we should. They also learnt about the gifts we all carry inside of us so that we can use them to make the world a better place. They decorated jars which was filled with things and people who they are grateful for. Finally, they painted abstracts that conveyed the meaning of challenge and humanity.

Gratitude is a choice, you choose how you think, it’s your choice whether you focus on the good things or bad things in life. You also choose how you act, it’s also your choice whether you want to do things that lift others up or bring them down.

Who or what are you grateful for? Why? Challenge yourself to find or see the good in your life every day.

Cindy – Year 12 Student

Languages - Japanese

Why choose Japanese in Year 9 and beyond?

In order to study Senior Japanese in Year 11 and 12 students must study a consistent pathway of two semesters in Year 9 and 10. Students entering Year 9 Japanese must have a solid pass (C+ or above) in Year 8 Japanese and be able to read and write hiragana script well. Students who pass Senior Japanese are currently eligible for ATAR bonus rank points when applying for university entry. They can also gain an internationally recognised qualification by sitting the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test), held around the world each year. Year 11 and 12 students are able to pass Level 5 (or 4 with extra study) of the test and have the qualification recorded on their QCE. Many Cav Road students have achieved this qualification in prior years.

In times of no travel restrictions, there is also a range of study opportunities in Japan. Apart from the Cavendish Road Japan Study Tour, students can also apply for Education Queensland study abroad programs. Cav Road students have successfully won places in these programs in the past.

Languages - STEAM and 22nd Century Skills

“STEAM” represents STEM plus the arts – including language arts. STEAM education enables students to develop 21st century skills such as problem solving. However, there is also now a push in the direction of  22nd century skills – Connection, Care, Community and Culture. These skills are at the heart of what we teach in Languages. Employers are increasingly looking for a wide skill set rather than a specific set of knowledge and are evaluating would-be employees by criteria such as communication skills, curiosity, resilience and adaptability.

Languages students display all these traits. Learning a new language is no mean feat. It requires numerous personal qualities and creates many more which are often more highly valued by employers more than the language itself. These include perseverance, motivation, cultural awareness, open-mindedness and ability to learn from mistakes. By learning a new language, students have demonstrated true commitment, organisation, dedication and a lot of hard work. Learning a language is also good for brain function and developing communication skills in one’s first language. Watch “Brain Benefits of Learning Two Languages”

It is true that technology enables approximate translations to be obtained but it will never replicate the non-linguistic soft skills required to truly understand another person or their culture. If you are not convinced watch the YouTube video “Is it worth learning other languages in 2020?”

(note we do not endorse or have any affiliation with the product).

Sources:

2020 MLTAQ/ Education Perfect Online Languages Speech Contest

Cav Road Japanese students will have the opportunity to participate in the Modern Language Teachers Association of Queensland Speech Contest. The contest will run online this year with students submitting a video to the Education Perfect website. There are divisions for each year level 7-10 for both students learning the language for the first time and for background speakers. There are also open and background speaker divisions for senior students. There is a limit of four entries per division so students should register their interest with Ms Balfour, the Japanese Coordinator as soon as possible via email, jbalf7@eq.edu.au so heats can run at school if necessary to decide final entrants.

Joy Balfour – Japanese Teacher

Mathematics

Highly Accomplished Teacher

It is with great celebration that I let all parents know that one of our teachers has been recognised for her exceptional devotion to students, being named a Highly Accomplished Teacher.

Many of you will know the work of Ms Fomsgaard well. She has worked at Cavendish Road SHS for the past five and a half years and came to us with a background in medicine.

Her work ethic and devotion to students has been a hallmark of her teaching since her arrival. She continues to go above and beyond to meet the needs of the students and her reputation is well known to many across the community.

The recognition of Highly Accomplished Teacher is a national accreditation and is awarded to very few applicants. The standards of evidence required are significant and applicants must meet all of the standards contained the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) at a highly accomplished level.

Ms Fomsgaard is one of only 75 teachers recognised across the state working at a Highly Accomplished level. This number includes all sectors of Primary, Secondary and Special Education.

She has contributed significantly to development of flipped learning within our department that is used to support students across multiple year levels and classes. Her work has influenced the teaching and learning of mathematics across our department and had influence across the whole school.

Not to rest on her laurels Ms Fomsgaard in already busy at work sharing her skills with other teachers within and beyond the school to help them achieve excellence in their profession and be recognised for their work.

We feel honoured to have her on our staff and would ask that you celebrate this significant achievement with us. If she has impacted you or members of your family could I encourage you to reach out with an email of thanks, appreciation or congratulations. These emails to Ms Fomsgaard can be sent to admin@cavendishroadshs.eq.edu.au and will be forwarded to her.

Whilst her humility would never ask for such recognition, it is important that an opportunity to celebrate her impact be provided to all. If you have a feeling that you could be a part of that recognition could I encourage you to do so.

Terry Moran - HoD Mathematics

Science

Year 12 Science in Practice Physiology Experiments

Does breathing through a face mask effect heart rate and oxygen saturation? Does the quality of video influence word comprehension? Does a cold stimulus effect reaction time and blood pressure? How does colour effect peripheral vision? These are some of the questions our Year 12 Science in Practice students are researching for their physiology experimental investigation. Students have identified their own research question and then experiment on each other to find the answer to their question. The students are doing great work demonstrating their scientific and analytical thinking.

Science Academy - Biotechnology

Over the past few weeks, the Year 10 Biology Academy class has been lucky enough to partake in a course in biotechnology. We have covered a variety of interesting topics, such as genetic editing and CRISPR, as well as undertaking our own successful bacterial transformation experiment

To put our Biotech skills to practice, our class participated in an experiment that involved genetic transformation of bacteria. We used a chemical plasmid transformation technique. Our goal was to use a gene extracted from a florescent jellyfish, insert this into the DNA of E. Coli and then cause it to express a ‘glow in the dark protein’. Out of four plates, we predicted that only one would glow as only one plate included all of the necessary components, including ampicillin and arabinose. A heat shock technique and cooling methods were used to produce positive results. Our predictions were correct, and the groups successful glowing colonies are shown in the pictures below. As a class we had a 100% success rate suggesting our laboratory skills are exceptional.

Biotechnology is evolving, and humans will increasingly have the potential to engineer and manipulate characteristics in living organisms. We could potentially edit DNA to treat and prevent disease, combat malnourishment in developing countries, or choose the attributes of future humans. CRISPR – standing for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats – is a technology that is currently being used to edit genes by finding a specific piece of DNA, removing it and adding in a new sequence. The technique has evolved so much that what used to take scientists lengthy periods of time, and would cost a significant amount, might one day be easily done by students in the classroom! What an exciting future we have ahead.

Eva, Olivia and Bonita – Academy Biology Students

STEAM

STEAM Week

From the 17 - 21 of August is National Science Week. This year at Cav we turned Science Week into STEAM week to celebrate all of the STEAM disciplines. On Monday students made bottle rockets that we launched on the bottom oval. On Tuesday, we programmed Lego Mindstorm robots to navigate a maze. On Wednesday, students made lunar landers capable of safely landing a raw egg onto concrete from two stories high. On Thursday we celebrated the Arts with a music performance and visual art displays. On Friday, we held a mathematics quiz. Our STEM Prefects did an exceptional job planning for and hosting this event. Congratulations to Roxy, Leo, Cooper and Jack.

Student Services

Student Free Day – Friday 4 September 2020

Student Change of Details

Have you moved address recently?

Have you changed your phone number or email address?

Please contact the school administration on admin@cavendishroadshs.eq.edu.au or by phone on 3394 0777 to advise any of these changes so we can ensure your child’s information is correct on our school records.

Lost Property

Student services are currently holding lost property items including Formal and Sports hat, soccer boots, black school shoes and drink bottles. If your child is missing anything please have your child organise a visit to Student Services to look through the hundreds of items as this is a collection point for Lost Property. Items left uncollected at the end of term will be disposed of.

Health News: School Based Youth Health Nurse

Sandra Chesney is the School Based Youth Health Nurse at Cavendish Road State High School. She can be found in L block every Thursday and Friday.

The Youth Health Nurse works with students, school staff and parents to:

• Address concerns or problems about health & wellbeing
• Help create a more supportive, healthy school environment
• Connect people to other support services outside the school

I can see young people in private to talk about - health concerns – feeling unhappy, stressed or nervous - relationships – puberty – sleep, diet, exercise – puberty - sexual health – personal / family issues - smoking, alcohol & other drug use.

Parents are able to make an appointment with the School Nurse to discuss any concerns they may have about their child by phoning Student Services.

Community News

Duke of Edinburgh - Award Monthly Report

2020 has been the year of challenges, and the Duke of Edinburgh Award participants have had a lot that has challenged them.

Due to weather issues in March, the Bronze students had their Adventurous Journey delayed. Unfortunately, COVID struck and the students have been eagerly awaiting their journey – something that will be many of the students’ final stepping stone towards completing the Award. Thanks to the Moreton Bay Environment Education Centre, this should be going ahead in week 7.

During the past few months, many of these students have been resilient in completing this Award, even though many of their physical recreation, skill and service opportunities have ceased; I commend those who have sourced other means of completing this Award. You should be proud of your efforts.

Moving forward, the newest recruits into the Award have just begun. These 10 students have taken on the very rewarding challenge of completing the DoE Award and I look forward to working with them over the coming months. Stay tuned for information about what they are planning around community service fundraisers over this next term.

Finally, the Cav Rd Duke of Ed team has expanded – welcome aboard Mrs Natalie Bell. Mrs Bell is now the Secondary Award leader for our Award Unit. She will be mostly helping with the behind the scenes work for the Award, but she will be visible around the school if you have any questions around the Award or if you are interested in signing up.

Ms Keri Vincent - Cav Rd Award Leader

2020 Early School Leavers Survey

The Queensland Government is seeking the support of the school community for the annual survey of Year 10, 11 and 12 students who left school in 2019, before completing Year 12. This short, confidential survey collects information about what young people are doing the year after leaving school. The results of the survey help provide valuable information to improve services available to school leavers in the future.

Between August and September, these school leavers can expect to receive instructions to complete a web-based survey or a telephone call from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office. Please encourage them to take part. If their contact details have changed, please assist the interviewer with their updated details or forward the survey to their new address so they can participate.

Thank you for your support of Next Step post-school destination surveys in 2020.

For more information, visit the link below or telephone toll free on 1800 068 587.

Network for Past Students

Cavendish Road State High School is one of Brisbane’s oldest public high schools and was established in 1952. We are now a school of almost 2000 students with a strong reputation for high quality education. Our School has a long tradition of past students and prominent Australians who proudly refer to themselves as “Cavroadians”.

The network allows past students to stay in touch and maintain a connection with past friends whilst staying connected with Cavendish Road State High and keeping updated with school events.

If you are interesting in applying for Past Student membership, please download the application form and send to Cavendish Road State High School, PO Box 695, Holland Park Q 4121 or email to admin@cavendishroadshs.eq.edu.au