26 November 2021

Newsletter Articles

Executive Principal’s Report

Our school year is nearly at a close yet again and in a blink of an eye it will be 2022. While we plan ahead for next year, the last few weeks of term 4 is time for celebration of our student achievements in the academic, cultural and sporting programs. Students in all year levels have taken part in activities that prepare for their next step in their learning journey at Cav Road.

A dozen or more years now as a senior Principal I have had opportunity to catch up with some past mentors who became very senior in Education Queensland leadership who agreed with the following analogy. To me, leading our school could be compared to figure ice skating. Maintaining one’s balance, going about matters with poise and grace, executing twists and turns and hopefully not ending up on one’s behind on the ice. High expectations of performance have to come from leadership, and has inherent risks. Practice and perseverance matters.

Our Year 12s leave us this year with again, exceptional exit results anticipated. Every year I am impressed by the ultimate calibre of our students in meeting and beating their personal goals and the efforts of many staff, teachers and support staff who are impressed with moral purpose and dedication.

I know our Year 12s will be successful and they come with a ‘lifetime’ Cav Road warranty. Great expectations are had, of students moving from Year 10 and 11 into Years 11 and 12 next year. Deans of year have invested much time and patience and our peer support programs aim to ready our young people to grow and ‘step up’.

Attitudes and behaviours are as important as self-belief and our school’s collective to deliver for very child is only achieved where we reflect, are prepared to change and learn “new tricks”. Much of my professional reading this year, was particularly inspired by having to be agile in the face of the pandemic and the uncertainties that this brings to such ‘normalised’ institutions such as schools. The messages being hammered home are that the world has changed, pandemic or not, and we just woke up to the fact that ‘business as usual’ will not ‘cut it’.

Our children learn when they see relevance of their learning, and in a way that atunes with their expectations of life experience. Tradition and innovation are two of our school’s four foundation principles. A snapshot of the school year is published in our school magazine that survives another year as one of our 20th century traditions. It is tangible. One can actually hold it. Sometimes ‘tradition’ can be incompatible with innovation. And innovation IN learning is not always furthering the mission or purpose of innovation OF learning.

Tradition can impart a meaning of ‘always doing what we have always done’ because it’s safe and familiar and we have ‘rules’. Because we want order and certainty. Which means we do not shift: a ‘someone moved my cheese’ response can result when change is called for. While innovation without relevance can simply be ‘busy’ or ‘different’ without tangible evidence of impacting on student learning.

Like ice skating, it is matter of balance and poise. In 2022 we will continue to reflect and maintain traditions that are the essence of Cav Road and innovations of practice that are not only fair, just and inclusive, but impact learning. We must remain relevant to the life pathways of our young people. I wish all of our graduating Year 12’s every success.

Annual awards ceremonies saw once again, some outstanding achievements of students where the ‘bar’ continues to be raised for the sheer number of high performing students. Some changes had to be made, to be relevant to students’ learning experiences and responsive to the changing nature of the academic programs students may now opt into. We encourage our most capable academic students take up these opportunities. A number of senior students study first year university subjects instead of a 6th school subject. External academic courses are now included in the calculation of the six subjects required. I congratulate all of this years awards winners.

Further, is the nomination of school Dux. The tradition of Dux goes back to ‘classical’ education and from the Latin in Roman times, a meaning “first”. Going back to basic definition a school Dux was “the top pupil in a school or class”. Necessarily by definition, the Dux is the student who comes “first” in their class.

Senior has two aspects: the QCE and the ATAR for university entry. The system prior, the QCE and the OP system, clung to the concept of there were no ‘subject weightings’, only comparisons of relative student performance to arrive at an OP score, with the top score being an OP1. The system that preceded it, as in my day, a top score of 990. Statisticians in each system of which I have had experience espouse the system they create is “fair” and “comparable” with a statistically acceptable margin of error.

It was necessarily the case that the Dux would be an OP1 student or where there was no OP1 student, the student with the highest OP attained in the student group.

It seems the ancient Romans and classical curriculum education until replaced with popular education, had it easier as not having to navigate complicated statistical formula.

The Tertiary Entrance Authority, as in the OP system, and not the school, calculates the ATAR score, using subject weightings to arrive at a score for ranking of students for the purpose of tertiary entrance. It is therefore possible and even likely, that a student who was not first in their class, or any of their classes, achieves a high ATAR score due to their performance in those subjects with higher weightings.

We encourage students to take senior subjects in which they are likely to perform their best, whether Science, Maths, Humanities, or The Arts etc. I take a view that first in class as per the definition of Dux, means “first in class” and their subject choice no barrier as they excel. This is not to diminish or replace the student who also ranks highest in their ATAR. The purposes are different and have differing means of calculation.

Our solution is to award a Dux prize to students who ranked ‘first in class’ and the student with the top ATAR score. Tradition and Innovation. I look forward to announcing these early next year. Our aim is to recognise student achievement and we have two measures. I believe this is more consistent with the intent of the classicists if we are to persist with the DUX accolade.It is also my view that the world not only needs mathematicians and scientists to solve problems and get humans on Mars, it also needs musicians and poets, virtuosos, writers and economists, and all manner of contribution. Einstein, Fleming, the Curies, Brian Coxes of the world we need and are in awe of. Mozart, John Lennon, Steinbeck, or Tolstoy would probably not have been a Dux. I expect we would consider all to be geniuses of their time.

It may well be that at any one time a student may win both – first in their class, and first in the ATAR rankings. We change where change is called for and to remain relevant to student experience and their futures.

2022 will be here before we have time to catch our breath.

I wish all the Cav Road families and community a safe and happy holiday season.

Richard Usher BA LLB Dip Teach
Executive Principal

Head of School

John Hazzard

Congratulations to all of our Year 12 students who graduated from Cavendish Road State High School this week. They should feel incredibly proud with the way they have navigated the challenges of COVID-19 in their final two years of high school. The resilience they have shown and their ability to be adaptable should ensure they are ready to leave the familiarity of school life and be successful in whatever they take on next.

Our Senior leaders, led by Rafe and Codee, have done an outstanding job all year in promoting the ideals of being a ‘Cavroadian’. As our Senior students graduate and move on, we are fortunate to be able to welcome in our School Leaders for 2022. Ben and Megan now have the opportunity to follow Rafe and Codee and lead the student body in 2022.

Student Leadership Team 2022

JUNIOR LEADERSHIP POSITIONS for 2022

2022 School Year and Term Dates

The 2022 school year will commence on the following days with the relative year levels attending their first days as follows:

Monday 24 January 2022 – Years 7 and 11
Tuesday 25 January 2022 – Years 8, 9, 10 and 12 (Years 7 and 11 will have commenced on the Monday)

Head of School

Catherine McCarthy

End of Year

Yet again the year has sped by at a rate of knots. It is hard to believe that the end of the year is so close. These last few weeks have been full of celebrations and acknowledgement of achievements by our students. The semi-formal, year 11 PDP day, sporting academy award dinners, our two awards afternoons and the Year 12 Graduation have provided opportunities to recognise many fantastic Cavroadians. Congratulations to our graduating Year 12s and all the best for your future.

Many of you are making plans for 2022 already; it may be the last year of school for your student, or the move from junior to senior, or the start of implementing SET plans for the final two years of school. It is important in these last few weeks that students remain focused and on task to ensure they maximise their learning opportunities and outcomes for whatever their next step in the journey is. Lessons continue until the very last day at Cav Rd, so it’s important that students remain on task and engaged. I wish everyone a safe, restful and enjoyable holiday period and look forward to seeing everyone in 2022.

Deans 2022

An integral part of the fabric of Cav Rd is the Wellbeing framework, in particular our structure of having year level Deans. It gives me great pleasure to announce the 2022 Deans to the school community. Congratulations to:

We are delighted to have our Deans following their cohorts through and are excited to have new additions to the team in year 7 and 10 for 2022. This fantastic team will be led by Mr Faulkner to continue to build the supportive environment Cav has become known for.

Deans of Year are such a key part of the connection with students and families. Our Deans go all in to support students and make the years at Cav enjoyable. You’ll see below just a few examples of our less camera-shy Deans in action.

This is also the time to acknowledge Mr Peter Brent and Mrs Vicki Schafer who are leaving their Dean roles this year. I know many of you would have had contact over the years with these two fantastic people. Their compassion and care when working with our students has been so valued and we will all miss them in these roles. Thanks Peter and Vicki!

Parents and Citizens’ (P and C) Association

Thank you

Thank you to parents, carers, and P&C members who have made 2021 a success through volunteering your time in the Canteen, attending our meetings and or events, and helping us support the school in so many ways. As part of the P&C executive team, Catherine & I were honoured to participate in the school’s awards ceremonies last week celebrating students’ achievements. Kumar, Ehtesham and I also attended Friday’s Year 12 graduation ceremony and we all wish them the absolute best in their future endeavours.

We look forward to welcoming more of you to our meetings or events in 2022 and will be starting the new year with a welcome morning tea for new parents on 24 January. And, continuing our popular introduction for the Year 7’s with the Inflatables fun day on the Oval. So, it is goodbye from the Team, and we look forward to seeing you again at the Junior Dance or in the new year!

Meetings

Mark your calendar for our first P&C meeting in 2022 on Tuesday 15 February at 7pm in the School Library.

If you prefer to join via TEAMS online, our P&C Facebook page posts the link and members receive a link via email. Like us on the Cav Rd P&C Facebook page for the latest news or join our mailing list and receive copies of minutes by emailing pandcsecretary.cavrd@gmail.com.

Events: Junior Dance 3 Dec – Beach Party theme

Friday 3 December 6:00pm – 9.30pm in the Sports Hall – Book Now! Years 7, 8 and 9 (Cav Rd students only), Pro DJ with a killer mix of tracks, Mirror Photo booth and food trucks.

1. Tickets can still be purchased online via MSA up until midnight Wednesday 1 December
2. Ticket collection and last chance ticket sales will be on Tuesday 30 Nov and Wednesday 1 Dec at Second Break and Thursday 2 Dec at First break near the canteen/uniform shop.
3. There will be no ticket sales on Friday 3 Dec or at the gate on entry. Pre-purchased tickets only.

CRIMS Musical Events

CRIMS held their last meeting for the year on Monday 15 Nov, 7pm in a PAC classroom. We were delighted to support the Christmas Concert on 23 November with refreshments and hope to be back with a full performance schedule in 2022.

If you'd like to become involved next year – look out for our Cav Rd Instrumental Music Subcommittee (CRIMS) meeting dates on the P&C page of the School Website, reminders are posted on our P&C Facebook page.

Canteen

Our summer menu can be viewed on FB or the School Website. We have been light on volunteers due to COVID over the last two years and are keen to welcome more helpers next year to join Roberta and Madonna’s great team. It only takes a few hours in the morning to label some boxes for us, and other simple tasks but it makes a huge difference to us. Contact us at canteen.cavrd@gmail.com if you can help.

Our canteen volunteers receiving awards from the Junior Captains.

Uniform Shop

• Appointments for uniform fittings are happening now. If you don't already have an appointment booked, please book NOW.
• To make an appointment go to the uniform shop page of the school website and press on 'How to book an appointment'.
• Please make sure you select either 2021 or 2022 uniform fitting then complete the required fields.
• Your uniform fitter will give you a form with the sizes you required from your appointment.
• Orders will then need to be placed online with your MSA account.
• All information regarding how to set up an MSA account, placing your order and shop hours are located on the uniform shop web page.
• Due to stock delays, items that cannot be filled from your order will be placed on backorder and you will be notified when your items have arrived.
• The last trading day in the uniform shop is Friday 3 December - Open from 8-9am.

Laena Trueman
Vice-President Communications
Cav Road SHS P&C Association

Finance

Monthly Finance Statements

Statements are emailed monthly to families. These statements show the total outstanding. If the amount shown is a negative amount this indicates that the account is in credit and there is nothing owing.

As this is an automated process we are unable to exclude statements that show a credit amount.

If parents have any queries regarding statements please do not hesitate to contact us.

Cavendish Road State High School is 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. American Express not accepted.

CentrePay Deductions

Please contact our Finance Team to discuss this option.

Guidance Support Team

The end of year is a challenging time, we are much more likely to feel tired, bothered by the heat, sensitive and emotional and just wishing the break was near. This is the time of year we can make be easily irritated, make poor decisions or not be bothered. The way we respond to this challenge is very important. Monitoring self-talk and our mood is really essential, as is thinking before doing. While our energy and vigorous drive may have dwindled, now is the time to finish strong, and remember the goals we set at the start of the year. To finish strong in term 4, why not try the following tips;

• Remain focussed on your goals you set earlier in the year, now is just as important
• Remember the purpose and reasons behind your goals
• Reach out to those who can help you
• Don’t leave anything to the last minute, plan ahead and allow extra time
• Reward yourself by praising how far you have come this year
• Remember it is only a matter of weeks to go before we are awarded a longer holiday
• Prepare to get through the summer heat with lots of cold water, rest breaks and avoiding the middle of the days sun when possible

So why not try these tips and share them around, so everyone is equipped to finish strong, and finally, don’t count the days, MAKE THE DAYS COUNT!

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

Indigenous Program News

The ‘Beyond the Broncos’ Program aims to provide support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Years 7-12 to stay in school, complete their senior studies and prepare for the transition into further education and employment. The Program operates with high expectations for effort, behaviour, achievement and commitment.

Each term Broncos Ambassadors, Scott Prince and Ali Brigginshaw, deliver workshops to Indigenous students which focus on a particular topic. The Term 4 workshop incorporated ‘Deadly Games’, and was attended by many of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

We also took the opportunity at this workshop to present our annual Indigenous Awards. Aunty Pat Williams, our school elder, was in attendance, and presented awards to students in the categories of Academic, Attendance, Encouragement and Leadership. It was a wonderful way to formally recognise the success and achievements of Cav Road’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Congratulations to all students who received awards!

A special mention to Brooke P. (Year 11), who was awarded the Beyond the Broncos Program NRMA Insurance 2021 Student Award.

Lastly, to our graduating Year 12 Indigenous students Sylvia M. and Talitha S. - we wish you the all the very best as you leave Cav Road for bigger and better things!

Kym Ford
Indigenous Liaison Officer

Senior Schooling

Year 12 2021 Graduates

Last Friday morning, we farewelled our Year 12 seniors for 2021. We enjoyed very emotional graduation ceremony held here in the Alan Sampson Sports Centre.

Students have been reminded how to access their final results (QCE and ATAR score) via email and are welcome to contact me should they have any questions.

I would like to congratulate the class of 2021. I am so proud to have worked with and supported our Year 12 students though what has been a somewhat challenging year for them. Throughout the challenges that they have faced over the course of the year, the students have demonstrated great resilience, have done their very best and have never given up.

QUT Regional STEM Summit - Toowoomba

Sixteen Year 11 and 12 students will face a STEM Entrepreneurship challenge in Toowoomba this December, at one of four regional Future You STEM Summits. This will be the first time the Summit has travelled around Queensland, and our Year 11 student Leo D. will represent Cavendish Road State High School.

Summit students will be learning from a QUT academic and current students to provide a solution to the challenge of Smart cities: tech solutions for a more liveable city, using a combination of technology and everyday materials.

The STEM Entrepreneurship challenge is designed to get students using and applying their maths, science, tech, coding, entrepreneurship, creative, design skills to a real-world design challenge, which relates to future science and engineering careers.

Congratulations Leo on being chosen to attend the QUT STEM Summit. We wish you all the best and look forward to hearing your stories on return next year.

VET NEWS

First Aid Course

On Wednesday 20 October, our Year 12 students elected to complete a First Aid and CPR course. Students completed their compulsory theory certificate online and participated in a practical day to complete the CPR component. Students thoroughly enjoyed the practical day and we now have 70 well trained First Aid Officers.

Year 12 Certificate III Health Services Assistance (with Barista and RSA focus) course – Monday 29 November to Wednesday 8 December – Cost: $50

Many of our Year 12 students have taken up the opportunity to return to school after Schoolies Week to complete a Certificate III in Health Services Assistance (including Barista and RSA) provided by Axiom College. This program is designed to assist school leavers to gain a qualification and valuable experience enabling young adults to have industry knowledge required to obtain a job. The course will run on campus at Cavendish Road State High School from Monday 29 November to Thursday 9 December and they will attend the practical lessons for the Barista and RSA at Axiom College Training Centre Milton from 10 December.

Students will return as a guest to Cav, not required to wear uniform and participate in certificate value at $2712 for the Government subsidy of $50. The course will run from 8.45 am to 3.00 pm each day. Students who have registered are reminded to sign in at student services on their arrival and are required to arrive at 8.15 am for registration purposes.

Students have received an email providing information on how to enrol. If you missed the email please email vet@cavendishroadshs.eq.edu.au places are limited.

Current year 10 and 11 Students – Health course

The 2022 Certificate II Health Support Services Course will be held on campus every Wednesday afternoon in Terms 1 and 2 2022. The course is filling very quickly so please see Mrs Anderson in K16 this week to apply.

Year 10 Parents – Work Experience (Year 11 students in 2022)

Parents/Carers and students have received emails regarding registering for the 2022 Work experience program. The registration website is open. Please use the link within the parent email to assist your student to register for work experience if they are not attending the camp. When students are completing their details in the online application, the student is to enter the three industries they are interested in sampling career prospects.

VET Outcomes – 2021

As the end of 2021 draws to a close, the Senior School VET (Vocational and Educational Training) Department has worked with and guided 37 students to achieve 100% TAFE completion.

With thanks to our partnerships with the community, following the completion of TAFE courses, students have secured school-based apprenticeships in:

• Automotive – 1 student
• Electrical – 4 students
• Plumbing – 2 students
• Construction – 8 students
• Business Graphic Design – 1 student

Congratulations to our students on securing their apprenticeships and thank you to Mrs Anderson for assisting the students in gaining their placements.

Karyn Trapp - HOD Senior Schooling

Year 11 News

Term 4 saw the celebration and recognition of Senior Student Leadership positions for 2022. Successful candidates for School Captains, Vice Captains, Prefects and House Leadership positions were selected and announced from an enormous student nomination pool of 96 applicants. I’m really proud of all the students who applied for positions and I can’t wait to see the positive influence and leadership demonstrated by the students of this cohort as together we move into year 12.

This term also played host to the Year 11 function ‘Cavchella’ and the Cohort Connection day. It’s now 4 weeks since and the positive energy is still resonating in the cohort.

Rosies Community Outreach –

So far this year we have had 10 student groups attend an evening of community outreach with Rosies. The students had the opportunity to learn about the nature of homelessness, the challenges facing people who are socially excluded, and also contribute to social justice activities. The students volunteered 4 hours of their Thursday night to work in the Rosies food van and engage with the homeless and socially isolated community in West End. I am so incredibly proud to see the maturity of our students and the positive impact they had on the patrons.

I wish all students and their families a safe and enjoyable Christmas break.

Mr Paul Batchler – Year 11 Dean

Creative Art and Industries

The relaxation of the elastic Covid band this term allowed our faculties ability to deliver what we do well, enrichment experiences across Drama, Music and Visual Art platforms. (Details in individual subject reports).

Connections with the wider Cav community foster that all important participation with audience which really is inherent in the ‘way we work’. It has been great to see our talented students do just that. Special mention to CRIMS for their consistent support of our programs.

Big ticket items to finish 2021 are the ‘Cav Road Christmas Concert’ 23 November and auditions for school musical ‘Chicago’ 2022.

Have a wonderful festive season and summer break.

Visual Art Incursion November 9: 2021

A full day workshop with our clever creatives resulted in some very delightful outcomes.

Students drew from a still life stimulus and referenced the colourful ‘fauvist’ style of Matisse to develop their individual outcomes.

I was so very impressed with the commitment and energy of these students, they worked very hard to complete large scale resolutions.

Such a lovely day for us all.

Gen Tippett – HOD Creative Art and Industries

Year 10 Art – Senior Prep

Our Art Senior Prep students working in collaboration to create a single art piece, all making a contribution to the same sculpture. This term the class has further investigated the theme Human Form to create art sculptures using everyday objects. These life size sculptures are made using sticky tape. Everyone has enjoyed this contemporary approach to art making. It’s so much fun and it’s a great way to shake up your art practice.

Mrs Vicki Schafer – Art Teacher

Drama

There is so much activity in the PAC with Drama students busy preparing Presenting Assessment tasks for week 8. Year 8,9 & 10 students are learning such a diverse range of highly unique and stylised dramatic forms such as Commedia Dell Arte, Documentary Drama and Gothic Theatre. Our Year 11 students are currently completing rehearsals for their first Year 12 assessment task on Absurdist Theatre reading the most famous play in the world, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. We look forward to seeing your students shine on stage wearing their theatre blacks and finishing the year in style.

YEAR 8 COMMEDIA DELL ARTE

Students have been busily writing scripts in preparation for their Week 8 assessment. Having learned about the wacky and wonderful stock characters that make up Commedia dell arte, they must now drop these personalities into a contemporary setting. I have been so proud of what these young playwrights have come up with so far – from an open house, to a plane cockpit, to a gym, to a doctor’s office – these students have embraced Commedia and created some hilarious scenes that are sure to impress.

YEAR 9 DOCUMENTARY DRAMA

Our Year 9’s are taking everything they have learnt up to this point in their drama lives to devise emotive and engaging original theatre. Five groups have selected their articles and are in the rigorous process of transforming events from the news into live drama. “The Facebook Exposé,” “bullying,” and “domestic violence” are just some of the challenging topics being brought to the stage. The below pictures show our committed Year 9’s hard at work putting their doc drama together.

YEAR 10 HOLLAND PARK

Congratulations Year 10 students on a very successful collaboration with Holland Park Primary Year 5 students. For five weeks our Year 10 Drama students have travelled to Holland Park Primary to work with 135 Year 5 students to produce an educational performance outcome instead of writing an essay. This performance consisted of documentary drama genres; Performance Poetry, Duologue scripts, Full cast scripts, Commercial and Freeze Frames. The performances were educational, entertaining to watch and presented so confidently. Well done Year 5 and well done Year 10, this is a credit to your knowledge of drama, stage craft, motivation and teaching skills.

We have some budding teachers in the making amongst these year 10 students.

YEAR 10 GOTHIC THEATRE

Students are now focusing on Presenting Assessment reading the play Children of the Black Skirt by Angela Betzien. Gothic Theatre work involves teaching students how to use a Shadow Screen whilst imbedding sound and lighting effects. Students are busy rehearsing, learning lines and developing character with assessment next week.

YEAR 11 IA1

Not long now until Year 11s take to the stage and complete their first piece of internal summative assessment! With lines well underway, all that’s left to do in preparation is embed clear use of absurdist theatre conventions. I have been so impressed with how this group has brought Waiting for Godot to life, with each pair demonstrating their own unique, insightful, and brilliant interpretations of the text. Keep up the fantastic effort, gang!

Below is a snippet into what an “absurdist warm up” can look like in our classroom, and the other picture is a lovely group photo taken at the semi-formal. What a transformation!

MUSICAL 2022

It is with much excitement that I introduce the musical for 2022. It has been sometime since we have had a musical due to the demolition of the old hall in 2018 and construction of the new theatre during 2019 and early 2020. We are so excited to begin preparations in our wonderful new Theatre.

Drum Roll…

Our 2022 school musical is “CHICAGO” - the high school version.

Senior auditions have begun and vocal auditions conclude Wednesday. Call backs will occur in 2022.

Junior auditions begin in week 9. Students are asked to sign on for acting, vocal or dance roles. Sign on can occur by coming to the Creative Industries staffroom or emailing Ms Ryan.

Looking forward to a busy, creative and wonderful 2022 musical. Performance dates are early 2, 3 & 4 June. More information regarding matinees, ticketing and rehearsal times will be posted in the new year.

So let’s Razzle Dazzle into an exciting new milestone for our school community.

Cheers and thanks for an amazing year,

Ms Ryan Drama Coordinator + Ms Banks Drama Teacher

Media Arts

YEAR 7 Storyboarding and filming

Our budding Spielberg’s have storyboarded and begun directing their peers to make in class movies. This is such a great learning opportunity to ignite the passions of film making. Our Year 7 students have worked really well to design and bring to life their ideas. Well done everyone.

YEAR 8 Cyber Drama

Year 8 Media students have completed a Cyber Drama unit this term called Cleo is missing. Using set character templates students brainstorm and devise lives for these characters which we then turn into process drama to build the tension and discover why Cleo is missing. Once students have unravelled the story we begin assessment using video submissions. Firstly, complete a filmed confessional in role, secondly film a duologue interview or live on location interview trying to find out more information involving Cleo’s disappearance. Lastly, write a poem and create a music video clip incorporating your poem and how your character feels about Cleo missing.

It has been so exciting to work in process drama and merge Media Arts to build such unique and creative assessment tasks. Good luck Year 8!

YEAR 9 Culture Jamming

This term in Year 9 Media Arts, students have examined how organisations and individuals use the media to express their viewpoints and convey messages to audiences. We’ve examined how social awareness campaigns attempt to persuade audiences to enact social change by promoting ideas across a number of platforms.

For their assessment, Year 9 Media Arts students have just commenced planning their one-minute media productions. The students have planned social awareness campaigns for the social media marketing company called “Village Power”. Their media productions are covering important contemporary social, economic or environmental issues.

Over the next two weeks students have the exciting task of creating these productions. Good luck!

Ms Laidlaw – Teacher

Music

Music Camp

On the first weekend of November, our instrumental students participated in a music camp at Mapleton on the Sunshine Coast. The Concert Band, String Orchestra, String Quintet, and Symphonic Band were hard at work, rehearsing from morning until evening. Students made ‘Giant Steps’ in improvement, with a rigorous rehearsal schedule followed by a final concert on the Sunday (with some karaoke and music trivia in between rehearsals!). A massive thank you to all students, teachers, and parents involved in creating a weekend full of music, team-building, and happy memories.

Awards Ceremonies and Graduation

We would also like to thank and congratulate all of our instrumental students, teachers, and grounds staff involved in the many performances throughout Week 7. The String Orchestra, Concert Band, and Symphonic Band did an amazing job for our Junior and Senior awards ceremonies and the Drumline was a powerful way to commence the Year 12 graduation ceremony.

Mr Michael Gillingwater – Music Teacher

English

Term 4 has been another busy term for the English Department with Years 7, 8 and 9 enjoying reading and analysing poetry and song lyrics and preparing to share their thoughts on these through class presentations.

Year 10 have been examining the persuasive techniques used in advertising and were lucky enough to have a visit from a professional ad creator, Nic Ikonomou from BCM Advertising. Nic shared some inside tips on how to prepare a winning ad pitch and gave insights into the ad design process which helped students to think more deeply about the techniques used in their selected ads. It was an engaging and informative presentation and both teachers and students learned a lot.

The Year 11s are completing their first ATAR assessment and Year 12 students have just finished their final exams. They have been a lovely cohort to work with and they will be greatly missed.

Ms J Cuba – Head of Department, English

Diplomacy Club

The Diplomacy Club gathers every Thursday during the first break. It is a terrific way to not only meet new people, but to develop confidence in public speaking, teamwork skills and make your voice and opinion heard to people who will listen. All members are kind and easy to talk to and are always eager to see and partake in the activities that our hard-working president, Malika, organises. So far, we have held two debates: one about free tertiary education and the other, the elimination of private schools. This picture shows our second debate, with other members (unseen in the photo) watching.

We also plan to do Model United Nation (MUN), where we will be stepping into the shoes of international delegates from different countries.

This club allows me to freely express my ideas and beliefs in different, real-life problems and situations. It has helped me develop diverse ways of thinking and made me always consider what others say and different points of view.

I would also like to congratulate those who volunteered for a leadership position: Eve R. as Vice President, Aditi S. as Secretary and Elyse G. and myself as the Communications Team.

Alex V. - Year 7 (Communications team)

Diplomacy Club run by the amazing Malika D. (Year 11) and the new Vice President Eve R. (Year 7), is a supportive club that runs every Thursday first break with a lovely group of students of all ages. Diplomacy Club lets students talk about global issues and improve a range of skills that are vital to becoming a future leader. Just recently, we finished our unit on debating, and we learnt all the basics of debating and decided to give it ago. Our debates were about the costs of tertiary education and banning private schools in Australia. Alex, Vivian and I were on the negative side of tertiary education being free. It was difficult because we all believed the affirmative teams' ideas but in debating, we learnt sometimes you must work on a topic that you don't even believe in. It helps improve your critical thinking skills it is also one of the hardest aspects of debating. All the debates were amazing, and Malika gave us constructive feedback on how to improve next time. I love diplomacy club because it’s a break where we can talk about politics and debating and I feel free to share my ideas because it is a safe and welcoming environment. We would be very happy if any more students who love this type of stuff joined!

For the rest of term 4 we will be learning and presenting about Model UN. Learning about if we were other countries and how their leadership and political stance works.

As mentioned in Alex’s article congratulations on the new leadership term!

Elyse G. – Year 7(Communications Team)

Humanities and Business

Market Day

Market Day is a bi-annual event run by Cav’s very own Year 10, Certificate III Business Prep students. This event is where the students must work collaboratively in groups to promote and sell their products to students and teachers.

During the weeks leading up to Market Day, students had to work together in their groups to create, design and promote their own unique product; not only this but a variety of essential and realistic steps were taken in order to make their item a success. This includes, but is not limited to, writing a partnership agreement, designing and editing recipes for their product, costing, a SWOT analysis, branding, promoting, and creating a business plan. All these factors, majorly contributed to each group’s success. To add to this, each person in a team was given a specific role and duty that they then had the responsibility to take care of. This was anything from making sure each team member knew what they were doing, to organising funds, money and costs for their team’s product.

After each team had chosen and decided on their product, we then had to find a way to promote it. For many students this meant stepping outside of their comfort zone. During lunch breaks and spare time, groups would walk around the school collecting pre orders, and advocating their product to students and teachers. These pre orders then went towards funding their ingredients and decorations for the real day, this was a challenging experience, but each group managed to find different, and unique techniques that worked best for them. This led to almost every group breaking even and beginning to make profit even before Market Day!

After weeks of preparation and hard work, Market Day finally arrived. The teams decorated their stalls with colourful balloons, buntings and decorations of all sort; one team even dyed their hair! Consumers then came to A parade at first break and were met with a carnival of colours and tasty smells. Shoppers were overwhelmed with the large variety of appetizing foods and got the chance to indulge in a range of treats, these included, cake pops, brownies, cookies, fairy floss, strawberry skewers, brookies, fudge, biscuits, rocky road, caramel slice and so much more!

The whole process was a challenging yet fun experience, with some groups making over $50 profit each! We got the chance to understand what it was like to run a business, we learnt the dedication and work it takes to keep a business alive, and the ups and down of being in a team. Overall, its safe to say that with teamwork, organisation and hard work each team was able to create a delicious and successful product.

Sienna M. - Year 10 Student

Languages – Japanese

As the year wraps up, the Japanese faculty are very pleased to see the number of students continuing their Japanese study into 2022. We will have our biggest class ever of seniors entering Year 11 next year. These enthusiastic, committed students are obviously forward thinking and realise the opportunities and rewards that knowledge of a second language and culture can bring to both their careers and personal lives. As preparations for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, employees with second language skills will be highly sought after. With overseas travel once again becoming possible, in the future our students will be able to enjoy holidays, work and study in Japan.

Preparing for 2022

All students are asked to take their Obento workbooks home at the end of the year. Changes in teachers and classrooms make it difficult to track down books and staff cannot be responsible for books left behind. Please make sure your student has brought their book home and put it in a safe place ready for use again in 2022.

Applications Closing: University of Queensland- Institute of Modern Languages Summer Courses

Courses for 2022 run January 10- 14 in the summer holidays. The Year 11 /12 courses are held on campus at UQ from 9:00 to 12:30 in the morning. There are various timeslots for the Year 11/12 and Year 9/ 10 online. Interested students must present a printed copy of their completed and signed application form to their Japanese teacher in K15 Languages Staffroom before school on Monday November 29 in order for it to be endorsed and emailed by the 5 p.m. deadline.

A link to course information and the application form is attached.

Term 4 Events

Year 7 students enjoyed an obento lunch box from Dami Japanese Restaurant, Mt Gravatt. Mrs Sloman puts a great amount of effort into organising the obento picnic each year and students certainly enjoy the results.

Year 10 students enjoyed an excursion, organised by Mrs Karfs, to the Bird Nest restaurant in Fortitude Valley to celebrate the end of year 10 and their progression into the senior ATAR course next year.

Year 9 students enjoyed a Japanese Awa-odori dance class live streamed from Tokyo. They learnt about the history and tradition of the Awa-dori dance and the special kimonos worn before trying out the dance moves themselves.

Year 11 students enjoyed a yakisoba party to celebrate completion of their first internal assessment towards their Japanese ATAR result. Year 8 students are also enjoying making onigiri rice balls in class.

Ms Joy Balfour – Japanese Teacher

Science

Science in practice students designing and building solutions to help the disabled.

Year 11 science in practice students have been learning about the future of work. They have learnt about electronics, microprocessors, computer coding and 3D printing. Students were challenged to create solutions that incorporate technology to support people with disabilities. Students have created a range of creative solutions including water-level indicators, pressure sensors that warn blind people of stairs, hand exercisers, drink dispensers, memory games, a voice activated watch that speaks the time, a nappy moisture alarm, a pin pad controlled locked liquor cabinet and a reimagined version of the classic “Operation” game.

Mr Steve Griffiths – Science Teacher

Academic Explorer’s Program

Term 4 has been a huge one for AEP, for both Year 7 and 8 students!

Year 8’s continued with their iSTEM program, begun in Term 3. Students worked really hard on this program, sorting through the possible problems associated with Mars colonisation, and coming up with a plan to overcome these problems – in a futuristic way – and get humans to Mars! Congratulations to Abbie, Arabella, Ella and Ruby for their winning presentation! It was truly difficult for the judges to choose between the quality proposals.

We also ran a second Forensic Archaeology Day for our Year 8’s, for those keen students who missed out in term 1. Students were able to use their critical thinking skills to solve several mysteries, with two ancient cold cases and one case using evidence in the lab.

Early in the term we were lucky to be invited back to the QUT Cube STEM workshops with a second group of Year 7’s. This time around we experienced Rocket Science 101 as well as the popular Code the Solar System using Spero robots. This was a lovely day out of the ordinary for all that were able to attend.

Some of our lucky Year 7’s recently attended the Numinbah Valley water camp, spending one night in the beautiful Gold Coast Hinterland to examine the biology and chemistry of the water catchments in this area. The glow worms were out in full force, and the gorgeous Nerang River provided a serene canoeing experience. Only one group managed to capsize!

As we draw closer to the end of 2021, we still have two events to look forward to. There will be a robotics workshop in the last week of term for Year 7’s, and our Year 8 University Experience is this week. This promises to provide an interesting sample of topics studied at UQ, and a relaxed way to end a busy week of assessment!

Mrs Leanne McKeveney - AEP Coordinator

Sport @ Cav Road

SPL Champions

After a big day of football for our Senior Teams, we come home as the Senior Girls Champions and Senior Boys Runners Up. The Senior boys went through to the final after being level with Palm Beach Currumbin at the final whistle but winning 7-6 on penalties (with keeper Ryan making three amazing saves). They narrowly went down to Kelvin Grove in the final in a see-sawing match.

The Senior girls won their first game 3-0 and also faced Kelvin Grove in the final. This time Cav came out on top, again on penalties, winning 4-3 with Mia not only making a great save but also converting a penalty of her own. Well done to both senior teams on a great year and thank you so much to our amazing year 12s. It has been an absolute pleasure to have you as part of the Cav Road Football Academy.

The Intermediate boys survived a red wave from PBC to claim the Intermediate Boys premiership. The boys won the inaugural Intermediate Tournament with a 2-1 win - a Jamie Button goal late in the second half enough to edge the side ahead.

Congratulations to all students involved with all SPL games across the entire academy. A special mention must go to our Academy coaches: Mr Turp, Mr Cash and Ms Amos – without them, this success would not have been possible!

Academy Dinners

Over the last 2 weeks we have celebrated all three of our sport academies and all of the fantastic individual and team achievements that have occurred throughout the last 12 months. These nights are filled with glitz and glamour, as our aspiring athletes are given the opportunity to dress up, celebrate and reflect upon their achievements in 2021. All three nights had terrific guests, with Anna Margraf (Brisbane Roar, ex-Cavroadian), Jack Hingert (Brisbane Roar), Cara Koenen (Sunshine Coast Lightning) and Jackson Mills (Australia Mixed Open Touch) all passing on invaluable words of wisdom and giving our students an insight into what it takes to make it at the next level. A massive thank you needs to go to our Directors for putting on three incredible nights: Mr Turp (Football), Ms Russell (Netball) and Ms Farrelly (Touch).

“The Cup is Retained” - Cav-Carmel Cup (AFL)

On Wednesday the 13 October, our Open Girls and Boys played Carmel College to contest the second annual Cav-Carmel Cup.

After a slow start by the girls, they worked their way into the game and in the end, proved far too strong for Carmel, notching up a comfortable victory. The boys made life far too difficult for themselves, losing the lead in the last quarter, only for senior Hunter Hopkins to kick the winner with 15 seconds to go from 40 metres out, ensuring the Cup would return to Cav for at least another year. Huge thanks to Carmel College for helping to put on a great afternoon.

This brought an end to our year 12s final season of school AFL. A massive thanks to all the students and parents involved in the 2021 season. We will be back again, bigger and better in 2022, with plenty of exciting news to come!

Girls AFL Development Training will continue on Friday mornings from 7am until the end of week 8. Any grade, any experience level - come on down to give it a try and be a part of something special.

Super 7 Netball

The last of four Southside Super 7s netball carnivals for the year took place at Metropolitan Districts Netball Association earlier in the term. We had a great turnout for the event, with a high number of quality teams coming to enjoy one last day of netball for 2021.

The carnival was an excellent chance for the Netball Academy to farewell our graduating year 10 class, and the girls sure put on a show! The 10A team dropped just the one game by one point on the day, to finish on top of division 1, and the 10B team had their best carnival yet, finishing undefeated and comfortably taking out division 2.

From term 1 through to term 4, our younger players showed exciting improvements and we look forward to seeing more of them in 2022!

Swimming Carnival 2022

Last Friday, students were asked to nominate for events in the lead up to the 2022 inter-house swimming carnival to be held on the first Friday back in the new year (28 January). If any student still wishes to nominate, they need to see Mr Rutter in W Block ASAP. Additionally, all students were provided with a permission form that must be returned ASAP to student services, outlining permission to attend all three inter-house carnivals in 2022.

It has been a busy 2021 for Cav Road Sport and we have achieved some terrific results. A huge thank you to all involved and we look forward to an even better year in 2022.

Representative Sport News

Byron G. (Year 11) - Cricket

Byron G. in Year 11 was selected for the 15-16 years Queensland State Schools cricket side for 2021. This was the third year in a row he has been selected for the Queensland State Schools cricket side which is a great achievement and follows in the footsteps of players such as Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, Ian Healy and Marnus Labuschagne. We wish Byron well for the 2022 season and representing Cav Rd as part of Met East team again for the U19 State Carnival in March.

Millie B. (Year 8) – Diving

Millie B. in Year 8 competed at the National diving championships at Chandler Aquatic centre. Millie did an incredible job in her age group of 12-13 year old girls. She won silver in the synchronised and platform events, bronze in the 3 meter springboard event, and 5th in the 1 meter springboard. Overall this meant that Millie came runner up National champion for her age group. This is a terrific achievement by Millie and we look forward to hearing of her fantastic results in 2022 and beyond.

Mr Matthew Rutter – Sport Director

Football Academy

Football Academy Presentation Night Report

Thursday 4 November saw the Football Academy hold its annual presentation night with great success and fantastic atmosphere.

This year the event was held at the Grand Chancellor Hotel Brisbane, who provided a classy venue with professional service. Is was great to see the students from Year 7 through to Year 12 come ready to put on a show together. We had the pleasure of Football Captains Oliver D. and May S. K. being the Masters in Charge of Ceremony for the night and while they were a little nervous they did an amazing job entertaining over 120 students, parents and family for the evening.

The night comprised of many awards (listed below) for many deserving students, and was also a time for the acknowledgment of many other students for their growth and development as people and as footballers. A fantastic and down to earth interview with Brisbane Roar players, celebration of team success, team reports, announcing 2022 captains and of course farewelling our Year 12 Football Academy Graduates.

Thank you to everyone that attended to help make it such a great night. Thank you to our invited guests in Deputy Principal - Mr Cox, Acting Director of Sport - Mr Rutter, Mark Acaster from Red Lion Football for his always present support and lucky door prizes and Jack Hingert, Anna Margraf and Greg Hinks from the Brisbane Roar. Special mentions to Miss Amos and Mr Cash for the amazing work and dedication throughout the year and for their help in preparing for the night.

The Football Academy Award Evening held at the Grand Chancellor on 4 November.

Year 7 Positive Culture - Loucke O.
Year 7 Girls Rising Star – Alyssa O.
Year 7 Boys Rising Star – Isaac T.
Year 8 Player of the Year - Ken L.
Year 8 Positive Culture - Caiden B.
Year 9 Player of the Year - Mateja D.
Year 9 Positive Culture - Sam F.
Year 10 Player of the Year - Ella O.
Year 10 Positive Culture - Evan L.
Boys Goal Keeper of the Year - Sam F.
Girls Goal Keeper of the Year - Zara F.
Team of the year – Joint award Senior Girls and Intermediate Boys – both SPL Champions
Achievement of the Year –Joint award - Mia B. and Josh M.
Senior Boys Player of the Year – Oliver D.
Senior Girls Player of the Year – Georgia F.
Senior Positive Culture Award – Kate D.
2022 Football Academy Captains – Oscar B. and Lilly-Rose I.

Mr Cail Turp – Football Academy Director

Netball Academy

Miss Jacqui Russell – Netball Academy Director

Chaplaincy News

What’s Chappy Jules up to?

Term 4 is always very busy for everyone. There seems to be so much happening in the life of Cav Road. Every day is something different from families who require groceries, students who are suffering from anxiety, friendship issues and feeling totally left out, to students who play table tennis during the lunch time, let me kick a football with them on the oval or students just popping in to have a chat

Breakfast Club - We continue to have Breakfast club each Wednesday and Thursday mornings, toast one day and yummy pancakes the next.

Goodbye to our Year 12 Cohort - I was privileged enough to speak to all the Year 12 students about the movie “The Greatest Showman” chatting about the life he lived the dreams he had, three things we all have in common with PT Barnum ….. acceptance, love and success. I challenged them with some insight to handling emotions and triggers. And don’t give up because … “YOU ARE ENOUGH,” (then at the end of the presentation we made yummy ice creams, but not every Year 12 stayed to get one, which didn’t really matter as the rest of the school enjoyed their complimentary ice-cream).

Graduation 2021 - Seeing them all finally graduate last Friday was very moving. Congratulations to the 2021 year 12 cohort.

Primary Schools - As Chaplain of Cav Road I have been asked to speak at four different Primary Schools to chat with the Year 6 students regarding all things Cav Road. Answering any question, concerns and fears they might have about commencing High School.

Junior Dance is coming up on Friday 3 December. I am talking to students every day and encouraging them to come along. I know it will be a fun night for everyone to enjoy.

Jules Neri - Chappy

Student Services

Lost Property

Please remember to write your child’s name on all their personal items. There are many unnamed lost property items awaiting collection at Student Services, (B Block). If you lose any personal belongings please go to Student Services as this is a collection point for Lost Property.

Community News

Cleaners required

We are currently looking for casual cleaners who are required for on call pool (backfilling positions). If you are interested would you please contact Mrs Michelle Parrish on telephone: 3394 0701

Michelle Parrish
Facilities Manager