20 November 2015

Newsletter Articles

THE PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

"Cavendish Road State High School - A School of Academic, Pedagogical and Sporting Excellence"

Dear Parents and Carers,

Awards Evening

Congratulations to the large team of staff and students responsible for Awards Evening. This is a significant task, involving the bringing together of many people. Well done to all involved. I include an excerpt from my speech presented at Awards Evening below.

"I feel privileged and honoured to lead this outstanding School. Cavendish Road State High continues to be a lighthouse for Education in this State.

Parents, tonight you should be feeling very proud as your sons and daughters sit before us. We come together to honour the achievements, dedication and talents of Cavendish Road State High School students.

Energy, belief and optimism abounds in our School community. You will sense the tangible pride and affection our students and staff have for their school – you will witness first-hand the exuberance and exhilaration that occurs when Commitment, Courtesy, Challenge, Cooperation and Consideration come together. No school is a busier or more exciting place to be than Cav Road.

2015 has proved to be another successful year in all facets of school life. Not only have we produced outstanding academic results, but students across all year levels have excelled in a range of pursuits. As we reflect on the past year, I know our teachers, parents and students are proud of all that we have achieved together.

Our priorities are clear – our priorities are resolute. Above all else we aspire to develop young people who are principled and compassionate, striving to maintain a firm grasp on every aspect of their humanity as they face an unknown, but exciting future.

Our students are maturing into fine young citizens of tomorrow: they are respectful, supportive, hardworking and eager to learn. I know I speak on behalf of all staff when I say it has been an absolute pleasure to be working with such wonderful young people in 2015.

This year we welcomed 470 Year 7 and 8 students and their families into our school for the very first time, I believe these students and new staff have further defined and affirmed our school culture. At this point I acknowledge the hard work of the Principals and teaching staff in our feeder Primary Schools who have worked closely with us to ensure the smooth transition of their Year 6 and Year 7 students into high school. This has been the greatest investment and the most significant change process in the history of education in Queensland.

During 2015, many students are deserving of our recognition:

• Our Year 12 Exit Outcomes will be some of the best in the State
• Our Year 7 and 9 students' remarkable NAPLAN results. We will acknowledge these high achieving students later tonight.
• Emily Barlow was one of twelve students in Queensland awarded a Secondary School Order of Australia at Parliament House.
• And our female Footballers are State Champions!"

Attendance Update

Year	Semester 2	Year To Date
7	93.3%	94.6%
8	92.2%	93.3%
9	91.2%	92.1%
10	91.7%	91.7%
11	90.7%	91.6%
12	90.1%	90.9%
All	91.6%	92.4%

Classes are working towards a trip to 'Wet 'n' Wild' at the end of the year for the Peer Support Class with the best attendance this semester.

Congratulations OptiMinds Team

Congratulations to Dr Ross Bowles and our Senior Science and Engineering team who competed in the State OptiMINDS final – finishing runner-up. Congratulations to Anabelle Cooper, Santiago Velasquez, Haris Jakupovic, Jess Coppard, Pantea Konn, Mohamed Abu Hussein and Sebastian Van Oeveren.

Indigenous Awards Evening

It was wonderful to share an evening of celebration with our Indigenous families and community last week. Congratulations to all students on their fantastic achievements in Attendance, NAPLAN and Year 12 Outcomes.

Farewell Year 12 Students

Special thanks to the Senior Schooling team for their strong focus and commitment to getting every student a QCE and the best possible OP. Our Year 12 students will celebrate at their Formal on Wednesday evening and their Graduation Ceremony Friday morning. Thank you to the Student Leaders, Captains and Student Council – your leadership is powerful and absolutely essential in ensuring a successful school. My special thanks to Frank, Amber, Emily and Kayla as together we have led our school.

Uniform Expectations for 2016

Please be aware of the following uniform expectations for 2016:

• Cav Road socks compulsory for all girls worn with the formal uniform;
• The choice of 3 hats for all students, the formal hat compulsory for Year 7 students. All students (years 7-12) must have a sports cap or bucket hat;
• The school bag being introduced and compulsory for Year 7 students;
• The option for senior boys to wear a short sleeved white shirt during summer (Terms 1 and 4 only) or long sleeved white shirt (with sleeves rolled down); and
• The hems of girls' skirts need to be on the knee or below the knee – not above.

Student Free Days 2016

Please be advised that Monday 25 January 2016 is a Student Free Day. Years 7, 8 and 9 students will start school on Wednesday 27th January and all students (years 7-12) will return on Thursday 28th January 2016.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Strak Kosanovic (Head of Department, Humanities) and Stephanie Davis (Head of Special Education) who were meritoriously appointed permanently to their positions. Strak and Stephanie officially begin in their positions day 1, 2016. I know that both of these leaders will continue their great work in the coming years and I trust both will serve our school, staff, students and community with pride, vigour and relentless commitment.

My sincere congratulations to the many students whose efforts have shaped the Cav Road High that this Community has grown to expect. Each day, I feel blessed to work with such exceptional students, highly professional staff and parents who believe in our school and in our young people. I look forward to leading this community in 2016.

Merry Christmas and my best wishes for a safe and happy festive season,

Corrine McMillan
Principal

The Incredible Jess Morgan

At Cavendish Road SHS we have hundreds and hundreds of incredibly talented and special students who make our school one of the best Queensland State Schools around. Our students make us proud to say we belong to the Cav Rd SHS community and so many deserve special mention for their efforts to uphold our values and school ethos. Today we are recognising an extraordinary young lady who constantly rises to the occasion to go above and beyond and make a difference in her community. The young lady we speak of is Jess Morgan, a year 7 Cavroadian and most likely future leader of the world.

Jess has headed up some incredible initiatives here at Cav Rd. She has participated in the living wall project, conceptualised the winning idea for the Social Media Challenge and her archaeology stratigraphy diagram will be used as the design for a new cabinet to be displayed in Y-Block. On top of these incredible achievements Jess also writes for The Gold Coast Bulletin in her spare time (how she has spare time is beyond me!). Just last week Jess attended the Student Reporter of the Year awards, hosted by the Gold Coast Bulletin and Bond University. At the awards night Jess received two outstanding awards for her dedication and contribution to the newspaper. One of her acknowledgements was for her review work and editing, the other was an Excellence Award that they called 'Junior High Achiever'. This commendatory honour was awarded to Jess for the many insightful and articulate articles she has written for The Gold Coast Bulletin, one of special mention for the award was the article Jess wrote about the Academy of Ideas. Jess will continue to write and explore her journalistic nature and we very much look forward to reading her articles in the future. A huge congratulations to Jess Morgan! What a bright future ahead for this star. See Jess pictured (centre) here with her teammates at the Toowong Cemetery dig where this team of young archaeologists discovered the tombstone of the first sheriff of Queensland.

Morgan Stebbings
Chemistry and Philosophy Teacher

Jess Morgan

BRAINways Education and Griffith University's 'The Quest'

This year, Cav Rd was invited to send a team of three young, bright, talented thinkers to attend a challenge competition presented by BRAINways Education and Griffith University, entitled The Quest. Our 2015 Quest team included Naomi Mino, Chloe Ellis, and Ethan Titmus. The challenge required these bright year 8 students to tackle advanced Science, Maths, and Humanities problem solving questions which extend far beyond the regular scope of year 8 material, in fact this year's topics were all based at a Year 12 level of learning or higher. In the Humanities section they deconstructed quantum literature and through the use of allegory created their own board game based on infinite possibilities. In Maths they were given a hexagonal prism which they could not see inside and using hints about the contents of the prism based on advanced trigonometry they determined through deductive reasoning there was a sinusoidal pattern inside the box.

Finally in the Sciences section, students were introduced to quantum mechanics and advanced properties of light, at both a particle and wave level. After problem solving their way through their task, they were required to create their own analogy representing their inquiry based learning and investigation which links the new advanced content to previously learned knowledge, a task specifically designed to develop higher order thinking skills. That's a mouth full to say (and technically I didn't say it I typed it) can you imagine carrying out those arduous tasks? Well Chloe, Ethan, Naomi did, and not only did they complete the problem solving, they smashed it out of the park, thoroughly impressing the judges and placing second overall, earning them a place in State Finals. We are so incredibly proud of our team as on top of being faced with very challenging content, Ethan, Naomi, and Chloe demonstrated enthusiasm, perseverance and determination. They are the exact image of the wonderful students we have at Cav Rd. Way to go guys, we are so impressed!

The Quest Team

Morgan Stebbings
Chemistry and Philosophy Teacher

Out of This World! Year 7 Astronomy Presentation

On Wednesday the 28th of October, the Year 7 cohort were able to experience a presentation from leading astrophysicist and University of Queensland Professor Tamara Davis. She is the recipient of many prizes, including the Astronomical Society of Australia's award for the young researcher with the highest international impact. Tamara helps run an international team of hundreds of astrophysicists searching for the elusive "dark energy" that's accelerating the universe, and she recently returned from Switzerland where she was filming a documentary on "Warp Drives" for the BBC. In May the Australian Academy of Science awarded her their highest medal for female leadership in science.

Tamara explained to the students that the universe is an amazing place. We can now see the universe as it was only 100,000 years after the big bang, before galaxies even existed. We have found thousands of planets orbiting other stars and are trying to detect their atmospheres to see if there are hints of life. We regularly detect supernovae (exploding stars) that went off billions of years before the earth even formed. And we've discovered some kind of "dark energy" that is making the expansion of the universe speed up (and one day might teach us how to harness anti-gravity to make hover-boards!).

The students were hanging on Tamara's every word and asked some really insightful questions. Their behaviour was exemplary. Well done students and thank you to Mr Brown for organising this experience.

Michael Denner
Head of Department – Science

Brilliant Effort in Design

The task set for Year 7 Design Technology students was to design an object that is driven by an Electromechanical Device. To most of our students this manifests itself in a wheel-driven vehicle, which more predominantly turns out to be a car. That is of course unless you are Alyssa Scheenhouwer who, with incredible insight, a designing mind and conceptualisation skills most adults find hard to grapple with, allows the object to end up as a Ferris wheel. With the use of Auto CAD Inventor to draw up her concept and then exporting files to one of the Laser Cutters, the dream became reality.

Richard Munroe
Head of Department – Design Technology and Business

Excellence Academies and the iSTEM Project 2016

The introduction of the 'Academic Excellence Program' to Year 7 and 8 is an exciting addition to our existing Academy programs at Cavendish Rd SHS. In an innovative collaboration, the Academies of Ideas, Science and Maths will work in partnership to deliver an Academic Excellence Program with the goals of:

• Fostering a love of learning and exploration
• Developing critical thinking skills
• Cultivating creative thinking in problem solving
• Providing gifted students the opportunity to engage with exciting and intellectually challenging projects and experiences not available to mainstream students

We believe that by providing students with these opportunities and skills, they will be exceptionally well-prepared to succeed in 21st century society, which values the ability of an individual to be innovative, adaptable, and able to think critically and creatively as well as work collaboratively.

The AEP will run as an extra-curricular program across Years 7 and 8, and serve as a platform for students to move into the Academies of Ideas, Science or Maths in year 9-12, when the Academies become part of our curriculum offerings. See appendix for an indicative overview of the proposed structure for Year 7 and 8.

In 2016 a new iSTEM project will run in term 3 for selected students in Years 7 and 8 which will see them engage with real and future problems in order to create innovative solutions. A $1000 prize will be given to the group with the best ideas, which will enable them to start actioning their project.

Strachan Kosanovic
Head of Department - Humanities

Innovative Learning at Cavendish Road SHS

In 2016 we will launch our new innovative learning space at Cavendish Road. As a school, we are committed to developing an environment that engages, excites and enhances the learning outcomes of our students. Our successful application for Education Queensland's Collaboration and Innovation grant has provided us with an opportunity to develop a state of the art 21st Century collaborative learning space in the school`s Resource Centre. Our plan is to renovate the two annex rooms into purposeful spaces specifically designed to inspire and to allow for collaborative problem solving tasks. We are incredibly fortunate to have a number of leading organisations such as CISCO, Telstra and Education Queensland's Innovation Branch to assist us with the process of transforming this space. Their support and expertise will ensure our design meets the learning needs of our students. Some of the key aspects of the space include;

• Voice sensitive cameras to record lessons and connect with schools from across the globe
• Writable table tops and walls for brainstorming and group problem solving
• Flexible learning environments with moveable tables,

The completion of this room will provide our students and staff with a unique opportunity to learn in a cutting edge environment.

Adam Kuss
Head of Department Junior Secondary

Drama News

Zen Zen Zo stomps into Cav

Our Year 11 Drama students were over the moon to be able to participate in a specially designed artist in residence workshop here at Cav Rd with Performing Artists Hannah and David from world renowned Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre Company (pictured below). Our students were literally, 'Lean, mean, green machines,' as they pushed their physical and creative limits to explore not only the merging of traditional Greek Theatre with contemporary Physical Theatre, but they also developed priceless skills in performance devising, creation and various methods of performance delivery. Their mini performances and outcomes were very powerful and each individual found the workshop as a whole highly rewarding both personally and academically. Over the coming week, students will apply these new skills within their final performance assessment. Then, some Year 11 students have found a new passion within the performing arts through this style and are starting up master classes and youth ensemble tutoring with Zen Zen Zo in 2016. We wish each and every student success and joy with these endeavours.

Drama stars shining beyond the classroom

Our Drama department is extremely proud to announce that two of our very dedicated and talented Cav Road students have successfully auditioned for the 2016 Harvest Rain musical spectacular, 'Hair Spray'. Marcella Hogg from Year 10 Drama and Mia Lierich from Year 9 Drama (pictured below) will take to the stage as triple threats in the biggest production of 'Hair Spray' to be staged ever in April, 2016 at the Brisbane Convention Centre. We cannot wait to join our wonderful Cav Rd community in seeing both Marcella and Mia perform and find their groove on stage!

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit:

Our 2016 ARTS Prefects….

Oliana Toia and Ella Kewley

Both students have already started laying their yellow brick road for an adventure into the wonderful, whimsical world of The Arts for 2016. Huge congratulations to these two inspiring and energetic leaders. The Cav Road Arts team are looking forward to your contributions and the journey that you lead us on. You will hear from Ella and Oliana with updates, information and riveting Arts news in our 2016 newsletters. Welcome to The Arts team!

The Final Curtain Call: Year 12 Drama Night

On Tuesday 3rd November, all Year 12 Drama students took to the stage in their final performance assessment production called 'Once Upon a Wild Night'. The production started with all thirty-five students being given the challenge to brainstorm themes, issues and concepts surrounding 'Rites of Passage'. Through this, the whole fairy-tale world was born as students felt that they were in flux between the real, the non-real and experiencing similar things to notorious fairy-tale characters in their own lives.

Once they selected a fairy-tale as their inspiration/stimulus and decided on what themes, characters and ideas they wanted to bring to life, students were asked to reflect back through their Drama journey so far and select a style of theatre that they would like to write a script within that would best bring to life and prove a point about their overall purpose. This varied from Children's, Physical, Greek, Elizabethan, Absurdism, Epic, Realism, Verbatim, all the way to Contemporary Theatre. Students were also challenged to bring a variety of realistic and non-realistic moments to the stage in order to provide different perspectives on the overall concepts.

Taking on the role of the script writer, students individually devised and brought to life some magnificent scripts for the stage. From here, students worked collaboratively to mix, match and bring scripts together to form an overall production piece. Through this process, they have taken on different roles such as the writer, director, designer and probably the biggest being the 'dramaturge', ensuring that all content meshed together to bring to life not only the context of the play, but the purpose and deeper meaning.

As actors, students then took on particular roles/characters within the piece and worked as an ensemble to stage, rehearse and bring to life all of these devised ideas. Massive congratulations to each individual on their contributions and efforts in bringing this production to the stage. Regardless of where their 'yellow brick road' might take them from here, each individual within this production has learnt some extremely integral skills in not only performance making, but in leadership, collaboration, communication, commitment, problem solving and have learnt a great deal about their own inner being. Year 12 Drama students, take a bow!

Creative Cav Roadians: Young Playwrights' Awards

It is with great joy that we announce our new creative writing mentoring program for 2015 - 2016: The Young Playwrights'. Through this program one student from Year 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 Drama each year will be awarded the Young Playwrights' Award for outstanding creative writing within script work and performance content creation. Students will be considered for this award not only based on assessment work or outcomes, but also on contributions and collaborative work in class. This is not an academic award based on level of achievements but rather a celebration of passion, creativity and dedication towards the art of script and performance content creation.

With this award, we not only hope to inspire young creative writers within our very own Drama department, but also seek to acknowledge and reward those who quite often see their success or talents go under the radar within the Drama classroom. With an industry that rewards, desires and benefits from playwrights, dramaturges and performance content creators, we are also passionate about ensuring that students are aware of the broader potentials beyond that of the just the 'performer'. Award winners will also be encouraged and tutored by our very own Drama staff to enter their work into the Queensland Theatre Company's Young Playwrights' competition at a state level.

What is even more exciting is the peer mentoring program that will go hand in hand with the honouring of award recipients. Each Young Playwright will then go on to lead a small team of Drama students from their own year level who will participate in mentoring and one to one assistance sessions with the grade level below them. This will provide insights, vividly flowing ideas and an open platform for creation and discussion surrounding the art and role of Playwriting.

Congratulations to our 2015 award recipients…

Year 7 Drama: Matthew Scheenhouwer

(Superhero monologue/video creation)
Matthew will form part of a mentor team for Year 7 Drama students in 2016.

Year 8 Drama: Kayla Russel

(Anti-Bullying/Realism)
Kayla will form part of a mentor team for Year 8 Drama students in 2016.

Year 9 Drama: Madison Tiplady

(Theatre for Young People/Realism)
Madison will form part of a mentor team for the Year 9 Drama students in 2016.

Year 10 Drama: Sophie Mullaly

(Australian Gothic Theatre)
Sophie will lead a team of mentors for the Year 10 Drama students in 2016.

Year 11: Kate Cooper

(Verbatim Theatre)
Kate will lead a team of mentors for the Year 11 Drama students in 2016 and will also share her wisdom throughout the process of our 2016 Holland Park Primary school collaboration project.

Year 12 Drama: Sarah Greene

(Cinematic Theatre, Absurdism, Realism and Non-Realism)
Sarah will visit Cav Road in 2016 to mentor various students throughout the year within different grade levels and projects. Sarah is going on to study within the Performing Arts in 2016 and apply her talents at a professional level- we wish her all the very best with her journey ahead, Chookas!

Toni Ryan
Drama Coordinator

Year 10 Business Management Market Day

On Tuesday 27 October, the Year 10 Business Management students participated in the 2015 Cavendish Road Market Day. For nine weeks, the students had been busy planning, developing, producing and packaging a product to sell on Market Day. The aim of the project is to give the students an insight and hands on experience with respect to business development and management. It also allowed the students to demonstrate their teamwork and organisational skills. The professionalism and creativity displayed by all students with respect to their product and sales display was exceptional. In addition, the number of students who descended upon A Parade to purchase a product was overwhelming. Most Business Management students would agree that it was at times a bit stressful leading up to Market Day. Though in the end it was an enjoyable and valuable experience for all…and most importantly, one with a financial benefit!

Amanda Pacek
Business Coordinator

Japanese News

In 2015 the Japanese department at Cavendish Road SHS was selected to take part in the Global School Connections Video Conference Trial. Year 10 Japanese students are using the video conferencing technology, now such a common part of the business world, to successfully collaborate with their overseas counterparts in real time. They are regularly communicating with students from Akebi Secondary School in Hokkaido, Japan. The students use a mixture of Japanese and English to share information about their daily life at school and also discuss topics such as popular celebrities and their own hobbies, sports and leisure activities. It is a great opportunity to put the language they are studying in class to use immediately with an authentic Japanese audience. The Cavendish Road students have said that they find the experience very enjoyable and it provides even further motivation to continue with their Japanese studies into Year 11 and 12.

We also wish Isaac Power well as he embarks on his short term exchange to Omiya Koryo Senior High School over the summer break. Isaac has previously visited Omiya Koryo on the Cavendish Road Japan Study Tour and is looking forward to renewing his friendship with the Omiya Koryo students. He is also looking forward to developing his Japanese language skills while spending two months immersed in a homestay environment and will put this experience to good use in Year 12 Japanese in 2016.

Joy Balfour
Japanese Coordinator

Academy of Ideas Critical Thinking Program

Over the past few weeks, a select group of students from Years 7, 8 and 9 have been working through an online critical thinking program via the Brisbane School of Distance Education and in conjunction with the Academy of Ideas. Every Tuesday, since midway through Term 3, this dedicated group of 20 students have spent their afternoons thinking critically and philosophically. They have been taught to scrutinise stereotypes and generalisations rather than accept them on face value and have also been challenged to gather reliable facts and evidence before drawing conclusions. All of the students taking part in the program have enjoyed it immensely and have come away with valuable analytical skills that will assist them both in their schooling as well as in their everyday lives.

Kasia Kurylewska
Junior Secondary Teacher

Music News

A big congratulations to Arryd Karlsen for gaining a place in the Queensland Youth Orchestra 3 and to Isaac Power for getting accepted into the Queensland Youth Orchestra Big Band.

The Concert Band, Stage Band and Vocal ensemble are putting on a Christmas Concert in the school hall next Friday 27th November. All families are welcome.

Tony Lashmar
Instrumental Music Director

Guidance News

To all of our Year 12s all the very best for the next chapter. Whether you are venturing to employment, an apprenticeship or further study may it be rewarding, wonderful and most importantly fun! I have enjoyed working with you this year and look forward to learning where you head to in 2016.

As we bid our Year 12s 'a see you later' and wish them luck, can I remind you of the following important dates? Remember too, that you can change your preferences with QTAC even once you learn your OP. In the event you would like to discuss any of your plans further Mr Vanek and myself are on campus until Friday 11 December.

To our students in Years 7 – 11, take good care, play safe and rejuvenate ready for 2016!

QTAC KEY DATES FOR MOST COURSES
Key dates
Applications open	4 August 2015
Early bird payment closing date	30 September 2015
EAS application due date for all semester 1 courses from 14 January offer round onwards	30 November 2015
EAS documentation due date for all semester 1 courses from 14 January offer round onwards	30 November 2015
Results posted to Queensland Year 12 students by Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA)	18 December 2015
Queensland Year 12 students can access results at www.studentconnect.qcaa.qld.edu.au	19 December 2015
Year 12 OP ineligible ranks available	29 December 2015
Key application dates
26 November offer round, 9am
Respond to offer final date	3 December 2015, before 10am
17 December, 9am - MAJOR OFFER ROUND (most semester 1 creative and performing arts courses)
Respond to offer final date	29 December 2015, before 10am
14 January, 9am - MAJOR OFFER ROUND (most other semester 1 courses)
EAS application due date	30 November 2015
Submit EAS documentation due date	30 November 2015
Submit all other documentation due date	30 November 2015
Application due date	9 December 2015
Change of preferences final date	6 January 2016, by 11.59pm
Cut-offs available	14 January 2016
Course vacancies available	14 January 2016
Respond to offer final date	21 January 2016, before 10am
4 February offer round, 9am
EAS application due date	30 November 2015
Submit EAS documentation due date	30 November 2015
Application due date	20 January 2016
Submit documentation due date	21 January 2016
Change of preferences final date	28 January 2016, by 11.59pm
Course vacancies available	4 February 2016
Respond to offer final date	11 February 2016, before 10am
11 February offer round, 2pm
EAS application due date	30 November 2015
Submit EAS documentation due date	30 November 2015
Course vacancies available	11 February 2016
Respond to offer final date	No need to respond
16 February offer round, 2pm
Respond to offer final date	No need to respond
18 February offer round, 2pm
EAS application due date	30 November 2015
Submit EAS documentation due date	30 November 2015
Respond to offer final date	No need to respond
23 February offer round, 2pm
Respond to offer final date	No need to respond
25 February offer round, 2pm
EAS application due date	30 November 2015
Submit EAS documentation due date	30 November 2015
Respond to offer final date	No need to respond
1 March offer round, 2pm
EAS application due date	30 November 2015
Submit EAS documentation due date	30 November 2015
Respond to offer final date	No need to respond

Kate Niland
Guidance Officer

Numeracy at Cav

Visiting numeracy expert Marg Buckle has completed conducting professional development sessions with most departments in the school. This year she has worked with Social Science, HPE, Design Technology, Business, Science, and Mathematics departments. Her work has highlighted the opportunities to develop numeracy skills across different subject areas and the importance of departments working together to promote numeracy. In the last three sessions Marg has been working with the mathematics teachers to improve their skills in teaching algebra, and pattern identification; two topics that students often find difficult.

We have continued to work with Year 5 and 6 students at Seville Road State School on problem solving. A major focus this term has been on understanding fractions and their use in problem solving. Next week we will try to use all the problem solving skills they have developed this semester in order to solve a series of puzzles.

Except for mathematics, science is a subject that is most likely identified with numeracy. It is especially important during experimental work which is a major part of the subjects' assessment. Students need to be able to process, gather, and interpret data, calculate and predict values, and make judgements about the accuracy and precision of their data. The raw data may come from secondary sources such as tables or graphs, or it may come from their own experimental work. Without these skills it would be impossible for a student to succeed in the subject or field of science.

Craig Enders
Mathematics Department

Cav Road Student Excels

On the 11th of July 2015 Tristan Ellis and his teammates played in the U19 American Football World Cup Qualifier. Australia played New Zealand at the Sunshine Coast Stadium. The Australia Under-19s were successful in their game against New Zealand beating them 13-7 which has allowed our Australian team to progress to the World Cup in Ohio, USA!

This achievement has only been made possible through Tristan's hard work and dedication and intense training. Tristan has managed this whilst navigating the constant pressure of year 12 schoolwork and achieving good grades. Tristan started playing as a 15-year old and despite having AFL, Rugby League and a Soccer background, he said there's just something special about Gridiron football. He loves the culture, and the pride and passion that goes with the game. He said that just getting out there with the team environment is an amazing feeling and representing your country is such a privilege. Tristan would like to thank everyone who has supported him; from family, friends, community, teammates and his coaches from Club, State and National.

Indigenous Awards Night

2015 has been a very busy, rewarding year for Cav Road's Indigenous students! The Indigenous Awards Night held on 28 October was a great way to end such a successful year. It was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate with students, their families, staff and community members, to formally recognise the success and achievements of 2015. Students received awards in the categories of Academic, Sport, Attendance, Encouragement, Leadership and Community.

Guest speaker for the evening was Jason Fiddes from the Beyond the Broncos Program. Jason spoke about the work the program does to support Indigenous students. Past student Georgia Birks is currently undertaking her Masters in Architecture and took time out of her busy schedule to share her experiences since graduating from Cav Road in 2010.

The night was a huge success and we would especially like to acknowledge and thank our guest speakers, the Cav Road Indigenous dance group for performing the welcome dance, and our MC's for the night —Ebony Birks and Baily Prescott. Congratulations to all students who received awards on the evening!

Kym Ford
Indigenous Liaison Officer

Annual Football Academy Celebration

The 3rd annual Football Academy Celebration night was another successful and fantastic night. It was great to see the large numbers of our football students and their parents attending this year. This was our biggest and best to date with over 240 guests in attendance. It is always such a wonderful occasion to be able to share with our Football Academy community all of our students success and achievements throughout the year.

Our special guest this year was former Cavendish Road SHS Football Academy student James Donachie. James is now a professional footballer and plies his trade for the Brisbane Roar in the A league. James shared a message of determination, commitment and overcoming adversity to our guests and was very informative and inspirational. I would also like to give a special thank you to two of Cav Roads finest and talented teachers, for giving up their time and contributing to the presentation night, Mr Ashley Dickson for taking photos and videos of the night and Dr Brendan SueSee for being Master of Ceremonies. Our annual award winners are listed below:

Award 1: Football Academy Positive Culture: Angela Maher
Award 2: Year 7 Girls "Rising Star": Tia Doyle-Brockfield
Award 3: Year 7 Boy "Rising Star": Jess Toscano
Award 4: Junior Girls "Player of the Year": Holly McQueen
Award 5: Junior Boys "Player of the Year": Jayden Balarezo
Award 6: Goal Keeper of the Year: Harry McDonald
Award 7: Team of the Year: Girls Bill Turner Trophy State Champions, 4th in the Nation
Award 8: Achievement of the Year: Dane Ingham & Daniel Leck
Award 9: Senior Girls "Player of the Year": Bronte Watson
Award 10: Senior Boys "Player of the Year": Ryan Palmer

Joel Smith
Football Academy Director

Rugby League and Touch Football Academy
Celebration Night 2015

Australian Rugby League and Touch Football representative, Scott Prince, joins Cavendish Road SHS' Rugby League and Touch Football Academy at their annual Celebration Night to celebrate all of the successes students have achieved throughout the year of 2015.

On Thursday the 29th of October, students, staff and parents gathered together, at Eastern Suburbs Rugby League Club for our annual Celebration Night. The night aims to celebrate individual student achievements, team successes and to recognise the substantial sacrifices and efforts that family, community links and teaching staff go to in order to create a supportive and highly successful learning environment for students here at Cavendish Road SHS. The event which is now in its third year, has firmly established its place within the school calendar as a night where our students have the opportunity to dress-up, suit-up and speak-up on behalf of their academy. This year our Celebration Night was hosted by out-going Year 12's, Zak Taibi and Chelsea Cummins – Thank you for your passion and professionalism throughout the night. A big thank you also goes to the following people who helped in making the night our most successful one yet:

• Thank you to Scott Prince for giving up his time to share the night with us.
• Thank you to Easts Function Staff for yet another great year.
• Thank you to our past students Jordan Lovejoy and Josh Gee for sharing their experiences with us and presenting some awards.
• Thank you to the Admin Team (Especially Matt Morgan) for their consistent support of our academy.
• Thank you to Ashley Dickson for the countless hours he has poured into our Academy and school community, for taking all of the photos that helped to make the presentations throughout the night.
• Thank you to the Staff and Coaches (David Butler, Strak Kosanovic, Anthony Caruso, Justin Pratt) for their leadership, professionalism and commitment to the students throughout the year.
• Thank you to the Parents for their dedication to your children by developing such quality young people that we both enjoy working with at school.
• Thank you to all of the students, and in particular, the graduating class of 2015 for your consistent ability to amaze us both with your positivity, enthusiasm to learn and determination to overcome the barriers you face.

We hope all of the Year 12's are proud of their school, the things they achieved and types of young adults they have become.

Signing off for the last time this year,

Phil Gyemore – Academy Director & Tom Fisher – Rugby League Coordinator

Brad Playne

Chelsea Cummins

Drew Price

Caleb Josh

Connor McLeod

Erin Anthony

Erin Lee

Declan Brown

Brytten Jordan

Jack Smith

Scott Prince

James Price

Shajuate Aila

Zak Taibi

Jordan Andrews

Trent Pikinga

Cert III Fitness Improving Industry Links and Creating Future Pathways

Cavendish Road SHS' recent Certificate III in Fitness graduates experience Crossfit, Gymnastics, Acrobatics, Yoga, and Commercial gym training in an attempt to build industry knowledge and experience.

Over the last month, the Certificate III in Fitness students have had the opportunity to work with a number of guest presenters to gain a better insight into the health and fitness industry. The students have had the opportunity to explore and understand the many avenues the health and fitness industry can offer as part-time or full-time employment. They have also been lucky enough to learn from some of Australia's most current and qualified fitness professionals.

See below for pictures from our recent excursion to Crossfit Brisbane where students were lucky enough to learn from Matt Swift (The World's Fittest Man for his age category), Brandon Swan (3xCrossfit Games competitor) and Tracey Stewart (New Zealand's Fittest Woman). The students not only learnt about various training exercises and methods but had the opportunity view Brandon and Tracey in the peak of a professional training session. We were also lucky enough to be visited by industry professionals Marissa Hayes, Ben Day and Fit-Link Australia who ran workshops at our school with students in their specific areas of expertise.

We'd like to thank all of the industry professionals who took the time to improve our knowledge and share their experiences with us. Thank you to all of the Year 12 students for representing our school with professionalism and pride – Best of luck with your future careers in the health and fitness industry.

Tom Fisher
Health and Physical Education Teacher

Chappy's News

SHINE Girl

Term 4 Shine Girl group is going well. The girls are enthusiastic about discussing all the different ways we can show our unique strengths in life. For example, 'strength is found in building healthy relationships', and that is a huge discussion topic. Another example is; 'strength is being ok with making mistakes as long as we learn from them'. The group is enjoying these and many other interesting discussions and activities together.

Spotlight

Spotlight continues to be a good way for me to get to know more staff, and for people to find out more about each other also. Several teachers have expressed to me over the last few weeks how much they are enjoying this game. Meeting so many wonderful staff through Chappy's Spotlight has been such a joy to me, and I appreciate all those who have been participating.

I would like to take this moment to thank Bec Gardiner for her wonderful help and support during the past year. Thanks to all the great staff of our school and thanks to my awesome team of volunteers. Also thanks to all those people who value chaplaincy in our local schools. Without you, chaplaincy would not be available to our precious youth and children.

I have truly enjoyed my first year at Cavendish Road State High School very much, and I look forward to what the next year will bring.Thank you for your ongoing support of School Chaplaincy. Together we are making a difference in the lives of a younger generation.

If you would like to donate online, please visit https://donate.suqld.org.au/once-off/

Margita Downey
School Chaplain

FINANCE - ALL PARENTS - $$$

Please note that all outstanding invoices must be finalised before the end of the year. If you are having difficulty in finalising your accounts please contact the Business Services Manager on 33940710 to arrange for a payment plan so that all accounts are accounted for. Failure to do so will result in non-participation in the Student Resource Scheme for 2016. Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Jennifer Townshend
Acting Business Services Manager

QTAC Parents Website

QTAC is proud to announce the launch of our For Parents website, specifically designed to help parents be more involved in their child's tertiary study decisions. Use it as a starting point, or a great adjunct to the guidance you are already giving. At the For Parents site, parents can:

• get useful hints and tips to help your child.
• find out when to start planning.
• choose the right course and institution.
• check out how to apply.
• investigate support services.

For more information email go.enquiries@qtac.edu.au .

Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre Ltd. Level 4, 154 Melbourne St, South Brisbane QLD 4101

Parents and Citizens Association

P&C Meetings

Thank you to the parents, carers, school staff and members of our community who have attended our P&C meetings during 2015 and who have supported our P&C. 2016 promises to be another busy year and we'd love to have you join us. The P&C meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Please feel very welcome to come along and learn more about what is happening at your child's school. If you would like to join the P&C email list please email pandcsecretary@cavroadshs.eq.edu.au

Leisa Whybird
P & C Communications Secretary

Parents and Citizens Association Uniform Shop

Uniform Shop Helpers Needed

Please note that new and used uniform items are available for purchase at the uniform shop located next to the canteen. Volunteers are needed to help our Uniform Shop Convenor during the busy period in January.

If you have a little time and would be available to help please email Madonna: uniformshop@cavroadshs.eq.edu.au

Help even for part of one of the days would be welcomed. Tasks will involve restocking shelves, filling orders ready for families to collect and helping with sizing. We'd love to have you join our team of helpers to assist families with their uniform needs. Thank you for considering this request.

2015 TRADING HOURS – Term 4

Monday: 8am to 11:30am
Wednesday: 8am to 9am
Friday: 8am to 9am

The Clothing Store is closed on School and Public Holidays unless otherwise advertised.

Please note the EXTRA UNIFORM SHOP HOURS for DECEMBER 2015:

Monday 7 December: 8.00am to 12.00pm
Tuesday 8 December: 8.00am to 12.00pm
Wednesday 9 December: 8.00am to 12.00pm
Thursday 10 December: 8.00am to 12.00pm

UNIFORM SHOP CLOSES FOR 2015 ON THURSDAY 10 DECEMBER 2015

REOPENS 2016

Monday 18 January to Friday 22 January 2016: 8.00am to 1.00pm
Saturday 23 January 2016: 9.00am to 12:00pm
Monday 25 January 2016: 8.00am to 11.30am
CLOSED TUESDAY 26 JANUARY 2016
Wednesday 27 January to Friday 29 January: 8.00am to 11.30am

NORMAL TRADING HOURS AFTER THIS FOR 2016

Monday 8am to 11:30am
Wednesday & Friday 8am to 9am
TUESDAY & THURSDAY CLOSED

Changes to School Immunisation Program from 2016

The School Immunisation Program plays an important role in protecting our community from vaccine preventable diseases. In 2016, the program will offer vaccinations to all Year 7 and 8 students. From 2017, the program will only offer vaccinations to Year 7 students. For further information please click on the above link 'School Immunisation Program' from Queensland Government Health Department.

Helping Year 12 school leavers stay safe during end-of-school celebrations

Finishing school and taking part in end-of-school celebrations is an exciting time for many Year 12 school leavers.

A range of tips and advice for parents and guardians to help teens stay safe during Schoolies are available from the Be safe and watch your mates website

Changes to TransLink concession fares for Year 12 school leavers

Queensland students finishing Year 12 this year who intend on continuing their tertiary studies in 2016 will still be able to continue to travel on concession fares until 31 March 2016.

TransLink advises school leavers to hold on to their expired Year 12 student ID card to travel on concession fares until 31 March 2016 or until they receive their new tertiary student ID card.

To travel on concession fares after 1 April 2016, students who go on to further study must have applied for concession fares at www.translink.com.au and carry their current tertiary student ID issued by a Queensland institution.

Free Triple P parenting support now available in Queensland

Free, evidence-based parenting support is now available to parents of children aged 0 – 16. Visit the Triple P website to find a local seminar or sign up for Triple P Online. More sessions will be offered next year. School staff interested in becoming Triple P providers can contact Triple P on 3236 1212.

PCYC Mt Gravatt

PCYC Mt Gravatt run a series of FREE workshops for young people ages 10 – 17 Years of age during the Christmas/January school holidays. December/January FREE School Holiday Activities for young people:

Hip Hop Dance Workshop (10 to 17 years) Monday 14th December 10am to 2pm
Songwriting Workshop (12 to 17 years) Wednesday 16th December 10am to 2pm
Hip Hop MC Techniques Workshop (12 to 17 years) Friday 18th December 10am to 2pm
CHILLOUT – Film Making Workshops (12 to 17 years) 10am to 3pm
- Beginners Wednesday 6th January
- Intermediate Tuesday 12th January
- Advanced Thursday 21st January
Daytime Hike (10 to 17 years) Wednesday 13th January 10am to 3pm
CHILLOUT – Circus Skills Workshop (10 to 17 years) Thursday 14th January 10am to 2pm
Cypher Workshop - Record a song and film it for Youtube (12 to 17 years) Monday 18th January 10am to 4pm

*PCYC Membership of $20 applies to all non CHILLOUT events

Numbers are strictly limited – BOOK NOW

BYO Lunch

PCYC Mt Gravatt – 90 Klumpp Road 3420 4655

Check us out on Facebook www.facebook.com/pcycmtgravatt or visit our website: www.pcyc.org.au/MtGravatt

All workshops are proudly presented or supported by the Brisbane City Council.