MANSFIELD STATE HIGH SCHOOL
BROADWATER ROAD
MANSFIELD QLD 4122
PO BOX 229
MT GRAVATT QLD 4122
Telephone 3452 5333 Mr J Sloman Principal
Student Absences 3452 5306 Mrs C Anghel Deputy Principal
Enrolments 3452 5367 Ms B Clarke Deputy Principal
Facsimile 3452 5300 Mrs E Hamilton Deputy Principal
E-mail Ms L Peterson Deputy Principal
Website www.mansfieldshs.eq.edu.au
11 September 2012
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
When you receive this edition of the school Newsletter, students will have completed the majority of their assessment for the term. If they have done the work, they will achieve the marks they deserve. That is the way it is supposed to be! When a student invests the time to study, constantly puts in the effort, and is determined to do the best they can, then invariably they do. This provides for the foundation for useful feedback between student and teacher, planned and intentional instruction on behalf of the teacher, and enables a clear understanding about what students are learning and why they are doing it. Broadly speaking, when a student’s performance and attitude is right, teachers can use this as the starting position in their teaching and assessment. I have spent much of this year promoting the demystifying of assessment! When a student understands what is required of them in an assessment item, they are better able to produce work that reflects the requirements of the task and the criteria by which they will be assessed. Their results are optimised.
I wish all students and staff a safe and restful holiday. However until the holidays, which begin when students arrive home on Friday 21 September, students must be in full time attendance at school (or for the Year 11s, at work experience). Keep shining!
HOLIDAYS
This is just a reminder that our Spring Holidays are from Saturday 22 September to Sunday 7 October 2012. All students need to be in full-time attendance until 3pm on Friday 21 September. New work will be covered during this time. School resumes on Monday 8 October; the Student Free Day for this term is on Monday 22 October.
UNAUTHORISED ENTRY TO SCHOOL GROUNDS
Parents and students are reminded that anyone wanting to enter/use the school grounds, particularly out of hours, must be authorised by the Principal. No one is to enter the grounds, even to walk through. As stated on the Government signs in the school – unauthorised entry may lead to prosecution.
HELP US KEEP OUR SCHOOL SECURE THESE HOLIDAYS
With the holidays fast approaching, please look out for after-hours crime in our school. If you see anything suspicious, please phone the School Watch number – 13 17 88. The School Watch Program is a partnership between Education Queensland, the Queensland Police Service, and the State Government Protective Security Service. It aims to reduce vandalism, theft and arson in Queensland schools.
If you do see something suspicious, don’t attempt to intervene. Call the School Watch number and let the local police or State Government Protective Security Service deal with the matter. Keep the number handy – 13 17 88 – and let’s work together to help create a safer school community. If you would like to know more about the School Watch Program, please call Education Queensland's School Security Section on (07) 3237 0874.
CHANGED PERSONAL CONTACT DETAILS
If personal contact details have changed for parents or emergency contacts, please either complete and return a BLUE form available from the Upper Office (this is our preference), or send a letter stating the changes. It is very concerning (sometimes very distressing for your child, and also distressing and a waste of time and money for our school) when we try to make contact with parents and phone numbers, in particular, are not current. This is also the case for addresses. Please notify the school immediately any of these details change.
BROADWATER ROAD UNITING CHURCH CAR PARK
The Broadwater Road Uniting Church has always been very accommodating, allowing parents to use the car park as a drop off and pick up zone. Some parents have been abusing this situation and have been parking in the Church grounds during the day and while they wait for their children at the end of the day. Some student vehicles have also been identified.
Recently during a funeral, waiting parents blocked access to the driveway and had to be asked to move so that a Funeral Director could exit the property with the hearse. We were very distressed to hear about this. PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE GROUNDS OF THE CHURCH. It is private property.
LEAVING SCHOOL DURING THE DAY
The student must have a note from his/her parent/guardian requesting permission to leave school at a specific time. He/she reports to the Lower Office BEFORE going to Period 1 and his/her note is handed in. The student will be asked to swipe his/her ID card and he/she will be issued with a receipt. The student needs to show this receipt to the teacher for permission to leave class. Before leaving the school grounds the student must report to the Lower Office where he/she will swipe his/her ID card again to register the departure time and receive an authorisation receipt.
Please note: Wednesday afternoons are for MAP (a compulsory aspect of our curriculum), not for appointments, unless it is absolutely essential.
DEBATING NEWS
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Mansfield State High School’s Year 9 Team Two debaters who, on Wednesday 29 August, WON their QDU GRAND FINAL. This is a fantastic achievement as they are the first State high school to have won a Brisbane Grand Final since 2002. We broke a decade of drought! The team (pictured right with their coordinators Miss Watts and Ms Bosznay), which consists of Ann Carew, Kruthi Bachu, Sophie Rawlins, Peter Truong and Tooru Nishido, put forth wonderful arguments and demonstrated their fantastic debating skills in front of a large crowd at Somerville House. It was a well-deserved victory for the team members, who worked very hard throughout the year and whose skills are second-to-none.
The Grand Final topic was: ‘That we should legalise commercial whaling’. The Mansfield team was affirmative, while their opponents, Brisbane Boys Grammar, were negative. First speaker, Ann Carew led the charge with a very well-structured and convincing argument. Second speaker, Kruthi Bachu, continued the team’s case with two very strong points and wonderful rebuttal. Third speaker, Tooru Nishido, did an amazing job of summing up the team’s case and pointing out major flaws in the opposition’s arguments. With Sophie Rawlins as the debate chairperson and fellow team member, Peter Truong, cheering in the crowd, the Mansfield team members were the stand-out performers on the night.
Another highlight to come out of the Grand Final night was Mansfield State High School being given an Encouragement Award by Queensland Debating Union Administrator, Tony Scarcella. This Award was given to only three schools in the whole competition, and was an acknowledgement of our school’s long-standing involvement at a highly commendable level in debating.
A huge thank you and congratulations goes to Miss Watts, the team’s coach, who has given up countless hours to help the students prepare and practise. Her tireless efforts were celebrated on assembly on Friday 31 August and the whole school was given the opportunity to congratulate the team members for their wonderful work.
Again, thank you to all students who participated in debating this year. We would love you to come back next year and of course, we always encourage new members. Thank you again to all of the coaches and especially to Ms Bosznay, who, as Debating Co-ordinator for many years, has built up Mansfield’s reputation for being strong competitors. The Encouragement Award can be attributed to her tireless efforts over many years. Congratulations to: Year Nine Team Two; coach Miss Watts; and Mansfield State High School. Thank you also to 2012 Debating Coordinator, Mrs Solah.
ICAS SCIENCE COMPETITION
Recently our Year 8, 9 and 10 students participated in the ICAS Science Competition. High Distinctions are awarded to the top 1% of the State; Distinctions are awarded to the next 10% of the State; and Credits are awarded to the next 10 % of the State. In Year 8, the results included 3 High Distinctions and 44 Distinctions. In Year 9, 6 High Distinctions and 43 Distinctions were achieved and in Year 10, 2 High Distinctions and 23 Distinctions were attained. Congratulations to these students! May all students challenge themselves to continue on their path of improvement next year.
PRESENTATION EVENING REMINDER
Coming up soon is the school’s Presentation Evening at which we as a school showcase this school’s greatest attribute…the many wonderful students! This is a night where we celebrate the academic, cultural, sporting and civic contribution of students within the school. Please write Wednesday 24 October from 7pm in your diaries. Every student should be striving to achieve an award at Presentation Evening. To receive an academic award should be the goal of every student. Those who earn them are certainly deserving of recognition. In fact, many hours of work and study go into these awards. Awards will also be presented for other vital aspects of our school: cultural awards, service awards, and sport awards.
The Presentation Evening awards available and the criteria are on our website. Students, who have questions about this, need to see Deputy Principal, Ms Clarke, as a matter of urgency. Any student who believes that they have special circumstances that need to be considered also needs to see Ms Clarke by 17 September. By the end of this week all awards (except the Year 12 Subject Awards and the Major Awards) will be announced. The Year 12 Subject Awards will be available just before the September holidays. The Major Awards will be announced on the night.
SENIOR GRADUATION
Senior badge holders in Year 12 are eligible to attend the Senior graduation on Friday 16 November in our school Hall. Parents (and close relatives) are invited to attend. Obviously seating is limited. Siblings at our school will need to remain in classes. The actual ceremony is from 10.45am until about 11.30am and this is followed by a late morning tea. Students bring a plate of food to share. Students will not be wearing school uniform. They will be advised prior to the September holidays about the dress code. We look forward to a lovely morning together.
SENIOR FORMAL 2013
The 2013 Senior Formal will be on Friday 10 May 2013 at the Brisbane Convention Centre. Students will need to arrive at the corner of Merivale and Glenelg Streets between 6.15pm and 6.45pm. Students arranging transport need to remember that Friday night traffic is usually quite busy.
ART NEWS
We have had some wonderful achievement in the Arts Faculty recently. In the GUESTS program, successful completion of a first year subject ensures guaranteed entry to Griffith University. Four Film students applied and were accepted and will gain entry to Griffith Film School - Tammy Jewsen, Erin O'Shiel, Phoebe Williams and Jessica Dee. A Visual Art student, Ehlana Bradley has achieved guaranteed entry to a photography course through the same program at Griffith.
In Visual Art we have had four students representing us in the Creative Generations for Visual Art. Three of these students were shortlisted. In a field of 160 across greater Brisbane, this is a fantastic result. The students are: Jacklyn Tang (shortlisted), Kate Wood (shortlisted), Verity Taylor (shortlisted), and Maddy Ball.
As part of The Brisbane Festival some of our Senior Mansfield High Art students were involved in a Photography competition. They participated in a workshop with Brisbane Photographer Henri Van Noordenburg and were invited to submit a photograph that celebrates Brisbane. The finalists’ works will be displayed at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, 420 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley. Two of our finalists’ works will be displayed on the GOA electronic billboards that can be seen around Brisbane. Our students’ work will be shown on the billboard located at 276 Barry Parade, Fortitude Valley (outbound at the Valley five-ways) from Monday 17 September – Sunday 23 September.
Our results are:
Shelley Wu Yr 12: High Commendation
Rachel Feeney Yr 12, Kristina Shapranova Yr 12, and Andrea Yee Yr 11: Finalists whose images will be part of the exhibition at the Judith Wright Centre.
Simran Assan Yr 11 & Kate Wood Yr 12: Finalists whose images will be part of the exhibition at the Judith Wright Centre AND be shown on the digital billboards.
See Simran and Kate’s work below, but if you are driving through the Valley keep your eyes peeled and see these wonderful works up in lights on a huge billboard!
ICT NEWS
International Student ICT Contest - Jump On Board
Queensland school students have the opportunity to compete in the Incredible Green Contest, an international competition encouraging students to utilise ICT-related technologies to create innovative green solutions. With a total prize pool of US$260,000, and research and sponsorship grants of US$60,000, the Incredible Green Contest encourages students at all levels to create the next best green solution using the latest ICT technologies. The theme for the competition is: 2020 Future TechLife enabled by Green Innovation. More than 350 students from seven countries have already registered; however only one application has been received from Australia. Students can enter individually or as part of a team. There is no cost or any application fee for schools or students to enter. Registrations close October 31 2012 and projects must be submitted online by 15 November 2012. For more information visit the Acer Incredible Green Contest website (http://greencontest.acerfoundation.org.tw/). The Incredible Green Contest is sponsored by ACER Foundation and co-organised by Taipei Computer Association (TCA).