School Newsletter - Issue 6 - November, 2023

News from our P & C Association

Next and final P&C Meeting for 2023 is on Nov 21^st @7pm in the Innovation Centre F9 - F10 located behind the language block. Entry is via Russell Street.

Tuckshop

The tuckshop is looking for volunteers to join our wonderful team in 2023. If you would like to come in and help for a day to get to know how the Tuckshop runs, meet the amazing ladies who keep the students coming back for more every day and have a day to spare every week, few weeks or monthly do get in contact with Tina Hauser at the Tuckshop on 3824 9214. We’d love to meet you.

The Tuckshop team wish all the current Year 12’s the best of luck as they embark on their next adventure. It has been a pleasure serving them and getting to know them over the past 6 years.

Uniform Shop

Parents / Caregivers – By Appointment ONLY for all new students will be starting soon (from Mon 27^th Nov) so if your students need any new uniforms for next year, please do come and see us before the 27^th if you don’t wish to make an appointment.

Current students can come in before school or during first break until the end of Term to get their new uniforms, no appointment necessary, especially students needing senior uniforms going into Year 10.

Second hand uniforms– Please remember we cannot accept any items that are not freshly laundered, dried, and pressed if needed, or that is not CURRENT uniform. Any items that we cannot resell or donate must be taken away with you as we do not have a large storage area. For the full policy, please see the pdf on the CDSHS webpage under Uniform Shop.

Returning Second Hand Uniforms during the busy times- Please be aware that when we are very busy it is difficult to find the time to process second hand items for a refund. Please do bring them in though as we do need second hand items to sell during the busy times but we will ask you to fill in a form and we will then contact you asap in order to sort your reimbursement.

General – A big thank you to all our lovely students, parents and carers who are always so polite when they come into the shop, we do appreciate it and we look forward to seeing all our new Seniors come in for their uniforms soon!

Shop Hours during term are MON, TUE, and THURS 8am – 10.30am (up until Nov 27th).

PEEL Wins Out In Athletics Carnival

The Cleveland Athletics carnival on the last day of Semester 1 saw Peel house end victorious by a convincing margin in the end.  Some fantastic efforts by individuals saw many highlights across the carnival and pre carnival events.   A number of new records were broken some of which had stood for more than 30 years.  Age Champions were announced at the end of the carnival and presented by Executive Principal Leonard McKeown.   Many of these athletes also performed incredibly well at the Bayside District trials held on July 27 and 28.  Cleveland finished 3^rd despite having a small squad for this event with only Sheldon and Ormiston finishing in front of our school on points.  We also received some individual honours with Summer Pryde being crowned the 15 girls age champion.  Bronte Colville, Abel Howell and Julian Mathews were also announced as runners up in their respective age groups.    Recently we also received confirmation that 27 of our athletes have qualified for the Bayside team to attend the Met East Athletics trials.  Considering our low numbers at the school and district carnivals this is an outstanding achievement.    Our school now has 10 students who have qualified for the Met East Athletics team to compete at the upcoming State Championships from October 12-15. 

Peel       1296                       

Russell   1103

Moreton 1050

Macleay  978 

Champions

12 years girls – Sophie Chistopherson

12 year boys –  Brody Mathews

13 years girls – Bronte Colville

13 years boys – Abel Howell

14 years girls – Sienna Crowther

14 years boys – Julian Mathews

15 years girls – Summer Pryde

15 years boys – Adam Wilson

16 years girls – Sienna Veivers

16 years boys – Lachlan Sparkes

Open Girls – Anika Clarke

Open Boys – Andy Josefski

DISTRICT ATHLETICS

Bronte Colville Runner Up 13 years girls

Abel Howell Runner Up 13 years boys

Julian Mathews Runner Up 14 years boys.

Summer Pryde Age Champions 15 years girls.

STEM Wrap up

Last term, during 14-18 August, our school community and students embarked on an incredible journey of discovery during our celebration and recognition of National Science Week! This year’s theme was ‘Innovation: Powering Future Industries’. The week was packed full of science magic and students thoroughly enjoyed every bit of what Cleveland High’s Science department and our STEM Ambassadors had to offer! From the opening ceremony and interactive workshops to mind-blowing chemistry demos and inspiring guest speakers, it was a week packed with science magic!

We also had the privilege to host a Rotary presentation, STEM Arcade, drone demonstration, and an eye-opening international study tour workshop throughout the duration of the science week – and for those who participated, it would have been a blast!

A massive thank you to our amazing Mr Cooper for coordinating the Science Week, as well as our Science Department, STEM Ambassadors, and photographers for their unwavering dedication in organising this phenomenal week! Of course, a huge shoutout to Vanessa Feng for mentoring our STEM Ambassadors in organising the activity and last but not least, all of our students who came and participated in the events! We hope to organise a bigger, better Science Week next year!

In addition to National Science Week, our STEM Ambassadors had the privilege to run several International Study Tour workshops with our study tour students from both Japan and Taiwan throughout Term 3. Our study tour students, International Student Ambassadors and STEM Ambassadors were faced with the engineering challenge to build the highest spaghetti tower with limited materials given. They had to work collaboratively to design and engineer their spaghetti tower to withstand its own weight – it was an engaging and fun experience for all to say the least!

Finally, our STEM Ambassadors also had the opportunity to work with primary school students within our Redlands region in developing their STEM capabilities through our Science Cluster Day earlier in Term 3. This program was organised in collaboration with Griffith University – one of the universities that are in collaboration with our STEM Ambassador program to foster curiosity and interests in younger students towards STEM.

Lastly, we would like to thank Mr Cooper, Vanessa, and our STEM Ambassador team for their dedication in planning, organising, and partaking in these events throughout Term 3 and beyond, which has been the most successful yet! We look forward to continuing working with the school and our Science Department closely in Term 4 and through to 2024!

Senior School Formal

Friday the 20^th of October saw the graduating cohort of 2023 dress in their finest for the formal. Held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, the students were treated to an amazing meal before heading to the dance floor for a night of fun and glamour.  It was a wonderful celebration of all the hard work they had put in over their years of schooling.  Many staff also joined the students to mark this wonderful milestone, which is a testament to the entire cohort and the impression they have left on our school. 

We are very much looking forward to celebrating with our students once again at the graduation in a couple of weeks.

Vietnam Veterans Day

Friday 18^th of August, the Cleveland District State High School’s junior and senior leaders, Ms Edwards, and Ms Yarwood came together with respect to participate in a service dedicated to Vietnam Veterans Day. The special event, filled with speeches, reflective moments, and the laying of wreaths from all respected Australian services served as a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by those who served during the Vietnam war. After the ceremony concluded, a sense of shared appreciation remained, inspiring a commitment to preserving the memory of the veterans' bravery for generations to come.

Cleveland High would like to say thank you to those men and women who fought for our country. A thank you also goes out to the Redlands RSL which CDSHS has had a long working history with, it was an honour for our students to participate in your service.

Lest We Forget.

Emily – Student Council Executive Officer

Parliament House Excursion

On Thursday the 24th of August, the CDSHS School Captains, Thomas Croucher, Charlee Webber, Vanessa Feng and Malakai Keen, were given a tour of Parliament House in Brisbane City. The tour was organised by Dr Mark Robinson, Member of Parliament for Oodgeroo, who took the Captains on a walk first to the Members Reading Room, then to the viewing gallery in The Legislative Assembly Chamber to listen to a live debate. Afterwards, the Captains were treated to a three-course lunch with Dr Mark Robinson and were able to ask questions as well as meet the Education Minister Hon Grace Grace and the Deputy Speaker, Mr Joe Kelly. 

On behalf of the CDSHS School Captains, we say a big thank you to Dr Mark Robinson for this educational and fantastic opportunity.

Malakai

Year 9 Business - Sundaes and Spiders Venture

On the 25^th of August, Ms Edwards’ Year 9 Business class was split into 6 teams to run venture Sundaes and Spiders stall to the students of Cleveland District State High School. These teams were then expected to decide on a theme for their product as well as a suitable product title. The team names included The Lorax, Choco-Cola, Barbie Sundaes, Cookie Monster, Red Delight and Oreo Crunch.

The purpose of this venture was to gain experience of running a business which included: budgeting, ordering stock, co-ordinating and running a venture stall as well as educating students on time management and team work. The class raised a total of $870.04 to contribute to the Pink Chicks charity which supports women with breast cancer as chosen by the year 9 business class. We all thoroughly enjoyed this unit and discovering our entrepreneurial skills.

Madeline 

Share the Dignity

Throughout the month of August, student council collaborated to promote ‘Share the Dignity,’ a non-for-profit group working to support disadvantaged Australians in need of sanitary products.

With the help of the CDSHS community, over 120+ items were collected and donated to our local Woolworths collection point. This donation will make a massive difference to those at risk of homelessness, domestic violence, or poverty.

If you missed out on a chance to donate, don’t stress! ‘Share the Dignity’ works throughout the year to achieve menstrual equity in Australia.

Check out the following link to see how you can get involved in the cause: https://www.sharethedignity.org.au/get-involved/donate/dignity-drive-cash-appeal

Zara

Student Council Public Relations Officer

2024 Next Step Year 12 Completers Survey

Student Council News

We have held our last Student Council meeting for 2023. What a year from selling icy poles to the swimming carnival, barbeques at the Cross Country, Athletics and Multi-Cultural Day.  Our Gold Coin days where we raised money for Leukaemia Foundation, Cancer Council, Love Ya Sister, Wear Red for Daniel and Bandana Day. Student Council has a long history of supporting Chaplaincy and the Formal Committee with fundraising. Recently we have also collected sanitary items for Share the Dignity. We also worked with Redlands RSL Sub Branch where we are involved in ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day and Honour the Fallen (where we place an Australian flag on every veteran resting place at the Cleveland Cemetery).

Student Council is a team. It is led by President - Alex Yin, Public Relations Officer - Zara Nolan, International Liaison Officer - Juan Michelon, and Executive Officers - Abbey Fullerton, Emily Pack, and Jenna Rheeder. School Captains - Thomas Croucher, Vanessa Feng, Malakai Keen and Charlee Webber. The Junior Leaders are - Anika Anderson, Jai Pitcher, Layla Inns, and Sveva Bianco Prevot. We couldn’t do what we do without the hard-working representatives as well. Every one of our team (leaders and representatives) have done a fantastic job this year and I’m so proud of them. It has been a pleasure to work with them.

I would also like to acknowledge the other teachers and administration staff that always assist us in our events. Chris and Jason (Schools Officers Grounds and Maintenance), Tuckshop, Col Wharton, Louise Martinuzzo, Vickie Taylor, Danielle, Mandy Allan, Ainsley Young, Zan Allan, Kiran Chandra, Sherry Zhao, Richard Murray and Nathan Harvey. Thank you.

A special Thank You must go to Casey Westbury, Jackie Yarwood, Grant Mitchell and Leonard McKeown who I have worked with closely in running and organising these events. Finally, another HUGE thank you must go to Justine Noble who has taken over the council in the last few months.

I wish all the senior leaders and representatives the very best for 2024. Below are some photos of the team from this year.

Joni Edwards

Upcoming events

November

8 – Setting up the Poppy Garden

9 – Honour the Fallen

11 – Remembrance Day

News from our Creative Arts Department

The last few months have been huge for the Creative Arts, with a series of awesome events showcasing our students and their fabulous creative endeavours.  In September families and friends were wowed by the beautiful student work at our Film, Art, Media and Drama Exhibition, FAMED, followed by the stunning colour and energy of Dance Fusion and the magic of Music Showcase. In October we presented our biennial collaborative Creative Arts Showcase, Addams Family!  Addams Family featured the work of all our performance ensembles with sets and props by our Media and Visual Art students and was a fabulous extravaganza celebrating the Arts! To cap it all off, last Sunday our Jazz ensembles presented a wonderful night of music at Jazz Under the Stars. Congratulations to all Creative Arts students and staff on this amazing season of showcases – the photos below reveal the phenomenal effort and calibre of student work:

Addams Family photos below:

FAMED photos below:

Music Showcase photos:

Dance Fusion photos:

Creative Arts in the Classroom

In awesome news, a group of our Year 11 Film, Television and New Media students recently won a nationwide film competition, Focus on Ability. This competition asked students and professional film makers across Australia to create short films focusing on the stories of and about people with disabilities. Working with researchers in the field of dyslexia, the students created short film sharing the story of a character overcoming her challenges with dyslexia. The students worked with actors from our Junior and Senior Acting troupes.  These talented young film-makers won the Australia and New Zealand Schools Official Judges Winner in the Short Film category which includes a $5000 cash prize and mentoring!

Congratulations to India Miller, Lucas Hartwig, Elyse Stelzl, Juliette Stevenson, Olivia Johnston and their teacher, Mr Callum Wacker – what a talented bunch and a fabulous result!  Their film may be viewed here: https://www.focusonability.com.au/FOA/films/3093.html

Photo:

Student Point of View: Year 12 Reflections

Over the last few weeks, we have been gradually farewelling our awesome Year 12 students from our Creative Arts classes.  We asked them to reflect on how studying a Creative Arts subject has impacted their schooling experience, and would like to share some of their responses, which have been very heartening to read:

Jack:

Studying music has been the thing that has kept me sane during my schooling – the sheer amount of love and passion that everyone in the subject has for music is incredibly inspiring and motivating.

Anon:

Arts subjects feel like a breath of fresh air - walking into a music room feels like an easing of pressure, the serenity of learning and studying something so integral in human history that’s also something so large in any young person’s life is an amazing high school opportunity.

Mia:

It has helped me make friends, helped my brain learn better, helped with my mental health, and made me have the best high school experience I could ever ask for!

Erin:

It has made me excited to go to school despite other more draining subjects, and provided a creative outlet.

Malakai:

Studying creative arts in both film and media has developed my skills and passion in photography and has led me into work opportunities for tech and imagery.  I would recommend the Creative Arts as they develop creativity and unlock passions for a new found talent. 

Audrey:

It made school much more of an enjoyable experience, allowing me to study subjects I actually enjoy.  School can be so stressful, so having something fun makes school much more bearable. I’ve also made some of my best friends in creative arts and have had the best and most supportive teachers ever.

Taneesha:

Studying creative arts subjects has significantly impacted my performance and cognitive abilities, in terms of confidence and writing skills.  It is extremely rewarding in terms of making connections with friends along the way – you could never feel alone.

Anon.

Studying Creative Arts has been very impactful, improving my thinking skills as well as my writing. The practical aspect is really fun, and it allows you to take a break from your other subjects. I would 100% recommend Art as a subject. It’s not an easy subject, but if you are really passionate about the subject, then it will be a breeze.

Thank you, Year 12s, for your contribution to the Creative Arts and very best wishes for your journey ahead!  We look forward to hearing about your adventures, and hope that creativity remains a joyous part of your life. 😊

Date Claimers:

Arts Awards, Tuesday November 14, 6.30pm – Please join us to celebrate our graduating Year 12 students and the excellence and commitment evident in our ensembles and extra-curricular programs!  We are presenting a wonderful night of entertainment, so come along and enjoy the show!

Term 4 Gold Coin Day

Thursday 26 October was the Term Four Gold Day. The theme was Wear Red for Daniel, as well as Bandana Day. All the money raised from the day will be split between the two worthy causes. This is always a fun Gold Coin Day, and I must say the administration did look very cool in red and their bandanas. Student Council would like to thank everyone who supported this event.

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