Principal s Report. School Student Numbers. 25 Year Celebrations P&C. Premier s ANZAC Prize. Lions Youth of the Year

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1 120 Robert Street Urangan QLD 4655 Subscribe: Phone: Fax: February 2016 Principal s Report School Student Numbers Urangan High s teaching allocation for 2016 will be calculated relative to the Day 8 student numbers listed: P&C Year Year Year Year Year Year Total 1715 At last week s Parents and Citizens meeting it was lovely to meet some of the new parents who have joined the group. It is their way of being involved in their child/children s education and allows them to be well-informed and part of decision-making. Lions Youth of the Year The Lions Youth of the Year dinner was held last Thursday at Kondari Resort. Out school captain, Taylor Mackie, gave both a prepared and impromptu speech. Her speech on Decisions was excellent and Taylor represented Urangan High brilliantly. 25 Year Celebrations Urangan State High School turns 25 this year. Planning is well underway to celebrate this milestone on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 October. Premier s ANZAC Prize I am very proud to announce that year 11 student, Denya Hopkins, is one of eight Queensland students selected for The Premier s ANZAC Prize This honour includes a study tour to Gallipoli and the Western Front. Denya s letter from Education Minister Jones stated that the panel had a very difficult time selecting the winners as the standard of entries was extremely high. Well done to Denya. She makes the Urangan High community very proud.

2 Fundraising; Cultural and School Events; Student Activities and Wellbeing; Promotions and Journalism. Senior and Junior Captains and Vice Captains Assessment Calendars Please ensure your child is using their assessment summaries from the school to stay on track for the semester. These are available via the school s website under the heading Quicklinks on the homepage. Senior House Captains Linda Buxton Acting Principal New Parent Evening Junior House Captains There will be an opportunity for all parents of students who are new to the school this year to meet their teachers on Tuesday 23 February in GD Block at 5pm. There will be a sausage sizzle available. Leaders Ceremony On Monday 1 February, over 800 invited students, community VIPs, family and friends attended the annual induction ceremony for the 2016 school leaders. The ceremony recognised Junior and Senior Captains, Vice Captains, House Captains and Student Council Executives. Additionally, over 180 students from years 8 to 12 were presented with their U-Lead badges. U-Lead is a student leadership program, designed to foster leadership qualities. Representatives also participate in the Student Council which consists of the Executive Committee and four smaller committees: Student Council Modern History Vietnam Tour 2016 Modern History Students in years in 2016 have the opportunity to participate in a tour to Vietnam in Thank you to those families who have paid their deposit and secured a place on the tour. Your next payment instalment is due on 26th February and please ensure you return your permission slip and 2

3 consent/medical form. A final reminder that any other Modern History student who would like to secure a place on the tour, please see Mrs Pipe ( mjpip0@eq.edu.au ) or Mrs Vanzetta ( kvanz5@eq.edu.au ) urgently in Staff Room 7 for a permission note and information. All deposits must be paid by Friday 19th February. Details of meetings about the tour will be advised shortly. This is an exciting opportunity for our students and we look forward to working with families over the course of the year in preparation for travel. School Photos MSP Photography will be coming to the school on Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th February to take the student photos. MSP have provided personally named ordering envelopes for the students and these have been given out in their form class. If your child has not received their personalised ordering envelope please ask them to check with their form teacher. If their form teacher does not have their envelope they can come to Student Services to pick up a generic ordering envelope. All ordering and payment is done directly through MSP photography. For more information please click on the link below from MSP Photography. School Dental Van The school dental van will be arriving at Urangan High on Wednesday 10 February They will be starting with year 10 and working their way down the lower grades. discussion of, and interest in major national and global issues and emphasises the importance of maintaining continuing active interests in sport, arts and music. The NYSF s mission is to provide community minded and science focused young Australians an opportunity for network development and insight into skills, careers and a lifetime of achievement in science, engineering and technology. One of our students, Rheanna Bose, attended the NYSF and has provided her thoughts about her experience. I had never before thought that I was capable of attending anything like the NYSF. Throughout the whole process of applications and interviews I made sure not to get my hopes up, intent on the fact that I would never be accepted. Contrary to my beliefs I was selected to attend, and have just returned from the greatest two weeks of my life. Throughout the NYSF I was thrown into a tight schedule of lab visits and lectures with around 200 other year 11 students just like me from all over Australia and parts of the world. I was allowed behind the scenes at high tech laboratories and national facilities and received an insight into the wide world of science. Through exchanges with world class scientists, entrepreneurs and business owners, I have now solidified my passion for science, and my want to pursue a career in the STEM fields. This experience is one I will never forget, and I urge anyone and everyone who can to apply for this incredible opportunity. ACE Information Evening We will be hosting an information session for parents/guardians of students in the ACE (Academic and Cultural Excellence) classes. The ACE form classes are 7B1, 7C1, 7T1, 8C1, 8C2, 9T1 and 9T2. Date: Tuesday 16th February Time: 6.30pm pm Place: GD Block Main topics: Curriculum within ACE classes, events and opportunities, how parents/guardians can support their child There will be also time to ask questions and speak to the relevant Heads of Years and Gifted and Talented Coordinator. Students are welcome to attend. National Youth Science Forum 2016 The National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) is a 12 day residential program for students entering year 12 who are passionate about science, technology, engineering and maths (stem). The NYSF program aims to show participants the wide variety of study and career options in stem fields. It also helps students moving into Year 12, by encouraging the achievement of excellence in all their undertakings, and by helping to develop their communication and interpersonal skills. It also fosters 3

4 ConocoPhillips Science Experience, UQ Well Done Zoran! On January 20 to , three of our students attended the ConocoPhillips Science Experience at the University of Queensland, Brisbane. These students were Austin Slatter, Katelyn Gillard and Denya Hopkins. The students have described their experience as amazing and worthwhile. With the knowledge learnt, they are hoping it will give them an edge to perform well in Chemistry and Physics this year. The challenge set by the ConocoPhillips Experience was won by Austin s group. The winning concept included an idea which Austin initially suggested. It was certainly an opportunity many more students should undertake, said Austin s mum. Great work Austin, Katelyn and Denya! Urangan SHS student, Zoran Fitzek, has come home from the Little Athletics Regional Titles with 4 gold medals in high jump, triple jump, discus and 200m hurdles and 1 silver medal in shot put. He also did his personal best in shot put and 200m hurdles and will now compete at the State level in March this year. Congratulations Zoran! SEP Science Our year 9 SEP students enjoyed a science lesson in one of the science laboratories classifying creatures and using microscopes. Students looked at some preserved animals, insects and birds and decided what characteristics they had allowing them to classify into different categories. Some of the 4

5 creatures included a tree snake, a bat and a scorpion. The second part of the lesson was spent on microscope work and students looked at different objects ranging from a wasp wing, to a goldfish scale to a peacock feather. Free Microsoft Office Software All state school students can now download multiple free copies of the Microsoft Office 2013 Suite to their personal home and mobile computer equipment! Please, take advantage of this marvellous opportunity, and if you need any help, come and see Ms Kuzio-Barnes in the library. You can download your free copy from studentadvantage/pages/default.aspx or download the pdf from and follow the instructions. English Tutorials English Tutorials are held each Wednesday after school until 4pm in GA01. All students wishing to improve their English skills are welcome to attend. CSIRO Science Bootcamp Science Bootcamp is an immersive CSIRO science experience for secondary school students. CSIRO Education and Outreach host Science Bootcamp in various capital cities throughout the year. The two-day program exposes secondary school-aged students to authentic scientific research in contemporary research facilities and gives the students the chance to meet and talk with CSIRO researchers. Students visit working laboratories and see the research currently being performed by scientists, researchers and technicians. Sports News It has been a very busy sporting start to Last week around 50 of our students participated in the Hervey Bay District Cluster 1 Trials for Touch, Cricket, Volleyball and Tennis. Our students represented the school well with a number of them being selected to represent our district at the Wide Bay trials on Thursday 18th February. It is not long until the second cluster trials, so keep listening to notices for when to sign up. This Friday 19th is our annual Swimming Carnival at the Hervey Bay Aquatic Centre. Triton, Baler and Cowrie once again fight it out to see which house will reign supreme! It will be great to see all the students at the pool in their house colours supporting our first intra-school carnival for the year. Plenty of other sport is up and coming at this time of year, our inter-school Rugby League kicks off this week and FCAC Rugby 7 s is not too far away. Nathan Spencer - Sport Coordinator ( sport@uranganshs.eq.edu.au ) Science Bootcamp exposes secondary school students to real scientific research. It's great to give students a chance to meet scientists and see where they work. We hope a behind-the-scenes look at real science spaces and meeting CSIRO scientists will inspire the students to consider careers in science and engineering, and we want the best students to consider careers at CSIRO. During the two day Bootcamp students will undertake various investigations and activities using scientific apparatus and technology. Check individual Bootcamp pages for the specific details of local Bootcamp content. Student-Science-Bootcamp-Apr16-Brisbane 5

6 InspireU P&C Meetings General Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month from 7:00pm in the Board Room. The 2016 dates are: March 8 April 12 May 10 June 14 July 12 August 9 September 13 October 11 November 8 December 6 Uniform Shop The uniform shop is open every morning from 8:00am to 10:30am for all of your uniform needs. All sizes of each item are fully stocked. Uniforms can be ordered and paid for via cash, EFTPOS, Centrepay or Cheque (please make cheques out to Urangan SHS P&C). For all of your uniform concerns, please contact Megan Moss on The new Senior Girls Tie has now arrived. A copy of the uniform price list and order form is available from the school website. Deadly-cation Study Group Canteen The Food Cave is ready to go for 2016 with a few new ranges of delicious foods on offer. The Food Cave is open for Breakfast each day from 8:15am to 8:40am, as well as both lunch breaks and afterschool till 3:15pm. Don t forget your child s lunch can be pre-ordered to avoid lining up. Volunteers are always welcome each day to help in the preparation of the delicious fresh food on offer. If you would like to volunteer as a helper in the Food Cave please contact Tammy Hamel on All volunteers must hold a valid Blue Card. A copy of the Menu is available from the school website. Study Tips for Students These Study Tips were brought to you by Karen Boyes, Spectrum Education, PO Box 30818, Lower Hutt, 5040, NZ info@spectrumeducation.com Visit: Laughter is the Best Medicine How is it that the sound of laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle or yawn? Laughter is a natural part of life. The part of the brain that connects to and facilitates laughter is amongst the first parts of the nervous system to come on line after birth. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, 6

7 you can learn to laugh at any stage of life. Now is the time. While humour and laughter can cause a domino effect of joy and amusement for anyone in range, it is well researched that this activity can make us healthier. Community News Though it can be difficult to define what exactly makes humour funny, laughter has long been considered helpful to the healing process. Substantial research indicates that humour and laughter play a health role. Did you know that laughing: exercises the internal organs (great for the stomach muscles and the cardiovascular system) gets more oxygen to the brain (to enhance alertness and thinking) boosts endorphins (natural mood-elevating and pain-killing chemicals) and strengthens the immune system (to help fight off disease.) Laughter has also been shown to improve pain tolerance, reduce stress, lower blood pressure and protect the heart. The social effects too are many. They include: improving a person's optimism and outlook on life connecting you to others others will want to spend time with you fostering instant relaxation and most importantly IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD Unlike more invasive therapies, laughter therapy is cheap and has no harmful side effects - not bad for such an enjoyable activity. The great Groucho Marx who spent his movie life clowning around stated: A clown is like an aspirin, only he works twice as fast. But Humour must be used with care. Children should not be exposed to inappropriate adult humour. Never use humour to offend or shame another person. It s not about laughing at another person but ensuring everyone enjoys the joke. If you feel a need to laugh at someone make sure that that someone is you. Try these activities. They will benefit your child and you: Watch comedy DVD s and TV shows Listen to comedy while driving the news these days is very depressing Read comic authors/ tell jokes Seek out funny people - spend less time with overly serious people Bring humour into conversations. Tell and invite funny stories Just practise smiling and laughing. If you have to - `fake it till you make it` Let s see more people laughing, and smiling. Our communities, including schools and workplaces, can only benefit. Adapted from Gregory J. Boyle and Jeanne M. Joss-Reid, "Relationship of Humour to Health", British Journal of Health Psychology, Feb

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