In this issue

Introducing digital texts to CCC
Building resilient students and a safer community
New security fencing to keep our College safe
Global collaborations underway at Calamvale
Book Week spotlights the hidden treasure of reading
Indigenous AIME Excursion
Students embark on a cultural study tour of China
Unique calligraphy workshops at CCC
The School Based Youth Health Nurse Service
Supporting young carers
Cheerleading victories for our Cheetahs and Cubs
Uniform Updates

New security fencing to keep our College safe

Our College will soon be the recipient of a million-dollar security fence around its boundary.  We have had long consultation with the infrastructure department of Education Queensland to address the implications of new fencing at the College.  The fencing will provide a barrier along the western side of the service …

College Update
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New security fencing to keep our College safe

Our College will soon be the recipient of a million-dollar security fence around its boundary.  We have had long consultation with the infrastructure department of Education Queensland to address the implications of new fencing at the College.  The fencing will provide a barrier along the western side of the service road that splits the College from the ovals – this will provide a greater level of security for our younger students against the ever-present risk of parents exceeding the 10kph limit on that service road. The fence will also isolate the gymnasium facility from the school, providing added security on the weekends and evenings when this facility is available for community hire.  Locked gates will restrict all unauthorised access to the College on the weekends and public holidays, which will dramatically reduce the vandalism and trespassing that the College incurs; this has been my experience at other schools which have had a similar fence installed.

Unfortunately, the installation of the fence will mean the removal of the hedge and some other trees on the perimeter of the property.  I know how much this hedge means to many foundation families who purchased plants and may have helped to plant the hedge. Because this hedge is so sturdy, it provides an excellent foothold from which to scale even a 2-metre fence.  It is with a heavy heart and much argument that I acquiesced to remove the hedge.

The College’s location atop this grassy knoll will most likely mean that the fence will not impede the view of the College, and that being black, it will disappear into the foreground and be overlooked.  We will be building some more gardens around the front of the College to replace the much-loved hedge.  This fence will keep our students safer, which is always our first concern.

Introducing digital texts to CCC

With the introduction of a new senior certification system comes new learning expectations and assessment – we endeavour to keep our community abreast of any …

College Update
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Introducing digital texts to CCC

With the introduction of a new senior certification system comes new learning expectations and assessment – we endeavour to keep our community abreast of any relevant information as it becomes available. Most of our attention has been focussed on the units to be studied, the timing of this work, and the nature of assessment, so that we can best prepare our students for their Year 12 experience in 2020.  The most recent information has indicated the need for students to store documents for extended periods of time, and to submit senior assessment through digital portals so that they can be quickly accessed and processed. As such, all students in their senior years will require access to digital devices for use in classrooms and for assessment submission.

As a result of this, all senior students attending the College in 2019 will need to have a portable digital device, such as a tablet, iPad or laptop. A smart phone is insufficient. In keeping with this requirement, students in Years 10 to 12 will access their textbooks in digital format. This decision to adopt to digital textbooks has been discussed and ratified by the P&C at a recent meeting. This transition from the traditional paper-based format will greatly benefit our students – digital textbooks can be loaded onto students’ devices, thus making them accessible anywhere and at any time for the duration of their course. This removes the need for students to transport heavy texts to and from home, the costly exercise of replacing damaged books, and the need for class sets.  Digital textbooks will also provide high-quality, curriculum-aligned information for students, including some interactive capacity, and most texts cover two, if not three years of learning from Years 10 to 12.

Documentation will soon be distributed outlining how to access digital texts, the associated costs, and the subsequent changes to the Student Resource Scheme payments.

Purchases will be made through an external provider, Campion, and families of students (including IB) in Years 10 to 12 will deal directly with this company.  The College will continue to provide technical support for students with regards to their laptops, though no responsibility will be taken for repairs.  Lockers will continue to be available throughout the Secondary School, and will be allocated upon request.

Keeping in line with an increasingly digital world, the College will also introduce digital textbooks to Year 7 in 2019. This decision – which has also been ratified by the P&C – will remove the need for us to purchase new paper-based texts and will allow our younger Secondary students to become familiar with this digital format.

The packages available to Junior Secondary students are very impressive in price, quality, and breadth of subjects covered in a purchased bundle of digital texts. There are bundles of texts covering all subjects that students can sample in Years 7, 8 and 9.  After investigating the requisite costs surrounding this change, the College has made the decision to purchases the licences for Year 7, as it is significantly cheaper for schools than it is for parents.  Students will be provided with codes to access Year 7 text bundles after payment is received.  Parents will however be responsible for providing the device for students.  More information will be provided with minimum specifications for all digital devices.

2019 Summary of Secondary School Student Resource Scheme Changes

Together with the P&C, the College has reached an agreement as to the Student Resources Scheme charges for 2019. These updated charges will reflect the introduction of digital texts in Years 7, 10, 11 and 12.

789101112
2018$180$180$180$220$220$220
2019$250$175$175$180$185$170

Building resilient students and a safer community

Recently, we documented and represented the “Bullying. No Way.” framework.  I encourage you to familiarise yourself this process, accessible through Junior School classroom teachers, Secondary …

Bullying. No Way!
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Building resilient students and a safer community

Recently, we documented and represented the “Bullying. No Way.” framework.  I encourage you to familiarise yourself this process, accessible through Junior School classroom teachers, Secondary School Heads of House, House Leaders, or administration via: admin@calamvalecollcom.au.  Please work with the College in this process to modify inappropriate behaviour, and understand that due to privacy constraints, we cannot discuss specific student matters.  As always, we seek to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all students, to implement skills and strategies to build resilience, and to produce consistently appropriate and acceptable behaviour. Please report concerns early and help us ensure that our community is inclusive, accepting and supportive.

Social media use and video recording – your vigilance is required

As social media becomes part and parcel of daily life, we are finding that students are increasingly falling short of our expectations about recording and distributing video footage of the school, other students, and events.  The College rules are very clear – students are not permitted to film each other whilst at school.  Any social media posting with footage of students at school during the school day, or after school in uniform, is a breach of privacy, is not permitted, and will result in suspension in most circumstances. What one student finds acceptable, another does not.  Filming fights escalates the situation. The length of time that footage is public is irrelevant – through means such as taking screenshots or downloading and re-uploading, videos can remains in circulation despite the original video timing out or being removed. The College has addressed this numerous times and will continue to do so.  What students post on social media – providing privacy settings restrict public visibility –  are not of concern to the College unless presented as evidence of bullying.

Please discuss this with your students and make sure that they are aware of the penalties. Your vigilance around this matter is appreciated.  The College’s Responsible Behaviour Plan can be viewed at: calamvalecomcoll.eq.edu.au

Global collaborations underway at Calamvale

Calamvale Community College continues to stay ahead of the curve by forging strong international connections in new and innovative ways. This term, the College has …

International News
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Global collaborations underway at Calamvale

Calamvale Community College continues to stay ahead of the curve by forging strong international connections in new and innovative ways. This term, the College has initiated the “Global Collaborative Classrooms” project, which involves real-time audiovisual exchange with primary school classrooms across the globe.

This project stems from an Education Queensland innovation and learning initiative – the College successfully bid for and received a grant which included the provision of advanced technological equipment. As such, this project utilises a digital platform to bridge between two continents and pursue meaningful global relationships whereby our students can broaden their international mindedness and sensitivity.

Our first global partnership, forged with Dongdae Primary School in South Korea, commenced in Semester 1. Collaboration sessions with Dongdae students have proven fruitful and stimulating for our Year 5 learners who were nominated by their teachers for this project.

Across the semester, collaborative classes with Dongdae have explored the unique aspects of daily life and school learning in both South Korea and Australia. Our students discussed their Media Arts projects, which centred on health and wellbeing, and responded to questions from their Korean buddies. Likewise, Dongdae’s students provided interesting information about the popular culture of South Korea, including an entertaining introduction to K-Pop.

Most recently, our students received a thoughtful welcome package from Dongdae, filled with delicious Korean snacks, key rings detailing our students’ Korean names, and traditional Korean flutes called sogeum. Over the next sessions, we intend to learn how to play this instrument, and it would be great to perform something together. The package was opened during a live-stream class – this allowed the Korean students to share in the excitement while their Calamvale friends explored their personalised gifts.

Our students intend to reciprocate by sending over some iconic Australian items and artefacts. This will be followed by a collaborative session during which our students will explain the significance of these items to their Korean counterparts, once again allowing for greater cultural insight and discussion.

We have also joined with Haemi Middle School in Seosan, South Korea for a class on Humanities lead by Mr. Matt Butterworth.

Over the coming weeks, Calamvale will initiate partnerships with new countries from across Asia. Our students and Mrs. Marie Moo will showcase Pepper the Robot to their new friends from Feng Seng Senior High School from Taiwan. Lead by Mrs. Francine Potts, a collaborative classroom focussing on hospitality and nutrition will operate in partnership with Cheonseong Middle School from Yangsan, South Korea.

Further live collaborations are in discussion with schools in China, Taiwan and Japan. The subsequent sessions will cover a variety of topics, including language exchange and enrichment, musical performances, and reading classes with Australian picture books.

As an IB World School, these collaborative relationships strengthen our commitment to fostering global citizens and help prepare our students for their global futures. We plan to integrate global collaboration into our units of inquiry and extend these sessions to benefit students across multiple year levels. The long-term goal is to offer every student the opportunity to collaborate with an international school through the “Global Collaborative Classrooms” project.

We look forward to developing our partnerships with schools in South Korea and fostering invaluable relationships with others across the globe.

Book Week spotlights the hidden treasure of reading

The College unleashed the inner bookworm in every student with a fun-filled Book Week extravaganza held in Week 10. This year’s theme – Find Your Treasure …

Junior School News
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Book Week spotlights the hidden treasure of reading

The College unleashed the inner bookworm in every student with a fun-filled Book Week extravaganza held in Week 10. This year’s theme – Find Your Treasure – had our students exploring the hidden delights of reading and discovering new worlds mapped out onto the page.

Throughout the week, the library held lunchtime pirate activities and competitions for all students to enjoy, while a special canteen menu satisfied our starving scallywags.  

There were read-a-loud sessions with our teachers and executive staff sharing picture book stories with our young students and passing down the oral literary tradition. The BCC Sunnybank Hills Library also organised activities for our students to engage with.

The Lower and Upper Junior School Book Character parades transformed our Sports Hall into a bustling fantasy world with bears, witches, dwarves, fairies, superheroes and of course, pirates. Pepper the Robot lent a helping hand by welcoming all in attendance and providing directions to activities. Our robotic First Mate also delighted audiences by reading a picture book during the Whole School Assembly.

For our Secondary students, a COSPLAY day on Thursday had characters from all across the pop culture spectrum wandering across our school campus. Students were encouraged to pop into the library to collect house points for participation, get their photo taken, and enter into the most original costume competition. On this day, our students also contributed to closing the literacy gap by making gold-coin donations to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

This Book Week was not only about reading, but also about writing. During the complementary Literature Festival, Secondary students participated in a workshop with a visiting author to learn about the writing and publishing process, as well as to develop and refine their writing skills. Students were also offered the opportunity to submit a piece for potential publication in a student creative writing anthology.

Indigenous AIME Excursion

The Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME, pronounced ‘aim’) is a mentoring bridge between high school and university. On that bridge, there are two lanes. One …

Secondary School News
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Indigenous AIME Excursion

The Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME, pronounced ‘aim’) is a mentoring bridge between high school and university.

On that bridge, there are two lanes. One lane has university students making their way out to high schools to deliver free mentoring. In the other lane, students travel to university campuses for mentoring workshops and activities.

AIME offers:

  • Group tutoring delivered on-campus at schools
  • School visits (pictured)
  • Career and transition support for Year 12 students
  • Workshop held at the Griffith University Nathan campus.

Overall, students aged from 12 to 18 receive over 100 hours of extra-intensive support. The AIME initiative proves the framework and motivation for students to lift themselves and pursue higher education.

Earlier in the term, our Year 9 to 12 students visited Griffith University to participate in the program. They wrote forgiveness raps and thank you letters, had a yarn time, played a bit of footy, and made new connections with other school students.

To date, more than 25,000 students have completed the AIME program and all participants leave with an increased sense of strength, identity, purpose, and aspirations.

Students embark on a cultural study tour of China

On 17 September, 15 Calamvale students from Years 8 – 10 embarked on a cultural study tour of China with a jam-packed itinerary planned for …

International News
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Students embark on a cultural study tour of China

On 17 September, 15 Calamvale students from Years 8 – 10 embarked on a cultural study tour of China with a jam-packed itinerary planned for their 17-day trip.

This tour has received significant financial subsidisation from the Jiangsu Educational Services for International Exchange (JESIE). Calamvale Community College has qualified for this support through our sister school affiliation with Nantong Senior High School.

Our students will travel around Beijing and visit many well-known locations including the Great Wall of China – an unmissable world wonder, the Forbidden City – the largest ancient palace in the world, the expansive grounds of Tiananmen Square, and the imperial gardens of Summer Palace.

The group will then move on to Nanjing in the Jiangsu province for sister school immersive activities at Nantong Senior High School. The students will also visit educational and cultural sites throughout Nanjing, including Xuanwu Lake, Mendong Old Town, Dr Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum, and attend the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.

At Nantong Senior High School, students will participate in sister-school immersion activities over four days. Then, they will travel to Shanghai whether they will venture to World’s Finance Centre, and explore education and cultural sites such as Yu Garden, Old Town Market, Nanjing Road and experience a Chinese Acrobat Show.

This cultural tour will broaden the cultural mindedness and awareness of our senior students, and allow them to make memories that will last a lifetime.

Back at home, our students were also afforded the opportunity to mingle with international peers, with Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School students visiting Calamvale on their 2018 study tour in late August. This tour maintained a specific focus on STEM – our guests participated in an on-campus STEM lesson, visited UQ for a laboratory experiment, and enjoyed excursions to ACU and Griffith University.

It is hoped that the College will further its productive connection with Kaohsiung through a collaborative research project between the respective schools through the live video classrooms platform. This project – with a tentative focus on natural disasters such as droughts on flood – will be discussed further in Term 4 and launched in 2019.

Unique calligraphy workshops at CCC

On 18 September, our Junior School Art Club and Year 9 LOTE students were lucky enough to participate in two calligraphy workshop lead by Kuo …

International News
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Unique calligraphy workshops at CCC

On 18 September, our Junior School Art Club and Year 9 LOTE students were lucky enough to participate in two calligraphy workshop lead by Kuo Hsiang-Ling – a prolific and highly respected calligraphist renowned both within Taiwan and internationally. Kuo maintains a distinguished reputation and has been invited to participate in exhibitions held across France, Italy, and Canada, instruct students in the Philippines, and take up an honorary director position in Hong Kong.  

During these workshops, our students seized the opportunity to dabble in calligraphy, develop new artistic competencies, and broaden their cultural mindedness.

Our students gained an appreciation for the historical and cultural significance of calligraphy, as well as the technical prowess required to accentuate the beauty of handwriting with only a brush, ink, and paper.

These workshops were organised specifically with our young students in mind, which is testament to the multidisciplinary and international connections the College maintains.

 

Kuo Hsiang-Ling has come to Brisbane to exhibit her calligraphy at the Chun Tian Art Gallery in Priestdale from 15 September to 10 November. The exhibition – titled “Colour and Ink” – showcases the distilled purity, tranquillity, power and vista of Kuo’s oeuvre. Exhibition admission is free.

The School Based Youth Health Nurse Service

Hello! My name is Michelle, and I am the new School Based Youth Health Nurse. I am employed by Children’s Health QLD and am at …

Student Services News
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The School Based Youth Health Nurse Service

Hello! My name is Michelle, and I am the new School Based Youth Health Nurse. I am employed by Children’s Health QLD and am at the school Mondays and Fridays and the fourth Wednesday of the month.  I do not do attend to first aide or the sickroom as there are very capable first-aid trained staff in the school that attend to that, and very well might I add.

I work along with the other amazing support staff in the school, your young person can talk to me confidentially about any health issue impacting on their life.

The School Based Youth Health Nurse role is to give health information and support to young people so they will make healthy choices in their life. Health in the holistic sense of emotional, mental, social and physical.

I also work with the school community on issues that may affect the health and wellbeing of young people and the school community as a whole. I do this with evidence-based programs and information for curriculum, teaching and learning activities; providing health information and referral; supporting the development of an healthy environment and school culture that the school is working on all the time.

In individual consultations the nurse and other student support staff can provide health and wellbeing information about:

  • Feeling unhappy, stressed or very worried
  • Healthy relationships at home and at school
  • Personal and family problems

However I can also assist with:

  • Healthy body image
  • Healthy eating and physical activity
  • Growth and development
  • Sexual health and pregnancy
  • Smoking, alcohol and other drugs with regards to themselves or other people around them.

 

In most cases, it is best for young people to talk to their parents/carers about health and wellbeing issues. The nurse can support young people to do this.

Young people have a right to confidentiality when accessing health services, just an adult can when they go to the doctor. As a health service provider the nurse respects this but sometimes there are issues in which the nurse must refer to other services for the young person’s safety. When a student comes to see me I explain what circumstances these are.

You can contact me via the office where you can leave a message for me and I can get back to you when I am next at the school.

Supporting young carers

Do you know a young person looking after a family member or friend? In Queensland, there are currently more than 60,000 young people helping a family member or a friend with things like cooking, cleaning, paying bills, taking medication or visiting the doctor.

For some young people, the definition of normal entails going to school or going out with friends. For others, however, normal involves caring for a family member or friend with a disability. These are young carers.

There is a dedicated team from Young Carers that can support and make your life better for these young people. Carers Queensland can help with:

  • Free, confidential telephone counselling
  • Small-group and face-to-face counselling
  • Information about available services and accessing help
  • Meeting and connecting with other young people at regular themed event
  • Talking to the school about support.

We know that juggling life and caring responsibilities can be a balancing act, and so Young Carers are there to help relieve any financial pressure experienced along the way.

The Young Carer Bursary Program offers a $3000 scholarship to young carers aged 12-25 to assist with the costs of education. In 2017, over 340 young people received financial support.

Applications open in late July to early August each year and are accepted for up to six weeks from the opening date.

If you would like more information about this program, please email: ycbursaries@carersaustralia.com.au.

Please visit this website for more information: https://carersqld.com.au/support-services/young-carers/

Good Health to you and your family,

Michelle Clekovic

School Based Youth Health Nurse

Good health to you and your family,

Michelle Clekovic

School Based Youth Health Nurse

Cheerleading victories for our Cheetahs and Cubs

Our cheerleading teams – the Calamvale Cheetahs and Cubs – have swept up the several trophies this term at two state-wide competitions. In late August, …

Cheerleading 2018
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Cheerleading victories for our Cheetahs and Cubs

Our cheerleading teams – the Calamvale Cheetahs and Cubs – have swept up the several trophies this term at two state-wide competitions.

In late August, our teams competed for the first time in the Aussie Gold State Spectacular Compe

tition, held at the Logan Metro Sports Centre in Crestmead. Both teams have been working super hard and their efforts were rewarded with some awesome results. The Calamvale Cubs placed 2nd in their division of five teams – an amazing success. The Calamvale Cheetahs also took out 2nd place in the High School Level 1 Division by a very narrow margin.

In mid-September, our teams entered the arena again to compete in the Australian All-Star Cheerleading Federation State Championships held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Broadbeach. Our students worked tirelessly to polish their routines, and they did an impeccable job. Our Cub cheer squad placed 4th in the Primary Level 1 Division, and the Cheetahs really soared to new heights – they won 1st place in the Level 1 High School Division. To top it all off, our Cheetahs were announced as the Scholastic Grand Champions, making them the highest scoring school team in the state!

This is an amazing victory that testifies to the academic prowess of our students and the hardwork and dedication of our coaching staff. Congratulations!

Uniform Updates

Please visit the P&C Facebook to see some of the updates to our uniforms and ordering processes.  Our new blazer, which is available to students …

P&C News
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Uniform Updates

Please visit the P&C Facebook to see some of the updates to our uniforms and ordering processes.  Our new blazer, which is available to students in Year 10, 11 and 12, and the Year 12 jersey for 2019, can both now be ordered through the uniform shop.  Senior jerseys – as an item of memorabilia – are subject to the usual conditions of payment completion. The uniform shop will kept updated with the names of eligible students by the Finance office.

Thank you to those many families who waited so patiently for the delivery of this year’s zip-up jackets, which was delayed due to a colour error on the part of the supplier. It was stressful process for all, and your understanding was greatly appreciated.

Office, Finance & Uniform Shop

Office Hours Finance Room Uniform Shop

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Office, Finance & Uniform Shop

Office Hours

Monday8.00am - 4.00pm
Tuesday8.00am - 3.30pm
Wednesday8.00am - 4.00pm
Thursday8.00am - 4.00pm
Friday8.00am - 3.30pm

Finance Room

Monday8.00am - 12.00pm
Tuesday8.00am - 12.00pm
Wednesday8.00am - 12.00pm
Thursday8.00am - 12.00pm
Friday8.00am - 12.00pm

Uniform Shop

Monday8.00am - 12.00pm
TuesdayCLOSED
Wednesday8.00am - 12.00pm
Thursday2:00pm - 5.00pm
Friday8.00am - 12.00pm