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Email:Email: admin@mountaincreekshs.eq.edu.auPhone:Phone: 07 5457 8333

Fax:Fax: 07 5457 8300

6 May 20206 May 2020

From the Executive PrincipalDear Parents and Caregivers

As I enter my third week at Mountain CreekState High School, I would like to thankeveryone for such a warm welcomereceived. I have thoroughly enjoyed my timegetting to meet staff and some students butlook forward to meeting all students in thenear future.

Sincere Thanks

I would like to acknowledge all parties in our learningpartnership; students, parents and staff in working throughthese times and providing a different mode of learning for all.Whilst there have been some challenges, there have been manyopportunities arise. A senior Guidance Officer I spoke withrecently presented the current situation in a nice analogy of, “intimes of adversity opportunities arise”.

I remind us all the importance of staying strong as a learningcommunity in supporting all students, staff, parents and keycommunity partners. The support structures and systems thathave been implemented in the current situation are a testamentto all members of the Mountain Creek State High Schoolcommunity. As communicated through the parent/studentupdate, further information will be communicated as released.As a team, we look forward in continuing to provide the highestquality learning opportunities for your child through our strongfamily of teachers. Please refer to the parent/student updatesent out each Friday for the week ahead with key information insupporting your child.

ANZAC Day 2020

Anzac Day has become a unique national ceremony. Whilst alittle different format this year, the Anzac’s would be comfortedthat in remembering them, we don’t glorify war. Rather weremember the individual sacrifice, the mateship, the resilienceand tolerance they exhibited.

We value freedom, tolerance and a fair go for all. Australian’scome together in times of adversity and acknowledge that thisday in 2020 is somewhat different to previous years due tothe current situation but I am sure our thoughts and gratitudewill be no different. The resilience, courage, compassion andhumanity in times of adversity the Anzac’s showed still resonatetoday, and, in particular, our current situation. If you had theopportunity to be a part of the Driveway at Dawn movement, Iam sure this memory will be one for many years ahead.

I would like to thank our school captains that attended the shortceremony, Ainsley and Chloe, our wonderful music teacher,Courtney Duncan, editing champion Wayne Clarke, and othersupport staff in setting up for the ceremony. If you haven’thad the time nor seen the short video created for this year’sceremony, please take the time to view. Click the following linkto view: -

https://www.facebook.com/MountainCreekSHS/videos/2598511180424100/

Term 1 Reporting & ECP Meetings

Term 1 reports were emailed out last Thursday to all families.Please make contact with your respective HOSS if you didn’treceive this report. Due to the current situation, the Term 1report will differ slightly with academic performance. If you haveany queries with your child’s report, please make contact withtheir relevant teacher. ECP meetings will not occur face toface this Term due to the current situation. All students will beexpected to complete their review and return respective tasksby set dates provided through email.

Facilities Upgrades

Pool Maintenance

As a school, we are utilising this time to have some keymaintenance completed. The pool needs some maintenancework and is currently being completed. This will allow fulloperational use without additional running costs in the future.

Wireless Upgrade

Over the next few weeks, we will have our entire WirelessSystem upgraded across the school. I thank everyone for theirunderstanding for the disruptions last Tuesday. There should beminimal disruption for the remainder of the upgrade.

Future Facilities Projects

I have recently met with our Business Managers and also P&CExecutive to discuss key priorities across the school. Throughthe next few months, all parties will discuss next key prioritiesto ensure we are maintaining our state of art facilities into thefuture.

I would like to again thank the “Creeker” community for yourunderstanding through these somewhat different times inensuring all students continuity of learning is a priority.

Yours in education,

Brian ParrActing Executive Principal

From the Principal of Senior Secondary

Learning at Home

I have been impressed with the level of engagement by seniorstudents in this challenging time for all students. Being involvedin helping home school my own three young people is giving mesome personal insights about what families are experiencing atthis time. I am sure I now can claim experience from both sidesof the educational fence!

I did a short email survey of the Year 12 student leadershipgroup recently and there was overwhelming positivity abouthow learning is being supported in terms of curriculum load.Some students even asked if we could have this as apermanent arrangement!

Having our hand forced in this area has also given us asteachers more confidence in the use of digital platforms foreducational purposes. For me these platforms will never replacethe core role of teaching, which is the human interaction andrelationship-based exchanges of information between teacherand student. They can however expand the capabilities of staffand students to explore a range of formats for enhancement,assessment and visualisation of concepts, to mention a fewaspects.

The other aspect that is enhanced by this experience is thecollaboration necessary for success in all modern educationaland corporate environments. Collaboration is a relationshipdriven 21st century skill, crucial to our social and corporatesurvival. Collaboration allows us as learners to bounce ideasoff one another, test ourselves, participate fully and requireshonesty and respect amongst team members. I am sure wecan continue to use these experiences now to leverageeducational outcomes for the future.

Educational and Career Planning (ECP)Interviews

The ECP interviews set for May 26th have been cancelledfor all students. Replacing them will be a goal setting andemail feedback process for students in Years 10, 11 and 12.On April 30th all students in Years 10 to 12 were emailed aletter outlining the process, a feedback sheet and a guide forupdating their Senior Education and Training Plan (SET Plan) inthe government’s OneSchool website.

This is not meant to be a difficult process for students, and wefeel consistency is key when we check in to see how studentsare travelling and that they are on track. When we emergefrom the pandemic, universities and TAFE colleges will still beoperating, employers will still be hiring and so keeping yourstudents future focussed is important in maintaining a long-termperspective.

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Best wishes as we travel the current road together, we willemerge stronger as a community from the experience.

Andrew StonePrincipal Senior School

Deputy PrincipalSenior School

Tina SmithardHead of Department Senior School

From the Principal of Junior Secondary

Junior Secondary

We welcome our Junior students to our innovative onlinelearning platform and thank our school community for yoursupport and patience during this unique time in our students’learning journeys.

Please continue to read the updates for both students andparents which will provide current information about teaching,learning and wellbeing for your students. Congratulations to allstudents who are maintaining good schoolwork habits!

If you are experiencing any issues with this way of learning,please contact your student’s HOSS (contact details are onpage 5 of the Student Learning Journal). We look forward tocontinuing this learning journey together!

Reports

Reports have been emailed to parents on Thursday April 30th.Please take the time to reflect on these and set some goals withyour student for Term 2. Remember, where insufficient workand assessment have been completed, your student may havean N in record of achievement. This means that we have not

been able to make an informed judgement on their progress atthis juncture.

ECP

The format for ECP (Education and Career Planning Interviews)will change for Term 2. We will not be holding a formal interviewin Term 2, due to the uncertainty of our school operations forthe second half of this term. Parents are always welcome tocontact your student’s teacher/s directly, via email.

Junior Secondary students will be asked to complete areflection on their Term 1 report and progress and present thisas a power point, which will be submitted to their Pastoral Careteacher. More information will be distributed to parents andstudents about this process, when reports are issued.

Enrolment for Year 7 – 2021

General Enrolment applications for Year 7 2021, Zenith, STEMand Scholarship applications will be available on the schoolwebsite from April 27th. You may also collect an applicationpackage from the school or your local primary school, fromweek 2. Year 7 Applications are due on May 29th.

Andrea EvansPrincipal – Junior Secondary School

Craig HegartyDeputy Principal – Junior Secondary School

Lindsay BakerHead of Department – Junior Secondary School

International Baccalaureate Update“Find your new normal” is a phrase that has been thrownaround a bit recently, given the situation that the world hasfound itself in.

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In news just released, we look forward to welcoming back Year11 and Year 12 students into classroom learning on May 11th.Your support in making this transition with us is appreciated.For the Year 10 students, your remote learning will continue fora while longer.

For many of us “normal school” comes with ideas ofclassrooms, teachers in front of us, school yards and bells toemphasise the routines of learning. This idea of finding a “new”normal means letting go of pre-conceived expectations aboutlearning, the comfort bubble of the familiar, and really findingout what works for you in the constraints of the situation youfind yourself in, because everyone’s situation is different. In“finding a new normal” we have to ask ourselves: what was itthat worked about the old normal? Was it having someone tokeep us accountable? Was it a timetable with guaranteed timefor every subject? In what ways can these be carried acrossinto your new normal?

In uncertain times, when so much is beyond our control, wehave to return to the basics - to what we can control. Thereare a lot of things that can’t happen right now as they wouldor should have done but letting go of this idea of “should” isthe first step to realising what you can do now. For some ofus, particularly those of us who thrive off routine, this is a verychallenging task. Our inner monologue tells us, ‘I should be ableto go to school’, ‘I should be getting on a school bus rightnow to go to school’, or ‘I shouldn’t have to do this’. Shouldsand shouldn’ts are the thinking patterns of expectation androutine. Usually they help us to continue our routine but whenour situation disrupts that routine, these terms can cause usmore stress as they highlight the difference between what wethink of as “normal” and our current situation. So, rather thanfocusing on what should and shouldn’t be happening, we canform a “new normal” by accepting that life, for now, is different.We can find our new normal by building new thinking patterns,asking; what do I need, to be able to make this situation work?Are there things that I need from the old normal? How canI create them here and now? There is a fabulous amount ofingenuity, creativity and problem-solving skill amongst the IBcohort of students, parents and teachers and despite physicaldistance, we are all here to help.

A big congratulations to all those students, teachers andparents who have, are and will continue to step out of theirnormal comfort zones, it is no small feat. Each day you arebeing asked to put your thinking, communication, social,research and (most of all) self-management skills into action.These are, fittingly, the basic building blocks in the approachesto learning for the IB curriculum. I have no doubt that everyonewill have developed these skills immensely throughout this newand different time. With the above tip on thinking, below you willfind further tips on each of the other skills.

Communication

Communication is our most valuable tool in ensuring thateveryone is able to learn successfully. As outlined in theexpectations for IB students, it is important that students areable to engage with their teachers to ask questions and seekinformation they need. Students should be able to do this byemail. If internet access via 3/4G or Wi-Fi is not possible, please

contact your student’s HOSS or myself to arrange a possiblealternative.

Social

Learning in physical isolation should not mean learning in socialisolation, students are encouraged to reach out to their friendsand class communities for learning and non-learninginteractions. A video call morning tea catchup can be a greatway to keep a balance between life and learning. It is importantthat students have positive peer relationships to feel a sense ofconnection and support in tough times. Research emphasisesthat for teens (and also adults), next to face-to-facecommunication, video calls are most effective at maintainingsocial relationships, followed by audio calls and lastly textmessaging. Now is the time to make reaching out, and caringfor others, a conscious choice. Give someone else thatcared-for feeling by reaching out to someone (even someoneyou normally wouldn’t) to check they’re ok. It’s as simple as“Hey, how are you doing?”. ReachOut Australia also have somegreat resources for engaging in these tough times. If you wouldlike more support, please reach out to our Student Wellbeingteam, HOSS team or myself.

Research skills

With all of the information overload at the moment, now isan ideal time to focus on knowing how to identify a crediblesource. The International Federation of Library Associations andInstitutions has released a great infographic for how to criticallyevaluate what you are reading. Of course, switching off from theconstant stream of information is also a key skill in navigatinginformation.

Self Management

Managing one’s own time is a skill that develops with practiceand conscious awareness. Perhaps the two most usefulquestions for students to ask themselves are “is this what I

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NEED to be doing right now?” and “how do I know I need to dothis?”. The first question prompts an evaluation of the behaviourand the second ensures that you think critically about why youhad the answer you did. This is a great tool for students whomay take a long time to focus in on tasks, are distracted duringtasks or who procrastinate from tasks. For more great tools…see the website below with the username and password foundin the student learning journal.

https://studyskillshandbook.com.au/

For even more great tools and useful information and strategiesto develop the five approaches to learning and support studentsuccess, please see our IB Parent Moodle.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out for support and we lookforward to seeing many of you in person again soon.

Jessi HuntActing Head of Department InternationalBaccalaureate

News from Creative Industries

Instrumental Music

Congratulations to String Students, Lorelei A, Jemima D, EmmaH, Lara S and Isobel T who have been accepted into the MiddleSchool State Honours Ensemble Program Middle School for2020 (SHEP). We look forward to hearing about this wonderfulexperience!

Young Achievers Hit the High Notes!

Students from Mountain Creek State School joined music staffand senior music students last term to experience some ofwhat Music has to offer at Mountain Creek State High School.The young achievers participated in song writing workshops,which resulted in two song writing teams, and two brilliantsongs. We are still in the process of recording these songs andlook forward to completing the sessions when we are able to.Young Achievers also got a chance to see our facilities andequipment and learn about the array of opportunities they willhave in music and the creative industries when they get toMountain Creek State High School. Thank you to Mrs CarlyCook and Mr Scott Gaedtke for running these sessions withthese students.

COVID-19 Update

The QCAA has allowed us to remove an assessment item fromeach of our Year 12 subject offerings. For Dance, IA2 has beenremoved. For Music, Music Extension, and Visual Art, IA3 hasbeen removed. For Music in Practice and Visual Arts in Practice,a project has been removed. The deletion of these assessment

tasks will make it less stressful for students as we navigateourselves through COVID-19.

All of our extra-curricular activities have been postponed for themoment. The Creative Industries team look forward to resumingall of these wonderful opportunities for your students as soonas we are able to. All the very best to everyone during thesechallenging times.

Scott GaedtkeActing Head of Creative Industries

News from Digital Innovation

Online Learning Preparing Students for a DigitalFuture

The year 2020 has already seen some big changes at MountainCreek State High School. The opening of our new sub-schoolMudjimba, the full integration of our new Leading Edge Buildingand the current upgrade of our school network. Within DigitalTechnologies we have introduced brand new courses includingImmersive Technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Dronesand higher-level Computer Programming.

We embraced these new curricula and then suddenly we werederailed by Covid-19. Now some of these technologies havebecome a practical application of the theoretical concepts thatwe studied and learned in class. We are at this very momentactively engaging in using these emerging technologies todeliver our classes.

Beyond our own Moodle website, through programmes suchas iSee, students can attend class within a virtual environment.

Microsoft Teams offers a platform for teachers to share lessonnotes and answer questions live on-screen. There arenumerous online mapping tools and of course there’s OneNote,not just for sharing study materials, but also as an online

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collaborative tool within which students can be grouped andwork simultaneously on a single project collaboratively.

It appears that as devastating as it is, Covid-19 has in a wayforced us in a positive direction to explore the realms ofteaching and learning virtually. It hasn’t come without theglitches and of course the congested internet traffic, but everyweek it just gets better and better. Teachers and students alikeare learning so many new digital skills - far more than justcurriculum content. It’s become an unexpected gain and it canand will enhance lessons when we all return to the classroom.IT is an affirmation that Mountain Creek State High Schoolstudents will be more confident and prepared for life in a digitalfuture.

Mel MullerDigital Technologies teacher

Faculty Name Change – Why?

At the end of Term 1 we formally changed the name of theCoding and Innovation Faculty to the Digital Innovation faculty.You may have noticed the new faculty name in the heading ofthe emails I’ve been sending to parents about the changes dueto the switch to remote learning.

Why did we make the name change? As our faculty movesprogressively in to emerging technologies*, the use of the word“Coding” in our name was misleading. While we still offer arange of coding courses, including right through to ATARGeneral courses in years 11 and 12, the vast majority of ourcourses and students are focused on how Digital Technologiesgenerally can enhance performance of tasks and what newcareer opportunities there may be in using these emergingtechnologies.

We also wanted to keep the use of the word Innovation as itreflected both our focus on employing lean startup principles

wherever possible in all of our faculty offerings, and also how wecan use emerging technologies individually and in combinationto have the students create innovative solutions to problemspresented to them.

It was a difficult decision for the faculty to make but we agreedthat the name better reflected the direction the faculty neededto take.

* By Emerging Technologies, we refer to technologies such as:artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality(VR), 3D Printing, drones and the like.

Graeme BreenHead of Digital Innovations

News from the Humanities Faculty

Welcome Back to Term 2

In order to be clear about changes that have occurred forassessment in the Humanities Department, due to Covid19, Ihave included the following table. All assessment in Humanitiesin Term 2 will be able to be completed at home if isolation rulescontinue, or if families continue to self-isolate if school reopens.If your child’s subject is TBA due to government directive I willupdate you all in the next newsletter.

I would like to publicly thank my staff, especially mycoordinators and Head of Curriculum, who over the last 7weeks have worked incredibly hard to ensure that our studentshave positive educational outcomes during these interestingtimes. I would also like to thank the students and parents foryour understanding during this term – I am sure we are all ona massive learning curve at the moment with the advent ofremote learning.

Year Level Topic Assessment

type

Date started

Water in theWorld

Part One –open bookexam – higherorder thinking

Part Two –mini researchtask

Monday Week3

Year 7

Place andLiveability

Reports Monday Week8

Year 8 Landscapesand Landforms

Four partAssignment

Task One –Friday WeekTwo

Task Two –Monday week4

Task Three –Monday week6

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Year Level Topic Assessment

type

Date started

Task Four –Monday week8

Year 9 Globalisation Assignment Monday Week7

Year 10 History World War Two Assignment Monday Week7

Year 10 AncientHistory

Ancient Greece Assignment Monday Week7

Year 10 Geography Environmentalchange andmanagement –CoastalManagement

Portfolio ofTasks

Progressivelywithin class/homeworktimethroughout theterm

Year 10 History IB HistoricalInvestigation

HistoricalInvestigation

Monday week1

Year 10 PsychologyIB

Assignment Assignment Lesson 1 week5

MeijiRestoration

Assignment Monday Week9 Term one

Year 11 MHS

Independencein India

Assignment Monday week8 Term two

Beliefs, ritualsand funerarypractises

Assignment Monday Week9 Term one

Year 11 AHS

Alexander theGreat

Assignment Monday week8 Term two

Year 11 GEG Mega Cities Exams TBA based ongovernmentinformation

Year 11 SCS Science andTechnology

Assignment Monday week7

Year 11 IB History Variety of topicsthroughout theterm

Exams TBA based ongovernmentinformation

Year 11 IBPsychology

Variety of topicsthroughout theterm

Exams TBA based ongovernmentinformation

Year 12 SCS MoneyManagement

Investigation Monday week8

Year 12 IB History Variety of topicsthroughout theterm

Exams TBA based ongovernmentinformation

Year 12 IB History Variety of topicsthroughout theterm

Exams TBA based ongovernmentinformation

Year 12 – MHS / GEG Please see the email/letter from Andrew Stone andTina Smithard for information on year 12 GeneralSubjects

Year Level Date handed in Assessment due to

Year 7 Sunday week 4 Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Monday week 10 Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Year 8 Task One – Friday Week Three

Task Two – Friday week 5

Task Three – Friday Week 7

Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Year Level Date handed in Assessment due to

Task Four – Monday week 10

Year 9 Monday Week 10 Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Year 10History

Monday week 10 Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Year 10AncientHistory

Monday week 10 Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Year 10Geography

Progressively within class/homework time throughout theterm

TBA – Teacher to emailparents and students

Year 10History IB

Friday week 9 Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Year 10PsychologyIB

Lesson 3 week 8 Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Year 11MHS

Friday Week 4 term Two Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Monday week 3 Term 3 Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Year 11AHS

Friday Week 4 term Two Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Monday week 3 Term 3 Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Year 11GEG

TBA based on governmentinformation

TBA based ongovernment information

Year 11SCS

Monday week 10 Turn-it-in on Moodleplatform

Year 11 IBHistory

TBA based on governmentinformation

TBA based ongovernment information

Year 11 IBPsychology

TBA based on governmentinformation

TBA based ongovernment information

Year 12SCS

Monday week 10 TBA

Year 12 IBHistory

TBA based on governmentinformation

TBA based ongovernment information

Year 12 IBHistory

TBA based on governmentinformation

TBA based ongovernment information

Kate BenfieldHead of Department Humanities

News from the Maths Department

Maths Moments!

Each week, the Maths Department will be providing a short,fun activity that draws on basic numeracy skills. Intended toprovide practice of basic number skills, they are achievable and

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enjoyable for students of all ability levels. They will range fromindividual activities to games for the family.

To kick us off, this week’s activity is a colouring mosaic cartoontask. It requires students to ‘colour-by-number’ once they’vecompleted the maths operations. You will need to completeeach equation to reveal the cartoons, but don't copy thepictures......they are not the answers! Good luck and enjoy.

Mel MullerMaths Teacher

Parent and Student Information

Parenting Ideas

Our school subscribes to the Parenting Ideas website whichprovides access to many practical and insightful articles. Thesearticles aim to assist parents and carers on the oftenchallenging but rewarding journey of having a family. Pleasesee the latest articles below. For more information and otherinteresting content, please visit:

http://www.parentingideas.com.au/

Student Services News

Parenting Resources

During these times, our young people may find themselvesspending increasing amounts of time online. While this providessome very positive opportunities it also requires proactivestrategies to assist our students to make the most of thisresource. For some great information, check out the followinglinks:

The big issues: How to help your child deal with online safetyissues.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/big-issues

COVID-19 Global Online Safety Advice for parents and carers

https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-04/aus-global-parent-online-safety-advice.pdf

Reachout Parents have a bank of resources for parents,specifically targeting the circumstances we are facing. Topicsinclude:

Find information here:

https://parents.au.reachout.com/collections/supporting-your-teen-during-coronavirus

Domestic Violence Support in the Current SocialIsolation Conditions.

Queensland Police Service have introduced an online contactoption for people in a situation where it is unsafe for them to callpolice about domestic and family violence:

https://www.police.qld.gov.au/domestic-violence

Of course, always call Triple Zero (000) if domestic violence isoccurring right now or someone is in immediate danger.

P & C News

Next P & C Meeting and AGM: Monday 15th June5:30 pm (Cartwright Room, Administration Building)

I hope everyone is doing well in the current environment andit’s great to see there is light at the end of the tunnel with theexpected return to school by the end of May.

Welcome Brian!

Welcome to our acting Executive Principal Brian Parr. The P&CExecutive met with Brian after Easter and had a gooddiscussion about the P&C and our associated businesses.

Brian has a wealth of experience and we look forward toworking with him on school initiatives and continuing the goodwork we did with Darrin Edwards.

Creeker Café

The Creeker Café is expected to open soon with the returnto school but expect modified operation as per COVID-19guidelines.

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop is currently open on Fridays from 9:00 amto 2:00 pm until further notice. If there are any special ordersplease contact the P&C and we may be able to arrange anappointment on another day.

Please check the Parent/Student Update email for anychanges/updates to our hours of operation.

General Meeting

The next P&C general meeting will be held on Monday June15th.

• How to manage your own wellbeing duringCOVID-19

• How to talk to your teenager about coronavirus

• Practical tips for your teenager’s wellbeing

• And many more…

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The meeting will be held at the school and we will be observingsocial distancing rules so please stand-by for the meeting roomlocation.

If you do not wish to attend in person, the school has kindlyoffered to set up a Skype call for us.

Given the potential use of Skype and the extra space requiredfor social distancing at the meeting, can I ask that you RSVP forthe meeting so we can ensure we have the right resources andvenue at the school.

On behalf of the P&C Executive I would like to thank our staffand the school for their continued support during this time. Iknow it has been a very challenging time for all but it has beenso good to see everyone working together.

I look forward to seeing you virtually or in person at our nextmeeting.

Jason LawPresident

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