Awards Evening

Our first Awards Evening will be held on Wednesday the 28th October 2020 in the Ripley Valley State Secondary College Sports Hall.  Undercover parking is available under the Sport Hall and accessible via Botany Drive.  The evening commences at 6:30pm.  Parents and carers of students are invited to join us for this special occasion. 

Please complete the Pre-registration Form below to register to attend the evening before Wednesday the 21st October 2020 to assist us with our preparations for this event.  The College will follow the latest COVID-19 Safe Guidelines.

https://ripleyvalleyssc.schoolzineplus.com/form/54?preview=1

You are welcome to join us for a light supper following this event.  

We are currently in the process of finalising award recipients.  Parents/carers of Special Award Recipients will be notified prior to the Awards Evening.  Students receiving Subject Awards and Raptor Awards will be published on Daymap prior to the Awards Evening.  School and House Captains will also be announced during the Awards Evening.  Students receiving Awards will be required to attend a rehearsal prior to the evening.

I look forward to seeing you at the Awards Evening.

Student Laptops - end of year break

Students with accounts that have been paid in full, have an established direct debit plan or Centrepay payment authority will have access to their computers over the end of year school break.

If there is a balance owing on your account,  the computers will be collected on Friday 4/12/2020.

Student Resource Scheme (SRS) payments

The final payment for the 2020 SRS is due next Friday 16/10/2020.

Statements showing the total balance left to pay will be emailed by Friday 9/10/2020.

Payment via BPOINT is appreciated.  To make your payment via BPOINT you will need your invoice number and CRN (Client Reference Number) from your statement or invoice.

Telephone payments are also available - Call the school 3819 5333, select option 2 and have your invoice number and CRN handy.

If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact Michelle Mills - Business Manager via Email - bsm@ripleyvalleyssc.eq.edu.au or Phone (07)3819 5333 to arrange an appointment to discuss payment plan options. Any information that you provide will be confidential.

Michelle Mills

Business Manager

Welcome back to Term 4, our final Term for 2020!

Our team have been busy learning new tools to help our students achieve the best outcomes. This term we will be trialling assistive technology in some of our Year 7 classes. Below is a snapshot of some of the Tools we will be trialling from our new Microsoft Software.

Microsoft Inclusive Classrooms:

Click on this link to view the Learning Tools:https://youtu.be/ZrO-l1IKjbw

What are Inclusive Classrooms?

Inclusive Classrooms essentially means that everyone is welcome. There are many ways to help students feel welcomed and included in school. One way is how we present and teach curriculum. This Term we are working on ways to support students using the amazing technology we have available.

The Trial

We recognise that everyone is unique and bring their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. Fair is not always Equal (as the graphic below explains) so we need to be flexible with supporting students in learning. Through this trial, we aim to improve students independent work by providing the Microsoft Learning Tools to support everyone.

The Trial will take place with 1 class during Term 4 and teachers will be gathering data on engagement and achievement. If our results show great improvement, we will then extend to the rest of the school.

Support for my child

Teachers are reviewing students results from Term 3 and comparing this with the strategies they have been using in the classroom. Students with Personalised Learning Plans will have these reviewed over the next few weeks.

If you have any concerns or questions regarding your childs' schooling, have a chat with their teachers. We all work together as a holistic team to support students and the first point of call is always with the classroom teachers.

Do you have a story to tell about disability in Australia? ABC wants to know:

Everyone has a story to tell, and in the lead up to the International Day of People with Disability on December 3, we want you to tell your stories of life with a disability.

The ABC is looking to commission a series of articles by writers with a disability from across Australia.

International Day of People with Disability

Find out what's happening in your area on the IDPwD Australia website.

Who: To be eligible you must live in Australia, be over 18, have a disability and be available to work on your article in October/November. You do not need to have previous writing experience.

What: We want you to pitch an ideas for a digital article about disability — it can be about anything, as long as it's non-fiction and your original idea. It could be your lived experienced, an issue you see affecting your community, a stereotype you want to dispel or a celebration of life as a person with a disability. If your idea is successful, you will work with an editor in October/November to write an 800-word digital article that will be published by the ABC online. You will be paid for the article.

How: Tell us your idea for a story in 100 words or less in the form below or by emailing raabus.carol@abc.net.au. Submissions close midnight October 18.

More information at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-07/callout-for-writers-with-disabilities-for-idpwd/12731676?nw=0

Rhiannon Kemp

Head of Inclusion

Guidance News

Wellbeing education is a priority in Queensland schools, as outlined in the Student learning and wellbeing framework, and we have been working hard this year to ensure that our school community is working to maximise student wellbeing. Some of the ways that we have been fostering wellbeing include: PBL lessons and social goals; schoolwide wellbeing events; House Coordinators; house days; rewards; support programs; support staff. 

If you have any suggestions on how we can continue to foster student wellbeing, please feel free to email me directly.

Mental Health Week

During the second week of this term, our school community will be involved in activities to promote Mental Health Week (11th-17th October). Queensland Mental Health Week occurs each year and is run to increase awareness of individual and community mental health. We are fortunate to have a variety of representatives from support organisations that service the community visiting the school, including Kids Helpline; Anglicare; QYFSS; QLD Police; Open Arms; and many more. 

The activity schedule is as follows:

Monday 12th: Mental Health Expo (1pm)

Thursday 15th: Students Vs Emergency Services basketball game (1pm)

Thursday 15th: LIVIN presentation (1:30pm)

Caring for the mental health of our young people is extremely important, as 75% of mental issues occur before the age of 25 (Beyond Blue, 2020). The Australian Government's Head to Health website is an excellent resource if you are supporting someone with mental health issues, are struggling yourself, or would like further information on mental health topics. 

Lisa Henderson

Guidance Officer

Welcome back to Term 4. We hope that you and your families had a relaxing holiday. We entered our holidays on a high after seeing our students participate in our first ever school incursion on the last day of Term 3. We were lucky to welcome three facilitators from Ylead to the school for the day to run leadership activities with our students. Student participation was excellent and it was great to see our kids getting involved and giving it a go. The day was designed for students to find out what leadership strengths they possess plus it was an awesome opportunity for them to work with peers from other classes.

As the end of the year approaches we are excited to start working towards our 2021 goals. Just this week we have closed off the Leadership applications for the 2021 School Captains and House Captains. With an abundance of outstanding applications from our year 8 cohort we are now busy putting together the shortlist which will go out to student and staff vote. Once this information has been collected our Leadership team will finalise the positions and announce them at Awards Night in Week 4.  Good luck to all students that applied.

Next week we are taking several year 8 leaders over to Deebing Heights State School to run some activities as a part of their NAIDOC week celebrations. We will see some of our own NAIDOC celebrations happening here at RVSSC later in the term. We have many other activities coming up this term including partnerships with Ripley Valley State School, our Wet n’ Wild rewards day and Feel Good Friday to promote student well-being – just to name a few. It is another busy term here at RVSSC and as always we are excited to work with our students, staff, parents and community over the coming weeks.

James Dunn
House & Sports Coordinator (Goolman and Perry)

Jessica Starkey
House Coordinator (Blaine and Flinders)

Student Laptops - Re-imaging

During Term 4 each year, student laptops will be collected to be audited and re-imaged ensuring it is running well and is ready for the following year. Over the last week and continuing on over next week we have been completing this process. If your child has accidentally damaged their laptop you may receive a notice from our team, along with information on insurance / warranty claims. This re-image and update will rectify any issues relating to modem incompatibilities ensuring that all social media sites are blocked. If you find that your child can access any websites that they shouln't please let me know so I can investigate. 

As per Michelle Mills notice regarding the SRS payments, final payments are due next Friday. I will be in touch with any families that have an outstanding amount to arrange the collection of devices.  Students with no outstanding amounts will be able to keep their devices over the Christmas break. 

eSports

We are holding our eSport trials next week for Smash Bros and Mario Kart teams. Information has been communicated to all students to submitted an EOI at the end of last term. This term we are conducting an internal school wide competition, however next year we have registered for a number of competitions in and around Brisbane and will compete in a number of games with students from other schools. 

Our eSports program includes exercise, nutrition and wellbeing components. Our school website will be updated over the coming weeks to include comprehensive information about this new initiative, and the exciting eSport senior pathways we will be introducing from 2022. 

Coding and Robotics Club

In partnership with Junior Engineers we are introducing a Coding and Robotics club for all interested students this term. This will be an after school activity, and will extend students who are interested in programming and robotics. The workshop will run for 5 weeks, commencing on Wednesday 4th November and will cost $255 which includes a robotics kit that students will get to keep.

If you are interested in your child attending this extra curricular workshop please register at www.jnrengineers.com.au/after-school, find our school link and complete registration.

If you ever have any questions please feel free to contact me at awaug24@eq.edu.au or for tech support please email tech@ripleyvalleyssc.eq.edu.au

Thank you,

HOD - Digital Technologies  | English | Humanities

• Year 7 Application
• Year 8 Application
• Year 9 Application

Please note: If your child has been invited and approved to be placed into our IGNITE class next year you do not need to apply. If you have not accepted the invitation, however would like to be re-considered please complete the application above.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate in contacting Angela Waugh on awaug24@eq.edu.au

Welcome back to our final term, the Creative Industries Department will finish the year with a showcase of student performances in Dance and Music. 

Save the Date: Thursday December 3rd.

Lorinda Stiles

HoD Creative Industries
lstil21@eqeduu.au

Health and Physical Education

In Year 7 HPE this term, we are focusing on Personal Identities, Cultural Games and Social Dance. In theory, students explore ‘who they are’ to develop a sense of personal identity. In practical, students examine the cultural and historical significance of physical activities and examine how connecting to the environment can enhance health and wellbeing. 

In Year 8 HPE this term, we are focusing on Mental Health and Wellbeing, European Handball and Tchoukball. In theory, students will understand challenges around positive and negative mental health and wellbeing, and how it can effect young adolescent’s decision making to engage in risk taking and erratic behaviours. In practical, students will perform a variety of body and movement concepts in the sports of European Handball and Tchoukball.  

Overall, we look forward to seeing how our Year 7 and 8 can demonstrate understanding of persosonal, social and community health, as well as demonstrating their practical skills and abilities. 

Science

In Year 7 Maths this term, students will be developing their geometry, area, volume and graphing skills. They will be able to calculate area and volume of geometric shapes and develop their skills in plotting linear relationships by understanding grid references and Cartesian planes.

In Year 8 Maths, students are continuing to develop their understanding of algebra and linear equations. They will also be reviewing their graphing skills and revisiting probability concepts.

Year 7 -

Year 8 - 

Throughout this term, students will read, view and listen to a variety of poems that create representations of Aboriginal peoples’ and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ histories and cultures. They analyse the text structure and language and audio and visual features that create these representations and position the audience in relation to specific groups represented. Students will analyse the features that create representations and position the audience; and write an analysis to express their opinion about the text.

Further details regarding assessment requirements is available on Daymap. 

Book Week

In week 3, we will be celebrating Book Week with the below events:

1.  Photo Competition - can students guess the teachers from the book they are holding?

2. Book Swap - we will be promoting a Book Swap fundraiser for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. More information to come next week.

3. Don't judge a Book by its Cover - can you guess the blurb just from the cover?

4. Literary Book based Kahoot competition

Uniform Shop - New Trading Hours

The uniform shop has new trading hours, they are now open Monday 8.00am to 10.30am and Thursday 2.30pm to 5.00pm.

They also offer a layby option for school uniforms and school bag.  

Chaplain News

I hope that you had a wonderful break and are ready for a great term ahead. During term 4 I continue to concentrating on the following 4 areas.

1. Relationship building and pastoral care conversations
2. The Arcade Game Space
3. The Breakfast Club
4. Friends Resilience Program

A part of my role is to have pastoral care conversations. This means to have conversations with students with the view to help and support them in the areas of social, emotional and spiritual needs. If you want me to have a chat with your child feel free to email me on kati121@eq.edu.au.

Due to COVID the resources for the Arcade Games room has been delayed but the hope is in Week 3 that the Arcade Games room will launch. This is an extra area where students can come and hang out and play games with each other and continue to build strong social groups.

For the next 2 weeks we will trial Breakfast Club on a Friday with the view from Week 3 to commence it on both a Tuesday and Friday. This will be located near the canteen at 8:15 am. If you want to volunteer for this, please email me.

This week the My Friends Youth Resilience Program commences. This program is a cognitive behaviour therapy-based program that helps prevent and helps with the treatment of anxiety and depression, promoting resilience in families, schools and communities. If you want to find out more information about the program, you can find it by following the link. https://www.friendsresilience.org/about

As some of you may know that my position is funded through grants, donations and sponsors. If you would like to support the chaplaincy service here at RVSSC financially, you can do so by this link: https://www.suqld.org.au/donate/ripley-valley-state-secondary-college-tax-deductible. Any donations over $2 are tax deductable.

I look forward to seeing what happens over this next term

Take care

Defence News

Welcome back to all students for the last term of the school year. No doubt it will be a busy term for everyone as we now look forward to completing the Foundation year for Ripley Valley State Secondary College. It is a milestone for students, their families, School staff and the wider community to be very proud of.

This time of the year sees the release of Postings and Deployments of ADF personnel, which can have an impact on students and their families. The Student Services Welfare Hub offers all manner of support to students during these disruptive and sometimes upsetting times. The Hub is designed to help students cope and ultimately thrive while dealing with these changes. The team at RVSSC consists of myself, the Defence School Mentor;  Lisa Henderson, the Guidance Officer;  Rhiannon Kemp, the Head of Inclusions;  Jeff Dukleski, our Youth Worker and Kristian Atkins, our School Chaplain. We are all here to help support your students to maximise their learning. If the need arises, please feel free to chat with us. We are here for you and your students

On the 11th of November, we will be commemorating Remembrance Day. This term the Defence Club will make a Wreath to lay on Remembrance Day in recognition of the lives that have been lost from all wars and conflicts. I will be enlisting the help of students (Defence and their friends) to create the wreath. If you have any ideas on wreath making that you would like to contribute, please feel free to do so as I am very much a novice. I hope to have representatives from the Defence Student Community to lay the wreath on Remembrance Day.

At the end of last term I finally got to meet most of the Defence students. It was wonderful to finally meet everyone in person, which has been a bit tricky due to class and exam scheduling. The students enjoyed a Pizza lunch, which despite my concerns at being over supplied, was keenly devoured. I can't wait for the next end of term lunch! 

All the very best to all students for the remainder of the year. 

Tracey Cooper

Defence School Mentor

Ripley Valley Cluster Schools