Dear Parents/Carers, 

Welcome back to Term 2 and what I trust was a relaxing and enjoyable Easter holiday.  As always I want to extend a warm welcome to our new students and their families who have started with us and also welcome a number of new staff members to our team; Ms Louise Marshall (HOD inclusion), Mr Miguel Angeles (Math/Science teacher), Lathen Barrie (Administration Officer), Caroline Baum (Teacher Aide), Lynn Finegan (Teacher Aide), Peta Coles (Teacher Aide) along with two new Canteen helpers, Shannon Buhmann and Sarah Atkinson. 

This week our College held our annual ANZAC Day service and as part of this service we unveiled a new metal soldier silhouette commemorating 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War.  While peace is always our common goal, events such as ANZAC Day remind us of the service and sacrifice of many past and present defence personal who have given their all to protect our way of life and freedom.  In addition to our ANZAC service we have also commenced a new initiative where defence families can purchase a plaque to be installed in ANZAC place in recognition of their commitment and courage while they support active defence members who serve or are absent.  For those who are able, I would encourage you to attend the community ANZAC dawn service held at our College ANZAC place on the 25th April.  Further information is available on Facebook and local RSL newsletters.     

While our College continues to grow and develop, our school vision of keeping people at the heart of our decisions and fulfilling our motto of Achieving Excellence Together has not changed.   I want to thank the many people who have helped establish our college into the great school it is today and welcome those who have recently joined us as we continue this journey of making our College one of positive difference and influence in the local, state and national stage.  

Yours Sincerely,

Brendan Krueger

Foundation Principal

Student Drivers and Passengers

During the senior years of schooling many of our students become drivers and start driving themselves to school. Whilst this is a significant and exciting time for our young people it is critical that we know who they are. 

Therefore, we request if you have a student driver that you access the Student Driver Permission form and complete with your student and submit as soon as possible. This is to ensure the safety of your student.

It is also important that as parents/guardians you understand that we have a duty of care for all our students and that your son or daughter does not drive other students in their car without the prior appropriate permissions. Once again this is to protect the wellbeing of all of our students. If your child will be transporting other students, it is important that the Permission to be Transported by a Student Driver form is completed by all passengers and their parents/carers.

We would also like to remind all parents that students are not permitted to leave the school grounds without written permission from parents provided to the administration. It is not acceptable for students to leave the school grounds at any time during the day to get 'things' from their cars.

As a school we appreciate any support and reinforcement of these expectations from parents/guardians. Thank you for your ongoing support in this area.

If you have any questions about students driving, please contact Mr Todd Robson - Deputy Principal.

QCE review date claimer

At the end of the first unit of year 11 students will be required to participate in a QCE review and parents are encouraged to attend. During this process students and parents will meet with a member of the College’s Leadership team to discuss their progress and their intended pathway. These review meetings will occur in Week 9 of Term 2 with more information provided during Term 2.

Todd Robson

Deputy Principal - Year 11 - Pathways & Partnerships

trobs20@eq.edu.au

Welcome back to Term 2 at Ripley Valley SSC! I hope all our parents, carers, students and wider community members had a lovely break and spent it with loved ones.

Excellence Academies:

Last Term we saw our first Excellence Academy Trial Day 1 . All students/families who participated in the Trial Day have received either their accepted, retrial or no offer letters over the school holidays. If you trialed on the day and have not received this yet, please make contact on the email listed below.

A reminder that if your student is a 'retrialist' you will just need to indicate via email that your student will be attending on Trial Day 2 - you do not need to repeat the EOI application process. 

Trial Day 2 will occur on Friday 9th June - please refer to the infographic below. If you have any questions, please email excellence@ripleyvalleyssc.eq.edu.au. The EOI process will open again on Monday 24th April. Please look out on the school website for more information.

Year 9 PPP:

In Term 3, our Year 9 students, parents/carers will be involved in Year 9 Pathways Preparation Plan (PPP) meetings. The PPP meeting focuses on students entering the senior phase of learning at RVSSC, including subject selections and expectations of them as learners of their future senior schooling.

All Year 9 students are expected to be engaged in this interview and these can be booked via the parent portal on Daymap closer to Term 3. Information about the PPP meetings will come out in Week 4 and Week 8 of this Term.

All information that was previously presented at last years presentation night can be found directly on our Senior Schooling Website:

https://ripleyvalleyssc.eq.edu.au/curriculum/senior-secondary

If you have any questions, please reach out.

Head of Department - Junior Schooling & HPE - Year 7A to 7D

jdunn232@eq.edu.au 

2023 Student Resource Scheme (SRS) - 2nd instalment date Friday the 12th of May.

Thank you to those families who have already made payments or set up payment plans. Statements will be emailed to all families in Week 3 of this Term.

For those families who are paying the Student Resource Scheme (SRS) in instalments, the 2nd instalment is due on Friday the 12th of May.

2nd Instalment payment amount

• • Year 7, 8 and 9  $225
  • Year 10              $165
  • Year 11              $162

Payment Options

BPOINT – Use the link in the box at the bottom left corner of your invoice, this will take you directly to the payment screen to enter your details.

In person at the office– The payment window will be open for EFTPOS, cash or cheque payments Monday to Friday 8am – 12pm (other times by appointment only).

Individualised payment plans by Direct Debit - Set and forget. If you would like to set up a direct debit payment using your bank account or credit card, email bsm@ripleyvalleyssc.eq.edu.au with the date you want the payments to start and how often you would like the payments made e.g. weekly ($27.00 over 25 weeks) or fortnightly ($56.25 over 12 fortnights).

Centrepay Deduction - Payment by Centrepay deduction can also be arranged through Administration.

Michelle Mills

Business Manager

Welcome back to Term 2! Not sure about you, but I am happy to be back so that I can work off some of the chocolate!

This Term we have a number of exciting new units to try out and many year levels will also be looking at their first text studies for the year.

Year 7 English – On Trial

In this exciting new unit, our Year 7 students will take on the role of lawyers to either prosecute or defend some infamous characters from some famous films.

Assessment – Persuasive Spoken

Draft – Week 7; Lesson 3

Final – Week 8; Lesson 3

Year 8 English – The Australian Experience

In this unit, students will extend their understanding of Australian Identity by creating an imaginative response that challenges or reinforces a stereotype about Australia, or Australians.

Assessment - Imaginative Written

Draft – Week 7; Lesson 3

Final – Week 8; Lesson 3

Year 9 English – An Inconvenient Truth

In this unit, students will explore the documentary film genre. They will be looking for the ways our audiences are manipulated into believing the ‘truth’.

Assessment - Feature Article

Draft - Week 8; Lesson 3

Final – Week 9; Lesson 3

Year 10 General English – Is it love actually?

In this unit, students will study key scenes from the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Students will examine how themes and characters are developed and shaped by the attitudes, values and beliefs of the culture or society in which the play was written. They will also explore the overall messages of the play, and how these are developed or embedded in a film adaptation, making judgements on the integrity and value of this adaptation.

Assessment - Literary Essay (comparative)

Draft – Week 8; Lesson 3

Final – Week 9; Lesson 3

Year 10 English Extension – Good Reads

In this unit, students will complete an in-depth study of a contemporary novel. They will analyse the characters, themes, events and authorship of the novel in preparation for their first senior English exam.

Assessment – Analytical Essay – Seen exam

Due in exam block.

Year 10 Foundation English – Fill the Gap

In this unit, students will study a novel, looking for the ‘untold stories’ within. They will create an imaginative response that adds to the novel by presenting a different perspective, or by giving a voice to a character who otherwise does not have one in the story.  

Assessment – Imaginative response – seen exam

Year 11 General English – Be Warned

In topic two, students will study The Crucible by Arthur Miller, considering its enduring significance by exploring its connections to a more recent text.

Assessment - FA1 Extended Response

Draft – Week 6; Lesson 3

Final – Week 7; Lesson 3

Year 11 Essential English – Language that Works

In another exciting first for our College and the English faculty, our Year 11 Essential English students will complete mock job interviews with employers from our local community. To prepare for this assessment, students will study job advertisements and prepare formal applications and resumes.

Assessment - Spoken (interview)

Draft – Week 5; Lesson 3 (supporting documentation)

Final – Week 7; Lessons 1-3 (mock interviews)

It is a busy term that is made extra challenging with all of the public holidays, shorter days and cold mornings. I hope that these assessment date reminders help you in supporting your child/children to achieve their best results in English.

Welcome back to Term 2! This Term the Mathematics faculty welcomes Mr Miguel Angeles to our team. Mr Angeles has joined our team this term, bringing with him significant teaching experience in Mathematics and Science. We look forward to working further with him.

I will keep this article brief, but just wanted to provide some ongoing reminders:

• All students (except Year 11 Mathematical Methods students) should always be prepared for class with a mathematics notebook, scientific calculator, charged laptop and necessary stationary. The nature of mathematical calculations mean that we still do a significant amount of work in notebooks. Please support your child engagement by ensuring they are prepared for learning.
• Mathematics tutoring occurs every Tuesday at 1st break and Thursday at 2nd break in CG01. These commence in Week 2 to Week 9 of each Term.
• Homework tasks will be sent home (via Daymap) with students in Year 7 to Year 9 each week. The exception to this is when they are in an assessment period or preparing for an exam - we encourage independent revision and assessment work during these weeks.

Please be sure to reach out to myself or your childs' teacher if you have any questions or concerns about their progress in Mathematics. We look forward to meeting with many of you at the parent teacher interviews next Wednesday.  

Tess Reeves

Head of Department - Mathematics - Year 9A to 9D

tsmur0@eq.edu.au 

Ellen Grant

Head of Department - Science - Year 8F to 8I 

egran55@eq.edu.au

Welcome to Term 2! Everyone has certainly hit the ground running and Term 2 is already shaping up to be very exciting and busy! Humanities students have already begun working toward either maintaining their excellent Term 1 results, or pushing further to improve on their work.

Year 7's are now moving into the subject of History, with a focus on the Pharaohs and the daily lives of ordinary people living Ancient Egypt.

Year 8's have swapped over to Geography and are looking at Landforms and Landscapes, with a deep focus on the formation of Mountains.

With ANZAC Day quickly approaching, it is extremely relevant that our Year 9 students are moving into the topic of the First World War. They will be looking at the involvement of Australia in the conflict, both on the battlefield and the home front, with a particular focus on the human aspect of the conflict. They will be engaging with personal stories of the people involved.

The Senior Humanities students are beginning the second topic in their respective classes this term, and are also working toward solidifying their learning.

We have some exciting things happening this Term, so watch this space!

Cecilia Hall

Head of Department - Humanities and Languages - Year 9E to 9G

chall213@eq.edu.au

Japanese

Minasan, yoku dekimashita!

For the second time, all students at Ripley were invited to enter the Education Perfect Languages Championship from the 7^th to the 14^th March. Similar to last year, points were earned for all the correct answers in any language.

Students accumulated 46091 points this year and achieved 15 more awards than last year. For this competition, Ripley Valley State Secondary College was ranked in the top 30 out of 434 schools in Queensland. This is a terrific effort for all who participated as most of the work was voluntarily completed out of classroom hours. These results as a school are outstanding!

Congratulations to the competitors who received 7 Credits, 6 Bronzes, and 2 Silvers. Additionally, our top scorers who earnt an Emerald Award: Ella Bull (Year 8), Clare Joseph and Athena Leati (Year 7). The 18 students who participated will be presented with their certificates during Junior Assembly later this Term.

A special thank you goes out to Lorelei Anderson (Year 9) who has shared her fine skills with origami while she coached the Year 7's. Lorelei did mention that the Year 7's were very good at origami!

Year 9 have been practising their mnemonics for learning new kanji. The students have learnt that furigana such as あめis the hiragana translation of the kanji 雨 meaning ‘rain’.

We hope that everyone had a wonderful yasumi !

Georgina Wellwood

Japanese Teacher

gawel0@eq.edu.au

Welcome Back to Term 2. We have some wonderful projects planned this Term. 

Year 7 Design Technologies will look at traditional wood working to make wooden trucks or advance manufacturing techniques to create LED Lamps using CAD and CAM.

Assessment Due Dates

Truck: Practical Task Week 8, Exam Week 9

LED Light: Design Folio Week 8

Year 8 Food Studies will explore new foods and will be assessed on making pizza's with new flavours.

Assessment Due Dates

Practical task: Week 7

Folio Task: Week 8

Year 8 Media Arts will explore symbolic and technical codes in media and will be creating a stop animation or looking at developing skills in photoshop to create Media Art designs.

Assessment Due Dates

Stop Animation: Project Week 9

Movie Poster: Responding - Week 6, Making - Week 9

Year 8 Visual Art will explore drawing techniques, creating an erasure animal drawing and digital analysis.

Assessment Due Dates

Stop Animation: Project Week 8

Year 9 Design Technologies will look at different wood techniques such as laminating and bending to make a wooden ukulele. They will also explore advanced manufacturing techniques to laser etch designs onto their ukulele.

Assessment Due Dates

Ukulele: Practical Task Week 8, Exam Week 9

Year 9 Design Engineering will explore Autodesign Inventor in detail, understanding how to create multiple part design and assemble them to create animations.

Assessment Due Dates

Inventor Folio: Practical Task Week 9

Year 9 Food Studies will design a meal suitable for the canteen, focusing on health eating options 

Assessment Due Dates

Practical task: Week 7

Folio Task: Week 8

Year 9 Media Arts are looking at the world through a different lens - Macro. Inspired by artist Slinkachu, they will create their own Media Art in miniature photography.

Assessment Due Dates

Photography: Project Week 8

Year 9 Visual Art will be inspired by consumerism and create 3D clay models for food vessels, exploring the social and economic order that promotes the acquisition of goods and services in an ever-increasing amount.

Assessment Due Dates

Clay: Project Week 8

Year 10 Design Technologies will complete their Tambour Box assessment task they begun last Term, refining skills in the senior workshop and evaluating factors that impact design solutions.

Assessment Due Dates

Tambour Box: Practical Task Week 7,

Exam: Week 9

Year 10 Design Engineering will explore the world of engineering to design a tower that can withstand the most amount of pressure. 

Assessment Due Dates

Report: Under Pressure Week 8, 

Year 10 Food Studies will look into food science and creative aspects of decorative baking. They will design and create their own cup cakes for their assessment task. 

Assessment Due Dates

Practical task: Week 7

Folio Task: Week 8

Year 10 Visual Art

Can you wear it or is that art? Students will spend this Term creating wearable art that explores colour and 3 Dimensional shape. 

Assessment Due Dates

Wearable Art: Responding and Making Week 8

Year 11 Industrial Technology Skills will continue to build skills looking at wood joints and furnishing skills to create a darkboard cabinet 

Assessment Due Dates

Cabinent: Practical Task Week 7

Year 11 Vet Construction 

Students in Construction have been powering through their theory component and will begin their practical tasks this Term creating a working horse. 

Assessment Due Dates

Working Towards Competency

Year 11 Vet Engineering Pathways 

Students in Engineering Pathways have been powering through their theory component and will begin their practical demonstrations in the metal workshop building competency on a variety of metal machines. 

Assessment Due Dates

Working Towards Competency

Year 11 Design will look at design styles and using this as a influence to create a speaker design, demonstrating their design process.

Assessment Due Dates

Design Folio: Week 7

Year 11 Media Arts in Practice will be making their persuasive advertisement that they planned last Term.

Assessment Due Dates

Marking Practical Task - 30-45 second moving image Week 7

Year 11 Film, TV, New Media will be creating a short film based around the theme "The Switch" 

Assessment Due Dates

Marking Practical Task - 45 seconds - 5 Minutes moving image Week 7 

Year 11 Visual Art will continue with understanding art as code to create a completed artwork and folio demonstrating their process. 

Assessment Due Dates

Folio & Artwork: Project Week 8

Year 11 Visual Art in Practice will continue with their Looking Inwards unit to create a resolved artwork based on their Term 1 planning. 

Assessment Due Dates 

Artwork: Project Week 8

If you have any questions or concerns around this Term assessments please contact your child's classroom teacher or myself. 

Lorinda Stiles

Head of Department - Creative Industries and Food Studies - Year 8A to 8E
lstil21@eq.edu.au

Welcome to Term 2 in Digitech!

Students have had a great first week back in our Digitech classrooms and our eSports teams have already started preparing for some upcoming competitions this Term. I look forward to hearing of their successes both in and out of the classroom.

I also look forward to seeing the results of our next generation who have begun trials for our 2024 eSports Academy and wish all Year 6 students from our neighbouring schools the best of luck in their applications.

James Gerchow

Acting Head of Department - VET and Digital Technology - Year 11

jgerc6@eq.du.au

7 DANCE

This Term, Year 7 Dance students will take on the challenge of creating their own dance performance as they "dance through the ages". They will apply their knowledge of the Elements of Dance and cleverly use choreographic devices as they work in groups to develop a master piece inspired by the iconic movement styles of the 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's. Not only does this task develop their skills as a dancer and choreographer but it also builds skills in teamwork, leadership, communication and problem solving, all while building their confidence.

7/8 DANCE ACADEMY

This Term our Dance Academy students are competing in their first Eisteddfod! They have been working hard on their jazz routine and we look forward to seeing them perform out in the community at the Ipswich Combined Teachers Dance Festival on the 27th April. Our Academy students have the opportunity to perform at four Eisteddfod's across the year as well as our annual Showcase event in Term 4.

9 DANCE

Our Year 9 Dance students are just about to hand in their responding task. They have watched the musical scene "Revolting Children" from Tim Minchin's musical "Matilda" and have analysed and evaluated the dance concepts. Responding tasks make up an important part of our dance curriculum as it helps to strengthen students understanding of the dance concepts which they can then apply to their own choreography task which they will commence in week 3.

10 DANCE

Our Year 10 Dance students are also finishing off their theory tasks and they will then move into choreography. Students will be required to create their own Hip Hop routine that communicates a school yard setting. Here at Ripley our students love studying Hip Hop - this is a style that they get to experience in Year 8 Dance Academy or Year 10 Dance.

11 DANCE

Contemporary Dance is a style of expressive dance that emerged in the mid 20th century, combining elements of several dance genres including modern, jazz, lyrical and classical ballet. Contemporary dancers strive to connect the mind and the body through fluid dance movements and dynamic movements which evokes emotion in the audience. Year 11 Dance and Dance in Practice students will examine how purpose and context influence the manipulation of movement through the selection of elements of dance, structure and production elements to communicate meaning. As stimulus for their own choreography, students will choose and research an iconic figure from history; taking their life story, the impact they had on a society and their human experience and express this through Contemporary dance.

DANCE SQUAD

Dance Squad have been working really hard in learning, practicing and refining their Jazz, Contemporary and Musical Theatre routines. Excitement is building and so are the nerves as students prepare to compete in their first competition for the year. The Ipswich Combined Teachers Dance Festival will be held at the Ipswich Civic Centre on Thursday the 27th of April. With seven routines in total, the RVSSC Dance Squad is sure to wow audiences so let us wish them the best of luck.

8 DRAMA

This Term, Year 8 Drama students will bring a beloved fairy tale, folk tale or story book to life through their exploration of Children's Theatre. Putting their own spin on a favourite story, students will create scripts to engage young audiences. These student-devised masterpieces will then be performed, showcasing our student performers' energy and enthusiasm. In a style that incorporates a range of mediums like music, dance, puppetry, acrobatics and slapstick, who knows what hidden talents will be discovered this Term!

11 DRAMA

This Term, Year 11 Drama and Drama in Practice students continue examining the power of theatre to reflect the human experience through the style of Verbatim Theatre. Critical thinking and communication skills take a front seat this term as students create and justify their own unique concept for a dramatic work. Considering their role as a global citizen, students will create a piece that shares a powerful message for modern audiences. With the depth of discussion already shown in class, Ms McLeod cannot wait to see the students' compelling and meaningful dramatic concepts. 

DRAMA TROUPE

Drama Troupe rehearsals have started with gusto this Term as students continue to hone their skills of improvisation through quick wit, engaging characterisation and hilarious situations. Vocal acrobatics, fast-paced dialogue and expressive physicality are becoming regular features in our rehearsal room as Troupe members create unique character quirks in TheatreSports games like 'Let's Make a Date' and 'Questions Only'. Ms McLeod and Ms O'Neill can't wait to see the creativity and hilarity that Term 2 will bring!

9 MUSIC

The Year 9 Music class is preparing their performance pieces and are refining their way technology can be used to communicate with far away audiences. All students have been putting in a tremendous effort with some playing their instrument for the first time this year. We are all looking forward to hearing their performance in week 3 and perhaps some will feature at the Bingo Fundraiser next term.

11 MUSIC

The Year 11 music class have just finished their first ever senior music assessment with an outstanding amount of high achieving results. The students have really focused on self-reflection, dedication to practice and learning how to manage performance anxiety. Moving into the end of Unit 1, students will be composing an Air and Variation piece which is a style originally popularised and used in the 16th Century! The students are examining the way an original theme can be varied into a full composition and all are excited by the creative possibilities.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Instrumental music is well and truly in full gear for 2023 and all of our students have risen to the occasion. The amount of perseverance, dedication and practice has been amazing this year with both Concert Band and Stage Band already rehearsing 3 pieces to near performance standard. Mr Ezzy has been blown away by the ever-increasing standard of our program and the enthusiasm of the students participating. Parents of our instrumental students may be noticing a lot more practice happening at home as we prepare for Bingo night and the Ipswich Show in the coming weeks. 

CREATIVE GENERATION

Over the coming weeks, our students and teachers involved in Creative Generations across Dance, Musical Theatre, Featured Choir, and Stage Crew, begin their rehearsals and repertoire for their performances in July. The rehearsals are ran by industry professionals, and is an exciting opportunity for students to learn and study alongside others from schools all across the state. This culminates in 4 performances from 13th to 15th July at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre. Tickets can be bought through Ticketek.

Students currently involved in a performing arts subject or extra-curricular group will have the opportunity to watch the matinee performance on Friday the 14th of July with more information coming throughout the term.

We offer many extra-curricular groups in the Performing Arts across Dance, Drama, Music and Instrumental Music. Students enter these groups via audition.  For those students who may have an interest in the Performing Arts but are not quite ready to trial for a team, we will be offering fun "come and try" activities across the Term at lunch times. Keep an eye on notices for these events.

Jessica Starkey

Head of Department - Performing Arts

Head of Year 7E to 7H

jxsta12@eq.edu.au

• RSA Training - Thursday 11th May
• Big Trucks Show - Thursday 18th May
• Brisbane Careers Expo with ADF - Friday 26th May

James Gerchow

Acting Head of Department - VET and Digital Technology - Year 11

jgerc6@eq.du.au

Queensland Engagement and Wellbeing survey

During Week 1 to Week 4, students will be invited to participate in the state-wide and departmental Queensland Engagement Wellbeing survey which measures students’ wellbeing, engagement and experience at school. The survey is one way we gain a better understanding of our students’ wellbeing and how we can better support them.

More information including Frequently Asked Questions by parents can be found at this link QEW - survey link

Janet Ingram

Guidance Officer

studentservices@ripleyvalleyssc.eq.edu.au 

Welcome back to Term 2! It is shaping up to be a busy term!

ANZAC Day

On Thursday the 20th April, Ripley Valley SSC commemorated ANZAC Day with a full school assembly. Students, staff and invited dignitaries from the Ipswich Council along with representatives from the Ipswich RSL Sub Branch and the RAAF Base Amberley Chaplain attended the service.

ANZAC Day is arguably one of the most important dates on the military calendar and is a time for Australians to reflect on the freedoms afforded to us by those who have, and continue to sacrifice to ensure those freedoms.  It is also a time to consider the values of the ANZAC spirit.  Values such as camaraderie, mateship, selflessness, courage and respect are as relevant today as they were on the shores of Gallipoli all those years ago. ANZAC Day serves to remind us of how we can never take for granted the way of life we enjoy,  that so many Australian and New Zealand soldiers died for on the other side of the world. 

Defence Club

Defence Club will be operating from Week 2, every Monday at second break in J2.07.  The Defence room (The Drop Zone) provides a space for students of Defence families to come together and form a community of their own. It is a space where friendships are made and they are able support each other through the extra challenges Defence kids face, such as changing schools on a regular basis or dealing with the extended absences of a parent or guardian.

Defence Week

In Term 3, I will be organising Defence Week. The aim of Defence Week is to highlight aspects of military life in the Australian Defence Force to the broader school community.

This year, Defence Week will focus not only on the diversity of roles in the Australian Defence Force, but more importantly, the diversity of our Defence members. Our ADF personnel come from many cultures, religions and ethnicities.  The ADF exemplifies that by embracing our diversity, we build stronger relationships and societies so that we can achieve common goals.

This term, I will be asking ADF parents of the school for some assistance in collating information and items to create a display for our students and to organise some military based activities. 

I am really excited to show our students the important role diversity plays in the ADF. 

Coffee & Chat

The Coffee and Chat Defence parent get together will be held mid term.  The theme will be 'Appreciating our Defence Families', recognising the sacrifices that are made everyday to support our Defence family members in their roles.  Further details will be made available closer to the date. 

THE DEFENCE MEMBER AND FAMILY HOTLINE

1800 624 608

This is the first point of call for Defence families seeking support, information or connection with their community.

The Helpline can provide assessment, assistance, advice or referral depending on the family's needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For more information on the Defence School Mentor Program at RVSSC, please contact Tracey Cooper at tcoop203@eq.edu.au or call 3819 5333

DMFS SUPPORT 

Defence Member and Family Support is a sector of the Australian Defence Force that provides Defence families with numerous programs and activities with an aim to support them as they face the unique challenges of being a Defence family.

For more information on the Defence School Mentor Program you can head to:

https://defence.gov.au/members-families/Family/kids/education.asp

To contact the Defence School Mentor:

Monday and Wednesday 0800 - 1430hrs

Email: tcoop203@eq.edu.au

Phone : 3819 5333

Tracey Cooper

Defence School Mentor

Ripley Valley State Secondary College

Hi Sports Fans,

Welcome back to another packed term of sport! This term we are offering a range of sporting opportunities including our annual athletics events, district cross country carnival, Premier Sports Ipswich, Yagera Sport nominations and our Ripley Athlete Development Program.

District Sports

District Cross Country is being held Week 2, Thursday 27^th April. The top five runners from each age group have been invited to attend with permission notes and invoices being sent out this week. Please make sure we they are returned by Wednesday 26^th of April. The bus will leave the college at 7:30am with students expected to be at the college at 7:00am.

Minor Sports

Yagera Sports

The winter Yagera season will be starting this term with nominations set to come out in Week 4. This term the sports will include: Netball, Rugby League, Volleyball, Basketball & Football. More information can be found on Daymap and on assembly in Week 4.

Premier Sports Ipswich

This term, Premier Sports Ipswich are offering the sports of basketball and volleyball. We have nominated the following teams:

• 7/8 Boys Basketball – Tuesday Afternoon
• 7/8 Girls Basketball – Tuesday Afternoon
• 9/10 Boys Basketball – Tuesday Afternoon
• 11 Boys Basketball – Tuesday Afternoon
• 7/8 Girls Volleyball – Monday Afternoon
• 9/10 Boys Volleyball – Tuesday Afternoon
• 11/12 Girls Volleyball – Tuesday Afternoon

Team lists will be put on Daymap this week with the draws being released next week. 

For more information regarding these teams please contact:

Mr Clifford via jclif117@eq.edu.au

Ms Rizvanonic via lxriz0@eq.edu.au

Mr Shaw via cshaw158@eq.edu.au

Major Sports

Schools Cup AFL

Schools Cup AFL is the first AFL tournament the school has participated in. The tournament is being held in Springfield on Tuesday 6^th of June for Juniors and Tuesday 13^th of June for Seniors. The teams being offered for this competition include:

• Junior Boys (Grade 7, 8 & 9)
• Junior Girls (Grade 7, 8 & 9)
• Senior Boys (Grade 10 & 11)
• Senior Girls (Grade 10 & 11)

If you’re interested in being a part of these teams please contact:

Ms McKendry via clmck1@eq.edu.au

Mr Harvey via jharv178@eq.edu.au

Vicki Wilson Netball

The tournament will be held at Western Districts Netball Association on Tuesday 6^th June. For information around training schedules please see Daymap.

If you have any questions about this competition please email the coaches:

Junior: Mr Coles via jcole338@eq.edu.au

Senior: Ms Newton via cnewt71@eq.edu.au

CBSQ Basketball

Please see the Premier Sports Ipswich section of this article for nomination forms for CBSQ. CBSQ is a large competition played against schools across QLD.

The event is held at the Coomera Sports Complex from the 14^th to 17^th September for Seniors and 26^th to 29^th October for Juniors. This year we are nominating two teams:

• Junior Boys (Grade 7/8)
• Senior Boys (Grade 10/11)

For more information regarding these teams please contact:

Ms Rizvanonic via lxriz0@eq.edu.au

Mr Shaw via cshaw158@eq.edu.au

VQ Cup Volleyball

The VQ cup is a major volleyball cup that we are participating in later this year. The competition will be held from the 4^th to 6^th August for Seniors and the 20^th to 22^nd October for the Juniors. Trials have already been held for this competition and training is being held on Tuesday mornings in the gym and Thursday mornings in the Raptor Dome. This year we have nominated the following teams:

• Junior Girls (Grade 7 & 8)
• Senior Girls (Grades 10 & 11)

For more information please contact the following coaches:

Juniors: Mr Simmons via csimm87@eq.edu.au

Senior: Mr Dunn via jdunn232@eq.edu.au

Cross Country

On the second last day of Term 1 we ran our annual Cross Country Carnival. The day was a super exciting event with participation at an all time high. Students dressed up in their heroes and villains themed outfits for their school house of either Blaine, Flinders, Perry or Goulman to win the Spirit House trophies. Students competed individually to make the district teams for the Cross Country 2023. A huge thank you to all the staff and student helpers who assisted in organising, preparing, setting up and helping throughout the day. It is always awesome to see our College come together to make days like this happen.

Of Course, there can only be one House that wins the Cross Country 2023 Carnival:

In Last Place with 1575 Points was Flinders!

In Third Place with 1605 Points was Blaine!

In Second Place with 1655 Points was Perry!

In First Place with 1855 Points was Goolman!

Age Champion is the title awarded to the best 3 athletes in each age group. Our 2023 Cross Country Age Champions are:

RAD

The Ripley Athlete Development Program will continue this term on:

• Tuesday Morning 7:15am – 8am
• Wednesday Afternoon 3pm – 4pm
• Thursday Afternoon 3pm – 4pm

There will be no training on Week 2, due to the public holiday and parent teacher interviews. The focus of this term will be on improving athletic ability in the lead up to our athletics Carnival.

Athletics Carnival

Our annual Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday and Friday of Week 9 this Term. The Thursday carnival will be via nomination only and Friday will be our whole college carnival. The events we offer include:

For more information on this event please contact Mr Clifford via jclif117@eq.edu.au

Sports Awards

This year our Sports Awards program includes Bronze, Silver and Gold. In order to be eligible for one of the Awards you need to have participated in 3 or more of the following sports: Ripley Districts Team, Central Comets District Team, Met West District Team, QLD District Team, Australian District team, Yagera Sport, Premier Sports Ipswich, Top 15 in Cross Country or one of our Major Sporting teams.

To achieve these awards students must have participated in the following number of sporting events:

Throughout Term 1 we had an astonishing 255 students participate in at least one sporting team with 52 achieving the Bronze Sporting Award and 68 more students only one sport away from the Bronze level. This totalled out to 459 individually run events!

Congratulations to the below students who have all hit the Bronze level and will receive their certificate on assembly this term:

If you have any question about the above please contact Justin Clifford at jclif117@eq.edu.au or contact the front office.

Thanks,

Justin Clifford

Sports Co-ordinator

jcliff117@eq.edu.au 

REMINDER - OUR CANTEEN IS CASHLESS!!!

Online Ordering System for the Canteen 

The canteen is a cashless facility, with online ordering available.

How to:

• Order from the menu on the MSA ordering system (see link below)
• Top up your students card so they purchase at the canteen directly, using their barcode in their diary.