11 May 2016

Newsletter Articles

Principal's Report

Dear Parents

As we approach the half way point of Term 2 and the business end of Semester 1, I urge you all to follow up on your child's assessment and study schedule. For many year levels including Years 9 and 10 specifically, the Semester 1 results will impact significantly on future subject choice and pathways. Now is the time for students to be performing at their best to ensure a smooth transition into the next phase of their learning. I encourage all parents to make contact with their child's teachers should you require any further information in regards to classwork or assessment items. To be performing at their best, students must be attending every lesson, every day. Please see below for Term 2's attendance data thus far.

Staff News

Last week we farewelled Miss Christine Tuck and Mr Edwin Roelink who are both taking long service leave. Miss Tuck will be away for the remainder of the term replaced by Miss Sonia Allen in English and Mr Roelink will be away for the next 5 weeks replaced by Mr Max Little in Art.

We also welcome Mrs Nagi-Cox replacing Mrs Barratt in Art for 2 weeks, Mrs Nagi-Cox will then remain on as the ESL Teacher for the Lizen Study Tour.

On the 16th of May we welcome back our Principal, Mr Baker. We look forward to having him back on deck and thank you all for the many 'get well' messages and messages of support during his absence. Your thoughts have been gratefully appreciated.

ANZAC Day

On the 21st of April, Miami High once again came together for our annual ANZAC Day Memorial Assembly. This year led ably by Mr Michael Vine, Head of Department – Humanities, was Mr Vine's first Miami High ANZAC Ceremony and he is to be congratulated for his fantastic efforts and coordination of this event. It is wonderful to see our students so humbly and respectfully acknowledge the service to our country and community of all members of the Defence Forces present and past.

As you may be aware, for some years now we have invited Mermaid Beach Tri-Care residents to our ANZAC Service as many of them no longer have an opportunity to attend public services. Many thanks must go to Ms Purdy, Mr Dooley and Mrs East for making this visit possible. I know the residents, their families and Tri-Care staff appreciate the opportunity to attend our ANZAC Ceremony and interact with our students.

NAPLAN

This week Miami High Years 7 and 9 students are once again sitting the NAPLAN tests. Many hours of preparation and dedication by staff and students go into making this week successful. Many thanks must go to Mrs Jackson, Mrs Mahon and Mrs Flynn for their management and organisation of both the NAPLAN tests and the preceding intensive days. I am confident that our students will perform to the best of their ability and will enjoy resuming normal classroom activities next week. NAPLAN results will be mailed to parents mid-term 3, no specific date has been released.

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT – YEAR 11

The Queensland Government has announced a steady and considered transition to revitalise senior assessment and tertiary entrance systems. Designed to meet the needs of current and future students, the features of these systems will be:

A model that uses school-based assessment and common external assessment

New processes that strengthen the quality and comparability of school-based assessment

A move away from the Overall Position (OP) rank to an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR)

In preparation for the introduction of a new senior assessment system from 2018, Miami State High School is delighted to be one of the approximately 250 Queensland schools taking part in external assessment trials. This will involve a group of our Year 11 students sitting a short English paper on Friday 27th of May 2016.

As the trial will involve Year 11 formative assessment only, there will be no impact on students' Year 12 exit results or on their OP rank for tertiary entrance.

Aidan Richardson

You may remember our fundraising appeal for Aidan late last term when a group of staff and students participated in the 'Up the Buff' trail run in an attempt to help Aidan and his family raise enough money for a new 4WD motorised wheelchair.

Good news, we did it!!

Aidan and his family have now raised enough money to allow for the purchase of the new 4WD wheelchair which will open the door on many new experiences for Aidan including being able to go to the beach with his friends independent of his parents. Congratulations Aidan, we look forward to seeing you at Burleigh Beach in the near future.

Well done to our entire school community who so generously got behind Aidan and his fundraising efforts, it's heartening to know that we live and work in such a generous community.

Student and Parent Car Parking

Some of you will be aware of the limited car parking we have available on our premises. Our first priority is to ensure that our staff are catered for when they arrive at school, therefore, we have implemented measures to control and monitor car parking on our campus. These will include staff car parking permits which will be displayed at all times, investigation of a new staff car park on the southern side of the basketball courts, restriction of student parking to the surrounding streets including Santa Monica Avenue where there is ample off street parking for students and the investigation of installation of boom gates in the Great Hall Drive entrances.

I seek your assistance in this matter when dropping off and picking up your child, please do not 'double park' in areas where there are yellow lines, please do not block the road way in and around the music block and the Great Hall, these are not loading zones they are driveways that are regularly used. I ask you also not to block the front entrance of the school as this driveway is used for deliveries and ambulances in case of an emergency.

Please remember that illegal parking puts our students lives at risk particularly at the beginning and the end of the day when students are arriving at or leaving school.

Regards

Alison Fahlbusch
Acting Principal

Aidan with Supporters after the race

Dates to Remember

17/05/2016 - Tennis Program Trials commence
23/05/2016 - Instrumental Music Program Auditions commence
24/05/2016 - Physical Education Excellence Program Trial Session 1, 3.30 -5.30 pm I Block
25/05/2016 - Dance Excellence Program Auditions, Dance studio
31/05/2016 - Physical Education Excellence Program Trial Session 2, 3.30 - 5.30pm I Block
01/06/2016 - Touch Football Excellence Program Trial, 3.30 - 5.30 pm I Block

Important Information from TransLink

From January, use TransLink's online journey planner to find the best travel options for your child to travel to and from school. Our helpful tips for journey planning for school services makes planning your child's school journey even easier.

Alternatively, you can also use the school timetables search if you already know your bus route number.

Travel to school with go card

When your child travels to and from school on public transport with go card, they can save at least 30% compared to the cost of a single paper ticket. That's in addition to the 50% discount that school students pay compared to adults. These savings quickly add up!

Grab a go card for your child online or at selected retailers today.

Visit the TransLink website for full details on school transport, tickets and fares.

Is your child eligible for STAS?

The Queensland Government provides eligible school students travelling to and from primary and secondary schools with assistance via the School Transport Assistance Scheme (STAS).

Find out if your child is eligible and beat the rush – apply now and pick up your child's travel pass from your local operator today!

Kind regards
TransLink Customer Relations

Finance Office/Uniform Shop hours of operation

REMINDER: The finance counter DOES NOT operate on Fridays for receipting. This closure coincides with the current arrangements in place with the uniform/bookshop closed each Friday. Hours of operation are 8.00am to 2.00pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week.

Kellie Johnston
Business Services Manager

Payments Via Internet Banking

Paying for Miami High School excursions and/or fees is possible using Internet Banking.

The traditional payment methods are still available (Cash/EFTPOS/Credit Cards), but some people find Internet Banking much quicker and easier – especially because you can make payments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from the comfort of your own home or office.

INTERNET BANKING DETAILS

Account Name: Miami State High School General A/c
Bank: Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Branch: Burleigh Heads
BSB: 064-404
Account Number: 00090020

PAYMENT REFERENCES

Each child has a unique Education Queensland Identification number (EQ ID). For all internet payments we will require you to use your child's EQ ID number to identify your payment, e.g. 0011223344W.

Please ensure each payment sent through has the following details within the Payment Reference so that we can clearly identify your payment.

Excursions:

>>Student EQ ID Excursion>> e.g 0011223344W Seaworld

Please ensure only one payment per student per excursion – If you have multiple students/excursions to pay for, please put each one through individually, unless otherwise arranged with the school office. As internet banking payments are not instant, please ensure internet payments are done 48 hours prior to payment cut-off date.

School Fees:

<<Student EQ ID Fees>> e.g. 0011223344W 2013 Text

If you have any questions relating to payments, please contact the payment office on 07 55540333 or email Angie Johnson on ajohn543@eq.edu.au .

Kellie Johnston
Business Services Manager

Update your Contact Details

ARE YOUR CONTACT DETAILS UP TO DATE – INCLUDING EMERGENCY CONTACTS?

We have been experiencing a number of students presenting to sick bay with serious illnesses/injuries to warrant the school needing to urgently contact a parent/guardian or an emergency contact but with no success. Could you please make sure that your contact details are up to date and ensure your emergency contacts are available if you're not able to be contacted. This is especially important for when parents are travelling away during the school term and leaving students with guardians. Please feel free to contact the school either by email admin@miamishs.eq.edu.au or telephoning 5554 0333 to confirm your current details.

Parent Contact

NOTE TO PARENTS/CARERS

The school database program can only allocate ONE address per student. If a student is residing equally between two addresses, the parents/carers must decide which address will be allocated as the main address for the student. The second address can be noted on the student's hardcopy personal file.

If a second report is required to be emailed, please contact the school in order for us to record this.

Helen O'Brien
Human Resources Manager

RTC SMS Text – Home Communication

To improve the communication between parents and the school, Responsible Thinking Classroom (RTC) SMS text messages will be sent daily for all students referred to the RTC. This will provide immediate feedback for parents allowing them to discuss issues with their student, and if they have any concerns, contact the school for clarification. The following texts will be used:

SMS text for daily RTC referral.

Dear parent, please be advised your student was referred to RTC today. Please discuss with your student and contact Miami SHS 55540333 if concerned.

SMS text for student reaching RTC Level 3.

Dear parent, your student has reached Level 3 on RTC. Please support by discussing this with your student. Thank you from Miami SHS.

SMS text for student reaching RTC Level 5.

Dear parent, your student has reached Level 5 on RTC. Please contact Miami SHS on 5554 0333 to arrange an intervention meeting time asap. Thank you.

SMS text for student reaching RTC Level 7.

Dear parent, your student has reached Level 7 on RTC. One more referral may result in suspension. Your urgent support is appreciated. Thanks Miami SHS 5554 0333.

Please take the opportunity to discuss this with your student, should you receive a text message regarding RTC. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Glenn Smits
Positive Behaviour Coach

Healthy Lifestyles – Trivia Night!

On Wednesday 25th of May 2016, the Miami SHS Healthy Lifestyles class along with the Miami High Interact Club will be hosting a Trivia night in support of Immanuel Afrika. I Afrika is a grassroots, progressive organisation which provides holistic care for boys who have been left to fend for themselves on the harsh, unforgiving streets of Nairobi, Kenya. There are currently over 65,000 street children in Nairobi alone! The main aim of I Afrika is to provide hope for these boys. Hope for a better future and a better tomorrow.

On the night there will be a BBQ available as well as a Bar, with doors opening at 6pm.

If you are interested in registering a team or have any questions please contact Danielle Gardiner on 5554 0333 or email dgard20@eq.edu.au .

Danielle Gardiner
Health and Physical Education Teacher

AFL Girls

A league of extraordinary young ladies - Girls AFL

On the 14th of March, 20 girls from Year 7, 8 and 9 competed in the annual AFL Queensland Schools Cup at Kirra AFC. Last year, the Miami SHS team lost in the grand final by one behind. This loss was all the motivation we needed to take out the win in 2016. It was a tough match; with height being our biggest challenge but speed and skill being our greatest asset. In the end, the girls' determination, sportsmanship and communication led to a convincing win, 54 to 15 in the Gold Coast region game. The most valuable player was awarded to Teagan Levi from Year 7, who has never played a game of AFL before and was tackling girls three times her size! An honourable mention to Lucy Single whose speed was outstanding. The girls now go onto the next level (played in July) in the hopes of progressing one step further to being crowned the Junior Girls AFL Queensland Schools Champions. The girls are committed to training every Tuesday morning in preparation for this championship and are proving that AFL is not just for boys.

Miss McGinniskin
Coach

Photo of the AFL Girls Team

Humanities – Legal Studies Youth Parliament

On Friday May 6th, four of our high flying Year 12 students attended the Queensland Legal Studies Youth Parliament. Zuzana Harmaniakova, Zoe Zaharias, Grady Tadman and Caitlin De Graaf had the opportunity to visit Parliament House and sit in the chamber as acting members. The students were given a tour of the facility and then participated in a mock sitting to discuss a Bill.

Each of the students were asked to prepare and speak briefly. Zuzana spoke in favour of the Bill and Caitlin spoke in favour of an amendment. Zoe and Grady took part in the adjournment debate which allowed them to raise topics for discussion. Zoe chose to discuss the fact that Queensland is the only state in Australia that treats 17 year olds as adults for the purposes of sentencing. Grady focused on the controversial issue of New Zealanders who have lived here their whole lives, not being able to attend university due to a lack of financial assistance that only Australian citizens can access. All four spoke beautifully. Teaching young people like this is a pleasure and I was so proud to see them showing our school and the public schooling system in such a positive light. Well done guys, you are a credit to yourself, your families and our school community.

Students visiting Parliament House

Rebecca Churchouse
Legal Studies Coordinator

Business News

Over the last term our Business classes have been fortunate enough to have various special guests giving up their valuable time to bring and share their experiences/skills regarding the "business world". The main aim of this was to invite parents/guardians to come into the classroom and to share with our students "real world business experiences/skills".

We have had three guest speakers namely Mr John Campbell, Mr Steven Mitchell and Mr Ross McFarlane all of which have offered unique expertise, knowledge and guidance to our business students. The students have gained valuable skills in which they can transfer and use in their everyday lives.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our parents/guardians for their support in sharing their expertise in the classroom and further encouraging community links between school and home.

Kay Simpson
Business and History – Humanities Department

Mr Stewart Mitchell (parent guest speaker)

Humanities - Business Studies

Supporting Australia's Biggest Morning Tea, the Year 11 Business Studies students have held a sausage sizzle to raise money for the Cancer Council. As part of their marketing unit the students were required to choose a 'Not for Profit Organisation' to market to other students at Miami State High School. Charity organisations that were chosen by the students included: The Smith Family, Act for Kids, Rosies РYouth off the Street, RSPCA, Volunteering Gold Coast and the School Next Door Caf̩.

Thank you to Fosters Bakery for the donation of the bread and to Nobby's Beach Gourmet Meats for the discount on the sausages.

Mandy Schnitzerling
Business Studies Teacher

Year 11 Business Students Josie, CJ, Honey, Jack and Piper

International News - Harmony Day

We celebrated the diversity of our students and their cultural backgrounds at Miami State High School at a special assembly. We had a special guest speaker Brendan Boyle who shared his experiences of cultural diversity. Miami students Jess Smith, who visited Norway, and Norwegian exchange student Veronica Amlien compared the differences and similarities of being an exchange student. We had over 35 flag bearers many of whom were our International Students from Brazil, Mexico, Norway, Italy, Japan, Germany, China, Taiwan, Chile, to name a few.

Harmony Day Celebration Photo

Internationals exploring Australia

Some of our Internationals took advantage of the EQI Safari Tours during the school holidays. Some of our students experienced the Sydney Safari Tour and the Outback Safari to Coober Pedy and up to Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. Other Internationals had the opportunity to attend the Reef Trip with Lauren Coleman to Heron Island.

We have celebrated the birthdays in April for
Florentine Grosshennrich, Eason Ting and Leif Langer.

Study Tours

Our next up and coming study tour is from 18th of May to 5th of June. This group is the Lizen Tour from Taiwan who we also hosted here at our school for the last fourteen years.

LANGUAGES: Japanese and Spanish

Why study a language?

Spanish

A big congratulations to 7A who completed their presentations last week. The students introduced themselves to the class in Spanish and spoke about their homes and interests. They were all very brave and did exceptionally well!

We will be doing Spanish style lunches this term, so keep your eyes on the lookout for the letter to come!

Year 8 Japanese

Students are currently studying a unit called 'I want to go to Japan.' Classes are exploring places in Japan, transport such as the bullet train, cool things to see like Mt Fuji and interesting activities such as calligraphy and kendo.

Message from Mr Smith

After completing our menus demonstrating our learning of katakana with food from around the world, we have started Term 2 off well. First up, we learned how to write and read the Japanese days of the week which was our first real taste of the complex kanji characters. Students have been learning stories to remember how to write kanji, even the word day which has a character 'yo-u" with an amazing 18 strokes! Quite a challenge. Now we are into our cultural discovery unit called 'I want to go to Japan' and students are really enjoying learning about sightseeing in Japan and how to speak and read travel itineraries.

Message from Miss Damon

Students are currently studying a unit called 'I want to go to Japan', learning vocabulary such as:

Days of the week
Places/cities (and things to do in that particular city).
Modes of transport
Basic Japan geography
Activities to do in Japan

Students have shown great interests and enthusiasm in learning about Japan so far - keep up the good work!

Message from Miss Wilson

Class 8B have started the term off wonderfully! They have learnt the kanji for days of the week and are able to recognise these kanji now in other words. They have shown a real interest in the culture of Japan and particularly enjoy learning about the Maglev (Magnetic Levitation Bullet train) and sumo wrestlers.

Year 9 Japanese

The students are studying a unit called 'Hobbies, Sports and Entertainment'. The students are researching and planning to create a brochure to propose their ideal Japan trip for the school, outlining the itinerary they have planned for the trip.

Year 10 Japanese

The students are currently studying a unit called 'Daily Life/Activities'. The students are planning a 7 day plan for a Japanese visitor staying with them. The students are to plan the weekdays and weekend with visits to popular places on the Gold Coast.

Tuckshop News

Hello to all staff, students and parents. My name is Cherie Kendall and I am the new 'Tuckshop Convenor' at Miami State High School. I am excited for the opportunity I have been given and I look forward to the challenges and the successful future of the Tuckshop. I aim to make healthy food an easy option for students and staff so I will be introducing new healthy food choices on the menu and making 'green' foods the predominant choice for both food and drinks. It is our goal that we have a tuckshop that parents, students and staff can be proud of and rely on for quality healthy food on a daily basis. Ultimately, I will be working towards a goal of 80-90% green menu, with the majority of food being fresh and/or home cooked.

I would also love more volunteers to help out in the Tuckshop. Please, if you have some spare time, even if it is once a month please let me know. I guarantee it is a happy place to work in and we would all appreciate your help, especially during break times. You can contact me on 5554 0329.

I look forward to meeting you all in the future.

Cherie Kendall
Tuckshop Convenor

Film and Television

What a great start to the year we have had for Miami Film and Television! Once again, we have seen more growth to the subject itself and subsequently to our video club 'Shooters'. We have already started our planning and preparation for this year's ' M'Oscars Film Festival' to be held at The Arts Centre in October and are excited to announce that our theme for 2016 will be 'Superheroes'.

In other news, the Year 12 Film, Television and New Media class was lucky enough to be a part of Y Screen, a Gold Coast Film Festival initiative, where they viewed the award winning Turkish drama, Mustang and were involved in a panel discussion with some of the film's creators.

All senior classes are in the production stages of their first films for the year with a heavy focus on framing and composition. I expect to see some spectacular production work in 2016.

Photos of Bailey Crew, Jarrod Scherer and Saurav Khadka

Technology - Robotics

This year has seen the second year that Miami State High School has introduced Robotics to Year 8 students. Robotics has been an initiative of Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk as part of the 'advancing education' plan. Students have used the Lego construction kits to create their robots and then used the NXT 2.1 Programming package to create a program for their robots to complete. These actions included the robot moving when students clapped their hands, hitting a red ball with a rotating arm and stopping when reversing when it senses an object behind it. All students thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working in groups to investigate and build the Lego robots and then exploring the computer programming.

Student Comments

"It was fun building the robot" - Blake

"Robotics was a very good experience and it helped us to learn about programming and Lego design."- Kobi

"It was exciting but hard"- Lawrencia

Mandy Schnitzerling
Robotics teacher

Year 11 Legal Studies Excursion

YEAR 11 LEGAL STUDIES DAY IN COURT

On Tuesday the 8th of March, our Year 11 Legal Studies class had the chance to attend the Supreme and District Courts in Brisbane. This annual excursion provided students with the opportunity to see the law in action and is always a fun day. This year students were lucky enough to see a variety of stages in the court process.

Some students were present for a sentencing hearing. This meant that they were able to hear all of the details of the case and each of the lawyers providing the judge with reasons for a lighter or heftier sentence. So many factors are taken into account and it was good to see that the judge handed down a sentence that all agreed was fair and appropriate in the circumstances.

Others attended trials that were part way through. This meant hearing from witnesses and also seeing the judge and lawyers argue questions of law whilst the jury were removed from the courtroom. Cases included grievous bodily harm, supplying dangerous drugs, burglary and fraud.

Students will be attending the courts again next year. This will be more of a research exercise as they will go to the Supreme Court Library to help them with their Year 12 independent assignment, and if we have time we might sit in on a few cases again.

Learning about the law in a classroom is one thing, but seeing it in the real world is something completely different. Sometimes going to court and seeing it for themselves is the catalyst that inspires young people to want to become lawyers and judges – who knows if our day together this year will do just that.

I would like to congratulate the class on their behaviour and attitude. They were a credit to our school and a pleasure to take. I hope they all got a lot out of the day. Thanks Year 11.

Rebecca Churchouse
Legal Studies Coordinator

Photo from Legal Studies Excursion

Miami High Dance Excellence 2016

The Miami High Dance Studio is alive with activity as Term 2 begins with all 4 crews and Dance Xtreme busy rehearsing at lunch breaks. On the 28th of April, the Crew Leaders were formally announced as part of the Dance Xtreme Assembly Presentation.

MDC, our boys hip hop crew led by Dane Shaw and co crew leader Luke Nicholas, rehearse Monday lunch.

MGC Jr., our junior girls dance crew led by Caitlyn Carlson and co crew leader, Ella Nicholas rehearse Tuesday lunch.

MDA, Miami's dance acrobatics squad are busy flipping Wednesday lunch.

MGC Sr., our senior girls dance crew led by Rachel Masters and co crew leader Chloe Danen, rehearse Thursday lunch.

Dance Xtreme, rehearse Friday lunch and Sport.

Students have been tapping, stepping and krumping up a storm in class participating in workshops provided by Raw Dance Company. The Year 8 Dance Excellence students have enjoyed a body percussion workshop assisting them with choreographic ideas for their Percussive Dance routines. Also, the Year 11 Dance students thoroughly enjoyed their hip hop workshop, again providing choreographic ideas for their Popular Dance assessment tasks.

The Year 7 Dance Excellence students have basically been 'clowning around' all term as part of their Circus Cabaret unit and are thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to focus on the development of their expressive movement and theatrical skills.

Years 9 and 12 Dance Students have been delving into the contemporary dance world in a study of its use as a vehicle for self-expression. The Year 12 students, as pictured, have also been exploring connectedness through a series of workshops, inspired by the works of Gideon Obarzanek (former Artistic Director) of Chunky Move.

This term, classes will take to the stage performing class routines on the assemblies of Weeks 7 and 11. Any opportunity to perform is always an exciting time so the students are certainly looking forward to doing so.

Miranda van't Hof
Experienced Senior Teacher - Dance

Photos from Dance Excellence classes

Miami High Dance Xtreme 2016

The Dance Xtreme Program is designed as an extension program in Dance enabling students to further develop their abilities, undertake workshops with professional choreographers, showcase Miami High, compete at eisteddfods and foster primary links. The Dance Xtreme Students underwent a three-phase audition process to demonstrate their diversity as dancers. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the dancers who auditioned for their efforts. Students of the program are committed to a strenuous rehearsal schedule throughout the year which is both in and out of school hours, attend weekly lessons during lunch hours, compete at an elite level, teach within the primary schools and push their bodies to discover the endless possibilities within dance.

On Thursday 28th of April, at a special presentation on assembly, the students were formally introduced and presented with their Miami High Dance Xtreme kit followed by the announcement of the 2016 Miami High Dance Xtreme Captain, Tiahna Laan.

The 2016 Dance Xtreme students are: Kayla Allen, Shanti Vanderstaay, Miku Kanai (International Student), Sienna Lynch, Jazmin O'Hare, Casey O'Leary, Angelique Giuffre, Jasmin Cachia, Tiahna Laan, Paige Ling and Amber Wemyss.

Miranda van't Hof
Artistic Director I Dance Xtreme Program

Photos of Dance Xtreme Students

Year 7 Market Day Stall

In Week 9 of last term, the first of two Year 7 Market Stalls was held by the Year 7 Business and Economics classes. The course is designed so that students can begin to develop an understanding of the relationship between producers and consumers. By designing and creating their own product for the Market Stall, students are able to gain a deeper knowledge of how commerce works in the retail sector.

The Business and Economics program was developed so that students are able to work co-operatively in groups, enhance their creativity through the design process and to have fun.

Again, the students did an amazing job. Everyone was impressed by the variety and creativity of the products on sale. Goods on sale ranged from hand surfers, tie dyed t-shirts, pen holders, jewellery, hand painted coffee mugs and candelabras. The markets are a self-funding activity and it is important that students make enough sales to enable to program to continue on a sound financial basis. The students were very pleased to have achieved this goal, and were delighted that their products sold so well.

A big thank you to parents, family and friends who came on the day, to the students of Miami High for their support and of course, the students themselves, who worked with such enthusiasm to make the market stall a success. We hope that everyone will support our second market in Semester 2.

Jill Pead
Teacher - Humanities Department

Photos from Year 7 Market Day.
Chet Mulholland, Tyson Edwards, Oscar Gale
Kaedah Winch, Ella Garrett

Mathematics Department News

Term 2 is well and truly underway and end of Semester exams are fast approaching.

As this newsletter is published, our Year 7 and Year 9 students are in the midst of their NAPLAN exams. Students have been well prepared and are feeling confident. Mathematics classroom teachers have lead with individualised approach to learning with their students. Year 7 and Year 9 students also spent an intensive day of NAPLAN preparation rotating through groups focussed on numeracy, reading and writing strategies.

Maths Club operates every Tuesday afternoon between 3 and 4pm in the Library. Attendance has been fantastic with between 40 to 50 students attending each week. There are Maths teachers on hand to help with all levels and grades of mathematics from Year 7 to Year 12. It is a positive learning environment and is a reflection of the culture to succeed at Miami SHS. I would strongly encourage students to attend.

Year 7 Stellar Mathematics students are currently participating in the Maths Challenge for Young Australians. This nationwide problem solving competition is organised by the Australian Mathematics Trust and involves students working in pairs to answer 6 problems in class time. This is graded at school with results forwarded to the Trust. Of interest is the fact it is graded using marks, rather than standards which all students are accustomed!

I wish our Year 7 and 9 students all the best with their NAPLAN and I am looking forward to seeing continued strong results at end of Semester for all Mathematics students.

Todd Campbell
Acting Head of Department - Mathematics

Miami Takes on the World at MUNA 2016

A group of talented Miami SHS Debaters Represented Lebanon and The Netherlands at Rotary's Regional Mock United Nations Assembly (MUNA) on Saturday 19th March at the Tweed Heads Civic Centre.

There were over 100 students from 32 schools from across NSW and QLD who debated current affairs in a unique format that saw students form teams of three to research and debate from a specific country's perspective. The debate was held just like a real United Nations Assembly and gave our Miami SHS students an authentic taste of what being a diplomat would be like. After a full day of debating, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, the team from Nerang SHS, who represented North Korea, were chosen as the winners of the event.

Both Miami teams are to be congratulated for their outstanding efforts contributing to the debate and adding their flare to the day. Team Netherlands wore great costumes on the day as well.

Team Lebanon was Year 12 students Harrison Howick, Jordan Munro and Jess Smith.
Team Netherlands was Year 11 students Dayna Lennon, Beatrice Valek and Alex Johnston.
Debating Coach - Matt Smith

Any interested students for MUNA 2017 next year, please see Mr Smith J - Block Staffroom for more information.

Matt Smith
Teacher

Miami High Reef Trip

On Friday the 25th of March, a group of Marine Science, Biology and Aquatic Practices students ventured to Heron Island, located at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. We stayed at the University of QLD's research station. The trip was as educational as it was beautiful, showing the real life impacts of the theory learnt in class, along with the amazing opportunity to view marine life up close and personal.

While on Heron, we participated in a 'Citizen Science' activity called Coral Watch, where we assessed the health of the coral by recording the colour, type and condition. After learning about coral bleaching in classes, it was very confronting to see it first hand on the reef. The data we collected will be submitted to the Coral Watch website and help scientists investigate what is happening on the Great Barrier Reef.

We were also lucky to be involved in collecting plankton with a plankton trawling net. Using the Heron Island Research Station's facilities, we were able to view the plankton through microscopes. This was a really interesting activity and I, along with many others, were very impressed by what we saw through the microscopes.

Another exciting activity included the use of the Research Facilities' Sea Scopes. Sea Scopes are large microscope-like instruments that can be used to have a closer look at marine life. This allowed us to see coral polyps and other small animals up close. It was awesome to have such great equipment available to us through the Research Station to better develop our understanding of the marine world.

Overall, the most exciting part of our trip was the snorkelling. Our snorkelling trips included snorkelling off the shore line, around Heron Shipwreck and off the boats in places like Harry's Bommie, Heron Bommie and Blue Pools… and an amazing night snorkel off the shore. These snorkelling adventures were incredible in allowing us to see turtles, eagle rays, sting rays, shovel-nosed rays, cuttlefish, reef sharks, and a large variety of reef fish such as sweet lip, clownfish and parrotfish, just to name a few, as well as anemones, plate coral, boulder coral and branch coral. As well as snorkelling, we went on sunset and sunrise walks along the shore and went swimming in the beautiful beaches.

The overall experience was truly unforgettable and I can definitely say that Heron Island is the best place I've ever been. I would certainly recommend this trip to any student who has a passion or interest in marine life as it is such a great learning experience to be able to snorkel every day in so many beautiful locations and to have the Research Station's facilities available.

Lacey Wright
Year 11 Science student

Careers Evening

Please see poster below advertising the Careers Evening at Miami High School on Thursday 21st July from 7.00 pm – 8.30 pm. This year is even bigger than last with 23 Universities, RTO's and the Australian Defence Force attending.

Josh Atkins
Guidance Officer

Health and Wellbeing Day

This term has started off with the Year 7 Wellbeing Day on the 19th of April. The students had a great day participating in a variety of activities including; Self-Awareness, Surf Fitness, Grief and Loss, Puberty and Drumming. The feedback was very positive and the presenters spoke highly of our school and our student's behaviour and participation. Well done Year 7.

This term we will continue with our Parent Information evenings with future topics to including a workshop on Teenage Behaviour Strategies, Cyber Safety and Party Safe. Information will be sent out in coming weeks.

Up and coming events this term include:-

Chappy Week - 16th of May – 22nd of May. During this week we will be celebrating the great work our School Chaplain Shane Scott does here at Miami High.

At Miami High we will celebrate Random Acts of Kindness with a week devoted to performing good deeds for fellow students and teachers. This will be in Week 8, the 30th May - 3rd June. Performing RAK to others gives us a greater sense of wellbeing than receiving gifts, this leads to more positive behaviour and happiness….. Check out the ideas below….

Tiffany Grant
Wellbeing Coordinator

Poster on Random Acts of Kindness and photos of Year 7 Students at Wellbeing Day

Wellbeing Day From Students

The 19th of April was the extravagant Wellbeing Day! Year 7 students were treated with delightful activities and lessons. We participated in educational lessons ranging from how to deal with loss and grief to the ugly truth of changes to our bodies. However, despite the saddening and ugly lessons we also had some fantastic fun activities to overcome, one of them being drumming which let all students drum their hearts out with vibrant sounds; it was music to our ears! Apart from these activities, the boys also received an exclusive activity which was an extreme workout, while the girls had a lesson to boost self-esteem and to understand no one is perfect.

Students got to join students from other classes to form different groups to let them mingle with friends and meet new people, and judging by all the guests that turned up on that day, they all responded with gratitude and thankfulness of how all the students behaved! Overall, the day was a great day enjoyed by many and in the process we picked up a couple of life lessons along the way!

Daniel New 7C and Mason Lowe 7C
Students

Community News

Tennis Central

TENNIS ANYONE?

Tennis Central Miami offers Tennis Australia hot shots for all ages and standards every day after school. Coaching by Australian Tennis Champion Sophie Letcher. First Lesson is free!

Contact Sophie on 0479 159 533 or info@tenniscentralmiami.com

Located at Miami High School

If you have any questions or concerns please email me or call me. I would love to see as many kids out there having a go!

Sophie Letcher
Tennis Director
0479 159 533
www.tenniscentralmiami.com