Our music students performed in the first ever Recital at QAHS last Thursday! The recital provided the first opportunity for our Year 10 and 11 music students to perform in front of an audience, in this case their family and friends. Performing is a major component of the I.B. music course, making up 25% of the final grade at higher level, and 50% for standard level, so it is important our students have many opportunities to perform in public. Stay tuned for another Recital in Term 4, which will be open to the whole school community, so you can enjoy listening to our talented music students.

Congratulations to our performers:
Year 11: Lina, Luan, Hilary, Russell. Year 10: Rachel, Cameron, Amber, Alex. Guest Performers: John, Nidhi.

A group of keen photographers have joined this new CAS activity and they have been busily looking for photo opportunities around the Academy campus. The students have learned aspects of composition and have been applying this creativity to their shots.

We hope to produce works of high standard which can be entered into competitions later in the year.

Year 10C English students have been experimenting with a range of e-learning technologies in their study of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Inside a customised Romeo and Juliet ‘virtual classroom’ on the Learning Place, they have participated in a poll, contributed to forums and blogs, recorded podcasts, and posted comments on the success of each other’s responses to the play.

The use of technology in this unit of work has been integral to the development of students’ skills in closely analysing extracts from the play and in communicating their observations and insights in both written and spoken modes. Read the rest of this entry »

Thirty Two of our Year Ten students took part in this competition, held at our school for the first time, last Wednesday. They had a wonderful time constructing, deducing and conversing about many different challenges put before them. To sum up briefly, they excelled themselves. We were leading before the last event and I thought our lead would get us through. It turns out that our bridge, which was the second most successful, was just a tiny bit too heavy. However from a design perspective it was miles in front of our opposition. Unfortunately no points are awarded for design so we finished second. I was delighted about how our students took to their various tasks. They are GOOD!
Above are some photos from the day. Bring on next year!!!

I would encourage some of our Year 10 students to consider careers in a design subject like Engineering, which requires the study of Physics!

Mr Phil Marshall

Last Wednesday, Ms Nixon, Ms Crook, Alexander and I were audience members at a discussion on how the Queensland Government can help in lowering the number of people suffering from chronic diseases, such as asthma and diabetes. The discussion was part of the Science in Parliament program and was hosted by the Queensland Chief Scientist, Professor Peter Andrews. Three speakers made presentations on how these diseases can be detected, treated and even prevented.

The main causes of chronic diseases include the build-up of cholesterol, physical inactivity, high blood pressure and the use of tobacco. All three speakers agreed that it is possible to significantly lower the risk of contracting a chronic disease by making small changes to our lifestyles. These can be as simple as not sitting for more than six hours daily or even just eating one less chocolate biscuit. New developments in technology allow sensors to be put into mobile phones to monitor our health. In the near future, it will even be possible to find the genome of every person at birth, enabling doctors to treat many diseases before they become serious.

Emma - Year 11 Student

Equipment for the gym has arrived and has been installed ready for use.  In order to be able to use the weights room section of the gym you must be officially accredited.  This involves a personal health form signed by parents and an induction process where safety issues and equipment usage are explained.  All gym users will have a card where they will keep a record of attendance and exercises performed. This can count for CAS hours.  Casual access to this room will not be permitted.  At this stage, there will be supervised gym training on Tuesday and Friday mornings starting at 7am.  Details of afternoon sessions will be announced shortly.

The Principal’s Luncheons continue to be an insightful and informative look, into the life of the students at QAHS.

Thankyou to students who have shared parts of their journey at QAHS with me.

Ms Leanne Nixon, Principal

Sumi Rachel Burnell from the Chinese Kung Fu Academy was impressed by the maturity and enthusiasm of her new Tai Chi class at QAHS. The 14 students have enjoyed their first few lessons and felt the benefits of the strengthening and breathing exercises. Their lessons are a combination of both Tai Chi and QiGong. Tai Chi classes will be held every Tuesday afternoon of this term and we are hoping to continue the classes in second semester.  The students are having so much fun doing Tai Chi with Sumi Rachel, that they are keen to have her come and teach Kung Fu as well.

Calligrapher, Lee Zhuoqian from Chengdu, has been studying for 10 years under a famous calligrapher in China. He is using all of his skills to teach our students this ancient Oriental art. Initially, students had to learn about the four treasures of calligraphy; the writing brush 毛笔, the ink 墨, the ink stone 砚 and the special paper 纸 before practising some simple characters and learning the order in which the strokes should be written. Several students, including Peter and Kuan, are showing real promise as potential calligraphers.
Lee, a Bachelor of Business student at Griffith University has also been involved in fund raising for the relief effort in Sichuan, his home Province in China, which was recently hit by a devastating earthquake. He raised $2,600 in Surfer’s Paradise in one morning. Following his lead, QAHS students donated $85 to the cause which will be sent to the Chinese Embassy in Canberra.

Ever wanted to feel like you were at Uni without having to face the nerves of the first day??   Then attending an Orientation Day is great. I attended the Orientation Day for Dental Science and I am now more eager than ever to get into the course and ultimately the industry. We arrived at the new GH1 building of Griffith located next to the Gold Coast hospital and were welcomed with smiling faces by the staff from the university. We started like every other first year Uni student and were given endless amounts of information about the course, health requirements and loads more.

After a few ‘get to know you’ games it was time to divide into smaller groups and get to know the others and work together in fun activities and interesting tours. A highlight of the day was the creation of the Sydney Olympics. We worked together as a small group to create different aspects of ‘Olympics’ by using pink sheets of wax and interesting dental utensils. This was to give an insight into what students who are studying Dental Tech can experience.

The day was great and very informative, I have made new friends that can help me out when I start and I understand more about what this course entails. Next year’s Yr 11’s should definitely attend a day of their desired career choice (you also receive a free goodie bag).
One word to sum it up, GREAT!

Corbin - Year 11 Student

International Women’s Day is a celebration of the independence of women and their role in society.  Two weeks ago, Shiho, May and I, attended the Gold Coast’s International Women’s Day Leadership Breakfast held at the Gold Coast Arts Centre, where girls from all over the Gold Coast were taken on a journey on how they, as the leaders of the future, can make a difference. The theme for this year’s IWD was the environment and thinking green with a presentation by ABC’s ‘Carbon Cop’, Lish Fisher as well as the announcement of 2008’s Women’s Youth  Leader. Students were treated to breakfast and in support of this year’s theme had a chance to have their photos taken with some of Australia’s finest wildlife with the girls from Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. All schools who attended were presented a native species of tree to plant at their school on behalf of the Gold Coast City Council and the organisers of IWD.

Alice - Year 11 Student