This week we have presented to each student a name badge. It is a special token of what it means to be a student at QAHS.

We talk about this being an adult environment where we together decide on how many things work. From day 1 students have taken responsibility for governance of many facets of the school. This has included decisions on the uniform and the behaviour expectations of the school community. In all this, students have sent the message clearly that they wish to be treated as adults, in a professional environment. Guests to our school always comment on students’ behaviour in this light.

This badge provide students and visitors with the invitation to address each other in an adult manner. It provides us as a community with the opportunity for all staff and students to address each other by their names as we grow from a community of 250.  All incoming students will receive these badges as they arrive each year and take them with them as they leave. It is another token of the respect we have for students in our community and our belief in their ability to act as adults in a professional environment.

Ms Leanne Nixon, Principal

On Saturday, May 23rd Year 12 Mandarin Ab Inito students gave up their free time to come to school and take part in an intensive study seminar. I was absolutely delighted with the virtually full attendance of the Year 12 class, and the energy and hard work shown by the students. Knowing what a full-on year these young people are experiencing, I am really appreciative of this significant extra commitment to their Chinese studies.

Enthusiastic support from Yang Song, our part-time native speaking teacher, and two members of the Chinese Students Association of Griffith University, added to the day’s interactive, communicative focus. The genuine Szechwan food supplied by our calligraphy teacher (and part time chef), Li Zhuoqian, added a further flavour to the day.

Chinese is an important, fascinating and challenging language to learn, and the progress of this class since February last year is most impressive. There is still much to do in the months leading up to the IB exams in November, but the positive attitude and commitment shown by these students augurs well for their Chinese learning. I wonder if we have a future Chinese speaking Prime Minister amongst this class!

 Mrs Chris Moffatt, Mandarin Teacher

Studying the Health Studies Certificate at Griffith not only offers us a fast track for a range of University studies, and helping us to prepare for future health professions and careers, it is certainly a great experience for further understanding of university style of teaching. The two weeks of Biophysics summer course, provided us with very compacted teaching, allowing us to clearly learn something new and interesting everyday. I would have no hesitation in recommending anyone who is considering it, to do the Griffith Health Studies Certificate next year. Peter - Year 12

Initially, I was slightly worried about not being able to do the work and ending up looking silly. Luckily we had a lecturer who was really helpful and everyone was willing to help each other if there were certain things that someone else didn’t understand. The transition from our style of learning, to a more independent style was seamless for most of us, which I think was really assisted by the support we got from the university staff, especially Ricardo, our lecturer. Overall it was a really challenging experience. I’m not a huge fan of maths, but the physics side of the course got me really interested. I recommend that anyone who is interested in it give it a go, because it was a great program! Maddee - Year 12

As I entered a world so bright
Students chattering away
Amongst their groups
Fear and jitters took over me
I walked not too far
To enter the new life ahead
My bag so heavy and full
Made my way to the theatre
Alongside my terrified friends
As we entered and sat
Fear began to sweep away
It was now official
That my future had begun
Teachers were so kind and caring
But not a bell in sight
This was like no ordinary school
No rules no litter
Now I had laptop in hand
Books in bag and mind set to learn
I am ready to start
The adventure that awaits.

by Donika - Year 10

It was my privilege on Tuesday to attend the BHP Billiton Science Awards in Melbourne. The 16 finalists from across Australia represented the cream of scientific research as recognised by the peak science teacher bodies from each State and Territory. Representing the Queensland Academy for Health Sciences was Mathuja. Her research was Testing Toys for Lead.

It was a privilege to be there as Mathuja represented our school community at what is the premier science competition in Australia.   We were also informed that there were 50 semi-finalists across Australia in the competition and of those, 8 were from the Queensland Academy for Health Sciences. We look forward to more finalists in future years.

Leanne Nixon - Principal

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