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.

It’s that time of year again, Clean Up Australia Day has come and gone and already the place is looking that bit cleaner. All across the nation, people have committed themselves to help fight against waste and pollution by devoting some of their time to picking up some rubbish at the park, on the side of the road, in our forests and on our coasts. As part of the Queensland Academy’s IB course, it is compulsory that all students complete a range of activities including sporting, creative, and community service and our students jumped at the opportunity to clean up Australia, with the Currumbin Valley State School and Currumbin Estuary as the focus.

2008 marks the Currrumbin Valley State School’s 100th birthday, and they had decided that it was in need of cleaning. The activities included: weeding, raking leaves, cleaning the gardens, picking up rubbish from the roads and even painting certain classrooms! Other students went to the Currumbin Beachfront to assist in the cleaning of its beautiful beaches and lush grass areas around it.

We broke off into smaller groups and completed our jobs productively all the while having fun! My group was given the painting job and as one could assume, we left wearing the paint that should have been on the walls! By midday our work was completed and the school was looking as good as new. At the end of the day there was a great feeling of accomplishment in the air as we had made a positive impact upon the environment.

Ross - Year 10 Student