National Brain Bee Competition
In Week 4 of Term 3, two QAHS Year 10 Psychology students joined 42 students from across Queensland and the Northern Territory to compete in the second round of the National Brain Bee Competition. Mia Watson and Cindy Chen spent a challenging, and fascinating day at the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland, proudly representing QAHS in the individual and combined school team events. Congratulations Mia and Cindy for placing so highly in the State Individual Challenge, and well done displaying collaboration of the highest level with your team mates. The theme of the day focussed on cutting-edge research about Neurogenesis. During a tour of the laboratories, students also viewed animal model research on mice and zebra fish. Here is a sample of the students' experiences:
“The tours and lectures we participated in were deeply informative and eye-opening. I was able to see the researchers' dedication in seeking treatments and solutions to health issues that are gaining prominence such as neurodegenerative diseases and mental illnesses, and the role which emerging technologies play in understanding the brain and behaviour. Overall, I am deeply grateful for this opportunity and for my time spent at the Brain Institute." Cindy Chen, Year 10 student
After this fabulous opportunity, students are already looking forward to exploring more of the neuroscience research to which they were introduced on the day and the teachers are planning the next round of Brain Bee competition in 2025.
Julie Bertwistle
Teacher Psychology, English
Dance Troupe - Beenleigh Eisteddfod
At the Quota Beenleigh Dance Eisteddfod on Friday 26 July, I was fortunate enough to be able to join my fellow dance troupe members in my final performance with the group. For this performance, we decided on a fun dance mix between a lyrical piece and upbeat jazz piece surrounding the theme of Aladdin. In the competition, we danced our absolute best and had an amazing experience where we ended up winning our division! The Eisteddfod is always such an amazing experience and I am so grateful to our whole group for creating and performing the dance together as well as all the help, support and encouragement from Ms Day to help us with our costumes, organising music and allowing us to compete.
Taylah Morris
Year 12 Student
Letters to the Elderly
On Thursday 25 July, eight other QAHS students and I hopped onto the school bus to Estia Health Southport Aged Care Home for our annual CAS Letters to the Elderly excursion.
This was my second time visiting the aged care home and I was super excited to meet familiar and new faces over there. When we arrived, lovely Christmas decorations were set up all around the centre, with several seniors dressed in cozy Christmas sweaters and shirts for Christmas in July celebrations. We were then escorted to the café area where several seniors sat chatting away, and I recognized some of them right away from my previous trip. After making ourselves comfortable in comfy armchairs around the café tables, we began to converse with them, introducing ourselves and talking about our experience as high school students. They listened earnestly and even shared a couple of their personal stories with us, some accompanied by life advice and important morals to remember.
Due to a change of events, we were escorted to another large space with armchairs with more seniors who were eager to chat with us. A lovely guitarist came along and sang a couple of classic Australian songs such as John Williamson's 'Home Among the Gum Trees' for both old and young to enjoy. After the performance, we resumed our conversations with the seniors, engaging in interesting discussions on many aspects. I had a wonderful time speaking to Ann and Sandra, who both shared their stories of travelling around the world and conveying their collective advice: do not stop exploring, you will never know what you will discover. This truly inspired me to keep their advice close to my heart and eventually apply it to my daily life.
Sadly, all fun things must come to an end, and after chatting with them for a while, it was time to return to school. We bid our farewells to each senior, promising to return to visit them once more next year.
To me, this was a beautiful opportunity to give back to the community and learn a thing or two about life from people who have experienced more than what we high school students have. When I also learned that several seniors were looking forward to our visit as they do not get many visitors, it became an even more memorable experience for me and my fellow schoolmates. I look forward to going on this excursion again in my final year and to all students interested in Letters to the Elderly, you do not want to miss out on this amazing opportunity.
A huge thank you to Mrs Mitchell for organizing this excursion and the overall Letters to the Elderly CAS. We would not have been able to meet face to face with our elderlies without your meticulous planning and dedication!
Marion Khoo
Year 11 Student