Arethusa College Newsletter, Semester 1, 2022

SEMESTER 1 |2022

ARETHUSA NEWS An overview of Arethusa College activities for Semester 1, 2022

Half way through 2022 The first term of 2022 certainly started turbulently with the delayed start to school, flooding and school closures. We are proud of our staff, students, and school community for adjusting to the changes calmly and positively and for making the best out of a difficult and unprecedented situation. Thankfully, Term 2 has seen students and staff settle in and achieve some wonderful learning and experiences. This semester, all campuses welcomed new students, with the largest increase of Year 7 students by 55% and our Forest Lake Campus growing in their overall numbers by 12%.

Seeing our newsletters come together always amazes me; it is a wonderful reminder of the incredible work our campuses and staff do to ensure that our students have individualised and tailored education. I love seeing how our students harness their amazing interests and realise their potential, and I love seeing what happens when we believe, expect and celebrate our students; we see their talents emerge, their confidence grow, their passions released, and their belief soar.

While the Semester has finished for students, our teachers and staff will be finalising report cards, undertaking essential planning time, and enjoying their well-earned break before spending the week prior to students returning for Term 3 in professional development. These weeks of planning and PD are put in place to ensure our teachers are fully equipped to deliver the quality teaching and learning that they do.

Semester 2 will see our seventh campus open at a prime location in Springwood. We are thrilled to be able to offer a more personalised and flexible education to more students and families in the city of Logan.

We wish you all a relaxing and refreshing holiday and, as always, we look forward to seeing all of our students rearing and ready to go for an exciting Term 3.

Lisa Coles, Executive Principal

Pathways The Pathways team has had a busy and rewarding start to the year. We have 2 new team members – Alicia Kent-Rooney, Head of VEP and Marnie Parker, Deputy Head of VEP. The whole department is working hard to bring a more integrated and efficient group of programs to our students. We’ve been donated a new car for the Auto program and have handed out PPE packs to our Construction students.

Vocational training courses continue to be strongly attended and some of the offerings have been: Cert I Construction Cert II Auto TAFE Yr 10 Tasters in the trades, health and community services White Card for the construction industry Responsible Service of Alcohol training Cert I Employment Pathways Cert II Workplace Skills Cert II Active Volunteering Cert II Kitchen Operations Retail Cosmetics, Electrotechnology, Engineering, Telecommunications, IT Networking……and so many more

School Based Traineeships and Apprenticeships are always such a thrill to see happening – a pathway into employment and a qualification while still at high school. Some of our SATs have been in: Childcare Carpentry Retail Commercial Cookery Hospitality Business

And finally Work Experience! We run work experience here at Arethusa College like everything else we do…differently. Rather than mandate students attend a week of work experience in an industry they have no interest in, we listen to the students and their passions and interests and help them find a provider that’s easy to get to and that they can attend weekly to really help them get a feel for the world of work.

Students can do up to 30 days of Work Experience per year so there is plenty of opportunity for them to find the right fit and they can start in year 10 too. Some of our recent placements have been: Brake and Mechanical Workshop Radio broadcasting Hairdressing Dentistry Plumbing Shop fitting Interior Design We welcome and encourage young people and their families to contact a member of the Pathways team to find out what is on offer that they might like to participate in.

Alicia Kent-Rooney, Head of VEP

The Bay As with all schools around Queensland, The Bay started with all students on campus on February 7.

It was exciting and wonderful to have our school community together after a long break.

As is 'The Bay way' we started classes and activities with gusto. All year levels welcomed new students and we began the year with 470 students, including our new Year 7s who joined their Junior classes with anticipation and enthusiasm. We saw a number of camps and excursions planned, as well as the introduction of our skills program in Years 7-10 bursting onto our curriculum platform; our students wanted to be learning outside! However, due to the unprecedented wet weather and the resulting floods in Term 1, many of our plans were postponed, with excursions and camp dates being re-arranged, and staff getting creative with teaching our students on campus.

Junior School

The Bay We continued with our Junior, Middle and Senior schools, as well as AAA and ASA, who are all supported by a team of passionate educators and wellbeing staff. This year each combined year group has a chaplain, a social worker, and a wellbeing ESO, that is proving to be a good model.

Students can access support without leaving their learning space in the school where they feel safe. For students who need a little more emotional support there are 2 student counsellors who meet with them regularly. Presently, these 2 counsellors support the students across all year groups.

As the semester ended, assessments were completed, marked and academic reports written, highlighting much success and celebration at school and in the community. Junior students went on camp to Apex Youth Camp on the Sunshine Coast for 3 days and 2 nights, while our Middle school enjoyed ice skating. Year 10 students appreciated an evening with their parents/carers and staff to begin planning their senior journey by talking about which path they would like to follow for Year 11 and 12. Finally, our Senior school students went to Australia Zoo to take in all the wonderful animals and wildlife on offer.

Middle School

The Bay Every day the staff at The Bay love, support and teach the students in front of them. Our staff are talented, dedicated humans who see the job they do with your child as their privilege. As we grow, our mission and commitment does not change.

Gratitude and thanks to all our families who willingly partner with us every time they send their student to school; your trust is not taken for granted.

Marian Revermann, Campus Principal, The Bay

Senior School

Arethusa Adventure Academy

Rope courses, canoeing, photography, building shelters the list doesn't end of all the amazing activities that the AAA students have done this term. As the term comes to a close, the students each wrote down a reflection on something they learnt this term. Below, you can see a student's exert about what they enjoyed and our top three things the students had fun learning.

Roy Devine, Head of Arethusa Adventure Academy "I've enjoyed joining AAA and learning life skills such as knots, fire starting, cooking and just doing school differently."

Top 3 things we learnt this term Shelters

Number 1 One of the favourites by far!

The students made shelters with friends. They are hoping to build a village to learn in.

Multiplication

Teamwork

Number 2 Number 3 The students started their long Sport, building and excursions proved journey in multiplication. However, to be the best at making AAA with persistence, they have improved Adventurers learn team work. New greatly and had fun doing so. friendships have formed.

Arethusa Adventure Academy

TRAIN

HARD

LIVE

EASY

END OF TERM STUDENT REFLECTIONS AND PHOTOS "I learnt how to improve a lot in math, like long multiplication, perimeter and area."

"I've improved some in math, mainly angles and a little in multiplication. I've got good at living in the bush. I know how to make a fire. On the high ropes course, I sort of overcome it. This term has been fun."

"I had fun making shelters in the bush, and the High Ropes course.

I'm getting better at math, swimming and basketball."

"This term I learned more times tables, got better at angles. I enjoyed building a village in the bush. I started canoeing, I rescued a lot of canoes."

Arethusa Sports Academy What an eventful Semester we have had. We have seen ASA grow this term and our class has been very welcoming to our new members. We have also welcomed Kiama our new ESO and Trine the new Head of ASA. Students have embraced the new culture of ASA and have been working hard inside the classroom and outside by participating in plenty of excursions this term. Such excursions have included a basketball training excursion to Pride Performance and a Rugby League skills session with the Broncos at Red Hill. They gained so much from these excursions and we’ll continue to find more to attend next term.

I’m proud to say that the classwork has been great as well. We explored forces in Science and had John from Construction come and show us how to make a paper rocket which we all had a go at as well. Putting science into action was fantastic for the students to see what the work means and testing hypotheses. We also tried some balloon rockets inside the classroom with some amazing experiments and testing of more theories.

I think it's safe to say the ASA students have grown as a class and have explored lots of curriculum together.

I love seeing students working collaboratively and helping each other. We look forward to next term with this amazing bunch of students.

Trine Allwood and Kiama McDonald, Head and ESO of Arethusa Sports Academy

Arethusa Sports Academy

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK!

Maroochydore Our safe learning community is shaped to create positive experiences for our young people. Staff pay careful attention to create student groups where young people can share positive influences and minimise anxiety. This planning helps to ensure a calm atmosphere where young people feel safe enough to reach out for support.

We welcomed senior students in Years 11 and 12 onto campus at the start of the year. Senior students have impressed with the ways in which they have stepped up to be aspirational role models for younger students on the campus. A highlight was the memorable community lunch that Year 11 students hosted.

Special services to reflect on the World War Two Holocaust reminded us why it is so important for Arethusa College to celebrate diversity. ANZAC Remembrance Day services, participation in wreath laying at the Maroochydore ANZAC Service and Easter activities fostered appreciation of the sacrifices that were made so that we can enjoy freedom and peace. Our Indigenous Liaison Officer, Stephen, facilitated poignant reflections and cooking of damper during Reconciliation Week.

Between 11.30am and 12.45pm, we offer the following popular club activities: Art at the Maroochydore Botanical Gardens, Buderim Falls, and Maroochy River, Cooking, Music, and Stand-Up Paddle Boarding on the Maroochy River.

Many students have taken up one day a week Work Experience opportunities to develop work skills, experience and gain more confidence with a strong sense of achievement.

We are so proud of our young peoples' engagement in learning and the caring ways in which they welcome new students onto campus.

Marcelle Calitz, Principal, Maroochydore Campus

Maroochydore

Spring Hill "When you have fun you have more interest in learning."

Magnus Carson Staff have tried to embrace this quote at Spring Hill this semester by incorporating a number of FUN days.

IDAHOBIT Day Students participated in a range of activities including cupcake making and decorating, and face painting to help raise awareness for inclusion of our gender diverse community. Even Pug (school therapy dog) got in on the fun.

Fun Day - which included an easter egg hunt, 3-legged, sack and egg & spoon races.

NAIDOC Week is acknowledged in the first week of the school holidays, and students participated in a range of activities in the last week. In the Middle and Junior school they have been studying poetry this term, so students have also included a study of Indigenous poetry.

Spring Hill Food Preparation – students from Fun with Cooking, Independent Living Skills and Cert II in Kitchen Operations have enjoyed making a wide range of yummy treats for themselves, their families and staff this term. This included creating the highly sought after (and yummy!!!) Spring Hill Slider.

Other days acknowledged included Pancake Day, St. Patrick's Day, Harmony Day and National Day of Action Against Violence and Bullying.

Construction – This year has seen some expansion of the building including the Penthouse verandah being built in to create an extra learning space, and the Junior students have been enjoying learning in this space. The front of the building has expanded to create two verandah / outside spaces for students to sit and get some fresh air during break times. We look forward to these spaces opening soon.

Kerry McFarlane, Principal, Spring Hill Campus

Montague Road West End Walks Our Junior students are always happy to be out walking and building their friendships. Juniors go for a West End walk every day, usually before lunch. It’s a great conversation starter and a good space to get to know each other. We appreciate the nature and being able to walk and enjoy surroundings.

Art Studio Our creative art studio is a popular space for students to express their creativity and ideas. Students love the cosy atmosphere our art teachers have created with mood lighting and relaxing music. The students use this space for Personal Project time and as part of the Senior Visual Arts in Practice lessons. They participate in a huge variety of activities from digital arts to clay and painting. Recently, our students have been exploring the skills required to do live portraiture.

Montague Road Bootcamp at Club Lime Our Senior School Sport & Recreation students have visited our local gym, ‘Club Lime’ each Tuesday, and Thursday morning this term. Aurelio the trainer worked with our students to set goals and develop strength and endurance.

Triceps’ dips were part of the regular strength training circuits. Regular gym goers themselves helped to demonstrate and motivate others. Over the course of the term, other less-experienced students followed suit and were confident around Aurelio and their peers.

Before and after each session an enjoyable warm up and warm down activity like this one pictured (sit ups altogether) or tug of war, encouraged team spirit and peer support. Students could choose from various weights and still take part for the timed rounds.

Cert II in Kitchen Operations This year as part of a pilot program with QAC, we have students participating in a Certificate II in Kitchen Operations. One of the highlights for our campus has been having the students that are doing the course at Forest Lake come to join with our campus on Fridays.

This has been a great opportunity to build new connections and learn from each other.

During the weekly pull up and dip challenge, each student aimed to improve on their personal best with Aurelio’s support. Good music was another highlight as the students would often dance or sing along to the playlist. By the time the younger students joined us nearing the end of term, the Seniors were familiar with Aurelio and class expectations and would help mentor younger students with their workouts.

Montague Road Yoga sessions Each week in our yoga sessions, we would practise postures, mindfulness, meditation and relaxation.

Our yoga sessions helped encourage social participation and emotional wellbeing. We provided and practised regulation zones. With explicit teaching regarding self-regulation strategies and down time after learning. Yoga practice provided students with opportunities to debrief after difficult social/emotional experiences and allowed for individualised emotional regulation.

Some of the great things we learned during yoga were how to breathe for mindfulness, the calming effects of breathing, yoga poses for expanding body awareness, anchoring in the present moment, following instructions, improving social interactions, positive affirmations for improving self-image and behaviour patterns and better memory consolidation.

Afternoon Clubs This term, we began a Club called ‘Wise Minds’, to help students to learn Mindfulness.

Mindfulness helps students to regulate their emotions and to develop interpersonal skills.

Another popular club has been our Cooking Club.

Each week students have created tasty meals which they then got to enjoy and share with others.

Art Club runs 4 times a week and provides students with an opportunity to experiment with collaborative projects. Our budding writers have been writing a monthly newspaper for our campus. They have explored the local community events for inspiration for their articles.

Gardening Club has created a ‘little garden of hope’. This has been almost a term-long project.

When we first started, this garden bed was full of rocks, rubbish and weeds, and over the weeks we cleared it, filled it and it is now blossoming beautifully!

Each week, the construction club has a new project that they chip away at. Students have learnt to use all manner of tools safely and effectively to produce a variety of creations.

Peter McNamara, Principal, Montague Road Campus

Forest Lake It has been an exciting Semester at Forest Lake. We have grown and doubled in size this year. We have several new staff members on board that bring many skills to the classroom. All our staff encourage and support the students and encourage our students to grow in both academic and social spaces. A big thank you to John who comes and volunteers with our students several times a week. He loves talking to our students and encouraging them to always be the best person that they can be!

We had a fantastic trip for Mabo Day into Southbank. The students were involved in Face Painting, Cultural Stories, Cultural Dancing and many other activities. It was great to see our students interact with the Elders and show such respect to them and the culture. A huge welcome to Aunty Julie who is our new Indigenous Liaison Officer. She is working with all of our students and has arranged lots of exciting things for our Campus. We will be celebrating NAIDOC Week with visitors and cultural activities in the first week of Term Three.

We have had end of term celebrations with our Junior class going to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and our Middle and Senior class going to Zone Bowling and Lazer Tag. A great day out to reward for all the hard work done in class this Semester!

The students have loved all of the activities in class. We have had spaghetti challenges, amazing art work and the best cooking in the Oz Harvest Program and Kitchen Operation Certificate. We have our first birthday coming up next term and hope that you can join us in the celebrations!

Eryn Grady, Principal, Forest Lake Campus

Visual Art expression of Cultural Diversity

Junior School Reconciliation Artwork and other learning activities

Forest Lake Oz Harvest Cooking has brought out the flavours, surprising us with their natural mixing, cooking skills, producing delicious quick meals.

We love doing lots of sports and outdoor activities here at Forest Lakes!

Students play basketball at PCYC with the community schools.

Forest Lake All students involved in kitchen operations have engaged and been working very well to complete some exciting cooking classes and even preparing, cooking and serving plated food dishes to the staff at the Arethusa function.

This experience has given all students the ability to show case their cooking skills and put their personal flare and creativity into creating some tasty dishes. This proven pilot program partnered with QAT will produce some young budding chefs in the hospitality industry at the end of completing the course. We are excited to have this Certificate II Kitchen Operations available to have students placed into the hospitality industry to source work experience and eventually get paid work.

Every Tuesday and Thursday students from all years, though, mainly Juniors visit the PCYC centre in Inala. They take some resources like multipurpose nets, volleyballs, basketballs, dodgeball and agility poles. They set up the nets, with some accompanying music and get right into it! There are a lot of laughs and good competition.

Anywhere Learning Team The ALT Team have had a wonderful Semester and are proud of our students' progress. Our growing team are on the road, visiting our students in their homes or in community spaces, such as a library or the local McDonald's. Our aim is to be a short term transition program and move students on to somewhere appropriate whether it be another Arethusa campus, a provider such as TAFE, or possibly employment.

Part of the transition for some students is a period of time at the Windsor campus.

This Semester we've had: 15 students transitioned to another Arethusa campus 12 students exited into other study 2 students exited into employment 64 students are currently enrolled with ALT Our ALT Chaplain Peter has been engaging with local churches to increase awareness of the College and our philosophy, we are thankful to have Peter as a positive role model and voice of Arethusa in the community.

Stacey Power, Head of Inclusive Education & Anywhere Learning Team

Amazing Achievement by ALT student!

The ALT team have been visiting one student twice a week at home for this Semester who, due to health reasons and anxiety, is not able to leave home. With these visits, she’s now the first Arethusa student to finish any work in the CGEA VTQ courses, which is incredibly impressive given that it is a nationally recognised certificate.

Did you know?

The ALT team have a high staff to student ratio. We always have a minimum of two staff for our home visits and one staff for a community visit. Even at Windsor, we have two (or more) staff to a handful of students.

Our ALT team are willing to do whatever it takes to help students leave their home, and travel to school.

Although this seems like a very small and natural daily step, for some students it is equivalent to climbing Mt Everest. A number of the ALT students have a love of snakes – and have their own as pets. Students are enjoying time with Hercules at Windsor, a much loved pet which was just what was needed for them to summit the mountain of attending campus.

Other Updates Term 3

Term 4

Monday 18 July to Friday 16 September

Tuesday 4 October to Wednesday 30 November

EKKA holiday Monday 8 August The Bay Wednesday 10 August Inner City and Forest Lake

Year 12 finish - Friday 18 November Year 10/11 finish - Friday 25 November Year 7/8/9 finish - Wednesday 30 November

New Springwood Campus Our newest campus will open in Semester 2.

Contact our Enrolments team for further information.

Follow us on social media for updates, reminders and info about what's happening on campus. Each campus has a Facebook page, plus we have a whole of Arethusa Facebook & Instagram!

Arethusa Adventure Academy

Maroochydore Campus

Forest Lakes Campus

Windsor / ALT Campus

Montague Road Campus

Spring Hill Campus

The Bay Campus

Arethusa College Facebook

Arethusa College Instagram