TERM 1
2018 Principal’s Message young Australians. Science has been introduced to our junior curriculum and girls have been studying the Solar System. Understanding the phases of the moon helps them explain tidal patterns back home and might just see them have more luck with a fishing line, while the mural of stars and planets has certainly brightened up the classroom.
Principal Leanne Fox
T
his year we commenced with sixteen students and another two have joined us along the way. Sadly, four of these girls have departed – either as consequence of ongoing poor behavior at school or for reasons beyond our control. I am hopeful that next term will see some of these girls re-engage. 2018 has seen some staff changes with Miss Abby joining us in the classroom and Miss Sarah leaving to take up a role closely related to the law degree she is completing. Miss Crystal is temporarily filling in the role of child care co-coordinator. Miss Nicole has replaced Miss Hazel as the Head of Student Services. Term 1 has been quite busy with the girls engaged in classes and assisting with the preparation of meals. The senior Hospitality class have once again been providing Friday lunch for everyone. This term the theme has been ‘International Cuisine’ so we have been treated to fantastic meals from all around the world. This theme aligns with the novel students have studied in English. ‘Looking for Aibrandi’ which examines this issues around culture, generational difference, education and relationships faced by
Many of our girls have taken the opportunity to play AFL this term and have joined the Trinity Beach Bull Dogs. Watching our girls play in team with other young women from Cairns has been delightful. Seeing their improved physical health and stamina is fantastic but most of all, seeing them commit to weekly training has been the greatest success. Often it is too easy for our students to ‘opt in and opt out’. Committing to a team sport means they must be disciplined and organised – skills which they will find very useful for the rest of their lives. One of our girls has reconnected with music and has weekly violin lessons. Again, the discipline that comes with having to practice is paying off. One of the highlights of this term has been the way everyone, staff and students, embraced the National Day of Bullying – No Way- celebrations. It was truly wonderful to see the girls design and create anti-bullying pledges to hang in the dormitories and follow this up with an ‘orange’ anti- bullying morning tea. Such events would not be possible without the ongoing support of staff and the extra effort that is needed to make these things happen. The strength of the Girl Academy lies in the commitment of staff. Everyone who works at the school, whether it be in
classrooms, boarding or administration does so because they want to make a difference. I am continually amazed and inspired by the commitment and effort from staff and am humbled when I say it has been an honor working with these people who give so much of themselves. Sadly, this will be my last newsletter as next term I am returning to work with Education Queensland. Over the past 2 years I have had the privilege of working with some phenomenal young women who, despite many setbacks, have engaged with education, potentially achieving a brighter future for themselves and their babies. This work has been both challenging and exciting. The rewards of this work are many – none the least being the opportunity to get to know these young women and forge a lifelong relationships. There are a number of exciting things planned for Term 2. Drum Beat will start in week one and continue every Thursday afternoon. Miss Sylvia will continue with the ‘Living Strong’ program and model healthy eating and exercise for our girls and the two AFL teams will start fixtures and am sure will do us proud.
Leanne Fox Leanne Fox
HEALTH & WELLBEING with Nicole Panting Head of Student Services
This term the students have focused on Ethics and how to be a good decision maker. They looked at heroes and role models and worked out the values they want their role model to have. Many chose a parent or grandparent and shared why this person is special to them. On 16th March, along with 8,000 other schools, the Academy participated in the “National Day of Action” against bullying. This is Tamiley Genai’s account of the day’s activities: “The Bullying No Way Campaign” was celebrated at school by working out what bullying means and voting on our own school definition. We then made a banner, decorated it and hung it in the boarding house. We had orange iced cupcakes for morning tea and in the afternoon the junior girls had a yarning circle with Miss Nicole. The girls shared their personal experiences of being bullied and talked about how they had responded. One student stood up to the bully themselves – taking away their power, another told a teacher to get them to intervene and another got her older cousin to help shut down the bully. Later the group went outside and blew bubbles sending messages of love and hope to those, like Dolly Everet, who hadn’t been able to get help. It was really a very special day. Finally a positive thought:
Happiness is like perfume; you cannot pour it on others without getting a few drops on yourself….
ENGLISH with Teacher Ms Karen Charlton
BY TAMILEY GENAI, YEAR 11 In Senior English this term, we’ve been reading a novel called Looking for Alibrandi. Looking for Alibrandi is the debut novel of the Australian author Melina Marchetta. It’s about a rebellious girl named Joesphine Alibrandi. She is seventeen and is an illegitimate child. Josephine is in her final year at a wealthy Catholic school. She has to deal with racism, social issues and death. As if this weren’t enough, this is the year her father comes back into her life, the year she falls in love, and the year she discovers unexpected family secrets. We have been focusing on the sequence of events of this book. We were assigned to write a summary about this book, and explain how we were able to relate to parts of the story from our knowledge and experiences. We were also assigned to write a new chapter that would fit into the story. We used this to then create a play to perform in front of our peers.
EXCURSION POTTERY Art Teacher Ms Karen Charlton
Senior Art students attended the Kettle Black Pottery in Freshwater to view the work created by a local artist, explore the pottery and create their own pots with faces. All girls were pleased with their work and are looking forward to glazing and collecting their art work early in term 2.
SCIENCE IS OFFERED TO STUDENTS IN YEARS 7 BY SHAKAYLA DHAMARRANDJI, YEAR 9 Science is offered to students in years 7, 8 and 9 at Girl Academy. Units covered are aligned with the Australian Curriculum. In term 1 at Girl Academy, the unit we covered was Earth & Space Science, which includes the teaching of systems in space, the sun, moon and Earth and how the positions of these affect predictable phenomena like the eclipse and the seasons. We were fortunate to have a wall in our classroom dedicated to the science class to create ‘our solar system.’ This term in Science we have been learning about Systems in Space. We studied about the Solar System and the planets in the Solar System. There are eight planets: We also learnt about how the Sun, Moon and Earth rotate around each other and the different phases the moon goes through. I also learnt that the light from the moon is actually light from the sun and is reflected by the moon. The Sun, as we discovered, is a very important star that provides heat for the Earth. The Earth is far enough from the sun and gets enough light to make things able to live. We learnt about the four seasons by researching. Science is very interesting and I hope to learn more in Term 2.
ANECDOTE AND EXAMPLES OF WORK FROM STUDENTS
Prevocational
Maths with Teacher Ms Dianne Austrai-Ombiga
Prevocational Maths is a an Authority Registered Subject with the Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority. It is studied by our senior students. The unit studied this term is ‘Our Health’. As a school, we need to make students aware that food and nutrition is important to our health. Students were taught how to read food labels on packaged food in order to understand the nutritional value of a food, which ultimately will help them make healthy food choices. Students learnt that keeping and maintaining their health is important. They learned about the relationship between their height and weight, and their BMIs (body mass index).
ANECDOTE BY JAMIE-LEE NOBLE, YEAR 12 In Prevocational Mathematics we learn about maths that are needed in real life situations. I love maths because it’s important in life. It is very important to be able to count and how to use your money properly. I’m also learning how to use and read graphs the right way. We are studying maths in hospitals and Health & fitness it’s very important to know these things in the future. We learned how to use formulas, read data from tables and graphs, construct tables and graphs, use scales and read nutritional information on food packages.
Senior Social and Community Studies This term we have studied Health and Nutrition. We have focussed on the amount of sugar we eat and the impact this has on our health. We have learnt that ‘we are what we eat’ and many of us have decided to make some changes to our diet and exercise as a result. We have tried out new, healthy recipes that don’t have sugar. Some of these tasted great but some were failures and tasted revolting. The sweet potato and avocado brownie was pretty bad but the strawberry balls and kale chips were ok. Miss Di really liked the kale chips. We actually measured how much sugar was in many of the snacks and drinks we consume. This was an eye opener. Most of us add tomato sauce to everything we eat. We now know that there is about a teaspoon of sugar in the sauce we add to our food. We also learned that sometimes foods are advertised as being healthy when they are not. Milo is one such food and some of the baby food made by Heinz is another. As a result of this work we have become much more savvy consumers.
HOSPITALITY PRACTICES with Teacher Ms Dianne Austrai-OXmbiga Hospitality Practices is an Authority-registered subject with the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. At Girl Academy, students who are in the senior years of secondary school are completing this subject. It is compulsory for them to successfully complete this subject. This term students have been studying the unit ‘International Cuisine’ which means that students are learning about other countries and cultures and the cuisine in these countries. While theory lessons aren’t very exciting, the students have been enjoying the practical cooking. They have prepared dishes from these cuisines: Indian, East Asian and Mediterranean. Students work in two groups and are supervised by Annette, the hard-working teacher aide and Ms the teacher. Jamie-Lee Noble, year 12 student, who completed a Certificate 2 in Hospitality assists in students food preparation and service, and acts as maitre de.
Ms Di, has the the
Staff and students at Girl Academy have been enjoying these dishes, which the senior students proudly presented as school lunches on every Fridays, this term. The senior students in Hospitality Practices class are: Aretha Bani, Akaycia Fourmile,Tamiley Genai, Sarah Ludwick, Rahenna Manmurulu, Jamie-Lee Noble, Retarna RichardsYeatman. They are all doing well.
HOME ECONOMICS with Teacher Ms Dianne AustraiOmbiga
Home Economics is studied by junior students in years 7, 8 and 9. The unit of study this term is Food & Nutrition. Topics in this unit include: ‘What being healthy means’, ‘Healthy Habits’, ‘Healthy Food Plate’, ‘Healthy Eating’, ‘Food Labeling’, ‘Hydration and the Importance of Water’. The subject is taught through one theory lesson and two cooking lessons. Practical lessons in the last two lessons on Thursdays are always popular because the students cook and share the products with all the students for afternoon tea. Students have prepared for weekly practical assessment: lemonade scones, jam drops, mini English muffin pizzas, vanilla cupcakes, banana cakes and real pizzas.
We learn about different types of equipment to use for cooking and different recipes, in our lessons on Thursdays. Ms Di, our teacher and Miss Annette are the best. They help us in our practical cooking lessons to make sure that we do everything right and safely. There are six students in the junior class and we all take part in cooking. We work in pairs so it is fun working with another student. We have made lemonade scones, jam drops, mini pizzas and simple vanilla cupcakes. I love Home Economics because I love learning new recipes to cook. It is fun and we get to eat what we cook.
Home Economics
Home Economics
Home Economics is a fun subject. In our theory lessons on Tuesdays, we learn things about health and nutrition. In our double lessons on Thursdays we do cooking.
In Home Economics, the juniors prepare and produce afternoon tea on Thursdays. Before our cooking lessons, we complete a work plan to help us in our preparations before we start to cook. Ms Di, our Home Economics teacher picks the recipes for us and they are easy to follow. We have made lemonade scones, mini muffin pizzas, vanilla cupcakes and banana cakes. Home Economics is fun because we get to eat and share what we cook with all the students and some staff.
by Brandy Dhamarrandji, Year 8
In the theory lessons, we learn about food and nutrition. We are also learning to read the nutritional information on food labels that are found on packaged foods. We learned to see on the labels, how much sugar, fat and carbohydrates are put in foods.
by Alex Plunkett, Year 8
FITNESS PROGRAM BY SARAH LUDWICK, YEAR 11
This term during our Health and Fitness sessions on Friday afternoons with Miss Sylvia Green, we have been doing aquaerobics, kickboxing, swimming exercises and much more for improving on our fitness and mental health. Being part of this program and participating in it has helped us to understand the real physical needs in our daily life. The fitness program has also helped us focus on our wellbeing and understand that being
Art this Term
In Art this term, Junior Students were given the chance to experiment and view the skills and techniques of Printing. They had practical experience creating using different tools and materials such as dye, acrylic paint and charcoal. The girls have also created pictures for story books they wrote during English for younger students to read. They applied various techniques and their imagination to ensure their work matched their written stories. The girls have produced pleasing results.
physically active is the only way to keep our life in the right direction. In week five, Miss Sylvia, an Indigenous woman herself and a qualified fitness instructor, had a talk to most of the girls. She gave a very inspirational talk about fitness and life and that it was the most important thing to all of us here. We all respected that very well and look forward to more sessions with our wonderful teacher, Ms Sylvia at Girl Academy.
Junior History with Teacher Ms Leanne Fox
This term we have studied early Australian history and the Middle Ages. We were surprised to learn that most of the first European settlers who came to Australia didn’t want to. They were criminals who were sent here because the prisons in England were way too full. We have learned that the Middle Ages were a very violent time with lots of fighting. Punishment for crimes during this period were really horrific, with people being executed and having their hands cut off for stealing. All of us agree that we are glad we didn’t live in the Middle Ages.
HEALTH & WELLBEING Taking a break from studies Taking a break from studies with a short walk and stroll along the local beach at Wangetti, is enjoyed and appreciated by all!
AFL
with Teacher in Charge Ms Karen Charlton
This term many of the CYGA girls joined the Australian Rules Football League at Trinity Beach. The girls enjoy the training that occurs twice a week. All girls are demonstrating improvement in their ball handling and kicking skills. The Under 17 girls, including Sarah, Aretha, Jamie-Lee, Acacia, Shakayla, Brandy, have played their first practice match on Monday, 20th of March against South Cairns Cutters. All girls played particularly well despite their loss to the opposing team. Rosleen took great pride participating as the watergirl for the Under 17 Girls first match. Well done Rosleen!
National AntiBullying Day with Ms Karen Charlton, Teacher
All students participated in activities in support of preventing bullying. They created two works of art that as a pledge to be kind and help to stop bullying. The paintings will be hung in boarding.
BULLYING By Rosleen Brown, Year 8 Bullying has to be stopped! Words can hurt, Don’t know why But all I know; it makes me cry. Words can hurt but they can’t see That their cruel words are hurting me. Going to school is the worst thing for me No one notices or seem to see The kicking, the texting and calling me names I am just sick of their horrible games It’s killing me slowly, and I really can’t talk any more So people stop bullying!!
Girl Academy staff have created a culture of celebrating each student’s birthday with a cake when their birthday falls during the term and they are at school. Every girl is treated as being special and unique; and is made extra special when a cake with candles is prepared for her.