Page%02% Page%06% Page%10 THE BRISBANESDE TIMES · PDF file10 NOVEMBER 2017 TERM FOUR, 2017 SEVENTH EDITION!1!Alumni’News@’The’BrisbaneSDE’Times THE BRISBANESDE TIMES Page%02%

10 NOVEMBER 2017 TERM FOUR, 2017 SEVENTH EDITION

!1

Alumni News @ The BrisbaneSDE Times

THE BRISBANESDE TIMES Page 06 Page 02 Page 10

PHOTO: Student Council members, with Bonnie Stanton, at the Cons@tu@onal Conven@on at Parliament House in Brisbane

Hello, Everyone. Welcome to the Seventh Edi<on of The BrisbaneSDE Times.

Thank you to the members of The BrisbaneSDE Student Council who have had a very busy year running ini<a<ves to help students connect, and to increase our school profile in the wider community.

We would all like to wish our gradua<ng seniors, The Class of 2017, all the best with their future study and work experiences next year, and beyond. Please keep the members of the Student Council up-‐to-‐date with your achievements in the future.

mailto:[email protected]?subject=

mailto:[email protected]?subject=


!2

Brisbane and South East Region School's Cons9tu9onal Conven9on

by Dominic McCarthy -‐ Student Leader

On Thursday November 5, a group of students and teachers aPended the Brisbane and South East Region School's Cons<tu<onal Conven<on at Queensland Parliament House. Students listened to speeches from two experts on the topic of "Should Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples be recognised in the Australian Cons<tu<on?

Everyone was involved in various group discussions about different aspects of the proposed change and then presented their findings and arguments. AWer that, various Year 11 representa<ves from around the region made speeches on the topic. Students voted for the top 5 representa<ves to be elected as delegates to aPend the Na<onal School's Cons<tu<onal Conven<on at Australian Parliament House in March 2018.

Dominic McCarthy from BrisbaneSDE was elected as one of these delegates and will be travelling to Canberra next year to aPend the na<onal conven<on. AWerwards, students experienced a tour through Queensland Parliament House and voted in a mock referendum on the subject. It was a fantas<c opportunity for everyone who was involved, giving us an insight into Australian poli<cs.


!3

POETS CORNER complied by Anneka Grant -‐ Arts & Literature Representa<ve

In winter<meTrees secretly writeGreen love lePers

Every nightTiny messages Curled up <ght.

Trees write these lePers

When our world turns cold When hope feels lostWhen they long to hold Memories of autumn GliPering GOLD.

Spring fills treesWith joy and relief Out pop love lePers

Leaf aWer Leaf.

Thomas Henry

BIRD CAGE

You’ve tried to kill me four <mes yet I guess you could call it a calling. Sun warms up my bones, giving my soul a friend when the grey clouds roll.

The first <me I saw the sunbeam I was born, then the accident at ten, followed by a failed intent as a teen; I think I might as well be a cat, slinking away into the night with nine lives.

The liPle blue bird sits on the branch, roots breathing the earth’s dry dirt. Blue bird sing, blue bird sing, blue bird sing

Fly, fly out of that cage, break the rusty crust that confines your feather.

How dense are the clouds blue bird? The cat wants to know.

Anneka Grant

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

I took a deep breath and I listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.

Sylvia Plath


!4

QSO (QUEENSLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA) CONCERT by Penelope Hudson, Junior Student Leader

On Wednesday October 18, eight Year 7-‐9 BrisbaneSDE students aPended a Queensland Symphony Orchestra Educa<on Concert at the ABC studios in Brisbane. The main focus of the concert was Benjamin BriPen’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra composi<on, in which different instrumental sec<ons were featured. Other sec<ons of the concert included a piece from the movie Babe and a violinist solo. The concert gave the music students an opportunity to hear all the different instruments of the orchestra playing together in real life. One of the students who aPended said, “My favourite part of the concert was when the violinist played a melancholic solo, it was played so beau<fully I found it astonishing”. Overall, the day was a fun and educa<onal experience.


!5

SILENT DISCO By Dominic McCarthy

In Term 3 Week 10, the Student Council and YLCs ran two Silent Disco sessions for Year 7-‐9 and Years 10-‐12. A total of 55 students and teachers aPended these sessions, giving all an opportunity to have some fun in an informal session and share their love for dance and music.

Thank you to all our YLCs for their organisa<on and assistance in running the Silent Disco. Without their help, this wouldn't be possible. It was a successful event and all students enjoyed themselves. What a great way to finish Term! The Year 6 Silent Disco in Week 5, was a huge success as well.

TAEKWONDO by Joseph Hempel

There are many different types of mar<al arts. There is Judo, Kung-‐Fu, Aikido, Krav Maga, Jujutsu, Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Karate and kickboxing to name a few. To the untrained person, mar<al arts all appear to be quite similar. Mar<al arts are quite frequently generalised as ‘Karate’, but that’s not quite right; they are all unique. I study the art of Taekwondo, an Ancient Korean mar<al art. I have been training on the Gold Coast for a liPle over three years and have now earned a red belt (the seventh belt out of ten in my school). By the <me this ar<cle is published in The BrisbaneSDE Times, I will have earned my Red/Black belt. Taekwondo consists primarily of kicking. In fact, Taekwondo is famous for its amazing kicks! I have two lessons per week. A two-‐monthly term consists of self-‐defence for various aPacks, paPerns, sparring, fitness and kick-‐boxing combos. Sparring is especially enjoyable, as it allows us to go hard on each other. Sparring gear comprises of a boxing helmet, mouth guard, boxing gloves, groin guard, shin guards, and boots. Taekwondo is an excellent all-‐round sport, it keeps you fit, arms you with the ability to defend yourself in real life situa<ons and it’s always great fun.


!6

YEARS 4-‐6 ENRICHMENT DAY by Meerab Shahzad

Thursday November 2 was an exci<ng day for the Year 4-‐6 students and teachers because it was our Enrichment Day. The first ac<vity was cricket. We did ball catching and then we played a small game of cricket. We had morning tea and got to catch up with our friends. Then we played a few NRL games including Red Rover, Shark and Seaweed, and Fruit Salad. My favourite was Fruit Salad because we got to dodge and tackle. We had lots of fun and got a free NRL ball to take home. AWer that we went and had lunch and chaPed with our friends and teachers. Then we did some lino prin<ng where we drew a picture of our choice on a small piece of lino and painted it. We then put a piece of paper on the top and the print would appear. It was an exci<ng day and we had loads of fun.

ENRICHMENT DAY Nov 2 2017 by Rachel Dunn

It was a busy day for the Grade 4-‐6 students and teachers at the Enrichment Day on November 2. The day was packed full of lots of fun and learning. The first ac<vity of the day for the Grade 5’s was cricket on the oval. Even some of the teachers had a go. We learnt lots of cricket skills and had loads of fun learning, aWer learning we played a great game of cricket. Morning tea was a great <me to catch up with our friends. Then back out to the oval where we played several games to develop our football skills. Much to our surprise we were all given a football to take home with us. We all used our new footballs to learn how to kick goals. Lunch was another chance to catch up with our teachers and friends. The aWernoon was filled with a cool art ac<vity called Styrofoam prin<ng where we made a design in a foam square and then printed it onto a piece of paper. The aWernoon ended with some <me playing games in the Discovery Centre. It was a really fun day geqng outside and having fun with our teachers and friends.


!7

FAREWELL BrisbaneSDE by Ally Johnson-‐ School Captain

Brisbane School of Distance Educa<on has been a major part of my life for the past 11 years. I’ll never be able to repay the people at our beau<ful school, both teachers and students, for what they’ve given me. And also to be given the opportunity to be a representa<ve as one of the captains is a privilege I’ll never forget.

I’m not going to lie, year 12 was gruelling, but you know what? I wouldn’t change a thing. The experience has made me bePer for it and to now be able to look back and say, “Yeah I did it”, is one of the most libera<ng feelings. However, I couldn’t have done it without the constant support from my teachers, peers, and family, who guided me every step of the way.

Having friends at BrisbaneSDE just makes the experience so much more bearable, because not only do you have a friendship, you know someone else who is going through the exact same thing. You then realise you’re not the only person running the marathon, and that we’re all in the same boat so you may as well get on with it, and support each other the best you can.

In the <me that I’ve aPended BrisbaneSDE I’ve seen our school evolve and advance technically to become the ‘School of the Future’ that we are now. I remember way back when I started and we did everything paper-‐based, where we had to complete work books and mail them back to our one teacher. I think my favourite unit would have had to have been our technology units, where we had to research, design and create things like health bars, sports drinks, a mouse playground, a humane mouse trap, and a connect the circuit game. Each unit we were given a scenario and a task which we had to respond to and document our findings.

We then moved onto teleconferences which involved everyone in the class ringing up a specific conference line and the teacher conduc<ng the class over the phone, as we worked from of our textbooks. This was our first whole class experience, as before everything was done independently with our home tutors. So you can imagine a whole class of exited primary school students on the phone! Then towards the end of Year 5 Elluminate sessions were brought in, and now Blackboard Collaborate.

The highlight of my schooling would definitely be the people I’ve had the opportunity to meet and get to know through various social ac<vi<es the school has provided us. This includes ‘mini schools’, which were held in Warwick and Toowoomba. These were like a week-‐long ac<vity day hosted by teachers like Bruce CorbeP. These were FANTASTIC! Distance students from all over the region aPended, and it just was a really great group of people. Hands down, these were definitely one of the highlights from my primary school years, alongside swim schools. Moving into middle school we then had the school camps at North Keppel Island. This camp was an unforgePable experience; big shout out to Grahame, Beth and Rebecca! Then we had senior camp at Maroon Dam. Where mainstream students dread school camps, we count down the days un<l our next one! These camps were just so special because we’re all distance students, coming from all over the place, and rarely get to catch up and this provided us with an annual week long get to together.

I’ll never forget the people I’ve met while aPending this school, the nurturing and inspira<onal teachers who ins<lled a love of learning, and the beau<ful friendships that I know will stay with me forever. As we prepare to take that next step into our future, I’d just like to thank BrisbaneSDE on behalf of all Year 12 students for the opportuni<es you’ve provided us, for opening doors, and for shining lights into our future.


!8

MY EXPERIENCE AND WHY I LOVE BrisbaneSDE by Nichola McCall -‐ Cosgrave Indigenous Student Representa<ve

What I really love about the Brisbane School of Distance Educa<on is that it is virtually (pun intended) a safe and unbiased environment. There are no disrup<ve students to distract from learning, no elements of racism, sexism, bullying, or other commonplace prac<ces that are oWen found in mainstream schools. There also aren’t any ridiculous rules surrounding school uniform to follow. While it does take quite a bit of willpower to not binge watch NeMlix while aPending classes, the online learning environment provides a great plarorm, that is solely focused on its students’ educa<on rather than the school’s reputa<on and appearance. I was surprised to have found that the students aPending BrisbaneSDE would be some of the most interes<ng people I have met. Some of my closest friends from BrisbaneSDE consist of an aspiring actress, a professional dancer, and a new business owner. They aPend online school, as it provides them with a greater opportunity to pursue their dreams than they would be able to achieve aPending a regular face-‐to-‐face school. From my experience, the teachers at BrisbaneSDE are super suppor<ve and put in lots of effort to make sure their students succeed, not only with school work but with personal issues as well. I had a very disrup<ve senior year and I was lucky I could rely on my teachers and other BrisbaneSDE staff to help me through it and make sure I was able to keep up with my school work as well as manage things around my personal life. I found there was a really strong support network available to students which was a great help to me, and a vital part in my comple<on of Year 12.

STUDENT COUNCIL

Being on the student council was a super involved and unique experience for me. I have held leadership posi<ons before, but I was quite confronted with the level of involvement and influence that the council had at the school. I had no idea the <me and dedica<on that it would require. While saying that, I would highly recommend it to new students and younger students interested in leadership posi<ons. Just make sure you are able to manage your <me sufficiently to stay on top of your school work as well as contribu<ng to the student council!

As the Indigenous Student Leader I was really able to connect with my heritage and learn about my background, something I never really had the opportunity to do before. I became aware of a lot of cultural issues and inequali<es I had no idea existed, and was able to spread this awareness and let others know about it.

Ellie Oxley Ally Johnson Nichola McCall- Cosgrove


!9

BrisbaneSDE by Ellie Oxley -‐ School Captain

I first aPended BrisbaneSDE in Year 9 and absolutely loved the en<re experience! Firstly, I really enjoyed the new academic freedom and the extra <me BrisbaneSDE allowed me to put into my spor<ng endeavours, and travelling for compe<<ons without missing too much school work. That same year, I also par<cipated in many of the ac<vi<es organised by the school, such as the North Keppel camp, School sports carnivals, ac<vity days each term, and a school trip to Wet’n’Wild. These experiences, coupled with the accessible schooling program, made the year incredibly enjoyable and enriching.

In Year 10, I chose to pursue an alternate academic pathway, however, I missed BrisbaneSDE tremendously and soon returned at the end of term 1 in Year 11. Once again, I par<cipated in that year’s sports carnival, reunited with previous friends and met many new people. BrisbaneSDE has given me the opportunity to connect with a diverse range of individuals that I otherwise may not have come into contact with. At the end of year 11, I was fortunate enough to be voted School Captain alongside Ally Johnson. At the end of 2016, the other student leaders and I were given the opportunity to aPend the Halogen Student Leadership conference that featured a variety of inspira<onal people, including athletes, musicians and charity owners. This provided us with crucial informa<on, not just on being a student leader, but also being a leader within society.

This year—Senior Year—has been both extremely busy and gra<fying. I am immensely thankful for all the <me and effort the teachers have put in to ensure that each student achieves to the best of their ability. I have also had the fantas<c opportunity to par<cipate in Student Council. This allowed for par<cipa<on in many of the school ac<vi<es, such as star weaving for the One Million Stars to End Violence campaign at a junior ac<vity day, tree plan<ng during the school athle<cs carnival for Na<onal Tree Day, and aPending the official opening of E-‐kindy. Par<cipa<ng in the Student Council and learning from the fantas<c leadership skills of the other members has made my schooling experience both very posi<ve and inspiring.

I truly believe that being a member of the BrisbaneSDE community has provided me with invaluable skills, par<cularly with the ever-‐increasing amount of technological communica<on u<lised in society.

Thank you to the students and teachers who made my three years here so fantas<c!


!10

The BrisbaneSDE Class of 2017

ANNIE BARBERIS “ I don’t always graduate, but when I do, it’s barely.”

HENRY MURPHY “ Hello ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking.”

MADDY HADFIELD “ Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” Malala Yousafzai

HARLEY MARLAND “Blackboard’s down?! Oh the tragedy…”

MOLLY STANTON “I’ve learnt one thing from school, and that was that I’m a Slytherin; sarcas<c and ignorant of all things not me.”


!11

GEORGIA PASINI “Try and you’ll succeed, don’t expect things to be handed to you on a silver plaYer.”

MATTHEW McMASTER “Did you know; The equator is long enough to wrap around the en<re Earth, exactly once?”

EMMA WHITEFIELD “You are enough. You are so enough. It is unbelievable how enough you are.”

CASSIDY LIND “Everything you are looking for is already inside you.”

ABIGAIL CHERLOABA “What the heck?”


!12

KIEREN THOMAS “Treat every new challenge as an adventure, that way you won’t get bored.”

BRIGITTE THAMM “The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always so\en the bad things, but vice verse, the bad things don’t always spoil the good things and make them unimportant.” -‐ The Doctor, Doctor Who

ALEXANDER ROUGHTON “When people tell me ‘you’re going to regret that in the morning’, I sleep un<l noon, because I am a problem solver.”

ELLIE OXLEY “It is not in the stars to hold our des<ny, but in ourselves.”

William Shakespeare

SOPHIA FOSTER “Don’t wait for it to happen, go out and make it happen.”


!13

ALICE PEGLER “Whatever you are, be a good one.”

Abraham Lincoln

NICHOLA McCALLDCOSGROVE

“Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be with them. May we raise them.” Anonymous

MADDY KAVUR “Enjoyed all the homework!”

ABIGAIL HUDSON “Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly.” (Micah 6:8)

LAUREN TELFORD “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.”


!14

ZENLYN YING RAEBURN “Never give up, guiding light of hope shines around the corner!”

NATALIE HILL “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

SAVANNAH GIBSON “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.”

CONOR BARRY “There’s a world of difference between what we see and what is.” A.D.


!15

JORDYN CLARKE

“Nothing stands between you and the pursuit of your vision.”

CAITLYN MARINO

“You cannot put a ceiling on your dreams.”

Tyler Joseph

BILLIE FRANCISCO “Every road leads to a beYer future.”

MIKOLAJ PILECKI

“You have got to treat life like an elephant, one bite at a <me.”

TULASI WILKINSON “The most important things to learn in life, is who we are and our purpose.”

ISAAC KING

“Join the ALP today!”


!16

ZAK BARRY “We all make choices, but in the end, our choices make us.” Andrew Ryan

KIRIJANA PETRESKI

“The most beau<ful makeup for a woman is passion. But cosme<cs are easier to buy.”

Yves Saint Laurent

ZOE HUMBERDROSS “Work Hard in Silence…Let your Success Be The Noise.”

COURTENAY MITCHELL

“There are no escalators to success, only staircases.”

SARAI JANOURIS “Don’t be cau<ous, be courageous.”

ALLY JOHNSON “Live’n life like the gates have been le\ open.”


!17

JULIEANNE YORE “Food, glorious food!” -‐ Ice Age

MITCHELL ASTRAND “Don’t give up, there is always a Plan B.”

BRITTNEY IDE “There are far, far beYer things ahead than we leave behind.”

C.S. Lewis

ETHAN LUQUE “If you believe you can, you are already half-‐way there.”

LIZ PEPPER “It may have taken me an extra year, but I finally made it.”

Documents

Page%02% Page%06% Page%10 THE BRISBANESDE TIMES · PDF file10 NOVEMBER 2017 TERM FOUR, 2017 SEVENTH EDITION!1!Alumni’News@’The’BrisbaneSDE’Times THE BRISBANESDE TIMES Page%02%