• My Q2 farewell
• Extended essay year 11
• Perfectionist or Optimalist?
• Exam study skills
• NIDA scholarsips
• Communication during assessment period
• Achievements of QACI teachers
• Year 12 Music recitals
• P&C Social Barbecue Friday 18 September

On Saturday night I was among an audience who was treated to some exceptional musical talent at our Music showcase. It was a showcase that exemplified the power of the collaboration of talented individuals. Whilst the first act was impressive it was what awaited the audience in act 2 that impressed me most. For a continuous 45 minutes the choir, strings ensemble and percussion ensembles combined to perform “Songs of Sanctuary. This was no ordinary musical piece but  a complex and highly challenging and innovative piece that required enormous skill, concentration and resilience. It certainly was not something you would expect from a school. As I listened with my eyes closed I realised that the ingredients that this performance combined was what we are about here at QACI. It was about going beyond the normal or easy to challenge and broaden our student’s experience and their talent. I wholeheartedly congratulate all involved in this stunning piece.

For those of you who follow sport you would be aware that this weekend marks the start of the AFL finals. For a coach and players the finals mean a different approach and mind set. By making the finals anything is possible and whilst you may have finished 8^th if the pieces fall together and the momentum can be built you can win the grand final. Coaches employ different approaches in regard to preparation as they are no longer preparing the team for an arduous season but for four key games. It is somewhat of a coincidence that on Wednesday night we launched with our year 12 their “finals” preparation. What is no coincidence is the similarity in philosophy and outlook in preparing for a grand final against the opposition in this case IB Cardiff. After a preliminary final involving the final submission of assessment for film, visual arts and theatre in the next two weeks, they can refresh over the holidays in readiness for their final 7 weeks. Whilst under pressure I am really proud of the positive outlook within this group of students. They are setting a great example for those who follow, a focus on their performance and what they can control not the outcome. If they do what they can with what they have and do so wholeheartedly the results look after themselves.

I am particularly proud that they do this whilst still contributing to the life of the community. They could so easily justify withdrawing but they do not.

Our My Q2 Team at the State Library of Queensland Public Lecture to farewell Carlo Ratti 

Last Friday evening Chris Doran was given the honour of thanking Professor Carlo Ratti on behalf of the state of Queensland as a fitting finale to his residency as Queensland’s first Innovator in Residence. Chris’s reflections captured the sense of opportunity not just personally, but for all of the 30 laboratory participants who participated in this unique project. It has really positioned our students as global citizens and some of the lab members in Boston are remaining in email contact with our team. A special thanks to Nic Marchesi who created a DVD recording of the event and to Ebony Harrison who was still working with the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s web designers up until late this week putting the final touches on the portal. The students have been invited to take part the project launch that will take place at the Brisbane Powerhouse on Tuesday September 8th at 10.00am.  The launch will be a key part of the Education Queensland ICTs Innovation Expo – and is a very special occasion that will mark the formal acknowledgment of the wonderful contribution they have made.

Kathy Mackey
Deputy Principal: Partnerships and Student Development 

Extended Essay Year 11

 Today all Year 11 students received a copy of the QUT guidelines for referencing and essay writing in an attractively packaged booklet form sourced from QUT. This aligns with the guidelines for using the online QUT Library Guide which is can be accessed via the internet. The essay writing guide is excellent and should be used from the early stages of writing the Extended Essay. Students have been asked to keep this with them and to use for all their subjects as well. The Academy blue referencing text may also be used as an alternative, but students must ensure they use the Harvard system. 

Perfectionist or Optimalist?

Perfectionists experience conflicting thoughts and emotions: a desire to be perfect; fear it is not possible to achieve perfection; a belief that they will only be accepted if they are perfect.  Students who have a strong need to be seen as perfect may be terrified of making mistakes, experience extreme sensitivity to criticism and become extremely anxious about meeting their own and others’ expectations.  

Motivated by the fear of failure, perfectionistic students may focus entirely upon the goal and work to the point of exhaustion without enjoying the process of learning or ever being satisfied with their achievements.   Unrealistic expectations, fear of assessments, self-doubts, procrastination, compulsive attention to detail, over-commitment, and feeling constantly overwhelmed – it is an exhausting whirlpool of emotions.  Perfectionists have an “all or nothing” mindset.  Fearing that they may fail, they tend to avoid challenges.

At the other end of a continuum, Tal Ben-Shahar in “The Pursuit of Perfect” explains that optimalists have high but realistic expectations of themselves and others; understand that a journey towards goals may have some deviations; believe that obstacles, mistakes and failure have an important role in helping us to learn and achieve our goals.  Optimalists experience pleasure in the journey and the destination, acknowledging the effort they have expended and are satisfied that they have performed at their personal best.  They welcome challenges as an opportunity to stretch and learn new skills. 

An important difference between unhealthy perfectionists and optimalists relates to feedback about their work.  The perfectionist is very sensitive to negative feedback and tends to become defensive because it is perceived as criticism and “proof” that they are unworthy.  Optimalists, however, react positively and are open to suggestions, understanding that feedback is designed to assist learning, improve skills and help achieve specific goals.  Feedback can paralyse perfectionists but galvanise optimalists to make changes necessary to achieve a positive outcome.

Flexibility is another distinguishing characteristic, allowing the resilient optimalist to overcome adversity and alter thought patterns and behaviours to attain a goal. The perfectionist’s rigidity may firmly establish self-destructive thoughts and behaviour patterns, making it more difficult to overcome difficulties or recover from failure.

There is nothing wrong with having high expectations, but how we approach these goals is critical.  Optimalists are able to optimise their abilities and achieve success because of their approach to work and learning.

© Michele Juratowitch

Exam study skills

For many students, a block of examinations can be daunting. Some students have no idea where to start and what they should work on. The first thing to do with examinations approaching is to find out what topics will be tested. The next step is to make study notes on these topics if you haven’t been doing this throughout the year (hopefully you have!). Then it is time to start learning the notes (testing yourself on them over and over) and doing practice questions to make sure you can apply your knowledge to different types of questions.

If you have a number of weeks prior to the examinations, it is a good idea to make a plan in your diary of what subjects you will study when. Try and allocate each subject once or twice each week, depending on the number of examinations you have. The Preparing for Examination Blocks unit at www.studyskillshandbook.com.au will explain how you prepare a plan for exams – including a powerpoint on making a study timetable from one of this month’s competition winners. Senior students facing final examinations may also want to download this month’s podcast which looks at dealing with final blocks of exams.

Also this month in the handbook: another 2 new modules, some thought-provoking  videos on challenges facing the students of today, a new game, a section on fitting a school backpack correctly and a new extra unit on what to do if you are being bullied at school.

Our school’s subscription details to this online study skills website for secondary school students are in QACI Central on Blackboard (Care and Pathways)

(*****For schools who have this feature set up you may want to also add: We also have a direct link from our school site that will take you straight through to the handbook without the need to enter the user name or password.)

NIDA scholarships

We are offering a scholarship to each of the following holiday workshops, however this is on the basis that NIDA has sufficient numbers to run the workshops. If the workshops are cancelled due to lack of numbers the scholarship is not transferable and QACI holds no responsibility.

 The workshops NIDA are potentially offering are:

Acting intensive 12-15 (3 – 4 Oct)

 Acting Intensive 16+ (3-4 Oct)

 Acting to Camera 12 – 18 (26-27 Sep)

 Audition Intensive 16+ (26-27Sep)

 Drama School 12-15 (21-25 Sep)

 Drama School 13-16 (28 Sept-3 Oct)

 Dramatic Writing 16+ (3 – 4 Oct)

 NIDA Acting techniques 16+ (21-25 Sep)

 Screen Acting 16+ (28-2 Oct)

 The Singer Actor 16+ (26- 27 Sep)

 TV Presenting 16+ (28 Sep – 2 Oct)

 To apply for a scholarship simply write Mr Tate an email outlining why you deserve it, how it will benefit your journey as an artist and giving you the scholarship will benefit QACI. Applications close Tuesday 8 September 3.30pm.

Communication requirements of students during assessment period

Over the assessment period with the flexible times it is absolutely crucial that students

1. Check web mail daily before 9.00am even if at home

2. Check notices as soon as you arrive at the academy

3. Keep connected to your class and subjects learning place communities

Our only means of communicating to the whole population will be via these methods. If something is changed and you miss it because you did not check email or notices this will not be accepted as a reasonable explanation or justification.

Achievements of QACI teachers

At QACI we not only have creative and clever students who perform highly but the same can be said of our teaching staff.

John Carozza has been chosen as one of a small number of teachers from across Queensland for a Smart classrooms award in recognition for the use of IT in learning. John will receive his award on Monday evening.

John's colleague Prue Miles has been invited to be on an advisory panel for the National Curriculum - The Arts - Media learning area.  The organisation coordinating the National Curriculum is ACARA (The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority).

Writing teams and advisory panels have been selected from across Australia and will play a significant role in developing the curriculum.

Curriculum writers have been employed by ACARA to develop curriculum in accordance with the direction set by ACARA’s Board. It is great to have Prue having an influence on the national agenda.

Year 12 Musical recitals

On the back of You're the Voice and the Music showcase our graduating year 12 music students present their final assessment recitals over coming weeks as outlined below. You will experience some quality performances in a range of genres (voice to instrumental).

Saturday Sep 5 1pm - Marley  Thomas(voice) and Phoebe Ballard (voice)

Saturday Sep 5 2pm - Ayeesha  Ash (voice) and Emma Harrison (voice)

Friday Sep 11 recess 2 – Bernice Yap (piano)

Friday Sep 11 6.30pm – Rowan Handley (guitar),  Mitch Hunter(electric base) , Stephanie Carmichael(Voice)

QACI P&C  Monthly Social Barbecue

Join us for a social drink and bite to eat to celebrate the end of term on Friday 18 September from 5.30 to 8.30 on the QACI deck. It is casual affair with great converstation and the chance to link up with other parents. BYO your barbecue picnic and drinks.

Date	Topic/Audience	From	Is a return due?
4/09/2009	All Year 10 Abinitio French/Spanish students cancellation of orals in assessment blocks	Mrs Preece/Mrs Leah	no

 

Upcoming Events

5 /09 – Young Scholars workshops at QACI

7/09 – Year 10/11 Submission week - normal timetable suspended

7/09 – Year 12 commence Internal assessment focus and language orals

12/09 – Language Tour to China departs

14/09 – Year 10/11 Exam block commences

16/09 – P&C meeting 7.00pm

18/09 – P&C social at QACI 5.30pm to 8.30pm

5 /10- Term 4 commences (no student free day)

7 /10 Year 12 IB Art show opens

8/10  Year 12 Film showing – Final works

14/10 Term 3 reports issued to year 10 and 11

17/10 Year 11 YES (semi-formal ) benefit

17/10  Queensland  Music festival choral competition

19 /10 Pupil free day

23 October – ASPIRE – QACI awards night