Brisbane State High School eNewsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians

Welcome to the first Brisbane State High School newsletter for Term 2. I hope that there was the opportunity over the recent term break for some extra quality family time.

Term breaks are very important for both staff and students to refresh themselves and be fully prepared for returning to BSHS for another challenging and action-packed term.

Overall, I was very pleased with the outcomes of students across all year groups in all of the core aspects of school life at BSHS ie: in the academic, sporting and cultural fields. You will see evidence of this consistently in all of our newsletters, regardless of the time of year.

Currently NAPLAN results are being collated and analysed. The summary will be in the week 6 newsletter.

Every year, schools are required to produce and action an ‘Annual Implementation Plan’ which is in effect bringing the 4 year Strategic Plan to life with targets and goals.

A key focus this year has been the reviewing and clarifying of job descriptions for all staff, alignment of accountability across staff and an ongoing focus of what our core curriculum delivery values and strategies are. Additionally, we are spending significant time on reviewing our current weekly structure and timetable and I am confident that improvements will occur. As part of this process, you will be kept fully up to date with developments and consulted with, regarding any proposed changes. More details will follow in the next newsletter in Week 6, which will outline the community consultation process.

Overall students are attaining the targets and goals set in the Annual Implementation Plan ie: 90% or more of students in all year groups are receiving an excellence or very good grade for effort and behaviour and between 75% and 90% of students attaining an average grade of A/B. Areas for improvement are a higher percentage of students attaining straight A grades and also attaining excellence or very good grades for homework.

As always, if you have any queries please let me know. Your ongoing support for Brisbane State High School is fully appreciated.

Warm regards

Mr Greg Pierce | Executive Principal

Term 2, 2025
Week 3
Monday 5 May	Labor Day Public Holiday
Friday 9 May	GPS Cross Country - Pre Meet 5
Saturday 10 May	Inter-Schools Chess Competition GPS Football - Round 3 GPS Tennis - Round 3 QFA Fencing - Round 2
Week 4
Tuesday 13 May	Year 10 Immunisations
Friday 16 May	QGSSSA Autumn Fixtures - Round 6 GPS Cross Country - Pre Meet 6
Saturday 17 May	GPS Football - Round 4 GPS Tennis - Round 4
Week 5
Thursday 22 May	GPS Cross Country Championships QGSSSA Autumn Fixtures - Round 8
Friday 23 May	QGSSSA Autum Fixtures - Round 7 Queensland Youth Music Awards (Vocal Ensembles)
Saturday 24 May	GPS Football - Round 5 GPS Rugby Trials GPS Tennis - Round 5 QGSSSA Cross Country Championships QFA Fencing - Round 3
Week 6
Tuesday 27 May	Cross Country Regional Trials
Wednesday 28 May	State High's Got Talent Finals
Friday 30 May	QGSSSA Autumn Fixtures - Round 9 GPS Cross Country - Pre Meet 6
Saturday 31 May	GPS Football - Round 6 GPS Tennis - Round 6 QFA Fencing - Round 4 GPS Rugby Trials

View the School Events Calendar

Dates correct at time of publication.

Welcome back to all families from what I hope was a relaxing and enjoyable holiday break. Despite only having three days of school last week, we still somehow managed to fit in Round 4 of our Autumn fixtures in QG sport and continue our cross-country season with a competition at the University of Queensland.

Thank you very much to everyone involved in making our sporting program a success both on and off the field. A special mention goes out to all our volunteer student-coaches who are not only playing but also coaching teams. Your involvement is one of the key ingredients of our strong sporting culture, and we are impressed and grateful for your dedication.

Reminder: Strength and conditioning are integral to sport development. Our Winter sports rely on a solid strength base, so students are highly encouraged to join the Team App for ‘BSHS Strength & Conditioning’ to stay up to date with the latest information.

A special shoutout to all our Swimmers and Track and Field athletes who competed at the Australian Championships throughout the holidays and Week 1 of this term.

– Mr David Miles | Director of QGSSSA Sports and Girls' Activities

Basketball

Our program is thriving with great participation, enthusiasm and success. Currently, our Open, 10A, 9A, 8A, 8B, 7A and 7B teams remain undefeated.

Football and Touch Football

Wet weather has had an adverse effect on fixtures so far with only two rounds being completed.

We look forward to some drier conditions for our field sports as we commence Round 5 with fixtures against MBC.

Good luck girls!

We would also like to acknowledge Queensland Pelvic Floor Centre for their platinum sponsorship of the program in 2025! This sponsorship has allowed all Football girls to play for FREE this year!

Cross Country

It's a busy time in the program following our Cross-Country Team Camp, three QGSSSA meets, District Trials, and several of our girls competing at the recent Track and Field National Titles.

Only three weeks to go until the Championships on Saturday 24 May, and we wish all our girls the very best in their final preparations.

QGSSSA Athletics

Very soon we will have our first team meeting as we look to commence our 2025 season of Athletics. Stay tuned! Please see below for some fantastic performance from our girls at the Australian track and Field Championships in Perth during the school holidays. Well done!

Congratulations to the 26 girls from State High who represented Queensland at the Australian Junior Championships! You should all be very proud of yourselves for competing at this level against the best athletes in your age in Australia. This should also give all of you and the rest of our school team great confidence for the year ahead.

Australian Junior Championships – FINAL RESULTS

GOLD MEDAL
Madden Henry-Purcell (Year 9) – Under 15 Discus
Madden Henry-Purcell (Year 9) – Under 15 Shot Put

SILVER MEDAL
Faith Aghayere (Year 10) – Under 16 Triple Jump (PB)

BRONZE MEDAL
Saskia Josipovic (Year 12) – Under 18 Discus
Georgie Burg (Year 10) Under 17 3000m (PB)
Ana Hsu (Year 7) – Under 13 100m (PB in final)
Ana Hsu (Year 7) – Under 13 100m (PB in heats)
Sienna Haynes (Year 7) – Under Long Jump (PB)

Well done to the following girls on great performances:

Saskia Josipovic (Year 12) – 5th Under 18 Shot Put
Genesis Sa’u (Year 10) – 5th Under 17 Shot Put
Georgie Burg (Year 10) – 5th Under 17 1500m
Grace Adams (Year 10) – 7th Under 17 2km Steeplechase (PB)
Genesis Sa’u (Year 10) – 8th Under 17 Shot Put
Libby Mantay (Year 10) – 4th Under 17 3000m (PB)
Emily Boyd (Year 10) – 18th Under 17 3000m (PB)
Grace Adams (Year 10) – 21st Under 17 3000m (PB)
Naiyini Mollel (Year 10) – 22nd Under 17 3000m (PB)

5 girls in a National final from the same school!!

Ysabella Tomkins (Year 9) – 9th Under 16 800m
Philippa Bromley (Year 10) 10th Under 16 High Jump
Dushana Soans-Ireland – (Year 10) 12th Under 16 High Jump
Sasha Josipovic – (Year 10) 16th Under 16 3000m (PB)
Dushana Soans-Ireland – (Year 10) 8th Under 15 Triple Jump (PB)
Emily Boyd (Year 10) – 9th Under 17 800m final (PB in heats)
Piper Snow (Year 10) – 9th Under 17 2km Steeplechase
Sasha Josipovic (Year 9) – 7th Under 16 2km Steeplechase
Carys Larder (Year 9) – 8th Under 15 200m Hurdles
Mila Josipovic (Year 8) – 4th Under 14 Shot Put (PB)
Mila Josipovic (Year 8) – 5th Under 14 Discus(PB)
Jarrah Plumpton (Year 8) – 6th Under 14 Triple Jump
Olivia Tomkins (Year 8) – PB in heats of Under 15 800m
Lily Barnett (Year 8) – 6th Under 15 200m Hurdles
Mila Josipovic (Year 8) – 12th Under 14 Javelin (PB)
Lily Barnett (Year 8) – 10th Under 15 90m Hurdles heats (PB)
Victoria Huang (Year 7) – 10th Under 14 1500m (PB)
Sienna Haynes (Year 7 – still 12 years in the Under 14 event) – 9th Under 14 Triple Jump (PB)

A massive thank you to all our MiCs, staff, coaches, volunteers, alumni, and parents.

Your dedication and support make our programs possible, and we are incredibly grateful for everything you do!

As we approach Term 3, students should keep an eye on StudentNet and Team App for updates on our extracurricular programs. We look forward to an exciting and competitive term ahead, featuring Rugby, Basketball, Chess and Track and Field.

Thank you once again to everyone who contributed to another incredible term of sport and activities at BSHS!

– Mr Ben McKenzie | Director of GPS and Boys Activities

Football

Football is back!

What has felt like an eternity between the last ball being kicked and Round 1, Football came to an end as we faced Nudgee College. Producing some stellar performances, with notable mentions to our 7D’s, who were our Team Performance of the Round with an 11-0 thumping of their opponents, they displayed commendable gamesmanship and a war cry to match the scoreline.

Our Year level results were as follows:

Year 7

7A	1 - 1 Draw
7B	4 - 3 Win
7C	4 - 2 Loss
7D	11 - 0 Win

Year 8

8A	6 - 2 Loss
8B	3 - 2 Win
8C	5 - 0 Loss
8D	5 - 4 Loss

Year 9

9A	2 - 1 Win
9B	3 - 1 Loss
9C	4 - 0 Loss
9D	6 - 3 Win

Year 10

10A	2 - 2 Draw
10B	3 - 1 Win
10C	3 - 0 Win

Year 11

11A	2 - 2 Draw
11B	5 - 1 Loss
11C	5 - 1 Loss

Year 12

Thirds	0 - 0 Draw
Seconds	2 - 1 Loss
Firsts	2 - 1 Loss

In our first game of the season, we saw ourselves drawn against a very strong Nudgee College. Boasting players who represent Australia and Brisbane Roar this was always going to be a challenging game.

Making their Senior debut for State High; Jonah Goldsmith Hodson, George Koumpis, Dante Minos, Rhys Buchannan, Ruben Okafor, Hamish Crocker, Freddie Adams and Jordi Horrell. This speaks volumes at the performance considering the vast disruptions and new players this season.

– Ms Megan Thomas and Mr Tom Dixon – GPS Football MIC's

Tennis

GPS Tennis returned on Saturday with hard fought fixtures against Nudgee College.

Our First 5 had a close loss against Nudgee College however we had a number of teams victorious with a special mention to our Year 7A’s who won 41-20, 7B’s won 38-26 and the 7C’s won 33-29.

Rugby

Our Opens Rugby program continues to ramp up their preseason with a trial against the winners of the Sydney GPS competition Shore Grammar School.

In three games against Shore our 16A and 1^st XV won their games which is an amazing result so far out from the GPS Rugby season.

Rugby will take the field again in four weeks for a trial against Ipswich Grammar School and Brisbane Grammar School.

Sporting Selective Entry | Year 7, 2026

Applications are now open for current Year 6 students entering Year 7 in 2026 to join Brisbane State High School under Sporting Selective Entry.

Please refer to the Enrolment Timelines as application closing dates differ for each sport.

For more information, please visit the school website.

Screenshot_2025_04_04_at_11_23_07_Mail_ROBERTS_Emma_erobe334_Outlook.png

HAMLET: SAVE THE DATE!

Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark…

And it is not just Trump’s play for Greenland!

At Brisbane State High School, the talented Shakespeare Ensemble has been delving into the world of love, loss, revenge, ghosts, skulls and poison over this term and will be bringing an amazing adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet to the PAC on Thursday 12 June, Friday 13 June and both a matinee and evening performance on Saturday 14June.

Make sure you mark the date in the calendar and prepare to be thrilled by our BSHS Drama students’ adaptation of this classic text and the skill of Tech Crew helping to bring this literary gem to life.

Tickets available soon!

– Ms Gabrielle Quin | Director of Cultural Activites

On Saturday 26 April at the Queensland Symphony Orchestra Studio, Brisbane State High School students won First, Second and Third Prize in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s Young Instrumentalist Finalists’ Recital.

This is not only a very impressive achievement, it is possibly a first ever for State High!

The finalists’ performances captivated the audience, with each student demonstrating outstanding musicianship.

Our warm congratulations go to:

First Prize - Parick Phillips (Year 11) on Cello

Second Prize - Ellie Kyoung (Year 11) on Violin

Third Prize – Daniel Hsieh (Year 12) on Marimba

A huge thank you and congratulations to the BSHS Music Department and Instrumental Music teachers who nurture and encourage our talented young players.

The students received cash prizes and complimentary tickets QSO concerts of their choosing.

As first prize winner Patrick Phillips will also be given the opportunity to work with Queensland Symphony Orchestra in 2026!

Along with this wonderful news, Year 9 student, Oscar Borrego-Losada was awarded the prestigious Brennan Keats loan of an AE Smith 1961 Violin for one year as a highly commended applicant.

- Ms Gabrielle Quin | Director of Cultural Activities

Headspace

Careers and Employment Expo

Brighter Futures

- Ms Rachel Hobson | Deputy Principal Student Culture and Engagement

We are excited to launch LEAP, Learning Enrichment Afterschool Peer to Peer Mentoring Program, designed to support all students in their educational journey. LEAP merges through PAS, SAS, and RAS, and is facilitated by LEAP Student Leaders and the Learning Enrichment LSOs Team.

LEAP offers a welcoming and supportive environment where all students at all stages of their learning can receive learning assistance. LEAP will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3pm to 4pm on Level 2 of D Block. For Term 2 LEAP will commence Term 2 Week 2 Tuesday 29 April.

Each day, LEAP provides tailored support through three distinct areas:

1-on-1 Senior-Junior Mentoring: In one room, senior students will mentor junior students to offer personalized guidance and support.
Senior-to-Senior Collaboration: In another room, seniors will work together, fostering peer-to-peer learning and academic growth.
Independent or Small Group Study: The third space is dedicated to supervised independent study or small group mentoring sessions.

LEAP is designed to meet the diverse needs of students from all year levels, with an open-door policy that welcomes both consistent participants and those simply seeking support for specific subjects or assessments. Whether students need ongoing assistance or just a little extra help with a particular area, LEAP is here to support their success.

We encourage all students to take advantage of this valuable resource as they LEAP toward their academic goals.

For more information about LEAP contact: leap@brisbaneshs.eq.edu.au

– Ms Liz Enfantie | Head of Learning and Enrichment

The Beyond State High School Program supports all Year 12 students with their planning and preparations for their desired career pathways, post Year 12.

To learn more about the Beyond State High School Program (including the yearly overview), and to access a wide range of resources that can support your students pathways planning and preparations for post Year 12, click on the Padlet Link below.

Beyond State High School Padlet: https://brisbaneshs.padlet.org/rhobs12/year-12-students-beyond-state-high-padlet-oakokimrajdrpyil

Password: 2025

Term 2 ARC, all Year 12 students will have an opportunity to participate in Career Cluster Masterclasses. Masterclasses include:

Week 3: Medicine & Dentistry

Week 4: Law, Justice & Criminology, Engineering

Week 5: Allied Health, Sciences & Mathematics

Week 6: Education, Humanities & Social Sciences, Creative & Performing Arts

Week 8: Business, Finance & Economics, Tourism

Week 9: Interstate and/or International Studies

Week 10: Undecided pathway post Year 12

Year 12 students have been invited to register for their preferred Career Cluster Masterclasses. Students are welcome to attend more than one, if this is their preference. If your student has yet to register for a Term 2 ARC Career Cluster Session click on the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/bqYSedNBxz

– Ms Julia Cottone | Year 12 Guidance Officer

Our Monday Enrichment Program is back in Term 2 with a few changes and additions. This year Monday afternoons will include our Year 10 Future Focussed Extension Programs (Medicus, Engeniator, Justica and Scientia) which have been running at Brisbane State High School for several years.

Monday afternoon will continue to provide all students opportunities to engage in other enrichment activities that explore learning beyond the classroom and opportunities to connection with peers.

For a seek peek at what we have coming up and to register your interest please click the link below.

https://forms.office.com/r/LBf1aTf1VC

- Ms Natalie Coleman | Deputy Principal Year 11 and 12

In the last week of Term 1, at the Australian Rowing Championships in Tasmania, Eoghan Johnson (Year 12) was crowned Australian Schoolboy Champion. Eoghan achieved multiple medals in the U19 Quad, Double and Single, however it was representing State High where GOLD was achieved.

Eoghan has now been selected to represent Australia at the World Rowing U19 Championships in Lithuania! An incredible achievement for Eoghan who is the only male athlete selected from Queensland.

We also commend Chelsea Skipper (Year 11), the current NSW Champion, on her outstanding National Championships result, taking home Silver in the U17 Single Scull.

- Mr Tom Herborn | MIC of Rowing

Diamond Plaque

Is your child graduating in 2025? Celebrate their State High Journey with a Commemorative Diamond Plaque!

$$$ DIAMOND PLAQUES ARE FULLY TAX DEDUCTIBLE $$$

A Diamond Plaque is a wonderful way to celebrate your child's time at State High. Available in various sizes to suit individuals and families, these plaques make a lasting tribute while also supporting the State High Foundation fund vital school projects and facilities.

Orders placed now will be installed in Term 2 and displayed permanently along the Kurilpa Concourse.

Order Now:

https://brisbaneshs.eq.edu.au/Supportandresources/Formsanddocuments/Documents/Ourcommunity/SHF/state-high-foundation-family-application.pdf

For further information please contact Natalie Loye - Alumni and Community Engagement nloye0@eq.edu.au or (07) 3291 4230

– Ms Natalie Loye | Alumni and Community Engagement

Canteen Fundraiser

Link https://events.humanitix.com/save-our-canteen-fundraiser

Year 7 Family Picnic

Friday 9 May | 5pm to 8pm | Kurilpa Concourse, I Block

Year 7 picnic volunteer sign up : https://signup.com/go/HxXFVBU

This is a special event for Year 7 families to connect with our school community. All Year 7 family members, including students are warmly invited to attend.

There will be plenty of games and entertainment for all ages.

Feel free to bring your own picnic, or you can enjoy the convenience of food and drinks available to purchase from the canteen.

While the event is free, we appreciate a gold coin donation.

Humanitix booking link https://events.humanitix.com/year-7-family-picnic-2025-rescheduled

Insurance Notice

The BSHS P&C Association has a proud history of supporting our students to reach their full potential. Each year, the P&C makes a significant financial contribution to the school to assist with this.

Previously, the P&C has provided additional student protection insurance to the students of BSHS. This is not a requirement of P&Cs Qld, nor of Education Queensland. It is also not a requirement of BSHS participation in GPS or QGSSSA sporting activities. This year, and in line with several other society cost of living increases, the premium for this insurance policy has risen dramatically.

The BSHS P&C has investigated options and uptake of this policy and concluded that the cost of the policy premium exceeds the benefits to the school community. As such, at the July General P&C meeting, the membership voted to not renew the student insurance policy for 2025 and to redirect those funds to support the school in other ways.

Please be aware that the current student insurance policy provided by the BSHS P&C Association will expire on Saturday 1 March 2025 and will not be renewed going forwards. Thank you for your ongoing contributions to the BSHS school community.

Join the P&C Association

The P&C is a volunteer, membership-based organisation that is open to all who support

the State High community and the students at State High.

To find out how to join the P&C, or to inquire about what we are all about, please visit the P&C website. We hope that you will find information on this website useful to support you and your child’s journey through secondary school and to maximise your family’s experience.

If you would like to become a P&C member, please complete the P&C Membership Form (download via the button below) and return it via email to admin.officer@bshspandc.org.

2025 Membership Form

2025 Membership Form 782.98 KB