168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø

In last week’s eNews, I listed a few inspirational quotes which I hope you enjoyed reading.

Here is one more quote: ‘I like good strong words that mean something…’ Louisa May Alcott, Little Women. This leads me to my article this week.

A very good friend of mine is the Principal of St Hilda’s in Perth and she sent to me something she wrote about girls and language use entitled ‘Words Matter’. I have sought her permission to use her idea and combine her words with mine in this edition of the eNews.

There is no doubt that Words Matter

In recent times, I have seen a lot of online articles, mainly on LinkedIn, in which the writers lament that girls and young women are saying "just" and "sorry" too much. It is hard to imagine powerful women whose actions changed the world or inspired others using these apologetic and moderating words.

An article by Heather Libby’s believes that “saying sorry” when it isn't necessary is so common that a shampoo company made an advertisement () about it. Researchers also say using the word risks taking responsibility for faults and actions that aren’t our own - or aren’t even faults. Being mindful of when we apologise - and where and how - is good advice regardless of gender or workplace.

The use of "just" is a little more complicated. Some women, like former Google executive Ellen Leanse, believe that adding "just" to statements gives other people more authority and control and makes the speaker seem defensive. As she wrote on her blog: "It hit me that there was something about the word I didn’t like. It was a 'permission' word, in a way - a warm-up to a request, an apology for interrupting, a shy knock on a door before asking, 'Can I get something I need from you?'"

Exploring this idea of weakening the power of our words helped me realize that all adults need to teach our girls to speak with confidence. Adults need to provide good role models for girls. My teaching experience with girls shows that some girls undermine themselves through their words and actions, saying “I’m not sure if this is right but …”. Girls also use phrases like “kind of” or “sort of” or “like” to weaken their statements, or turn a statement about something they know into a question as if they are not sure of their answer.

Let’s look at some quotes from famous women with a few sorries, kindas, sort ofs, likes and justs thrown in. They are no longer inspiring and their impact is considerably lessened.

I just kinda think that knowing what must be done does away with fear sort of … Sorry.” (not Rosa Parks)

Sorry to interrupt but I just wanted to let you know I didn’t get there just by wishing for it or like kinda hoping for it, but by working for it. Sorry” (not )

It took me quite a long time to develop like a voice, and now that I sort of have it, I am not like going to be silent. Sorry (not )

Sorry, I’m not sure this is right but I just think that above all, be the like heroine of your life, not the victim. Sorry” (not )

Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In Foundation states that “verbal crutches” like these can “hinder a girl’s ability to share her ideas clearly and confidently - a habit that often carries over into adulthood”. However, when women speak confidently, take risks and own their accomplishments, they set a powerful and positive example for girls to follow.

Ros Curtis 

This week we had the second meeting for the year of our Child and Youth Risk Management Strategy committee.

This committee is made up of staff (teaching and support), students and parents from our primary, secondary and boarding communities.

The Child and Youth Risk Management Strategy (C&YRMS) is a legislative requirement for all Queensland schools to have. It is designed to create safe and supportive environments for children, to minimise the risk of abuse, harm and inappropriate behaviour. The C&YRMS is to be clear, easily understood, implemented and monitored to ensure it’s effectiveness. You can find this document by following the link at: /discover-st-margaret-s/student-protection.

Part of the monitoring process involves this committee coming together throughout the year to share ideas and information about the contents of this strategy in order to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our young people in regards to student protection. Although we officially review the strategy with the School Council in October each year, we continue to adjust the document to best suit the needs of the young people in our community.

I urge all members of our school community to read this document. Feedback is encouraged; please feel free to email me at: KGorrie@stmargarets.qld.edu.au with any suggestions or additions you may wish to see reflected in this document.

Karen Gorrie 

This is also the 2017 Primary Family Service and all members of the community are invited to come along to enjoy our celebration for the Feast of Pentecost. Morning tea will be held in Eton Courtyard after the service and the School’s Prayer Space will also be open.

Confirmation 2017

If you or your daughter are considering being Confirmed this year on Wednesday 12 July with our Bishop of the Northern Region, Jeremy Greaves, please contact me as a matter of urgency: 3862 0716 or ncolledge@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

Prayer Space Term 2

Once again, everyone is welcome to come and enjoy our next Prayer Space. It will be open from Monday 29 May - Monday 5 June. This term, our spaces will include stations to consider, reflect and offer prayer in one’s own fashion on the themes of Reconciliation, Saying Sorry, Forgiveness, Eco-Spirituality and our favourite theme of Be Still! More details will be in next week’s eNews.

Upcoming Services

Friday 26 May: 9:05am, Year 3 Service of Communion, classroom

Sunday 4 June: 9am, Eton Hall, Primary Family Service and Admission to Communion

Friday 9 June: 2pm, Years 1-6 Eucharist

Wednesday 12 July: 6pm, Confirmation Service

Reflection

Last Wednesday evening at St Mark’s Anglican Church Clayfield, we celebrated the Years 11 and 12 Family Service for 2017. The theme was “When we Recognise the Sacred” and I’d like to share with you these words of reflection that remind us that we are surrounded by the sacred and the holy every moment - if only we choose to look…

Where is holy ground?

Holy ground is found at home, at work, in city streets and on Welsh beaches

Holy ground is where we have come from and where we are heading

Holy ground is under our feet and in places where we fear to tread.

What does holy ground look like?

Holy ground is grass and mud, sand and puddles

Holy ground is cracked pavements and polished shop floors

Holy ground is finding beauty in ordinary places

What does holy ground feel like?

Holy ground is soft underfoot, it caresses your feet

Holy ground is strong and firm, supporting your tiredness

Holy ground is flowers springing up and hot coals burning

Who stands on holy ground?

We do. Strangers, friends, fellow travellers

Recognising each other

Standing together on the same holy ground

With every blessing on your week ahead,

The Reverend Nicki Colledge 

Resilience is more than just coping. When the girls learn to be resilient they are more prepared to seek new experiences and opportunities.

In Boarding, we encourage the girls to learn and practice important values and skills such as self-respect and other personal values and attitudes, social skills, tolerance and understanding, helpful and optimistic thinking and skills for getting things done. We cannot protect the girls from experiencing difficulties or tough times but we can give them the skills to deal with difficult situations, take responsibility and move on in a positive manner. Accepting responsibility for their actions is an important step in their development and shows their growing maturity.

Self-respect grows out of setting standards for behaviour. If your daughter has self-respect, she believes that she matters and should be treated respectfully by others. She’s also more likely to protect herself by avoiding risky behaviour and situations. Empathy, respect for others, kindness, fairness, honesty and cooperation are also linked to resilience. This includes showing care and concern for people who need support, accepting people’s differences, being friendly and not mistreating others. The girls are faced with different situations daily in boarding and with self-respect and empathy they will become more resilient. We sometimes need to let them sort it out for themselves and learn the skills to deal with difficult situations. This, in the end, will make them more resilient and able to deal with situations independently. In Boarding, our goal is to help the girls on their journey to becoming more resilient which will in turn prepare them well for when they leave school.

Lesa Fowler 

In this tutorial, we focused on a unit from the 2000 Short Response paper which centred on a poem written by John Updike. There were 3 items for students to respond to regarding this poem.

1. Describe and contrast

   the relationship of Flick & the ball and the relationship of Flick & the lug wrench.

    

2. Make a quick sketch to capture what Flick is seeing in his mind as he ‘just sits and nods…’ (last three lines).

    

3. Updike conveys throughout these stanzas of Ex-Basketball Player that the poem’s speaker has, and feels, a personal connection with Flick Webb. Investigate the range of ways - obvious and more subtle - in which Updike conveys this. Don’t overlook the contributions of the first and last stanzas.

Trends in Education Seminar Reminder

On Thursday 25 May, we are fortunate to have Mr Mathew Stein delivering our second Trends in Education seminar for the year. His topic, Teaching Thinking, is highly relevant in our current educational climate and our own school context. It promises to be a most illuminating presentation. Details can be found below:

Samantha Bolton

One of these books has been about the new taxonomy of education objectives that is the framework for the new Senior School Curriculums. In this book, the authors talk about the importance of the ‘self’ system. In a nutshell, the author was saying that the most important factor in learning is not the teacher, curriculum or school, but in fact to student’s self-system. According to Bandura, a person’s attitudes, abilities and cognitive skills comprise what is known as the self-system. This system plays a major role in how we perceive situations and how we behave in response to different situations. Self-efficacy is an essential part of this self-system.

Reading this focus has been validating for Samantha Bolton and I as we continue to work with the teachers to develop deep thinking in the students with a purpose for cognitive transfer. This process began last year with the launch of the 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s Teaching and Learning Framework, looking at student motivation as the most important pillar to any learning. It is through this process we have been asking teachers to challenge the girls to be deep thinkers and challenge the notion that quality learning comes easily, building their capacity to be robust and resilient learners.

The classroom program has been supported through the Academic Mentoring program. Form teachers have been discussing with the students their goals and plans for learning. A major focus of this process is building the concept of self-efficacy. For your belief in your own abilities to deal with various situations can play a significant role in how you feel about yourself and how to go about achieving your goals. It is through this process the girls have been challenged to develop the following skills:

Students with a strong sense of self-efficacy:

• View challenging problems as tasks to be mastered not avoided
• Develop deeper interest in the learning process rather than see it as beyond their capability
• Form a stronger sense of commitment and confidence in their learning
• Recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments and not dwell on negatives

One way parents with daughters in Years 7 to 11 can support building the skills of self-efficacy is to engage with the Continuous Reporting process through Parent Lounge. It is through this process that not only do you see your daughters’ results, but more importantly, the feedback teachers have given for improvement. Discuss this with her and talk about how she is using the comments to improve and see herself as a learner with capacity.

End of Semester Reporting and Parent Teacher Interviews

With the end of term fast approaching I would like to draw your attention to the dates and times for the release of reports and the booking system for Parent Teacher Interviews.

End of Semester Reporting

End of Semester Reports will be able to be accessed through Parent Lounge on Friday 23 June after 3:00pm.

Each student’s report will consist of a comment from her Head of Year, as well as a page for each subject. The final page of the report is the Grade Point Average (GPA) graph which records the student’s overall level of achievement and tracks this from semester to semester.

For each subject there is a list of the course content, marks for the criteria assessed, a table showing the distribution of achievement levels within the subject and an assessment of your daughter’s attitude to her learning. The academic results reflected in this report are based on the assessment completed throughout Semester 1. For parents with students in Year 12 the end of semester report will include a comment from the teacher of each subject.

Parent Teacher Interviews

The second session of Parent/Teacher Interviews for 2017 will be held on Monday 10 July from 10am-6pm. These interviews are scheduled at this time to allow you to meet with teachers following the Semester One Report.

Staff value this opportunity to discuss your daughter’s learning with you. Students are encouraged to attend the interviews with their parents as this will assist them to increase their understanding of the learning process and their role in it.

Bookings for Parent/Teacher interviews will be facilitated in Parent Lounge. The booking system will be open to parents at 9am on Monday 12 June and close at 9am on Wednesday 5 July.

Nicole Devlin 

Well-known sites such as Facebook and Instagram, have taken social networking over the years to a new level. The convenience of being able to access these websites from a computer and our mobile phones have made it easy to access social applications anywhere and anytime. Most people love it! And often it seems that we can’t live without it. The rise of social networking sites has teenagers throughout the world obsessed with regards to these addictive websites.

At 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s, students are educated around the appropriate use of these social platforms through our Pastoral Care Program. In addition to this program we have several policies in place which set clear guidelines to ensure that users associated with the school use their technology appropriately. Please refer to our Student Handbook for these policies.

As a parent, you want to make sure your child is safe when she is engaged in social networking. You may find it challenging to keep up with the ever-changing technology. You may also feel like your child is much more Internet savvy than you are, and in fact, that may be the case. But as knowledgeable as your child may be, she may not be aware of the dangers of online networking and what precautions she should take to stay safe as well as being kind to others. It is important to talk to your child about social networking safety. Later in Term 3, Brett Lee from Internet Safe Education has been invited to address students, teachers and parents regarding these important topics.

Nikki Townsend 

Each woman who attended the breakfast received a gorgeous present made with love. The silver medallion was ‘amazing’. I know each woman not only felt proud to wear it but was also impressed by the creation. Thank you to Mrs Kerry Rider and Mrs Tracey Bruce for providing the inspiration and support for each girl to create her jewellery piece so lovingly. The breakfast concluded with an ‘amazing’ performance by the Year 4 girls. Under the direction of Ms Regina Brennan, the Year 4 girls sang “Just the Way You Are” with love to an appreciative audience. There weren’t many dry eyes in the house after the song; it was truly ‘amazing’. I hope that every mother, grandmother, aunt and godmother had a wonderful day being appreciated for their role in the life of others.

Next week, both Years 5 and 6 girls attend camp. The Year 5 students will head to the hills later in the week after in-school activities and participate in the leadership preparation camp. The Year 6 girls head to Canberra to experience first-hand their curriculum unit on democracy. I look forward to heading to Canberra with the girls to continue the tradition of me sharing their final Primary camp. As a Year 6 teacher, Miss Surtees will also attend Year 6 camp. She will return to school on Friday to spend her last day at school before she takes long service leave until 24 July. We wish her safe travels and look forward to hearing all about her experiences on her return. While she is on leave, Mr John O’Sullivan Williams will be the Acting Head of Planning and Organisation and Mrs Carol Auld will be covering her lessons.

Back at school, the Year 4 girls will take the reins of leadership under the supervision of Mrs Trudi Edwards. All the students remaining at school will celebrate National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday 24 May at 11am. The story this year is ‘The Cow Tripped over the Moon’ by Tony Wilson. The girls always look forward to hearing the story and seeing it come alive with teacher ‘characters’.

Holy Communion

As we prepare for the 2017 Primary Family Service on Sunday 4 June, we hold in our prayers those who will be admitted to Holy Communion on this day.

168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s Community Ball

The 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s Community Ball is less than two weeks away!!! It promises to be a fabulous night. Tickets can be purchased via Flexischools for $190 each. Ticket sales close this Sunday 21 May. We are looking forward to seeing you at Cloudland on Saturday 27 May. For enquiries, please contact Jane Capelli: jscapelli@bigpond.com or 0417 883 400.

Upcoming Events

Angela Drysdale  

Thank you to these girls for providing special entertainment at this event!

Collaboration with Conservatorium Students

This week, the Year 3 girls enjoyed having students from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music participate in their Year 3 Strings class. The conservatorium students and their lecturer in string pedagogy, Madeline Hagon (past 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s strings teacher) observed the class and joined in with the students to further their understanding of string pedagogy. Thank you to Mr Ng and Ms Williamson for facilitating this collaboration.

Music Support Group

The next Music Support Group meeting will be held on Tuesday 11 July at 5:00pm in the Primary Music Room (second floor of Chaseley). Parents from both the Primary and Secondary Schools are welcome to attend.

Brad King

The 12 Years age group, attending their first QGSSSA Cross Country finished in 5th place. The 13 Years girls finished last in 2016 and improved their ranking to 6th. The 14 Years improved one place up the ladder to 6th also. Our 15 Year girls made huge gains this year moving from 9th in 2016 to 5th on Saturday. An outstanding run by Lara Crouch saw her win the 16 Year girls race by the length of the straight. Our Open age group members, who have been outstanding leaders, are a talented group of runners. The girls opened the carnival by winning their age pennant for the second year. After reviewing the points, they had the strongest win across all age groups scoring a team effort of 47 points. Congratulations to Annabel Kennedy and Paris Urban, the 2017 Cross Country Captains, for their leadership throughout the season.

Overall, 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s finished 4th in the Aggregate Cup, one place higher up the ladder than in 2016 and once again 2nd in the Percentage Cup.

Thank you also to Mr Mandla, Mrs Krynauw and Ms O’Callaghan for their season long commitment to the squad. Finally, the improvement in 2017 and success of this season can be attributed to Mr Eric Brown’s commitment to the program as our Head Coach. Thank you, Mr Brown, for ensuring the Cross Country team was in top shape for the big day.

Winter Trials - Saturday 20 May

Team sport trials commence this weekend. If your daughter has not signed on as yet, please attend the respective trial and her name will be added to the roll. For information about uniforms and the 2017 season home and away draw please join your sports Team app.

Netball at Windsor Park

7:30am - 9:30am - Years 7 and 8

9:00am - 10:30am - Years 9 and 10

10:30am - 12noon Years 11 and 12

Volleyball in the Philip Harris Sports Centre

8:30am - 10:10am all year levels

Hockey at Windsor Park

1:00pm - 3:00pm all year levels

Autumn Sport

The 7th round of Autumn fixtures was at home against Brisbane Girls Grammar School. Competition was even across the sports and the margins were small. Congratulations to the Basketball and Touch Football teams having three wins and two draws this week. The Soccer girls had a narrow loss in the Opens 1 - 2 and the Juniors 0 - 2. The girls will play away against Somerville House this Friday evening. Please check your respective team apps for the match times and venues.

Nicky Barrie 

Artist/Photographer Jane Long returns to work with us, along with the same team of past and present students who are always excited to be part of the week’s activities. Students will work on the theme: ‘Artist with her Dreams’, learning new painting, printmaking and digital imaging skills.

Information is being distributed this week and places can be booked via Flexischools. The program runs from 9:30am – 2:30pm each day. Girls in Years 5-8 may enrol and they are welcome to bring their friends from other schools.

For any enquiries, please contact Jenny Lishman on 3862 0791 or email: jlishman@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

Jenny Lishman 

Artists have been invited to donate Postcard sized artworks - intimate, collectable, original works which will be sold at the lunch in August.

Based on a similar event run each year by the Royal Academy in London, our greatest hope is that this might be an affordable way for your daughters to begin their own art collection!

Artists who have currently returned postcards include Deb Cohen, Deb Mostert, Sophie Munns, Wayne Singleton, as well as three Maggies Art teachers and a surprise member of the 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s Leadership Team! Twenty-three other artists have each committed 4 works to our Project, so we’re excited to see what they produce!

Jenny Lishman 

Ticket prices: Corporate tables $650 for 10, $60 adult and $40 students (Years 10-12/tertiary)

Tickets will soon be on sale via Flexischools under Quick Links on 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s Website.

ST MARGARET’S P&F ASSOCIATION

P&F General Meetings

The P&F invites the school community to share their views and ideas at the General Meetings, held in the Arts Centre Foyer from 6:30pm on the following dates:

Monday 31 July 2017
Monday 30 October 2017

P&F Event Dates 2017

Term 2

Saturday 27 May - Community Ball
Friday 9 June - Fathers’ Dinner

Term 3

Saturday 2 September - Race Day

The Community Ball is only weeks away - buy your tickets now!

Join us for a wonderful evening in the spectacular Rainbow Room at Cloudland for a night of delicious food, good wines and great company.

Purchase a single ticket; book a table of 10 with your alumni group, or get your daughter's class/year level together to support this wonderful event.

Amazing raffle prizes will be won on the night including:

• $2000 shopping experience at McKinney’s Jewellers
• $1500 Flight Centre Voucher
• Halcyon Resort, Cabarita - 1 night’s accommodation including breakfast.
• Emporium Hotel, Fortitude Valley - 1 night’s accommodation including breakfast.
• Vouchers and goods from Calexico and James Street precinct
• Wolff Coffee Roasters three day coffee roasting course
• … and many more!

Event Details
Date: Saturday 27 May 2017
Venue: Cloudland, Rainbow Room
Arriving: 7:00pm, seated at 7:30pm
Includes: spectacular 3 Course Dinner and Drinks
Dress: Black Tie

Tickets are now on sale – buy yours today!
To book your ticket or table of 10 register online at .

Enquiries: Please contact Angela Pratt: nehillpratt@optusnet.com.au, Mobile: 0413 701 407

OLD GIRLS’ ASSOCIATION

10 Year Reunion - Class of 2007 - Friday 21 July 2017

20 Year Reunion - Class of 1997 - Saturday 22 July 2017

30 Year Reunion - Class of 1987 - Friday 21 July 2017

40 Year Reunion - Class of 1977 - Saturday 22 July 2017

50 Year Reunion - Class of 1967 - Saturday 22 July 2017

60 Year Reunion - Class of 1957 - Saturday 22 July 2017

Chapel Service and Morning Tea - Sunday 23 July 2017

1938-1956 (60+) Year Reunion - Monday 24 July 2017

OGA Annual Brunch - Sunday 11 June 2017

AGM - Tuesday 28 November 2017

Luanne Wishart 

Students considering a career in the snow industry should get in touch with our experienced training consultants to discuss their training, visa and working options. The courses with Educating Adventures have been in operation at over 24 resorts around the world for 10 years, and with a 99% pass rate maintained each season AND the guaranteed job offer, it is a great career pathway program.

Program Requirements:

• Intermediate to advanced skier or snowboarder ability
• Genuine interest in snow sports
• Positive attitude and decent work ethic
• Ability to work as part of a team

We have put together this link for interested students to get further information:

University of New South Wales (UNSW) Registrations for the 2017 LAT are now open and must be completed online via the ACER website.
The Law Admission Test or LAT is a written test that is used to demonstrate your aptitude and suitability for studying undergraduate Law at UNSW. Your LAT score, in addition to your academic results (e.g. ATAR + additional points) will be used in our selection process to allow us to better differentiate between the many high achieving applicants to Law. The LAT was introduced in 2016 for entry to UNSW Law dual degree programs from 2017 onwards.

If you are interested in studying Law at UNSW in 2018 then you should sit the LAT in 2017. Visit: for more information.

The University of Sydney
Join us to find out why we are ranked 1st in Australia and 4th in the world for graduate employability. Find out about our wide range of courses, scholarships, how to apply and life on our unique and exciting campus.

Date: Saturday 20 May
Time: 3pm-5pm
Venue: Pullman Hotel, Corner Anna and Roma Streets, Brisbane
Register at:

International Tertiary Application Information
United Kingdom: 2018 entry key dates

• 23 May 2017: UCAS Undergraduate Apply opens for 2018 entry.
• 6 September 2017: Completed applications can be submitted to UCAS.
• 15 October 2017: (18:00 UK time) Deadline for applications to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and for most courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine/science. The reference must be completed before the application can be sent to us. Please plan ahead for this deadline falling on a Sunday.

African Conservation Experience - Gap year opportunity

Benefits for Participating Students
Gap year volunteering and conservation travel is increasingly being recognised by employers and universities for providing real life experience and the opportunity to learn valuable skills. The students will gain a range of skills and experience including increased independence, team work and gaining practical knowledge essential for a career in the animal care fields, conservation, veterinary science or wildlife research. The experience gained on a project can stretch a young student and be demanding while giving them an experience of a lifetime, passion and drive which they take home with them. Many of our volunteers have continued in the field of wildlife care and management and now work in their dream careers!

Get all your questions about uni answered
We invite current senior high school students and their parents to find out about studying at QUT.

QUT New entry requirement for education courses
Applicants for must submit a written statement addressing suitability criteria for the course when they apply as part of their QTAC Application. Information on the selection guidelines, including the process for assessment of non-academic capabilities, is available from the .

QUT For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
QUT’s Oodgeroo Unit offers the entry pathway from mid-October for QTAC applicants who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and place QUT within their top three preferences. Applicants need to have their from a and as this process can take time, we recommend students and/or their parents start this process early.

QUT Additional entry requirements and scholarships in creative industries
For such as auditions, portfolios or interviews, students must apply online to QUT by 5pm on Friday 15 September, as well as applying through QTAC. Students interested in creative industries can also access , ranging from $10,000 to $30,000, many of which are awarded based on creative ability.

QUT Open Day program now available - register your interest
Mark the date in your diary! Visit us on Sunday 30 July to find out everything you need to know about studying at QUT. to receive event updates and go into the draw for a MacBook.

Early Entry Schemes to University:
Several tertiary institutions offer early entry schemes that require you to apply directly to the University:

UNE

Apply directly to UNE through the Early Entry Scheme:

• No application fees
• Know in early November
• ATAR or OP not required
• No UAC/QTAC applications
• Currently open and available to all year 12s (OP and non OP)

USC

The Early Offer Guarantee enables Year 12 students to be offered an early and guaranteed place at the University of the Sunshine Coast in November. These offers are made prior to the release of Year 12 results, rather than students having to wait until the main QTAC offer round in January. Early and guaranteed offers will be made to students based on the recommendations of their school Principal. Applications open 3 August.

ACU Early Achievers' Program (EAP):

We believe students should be recognised for their contribution and leadership potential, and this is why we grant them status as Early Achievers. One of the biggest benefits of the program is that successful applicants receive an offer well ahead of the usual tertiary admissions announcements.

You can apply if you are currently in Year 12. Both domestic and international students can apply if you hope to enrol in a course at ACU.

EAP applications to study in 2018
Open - Wednesday 26 April 2017
Close - Monday 17 July 2017
Offers released by end of August 2017

Griffith University - Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Stand out from the pack at the tertiary music auditions with Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University's Tertiary Preparation Workshop (TPW) program.

TPW prepares students (in Years 10, 11, and 12) to approach the theoretical and practical aspects of their university audition process with confidence. Now in its fourteenth year, the workshop runs Monday 26 to Friday 30 June and provides prospective instrumental and vocal students with an opportunity to work closely with Queensland Conservatorium staff and music industry professionals in state-of-the-art facilities at South Bank in Brisbane, Queensland. For more information visit:

When: 26 June - 30 June 2017 - Enrol Now for 2017
Where: Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, South Bank
Cost: $495

UMAT
Registrations for UMAT 2017 are open. Copies of the Information Booklet can be downloaded from the UMAT website at: . Please note that before registering for the Test students are required to carefully read the UMAT 2017 Information Booklet, which will only be available online from the UMAT website.

UMAT 2017 Key Dates:

Registrations opened first week in December 2016

Registrations close Friday 2 June 2017, 5pm AEST

Late registrations close Friday 16 June 2017, 5pm AEST

Applications for Special Testing Conditions close Friday 16 June 2017

UMAT Test date Wednesday 26 July 2017

Results released late September 2017

The only Identification documents accepted for UMAT 2017 are:

• Current passport
• Current photo-bearing driver's licence (full, probationary or learner's permit)
• Current photo-bearing Australian Keypass
• Current photo-bearing Australian Proof of Age Card

For further details, please refer to the UMAT website. Candidates without correct identification will not be permitted to sit UMAT2017 and will be turned away from the test centre.

UMAT is only available once every year. If you do not register by 2 June 2017, you will have to wait until 2018 to sit the test.

UMAT Preparation
MedEntry: If you are interested in studying Medicine or a career in health that requires sitting the UMAT Test, visit the MedEntry website for assistance in your preparation: . MedEntry is the only government accredited training organisation for UMAT preparation.

MedStart: is an organisation that assists students to prepare for UMAT. Courses are available in Brisbane. Check the MedStart website: for more details.

NIE UMAT Workshops Australia

Students in Years 10, 11 and 12 interested in medicine or dentistry will probably need to sit the UMAT (examination). During the next school holidays, on 28 June 2017, The National Institute of Education (NIE) will be conducting a full day UMAT preparation workshop. Places are strictly limited. All details are available via: .

KEY DATES:
Friday 2 and Saturday 3 June 2017
The National Careers and Employment EXPO (Brisbane Convention Centre). All Year 10 students will attend this exciting event on the morning of Friday 2 June.

Friday 2 June
UMAT Registrations close 5pm

Wednesday 26 July
UMAT Exam

Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 July 2017
The 36th annual Tertiary Studies Expo (TSXPO), Australia's largest tertiary studies expo, offers a unique opportunity for anyone interested in starting, changing or upgrading their career! Featuring many local, interstate and overseas education providers, student services and support agencies. Don't miss this great opportunity to map out your future, all in the one location! 8am-4pm, RICC Brisbane Showgrounds. A great opportunity for students to collect information from a huge number of exhibitors.

Elizabeth Johnston