Helensvale State High School
Helensvale State High School is a public secondary school located in the northern suburb of Helensvale on the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia. It is situated on the corner of Discovery Drive and Helensvale Road. The school first opened in 1990 with Rod Cassidy as the foundation principal. The School motto is Endeavour, Discover, Succeed.
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Overview [edit]
Helensvale High caters for a large catchment of students, with nearly 2000 enrolments,[1] making it one of the biggest high schools in the Gold Coast region. Helensvale is known for its excellence in sport, performing arts and academic performance. Helensvale offers its students a diverse range of opportunities in all areas, with a wide range of subjects available for students.
History [edit]
Helensvale High commenced in 1990 with barely 200 students and a small but dedicated staff, numbering 12, led by the inaugural principal, Mr Rod Cassidy. Students came from a wide feeder area, as far north as Jacob's Well, west to Mt Tamborine and south to Gaven, as well as the rapidly growing Helensvale area. Helensvale was the only high school in the area other than Coombabah State High School.
During 1990 all students studied a core of subjects at the year 8 level in the block that is now the Home Economics Block. During this year, staff, students and parents planned the style of school they wished to develop, choosing subjects, planning teaching and learning styles, planning sporting activities as well as performance projects.
During the first five years specialist buildings, including the SAC (Student Activity Center), which was a state-of-the-art building for education facilities in Queensland and the Performing Arts Centre, the Resource Centre and the Manual Arts Building were planned.
The school was involved in a case which was "believed to be the first Queensland case involving a former student suing over alleged bullying by teachers over mobile phone use".[2]
Excellence in sport [edit]
Sports Excellence programs encourage the collective energy of the community, the unique talents of the students and inspire achievement beyond expectations.
Year 8 - 12 Sports Excellence classes Unique support for individual sports Sports supported:
- Australian Rules
- Basketball
- Netball
- Rugby Union
- Tennis
- Soccer
- Track and Field
Performing arts [edit]
Helensvale offers its students a variety of arts subjects including music, dance and drama. All students are encouraged to engage in extra-curricular activities such as the Gold Coast Drama Festival, Estiedfords and School Musicals.
Helensvale offers its students an array of opportunities in the Performing Arts:
- Gold Coast Drama Festival
- Rock Eisteddfod
- Gold Coast Eisteddfod
- School Musical (e.g., Grease, Fame and Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat)
- Dance Ed in the Spotlight
- Cheerleadering Competitions
Notable alumni [edit]
- Rory Thompson - AFL player for the Suns
- Sam Stosur Tennis and Australian Fed Cup team member
- Sally Pearson - Australian representative to the 2012 Olympics in Athletics[3]
- Michael Shelley - Australian representative to the 2012 Olympics in Athletics[4]
References [edit]
- ^ "Full Gold Coast school capacity information". Goldcoast.com.au. News Limited. May 13, 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ Dibben, Kay (November 7, 2009). "Student 'harassed' for using mobile phone to call sick dad". Courier Mail. Queensland Newspapers. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ "London 2012 - Sally Pearson Athlete Profile". Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ "London 2012 - Michael Shelley Athlete Profile". Retrieved 4 August 2012.
External links [edit]
- HSHS Website http://www.helensvaleshs.eq.edu.au/
Coordinates: 27°53′50.27″S 153°19′39.32″E / 27.8972972°S 153.3275889°E
