Melanie Wild, a student from The Gap State High School, has clinched the top prize in the Open Short Story category at the 2024 Independent Education Union – Queensland and Northern Territory (IEU-QNT) and English Teachers’ Association of Queensland’s (ETAQ) annual Literary Competition.
The competition, now in its 65th year, saw over 1,300 submissions from students across Queensland, showcasing a diverse range of writing styles and creativity. Melanie’s victory in the Open category represents the highest level of achievement in this prestigious contest.
ETAQ President Anne Wood praised the high quality of entries received this year, emphasising the competition’s significance as the longest-running writing competition in Queensland. The event, open to both state and non-government school students and staff, continues to be a cornerstone for nurturing young literary talent in the state.
At the awards ceremony held at the Queensland Multicultural Centre on August 7, Melanie, along with other first-prize recipients, had the opportunity to read her winning piece to an engaged audience. The event also featured a lecture by guest speaker Zanni Louise, a renowned Byron Bay-based children’s author.
IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke commended the exceptional talent on display this year, noting the diverse range of entries submitted from across Queensland. He emphasised the competition’s role in encouraging literary development and freedom of expression among young people.
Melanie’s achievement stands out as a testament to The Gap State High School’s nurturing environment and quality education.
A case of whooping cough has been confirmed at The Gap State High School, prompting health officials to issue a community-wide alert. The Metro North Public Health Unit notified parents of the infection on Friday, July 19, 2024, raising concerns about the potential spread of this highly contagious bacterial illness in The Gap area.
The infected individual is believed to have attended the school while unknowingly infectious, potentially exposing other students and staff. This development is particularly alarming for The Gap community, as it comes amidst a significant surge in respiratory illnesses across Queensland.
Dr. Megan Young from Metro North Public Health emphasised the seriousness of the situation, stating, “The illness is troublesome and distressing at any age but can be very serious in young infants.” She added that while vaccination provides good protection for young children, this protection can diminish over time.
The Gap residents should be aware that this local case is part of a broader trend. Queensland has seen a dramatic increase in whooping cough cases, with 4,951 cases recorded in the first half of 2024 — nearly five times the total for the entire previous year.
Queensland Health is urging anyone at The Gap State High School experiencing a persistent cough to see their doctor, even if they have been previously vaccinated against pertussis. Those diagnosed with whooping cough are advised to stay home for 21 days after symptom onset or until they have completed at least five full days of appropriate antibiotic treatment.
Adding to the community’s concerns is a statewide shortage of the most commonly used medication to treat whooping cough. While alternative generic medicines are available, the Therapeutic Goods Administration reports that this shortage is unlikely to be resolved within the year.
The Gap residents are reminded of the importance of up-to-date vaccinations. Pertussis vaccines are included in routine childhood immunisations and are available free of charge as part of the childhood and adolescent immunisation schedules, as well as for pregnant women.
As the community remains vigilant, parents and residents are encouraged to stay informed about any updates from school and health authorities.
The Gap State High School (SHS) is a fertile ground for exceptional sporting talent, with students achieving remarkable success across various disciplines. From gymnastics to athletics and volleyball, these young athletes are making their mark on national and international stages.
Year 8 student Kaley Croot boasts an impressive array of athletic accomplishments. A consistent school athletics age champion from 2018 to 2023 and the 2023 Sportsperson of the Year, Croot has excelled in various track and field events. She has claimed first place in the 100m, 200m, and long jump while representing Met North in her age group. Croot secured second place in the 100m and 200m finals at the Queensland School Sport Track and Field State Championships last season.
She has also represented The Gap at the Little Athletics State Championships and Queensland at the National Track & Field Championships, showcasing her speed and agility. Croot’s sporting prowess extends beyond athletics. She has also demonstrated outstanding touch football skills, earning a spot on the Met Northside team that competed at the state championships.
Eli Pullen: Gymnastics Star on the Rise
Year 12 student Eli Pullen is a force to be reckoned with in artistic gymnastics. As a Junior International gymnast, Pullen secured first place at the regionals earlier this year, amassing four gold, one silver, and one bronze medal on individual apparatuses for the Boys Grammar Club.
His achievements extend to the international arena, where he contributed to Australia’s fourth-place finish at the Austrian Future Cup and a triumphant first place at the Olympic Hopes Cup as part of the Junior Australian team.
Harvey Schutte, Nicoleta Kioupelis, and Caitlin Clarke: Volleyball Virtuosos
The Gap SHS also fosters a thriving volleyball programme, with three students participating. Year 12 student Harvey Schutte, a Queensland Academy of Sport Volleyball scholarship holder, has ascended to the Queensland beach team and the Australian Junior Indoor team, which recently toured Thailand. Schutte aspires to play for the Australian Senior Men’s indoor team and pursue volleyball opportunities overseas.
Year 8 talent Nicoleta Kioupelis, emerging from the QAS emerging talent programme, has made the Queensland beach volleyball and indoor state teams. Kioupelis acknowledges The Gap SHS’s instrumental role in nurturing her volleyball journey.
Caitlin Clarke, a Queensland beach representative and Australian Junior Indoor team member who represented Australia at the 15th Asian Women’s U18 Volleyball Championship in June, also credits The Gap SHS’s support for her success. She values the school’s volleyball community and aspires to compete for Australia at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics in Beach Volleyball.
The achievements of these remarkable students are evidence of Gap State High School’s commitment to fostering sporting excellence. As they continue to pursue their athletic passions, they inspire their peers and testify to the school’s dedication to providing a supportive environment for young athletes to flourish.
On Tuesday, 28th of February 2023, at around 10:55 a.m., the students were asked to stay put inside instead of going out on their first break to ensure their safety as a school staffer saw a slithering Eastern Brown Snake.
Professional snake handlers from Snake Out Brisbane Snake Catchers were then called to remove on the courtyard just outside of the classrooms.
Fortunately, no one was harmed during the incident as the students and staff waited and watched while the pros got to work. Their lunch break, however, was cut short because of the 30 minute lockdown.
The Eastern Brown Snake is deemed as the second most venomous snake in the world but they are effective for pest control at farmlands.
“Because the Eastern Brown Snake can cope and even thrive in areas of human disturbance, and its natural range happens to include some of the most populated parts of the country, this species is probably encountered more than any other type of snake” per the Australian Museum.
“Being an alert, nervous species they often react defensively if surprised or cornered, putting on a fierce display and striking with little hesitation. However, if approached over a distance, they will usually choose to flee or else remain stationary, hoping to avoid detection.”
Experts say that the snake’s bites are easy to disregard because it might just feel like a scratch. These snakes have short but fine fangs that don’t actually hurt. However, within minutes of the bite, a victim could feel nauseous and vomit or collapse before bleeding to death.
The winners of the 2022 Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art which includes The Gap State High School’s very own, Angela Bevis, have just been announced.
A total of 30 budding artists have been crowned with the prestigious Creative Generation Excellence Awards, as announced by Education Minister Grace Grace last 2 December 2022.
The Gap State High School’s Angela Bevis was among the recipients via her entry titled “Dear Diary”. The artwork utilised textile and paper patchwork for the projection base and 17 digitally composed illustrations using ink, collage, acrylic paint on leaves, tape-sealed insects, and found natural objects as a basis.
The illustrations display personal diary entries and varying combinations of picture and abstract text that were combined to create a Powerpoint video clip and projected onto the hung-up white base
Angela Bevis | Photo credit: Queensland Government / creativegeneration.education.qld.gov.au
Artist Statement
“Cast your own shadows upon my past, as that is what you inevitably do. For better or worse every second that passes and every action you take will always ripple around to every other soul on this Earth. For however frightening the concept of our own physicality is, please, sit and watch one person’s memories. Watch them project onto and stain a clean slate, turning the invisible into physical, manifested illustrations before fading into one another. Imagine they are your own, because now they are. You have experienced my experiences and we are but a second closer to each other.”
“Dear Diary”, visual art by Angela Bevis | Photo credit: Queensland Government / creativegeneration.education.qld.gov.au
“The Excellence Awards recognise the incredible talent and dedication shown by Queensland art students,” Ms Grace said.
“This wonderful competition has shone a spotlight on the high standard of visual art education in Queensland secondary schools since 1990, and the standard of entries this year has been fantastic.
“Congratulations to all students who entered, I hope you are encouraged to continue creating and exploring visual art in life after school.
The 2022 Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art winners by region are as follows:
The winners of the 2022 Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art will have their artwork exhibited at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) at South Bank in Brisbane from 22 April 2023. View the digital exhibition here.
The Gap State High School ranked among the state finalists for the 2022 QSuper Showcase Award for Excellence in Secondary Years, receiving recognition for its “whole school pedagogical change” program.
The citation said that the school’s innovative program combines rigorous research, teacher consultation, and student voice which resulted in the development of a locally contextualized educational framework at The Gap State High School.
“The school has been delivering the Australian curriculum with precision using effective teaching approaches as the foundation. Teaching teams participate in highly structured intentional collaboration sessions every Monday and Friday morning,” the citation said.
“These sessions focus on pre-moderation of curriculum and teaching together with a collaborative assessment of student work and review. The unique approach demonstrates the value of teamwork and shared goals, and the results have been encouraging.”
“Data collected using action research methodologies has shown that implementation of the new teaching for innovative learning and engagement framework has led to quantifiable improvements in student engagement and levels of achievement. This fulfils the school’s core purpose to create a community of learners who flourish,” the citation concluded.
Urangan State High School, CAPIP took home the award for their “Time for the right work”.
The 10 award category winners are:
The Network 10 Showcase Award for Excellence in the Early and Primary Years
North Coast Cluster (Moreton Downs State School, Burpengary State School, Caboolture East State School, Elimbah State School, Jinibara State School, Mango Hill State School and Narangba Valley State School), Critical friends network
The QSuper Showcase Award for Excellence in the Secondary Years
Urangan State High School, CAPIP – time for the right work
The TUH Health Fund Showcase Award for Excellence in Inclusive Education
Tinana State School, Everyone’s welcome in the room – whatever it takes
The RemServ Showcase Award for Excellence in Parent and Community Engagement
Pine Rivers South Primary Cluster (Lawnton State School, Bray Park State School, Strathpine State School and Strathpine West State School), Engagement and attendance matters – The more you go the more you know
The Showcase Award for Excellence in Global Engagement
Whites Hill State College Cluster (Indooroopilly State High School, Kelvin Grove State College, Sunnybank State High School, Coolum State High School, Mount Gravatt State High School, Centenary Heights State High School, North Lakes State College and Springfield Central State High School), Blended/hybrid virtual high school preparation
The Queensland Teachers’ Union Showcase Award for Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education
Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre, Building cultural understanding and capabilities on Quandamooka Country
The Showcase Award for Excellence in Rural and Remote Education
Happy Valley State School, Leading from the classroom: a model of distributive leadership
The QUT Showcase Award for Excellence in Teaching
Brett Dascombe, Wavell State High School
The Griffith University Jack Pizzey Award for Excellence in School Leadership
Tracy Egan, Mango Hill State School
The Bevan Brennan Every Child Needs a Champion Award
Lawnton State School, We grow leaders
The 2022 Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools ceremony was held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre last 11 October 2022. It had 86 submissions representing 220 state schools.
Each state award group category winner will receive $10,000 development grants with two individuals to each receive a $5,000 development grant.
“Educators have benefitted from a total of $166,000 in grant support from this year’s Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools, including regional winners who received $1,000 each and regional commendations receiving $500 each,” Ms Grace said.
The Gap State High School, one of the largest student communities in Brisbane, will no longer be supervising students at the bus stops after school when classes resume for Term 2.
Before the Easter holidays, school officials informed parents that the standard practice of supervising students at public transportation sites when they go home will no longer follow due to “industrial direction.”
Per the Queensland Teachers Union, school staff workers are expected to look out for the children for at least 30 minutes but only for school bus riders. However, The Gap High School is on the busy Waterworks Road and for some time, the school has been coming up with ways to manage and ensure the safety of the number of students taking the public buses.
GSHS principal Anne McLauchlan said that they have coordinated with local officials, as well as councillors, over concerns about the flow of traffic on Waterworks Road versus the flow of students at the end of the school day.
During Term 1, the school has trialled different school exits, with school workers initially guiding the students, to manage the foot traffic. According to an Education Department spokesperson, the trial proved to be a success and eased the crowding of kids on the roadside during peak hours.
Meanwhile, The Gap State High School will keep conducting sessions with the students on safe travels on the road. Parents will also be given constant reminders to guide their children as well and talk about proper behaviour, especially when taking public transport after school.
In March 2022, You Choose Youth Road Safety held a road safety session at the school, which was attended by 250 kids.
Beginning May 2022, The Gap State High School will be one of 50 Queensland schools that will have a GP on-site, as part of a pilot program launched in aid of students may who need consultations for their health and wellbeing.
A budget of $100 million has been allocated for this program that will see GP clinics up and running within the 50 school campuses. These clinics are meant to provide timely healthcare that bears no cost to the student’s families.
The Education Department was supposed to have only 20 state secondary schools in the pilot but after asking schools to register their interest to participate, Minister Grace Grace said they were inundated with requests and so they decided to expand coverage to 50 schools.
“[This] will have a positive impact on students’ health, mental health, and their readiness and ability to engage at school, and we want to ensure as many students as possible can benefit,” Ms Grace said.
However, Australian Medical Association Queensland president Chris Perry said whilst they welcome more access to primary healthcare, he hopes that this initiative will not impact and further overwhelm the “under-resourced” and exacerbate GP shortage problems across Queensland.
Photo Credit: Julio Ceasar Mejia/Pixabay
The move encompasses an election promise from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who said that there must be a wellness program for every student of the state.
“Every Queenslander deserves to be able to book a doctor’s appointment when they need one. But for many young people, getting in to see a GP is often difficult and expensive,” Palaszczuk said.
“We know that one of the greatest barriers for many young people is the difficulty in finding a GP that bulk bills.
“This will make a difference for thousands of students throughout the state.
“The last 18 months have affected us all. Our students, in particular, have had to overcome great challenges throughout the pandemic. This has undoubtedly had an impact on their health and wellbeing.
“This is an important investment. Delivering quality healthcare and education for all Queenslanders is what good Labor governments do best,” she said.
Despite the school administration’s best efforts, one of the largest high schools in Brisbane, The Gap State High School, had to cut its maths and sciences classes due to a shortage of teachers.
Parents of the students of the school on Waterworks Road were informed in late May 2021 that their children could attend before or after school tutorials in place of actual classes in maths and sciences as they’ve been experiencing an overwhelming number of teachers with “unforeseen medical and health conditions.”
In 2021 alone, at least six science teachers took charge of the classes at The Gap State High School, which has been an unusual turnover.
Principal Anne McLauchlan also informed the parents that they are “struggling to recruit suitable staff,” a problem that of late has not been unique to the school.
According to Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson, there has been a shortage of maths, science and specialised STEM teachers across the regional schools, especially for educational institutions with a large student body such as The Gap SHS.
Ms Richardson also explained that whilst school officials carefully carry out the planning, teaching and assessments every term, the schools will still need to be resourced appropriately. Sontract teachers are another challenge altogether, however, especially if they have to go on leaves because of a medical issue.
To help address the shortage, the State Government has launched paid internship program called Turn to Teaching. The program is open to professionals who want to change careers and consider getting their teaching qualifications. The program hopes to bring in 300 people, who could become permanently employed as teachers.
The Gap State High School is celebrating the completion and opening of its new cutting-edge STEM Building, which houses seven classrooms, four science laboratories, two robotics labs, three flexible learning areas, amenities, staff rooms and associated spaces.
On 19 June 2019, Labor MP for Cooper, Kate Jones officially opened the three-storey STEM structure to cater to Years 10 to 12 and junior classes taking STEM subjects.
Photo Credit: The State of Queensland (Department of Education) 2019 /education.qld.gov.au
The construction of the $10.7-million STEM building was made possible through the State Government’s 2020 Ready Program — which targets to deliver additional school infrastructure at 61 schools across the state.
Photo Credit: Wiley / wiley.com.au
Apart from providing state-of-the-art learning spaces, the new building will also ensure that TGSHS will have enough classrooms to accommodate its growing enrollment, which is expected to grow to about 1,770 in 2020 from this year’s 1,550 students.
Photo Credit: Wiley / wiley.com.au
In 2002, The Gap State High School’s Leadership Training Centre was opened which features 22 adventure courses such as indoor rock climbing. The school also has a state-of-the-art performance hall which has a seating capacity of 750, an auditorium that can accommodate up to 15 students, rehearsal rooms, practice rooms, and storage areas.
Photo Credit: The State of Queensland (Department of Education) 2019 / thegapshs.eq.edu.au
The school’s sporting facilities, on the other hand, boasts of four basketball courts, turf cricket pitch, a concrete cricket pitch, and two full size soccer fields.
The Gap State High School opened its new $5-million sports hall in 2014, which is one of the largest indoor school sporting facilities and features 4 volleyball courts, storerooms, mezzanine level for weights, cardio rooms, and a large spectator area.
Other school facilities include an independent learning centre; film and television editing suites; industrial technology facility; and a trade training centre for electrotechnology, renewable energy and engineering.
