2011-2020

Fact Sheet - 2011 - 2020

2011

"Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger. These words truly reflect the year we have had" was Mr McLuckie's statement in Reflections.

Southport SHS was recognised by the Gold Coast Bulletin as one of the three top Academic performing schools on the coast.

During 2011 the opening of the new Support Service Centre a one -stop-shop housing Senior Study, School Chaplain, Guidance Officer, Nurse and Dean of Students was achieved.

Plans were drawn up and the construction of 2 new Art rooms to replace those lost in the fire in 2010 occurred.  Major renovations to the Performing Arts Centre gave the building much needed new space and equipment.

The Trix Circus program continued to provide aerial artistry and gymnastic work at the school and was unique to SSHS.    

Learning Support saw the introduction of Individual Learning Programs implemented for year 8 students as a result of evidence base data obtained from week 1 testing and Primary School reports. In the Senior school both academic and vocational changes were occurring at rapid pace. Year 11 students constructed a bike –light circuit at Griffith University and year 12's were involved in Powerboat hull designs. A new VET pathway for year 11 Certificate 2 in Hospitality was implemented, facilitated by ICON training which operated their leading Chef Training Academy from within SSHS.  Chemistry students tested local waterways for heavy metals and rates of corrosion against various factors. Much, much more was happening!

A new school uniform was designed and was to be phased in gradually.

2012

The new look Southport SHS continued to be developed. Ground improvements with facilities, landscaping and plantings continued. A big Black Fence was constructed around the whole school campus to provide added security and protection for the school.

A significant achievement was Southport being appointed to trial the transitioning of Year 7 students in 2013.  This Trial Pilot was known as "Flying Start". The Primary Partner schools for this initiative were Labrador SS, Musgrave Hill SS and Southport SS. A group of year 6 students also joined as observers with the first intake of year 7 students with the permanent year 7 cohort entering the Secondary School campus from 2015. Extensive parent meetings were held at all primary schools involved. A new building was to be constructed to house the new influx of students. 

The member for Southport Mr Molhoek , accompanied by the Minister for Education, Mr John-Paul Langbrook visited the school to inspect developments.

A new philosophical concept was introduced across the school:  TORO VALUES. This culture was designed to enhance teaching and learning:- 

Teaching and Learning; Ourselves; Responsible relationships; Our Community

SSHS performed very well at the Showcase Awards for Excellence in schools  across the State and at Regional Levels. The "Reading Riot" program was again in the top 3 State finalists for the second year running. The School was also recognized as being an innovator for Computer Assisted Design (CAD).

The Indigenous Education Network with Indigenous students from other schools and the local community elders was designed to encourage and focus students to embrace and to be proud of their culture.  Bond University's AIME mentoring program helps keep students connected to learning. A graduating Indigenous year 12 student Hannah Allan was Dux of Year 12.

BIG NEWS! The school introduced new uniforms to coincide with the arrival of year 7's.

2013

The Year Southport High became an Independent Public School:  the official title is Southport State High IPS. This was quite historic, as it was one of the first to be so designated.

The first intake of year 7 students arrived under the biggest change to Queensland Education in decades. Enrolments reached 1253, the most students at our school for over a decade. 

The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program was introduced which provides a framework for learning, encouraging creative, critical and reflective thinkers. Students learn to connect what they are studying to the real world, fostering development of skills for communication, intercultural understanding and global engagement. All these qualities are necessary for life in the 21^st century.

Apple Education's iTunes U focused on iPads in the classroom. Southport High is the first government school to have public iTuneU site. Parents could also join the program too!

2013 was a year of historic firsts!

2014

The newly designated school had to form a School Council with Community leaders, Staff representatives and School students. The Parents and Citizens body was also a strong influence in guiding the direction the school was to take. 

Apple Education program continued to develop. There was a big purchase of a wide range of CNC equipment as technology is the future of manufacturing. Students have access to CNC Sticker Printer/Cutter, rapid Prototyping Router 3D Printer and 2 large Industrial Routers- soon to include more 3D printers and a laser cutter.

Southport High also had 15 dance excellence students participate in State Schools Onstage. This was a high energy extravaganza performed at the Brisbane Convention Centre and televised nationally.  A new addition to the dance program was the gaining of a Dance Artist in Residence where n2 dancers from the world famous Sydney Dance Company gave workshops in contemporary technique.

The school once again had a Choir and they performed at the school's Anzac Day ceremony and competed for the first time at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod. The String Ensemble also competed and won 1^st place!

SSHIPS also had presentations about Cyber Bullying from the resident Police Officer. There were other programs about Self Esteem, Anger management and problem solving skills. There are many new issues resulting from Social Media platforms using technology which have created obstacles for many teenagers.

Construction students added many new features around the school such as a new style of pergola, shades and seating. The biggest building of all to be added was the Synergy Building to house the intake of year 7's. 

The school farewelled Mr Steve McLuckie as Principal as he took up an appointment as Principal of Varsity Independent Public School. He had been at the school since 2010 and had guided many of the significant changes at the school.

2015

The new Principal, Mr Nigel Hughes arrived as Principal from Palm-Beach Currumbin High Independent Public School. SSHIPS now had 1600 students enrolled. This increase attests to the significant impact that the school's philosophy has had on the community who are voting with their feet. This school has an active School Values Team which promotes TORO values.

Social Science Psychology courses continued to excite student interest as well as the great offerings in History and Geography especially with the ACE program. The school has an International program which caters for international students who wish to study in Australia. Southport State High was also the winner of the Mayors Technology Award for 2015.

The Sports Excellence program had the largest number of Athletes the school has ever seen. It has expanded into the Senior School with 2 year 10 classes. Testing, trials and training are becoming more intensive and specialised to identify the most talented athletes on the Gold Coast and to cater for their individual needs. The program contained over 200 students from a wide range of different sports e.g. Tennis, Mixed martial arts, BMX, Golf, Equestrian, Surf life-saving as well as common team sports students are involved in. SSHIPS was also home to 8 winning GIPSA teams!

The Arts program continued to flourish its excellence across all areas. Creative Arts Excellence… thank you to all the students in the school whether you paint, sing, edit, dance or act or create music, "you made our lives happy"! There was the Artist in Residence program, "Stuffit" the national film competition, the Drama Festival, creative Generations, "Insight" Art Exhibition. The reputation of our Arts Education has spread into the community and projected number for 2016 were 280. SSHIPS also performed very well in the Gold Coast Eisteddfod, achieving 3rd for Choir and 2nd for string ensemble and drama. The school musical this year was The Wedding Singer based on the popular movie. Lots of fun, great entertainment by an exuberant and talented cast of musicians, singers and dancers and a talented and hardworking team of teachers too!

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2016

SOUTHPORT STATE HIGH INDEPENDENT PUBLIC SCHOOL'S CENTENARY YEAR!

SSHIPS is rare amongst Queensland Secondary Schools as only a handful have made it to 100! The year was marked with many activities throughout the year across all faculties. The official month of celebration was June.  Planning by a hardworking committee of Alumni, Principal and Deputies, P&C members had been working for two years to organise a special series of events.

Southport Centenary Open day was held at the Smith St Campus on June 17, 2016.  A memorabilia display, collected by Alumni members Sunny Cameron and Joanne Eddie and Lyn Smith, past HOD History, was set up in the Enterprise Centre. This included a range of blazers and past uniforms, many of which brought howls of laughter and dismay. Many photographs and other items of interest such as early school building plans, trophies etc. were eagerly inspected by visitors and current students alike. Over 400 past students attended and many who were there in 1955 when the school opened at the current campus.

The morning and afternoon school assemblies heard speeches by visiting dignitaries, past and present teachers and students.  The ABC had also given wide coverage via 91.7FM radio.  Various pre-recorded interviews were made during the week and replayed on the morning program live. The station had set up a broadcast booth at the school and announcer Nicole Dyer interviewed 'live' various school personalities past and present.

The exhibition and assemblies were followed by delicious morning and afternoon teas with large Centenary Cakes for each provided by Mr Frank Goldstein of Bakery fame, who had been an early attendee of the school.

Junior Visual Art students completed work on the 2016 centenary mural project. The mural spans a large wall surrounding the pool and is visible from Smith Street and the oval. The design symbolises the journey SSHS has travelled over its 100 year journey of excellence in Education. Visitors on the Open Day added their signatures!

The "big event" – a Gala Ball was held at Jupiter's Casino on the evening of June 18. It was compered by a past student, Stephan Dennis of "Neighbours" TV series fame. It was a very friendly, noisy evening with guests seated at 'Decades Tables' dining on great food and enjoying their reunion and dancing to the music of Madison Kat.  A wonderful evening was had with much reminiscing and a formal acknowledgement of what Southport State High Independent Public School had achieved.

SSHIPS was now recognised as a school of choice on the Gold Coast. Enrolments had grown exponentially in years 7, 8 and 9, and so too has our student attendance and academic results. Our message of "every day counts" is obviously taking effect.

The Quadrennial School Review will interrogate all areas of the school to shape the next four year strategic plan which is committed to Innovate, Cultivate and Generate.

Southport State High also performed excellently at the Music and Drama Eisteddfod, brining home 2 1st place prizes in Music and 2 1st place prizes in Drama productions. In GIPSA Sport SSHIPS has 13 winning teams in 2016 and was the winner of Mayors Technology Award.

SSHIPS dedicated teachers, Support staff, the Leadership team, parents, our Southport Business Alliance friends have exceeded expectations to build our community-school relationship. This shows our students that we value community input and education.

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2017

In 2017, Southport State High excelled in all areas, the school’s vision was to Innovate Thought to Create Critical Thinkers, to Cultivate Passion for Learning and to Generate Leadership at all levels.

Some examples of these great achievements for 2017 are the NAPLAN results, which placed Southport State High above all other state schools on the Gold Coast and in GIPSA Sport Southport State High had thirteen premiership winning teams! The 2017 Seniors earned an extra 96 VHA’s than the 2016 cohort and performed better in Sport and the Creative Arts competitions than ever before, winning 2 1st place prizes in Drama productions and 2 1st place prizes in Music. Southport State High School also received the award for Best Overall School at the Australian Robotics Challenge at Griffith University in October with a number of student gold, bronze and future potential awards. The Griffith Sciences STEM Ambassador School of Excellence Award was also awarded to Southport State High in 2017 for their outstanding work in STEAM.

In Creative Arts, much like the other areas, students also excelled, taking home two first place productions and three outstanding actor awards for Drama and two first place awards for Music.

In 2017, Southport State High had partnered with over 75 local business and numerous community organisations, for the benefit of creating opportunities for students and to engage them in community service.

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2018

In 2018, the Southport community was aligned to the school’s vision, which is to Innovate, Cultivate and Generate and the staff at Southport State High worked tirelessly to live up to the school motto of Respice Finem – Focus on the end result.

In 2018 Southport State High had achieved some memorable results in Academics, The Arts and on the Sporting fields, and continued to be one of the State’s highest achieving State schools. Some examples of these results include winning four awards at the Drama Festival, and the 15 premiership winning teams at GIPSA sport ensured Southport State High took home the award for number 1 GIPSA Champion School. In the STEAM area, Southport State High played host to the first ever QLD VEX Robotics Competition, and as a result, entered teams for years 10 and 11 to represent Queensland at the Australian VEX Robotics Competition in Melbourne.  Southport State High students regularly demonstrate their outstanding talents on a local, State and National level.

We actively encouraged parents to be a partner in their students’ education and for local businesses to support local state education through the Southport State High Business Alliance.

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2019

Our school is aligned to our vision, which is to Innovate, Cultivate and Generate and in 2019, much like every year, we work tirelessly to ensure that our students have results that they can be proud of. Once again, this year we have achieved great results in Academics, The Arts and on the sporting fields. We continue to be one of the state’s highest achieving state schools and our students regularly demonstrate their outstanding talents on a Local, State and National level.

Southport State High is the hub of this thriving community. We actively teach and promote our TORO values of Teaching and Learning, Ourselves, Respectful Relationships and Our Community. We actively encourage parents to be a partner in their students’ education and for local businesses to support local state education through the Southport State High Business Alliance. As the old saving goes: It takes a community to raise a child.

In 2019, once again, the students at SSHIPS performed spectacularly across the board, winning 1st Place in Strings Ensemble, 2 1st Place awards for Visual Arts, 6 Award winners for the 2019 Drama Festival and in GIPSA we had 21 winning teams, which made Southport State High the number 1 GIPSA Champion School for the second year in a row!

Our awards did not finish there though, SSHIPS were also the winners of the Griffith University STEM Cup in the Central Gold Coast division and won the Peter Doherty Award for Excellence in STEM Education. 2019 was an incredibly successful year for Southport State High School and a testament to the incredible students and teachers that work so hard.

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2020

This year will go down in history as one of the most challenging, yet rewarding ever due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Students adapted to a new landscape in education when all learning was taken online and although challenged, this year we were able to stay aligned to our vision, of Innovate, Cultivate and Generate.

Once again, Southport State High students achieved great results, we continued to be one of the state’s highest achieving state schools and in 2020 SSHIPS was recognised nationally as a finalist in the Educators National Awards of Excellence in Six Categories including Secondary School of the Year – Government, Best Use of Technology- Innovation in Curriculum Design, Education Rising Star of the Year – Samantha Fletcher, Department Head of the Year – Rachel Cureton and School Principal of the Year – Nigel Hughes. Southport State High was the winner in the Innovation in Curriculum Design category!

Southport continued to grow its reputation as the hub of the Southport community and actively recruited local businesses to support local state education through the Southport State High Business Alliance.

SSHIPS was the first school in Queensland to be officially recognised as having full implementation of the Junior Secondary model, which we started in 2013. In Creative Arts, Southport placed 1st in Strings Ensemble and 2nd in Wind Ensemble at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod and at the Gold Coast Secondary School Drama Festival, SSHIPS took home the award for Most Innovative play, Outstanding Dramatic performance and Best Actor for student Sarah Gee! SSHIPS students also received 2 1st Place awards for Visual Arts in 2020.

Despite the tumultuous events of the year, Southport State High students still demonstrated excellence in all areas of schooling and leant some lifelong skills.

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