Term 3, Week 8

News from the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Isn’t the year flying by! As usual so many events are occurring at the school and I am proud of all students and staff who are endeavouring to show what our great school is all about.

When the last newsletter went out, the District Athletics competition was being wrapped up. I had the joy of attending in ‘mum mode’ with my own children at the end of my long service leave, however I was filled with pride as Malanda students came and spoke of their own achievements over the two days. Congratulations to all students from Malanda who participated, as we proudly placed second overall for the competing schools and had the pleasure of seeing Loshandra, Cherinesha, Danii and Miles placing runner up age champions for their respective age categories, with Indi taking out overall age champion! At the Peninsula trials Erika also broke three records: 800m, 1500m and 5000m races respectively. Well done to all who participated and have reached the next level of competition.

We have also had out touch football teams travel to Townsville and participate in NQ Schools cup and teams entering the Geoff Hoad Soccer competition. Unfortunately the touch teams went down to the tough competition, but the soccer teams had roaring success with the intermediate team taking out their competition as well as the senior girls and second intermediate team taking out second spot. Our girls cricket teams have also been hard at work with competing in the NQ schools cup and also the StreetSmarts competition in Brisbane. Whilst the girls were not successful this year, they were commended for their encouraging nature and spirit.

In a unique sporting arena we acknowledge Khy, Bailey, Banjo and Jaxon who tore it up at the Mountain Bike series on the Atherton Tablelands recently, with Banjo snagging 4^th spot. Congratulations fellas! On an individual level we also celebrate Kinsley who recently participated in the Peninsula Touch Football team in Roma, and Dani who has been selected for the JCU Heroes in Sport program where she will get to learn from elite coaches, a very sporty student who will no doubt go far with this program. Cruz, Myles and Patrick have only just arrived home after competing as part of the Peninsula Baseball team, with Myles snagging MVP on one of the days of the competition – bravo!

We have also had our science staff and students engage with our school and primary school partners in Science Week. We have learned about UFOs, the universe, the sun, and planets in the solar system. Thank you to all involved to raise the profile of science in our community. Aside from Science we have also had our arts students engage in an excursion to see Matilda the Musical at St Stephen’s Catholic College and had our instrumental students attend the State Honors Ensemble Program (SHEP) with the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. We also look forward to the instrumental students showcasing their talents at the local concert in Yungaburra this coming weekend.

Our seniors have entered the final countdown of their schooling, with less than 90 calendar days remaining of their school journey, however they have definitely not been resting on their laurels, as last week the seniors hosted the annual Trivia Night with proceeds going to student council which was also a very successful and entertaining night. They now shift into study mode to focus on upcoming exams, rest well and remember we are right here behind you!

Onsite at school, we have also had students in year 10 participate in Careers Expos as they start to plan for their future. These students are also coming to the close of their SET Planning, which is where students select their subjects for the next school year according to the pathway they are on. Early next term students in junior year levels will also get to select their subjects for 2026 – more information will come home to parents and students about this before the process is undertaken.

Finally, we have had out handover of the refurbished tuckshop, and the menu planning and delivery has recommenced! We will have a limited menu until the end of the term, so look out for updates on the school’s Facebook page.

Wishing everyone well for the fortnight ahead.

Yours in learning,

Natasha Lyndon

Principal

Term 3 Key dates

P&C News

Visiting Author

🎶 State Honours Ensemble Program 🎶

Recently, students from Malanda SHS attended the State Honours Ensemble Program with the QLD Conservatorium of Music. 🎼

They participated in intensive instrumental and vocal coaching with industry experts, refining their skills and pushing their musical talents to the next level.

Their dedication and hard work culminated in a spectacular concert yesterday, showcasing just how talented our students are.

👏👏👏 Congratulations to all involved – we are so proud of you!

Career Expo - Cairns

Our senior students attended the Cairns Career Expo recently— exploring pathways, connecting with universities & industry experts, and gaining valuable insights for their futures. 

We’re proud of how they represented Malanda SHS with enthusiasm and curiosity. A big thank you to the staff and exhibitors for supporting this opportunity! 

Tuckshop news

📲 Qkr! is here – making tuckshop ordering easy! 🍔🥤

Parents & carers, we’re encouraging all families to sign up for Qkr! – our secure, cashless way to order and pay for tuckshop and school items. It’s simple, quick, and saves the hassle of bringing cash to school.

✅ Order lunches from your phone
✅ Pay for tuckshop items anytime, anywhere
✅ Keep receipts emailed straight to you

👉 Important reminder: Please make sure your child’s correct year level is entered when registering – this ensures their orders go to the right place.

📲 Download Qkr! today via the App Store or Google Play and follow the steps in the images below to get set up.

Let’s make tuckshop ordering smoother than ever!

#malandashs #EveryDayCounts #TuckshopMadeEasy

Exciting Opportunity!

🚨 We're Hiring! 🚨
Malanda State High School is on the lookout for passionate and dedicated staff to join our dynamic and supportive team. Whether you're an experienced educator or looking for a rewarding role in a school environment, this could be your next opportunity!

🌱 Come and be part of A Place to Excel.
🔗 Scan the QR code or visit our website for more information.

#MalandaSHS #EducationJobs #JoinOurTeam #FNQJobs #CareersInEducation #APlaceToExcel

Thank You for Supporting Trivia Night

A huge thank you to our wonderful school community for the incredible support shown at our recent Trivia Night. The turnout was fantastic, and the energy in the room made for such a memorable evening.

We were blown away by the creativity and effort put into the costumes — they added so much fun to the event and made the night truly special. 👏👏👏

Events like this are only possible thanks to the enthusiasm of our students, families, and community members who come together to participate, volunteer, and cheer each other on. Your support helps strengthen our school spirit, and we are so grateful. 💙💛

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NQ Cowboys visit

On Thursday 14^th August Malanda State High School was lucky enough to be visited by representatives from the NQ Cowboys. Heilum Luki, Tom Chester who are current players of the team took time out of their rehab to meet and chat with a group of Senior students regarding all things Rugby League and well-being. The boys were able to ask questions of the players and were given an insight into what it takes to be an elite athlete and play Rugby League at the highest level. The boys were then given a coaching session from Joey, Tom and Heilum, enjoying a few drills to help refine their football skills. The boys thanked the Cowboys for the opportunity and wished them well for next season. Jackson Nicolau (Well Being Coach) has suggested an opportunity for Senior Girls will be available with either the Cowboys Women’s Team or the Cairns Pride in the coming weeks. We look forward to that opportunity and thank the NQ Cowboys for the visit and support.

Reader's Cup

Year 7 Sewing

Sports News

On the 9th -10th of August our senior mixed touch football team travelled down to Townsville to play in the NQ all schools competition. The team had a great time over the weekend, playing 5 games, learning lots and enjoying watching and playing teams from all around NQ. The highlights were opening with a bang, winning our first game and smoking the other schools in the senior mixed relay as well as jumping into the pool after a very long, hot first day. The team played together for the first time over the weekend and grew lots, improving greatly each game. They bonded over card games, ice-cream and warm-up games, creating friendships that otherwise wouldn’t have happened. Overall, it was an incredibly fun weekend full of learning, laughing and touch football.

At the end of week four we had our school athletics team attend the district athletics carnival at Mareeba High. We saw some spectacular performances, with several students from Malanda taking out age Champion places. Our year 12s Loshandra and Cherinesha were second for open and 17 year old girls, Danii claimed second for 16 year old girls, Miles was second for 13 year old boys, and Indi Palmer took out first place as the 16 year old girl age champion.  Malanda fell just short of winning the carnival, but the fantastic effort from all our competitors made it a great two days and earnt us second place, well done everybody! Huge thankyou to all the incredible teachers and staff that make these events happen for us, and shout out to Miss Backshall, Ms Jay, Caleb, Ms Becke, Mr Griffin  and Mrs Stremouchiw for joining us on the day and being super supportive. Congrats to everyone on a great Carnival!

A wrap on the current and upcoming sporting events. This term sports captains have been running lunchtime Oz tag competition for the junior and seniors. We've seen a large range of kids come out and play showing participation and encouragement in the game. A huge shout out the junior teams for showing our seniors how it's done, good on you guys.

Monday Week 10, open girls and boys teams are heading down the Smithfield high school to play in the schools touch competition, we wish them the best of luck!

This Weekend is the Peninsula track and field trials at Barlow park, where many of our talented students are heading down to try out for a place on the Peninsula team. We hope to see good competition and sportsmanship, and hopefully a few wins to our students, good luck guys.

This Wednesday, we had 4 teams head to Atherton international club to compete in the Geoff Hoad soccer competition against neighbouring schools. Overall, our two intermediate mixed teams got 1st and 2nd, senior girls placed 2nd and senior boys 3rd. Our school placed overall 2nd in the competition. Amazing work to all participants, we love to see it.

JCU Visit

JCU students visited our University Career Ed classes under T Block. We had students from biomedicine/pharmacy, medicine, dentistry as well as a medical emergency group. Each of these fields had activities for students to sample within group rotations. Thank you to the JCU students for fostering an educational afternoon for our Year 10s!

News from the Sports Department

Sunday 10^th August saw round 1 of the FNQ Interschool Mountain bike Challenge take place, which was hosted in our local Atherton Mountain Bike Park.  There were 87 riders in attendance from schools all around the Tablelands and Cairns areas and Malanda SHS had 4 shredders representing our school; Khy A, Bailey, Banjo K and Jaxon M.  The boys all competed in very competitive divisions and finished well into the top half of their divisions with a special performance in particular by Banjo K in year 8 who found himself on the podium at the end of the 3 stages in 4^th place.  Well done gents and we are looking forward to seeing how our riders go in Round 2 at Mareeba on the 24^th of this month!

Japanese Subject news

Drama Club Excursion – Matilda the Musical JNR

On Thursday 14 August, our Drama Club students attended Matilda the Musical JNR at St Stephen’s Catholic College. The vibrant production captivated our creative students, offering a valuable opportunity to observe staging, lighting, set design, choreography and characterisation in action. We’d like to extend our sincere thanks to St Stephen’s for their warm welcome and for inspiring our young performers with such an engaging show.

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