| Spinifex State College | |
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| Location | |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public, day and boarding |
| Motto | Sharing Knowledge, Creating Our Future |
| Established | 2003 |
| Grades | 7–12 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Color(s) | Navy, gold, white |
| Website | spinifexsc |
Spinifex State College is a public, co-educational, day and boarding school located in Mount Isa, Queensland. It first opened in 2003.
Prior to 2003 Mount Isa was serviced by two state secondary schools. Mount Isa State High School and Kalkadoon State High School had served the community well.
Following community consultation it was determined that to continue to provide the best possible education to students in Mount Isa that it was timely to merge the two schools. At the same time it was decided to open a residential campus to provide opportunities to students from outlying communities who do not have a secondary school.
Spinifex State College officially opened in 2003. It is a three-campus co-educational school, with a Junior, Senior and Residential (boarding) campus. Spinifex State College offers and educational program for years 7–12.
The Junior Campus provides education for students in years 7–9. The school is based on a ‘school within a school’ concept with a Deputy and Head of Department assigned to, and managing each year level. In addition to this there is also a Pathways Program that caters for students who are not achieving success in the mainstream program. Some of the pathway students attend at the junior campus, some attend a class at the senior campus and others attend a class based at Mount Isa Special School. The Junior campus is equipped with tennis courts and basketball courts. The junior campus is at 6-16 Fifth Avenue in Parkside ( 20°44′05″S139°29′14″E / 20.7348°S 139.4871°E ), the former site of Mount Isa State High School. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The Senior campus provides from years 10 to 12. Students select a course of study from a wide variety of offerings including Queensland Studies Authority subject, Authority Registered subjects and also TAFE courses.
Spinifex College has a Special Education Unit at the junior campus and a Special Education Class at the senior campus.
The senior campus is at 137–179 Abel Smith Parade in Pioneer ( 20°43′22″S139°30′38″E / 20.7229°S 139.5106°E ). [1] [3] The senior campus shares the site with the Mount Isa School of the Air, the Mount Isa campus of TAFE Queensland, and the Mount Isa Special School. [3] It is the site of the former Kalkadoon State High School. [5] [4]
The Residential campus is the first state-run boarding facility in Queensland for students attending a state school. This campus has the capacity to board and provide educational support to 57 students.
Since opening in 2003 the College has worked closely with local industry partners. In 2004, in partnership with Xstrata, Mount Isa Mines a Bursary program was introduced for year 11 students. Selected students attend Xstrata one day a week in Year 11 and during school holidays. This is then progressed into a SAT once students have identified their area of preference. In 2007 a new “Skills for the Future” program was offered for Year 9 students to give them an opportunity to attend the Xstrata Skills Centre and experience trade skills.
Close links with Mount Isa TAFE have enabled a number of TAFE courses to be embedded into the school timetable.
Spinifex College is also a Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy hub school. The Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) provides students with clear pathways into one of the state’s largest, dynamic and economically important sectors
In 2006, Spinifex State College sent away a Touch Football team, the Taipans, to Singapore to compete in the World All Schools Touch Football competition, an event which attracts hundreds of teams from schools around the world. The Taipans won the competition. The College has also developed several successful Rugby league, Cricket, Soccer, Australian Rules Football, Softball and Hockey teams.
Spinifex State College hosts its own netball club, and in 2015 had seven teams participate in the local netball competition. There are two junior teams: Spinners and Sparklers, whose teams are composed of Spinifex students, and there are five senior teams: Socialites, Stingers, Scorchers, Sapphires, and Strikers. The senior teams are composed primarily of Spinifex teachers and past-Spinifex students.
Friendly games across all sports are conducted against Good Shepard Catholic College and Cloncurry State High School. Rivalry between the three schools is increasingly competitive.
Spinifex State College has a combined campus concert band. The students in this band range from intermediate to experienced levels. The band placed 2nd at the regional Eisteddfod in 2005, placed 3rd in 2006, and 3rd in 2007. In 2005, the band received a Silver Award for FanFare – a prestigious school band competition held throughout Queensland. The school also has a jazz band, that formed in 2005 and the following year took 4th place at the North-West Queensland regional Eisteddfod. The jazz band reformed at the beginning of 2007 to form the Mount Isa Stage Band..[ citation needed ] Currently, the Spinifex State College Concert Band has around 40 members and performs at various school events.
Spinifex State College has a strong arts program and is well known for its stage musicals which are produced every two years. In 2003 they performed the hit musical Back to the 80s . 2005 saw the school perform another hit musical, again a comedy, Smithy . The story of Smithy follows a troublesome youth who joins the school play, Romeo and Juliet, and tries his luck with the hottest girl around. The school musical was postponed until 2008, in order to accommodate for the new music teacher and the new drama teacher. The school musical for 2008 was called Disco Inferno, a 70's themed comedy. It premiered on the 18th and 19 July at the Mount Isa Civic Center. 2010 saw the production of the world famous musical "Grease", again performed at the Mount Isa Civic Center to a positive audience reception. The musical was postponed, this time for three years. In 2014, Spinifex State College performed the hit "High School Musical" at the Mount Isa Civic Center which was met with acclaim by audiences. In 2016, Spinifex performed “Popstars”, a jukebox musical based on the drama surrounding a talent contest. In 2018, they staged “Rock of Ages”, yet another jukebox musical but one with Hollywood and Broadway ties. This most recent musical was extremely popular, and students and staff alike are anxious to perform again soon.
Mount Waverley Secondary College is a public secondary school located in the Melbourne suburb of Mount Waverley. The school consists of roughly 1900 students and is one of the largest in the state. The school consists of two campuses both situated on Stephensons Road in Mount Waverley. The Junior Campus holds years 7 and 8, with year levels 9 to 12 at the Senior Campus. The campuses are a short walking distance apart.
Mount Isa is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, based on combined production of lead, silver, copper and zinc.
Dajarra is a town and a locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Dajarra had a population of 191 people; 60.3% of the population are Indigenous.
Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE was a progressive, public provider of technical and further education college within Queensland, Australia. MSIT operated in the highly competitive vocational education and training sector. The college offered 270 courses for approx 30,000 students enrolled each year. MSIT also provided fee for service corporate training and small business coaching programs.
Duchess is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Duchess had a population of 23 people.
Parkside is a suburb of Mount Isa in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Parkside had a population of 1,532 people.
Pioneer is a suburb of Mount Isa in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Pioneer had a population of 2,176 people.
Townview is a suburb of Mount Isa in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Townview had a population of 2,062 people.
Happy Valley is a suburb of Mount Isa in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Happy Valley had a population of 733 people.
Healy is a suburb of Mount Isa in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Healy had a population of 1,878 people.
Sunset is a suburb of Mount Isa in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Sunset had a population of 2,188 people.
Mount Isa City is the central suburb and central business district of Mount Isa in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Mount Isa City had a population of 95 people.
The Gap is a suburb of the town of Mount Isa in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, The Gap had a population of 817 people.
Menzies is a suburb in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Menzies had a population of 824 people.
Miles End is a suburb in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Miles End had a population of 280 people.
Soldiers Hill is a suburb in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Soldiers Hill had a population of 1,796 people.
Ryan is a mixed-use suburb in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Ryan had a population of 105 people.
Mica Creek is a suburb in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Mica Creek had a population of 182 people.
Breakaway is a suburb in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Breakaway had a population of 187 people.
Spinifex State College Junior Campus is a heritage-listed state high school at 6–12 Fifth Avenue, Parkside, Mount Isa, City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Department of Public Works (Queensland) and built in 1954. It is also known as Mount Isa State High School and Mount Isa Intermediate School. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 23 August 2018.
Queensland, School Sport. "Queensland School Sport" . Retrieved 9 July 2008.
QMEA. "Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy" . Retrieved 9 July 2008.
