Spinifex State College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

, day and boarding school located in

Mount Isa 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, base ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. It first opened in 2003.

History

Prior to 2003

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 Campuses

Junior Campus

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 A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

and

basketball courts In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor sur ...

. The junior campus is at 6-16 Fifth Avenue in Parkside (), the former site of Mount Isa State High School.

Senior Campus

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 (). The senior campus shares the site with the Mount Isa School of the Air, the Mount Isa campus of

TAFE Queensland TAFE Queensland is the statutory authority parent body for TAFE technical and further education training in the Australian state of Queensland. Established in 1882, TAFE Queensland is one of Australia's largest education providers with 120,0 ...

, and the Mount Isa Special School. It is the site of the former Kalkadoon State High School.

Residential Campus

The Residential campus is the first state-run boarding facility in

for students attending a state school. This campus has the capacity to board and provide educational support to 57 students.

Industry Links

Since opening in 2003 the College has worked closely with local industry partners. In 2004, in partnership with

Xstrata Xstrata plc was an Anglo-Swiss multinational mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It was a major producer of coal (and the world's largest exporter of thermal coal), copper, ...

Mount Isa Mines Mount Isa Mines Limited ("MIM") operates the Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia as part of the Glencore group of companies. For a brief period in 1980, MIM was Australia's largest company. It has ...

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

Extra curricular activities

Sporting

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 Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

, Soccer, Australian Rules Football,

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

and

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

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.

Music

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

. 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.. Currently, the Spinifex State College Concert Band has around 40 members and performs at various school events.

Drama

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.

Other

*oop *Gifted and Talented Programs – including a program for Year 7 students in the areas of Maths, Science, The Arts and English *

Magnetic Island Magnetic Island ( Wulguru: Yunbenun) is an island offshore from the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. This mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville, with 2,335 permanent residents. The islan ...

Leadership and Personal Development camp – Year 11 *Year 12 Leadership Camp – Captains and School Council Members *Senior Tutorial Classes – Years 10-12 *Junior after-school tutorials - Years 7-9 *School-Based Apprenticeships/Traineeships Years 10-12 *Structured Industry Placements – Years 10-12 – over 300 placements *Instrumental Music Program – Years 7-12 *Debating – Years 7-12 *North West Queensland Representative Sports – Years 7-12 * James Cook University Trip – Year 12 *Year 7/8-12 Transition Days *Xstrata Bursaries – Years 11-12 *Siemens Science Summer School – Years 10-12

References

External links

{{Authority control Public high schools in Queensland Boarding schools in Queensland Educational institutions established in 2003 Buildings and structures in Mount Isa 2003 establishments in Australia Schools in North Queensland