18 May 2016

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL

Attendance

Education Queensland has established 95% attendance as the goal for Queensland State Schools. Worongary State School's rate is marginally below this. I am appealing to all parents to ensure that their children are 'in class, on task and learning'.

The statistics for Term 2 are as follows. It is concerning to note that the attendance rate is starting to decrease slightly.

If your child is away or going to be away please tell the front office or your class teacher the reasons for the absence. If you know that your child is going to be away for 10 or more school days you must apply for an exemption from schooling for that period.

Attendance What I need to know

Key messages

• Attendance is primarily a parental responsibility.
• Early attendance patterns tend to be maintained over time. Therefore efforts should be made to rectify poor attendance as soon as it becomes apparent.
• There is a correlation between attendance and academic performance.
• Exemptions are required for absences longer than 10 consecutive school days.
• Parents may be prosecuted for their children's poor attendance. However, prosecution is a last resort.
• A flexible arrangement should be established if a student is attending two schools part-time (for example due to split custody arrangements).

Principal responsibilities

• Implement strategies for roll-marking, monitoring absences, identifying trends in non-attendance, following-up unexplained absences and improving overall attendance.
• Take reasonable steps to follow-up unexplained absences as soon as possible, but within three days of the absence.
• Approve exemptions of up to one school year, if appropriate.
• Inform parents of their legal obligations about attendance.
• Commence processes towards prosecution for poor attendance, if necessary.
• Approve flexible arrangements if they are in the child's best educational interests.

Each week students are acknowledged, with a Dojo, if they have attended, punctually, the whole week. At the end of this semester students with 100% and 95% plus will be further acknowledged. If you are uncertain of your child's current attendance rate please contact your class teacher for this information.

NAPLAN 2016

NAPLAN has now finished and I congratulate the students on how well they approached the tests. I was impressed with their enthusiasm for the tasks and their sense of team work. Thank you to the teachers who helped students prepare for the tests and a special thank you to all staff members who joined the students as they enjoyed their 'breakfast' snack at the start of each day. Now we just have to wait to see the results.

BINGO

This Friday 20 May, will be the first Friday night Bingo at Worongary State School. The P&C in conjunction with 888 Promotions will donate all profits to the school. Everyone is invited to join in the fun. Doors open at 6.30 pm with eyes down at 7.30 pm.

Reporting on Student Achievement

This year all report cards will once again be sent out electronically. Please ensure that your email address is current with administration. It is important as parents and guardians prepare to receive the Semester One report cards for 2016, that there is a clear understanding of how we report on your child's academic, behavioural and effort in the key learning areas of schooling. It is also imperative that we have a common understanding about the expectation of where children should be in accordance with the Australian Curriculum. Please be aware that report cards will be emailed out on 23 June.

Reporting in Prep

Reporting in Years 1 & 2

Reporting in Years 3 - 6

What Level Should Your Child Be Achieving

All teachers report to a set of standards as outlined in DET P-12 Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework and ACARA.

As you can see from the definitions above, the majority of students are and should be achieving at a C level. This means that they are interacting and achieving at the expected level for their age and developmental capacity.

Positive Productive Communications

Please remember that it is important that we continue to build upon the wonderful rapport that has developed between your child, the class teacher and yourself. If you have any questions, concerns or feedback, your first point of communication should always be with the classroom teacher. Most things can be addressed in this manner, and it allows teachers to have the opportunity to build upon their constructive interactions with parents. It also displays an appropriate level of respect to the classroom teacher, who is spending the majority of the day with your child. These productive and respectful communications will continue to support your child's learning and success at school.

Bike Education

Year 4 students participated in Bike Education last week at PCYC Ashmore. All students learned about the importance of riding safely and had lots of fun whilst demonstrating the skills they had been taught.

Upcoming Camps

The Year 6 camp to Tyalgum will take place on Tuesday 9 - Friday 12 August and all parents should have received an email outlining the camp activities, what your child should bring and the camp cost.

The Year 4 Camp to Currumbin Community Farm will take place in Week 10 of Term Three and parents will receive information regarding this shortly.

Behaviour

Term Focus

Week 6 and 7 Focus

Dojo Badges

Congratulations to our Junior and Senior School students who received their Bronze Dojo Badges on Assembly last week and this week. Now that badges for Term 1 and the first few weeks of Term 2 have been awarded, any students who have earned 100 Dojos will receive their badge on stage during the awards part of assembly.

Life Education

The Life Education Van is currently here and will be at the school until Monday 30 May. Each class will visit the van to participate in a module to motivate and empower them to make smart life choices for a healthy future. Payments for this activity have now closed. Any students who are not participating will complete an alternative curriculum activity in another classroom.

Fanfare

Fanfare is the state-wide festival of bands and orchestras from Queensland state schools.

This year's program will see over 27,500 instrumental music students from more than 420 schools participating in Fanfare 2016. Over 980 ensembles will perform in the regional festivals to be held across 48 regional centres.

Worongary State School has entered into the Fanfare Competition this year, with our band participating today Tuesday 17 May at William Duncan State School. Congratulations to Mrs Cindy Ashton and the Band students who have put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to polish their performance with being awarded the silver medal.

How to Tie Your Shoelaces

Did you know that young children are far more likely to know how to use a smartphone than to tie their shoe laces?

We are very lucky to have David Halpin and the team from Ascent & Athletes foot offer to come and teach students in Prep to Year 2 how to tie their shoe laces. It is hoped that this will not only help children learn an important life skill but will create independence and assist in developing students' fine motor skills.

Students will participate in a half hour session on either Tuesday 24th or Wednesday 25th of May.

Regards Marilyn Moballe, Principal

CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY COACHES

Building Tension in Writing

The tension scene comes just before the big climax ending.

In movies this is the scene of the soccer final, the exciting car chase or the heroine fighting for her life in a raging river.

We all know Little Red Riding Hood's classic tension scene. Red RH arrives at the cottage and the wolf is in bed in granny's clothes. Red RH, (who obviously needs glasses!) says:

'Oh, grandmother, what big ears you have!'
'All the better to hear you with.'
'Oh, grandmother, what big eyes you have!'
'All the better to see you with.'
'Oh, grandmother, what big hands you have!'
'All the better to hold you with!'
'Oh, grandmother, what big teeth you have!'
'All the better to eat you with!'

See how the scene slowly builds up to be more and more dangerous – and thus frightening? We don't start with the teeth, we start with the ears – and the wolf trying to coax Red RH to come nearer and nearer.

TOP TIP:

Emotion always takes time to build up. So in tension scenes, show children how to start small and 'escalate' to a powerful climax.

ACTION ACTIVITY:

Read picture books with your children and look for the tension scenes.

Picture books are short, so it's easy to find where the all-important tension builds before the ending.

Regards Donna Ermer & Megan Taylor Curriculum and Pedagogy Coaches

FROM THE SPORT DESK

2016 Cross Country

AGE CHAMPIONS

Overall House Points

1st Narairee – 247
2nd Karee – 229
3rd Nyunga – 224
4th Pilleen - 211

Interschool Sports

Round 4 Results – 5 May 2016

Round 5 Results – 13 May 2016

EXCURSIONS

PLEASE NOTE ALL EXCURSION NOTES ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE
NO LATE PAYMENTS WILL BE RECEIVED.

LEARNING VINE AWARDS

P&C COMMITTEE

Cross Country Sausage Sizzle

A big thank you to all the amazing parents that came and helped out with the Sausage Sizzle. The feedback has been great and the P&C will be holding Sausage Sizzles at all upcoming events.

Mother's Day Stall

Once again thank you to the wonderful parents that came and helped at the Mother's Day Stall. Also a big thank you to all of the families who donated gifts. It was a great day and all the children seemed to be happy with their purchases. From money boxes to watches to boxes of chocolates, we are sure that each Mum was spoilt on Mother's Day.

Bingo

Bingo will be commencing at our school on Friday 20 May. Doors will open at 6.30pm for ticket sales and the game will commence at 7.30pm. Come along have some fun and hopefully win some money whilst supporting the school. There will be light refreshments available for purchase. Volunteers would be appreciated to help run the kiosk. Thanks

5 cent Challenge

Each child will be receiving a note home this week in regards to our easiest fundraiser ever. It is a 5 cent fundraiser. Collect as many 5 cent coins as you can, bring them to school and pop them in your class money box. It's that easy. Every class that raises $300 or more will receive a prize and then there will also be a prize for the senior class and the junior class that raise the most. This is a great chance for you to clear out your 5 cent pieces before they go out of circulation.

P & C Meeting

The next P & C meeting will be held on Tuesday 14 June at 5.30pm in the staff room. We would love to see you all there. These meetings are a great way to keep up to date with what's happening around the school and also to bring any suggestions to the table. Light refreshments are provided. We still have two positions vacant (Vice President 2 and Vice Treasurer) if you are interested please contact the P&C via email pandc@worongaryss@eq.edu.au or phoning 5502 4409

School Banking

Congratulations to all the students who have achieved their Bronze Certificates for being consistent bankers. We have a few students who are well on their way to receiving their Silver Certificates. Not only have the students been able to receive a certificate that have also been able to select a prize.

TUCKSHOP NEWS

*ONLINE ORDERING MUST BE COMPLETED BY 9AM*
This is to allow for any payment processing delays. Online orders can be
completed days in advance so please take advantage of this option to at
order the night before for your convenience.

FOR STUDENTS TAKING PART IN INTERSCHOOL SPORTS:

Thank you to all students and parents who are remembering to let us know that they need their Big Lunch order early due to travel for Interschool Sports on Fridays (please either include a note on your order or come and see us at the Tuckshop on the Friday morning.

We really appreciate being able to ensure that those lunches are ready to go to keep those little tummies filled and bodies energised.

With these Interschool Sports matches and several hot days still ahead of us, please remember that we have plenty of yummy, healthy frozen treats available like:

• Tubs of Frozen Pineapple pieces and Frozen Grapes for just $1 each
• Icebergs for 50c each (cubes of frozen yoghurt and fruit)
• Frozen Orange Wedges for 20c each

These items are all available from both online and manual ordering. If participating in Interschool Sports you will be unable to take part in over counter sales so please be sure to pre order on these days. [*NB: Ice cold bottles of water can be purchased at any time for $1.50]

Things to remember when ordering Tuckshop:

• Please avoid use of sticky tape and staples. While these help keep your child's lunch money secure, they slow us down in the mornings (one of our busiest times). If you are concerned about losing money, please fold your child's tuckshop bag multiple times or consider ordering online. We thank you for your help in making our job easier.
• All pre-ordered frozen items ordered (eg, icebergs and frozen fruit juice cups, etc) are to be collected from the tuckshop by your child bringing back their prepaid bag at either Little or Big Lunch time
• Substitute items may be given if not enough money is supplied or stock is unavailable
• ***IF YOUR CHILD HAS AN ALLERGY: please ensure that your account profile and/or manual order is highlighted accordingly. You are also more than welcome to also come up to confirm your requirements directly with your Tuckshop Team***

VOLUNTEERS:

For any Mums, Dads, Grandparents and Carers interested in becoming a Tuckshop volunteer on a weekly, fortnightly or even monthly basis, we encourage you to come visit us and find out more

"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart"

- Elizabeth Andrew

We are always busy with 'Over Counter Sales' for Years 2-6 so we welcome anyone to stop in any day to help serve our eager students between 1.30pm-1.55pm

UNIFORM SHOP

**Important Changes**

Remember that the Uniform Shop is now open on the following days/times:

Monday 8:00am-9:00am
Wednesday 2:15pm-3:15pm
Friday 8:00am-9:00am

Direct Dial number: 5502 4409

Uniform News

Winter Stock

Winter is slowly making an appearance and the mornings are getting cooler. We currently have all winter items available for purchase and prices remain the same as last year. Items are disappearing fast though, so get in quick!

V-neck pullovers: $28.00
Zip-up Cardigans: $37.00
Track pants: $23.00
Tights: $7.00

Interschool Sports

If your child is taking part in interschool sports this season they may need a pair of pocket less maroon shorts and if playing soccer, league or AFL they will also need a pair of maroon footy socks. These items are available for purchase from the Uniform Shop and online. Represent your school with pride by wearing the correct uniform!

Maroon Shorts: $21.00
Footy Socks: $10.00

Seniors Shirts

The Seniors Shirts arrived on schedule and were delivered to the Year 6 students in week 3 just in time for school photos. It is great to see the Year 6 students wearing their shirts so proudly and standing out as the leaders of the school.

Polo Shirt Shortage

Please note that due to a higher than usual demand this year we are currently out of stock in polos in most sizes 2, 4, 8, 10, 12 and 14. A new order is under production with delivery estimated to be early June. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and Jasmine and I thank you in advance for your patience while we await delivery of the new shipment. Remember that we do have a selection of pre-loved uniforms available which changes from day to day so feel free to pop in and check that out.

Old Style Uniforms

We have reached the end of our two year uniform changeover period and old style uniforms are no longer acceptable to wear. Any old uniforms you'd like to clear out can be dropped off at the Uniform Shop. Once we finish collecting them all, they will be donated to a needy overseas school.

House Shirts

House Shirts were flying off the shelf in the week leading up to Cross Country! It was great to see so many students wearing them on the day. They look amazing with the school logo on the front and house birds on the back. They are of course available in all house colours: Narairee - black, Karee - white, Nyunga - yellow and Pilleen – red. The cost is $17.00 each. Athletics Carnival is the next upcoming event. Come up now to get your shirt ready for that day!

Online ordering

If you haven't already used online ordering and would like to give it a try you can register an account with schoolshop online by following the links on the school website.

Key things to note about online ordering are:

• Online ordering is great for busy parents. Orders can be placed online at your convenience.
• Any orders placed online will be processed on the next uniform shop day (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) and a note will be sent to your child's classroom via the Tuckshop basket so they know when to collect it from the Tuckshop. Please let them know to keep an eye out for the note. Also note that due to the Uniform Shop hours being in the afternoon on Wednesdays, orders processed on this day can be expected to reach your children on Thursday.
• Please ensure that you include your child's details as well as your own on the form ie. name and current class.
• Please be sure to update your child/children's class for each new school year.

Pre-loved uniforms

We will buy back the following items in good condition to add to our supply of pre-loved uniforms: new style polos, new style shorts, skorts, pullovers, trackpants and zip-up cardigans.

Regards Michelle Lee, Tuckshop and Uniform Convenor

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