2 August 2017

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

School Opinion Survey

The 2017 School Opinion Survey will be completed by staff, students and parents between 31 July and 25 August. The suite of School Opinion Surveys are undertaken each year by the Department of Education and Training to obtain opinion information from parents/caregivers, students and school staff. The surveys are designed to help schools identify what they do well and how they can improve.

Opinions on the school, student learning and student well-being are sought from a parent/caregiver in all families and a sample of students from years 5 and 6, who will undertake the survey online at school.

I encourage every family to complete the survey, as the greater the response rate from survey participants, the more closely the results will be representative of the overall opinions held at our school

You should have received a letter on Monday 31 July which will provide you with the instructions on how to access your online survey. It will provide a log in and password which can only be used once. Please follow the instructions and contact the school if you experience any difficulties.

The information we receive from these survey will help us to plan for the future and will allow us to know what we are doing well and in what areas we need to improve.

Once again, I encourage you to participate in our 2017 School Opinion Survey and to have your say.

Prep 2018 Enrolments

A reminder to parents who are enrolling their children into Prep at Worongary State School in 2018 that interviews are now taking place. If you have not yet handed in your enrolment documents and made an appointment for an interview, please do so to ensure you receive updated information as we head into our transition activities.

Get Set for Prep was created and implemented at Worongary State School to support the transition for students into Prep. It has continued to grow and develop over the past four years. Get Set for Prep will begin in Week 3 of Term 4 and will run for 5 weeks. The children will participate in activities that are designed and run by Prep teachers. During this time, teachers will also be individually assessing students for Prep readiness to help provide extra information to the 2018 Prep teachers.

Our local Early Childhood Education Centres will again be invited to bring their Kindy classes along to the sessions. If your child currently attends a local ECEC, ask them if they attend Get Set for Prep as part of their Transition Program.

Playground Updates

Junior Adventure Playground

We have now been given the green light to begin preparing our Junior Playground for opening. We are meeting with designers this week to finalise the design of a new structure that will be added to the exiting ramps, platforms and climbing equipment. These are ready for a facelift, with Mr T beginning repairs and painting this week. Once we have finished this and topped up the soft fall to meet regulations, we will open the Junior Playground with the original elements. The construction of the new adventure playground will take approximately 6 weeks, with the playground closed temporarily for installation after this time.

Senior Adventure Playground

It is very exciting to announce that the design of the new Senior Adventure Playground has been finalised and we are ready to begin preparing the site for installation. The new playground includes climbing walls, cargo nets, a firemen pole, and hillside slippery slides. The clearing of the existing structure is due to take place very soon. The picture below is a similar photo of the equipment that will be in the Senior Adventure Playground.

Behaviour

It has reported that some students are not using our crossings safely in the afternoons. I request that all parents speak to their children about the road rules, including waiting at the crossing until the supervisor’s whistle has blown before walking safely across the road. It is also requested that all parents set a good example for our students by using the crossings correctly.

Term Three Focus: Taking Pride in Our School

Behaving appropriately
Looking after school property
Looking after the school/Classroom environment

Positive Behaviour for Learning Week 4 & 5 Term 3

Saver Plus

Saver Plus can get you planning and saving for education costs with up to $500 for school resources.

Enrolments now open!

It’s free to join, call or SMS 1300 610 355 or email saverplus@bsl.org.au to find out more.

Second Step Weeks 4 & 5

Attendance

At Worongary State School, we believe that every day counts in your child’s education. If for some reason your child is away from school and an absence is unexplained you will receive a text message. You can reply directly to the text message, stating the reason for the absence. Alternatively, you can phone the school and leave a message on our absence line on 5502 4444 or absences@worongaryss.eq.edu.au It is very important that you explain all absences.

As a reminder, each week notes go home with students about any unexplained absences. These need to be completed and returned to the school as soon as possible.

Volunteers Meeting & Training

Worongary State School is extremely grateful to our parents and grandparents who volunteer in our classrooms and assist with our programs throughout the school year. Once again we are offering our volunteer training as undertaken at the beginning of the year for those who missed out. On Wednesday 13 September at 9:00am the volunteer training session will be offered in our school hall for all parents/grandparents who wish to volunteer at the school this year. This training session will go for approximately 90 minutes and will cover Code of Conduct training, correct procedures when volunteering on school grounds and the Worongary State School’s guidelines for volunteering. If you completed the training at the beginning of the year, there is no need to attend the upcoming session.

As we will end the training with a light morning tea and will need to cater according to numbers, please email; office@worongaryss.eq.edu.au by 9:00am Wednesday September 6 if you intend on attending this training session.

Regards Kerry White, Acting Principal

Learning Vine Awards

Curriculum Corner

This Semester I will be focusing on Numeracy. Mathematics, which includes Numeracy is often considered the poor cousin when comparing it to Reading. Numeracy compliments literacy and is sometimes called 'mathematical literacy'. Both skills are needed in order to function fully in modern life. Being numerate means being able to reason with numbers and other mathematical concepts and to apply these in a range of contexts and to solve a variety of problems.

So…… What is numeracy development and Mathematic skills?

Numeracy is the ability to apply maths concepts in all areas of life. Numeracy skills involve understanding numbers, counting, solving number problems, measuring, sorting, noticing patterns, adding and subtracting numbers and so on.

Teaching mathematic concepts has long been considered the domain of the classroom teacher, with many parents often feeling unable to help their kids develop this skill. However, parents already do many things with their kids that can encourage mathematical thinking and help them see the relevance of mathematics in their everyday lives.

Cultivating this sense of relevance and interest in mathematics has been shown to be a key contributor to a child’s future success in this area. Here is one opportunity for developing mathematical thinking, which adults and children can enjoy together.

Out and about

Next time you are travelling hand the map to your child/ren or google maps or any other technology you may have access to. Use this opportunities to engage your child/ren in different types of mathematical thinking.

Working out how many kilometres you will travel is an easy way to practice computation skills and develops an interest in map reading. Another calculation might be how far you can travel on one tank of fuel, then finding a place on the map to stop and fill up.

Older kids can be in charge of planning overnight stops after working out how far you can travel in one day. Challenge them by adding extra information:

If the speed limit is 100km, what is the latest time we can leave to arrive by 4pm?

This encourages them to think about the question and plan a method for finding a solution.

There will be some more ideas in my next article.

Kind Regards Leslie Ward, Head of Curriculum

Music Corner

Thank you parents who have returned your permission slips for the Lorikeet and Rosella Eisteddfod held at The Arts Centre on Monday 28 August. Please encourage your students to memorise their lyrics. Band students please attend all your rehearsals and practise, practise, practise your parts at home.

Payments are due Friday 11 August for internet and Tuesday 15 August prior to 10:00am for cash/card.

Regards Bonnie Hapi, Music & Arts

Student Council

Student council will be organising Jeans for Genes Day on Friday 4 August. We encourage everyone to don their denim for this great cause. A gold coin donation is all that is requested. There will also be Jeans for Genes Day coloured pencils on sale for $1.00 per pack, with all funds raised going to J4G. One in twenty children are born with a birth defect or genetic disease – on average, that’s one in every classroom affected. We believe that is one child too many. Research is critical in ensuring every child has the opportunity to live a long and healthy life. Your school’s support will help us beat childhood disease.

This is a great way for your students to share with friends and family to let them know we are raising money for Jeans for Genes Day.

Read and Grow

We had a fantastic time last term learning all about being lost and found! We looked for things in rice, bears in cakes and watched bubbles fly up into the sky. We had great fun doing craft activities like making masks, cooking and painting while talking to our parents and Katie about the book and the activity. We also learnt lots of new songs and listened for words that start with the same sound at the start like book and bed, and at the end which we learnt are called rhyming words. Katie showed us her treasure box when we read Russell and the Lost Treasure. It had lots of interesting things in it but they weren’t gold and jewels. We talked all about how treasure is different for everybody! Whilst Katie targets children 3 – 5 years old, we had lots of little brothers and sisters running around the room helping us with our work too.

If you would like to be part of the fun, please come to the Prep Maroon Classroom next Tuesday 8 August at 9:00am. The program runs for the rest of the term – but you don’t have to attend every session! And the best thing about it is – it’s FUN and FREE!

Regards Mrs Katie Huggard, Prep Maroon Classroom Teacher

1-2-3 Magic and Emotion Coaching

The 1-2-3 Magic and Emotion Coaching is a practical program which aims to teach parents how to deal with their children’s difficult behaviour by using an easy-to-learn and easy-to-use signaling system. The signaling system requires the parent to use less talk and less emotion, which in turn encourages the development of children’s ability to manage their emotional reactions to parental boundaries.

Worongary State School is pleased to offer parents the opportunity to attend 1-2-3 Magic and Emotion Coaching Program.

Where: Worongary State School Hall
When: Each Thursday from Week 4 – 3 August 2017 to Week 8 31 August 2017 9:00am - 10:15am
Duration: 1 hour and 15 minutes each week for 5 weeks
Cost: $16.00 (normally costing $120)

Presented by Joanne Jackson.

Titan's Visiting Coaching Clinic Year 6

Hunting History Year 6

Woolworths Earn and Learn

Woolworths Earn and Learn is on again from 26 July to 19 September.

If our school community sticks together and earns Woolworths Earn & Learn stickers, we can redeem these stickers for our choice of educational resources. We can choose our resources from Science, Sports, Mathematics, English and Arts & Crafts.

Earn and Learn stickers need to be stuck on to the Stickers Sheets available from Woolworths or can be downloaded from the link below:

Our collection box will be in the school admin office. $10 of shopping earns 1 sticker. The more we earn, the more we learn.

Excursions

P&C News

Student Banking

Student Banking is on every Wednesday and it’s never too late for your child to join up with our school banking program.

Parents can simply visit their local CBA branch with their driver’s licence and ask to open a new account for a Worongary State School student. Your account will then be opened with your Deposit book and further info provided on the spot (our banking days are Wednesday and your Student number will be allocated to you upon first deposit.)

This is a fantastic way to support our school, while helping yourselves and children to reach financial goals and earn some prizes along the way.

Without volunteer’s school banking would not be possible. If you are available and can volunteer your time between 9-11ish on Wednesday mornings, please come and see us in the P&C room. Your help would be much appreciated.

Father’s Day Stall

Father’s Day Stall will be held in the P&C room on Wednesday 30 August with extras being sold Thursday 31 August. Gifts will be priced from $1:00 - $10:00.

Boxes are now in the classrooms for donations and we look forward to seeing some fantastic gifts that can be sold and given to our amazing Dads, Grandads and Carers.

For those of you able to spare an appreciated hour or two to help on the stall days, please feel free to come and see us up in the P&C room.

Entertainment Books

Entertainment Books are still for sale. The memberships sell for $60:00 and the P&C earn $12:00 for each one we sell to go towards much needed funds for our school.

The Entertainment™ membership gives you access to thousands of up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers for Gold Coast & Northern NSW best restaurants, cafés, attractions and the theme parks. Plus it offers the best in market prices for over 2,000 hotels and resorts that you can use whenever you like until 1 June 2018.

And it’s not just the fun stuff… You can also get 5% off on your groceries and petrol all year with WISH eVouchers sent directly to your phone, and 10% off at David Jones!

Collect your book from the Tuckshop

Regards P&C

Tuckshop & Uniform

Opening Hours

Monday-Friday: 8:30am-2:00pm
Closed: Entire last day of each Term

Menu Changes

Thank you to all staff, students and families who have taken note of the menu changes and embraced the new items on offer. Your attention to this is appreciated and has helped to make the menu transition a smooth one.

By now, you should have received your laminated copy of the new menu. These were sent home with the eldest child of each family that attends the school. If you haven’t received it yet please follow up with your eldest child and note that additional copies are available from the Tuckshop if needed.

Volunteer Thanks

Jasmine and I would like to thank our wonderful volunteers for their regular contribution in the Tuckshop. Lynette T, Monique M, Lizzy M, Philippa U and Narelle R and our P&C Executive, thank you very much for once more dedicating your time to help serve the staff and students of our school this term. Your efforts are much appreciated!

Online Ordering

Key things to note about online ordering are:

• Online ordering is great for busy parents. Orders can be placed online at your convenience.
• The cut off time for Tuckshop Online Ordering each day is 9:00am so if your mornings are busy try ordering in advance the night or even the week or month before!
• Please be sure to update your child/children’s class for each new school year. The account profiles for Tuckshop and Uniform shop are not linked, so must be updated separately.

Uniform Shop News

Opening Hours

Monday: 8:00am-9:00am
Wednesday: 2:15pm-3:15pm
Friday: 8:00am-9:00am
Direct Dial number: 5502 4409

Winter Stock

We currently still have winter items available in most sizes but stock levels are starting to get low. We recommend getting in quick, before the next cold snap, as we will not be ordering more for this season.

Online Ordering

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 yellow 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 your child/ren know to keep an eye out for the yellow note. Also, please be aware 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 be sure to update your child/children’s class for each new school year. The account profiles for Tuckshop and Uniform shop are not linked, so must be updated separately.

Regards Michelle Lee, Canteen and Uniform Convenor

Community Notices

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