9 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

I am extremely pleased to pen this Pipeline article and celebrate some of the many wonderful achievements our school community has recently achieved. Schools are dynamic environments that are always changing, evolving and improving. Over the past few weeks, it has been a pleasure to witness firsthand how the contributions of individuals have positively influenced the quality of education at Worongary State School. I trust you will not only join with me in acknowledging the efforts of these individuals, you will also support them to continue their great work in our school community.

Educational Adjustment Program (EAP) Validation

Earlier in the school year, our school was randomly selected to participate in an (EAP) Validation Process. The aim of this external process was to review our school’s processes to ensure we were identifying and responding appropriately to the educational needs of students with disability. As you may be aware this year our school modified our staffing approach by employing four Differentiation Mentors (Mrs Joanne Jackson – Prep, Mrs Kerrianne Sullivan – Year 1/2, Ms Dani Karim – Year 3/4 and Mr Tom Mc Donald – Year 5/6). These Mentors play a critical role in supporting students with disabilities as well as all other students to achieve their individual learning goals.

During this validation processes the Statewide Validators, Geoff Brind and Andrew Eggins (Principal Education Officer Student Services), reviewed our school’s documentation and processes. These officers met with our team last week to provide feedback on their findings. During this interview Mr Brind payed tribute to the work of the Differentiation Mentors. He congratulated our hard working support team for the work they are doing to build an inclusive education culture at our school. He highlighted the strong alignment between each individual student’s EAP documentation and our school’s documented implemented processes. It is extremely pleasing that this new role has provided more support than has been recorded on our students EAP paperwork. I thank our entire Differentiation Mentor team for their dedication and commitment to our school. I particularly acknowledge the leadership of Mr Tom McDonald for leading this process while maintaining a full teaching load. Well done team – your efforts are appreciated by our entire school community.

ANZAC Day Commemorative Services and RSL March

The Worongary State School ANZAC Day commemorative services once again provided opportunities for our school members to reflect and pay tribute to those Australian and New Zealand personnel who sacrificed so much for our freedoms today. We also acknowledged those members of our defence forces who in the past or who are currently serving in the many peacekeeping missions throughout the world. I wish to thank the many parents who attended our school services. The positive feedback that I received regarding our students’ participation in these services was certainly appreciated.

I also wish to thank the students, families and staff members who attended the Nerang RSL ANZAC Day March. This is a very important day for all Australians and all the Nerang RSL members appreciated our participation in the March. Once again, our students were very respectful and represented our school extremely well. Thank you to all of the parents who supported our students to attend this very special day on our calendar.

NAPLAN 2018

As mentioned in the last edition of the Pipeline, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Students in Years 3 and 5 will participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The tests (commencing Tuesday 15 May) provide parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. NAPLAN tests are just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process; they do not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance.

Since the beginning of the school year our Year 3 and 5 students have been engaged in an intensive extension program. This extension program was carefully planned and implemented to ensure the needs of each individual student were met. The staff have been working through comprehensive pre and post assessments and systems for regular feedback have been embedded. I have been amazed by the progress our students have made since the beginning of the school year and I look forward to supporting them to demonstrate their skills in next week’s National Testing program.

I want to thank our year 3 and 5 teachers and their Differentiation Mentors for their efforts and dedication in supporting our students achieve this success. I also sincerely thank our working group of teacher aides (Kath Welch, Lyndsey Tabing, Lisa Friedman, Natalie Young and Danielle Chapman), who have strived to make every second count in their time with the students. Finally a big thank you to our school’s senior deputy principal Mrs Kelly Ready for her outstanding leadership of this initiative. The measureable improvements that our students have made since January is reflective of our staff’s commitment to our school. Well done and thank you all.

Colour Run

Last week’s Parents’ and Citizen’s Association Colour Run was a tremendous community event. I sincerely thank the hard working members of this for the countless hours of preparation that went into co-ordinating such an amazing event. I also thank the many families who supported this event by either coming along or donating to the P and C Association. All funds raised will go back into supporting our school and your children. Parents wishing to have a greater input into our school and its fundraising events are encouraged to join the P & C Association.

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) is an evidence-based whole school approach to establishing the social culture needed for schools to be effective learning environments for all students. PBL is not a program. It is a framework for identifying, adopting and applying evidence-based practices for building and supporting academic and social success for all students. PBL ensures that all students have the social and emotional skills needed to succeed in school and beyond. PBL assists schools to teach students expected social behaviours and, when implemented with integrity, it is an effective strategy for preventing school-based behaviour problems including violence and bullying. Teaching and supporting social behavioural skills creates student behavioural health and contributes to improving the effectiveness of academic support systems. PBL applies data-based decision making to improve student discipline, academic and social and emotional learning outcomes.

Last week Wednesday, our school was visited by Ms Diane Gall from Peak Crossing State School. The purpose of this visit was to gather evidence of our school’s implementation of PBL and suggest opportunities for future improvement. Following an interview with me, Ms Gall visited classrooms to speak with class teachers and teacher aides on our processes and procedures. Ms Gall also discussed our processes with our students. Although we have not received our report, I am extremely confident her report will reflect our magnificent processes and procedures. I sincerely thank Mrs Kerry White and Mrs Kaia Clark for their leadership of this school wide initiative. I appreciate the support these two leaders are providing to our community and trust you will join with me in thanking them for their efforts.

PBL Focus Behaviour Weeks 3&4 term 2

Seedling Program

Last Wednesday saw the commencement of the Seedling Program – Building a Healthy Community Initiative. This program provides parents with the opportunity to interact with other parents and participate in no cost or low cost activities. Some of these activities include: cooking classes, parenting information, gardening, yoga, meditation and environmental sustainability. This initiative occurs in the school hall each Wednesday morning from 9:30am. Information regarding up and coming events can be found later in this edition of the Pipeline.

Events like the Seedling Program don’t just happen. I wish to acknowledge the commitment of Mrs Audrey Mates –Bills who has worked tirelessly to ensure this program is successful. In addition to co-ordinating a number of guest speakers, Audrey has worked closely with our Gold Coast City Councillor Mr Glenn Tozer to ensure this community event could receive some much needed funding. Thank you Audrey for your commitment to this initiative and our school.

Karate Tournament Champions

On Sunday 29 April, Alyssa Taylor and Vincent Ashby participated in the ISKA Gold Coast Karate Tournament. Twenty-seven other countries participated in this extremely competitive tournament. Both of our students performed exceptionally well and were awarded a number of placings in each of the tournament’s categories. Alyssa extended her reign as the World Champion of the Clash Sparring by again winning this classification. On behalf our school community we congratulate Alyssa and Vincent for their amazing achievements.

Front Gate Exit

By now, I trust you may have seen the work that has gone into opening the school gate below the oval. We thank Mr T and Glenn for their efforts in cleaning up this area and making it safe for our students and parents to enter and exit the school. It is anticipated that opening this gate will take a considerable amount of pedestrian traffic away from the main vehicle access point for the school. I now seek the assistance of all parents to ensure this exit is not used when you are parked on the other side of Delta Cove Drive. Students who need to cross this road must use the dedicated zebra crossing below the main school gate. I will be on duty around this area for the next week to assist our students to safely exit the school. If you have any additional ideas on ways to improve our school please feel free to stop and have a chat.

AEDC Data Collection

In May this year, our school will be taking part in the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), which is a nationwide census of early childhood development and helps our school and community understand how children are developing before they start school, what is being done well, and what can be improved. The AEDC is an Australian Government initiative run by the Department of Education and Training.

This year’s AEDC is a great opportunity for everyone including parents, local communities, schools and other agencies to work together to bring long-lasting benefits to children and their families. If you would like more information about the AEDC, please refer to frequently asked questions section on the AEDC website at www.aedc.gov.au, or phone 1800 092 548.

One component of the survey asks questions that, as teachers, we cannot easily answer, but the responses are valuable in the analysis of the data collected. To support this process a survey was recently sent home with all of our prep students. We would sincerely appreciate it if all parents could please to take a few minutes to complete the survey and return it to your child’s class teacher by this Friday, 11 May.

The AEDC is voluntary and is not a school test, so should you wish for your child/children’s information to be excluded from the census, please complete the form below and return to the school office.

Regards Landon Dare, Principal

Learning Vine Awards

Read and Grow Update

Read and Grow is a fun interactive story sharing program for parents and children 3-5 year old children who are not yet attending school

Throughout the program we will learn to listen, sing songs, share books and play together. This is a great way to develop your child’s oral language skills and help prepare them for school.

You’re invited to attend our Read and Grow Program with your 3-5 year old children

(It is not compulsory to attend all sessions)

Regards Katie Huggard, PrepTeacher

Prep Rooms

Food, Glorious Food!

This term we are reading books that all relate to food. We are having a fantastic time digging in food and playing with kitchen utensils. There are always plenty of art activities too!

Regards Katie Huggard, PrepTeacher

Year 2A & Year 2D

2A and 2D had an absolute ball trying out the new Junior Playground last week.

The students took great delight in watching Miss Hayles test out the slide.

Music

Term 2 Rehearsal Times are:

The Worongary Chorus (Years 4 – 6) will rehearse on Wednesdays at First Break.
Little Voices (Years 1 – 3) will rehearse on Tuesdays at First Break.
Please bring lyrics to each rehearsal. New faces are always welcome!

Worongary’s Got Talent Reminder

All interested students need to return Information slips regarding their performances, to the Music Room by the end of this week. An audition timetable will then be complied and displayed outside the Music Room. All students will be notified of their audition day and time. Don’t forget to bring backing tracks, costumes, instruments and props if needed.

If there are any further queries please email kjone416@eq.edu.au
Yours in Music Katheryn Jones

Excursions

P&C News

P&C June 2018 Meeting

The next monthly meeting will be held in the Staff room on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 4.30pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Colour Run4Fun

The School Colour Run4Fun was held on Thursday 26 April 2018. This was a great success and the children had a lot of fun. Thank you to all the volunteers who assisted on the day. It was great to see a lot of parents watching this great event.

Officeworks Sausage Sizzle

Unfortunately we have had to reschedule our sausage sizzle planned this month at Nerang Officeworks. A new date is yet to be confirmed.

Volunteers

We desperately need a strong team of volunteers we can rely on to ensure our fundraising events run successfully, if you can assist in any way please send your details to pandc@worongaryss.eq.edu.au we can add you to our volunteer register, as we need help throughout the year we will contact you.

Trivia Night

Come along and celebrate Worongary State School’s 25th Anniversary at our annual Trivia Night. Friday 25 May 2018, doors open 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Dress up and decorate your table in your best 90’s themed attire. Come along for a fun filled evening of Trivia and games and a chance to win some amazing prizes from our Monster Raffle. A choice of 4 food platters will be available for pre-purchase to be served at 7pm and a bar open all night.

Early bird tickets $15 each or $20 on the night. Email us on pandc@worongaryss.eq.edu.au to secure your table and arrange payment.

All funds raised will be going directly towards the Air Conditioning within the school.

Facebook Page

Remember to join our Facebook page Worongary State School P & C Association so you can keep updated with our upcoming events.

Kind Regards P&C

Tuckshop & Uniform

Opening Hours

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

Product of the Month

Available at both First Break and Second Break.

New to the Breakfast Menu

Cooler mornings have arrived and so has a new addition to the Breakfast Menu. Hot chocolate is now available for students to purchase in the mornings from 8:30am-8:50am. Served in a takeaway cup with a sipper lid, the hot chocolate machine has been programmed to a lesser heat than what an adult would have to ensure a safe drinking temperature for children.

Hot Chocolate $2.50

Sushi Reminder

Sushi is currently available each Wednesday by pre-ordering on Tuesdays. Our supplier has a minimum order requirement that we are once more struggling to meet, so I would like to encourage you to take advantage of this fresh and healthy lunch choice. We would like to keep sushi on the menu as it is a great way to add some mid-week variety to your child’s lunch box.

• ONLINE Sushi orders must be completed on Tuesdays by the normal cut-off time of 9.00am Choose Tuesday as the delivery day in order to access the Wednesday Sushi Pre-ordering menu.
• (Click on the icon next to your choice of ‘1 Roll’ or ‘2 Rolls’ then Flavour for a drop down list of flavours.)

• MANUAL paper bag Sushi orders must be handed in to Tuckshop or placed in the Tuckshop baskets in the classroom on Tuesdays by the normal cut-off time of 9.00am.
• All Sushi orders will then be delivered to children on Wednesday at the specified break time, First Break or Second Break.

UNIFORM SHOP

Opening Hours

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

Polos and Shorts Stock

Stock is currently running low in several sizes of polos and shorts. Orders have been placed to replenish these items. To the few people affected by this, we thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

CANTEEN WEEK

Next week is Canteen Week, an annual event organised by ASCA (Australian School Canteen Association) as an opportunity to celebrate Tuckshops/Canteens in schools.

CANTEEN WEEK ‘OVER THE COUNTER DEALS’

In recognition of Canteen Week, we are running some ’Over the Counter Specials’ from Monday 14 May – Friday 18 May, including exciting new flavoured milk! Send your children along with some gold coins to join in the fun! If the different flavoured milk proves popular, it may be added to our everyday menu. Please see the accompanying flyer for details.

SPECIAL GUESTS

In addition, we will also have some special guests in the Tuckshop during Over the Counter Sales to help us celebrate Canteen Week by handing out the special deals.

Kind regards

Regards Michelle Lee, Tuckshop and Uniform Convenor

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