6 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Last Friday 1 March, Tayla P in 6C represented our school by presenting the weather report on the ABC Gold Coast Radio. Tayla’s extensive work on her script and meticulous preparation paid off as she eloquently and clearly discussed the weekend weather on live radio. I wish to congratulate Tayla and her family on this wonderful achievement. She should be extremely proud of her achievement. I wish to also thank Ms Kaia for her leadership of this initiative. Worongary State School is truly fortunate to have such a hardworking and committed teacher as Ms Kaia on our team. A big thank you, to Kaia and congratulations to Tayla on an impressive start to your radio career.

State Principal Conference (Thinking Schools – Better World)

Last week I join with over 1300 of my Principal colleagues to attend the Queensland State Principal’s Conference. The theme for this year’s biannual event was Think schools – better world. This conference provided all school leaders the opportunity to come together and consider, through fresh eyes, the opportunities and challenges we face with implementing a world class education system. A key message from the conference was "How are our school’s processes delivering on ensuring every student is able to live a life of choice not a life of chance?"

I am pleased to report that much of our current work is closely aligned to our system’s expectations. Over the next few weeks our school’s leadership team will consider many of the key messages contained in the two day conference. Our school’s leadership team will develop a clear narrative on how we will measure our collective impact to ensure every student’s pathway towards excellence is being closely monitored and achieved.

Leadership Ceremony

On Friday 22 February our Year 3 – Year 6 students, staff and parents joined to celebrate and acknowledge our 2019 school leaders. I wish to congratulate all of the students for undertaking a leadership role in our school. I recognise that at certain periods throughout the year the spotlight will be on these students and their success of a being a leader will be measured by the way they represent our school. I also acknowledge the role that every student plays in our school “striving for excellence”. At this assembly it was outlined that leadership is more than wearing a badge. Each and every student, regardless if they hold an elected position, has a role to play in strengthening our school and our school community’s profile.

I wish to formally acknowledge and thank the following 2019 school leaders for their dedication and commitment to our school.

2019 School Captains

2019 House Captains

2019 Captains

2019 Playground Leaders

2019 Student Council Representatives

I sincerely thank all of our distinguished guests for attending this service and assisting with the presentation of the students’ leadership badges. I particularly acknowledge Ms Meaghan Scanlon, State Member for Gaven, Councillor Mr Glen Tozer, Mr Scott Ison (Principal of Nerang State High School), Mr Chris Tobin (Principal Merrimac State High School), Mr Glen Chippendale (Directory of Junior School at Benowa State High School) and Mr Aaron Carlisle (Head of Junior Secondary at Robina State High School) for taking the time to help us celebrate this very important event on our school’s calendar.

Parent / Teacher Interviews

Earlier in the week all parents should have received a formal invitation to join with your child’s class teacher to celebrate their many wonderful achievements during term 1. Our Term 1 Parent / Teacher interviews will be conducted in the school’s hall on Wednesday 20 March 2019. These interviews provide an opportunity for your child’s class teacher to share with you their individual literacy and numeracy goals. It also provides an opportunity for your child’s class teacher to outline the areas that your child has performed well in during Term 1. Parents are encouraged to log onto the school’s website and book a time to meet with your child’s class teacher. If for any reason you are unable to find a suitable time please contact your child’s class teacher. We thank you in advance for helping us to build a stronger and more connected school community.

Alternative arrangements have been made to the above mentioned interview schedule for our Year 3D and 1/2A classes. Parent of students in these classes are asked to respond to an alternative way of booking these appointment. Any parent experiencing difficulties in booking an appointment are encouraged to contact their child’s class teacher.

Early Start

The ‘Every Student Succeeding State Schools Strategy 2019–2023’ policy, identifies that students are successful when they engage in individualised learning and their achievement is closely tracked. We all know that student learning and achievement occurs when teachers know their learners and implement strategies that target areas both their areas of strength and those requiring growth or support. To achieve this, our school is implementing mechanisms that support regular collections of data, processes that monitor student progress and prompt early intervention.

Over the past few weeks, all of our prep students have completed the Early Start assessment processes. Early Start is an assessment teachers use to identify each learner’s strengths and areas for development. Implementation of Early Start across Prep indicates our intention and commitment to ensure every student succeeds from their very first day at Worongary State School.

I strongly encourage all prep parents to book an interview with your child’s class teacher and discuss your child’s performance on the Early Start. This information is the first indication of each student’s strengths and areas of the curriculum that we will be focusing on to improve. By attending an interview, parents will be well informed on any future actions our teachers will be taking to ensure all prep students continue to improve their literacy and numeracy skills.

Outside School Hours Care Service (OSHCS)

I sincerely thank all of the parents who recently attended our first P & C Association meeting for 2019. At this meeting I put forward a motion outlining my intention to tender our Outside School Hours Care Service (OSHCS). All Education Queensland schools are required to periodically review their OSHCS contract. As our current OSHC (Helping Hands) have received a number of contract extensions over the past 5 years, we are now bound to readvertise this service through the Queensland Government’s QTender website. This process will ensure our school continues to deliver the best service for our community.

I sincerely thank all members of the Helping Hands team for their continued support of outside school hour’s care and trust that they will again retender for this contract.

Safe School Travel

At our P & C Association meeting I was made aware of a number of traffic incidents that had occurred at the end of the school day. Pick up times at any school are generally congested and difficult to navigate. I certainly appreciate that our school’s unique situation (with only one entrance and exit off Explorers Drive) certainly adds to our school’s complexities. I am seeking your understanding and patience during these busy times. It is simply not appropriate that parents are abused by other parents in this area. As discussed at this meeting, I have informed the Queensland Police Service and the Gold Coast City Council of these concerns. Parents wishing to miss all of the congestion are asked to simply delay your pick up time by 10 minutes. I sincerely thank everyone for remaining calm in this area and keeping an eye out for our little ones who may still be learning the road rules and how to safely cross the road.

Regards Landon Dare, Principal

Volunteer Mandatory Training

At Worongary State School, we value community involvement and appreciate the volunteers who come into our school to help in classrooms, run extra-curricular activities, and volunteer in our tuckshop.

Before volunteering, it is important that our community members know the expectations of conduct and students protection. These elements are compulsory for any person, whether a staff member, contractor or volunteer, to know and understand.

We have recently held a face-to-face session run at the school to go through Code of Conduct and Student Protection training. If you were unable to attend this session, you will need to complete the online training:

1. You can download the Mandatory All-Staff Training Program-Key Messages Guide below. Once completed, when logging on to our system, you will be able to tick to say you have read and understood the key messages.

In addition to this, when signing in at Worongary State School, the visitor sign-in program will take you through the key messages the first time you log in. You will need to read the messages and tick to say you have read the information and agree. This record is then stored at the school and remains valid for 12 months.

Mandatory All-Staff Training program - Key messages guide

Volunteers, contractors and visitors must complete this process annually and be able to present the Record of Completion anytime they are visiting a departmental site.

Instructions:

• access the Key messages guide
• review the information
• complete the declaration and fill in your details on the Record of Completion section which you will find on the last page of the guide
• the supervisor, manager or principal of the location you are visiting with verify the completed declaration and finalise the Record of Completion with a signature and date (and school stamp if you are visiting a school)
• retain the verified Record of Completion section. It will be recognised at schools and departmental sites for 12 months.

Check with the supervisor, manager or principal at the location you are visiting for guidance and the additional information, as per the induction list above, you need to be aware of while working at their department site.

Save the Date

Learning Vine Awards

Business Manager

VACANCY – CLEANERS POSITION

Applications required.

Worongary State School is currently seeking applications for a Cleaner. The hours are 12.75 per week which are permanent with the department.

Applications will be kept on file for a period of 12 months.

To be considered for these hours please email your CV to bsm@worongaryss.eq.edu.au by Friday 15 March 2019.

Behaviour

At Worongary State School we aim to create a safe and supportive school community for everyone.

You are an important part of our work to prevent bullying and to respond effectively if it happens. Stopping bullying involves everyone.

We are sending you a pocket card from Bullying. No Way! with tips on what to do if your child talks to you about bullying. Parents/Carers know their children best and know the best way to tailor communication to their needs. Adapt these tips to what works for you and your child.

If your child talks to you about bullying:

1. Listen calmly and get the full story. Your calm response is important to allow your child to tell you all about the situation. After they’ve told you their story, ask questions to get more details if you need: who, what, where, when. Although you may feel some strong emotions about your child’s experience, try to keep calm to avoid more distress to your child.
2. Reassure your child they are not to blame. Many children blame themselves and this may make them feel even worse. You could say things like, ‘That sounds really hard to deal with. No one should have to put up with that.’ or ‘I’m so glad you told me. You should be able to feel safe at school; that’s not fair at all’.
3. Ask your child what they want to do and what they want you to do. A critical part of your response is to avoid jumping in to solve the problem. While it is natural to want to protect your child, helping them to find their own solution is a better option. It helps them feel they have some power in the situation.
4. Visit the Bullying, No Way website to find some strategies. The website has tips and ideas for different bullying situations. One idea is to practise strategies at home to help your child feel more confident.
5. Contact the school. Your child may be reluctant for you to do this, so discuss the idea and reassure them that the school would want to know and is able to help. Make an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher and, if you need to, ask to talk with the principal. Contact the school immediately if you have a concern about your child’s safety.
6. Check in regularly with your child. Keep the conversation going. It can take time to resolve issues, so check in regularly with your child about their experiences and their feelings. Your ongoing support is important.

If you are looking for support for yourself to deal with a bullying situation, you will find ideas on the Bullying. No Way! website for parents. As well, please feel free to contact the school if you would like to discuss any aspect of our approach to preventing bullying.

• To encourage our students to develop team work and understanding we have recently had the Titan’s Players visit to work with our 5/6 and Year 6 classes
• On March 12 at our P-2 Assembly, we will have a performance ‘Colours of Australia’
• On March 13 we will host a motivational speaker, Trish Jackson, who is a Thalidomide Survivor. She will talk to our students in Years 3-6 about body image, bullying and developing resilience.
• On March 15 we will have the Nerang Library share story time with our Prep –Year 2 to raise awareness of Antibullying.
• On March 15 our school will support the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. The students will be involved in a range of classroom based activities. On this day, we also celebrate Harmony Day. Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic backgrounds.
• On March 21 the Cyber Safety team will present to our students in Years 3-6. The presentation includes raising student awareness of how to use technology appropriately and responsibly.

Thank you for your support to make Worongary a great school for everyone.

Worongary State School Staff

Regards, Kaia Clarke, Behaviour

From the Music Room

Music Newsletter Submission 4
Term 1

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2019 MUSIC CAPTAINS

Last week Our 2019 Music Captains were presented with their badges. A warm congratulations to Band Captain – Taletha A, Strings Captains – Jasper M and Tamia T, Choir Captains – Jack Mc and Jason B.

DRUMLINE PARTICIPANTS

Congratulations to the following students who successfully auditioned for a place in Worongary’s Drumline for 2019 - Lila C, Tayla H, Ava T, David W, Sommer W S, Ammon Laurano and Aurora T. Drumline rehearsals are each Monday at First Break.

BEFORE SCHOOL PRACTICE

Congratulations to Tyson W who has been diligently rehearsing on the Double Bass before school in the Music Room. Congratulations also to Lenka J, Amelia I, Gemaika T and Sommer W S who have been coming together as a clarinet ensemble to rehearse before school (and they sound great!)

PREP AND YEAR 1 MUSIC INCURSION

Permission forms and payment are now due for the upcoming performance Music Throughout Time. Please return permission slips to the Classroom teachers.

UPCOMING EVENTS – TERM 1

Open Rehearsals SENIOR STRINGS Week 8 Tuesday March 19 from 8:00am
Open Rehearsals BAND Week 8 Monday March 18 from 7:45am
Merrimac State High School Year 5/6 Workshop Day - BAND and STRINGS Week 10 April 2.

CHOIR CONTRACTS

This week Choir Contracts are being distributed to interested students. Please read the commitment carefully, sign and return to Miss Jones in the Music Room.

Music and folders have been distributed for home practice.

Yours in Music
Ms Katheryn Jones
Music & Arts
kjone416@eq.edu.au

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 FREE Read and Grow Program with your 3-5 year old children

(It is not compulsory to attend all sessions)

When:
Tuesday 12 February until Tuesday 26 March
9am to 9.45am

Where:
Prep A Classroom Worongary State School

Who:
Parents and their children (3-5years)
Siblings welcome

Come along and meet other parents and children – all welcome even if not attending Worongary State School

For more information or to ask any questions, please contact Katie Huggard via email: khugg2@eq.edu.au

The program was put together by a speech language pathologist and early childhood teachers. Each week we will read a story and develop language skills through reading, songs, play and craft - practicing the skills we know are important for school readiness such as:

• Focusing on key words and concepts
• asking and answering questions
• noticing the print and the written word in the story or title

For more information or to ask any questions, please contact Katie Huggard via email: khugg2@eq.edu.au

Regards Katie Huggard, PrepTeacher

Waste Free Wednesday

This year our first “Waste Free Wednesday” will take place on Wednesday March 6 and we would love to see every student in the school getting on board.

Waste-free lunches benefit the environment by reducing packaging waste, which in turn reduces energy and resource use. Participating in a waste-free lunch activity also promotes sustainability awareness among students, parents and school staff.

On this day, we ask that your child’s lunch contain items that will be eaten, composted or recycled. Students can win terrific lunch box prizes for their involvement on this special day.

Here are some helpful tips for packing a waste free lunch:

• Reusable containers are a handy way to pack a waste-free lunch.
• Buy snack foods in bulk and pack in reusable containers, instead of in single-serve packets (this will help to save money as well).
• Package sandwiches, cakes, muffins and crackers in reusable containers instead of cling wrap or foil
• Pack whole fruits and fruit cut into pieces in reusable containers. Fruit and vegetable scraps (e.g. apple cores and banana skins) will be composted at the school through our compost/worm farming system.
• Juice boxes, disposable drink bottles, foil wrap, paper bags, hard plastic containers and cups can be recycled in our yellow-lid recycling bins.

Students from 6C will be organising some special ways to celebrate students participating in Waste Free Wednesday including lucky prize draws. To qualify student’s lunch boxes must only contain reusable containers or products that can be recycled in our yellow-lid bins.

Tim Mullaly
STEM Teacher
Worongary State School

Excursions

P&C News

P&C Meeting

The next P&C is on Wednesday 27 March 2019 at 4.30 pm in the staff room. The meeting will start as an AGM. The AGM will follow with our normal monthly meeting. If you would like to join the executive team this is your chance as all positions will be stood down and new elections held.

School Banking

School banking has been changed to Friday this year. You can open a bank account for your child/children at Commonwealth Bank. Any enquiries you can contact the P&C via our email ourpandc1993@gmail.com.

Facebook Page

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

Regards P&C

Tuckshop & Uniform

TUCKSHOP AND UNIFORM SHOP

Tuckshop News

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

Volunteers

Jasmine and myself would like to acknowledge the wonderful regular volunteers who come back year after year to assist in the Tuckshop. Thank you Janelle and Narelle our help is very much appreciated.

We would also like to welcome Peter to our band of volunteers. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to assist in the WSS Tuckshop. We look forward to working with you again soon.

Meal Deals

The countdown to Easter is on. As promised in the last Pipeline, we have planned some Meal Deals to celebrate. Please see the attached flyer for details and note that the deals will be available:

• Monday 25 March – Thursday 04 April
• at both First Break and Second Break
• via manual or online ordering

If ordering online you will be able to order in advance from this weekend, so why wait? Hop, skip and jump right into the fun.

Over Counter Sales

The Over Counter Sales menu is available for 15 minutes at First Break and Second Break play time for students in Years 1-6 and can get very busy. If you are giving your children money to purchase items at this time, we ask that you please have a chat with them about the menu beforehand so they are aware of what’s on offer at this time and what they can buy with their money. This will enable us to keep the queue moving and minimise the wait time.

All items are priced at $3.00 or less so our float is accordingly minimal. Denominations larger than a $5 note will not be accepted at this time. Please also note that children are only to buy for themselves and are not permitted to buy for friends.

EASTER MEAL DEALS
[Monday 25th March– Thursday 4th April, 2019]

UNIFORM SHOP

Opening Hours

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

Interschool Sports

Interschool sports kicks off for the year next term and the Uniform Shop has Footy Socks and Interschool Sport Shorts available to purchase. We have some stock on hand already and are awaiting delivery of more. Pre-orders are welcome. Be sure to kit your child out in the correct uniform so they can represent our school with pride this season. Online ordering also available.

• Interschool Sports Shorts: $21.00
• Football Socks: $10.00

Pre-Loved Uniforms

We currently have a decent supply of pre-loved uniforms in stock. If you’re struggling to keep up with the washing and would love some extra items to get you through the week, come up and have a browse at what is available. Shorts, skorts, polos, and selected winter stock are all available in a variety of sizes.

Kind regards,
Michelle Lee
Tuckshop/Uniform Convenor

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