31 October 2019

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Dear Parents

Last Friday, our school participated in the annual Day for Daniel. This day is Australia’s largest national day of action to raise awareness of child safety, protection and prevention. This day is traditionally held on the last Friday of October every year and honours the memory of Daniel Morcombe. Thank you to all of the staff and students who supported this day by wearing a red shirt. The central themes of Recognise, React and Report were discussed during both our whole school gathering and during individual class activities.

I wish to thank all of the students who contributed to this fantastic whole school gathering. Mrs Jones and the choir once again performed extremely well. Our school captains were very impressive in their presentation and organisation. Finally, a very big thank you to Ms Kaia and her team for co-ordinating events that drew attention this important message. I wish to also acknowledge Ms Kaia and her team of dedicated volunteers for co-ordinating the sausage sizzle last Thursday.

Showcase 2019 – Awards for Excellence in Schools

On Friday evening, Mr Mullaly and I had the pleasure of joining with members of the Merrimac State High School (MSHS) community at the Showcase 2019 – Awards for Excellence in Schools. These awards recognise diversity,Image/Showcase

innovation, excellence and achievement. MSHS submission, STEAMing to International Success detailed their newly launched STEAM Academy. This Academy encourages a culture of collaboration, hypothesis, testing and perseverance. This Academy has been validated in international competitions by industry leaders and the wider school community.

On behalf of the Worongary State School community, I would like to congratulate the very dedicated team at MSHS for winning the QSuper Showcase Award for Excellence in Secondary Education.

I am extremely humbled that the MSHS submission acknowledged the strong connections it has with our school’s STEM program. I thank Mr Mullaly and Ms Thompson for their commitment to STEM in our school and I wish all of our students competing in this weekend’s First Lego League in Ballina all the very best.

I Block Refurbishment Update

With the official I Block Refurbishment tender process now closed, the school should be informed of the contractor appointed to completing the work in the near future. In the meantime, parents of Year 6 students should be aware that their classrooms are in the process of being changed. Earlier in the week the school provided all Year 6 parents a letter outlining your child’s new classroom.

Any parent looking to meet with our Behaviour Team (Ms Kaia) should now make their way to the school’s library. For the remainder of the 2019 school year the Behaviour Team will operate out of the library. The schools’ support teachers have also moved into a new location. Ms Karam and Ms Jackson have now moved into Modula A (beside the Year 1/2 A class). Finally, Mr Mullaly will be require to take his lessons to each of the classes.

Blind Auction

Commencing Friday 1 November the school will be conducting a Blind Auction.

The purpose of this Blind Auction is to dispose of old well used furniture. Items for sale will include old teacher desks, computer stands, two drawer filing cabinets, large metal cupboards and other classroom furniture.

Parents wishing to make an offer for any item are encouraged to keep an eye on the school’s Facebook page or website for additional information. All items will be sold “as is” and “where is”. It will be the responsibility of the successful bidder to collect and pay prior to the building being handed to the contractor.

The Blind Auction is open from 7.30am Friday 1 November 2019 until 9:00am Wednesday 6 November 2019. Bids can only be made in person on the approved form or by emailing the approved form to office@worongaryss.eq.edu.au

No late bids will be accepted. All items are to be paid for and removed from the school site by no later than 8:00am Monday 11 November. Viewing times will be as below:

Once the successful bidders have been announced, items can be paid for and collected during the following times:

Further terms, conditions and forms can be obtained from https://bit.ly/2Jr7Jos and the office.

School Opinion Survey

As you would be aware, each year Education Queensland seeks feedback from our students, staff and community on how well we are performing. I am delighted to confirm that our 2019 School Opinion Survey results indicate that our school has over the past 12 months consolidated many of the gains from 2018. The level of staff satisfaction in measures of student engagement and how they use student data to continue to improve was exceptional. Other key performance indicators that saw significant improvement are contained in the table below.

Parents and caregivers were also appreciative of the significant improvements to our school in 2019. The table below provides a snapshot of the level of satisfaction of some of our key parent performance measures. I wish to thank our community for the high level of satisfaction across all aspects of this survey. Worongary State School is considerably above State school comparisons in 30 of the 35 questions asked. We sincerely thank our community for your confidence in our school.

Our students provided their opinions of how well our school was working to support their needs. The table below indicates our achievements in some of the key student performance measures. This data has reinforced the need to improve our school’s ICT resources / devices. I am delighted to confirm that last week I approved a purchase order to replace the computers in an entire computer lab. We also thank our students for their feedback on how we can enhance our school.

I wish to acknowledge our school’s leadership team and all of our staff members for their contributions to supporting our students and community. I thank all members of the Parents’ and Citizens’ Association for their constant guidance and support. Results like these provide an indication that our school community is strengthening our position to become a school of choice on the Gold Coast. These wonderful results provide our school with the confidence to continue the work we have already commenced. Thank you everyone for your continued support!

2019 Nerang State High School Awards

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of representing our community at the Nerang State High School Annual Awards evening. This evening provided the staff and students of Nerang State High the opportunity to showcase their achievements during the past 12 months. I particularly wish to acknowledge the following past students for receiving awards at last week’s ceremony.

In addition to these past students receiving their awards, a number of our current students were formally presented with their 2019 scholarships to Nerang State High School. It gave me great pleasure to present the following students with their scholarship last Thursday night.

Year 7 Athlete Development Program 2020 Scholarship

Brockton Byron (McKenzie)
Noah Champney

YEAR 7 COMETS ACADEMIC 2020 SCHOLARSHIP

Grace Cooney
Ethan Davies

On behalf of our school community I congratulate all of the students who were acknowledged at this ceremony and wish all of our students the very best as they commence their transition to Nerang State High School in 2020.

Respect on our Roads

As parents, we are the primary role model for our children. How our children see and hear us treating others reinforces their own values and beliefs. Since returning from the holiday break, I have unfortunately been contacted by a number of parents in vehicles or local residents about incidents of appalling behaviour. This behaviour ranges from cutting others off to abusive rants. Children both inside the vehicle and out have witnessed much of this behaviour and language. I respectfully request that all parents consider the safety of our children and the messages you are sending to your children. Please do not park across residential driveways and always be considerate on our roads.

I sincerely thank all of the parents and community members who have contacted me about these issues. All parents should be aware that I have passed these concerns on to the local Queensland Police as well as the Gold Coast City Council. Both of these government organisations have committed to increasing patrols around our school. They will also extend their patrol to the streets off Rushworth and Challenger Streets.

Bike / Scooter Safety

The best time to learn to ride a bike scooter is in childhood. The best place for children to learn is in a park or the backyard, away from traffic, until they have developed good handling skills and road sense.

Safety authorities recommend children aged under eight ride only in safe off-road environments and children aged eight to 10 ride on roads only under adult supervision. Children aged eight to 10 can begin to develop better traffic skills and more responsibility but parents still need to frequently reinforce the need for care and the road safety rules.

Over the past few days we have witnessed an increase in the number of bike / scooter injuries or near misses. I seek the assistance from all parents to teach their children to safely ride with traffic. In particular parents should teach children to:

• be alert for traffic
• stop and look both ways, scanning for traffic before entering the street
• stop at all marked and unmarked intersections
• always use hand signals and wear a helmet.

They should:

• correct children when the safety rules are ignored
• teach children how to care for their bikes
• teach children to set cycling speed limits.

Children learn by example, so parents should also practise these rules. Pre-teens and teens usually know the road rules and the need to take care, but tend to be impulsive and forgetful. Peer pressure can lead them into taking risks. Regular reminders for children to follow the rules and adults setting a good example can help.

Get Set for Prep

Over the past two weeks, we have hosted our 2019 Get Set for Prep sessions. It has been wonderful to see so many parents taking advantage of our information sessions while their children participated in fun “Prep” activities. This coming Thursday, Kerrianne Sullivan, the Differentiation Mentor for Prep- Yr2 will be speaking to parents about supporting their children in this transition phase.. This will be a very informative talk and one not to miss.

A reminder if you, or someone you know, is intending to enrol a child in the Worongary State School 2019 Prep Program, please contact the office on 5502 4444.

Family Mental Health Support

Accoras is a not-for-profit organisation working to strengthen the wellbeing and futures of people and communities. This organization has a strong commitment to promotion, prevention and early intervention and helping children, young people, adults and families to build their resilience. They have well-established relationships with cultural organisations and groups, supporting our positive engagement with families and communities across South-East Queensland.

They are a free service funded by the Department of Social Services to provide early intervention support to children and young people, alongside their families, who are showing early signs of, or at risk of developing mental health concerns. To be eligible for our program the client must:

• Be a child or young person up to and including 18 years of age and willing to participate within the program to participate with the FMHSS program
• Have a parent or significant adult who can be proactive, and work with their child/young person within the program for optimum long-term outcomes
• Live within the South Brisbane or Gold Coast catchment area
• Currently not under the care of the child protection system

If you or anyone you know would benefit from this free service, please contact their friendly team for more information - Phone 07 5679 3300 Fax 07 3274 1930 or Email fmhss_gc@accoras.org.au

2020 Class Parent Requests

I wish to invite parents to write to me regarding your child’s attendance at Worongary State School for 2020. Our school leaders are currently working hard to devise and implement a plan that will support all students to enjoy a smooth and efficient transition into the 2020 school year. To support this plan, I seek your assistance to notify the school office if:

• Your child is not going to be attending our school in 2020
• You know other children who will be attending our school in 2020
• You have not enrolled your child in Prep for 2020.

This information is vital as it may save our school having to re-structure classes and teachers at the beginning of the 2020 school year. In addition, I am now seeking feedback from you regarding whom your child works well with and who they do not. I invite parents to write a letter to me outlining any concerns that you may wish us to consider in the decision making process for 2020 classes. I sincerely thank all of the parents who have already written to me and provided feedback on class placements.

All parental requests must be received by the school by no later than Friday 16 November. To ensure confidentiality all correspondence of this nature should be addressed to the Principal and forwarded to the office in a sealed envelope marked ‘Private and Confidential’.

SpotLight on Talent

At Worongary State School, we are incredibly fortunate to have so many wonderful students and staff members. I trust you will join with me in congratulating Charli, Flynn and Sam for their recent achievements.

Charli Edwick has recently competed in the Sunshine Series Mountain Bike competition. This series is a combination of races held by different clubs based in southeast Queensland. Based on finish positions in each race, riders will accumulate points, and the rider with the most points after the five rounds is awarded the ‘Series Champion’. Charli competed in the five races and to her credit, won all five races in the Under 11 age group. This amazing achievement qualified her to compete in the National Series. Charli then went to compete in the National Series in Castle Hill where she achieved a national ranking of 22 in the Under 13 girls age group. Congratulations Charli on this amazing accomplishment.

Flynn Bartlett competed in the Australian Junior Squash Championships in Tasmania over the holidays. Flynn performed exceptionally well during this championship. Flynn was awarded a second placing in both the Under 11 and Under 13 age groups. He then went on to play in the Queensland State Team. Flynn scored the crucial final 2 points that Queensland required to be crowned National Champions in 2019. Flynn returned home with two silver medals, a gold medal and the prestigious Achievement Award. This Achievement Award was especially special as it was chosen by the entire Queensland Team. Well done Flynn.

Finally, Mr Sam Swift is one of our very dedicated and committed Titan’s Teacher Aides. Along with Josh Rogers, this team works incredibly hard to ensure all students are supported in their learning. Whether it be in the playground or during their literacy lessons, Sam and Josh are making positive contributions for our students. Sam has continued this excellent leadership beyond our school’s front gate. Over the past 18 months, Sam has dedicated himself to becoming a rugby league referee. As the 2019 Rugby League season drew to a close Sam was acknowledged by the Gold Coast Referees Association as the 2019 Senior Referee of the Year. This tremendous achievement acknowledges the countless hours of work that Sam has dedicated to becoming a high performing referee. Congratulations Sam on achieving this well-deserved award.

Queensland Health Review – Have a say!

Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service is consulting for development of the next Strategic Plan to 2024, with a longer term outlook to 2032. The Gold Coast community is encouraged to get involved by completing this anonymous online survey or register through Eventbrite to attend one of three community workshops. For additional information or enquiries, email GCHHSStrategyandHSP@health.qld.gov.au or call 07 5629 0939.

Save the Date

Learning Vine Awards

Grade 3C

3C have been exploring symmetry in Maths, with very artistic results!

Grade 2

Beenleigh History Museum Excursion.

Lots of fun was had on our Year 2 excursion and students got to step back in time to 100 years ago or more. The staff at the History Museum greeted us, dressed up as they would have been 100 years ago. Students thought this was great. We got to see how they printed flyers and newsletters using an old printing press from 1890, using sticky ink and a foot pedal. We also looked at what a typewriter and old telephones were like. We stepped back to the 1900's to see what it was like in a classroom all these years ago, with slates, hard bench chairs and tables, squished into a small room, no bright resources like we have and no technology. The children were shocked!

We also went to Granny May's washing house. Students had lots of fun as it was her washing day. She showed how they heated the water, rinsed the washing, scrubbed it on an old washing board and then squeezed it through the pedal machine. No washing machine in sight!

A super day had by all and the Year 2 students were amazing.

Behaviour

Behaviour Expectations

On Thursday our school raised $1835.50 for the Morcombe Foundation. Thank you to Sam and Josh for being great cooks at our sausage sizzle.

Thank you to our staff, P &C and students who helped make this a successful fundraiser for such an important cause.

Thank you to our captains who, on Friday during our Day for Daniel assembly, presented very important messages to our students about how each individual child is so important and being safe is a number one priority. Our choir, under the guidance of the very talented Ms Jones, performed ‘Imagine’ and ‘What a Wonderful World’. It was a beautiful performance. Our students then returned to class to participate in a range of related activities.

Have a wonderful week

Kind Regards, Ms Kaia

From the Music Room

PACIFC FAIR’S ‘SING TO WIN’ COMPETITION – WE NEED YOUR ‘LIKES’!!!

Last week the Junior and Senior Choir spent a morning rehearsing and filming for Pacific Fair’s ‘Sing to Win’ Competition. This competition is open to professional and school choirs. We will continue to work hard and perfect these songs as we are hoping both choirs will be selected to represent Worongary at the finals!

It would be a tremendous opportunity for our children should they be selected to perform at Pacific Fair in early November! Please ‘like’ our choirs on the Pacific Fair ‘Sing to Win’ page (link below) and we could win $500 for the school.

Thank you Worongary Community and thank you choir students (and parents) for your absolute dedication!

CONGRATULATIONS SENIOR CHOIR AND ADVANCED STRINGS

The Senior Choir and Advanced Strings performed on the weekend at the Nerang Library as part of the ‘Living Locally’ community event. This was an amazing event that showcased just how good our Worongary students really are! Thank you again to students and parents that gave up their Saturday to make this happen.

Instrumental Music 2020

Thank you to all the students who have returned ‘Expression of Interest’ forms to participate in learning a Band or Strings instrument in 2020. The Instrumental Music Specialist teachers will begin talking with these children this week to ensure the most appropriate instrument choice is made. Please be aware we have had an overwhelming number of children interested in joining the Program. Based on returned forms, we know that we will not have enough instruments for every child. Please do not purchase an instrument without contacting us, as this will not ensure a place in the program. We hope to have a response for all applicants by the end of Week 5.

YEAR 3 STRING STUDENTS

A group of our Year 3 students have been attending extra String lessons with Miss Jones each week for Term 3 and Term 4. Their musical skills and playing technique are really progressing well! Congratulations Tegan C, Olivia G, Charlie E and Ashley T! We can’t wait for you to join the Advanced Strings Ensemble.

Have a great rest and we look forward to an exciting Term 3!

Yours in Music
Ms Katheryn Jones
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)

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, Prep Teacher

Excursions

P&C News

P&C Meeting

The next P and C meeting is on Wednesday 13 November 2019 at 4.30 pm in the staff room. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Budget Meeting

The P and C will be holding its annual Budget Meeting on Friday 8 November at 2pm in the Staff room. This is to sort the P and C Budget for 2020.

Change for Change

Thank you to all families that participated in this event. The winning senior and junior classes that raised the most will receive their prize shortly.

Disco

A junior and senior disco will be held on Friday 1 November. See our Facebook page for more information

Volunteers are needed to assist at the disco. Please follow link below to register.

Family Portraits

At the end of last term we handed out information about Family Portraits to be held on Sunday 3 November. If you have not received this information please see our Facebook Page or contact us via our email pandc@worongaryss.eq.edu.au

Tuckshop

World Tuckshop Day will occur on 1 November. Next time you see our ladies in the tuckshop please thank them for all their hard work.

Facebook Page

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

Business Network Page

Parents and direct relations of Students who attend Worongary State School can utilise this Face Book Site to connect and network with each other’s businesses.

Regards P&C

Tuckshop & Uniform

Opening Hours

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

Halloween Meal Deals

Well done to the brave souls who have dared to order a Halloween Meal Deal this week. For those who have yet to venture out of their comfort zones, please note that tomorrow is the last day they are available. The Meal Deals can be ordered for both First and Second Break and either manually or online (select the date required and a separate meal session will appear in the drop down box). Please see flyer for details…Trick or Treeeaaat!!

World Teacher’s Day

Last Friday was ‘World Teacher’s Day,’ a day where teachers are celebrated and recognised for the outstanding work they do. As a token of appreciation, the P&C provided a morning tea, not just for teachers but for all staff who make it possible for our teachers to teach.

On behalf of the P&C I would like to say a big ‘THANK YOU’ to all the wonderful teachers and support staff here at Worongary State School. We hope you enjoyed your morning tea and day of recognition! I would also like to say a big thank you to the staff members who assisted us in transporting platters of food on the day: Mrs Ready, Miss Thompson and Mr Swift, your assistance was appreciated.

UNIFORM SHOP

Opening Hours

Monday: 8:00am-9:00am
Wednesday: 2:15pm-3:15pm
Friday: 8:00am-9:00am
Closed: Entire last day of each Term
Direct Dial number: 5502 4409

Seniors Shirts for Year 6

Year 6 Seniors Shirts for 2020 are now available for ordering. This shirt is included as part of the everyday uniform for Year 6 students only. A hard copy of the order form has been sent home with current Year 5 students this week and a copy is also attached here. This form contains all the information you need but should you have any questions please feel free to contact us on the number listed above.

Uniform Ordering for Prep 2020

It’s not too early to think about pre-ordering uniforms for Prep 2020. Please read below for information on how to do so -

Option 1: Purchase/Order at the Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop is located upstairs from Central games in Modular F. Uniforms can be purchased here during the opening hours listed above. We recommend bringing your child along for sizing.

Please note that for your convenience, the Uniform Shop will be open at the following times on the last Get Set For Prep day, Thursday 14 November:

For those attending the 9:15-10:15 session: 8:45am – 9:15am
For those attending the 10:30-11:30 session: 11:30am – 12:00pm
For those attending the 11:45-12:45 session: 12:45pm – 1:15pm

These times are either before or after the Get Set For Prep sessions, to allow you to bring your child along for sizing.

Option 2: Purchase Online

Online purchasing is available for future Preps. Go to the school website and follow the link on the home page (located on the bottom right side) for Uniforms Online where you can set up an account. If you choose to purchase online, the following collection options are available:

• Order online and have the uniforms collected by a sibling already at the school.
• The nominated sibling will receive a note in their class Tuckshop basket to advise when the order is ready for collection.
• Order online and collect from the administration office at your convenience.
• We will call you when the order has been processed and is ready for collection.
• Order online and collect at the Get Set for Prep programme.
• We will call you when the order has been processed and is ready for collection.
• Please add a note in the comments section to let us know your preference.

Please note: we will be unable to supply all items this year. Some items will need to be pre-ordered and collected next year once we receive delivery of the stock. Our back to school open hours will be advertised here towards the end of the year.

If you have any queries please call the Uniform Shop during the opening hours outlined above.

Kind regards,

Michelle Lee
Tuckshop/Uniform Convenor

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