22 July 2020

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Welcome back to a new term at Worongary State School. I hope you had a fantastic break with your family and friends. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my children bushwalking and maintaining our house.

I am looking to continue to drive the school’s three priority areas over the following semester. These are:

1. A consistent approach to Teaching, Learning, Assessment and Reporting, with a particular focus on reading.
2. Striving for Excellence – An Inclusive Approach
3. Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

The priorities of the school has not changed. I look forward to embedding the great work of the school leadership team, staff and students in these areas as identified in the 2018-2021 Worongary State School Strategic Plan and 2020 Annual Implementation Plan. Ultimately, every student succeeding at Worongary is our goal.

Within our school’s 2020 Explicit Improvement Agenda, GROWTH is our watermark as an ever-present descriptor that defines what we stand for at Worongary State School. Growth, is the reminder of our collective passion and determination to increase all students’ achievement in every classroom. As per the Investing for Success target, we are aiming to increase the percentage of students achieving a year’s worth of reading growth for a year’s worth of schooling.

Please like and follow us on Facebook!

I am looking forward to continuing to share the great work of our students and school on the school’s Facebook Page. Please like and follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with school news, events, as well as other happenings in our school.

Camps and Excursions

With the latest Term 3 COVID-19 Guidelines for Schools being sent out at the end of last term, staff are very busy reengaging school programs, excursions, camps and events. We are currently reviewing excursions and camps and ensuring they have COVID Safe Industry Plans. This is very exciting and teachers are currently obtaining quotes and making temporary bookings. Please be on the lookout for letters from your class teacher with the return dates for permission forms and payments.

New Acting Deputy Principal

I would like to welcome Mr Chris Wood to our school for remainder of 2020 as Senior School Deputy Principal for students in Years 3-6. Mr Wood has been in education for the last 20 years, most recently at Merrimac State High School where he has been in the positions of Head of Junior Secondary and Deputy Principal over the last 7 years.

As Worongary State School is a feeder primary school to Merrimac State High School, he has had the privilege of working with many past Worongary students and families and has found them to be great community citizens who have a really positive appreciation for the staff who helped guide and support them at Worongary State School. Welcome Mr Wood to our school.

School Assemblies

Last week saw the return to regular assemblies for the junior and senior students. The students were exceptional and participated very well.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, parents will be invited to attend assemblies for students receiving Learning Vine Awards only. All adults, including Worongary State School Staff, must adhere to physical distancing of 1.5m. Please keep the chairs in their positions when arriving on assembly so that we meet these guidelines.

We are looking forward to awarding the students for their great work and acknowledging them again on school assemblies.

The resource every parent should know about

If you’re looking for resources to navigate the ins and outs of parenting, the Talking Families website is full of useful tips, tricks and resources to support parents with children of all ages.

They recently released three new activities you can do together as a family, which serve as a great conversation starter between parents and their children. Every family looks different, and it’s about celebrating your family and its strengths.

Find out more at the Talking Families website.

Reading@home TV goes national!

Reading@home TV is going national. This successful collaboration between the department’s Reading Centre and the Nine Network has resulted in all 10 episodes being aired across Australia on 9Go until 2 August. Program content is specifically designed to support language and literacy development for children from Kindergarten to Year 3. Each episode features two children’s books read aloud and an interactive learning experience. All books featured on reading@home are also included in the 2020 Premier's Reading Challenge booklists.

Have a fantastic week ahead and again, welcome back to Worongary State School.

Regards Adam Brandt, Principal

Save the Date

From Music Room

Welcome Back to Choirs, Band and String Ensemble

Junior Choir is back!
Senior Choir is back!
Advanced String Ensemble is back!
Band is back!

I am so thrilled to announce that choirs and ensemble rehearsals have re-commenced this term. In addition, a new Beginner Band and Beginner String workshops will also be commencing this term.

Please access Class Dojo messages regularly as this is where all messages regarding rehearsals will be posted. Please also note that Band and Strings rehearsals will be held in the GAMES CLUB room this term.

New faces are always welcome at Choir rehearsals and there is no cost to join. The rehearsal schedule is detailed below for your convenience.

Advanced String Ensemble- Monday 7:45am – 8:45am
Junior Choir – Tuesday 8:00am – 8:50am
Senior Choir – Wednesday 8:00am – 8:50am
Advanced Band – Thursday 7:45am – 8:45am
Beginner Band – Thursday 3:00pm – 3:50pm

Beginner Strings Workshops

This term we are very excited to offer our Year 3 Beginner Strings free workshops here at school in Weeks 3 and 7. The children will gather at the hall on these days and spend the morning session (9:00 – 11:00am) learning new repertoire with their peers. It will be a lot of fun!

2021 is coming quickly…

Is your child musical? Do they enjoy learning new skills? Is your child a good listener? Are they resilient and persistent, even when the work gets hard?

If you answered yes to most of the questions, your child would benefit greatly from learning a musical instrument!

This term students in Years 2 and 3 will be invited to meet the Instrumental Music Teachers that visit our school each week to teach a variety of musical instruments.

Students going into Year 3 in 2021 can choose to learn Stringed Instruments- the violin, viola, cello or double bass.

Students going into Year 4 in 2021 can choose to learn Woodwind, Brass and Percussion Instruments - the flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, euphonium, trombone or study a range of percussion instrument.

Further information about these programs will be distributed to students shortly.

Musicians of the Week

Congratulations to the following classes and students who were awarded Junior and Senior Musicians for Week 1 of Term 3.

Junior Musicians of the Week – PA
Senior Musicians of the Week – 3C

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

From Behaviour Team

Welcome back to Term 3. We are looking forward to the new term.

Smiling Minds

Throughout the pandemic we heard from parents and carers who were looking for ways to support the mental health of children in their care. In response Smiling Minds created a series of digital Care Packs that provide practical tools and resources to help you foster positive mental health habits within students' homes.

What are digital Care Packs? Practical, online resources that parents and carers can use with children to alleviate anxiety and promote positive mental health. There are brief learning tools for parents and carers, as well as practical activities for children to use within the home or school environment, all available free of charge. The Care Packs are for five to 12 year old children, along with the parents, carers and teachers that support them.

How will they help? The practical activities are designed to help children recognise and regulate their emotions, create a sense of calm and wellbeing. Importantly, tools will also be available for parent and carer self-care.

How to access them? Simply head to the link. You’ll be asked to enter your (adult) details smilingmind.com.au

As winter is upon us, the mornings when the students are in the playground can be very cool. Please remind your children about our uniform policy.

DAILY SCHOOL UNIFORM

Students must wear the day uniform at all times. Exceptions to this rule include the wearing of a house uniform for designated days, free dress as part of the student council fundraising program or the interschool sports uniform on designated interschool sports days. Items which do not contain the school logo should be of the correct colour of maroon or bottle green, and feature no brand names.

SHOES

Shoes are to be kept neat and tidy. Shoes are to be made of leather or vinyl (no canvas shoes). White ankle socks MUST be worn with shoes. For safety reasons, laced shoes must be tied tightly. Laces are to be the same colour as the shoe. All parts of the shoe must be black, including trims, eyelets and motifs. Shoes and socks MUST be worn at all times unless instructed by a teacher. Slip-on shoes are prohibited due to health and safety.

JEWELLERY/COSMETICS

The wearing of jewellery is to be limited to one earring per ear lobe (sleeper or plain stud. Spacers are prohibited). No rings, bracelets or necklaces should be worn other than necklaces/bracelets for religious/medical purposes. Any religious/medical necklaces must have prior approval by the Principal and must be worn beneath the uniform and not be visible at any time. There is to be no visible body piercing or visible tattoos (Including temporary tattoos). Makeup and nail polish are not permitted. Students wearing makeup or nail polish at school will be provided with the means to remove it immediately.

HAIR

Hair should be kept neat and tidy. Long hair for both genders must be tied back. Unnatural colouring or style is not permitted (Examples include, but are not limited to, tracks, Mohawk styles and other excessive styling). Hair accessories should be in school co

lours (maroon, green, white or natural).

HATS

School hats only are permitted. Hats must be broad brimmed and do not include bucket hats or caps. Hoods are not considered to be appropriate substitutes for broad-brimmed hats. The school adopts the “Hat on, Play on” policy. Hats should not be worn indoors.

The wearing of school hats is compulsory in all PE lessons and outdoor related activities.

Students who do not comply and breach the uniform code will be issued with a warning. Repeat offenders will partake in a disciplinary program (see ‘Uniform Breach Code”).

SUNSCREEN

While sunscreen is available, it is recommended that you apply sunscreen before leaving home.

INTERSCHOOL SPORT

Interschool sport shorts and socks only can be worn to school. Students are still required to wear the school uniform day polo shirt and uniform black shoes. Time will be allocated to allow students to change into appropriate sport’s shirt and shoes. If sport’s shirt and shoes are worn in training, students must change back into the school uniform day polo shirt and uniform black shoes before entering their classroom.

UNIFORM BREACH CODE

Regards, Ms Kaia Clarke, Behaviour

From Year 5B

The students in Year 5 had to design a lander that would protect an egg during landing from a certain height.

The lander had to:

• protect an egg during landing
• be made using certain materials
• be durable

The year 5's had so much fun designing and testing their egg landers?

Regards, Miss Donna Ermer, Year 5B

From Read and Grow Update

And we’re back!!

We are so excited to announce the return of:

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

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

During the session, we read stories, sing songs and complete activities learning about pre-reading skills in readiness for starting school.

Due to COVID restrictions, you MUST book prior to attending as we have a maximum number of participants we are allowed. Please email to book your place NOW!

Katie Huggard: khugg2@eq.edu.au
Regards Katie Huggard, Prep Teacher

Excursions

P&C News

SCHOOL BANKING

School banking resumes this Friday the 24 July 2020. Dust off those Yellow CBA Dollarmite wallets, raid the temporary Piggy Bank and bring it in to school for banking.

School Banking will continue every Friday for the remainder of Term 3 unless advised otherwise again due to COVID-19.

If your child is currently not partaking in School Banking and wishes to do so, please contact the Executives via email at pandc@worongaryss.eq.edu.au with your enquiry and include your child’s name and class. The P&C will send home an information pack.

If you wish to volunteer to assist with school banking on a Friday. Please do not hesitate to contact us via email pandc@worongaryss.eq.edu.au School banking normally takes approximately 1-1.5 hrs on a Friday from 10am.

TUCKSHOP- New Freezers

We are very happy to inform you that the Tuckshop has received two brand new commercial freezers to assist in their operations. The P&C were fortunate enough to obtain $5000 from the Government’s Community Benefit Gambling Grant towards the purchase of these freezers. The WSS P&C supported the remaining outstanding payments to ensure we have 2 x separate working freezers. Thank you to the Vice President Tracy for completing the Grant application and being awarded once again with a grant to support our school operations.

We are now permitting to have Volunteers at the tuckshop to assist with the day to day operations and preparations in Term 3. If you have some time and would like to volunteer, please do not hesitate to speak to our lovely girls in the tuck shop.

STENCILLING

The P&C are funding the re-stencilling of the painted hand ball courts, chess board and other ground pictures around the school. Obviously this has to be completed when there is minimal to no foot traffic and we hope to get this completed soon.

COLOUR RUN – Date change

Due to the current restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the infamous WSS Colour Fun Run has had a date change from early August to Thursday the 15 October 2020. We will still have certain restrictions in place and the day will be run differently as a result. The P&C will be sending home the fundraising leaflets soon for you to assist with fundraising for the event. Student’s will need to raise a minimum of $10 to be able to participate. This will assist with covering the costs of holding the event which includes many inflatables and powder to ensure that a great time is had by all. Previously the P&C has funded this completely, however it costs approximately $7,000 to hold the event. We heavily rely on your fundraising to assist to raise monies to ensure we can complete many other projects around the school to ensure a better school experience for the WSS students (our children). We thank you in advance for all of your fundraising efforts and contributions.

YEAR 6 GRADUATION

Soon the P&C will be sending home a pamphlet for the Year 6 students to purchase additional keepsake memoirs of their school years at WSS. The monies raised will assist the P&C in their contribution towards the graduation ceremony. Keep a lookout for this pamphlet.

FATHER’S DAY STALL

The P&C have just ordered a variety of Father’s Day gifts for the online and physical Father’s Day stall that will be held early September 2020. The Father’s Day physical stall will be held for 1 operation day on Thursday 3 September. The E-store will be run for a few weeks leading up to the 3 September.

GENERAL

The P&C are aware that the current COVID 19 environment/world in which we are all living at the moment is causing much strain, both financially and mentally, on our school community. As a result we have decided to cease other fundraising events except the above mentioned fundraisers to support our school community during this time. Instead we are looking at doing basic school improvements like the stencilling. Thank you to our school community for your commitment and contributions over the past years. Please keep safe and well. Remember social distancing, wash your hands regularly and if you are showing any sickness symptoms please ensure you don’t attend school/work. #reducethespreadofcovid #flattenthecurve

TUCKSHOP & UNIFORM SHOP

Opening Hours

Monday-Friday: 8:30am-2:00pm
Closed: Entire last day of each Term
Direct Dial Number: 5502 4426

Welcome Back to our Wonderful Volunteers

Welcome back Janelle, Kim, Julie S and Narelle. We feel very fortunate to have you all back in the Tuckshop after last term’s enforced hiatus.

This term we also welcome two new volunteers to our team, Michelle P and Julie Q. Thank you for choosing to spend some of your valuable time assisting in WSS’s Tuckshop. We look forward to working with you.

Michelle Lee
Tuckshop/Uniform Convenor

UNIFORM SHOP

Opening Hours

Monday: 8:00am-9:00am
Friday: 8:00am-9:00am
Direct Dial Number: 5502 4485

Limited Opening Hours

The Uniform Shop is now open on a limited basis, in line with the latest changes to the school’s procedures.

Online ordering remains the preferred option for uniforms. We will continue to process online orders daily, for your convenience.

Should you need your child to try on uniforms for sizes you may now do so without making an appointment – simply head to the Uniform Shop on a Monday or Friday morning between 8am and 9am. At this stage the Uniform Shop will remain closed on Wednesday afternoons.

Please plan to pay for in-store purchases by card, rather than cash if possible. Etfpos, Mastercard and Visa are accepted. Please also be mindful of social distancing if attending the Uniform Shop in person.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Uniform Stock

Please note that due to a higher than usual demand last term we are currently out of stock in size 12 and 14 polos and running low in several other items as well. Orders have been placed with suppliers with delivery anticipated to be early in Term 4.

Please be aware that when items become unavailable, they are generally deactivated online. Should you be unable to find an item in your required size in the online system, this is the most likely reason why. Re-ordering is available. If you would like to pre order an item, please feel free to do so in store or over the phone during open hours.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you in advance for your patience while we await delivery of the shipments of stock.

Michelle Lee
Tuckshop/Uniform Convenor

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