9 December 2020

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Friday last week we acknowledged student effort and excellence with a range of awards that were presented at both the junior and senior students. Furthermore, awards were also shared with our year 6 students at their graduation. All students have worked incredibly hard to learn and achieve in such a challenging year.

What a year! The year started off well with students learning and teachers teaching in their classrooms. Then there was a change that could not be predicted and seen this century – teachers at school and students learning from home. What a learning curve it was for all of us as COVID restrictions effected our students, staff and families.

Congratulations to the Worongary State School community for successfully completing learning from home units of work with your teachers either over the computer or with handouts.

I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing student successes, triumphs and accolades on assembly, in our newsletter and on our Facebook posts. Parents, I have enjoyed watching your children grow academically, emotionally and socially throughout the year.

I have enjoyed watching our year 6 students grow and now commence their next phase of their educational career moving to their respective high schools. Many of the year 6 students commenced prep at Worongary State School and now finish their primary school here. At the 6 graduation, I saw the faces on many proud teachers, who have enjoyed watching our senior students grow and mature into the amazing students they are today.

On behalf of the staff and students, I wish you all Year 6’s every success next year and beyond. As Dr Suess quotes, “you have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” We are very proud of you all and I am sure they make very positive choices in the years ahead.

Thank you to our amazing teachers and support staff in our school. Our teachers work tirelessly every day to support the students helping every child learn and every child succeed. I feel privileged every day to work beside such an amazing team of staff.

As we say good bye to our year six students who will be starting a new chapter in their lives, some teachers will also be starting some new and exciting chapters in theirs.

Sensei Turpin our Japanese Teacher. Thank you for a great year and enjoy your return to Helensvale State School.

Mr Mullaly – best of luck at being a foundation teacher at the opening of a new school on the Gold Coast, Gainsborough Greens State School. I am sure you will make a very positive impact at that school as you have here.

Ms Young – best of luck also as a foundation teacher aide at Gainsborough Greens State School. Thank you for the support you have offered the school for many years.

Mr Wood – Thank you for being the Acting Deputy Principal at Worongary State School. Thank you for your inspiration in the upper school and sharing your knowledge of Junior Secondary with us.

Miss Kaia will be returning to her role working and engaging with students in M Block. Thank you Miss Kaia for being the Acting Deputy Principal this term. Miss Melrose will be Acting DP for the upper school for Term One, 2021.

We will also will be saying good bye to some of our contract teachers who will not be returning at this stage. Miss Morgan, Miss Austin and Miss Fenton. Thank you for all that you have done for the students this term.

I would also like to welcome a new permanent members to our school.

Miss Thompson is now permanently appointed to Worongary State School. Miss Thompson will be going on maternity leave for 2021. The staff and students with you a safe and exciting year ahead!

Mr Clancy – is now our permanent Head of Department (Curriculum). Mr Clancy has been instrumental in shaping and leading the delivery of the Australian Curriculum across all year levels. Congratulations! Our school will certainly benefit from your curriculum expertise in the future.

Miss Hendrickson has also been permanently appointed to the school and look forward to working with you next year.

Mrs Salizar - I would like to welcome a permanent Deputy Principal Mrs Salizar in Junior School. She has a huge amount of experience as a Deputy Principal in the early years. I am very pleased to have a permanent member to the leadership team with such experience. Please see a letter below from Mrs Salizar.

Finally, thank you to the amazing parents and volunteers in our school. Thank you for the many P&C meetings, the fundraising events, the changing of readers, the help in the classrooms and other areas of the school. Thankyou.

Thank you parents for a brilliant year and placing your trust in us to bring out the best in your children.

Have a safe and happy holidays and I look forward to seeing you all in 2021.

Thank you.

Junior School Deputy Principal

I have been very fortunate to have spent my lifetime in education here on the Gold Coast. My own education was completed locally at Somerset College, before embarking on a career in education. Most of my experience has been here in Queensland with a short period spent abroad teaching in England. I have been blessed to have been in the same school over this period before being part of the leadership team as a Deputy over the past 11 years.

I am passionate about the education of the whole child. As a mother myself, there are few things more important than assuring my children that I believe they can achieve excellence. Whether that be a goal set by them or me, or a standard, they must know that I believe in them and in turn they will learn to believe in themselves. As an educator my approach is no different. In a school community, that means the adults (teachers, support staff, parents, and administrators) must have opportunities to listen to each other, share with each other and learn from one another regardless of their title. By working together we can achieve so much more for our children. I look forward to getting to know the Worongary students and families next year. Have an AMAZING festive season & see you in 2021!

Worongary SS Community Support

The school would like to acknowledge the support of the Year 6 Parents who were part of the hall set up for the Year 6 Graduation. The hall looked amazing which capped off a great event. A special thanks goes out to a Worongary SS parent, Narelle Randall and who donated all the balloons and decorations that decorated the hall. Your donation was enormous and greatly appreciated.

Regards Adam Brandt, Principal

Save the Date

YEAR 5 CAMP

On Monday 30th of November, year 5 students went to Mount Tamborine for their 2020 camping trip. All students were jumping with excitement, when the clock hit 9 we all gathered our luggage on to a bus. When we all arrived at Thunderbird Park everyone got split into groups of 18 to participate in activities. Some of these activities included a Mud course, Tree tops challenge, Creek rambling and shelter building up in the mountain.

All activities taught us a little lesson especially about working together as a team and solving problems. The food was also delicious every day, with mixtures of cereal, bacon, eggs with toast, nachos and chicken drumsticks with rice. For desert we all had brownies, ice-cream and jelly. The weather at the camp was really hot. To end off the trip we all participated in a game of Laser Skirmish. Congratulations to team red!!

Everyone had a blast on the three days and will be happy to come back. (By Ruby and Sienna in 5B)

Annual Book Fair

Wow! You did it again, making our annual Book Fair a great success.

Thanks to your generosity and support we sold over $5000 worth of books, and the Library has received almost $2000 of books to boost our shelves. They will be processed and on our shelves early next year.

If you are waiting on a back order (I think I have 7 students), I am liaising with Scholastic to get some news on delivery times, but they are at the mercy of Australia Post. They have assured me that all items will arrive BEFORE the last day of Term

Thank you for your patience.

See you in 2021, and happy reading for the holidays.

Jann CONNOR
Teacher/Librarian

HEALTH ROOM

Over-the-counter medications

The Department recognises that all medications, including over-the-counter (OTC) medications, e.g. paracetamol or alternative medicines, may be drugs or poisons and may cause side effects. As such, schools are required to receive medical authorisation from a prescribing health practitioner (e.g. doctor, dentist, optometrist, but not a pharmacist) to administer any medication to students, including those bought over-the-counter.

Whilst parents may administer OTC medications to their child without medical authorisation, they are aware of the child’s complete medical history, and are able to provide ongoing, direct supervision for the course of the child’s illness. Due to these circumstances, a parent is also more likely to recognise if their child is having adverse effects and requires immediate medical attention.

The student’s prescribing health practitioner also has the knowledge of the child’s medical history to determine the appropriate OTC medication to administer and is therefore able to determine dosage and provide advice regarding potential side effects or interactions with other medications.

For these reasons, OTC medications will only be administered to students at school if medical authorisation has been received.

SECOND-HAND UNIFORMS WANTED

We are in desperate need of second hand polo shirts in sizes 10, 12 & 14 for our senior school students. If you are having a sort out over the holidays we would very much appreciate your hand-me-downs. We have plenty of smaller sizes for our junior school students should they need them.

UNDIES

We are always in need of undies – especially for little girls. Any hand-me-downs would be greatly appreciated.

THANKS
Kath Welch

School Plus

From Read and Grow Update

Thank you to all our families and children who attended our FREE Read and Grow Program

2021 DATES AND TIME TO BE ADVISED AT A LATER DATE

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.

Regards Katie Huggard, Prep Teacher

From Music Room

THANK-YOU STUDENTS, FAMILIES AND TEACHERS

As the school year draws to a close there are many positives from 2020 to reflect on.

This year was the first year of the Music Excellence Program at Worongary and I can not be prouder of the achievements of this group! Their recent success at the State Honours Excellence Programs and with the Australian Music Examinations Board Theory exams is a testament to their hard work throughout the entire year.

The Instrumental Music Program – Band and Strings welcomed Ms Alexandra Auchere and Ms Sarah Larmor to Worongary this year. These two ladies have inspired and grown both programs under difficult circumstances particularly earlier in the year. Most importantly they have encouraged and supported students enabling them to learn new skills and ride-out the difficult times. They are both such an asset to Worongary and we are thrilled to have both teachers returning in 2021! We wish Ms Auchere all the very best for the exciting times ahead with Baby Margeaux due very shortly!

The Choirs have also had a challenging year not being able to participate in many of the much-enjoyed events. However rehearsals have forged ahead each week and performances within our school community have been thoroughly enjoyed.

To all the Music students leaving Worongary, we wish you the very best with your studies at your new ‘educational home’ and look forward to catching up with you at Interschool workshops and events. Keep working hard, stay positive and believe in yourself! Being a musician is the most special gift, cherish it!

Upcoming Events

Saturday December 12: Junior and Senior Choir at Nerang Celebrates Christmas – 6:20pm

Junior and Senior Choir Performance – NERANG CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS

Our last performance for the year is at the Nerang Celebrates Christmas Event, Bischof Park Nerang on Saturday December 12 at 6:20pm. We will be performing many Christmas favourites and hope to see lots of Worongary faces at the event. A sincere thank-you to all the members of both choirs for the energy and dedication. These students have rehearsed right up until the very last day of school! A big thank-you to our families for their flexibility and commitment to the choirs.

2021 REHEARSAL SCHEDULES

A draft timetable for next year is below. Further details will be provided in Week 1 of 2021. New members are always welcome!

Monday – STRINGS DAY
Tuesday – BAND DAY
Wednesday – SENIOR CHOIR 8:00 – 8:50am Music Room (Years 3 – 6)
Thursday – JUNIOR CHOIR 8:00 – 8:50am Music Room (Years 1 – 2)

Have a wonderful break!

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

School Plus

School Plus marked NAIDOC week. We discussed the theme ’Always was, Always will be’ and what this means for Indigenous Australians. We Acknowledged Kombumerri Country, we played traditional games, made Roo mince balls & Johnny Cakes. We made wristbands, coasters and NAIDOC sliding boxes. The children made Aboriginal wristbands, coasters & a lovely NAIDOC Display and had Indigenous items of interest as our Collector Club focus. A great week!

School Plus Worongary has welcomed new Assistant Coordinator Holley Ryan to the team. Holley is Diploma qualified and has more than 5 years’ experience as a Coordinator in Out of School Hours Care. Holley has been busy getting to know staff, children, and families. If you have not met Holley please introduce yourself.

One of the fabulous School Plus Leaders, George, suggested we create a ‘Cheer Up’ Area in School Plus for anyone feeling down that needed a lift. George used the School Plus iPad to source and print relevant positive quotes/ affirmations. Other children made love hearts, chose funny animal photos and assisted in creating this cheerful display in the Quiet/ Rest Area.

Clubs have continued at School Plus Worongary. The Leader run Sport and Fitness Club has continued to be popular along with Cooking Club, Gardening club, STEAM and Collector Clubs.

It is with sadness that we farewell our School Plus Year 6 Students. Most Year 6 students have been School Plus Leaders and we have built positive trust-based relationships with them all. They have been an important part of the service and we will miss them terribly.

We have marked this important transition with a special Graduation Assembly attended by School Plus Management, where each child was talked about, presented with a Certificate and gift and a photo story that reflected their time at School Plus. The Leader group then hosted a small party for the wonderful Year 6 students.

As the end of the year approaches Friday Funday at School Plus is still a busy day with children enjoying the opportunity to dress up and to have an ice cream cone!

Tuckshop News

TUCKSHOP AND UNIFORM SHOP

Our Thanks

As 2020 draws to a successful close, Jasmine and I would like to thank all the dedicated volunteers and supportive school community for their friendship and generosity. We hope that everyone has enjoyed the Tuckshop themed weeks and meal deals we’ve had on offer throughout the year.

Please read on for our final Pipeline instalment of the year as it contains some important information about Back to School Uniform Shop hours for next year.

We wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.

Opening Hours

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

Online Ordering Profiles for 2021

When your child joins their new class for 2021, please remember to update their “Schoolshop Online” ordering profiles with their new class, as this does not happen automatically.

Please note that Tuckshop and Uniform Shop profiles must be updated individually.

Volunteers

Thank you to our incredible Volunteers for all that you do for our Tuckshop and ultimately for Worongary State School. The gifts of your time and talents are so appreciated. New volunteers, regular volunteers, returning volunteers and executive volunteers – we’re so happy to have had the pleasure of working with you all.

We would like to acknowledge the following ladies for their contributions this year:

Here’s a very big

Janelle W
Julie S
Michelle P
Julie Q
Kim J…

…and also say farewell to the fabulous Narelle R who has officially hung up her Tuckshop apron. Narelle has been dedicated enough to volunteer in the Tuckshop every Friday morning since being thrown in feet first more than three years ago. Back in 2017, Narelle was minding her own business, watching her children take part in a sports day on the oval and kindly helping the P&C with a sausage sizzle when…out of the blue, the P&C at the time received an SOS call from Jasmine and myself for an extra set of hands in the Tuckshop. Narelle was the unsuspecting soul who was nominated to assist with getting lunches out on time, not realising how frantic the pace could be. Fortunately for us, despite being red faced from exertion when she left that day, she was keen to come back for more and signed up to be a regular. Thank you, Narelle, for being the amazing person you are. Your incredible generosity has not gone unnoticed. You will be missed. Xxx

UNIFORM SHOP

Opening Hours

Monday: 8:00am-9:00am
Friday: 8:00am-9:00am

Online Ordering Profiles for 2020

When your child joins their new class for 2020, please remember to update their “Schoolshop Online” ordering profiles with their new class, as this does not happen automatically.

Please note that Tuckshop and Uniform Shop profiles must be updated individually.

Additional Information about Online Ordering for Uniforms

If you haven’t already used online ordering you can register an account with Schoolshop Online by following the links on the school website or by inputting Worongary in the search box at schoolshoponline.net.au

Key things to note about ordering uniforms online are:

• Online ordering is great for busy parents. Orders can be placed online at your convenience.
• Usually, online orders are processed daily. 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 this.

Price Increase

We always work hard to ensure that uniform price increases are few and far between. However, due to increases in uniform costs over the past few years there will be some small price increases to some uniform items, which will take effect immediately.

Seniors Shirts for Year 6

Thank you to those parents who have already arranged their child’s Year 6 Seniors Shirts for 2020. If you are yet to order, please remember that the final date for ordering and paying for these shirts is Monday 01 February 2021. A copy of the order form is attached here, should you still require one. Please see below for important information about Back to School Open Times.

Back to School Hours 2021

The Uniform Shop will be open for ‘Back to School’ sales in January 2021 before school recommences. Layby orders, pre-paid orders and online orders can also be collected at these times so please save these dates and times in your calendar:

Thursday 21 January 2021 - 2pm-7pm
Friday 22 January 2021 - 7am-12noon

In addition to these days, we are also offering extended hours for the first week of the term as follows:

First Week of Term – for NEW families only

Due to the uncertainty around potential COVID restrictions next year we are offering the following open times in the first week of the term for NEW FAMILIES ONLY:

Wednesday 27 January 2021 - 8:00am-9:00am
Thursday 28 January 2021 - 8:00am-9:00am
Friday 29 January 2021 - 8:00am-9:00am

Current families will be able to collect online orders from the Tuckshop on these days between 8:30am and 9:00am but will need to attend the previous weeks’ back to school days or wait until week 2 if needing to size for anything. We then return to the regular open hours from Monday 01 February 2021. Remember: Year 6 Seniors Shirt orders are due by Monday 01 February.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday.

Kind regards,
Michelle Lee
Tuckshop/Uniform Convenor

P&C News

COLOUR RUN PRIZES

All colour run prizes were disseminated to the allocated classrooms for the teachers to give out to the students on Friday 4th December 2020. Not all students received a prize due to their family requesting ‘no prize’ or there was nil selected prize on the hard copy paperwork or online platform. However, the WSS P&C were able to order for the prep students who did not select a particular prize. These students & parents were given the benefit of the doubt as they are new to the process and may have not realised how it all works. Most Preppies who fundraised obtained a small prize.

Thank you for your understanding.

HIGHEST TOP 5 FUNDRAISING CLASSES of WSS

Thank you to the entire school and community for assisting us in the fundraiser. It has been our largest fundraiser to date and it only happened thanks to you all! Prep D will enjoy a class ice block pack as a massive thankyou for your efforts. Congratulations!

We are able to commit around $15,000 to upgrading our schools playgrounds and that’s very exciting!

HIGHEST FUNDRAISING STUDENT

OLLIE S-C from Prep D was our highest fundraising student for WSS with a whopping $1080.00 – Well done Buddy! Hope you enjoy all your prizes for your efforts.

SEAWORLD RAFFLE DRAW – COLOUR RUN

Every student who raised $30 and above will go in the raffle to win the 2 night accommodation voucher in a resort room for 4 people. This will be drawn Tuesday 8th December in a live feed via an electronic platform. Stay tuned to hear who the winner is. The voucher has been extended to be used by May 2021 due to COVID interruptions.

GENERAL

Again, thank you to our school community for your ongoing support and a very, very, very special thank you to our staff Michelle & Jasmine and our volunteers for all your assistance throughout the year.

The WSS P&C would like to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas. We hope the Holidays are filled with much love, laughter, good food and great company! Please ensure you keep safe & well. We hope to see you all again next year!

Community Notices

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