2 Septenber 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Yours in education,

Leanne Odorico
Principal

New Students

A special welcome is extended to Elijah (MD1), Micah (SD1), Chase (JA1), Reuben (MC1) and Finn (MC2) who joined the Kurwongbah School community recently. We hope you enjoy your time at Kurwongbah and we look forward to parent support with P&C and class activities.

Student of the Week

Top Kurwongbah Kids

Congratulations to the following students who have recently received Top Kurwongbah Kids Awards by showing our School Values:

TERM 3 WEEK 7

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 3 Week 7

Outstanding Students for Term 3

Each term, teachers nominate an Outstanding Student from their class. The nominee is a student who independently models our school values reflecting pride in themselves, pride in our school and displays care and concern for those around them.

All Prep – Year 2 recipients received their award last week. There will be a special morning tea for all nominees on Friday 18th September (Year 2-6) or Friday 9th October (Prep-Year 1).

Year 3 – 4 Outstanding Students for Term 3 will be presented at parade on Friday 11th September.

We would like to acknowledge all Prep – Year 2 nominated Outstanding Students for Term 3:

Date Claimers

Due Dates for Payments

Payments

Payments are now being accepted for all excursions. Please note, all BPOINT payments are to be made by the due date. No late BPOINT payments will be accepted.

Kurwongbah State School is Cashless

The safety, wellbeing and hygiene of students, parents and staff is a top priority at Kurwongbah State School. Kurwongbah School prefers cashless transactions.

This measure will minimise the risk of contamination by transmission when paying with cash.

There are various ways to pay for excursions / activities for your child.

Acceptable methods of payment include:

• BPOINT (preferred method)
• QParents
• EFTPOS

Please contact the School Office if you require any assistance with payments.

Children Leaving Kurwongbah

We are starting the process of forming classes for 2021. Parents whose child or children (other than year 6 students) will be leaving Kurwongbah at the end of the year are asked to inform the school office please.

2021 Prep Enrolment

We still have some places available in prep for 2021. Children who were born between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2016 are eligible to commence prep in 2021. If you know of anyone wanting to enrol their child at Kurwongbah, please ask them to contact the school office (ph: 3481 4333).

Prep 2021 Open Morning - Cancelled

The Prep Open Morning on Friday 4th September has been cancelled due to recent changes in the COVID-19 situation.

2021 Parent Class Requests

We are beginning the process of forming classes for 2021. This is a thoughtful process which takes into consideration many factors. Our underlining consideration is always, what is the best learning environment for each student?

If there are specific learning needs for your child which you would like us to take into consideration, please write these needs, along with your child’s name and year level they will be in next year, and hand this in to the office by Friday, 16 October. This is not a teacher selection process so please don’t request a particular teacher.

Parents are advised that, whilst consideration will be given to requests, final class formation decisions will be made by the school administration in consultation with teaching staff.

Student Free Day

Swooping Birds

Some native birds, including magpies, plovers, butcherbirds and crows, swoop as a defensive behaviour to protect their young. Swooping is most common during the spring breeding season, but if weather conditions are favourable some species may start breeding from late winter and continue into summer.

Students may encounter swooping birds on their way to and from school, or while inside school grounds. While being swooped on can be unpleasant, there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce safety risks to individuals and the community.

Playgroup Donations

Book Fair – Arctic Adventure

The theme of our Scholastic Book Fair is Arctic Adventure, where we hope you will find snow much to read!

It’s a fun reading event that brings the books kids want to read right into our school. It’s a wonderful selection of engaging and affordable books for every reading level. Please make plans to visit our Book Fair and be involved in shaping your child’s reading habits.

First Aid News

You are reminded that children who are unwell must not attend school. In accordance with Queensland Health Directions, parents or carers of any child showing signs of illness will be asked to collect them immediately from the school.

First Aid Room
firstaid@kurwongbahss.eq.edu.au

Headlice

Numerous cases of head lice have been reported recently.

It is extremely important for you to check your child’s head for head lice TODAY.

If you do find head lice, commence treatment immediately and be sure to complete the process of treatment. This will help prevent head lice from spreading.

Remember to keep checking your family member’s heads every 2 days until there are no head lice found for 10 consecutive days.

Your local pharmacist can provide advice regarding head lice treatment options and head lice combs.

Because head lice need close head-to-head contact to spread from one person to another, to reduce the spread of head lice, teachers will discourage students from activities which may involve head to head contact.

To reduce your child’s risk of getting head lice, make sure that long hair is tied up and discourage children from sharing their brushes and combs and having head to head contact with others.

Remember - Anyone can get head lice – they have no preferences for cleanliness, hair colour, hair type, ethnicity or age.

Chappy News

Hi All,

Came across this little gem on Twitter and thought it would be worth sharing:

Fascinating little life hack, for doing percentages: x% of y = y% of x

So, for example, if you needed to work out 4% of 75 in your head, just flip it and do 75% of 4, which is easier.

Hands up if you knew that life hack? I certainly didn’t and, if I am honest, I sat at my desk and worked out a number of different percentages just to make sure it worked…and it did!

It is safe to say that I am a fairly happy user of life hacks and strategies and I am always on the lookout for ways to improve and to simplify my life. I especially love finding new tools to use with raising kids because, despite having been a mum for 26 years, I am certainly not an expert!

Today I share with you the final five tips from our series over the last few newsletter editions. I can vouch for the success of many of these tips but I must be honest in saying that I don’t yet have the perfect child!! These tips may not create perfection but they certainly do help with bringing about a more peaceful environment and happier, confident and more resilient children.

11. Accommodation, Aggression or ASSERTION
Relationships can be tricky for kids, especially as they move into the tween and teen years and finding ways to resolve conflict well is something we all want to see our kids have success in. Kids will generally take one of three approaches to resolving relationship challenges with friends and family members – accommodation, aggression or assertion.

Accommodating the needs of others is noble and admirable but we need to encourage our children not to give in too much – especially when this may lead them to being taken advantage of. Some children will use aggression and dominance to get their own way which can lead to significant issues if not handled appropriately. Assertiveness is the most encouraged approach as it models confident body language, using good eye contact and clear communication. Practise this with your young person – standing tall, eyes connected, polite voice expressing themselves firmly.

12. Let go of the LABELS
A child who defines himself as being stupid because he struggles academically benefits from parents who lovingly point out that there is more to a life than schoolwork. Help him see the strengths that they has in other areas of life such as making friends; success at leisure activities and the personal qualities that he or she displays such as loyalty, patience and persistence. Help children see past labels that they can place on themselves.

13. Cue CONFIDENCE
Children generally take their cues about how they should see events from their parents so we need to be very careful about what we say to children particularly when they go into new or unfamiliar activities. Instead of pre-empting anxiety or fear, instil courage and bravery into your young person with the language you use. It can the world a much less threatening place when we are using positive talk to shape their experience.

14. Go on a NEWS DIET
There is no doubt that the past year has seen more than its fair share of alarming and catastrophic events, much of them played out constantly in our homes through the various types of technology we all enjoy. Consider how much news your young people are exposed to and, if necessary, only switch on when they are not around to absorb it. Children are cognitively not able to process the way adults do and something that may not impact on us, can bring about huge emotional shifts in a child. If your children are exposed to news that is concerning, be sure to sit with them and talk it through to help them process what they are hearing.

15.No more CATASTROPHES
Children and teenagers can easily jump to conclusions and catastrophise (“I’m hopeless!” “My life sucks!” “Today was the worst day ever!”), blaming themselves when they experience difficulties. Help your child work through their difficulties so they can rationalise and find solutions. Challenge their self-talk and help them see that a situation probably isn’t as bad as they are making out. By calling out their propensity to catastrophise you may not be making yourself popular, however you’ll be teaching a valuable lesson in staying calm rather than letting their emotions get the better of them.

Have a fantastic week and enjoy the home stretch to holidays!

Chappy Carly

STEM & Enrichment Education News

Kurwongbah’s Makerspace Lunchtime Timetable – Term 2

National Science Week Celebrations

National Science week was celebrated with movie sessions of films about the Deep Blue to show case this year’s theme. Students also partook in science activities involving density, interactive microscopes, chemistry and energy transfer.

Hermitage Science Plant Competition

The Year 6 students from the winning team for the Hermitage Plant Science Competition attended the virtual awards ceremony last week and listened to messages from the Director General of Agriculture and Fisheries and agriculturalist who were involved in international research to improve global food and nutritional security. Congratulations students on your achievement!

Buy $mart

Selected Year 5 students are creating amazing activities for the upcoming financial literacy competition. Films, posters, games and paintings are just some of the projects being created for the competition. These items are targeting tips for shopping online budgeting, consumer rights and avoiding scams. Best wishes for your entries!

Robotics Sumo Wrestling Competition Term 4

Selected Year 6 students will be running a Robotics Sumo Wrestling Competition early next term for Year 3 -6 to compete in. Students will learn how to program and design their robot to compete in a round robin competition whilst being mentored by the Year 6 team who attended the Sunshine Coast Sumo Workshop earlier in the year.

Premier’s 2020 Coding Challenge

The 2020 Premier’s Coding Challenge is on again! This challenge offers great prizes and an excellent opportunity for students to create some interactive and innovative coding to raise awareness of cyber safety and help Queenslanders by providing tips to improve their cybersecurity. Entrants from Year 3- 6 can develop an app, game or animation, and they must submit a short video showcase with their entry. For more information visit the website below,

Book Club News

Hi Families! The Book Club Issue 6 brochure has been delivered to students. It will only be available for ordering online still. NO CASH ORDERS will be accepted. I have linked below the Virtual Catalogue so you can look through to order also. All Orders are due by Friday 4th September. Happy Ordering!!

How Book club Helps Your Child’s School

Every time you place a Scholastic order, your School is being rewarded! For example, for every Book Club order you place, Scholastic receives 20% of your total order spent to your school as Scholastic Rewards. This allows the school to purchase books and resources for your child’s classroom and the library, helping students reach their highest potential.

How To Order

Order online via LOOP. The Book Club LOOP platform for parents allows you to pay by credit card. Loop orders are due by Friday 4th September. You can place your child’s order at the LOOP website or by using the LOOP app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.

Your child’s order is submitted directly to school and the books will be delivered to your child’s class.

Julie Collins
Book Club Co-ordinator

YMCA OSHC

The children have been enjoying a range of outdoor experiences with the beautiful weather we have been having. Exploring Bush Gully has been a favourite, as well as tennis, football and group games on the oval. We are spending more time outside and loving it! The children have also shown a keen interest in craft activities including creating something special for Father’s Day.

We will be operating a full day for the Pupil Free Day on 04 September and bookings are open now. Following that, we will have the September school holidays. The program for these two weeks has been sent to families and is available from YMCA OSHC. Bookings can be made on the My Family Lounge app or via email to the address below. We are so excited to spend more time with the children and to get the opportunity to extend on experiences for longer periods.

Until next time,

The YMCA Kurwongbah Team
Phone: 0448 244 060
Email: akb@ymcabrisbane.org

P&C News

At the last P&C Meeting it was voted upon to change the meeting day to the second Wednesday of each month. Therefore, the meeting for September will be held at 6:30 on Wednesday September 9th. We'd like to extend the invitation to all members of the school community to come along and get involved. We'd love to see your friendly faces!

Last month the P&C also contributed $1500 towards the grade 6 graduation and we're excited to see it all come together and see our graduates get the send off they deserve.

Fundraising News

P&C Raffle

Thank you to everyone who participated in the P&C Raffle. It has been humbling to know that even through our COVID 19 year with upset plans and cancelled events, our Kurwongbah Community is strong and willing to support the P&C.

The lucky winner of the $2,300 prize is Debbie Massie! Congratulations!! Debbie chose the Bunnings voucher prize.

The raffle made a net profit of $5,575, of which the P&C have committed $1,500 towards the Grade 6 Graduation. The remaining profit will be saved for a future project to be agreed upon with the school.

Billy G’s Cookie Dough Fundraiser

We are holding a Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough drive as a major fundraiser this term and we ask for your support. All the funds raised will be provisioned for future projects at Kurwongbah State School that benefit all the children.

Billy G’s is an Australian family owned and operated business. There are ten (10) delicious flavours including their NEW Mint Choc and NESTLE® SMARTIES® cookie dough. There is even a cheese flavoured Doggie Dough for your special furry family members! The delicious cookie dough is only available through fundraising and is not sold in stores, so stock up!

• Orders open 7/09/2020
• Paper Prize Orders Due 18/09/2020
• Final Online and Cash Orders Due 21/09/2020
• Online Prize Ordering Closes on 24/09/2020
• Delivery Date 10/10/2020

How Do We Fundraise?

Kurwongbah families are encouraged to set up an online fundraising page from Monday September 7th and collect orders from family and friends. For families who require a paper order form, these can be collected from the School Office from Monday 7th September.

Students who sell 1 tub or more are entitled to an incentive prize for their efforts. But why not aim higher? You have the option to choose up to five (5) prizes and this will set your fundraising goal. Family and friends are your greatest supporters, so ask them first for support. You will reach your fundraising goal in no time!

How do we create an Online Fundraising Page?

Creating a fundraising page is easy as 1,2,3.

1. Head to www.cookiedough.com.au to create your Online Fundraising Page by clicking the “Register Now” button and fill in your information as a parent/guardian.
2. Choose your child’s prize goals and create their avatar!
3. Share your child’s online fundraising page with your family and friends via the “Share” section so they can start buying some Cookie Dough as well, How Easy!

There are great features in the online portal like creating your own avatar, selecting your prize goal and entering your cash sales!

Win a Dream Holiday worth $10,000! Create an Online Fundraising Page at the link below to sell or purchase one tub or more of Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough and you will automatically go into the draw to win a $10,000 Dream Holiday.

The Leaderboard Challenge – If you become the highest fundraiser in our Schools leaderboard you will automatically go in the draw for the chance to win a Cruise worth $5,000. How exciting! Let’s get fundraising!

How to Order Prizes?

To reward your child for their efforts, they can choose incentive prizes based on the total amount of tubs sold.

Login to your Online Fundraising Page at the link below. Once the fundraiser has finished, click the ‘ORDER MY PRIZE’ button via the dashboard. Select up to five (5) prizes to the amount of tubs you have sold.

Or - Complete the back-page of your paper order form and return it to the P&C Office by Friday Sept 18.

Thank you in advance for your participation. Happy fundraising!

Kurwongbah Fundraising Sub Commsittee

Tuckshop News

Thank you to all families for your continual support to the tuckshop while we under go the new normal.

Reminders

Ice blocks

Please remind your child that these items need to be collected from the tuckshop in play time. We have a list of child’s name and ice block and we cross off once your child has collected. If they forget, they will be able to collect the following day.

Pizza Wednesday

A reminder that pizza is now available to order from the tuckshop every Wednesday for first break only.

• Margherita $5.00
• Mega Meat $5.50
• Ham & Pineapple $5.00

Pikelet Thursday

Pikelets are now available on Thursday at both breaks.

Ordering

The preferred method of ordering is Online at QuickCliq.com.au or over the phone, as all details of in stock items are available.

Cash

We are now accepting cash orders, but please note that the process for cash has changed.

All orders require the correct change placed into a bag or envelop with order details. All orders require to be placed before school, including ice block orders.

This new process ensures that no cash is handled by tuckshop staff. We thank Kylie Mynett, Bruce Spencer, Liz Greer and Kim Houstein for volunteering their time to come in the morning to count the money so we are able to offer this option. All money is then taken off site daily.

Phone Orders

Parents can place a phone order, by phoning the tuckshop directly on 3481 4337 and paying by credit card. Cut off for phone orders is 9:00am.

Online Ordering

Parents can order via our online ordering system at the link below. Cut off for online ordering is 8:00am. Please ensure you have your child’s correct class so your child’s meal is prepared and ready in the correct collection place. Please use the instruction box to pass on any information regarding your child’s order.

Message from QuickCliq

Important change to direct deposit coming soon.

The way you add credit to your account via direct deposit is changing.

To add credit using direct deposit please log into your QuickCliq account and choose to add credit via direct debit (fees apply) and follow the instructions. Funds will take approximately 2-3 business days to appear in your QuickCliq account. You will no longer be able to add funds to your QuickCliq account via your digital wallet via online banking.

You can still choose to add funds to your QuickCliq account using credit card and PayPal to avoid any delays, using this method will reflect instantly on your QuickCliq Balance or you can choose to pay as you go for instant payment.

The team at QuickCliq

Allergies

If your child has allergies, please contact the tuckshop regarding a list of safe products for your child. We currently cater for egg and nut free, gluten and dairy free, along with strict foodmap diets. Please use the health warning section online to note any allergy information. We ask all parents who wish to know more to contact the tuckshop via email at tuckshop@ksspca.qld.edu.au

Tuckshop Hours

Monday - Tuesday - CLOSED
Wednesday - Friday - 8:15 - 2:10 pm

Sandra and Carol
Tuckshop Convenors
tuckshop@ksspca.qld.edu.au

Uniform Shop

End of Term Hours

Uniform Shop will be closed on Thursday 17th September for stocktake. Last day for orders this term will be Wednesday 16th September.

Second-hand Uniforms

Don’t forget that you can sell your second-hand uniforms through the Uniform Shop with 50% from the sale going to the P&C, which is spent providing better facilities for your children.  We have parents waiting for second-hand uniforms.

The Uniform Shop is currently accepting phone orders or email orders. Phone orders can be made Monday – Thursday from 9am – 12pm

If you are unsure of the sizing, we can have your child come to the office on either a Monday or Thursday morning. We will organise this with their Teacher.

Deliveries will occur on Mondays and Thursdays only.

You can send your emails through any time and they will be processed on these days. We can send 2nd hand items home for you to accept but if you do not want them they must be returned next day with your child.

We are not currently accepting cash.

Ordering Through Uniform Shop   

The following options are available:

1. Email your order through to uniformshop@ksspca.qld.edu.au. This will be processed next time the Uniform Shop is open.
2. You can phone the Uniform Shop during open hours and pay by Credit Card.

Uniform Shop Hours

Thank you
Kay Mitchell & Carol Woodhouse
uniformshop@ksspca.qld.edu.au

Containers for Change Drive

Containers for Change

Community Notices

Bike Orienteering

What is more adventurous than any computer game and more exciting than TV? BIKE ORIENTEERING! Think a Treasure Hunt using a real map!

Are you up to the challenge? Come & give it a try!

For more information contact Gordon at gbossley@westnet.com.au or phone 0412 776 876

Redcliffe PCYC Softball Club

Redcliffe PCYC Softball Club are currently looking for new players for the summer season commencing in October 2020.