25 November 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Yours in education,

Leanne Odorico
Principal

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 4 WEEK 6

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 4 Week 6

TERM 4 WEEK 7

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 4 Week 7

Outstanding Students for Term 4

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 and Senior D recipients received their award last Friday. There will be a special morning tea for all nominees on Thursday 3rd December.

Year 3 – 6 (except Senior D) Outstanding Students for Term 4 will be presented at parade on Friday 27th November.

We would like to acknowledge all nominated Outstanding Students for Term 4 so far:

Date Claimers

2021 Student Leadership

Music Captains

Our 2021 Music Captains were announced at parade on Friday 13th November. Congratulations to the following students:

We are sure that you will be great music leaders. The House Captain for 2021 will be announced at parade this Friday.

Music Leaders 2021

Reports

Teachers have now completed their report cards for Semester 2 and we are now in the process of proofreading them. Reports will be issued on Monday 7th December along with information about their class placements for 2021. The presentation will be on our final parade on Wednesday 9th December. As we will be having a full school parade that day we will be unable to invite parents to attend.

I would like to commend the staff for their preparation with this semester’s report cards – many hours of work and effort have gone into these. We hope that they provide a snapshot of your child’s achievements this semester.

Children Leaving Kurwongbah

Please ensure you advise the office if your child/ren will be leaving Kurwongbah at the end of the school year (other than year 6 students).

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).

New student free days added to Term 4!

A reminder that the last two days of the school year, Thursday 10 and Friday 11 December, have been declared student free days. Our school will be closed on these days.

View the updated school calendar at

2021 Booklists

Please find below the 2021 Booklist for your child. The list includes specific items that our teachers have found to be good quality and meet the curriculum requirements for the year ahead. Please note that use of the listed supplier ' MySchool Gear ' is entirely optional. Families can purchase items individually from any stationery store but we do ask that you purchase the items and quantities listed.

Flashing School Lights

The existing school zone signs on Eacham Street have been nominated to receive new flashing school zone signs as part of a Queensland Government commitment to improve school road safety. These are scheduled to be replaced in the next four weeks.

You will notice that the new signs look similar to standard school zone signs with the addition of a red flashing ring around the speed limit as well as two flashing yellow lights at the top of the sign. The installation of flashing light school zone signs is proven to improve visibility of school zones, serving as an active reminder for motorists to slow down.

So next time you’re dropping off or picking up your child, keep an eye out for the new signs and make sure you stick to the signed speed limit.

First Aid News

Collection of Medication

Parents are reminded to collect any medication stored at the First Aid room by Wednesday 9th December.

Medication 2021

If your child is planning to have medication stored at school next year, please use the Christmas period to arrange a visit to your child’s GP/Specialist and ensure you have the necessary paperwork required by Education Queensland.

All medication, including over the counter medication, must be prescribed by a GP/Specialist. The label must include the student’s name, GP name and dosage.

Requirements for Medication

For general medication, please be aware of the guidelines from the Department of Education. ALL medication no matter what it is, is required to be prescribed by a qualified health practitioner (eg: doctor, dentist), in its original container/box and have a pharmacy label attached. Failing to adhere to these guidelines, means that we are unable to administer the medication to your student and you will be called to either collect the student or come and administer the medication yourself.

If your child has had an Action Plan (of any sort), these need to be updated every 12 months. It is preferable this occurs at the beginning of each year.

Drop Off for Medication in 2021

Medication and the necessary paperwork should be dropped off at First Aid in the New Year with new labelled medication for your child.

To avoid the congestion on the first day of school returning (Wednesday 27th January), First Aid will be open on Tuesday 19th January 2020 and Wednesday 20th January 2020 (week prior to school returning), 8:30am-3:00pm. We highly recommend you take advantage of this to drop off any paperwork and medication.

If you have any questions regarding this or anything else, please call in to see us, ring First Aid on 3481 4335 or alternatively you can email us (see email address below) and we will endeavour to respond as soon as possible.

Paula Arnold & Jenelle Conlan
First Aid Admin Officers
firstaid@kurwongbahss.eq.edu.au

STEM & Enrichment Education News

Kurwongbah’s Makerspace Lunchtime Timetable – Term 4

Buy $mart Competition

Congratulations Chloe and Isabella of SD who achieved a highly commended award for their entry of a calendar in the Buy Smart 2020 competition. Over 800 students from all over Queensland participated in the competition from grades 4-12. The students received a cash prize for their winnings and certificate and attended the virtual awards in the library. Fantastic achievement!

Robotics - Sumo Wrestling Competition

The KSS Robotics Sumo Wrestling Competition will be continuing this week with students competing in a round robin tournament. Students from Year 3 -6 will battle their robotics in the ring to become the champion KSS Sumo Robot Wrestling Champion. Students have had great fun designing and programing whilst being mentored by the Year 6 students and pretesting their robots. Come along and cheer them on in the Makerspace and see who will be declared the winners!

Battle of the Brains – Year 6 Trivia Competition

On Thursday 12th of November the Year 6, ‘KSS Stars,’ competed in the Moreton Regional Council’s, ‘Battle of the Brains,’ tournament at the Strathpine Community Centre against other local schools in a trivia event. Students competed in nine rounds of eleven questions in categories of general knowledge, mathematics, science, sport, spelling, movies and music. The students came 5th overall and had a fantastic time learning new knowledge, applying their skills to problem solve as well as developing effective team collaboration. Congratulations, Claire, Taj, Madden, Oscar, Jake, Tahlai and Jordan!

Resource Centre News

End of Borrowing Period

With the end of year quickly approaching, borrowing has now ceased. Please return all library books to the library.

Many thanks and Happy Reading,
Your friendly Library Crew

Music News

Instrument Returns

All school instruments and blue folders are now due back at school. Please ensure these are returned to the music room and sited by a music teacher. Please do NOT leave it outside the music room.

Instrumental Music News

Recruitment into the 2021 Instrumental Program is almost complete. If your child was successful, he/she may already know or will receive a letter this week. Please ensure all paperwork is returned promptly so teachers can plan for 2021.

All students in the Instrumental Program will receive a Student Resource Scheme (SRS) form to complete for 2021. Please read the form thoroughly to gain an understanding of the scheme and its inclusions. The SRS is a cost effective way for students to access the resources needed to be part of the program. This means that instead of sourcing and purchasing items (such as the performance uniform, music and copyright licensing, certain instruments and instruments for beginners) the school purchases these items and the students use and/or hire those items. As an example, a student would be required to source and purchase the Performance uniform (approx. $68) rather than hire it for $15. Schools are covered for certain aspects of copyright on music and can purchase 1 score (piece) for approximately $100 and make legal copies for the members of the ensemble. In a year an ensemble would perform up to 8 pieces costing approximately $800. A student in the SRS would pay $10 to cover the cost of the music however, a student not in the SRS would be required to purchase all the music at their own cost (up to $800). As you can see this is a very cost effective way for students to access the resources needed. The Department encourages parents to participate in this scheme however, participation is optional. Please be aware that if you opt out of the SRS you will be required to purchase all the resources for your child at the start of 2021. Please ensure the form is returned by Monday, 7 December 2020. If no form is received by the due date, the school will take the view that the parent has chosen to opt out of the SRS.

Music Awards

Last week at parade we celebrated the achievements of music program for 2020. It has been a challenging year like no other with very strict rules for music rehearsals and performances. The music staff would like to thank every student for adapting with such a positive attitude. Unfortunately, we were not able to perform for the school community which was very disappointing for the students and their families. We hope that 2021 will bring an easing of restrictions and we are able to perform and show case the talented students at Kurwongbah.

Congratulations to the following students who received an award:

Junior Singers: Cash and Skyla
Senior Singers: Zachary, Isobelle and Kate
Performance Group: Keira and Chloe

Junior Band: Annabella and Vlad
Senior Band: Mali and Kenji

Junior Percussion: Poppy
Senior Percussion: Tahlai

Junior String Ensemble: Isla and Zeb
Senior String Ensemble: Emily and Oliver

School Banking News

Tomorrow – 26 November – is your last chance for reward redemptions!!

We only have two banking days left for this year with tomorrow, Thursday 26 November being the last chance for reward redemptions this term. The final banking day for the year will be Thursday 3 December.

Current redemption options available include:

• Terry Denton’s Activity Book
• Mini Soccer Ball (size 2)
• Treetop Stationary Set
• Treetop Handball
• Tomato Seed Kit
• Magic Mist Drink Bottle
• Emoji Wallet
• Snakes & Ladder Game

There are also the following options still available from last year:

• Icicle Slapband Ruler
• Polar Pencils & Pencil Toppers
• Scented Stackable Highlighters
• Scratch Art Cards
• Snowy Origami Set
• Water Skimming Bounce Ball

Thank You Helpers

I want to say a big THANK YOU! to all the banking helpers this year. Volunteering of your time each week is greatly appreciated and doesn’t go unnoticed.

YMCA OSHC

Hello Kurwongbah families!

We wanted to say a big thank you to our families who have been quick to organise their enrolments and bookings for 2021. Early enrolment guarantees your placement and means that we can plan for a smooth transition to the new school year.

Vacation care for December – January is open and bookings are coming in fast! Our service will operate on the additional Student Free Days in the last week of school and at the start of the term in 2021, and these can be booked now also. Our service will be closing from 24th December until 3rd January for educators to take a well-earned break.

The OSHC is currently collecting non-perishable donations for The Salvation Army and a local neighbourhood community centre, in collaboration with the school community. We have already had some items come in and we are proud to be a part of such a giving community, especially given the circumstances of the year.

As a service we would love to start collecting some Christmas and craft resources for the vacation care period. Loose parts such as pine cones, boxes, cardboard rolls, tubing, old cards and wrapping paper are a child’s dream and can become so many things. If you have any items to donate please contact us on the below details.

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

Fundraising News

Christmas Raffle

The Annual Kurwongbah P&C Christmas Raffle is on again, and this year we are supporting our local community and the businesses that support us. We have sourced donations from Hon Peter Dutton, Shane King MP, YMCA and the P&C, and with that support, we are purchasing gift vouchers from our local community and the businesses that have supported us in the past. It's our way of giving back to the local economy in these difficult times, and an opportunity for you to experience some amazing local businesses.

Tickets are priced at $2 each, 3 tickets for $5, 7 tickets for $10 and are available online via the link below. Tickets can also be purchased with cash by placing the correct change into a sealed envelope, and on the front write your name, phone, email address and how many tickets you would like. This can be dropped off to the P&C Office. Please note that details of your cash ticket sale are still entered into the online raffle program to enable the draw.

Tickets on sale until Thursday 3rd December and drawn on Friday 4th December.

Prizes are:

• 1st Prize - $500 Visa Debit card – donated by the P&C
• 2nd Prize - $400 of Gift Vouchers – donated by Shane King MP and YMCA OSHC Kurwongbah
  o $75 Theo’s Nursery
  o $75 Red Dog Petroleum
  o $50 Northside Therapies
  o $50 Club Pine Rivers
  o $50 Princess Parlour
  o $25 Be-bop-a-licious
  o $25 Petrie News and Gifts
  o $25 All Things Sweet
  o $25 Lawnton Country Market
• 3rd Prize – Bicycle valued at $300 – donated by Hon. Peter Dutton

Community Christmas Hampers

In conjunction with the raffle, we will also be collecting donations of non-perishable items from the families of Kurwongbah to be donated to the Pine Rivers Neighbourhood Centre and the Salvation Army. These donations will help make up Christmas Hampers that will be distributed to families in need in our local community. Please drop your donations in to the school office.

Tuckshop News

Thank you to our amazing school community for all the support you have shown the Kurwongbah Tuckshop in 2020. We wish you all a safe and happy holiday.

As we near the end of year, there are a couple of reminders:

• The tuckshop is in the process of running our stock down, to ensure minimum stock onsite over the Christmas break.
• Last day to order tuckshop is Friday 4th December (end of week 9)
• Closed week 10 for cleaning

Thanks

We would like to thank Lawnton Country Market fruit shop for our continual 10% discount on the weekly fruit shop.

Thanks to Walbys Meat for all our meat supplies.

Also a massive thank you to our volunteers Kylie Mynett, Bruce Spencer and Liz Greer.

Ice Block Reminder

Please remember that ice blocks need to be ordered either online or before school via the bag cash system and must be collected from the tuckshop in play time. We do not hand out ice blocks in eating time or put these items in the junior school esky system.

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

The tuckshop is accepting cash in bag system before school only. This is a COVID safe plan to ensure no cash is handled while food is been served.

Correct cash must be placed into a bag with child’s name class and order, this includes ice blocks. We do not accept cash during breaks.

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 (www.quickcliq.com.au). 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.

Allergies

We currently cater for many students with allergies. If you have any concerns, please feel free to contact our team and we will be able to give you up to date information regarding our products.

Tuckshop Hours

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

Uniform Shop

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 Monday and Thursday’s.

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.

Second-hand Uniforms

We have a good range of second-hand items available. If you want us to select for you, we can send the item home and if you do not think it suitable it can be returned for credit with your child the next day.

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.

We are currently not accepting cash. We can do Direct Debit payments, payment by Credit Card over the phone, or by downloading our order form and filling in all of your details and emailing to for to us our email address is below.

Uniform Shop Hours

Thank you
Kay Mitchell
uniformshop@ksspca.qld.edu.au

Containers for Change

Community Notices

Pine Rivers State High School – Uniform Shop Information

The Pine Rivers State High School Uniform shop is now taking appointments for December and January.

Extended trading hours include:-

• Mon 30th Nov, from 7am (Year 7 Orientation Day)
• Mon 7th, Tues 8th, Wed 9th December, 8am-4pm
• Sat 16th January, 8.30am-1.30pm
• Tues 19th, Wed 20th, Thurs 21st, Fri 22nd January, 8am-2pm

Please email prshsuniformshop@outlook.com or call 38814739 to make an appointment.

Online Debating Club