17 March 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Yours in education,

Leanne Odorico
Principal

New Students

A special welcome is extended to Ava (JB1), Kodi (SF1) and Paihtyn (JA1) 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.

Parade Presentation

Congratulations to SE & MA for terrific presentations over the last two Fridays. The students spoke and danced confidently and appeared to enjoy their time on stage. Well done students and teachers.

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 1 WEEK 6

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 1 Week 6

TERM 1 WEEK 7

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 1 Week 7

Date Claimers

Due Dates for Payments

Free Dress Day

The National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence is an important day in our school calendar to join with other schools across Australia to say ‘Bullying. No Way!’

To start our fund raising this year, we’d like to support “Bullying, No Way Day” on Friday 19th March. Help our school community deliver a powerful message that bullying and violence are never okay.

Please support this worthy cause by coming in free dress, ensuring you are wearing something orange, on Friday 19th March and making a gold coin donation. Please remember to wear your school hat and school shoes so you can safely participate in the school activities. Let’s remember to be sun safe too by ensuring our shirts / dresses have short sleeves to cover our shoulders.

Thanks in advance for your support with this fundraising activity.

Collecting Student During Breaks

If you are planning to collect your child during break times, please ensure you advise the office on the morning of the intended early pickup so that we can organise to have your child at the office ready for you. It is often not possible to contact teachers to find children during these break times.

Parent Teacher Online

Parent Teacher online bookings will be open next week. I hope that many of you will take up this important opportunity to meet with teachers to discuss your child’s progress so far this year.

Eco Marine Ambassadors

This year Kurwongbah State School has been invited to participate in the EcoMarines primary school program. As part of the program, four Year 5 students will be chosen to be EcoMarine ambassadors (environmental leaders for our school). Students suited to this role will be passionate about the environment and want to make a difference. The role involves attending fortnightly meetings during lunchtimes to plan projects and challenges; sharing information on parade and educating students on how to take care of the environment. Ambassadors will also have the opportunity to attend events throughout the year with ambassadors from other EcoMarine schools, including a training day in term two.

Student Work

Year 5 students have been focussing their written work on sentence structure, ensuring they have simple, compound and complex sentences in their work and they use different sentence starters.

“Piece by piece the street was disappearing. While the street was disappearing, the clouds were opening up with a beam of light. A figure walked out of the light saying, “Come with me and you’ll be safe forever.” (Chase SD)

“During the night, the vicious pit bull dog ran through the dark streets.” (Romeo SE)

“Crash! Boom! The thunder rumbled and lightning flashed while John hid. He climbed down as fast as he could into the dark, creepy cave. Frightened, John reached into his backpack and pulled out a flashlight but then he felt something creeping up his spine. John screamed as he saw a spider crawling up his cold, anxious body. Slowly, he grabbed a thick, wooden baseball bat out of his backpack and squashed the spider.” (Riley SF)

Student Code Of Conduct – Preventing And Responding To Bullying

The agreed national definition for Australian schools describes bullying as

• ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm;
• involving an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening;
• happening in person or online, via various digital platforms and devices and it can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert). Bullying behaviour is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time (for example, through sharing of digital records);
• having immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders. Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.

Behaviours that do not constitute bullying include:

• mutual arguments and disagreements (where there is no power imbalance)
• not liking someone or a single act of social rejection
• one-off acts of meanness or spite
• isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence.

However, these conflicts are still considered serious and need to be addressed and resolved. At Kurwongbah State School our staff will work to quickly respond to any matters raised of this nature in collaboration with students and parents.

Please consult the Student Code of Conduct for more details regarding how we respond to incidents of Bullying.

NAPLAN

The demo tests are a fun way for students to try out the complete range of question formats available in NAPLAN Online at the link below:

Year 6 Camp Report

Jasmin

Jordan

My favourite activity at camp was the flying fox because I liked being able to see the view and I liked the free fall at the beginning as I came off the platform. I enjoyed it even more because I have a fear of heights and I was able to push passed my fear and enjoy the experience.

Libby

My favourite activity was the medium ropes because I liked the obstacles and heights. I liked the fact that you were always doing something like being the belayer fairy keeping the children above safe on the ropes.

Libby & Jordan

Altogether we had an amazing experience and enjoyed every second of it. Thank you to all the staff for organizing it and taking time out of your busy schedules to take us to the amazing camp we thank you very much.

Chappy News

Happy Week 8, Kurwongbah families!

I am finding it hard to believe that the Easter break is nearly upon us although, truth be told, I am feeling glad about it as this term has been extraordinarily busy, jam-packed, and tiring! I know that I am not alone in feeling that the pace of this year has caught many of us by surprise and it seems that the events of the past 12 months have caught up with us.

As a Chappy, I am having numerous conversations across my school communities, where staff and parents alike are communicating that they are feeling tired, worn-out, overwhelmed and overburdened. I can resonate with that and, as someone who works in the capacity of caring for others, I know that if I don’t take some simple steps to look after myself, I will soon find that I am not able to look after anyone else.

To that end, I thought I would compile a little list of simple things that you might be able to do to help alleviate some of the stress and pressure of the year. It really is vitally important that we take care of ourselves and that we give ourselves permission to stop and breathe, before taking another step. Hopefully something on this list will catch your eye and you will be able to add some joy to your day, even if only for a short while!

• Scratch off an item on your to-do list, something that’s been there for ages.
• Go cloud-watching. Take the kids and see what shapes you can find.
• Do a mini-declutter. Find a drawer or a shelf that needs clearing out and take 15 minutes to “mon kari” yourself!
• Unplug for an hour. Turn off all your screens. Lie on your couch. Think of nothing!
• Get down and boogie. Grab some old school music and get grooving in your lounge room. NKOTB are my go-to’s for when I really need to cheer myself up!
• Be still. Sit somewhere green, and be quiet for a few minutes. Or go sit by the water – the dams nearby are great for relaxing.
• Inhale an upbeat smell. Or bake some cookies and just smell the dough!
• Have a good laugh. Read a couple of comic strips that you enjoy or watch your favourite comedy.
• Take a quick nap. Ten to twenty minutes can reduce your sleep debt and leave you ready for action.
• Get positive feedback. Ask three good friends to tell you what they love about you.
• Have a self-date. Spend an hour alone doing something that nourishes you (reading, your hobby, visiting a museum or gallery, etc.)
• Plan a two-day holiday for next weekend. Go on your own, with your partner or with your closest friend. Take a break and rest.

With the Easter break coming up, I do trust there will be time for everyone to find space and room to breathe. If you are looking for something for the kids to do over the holidays, there are plenty of great ideas that I will add into the newsletter next fortnight. I will be directing a Sports Camp for students in Years 4-6 in the second week of the holidays and would love to see some of our Kurwongbah students there. There is some info attached to the newsletter and you can contact me for more details if you need.

Have a fabulous week and I look forward to ending our Term 1 well.

Chappy Carly

STEM & Enrichment Education News

Makerspace Lunchtime Timetable – Term 1

EV3 RoboCoast Immersion Day

A team of Year 4/5 students attended the RoboCoast Robotics Immersion Day at Undurba on Thursday 11th March. Here students took part in an exciting opportunity to develop their skills in building and programming EV3 and Spike Robots. The students learnt to use the Lego Classroom program to code their robot. They used conditional blocks and loops as well as manoeuvring techniques using angles and positioning. Students' skills in creative and critical thinking where also challenged as they problem solved to use colour sensors and ultrasonic devices on their robot to complete courses and compete in a Sumo Robot Wrestling battle. Students are now keen to apply their newly learnt skills and enter into the upcoming RoboRave Australia tournament held at the University of the Sunshine Coast in May as well as run workshops for students in the lunchtime breaks.

Robotics Immersion Day

Solid Pathways

Selected students from Year 5 and 6 are participating in a culturally inclusive curriculum that develops students’ critical, creative and higher order thinking skills. This program called, ‘Solid Pathways,’ has 7 students attending a 1- hour session every week, engaging with other students from a variety of schools in a collaborative interactive online environment for STEM related activities in a virtual reality environment. Year 5 students are investigating the elements of physics in their program and are conducting experiments about energy and motion, whereas the Year 6 students are investigating fire management and the science behind Indigenous cultural burning and its impact on land, animals and people.

Premier’s 2021 Coding Challenge

The 2021 Premier’s Coding Challenge is on again! This challenge offers great prizes of coding and robotics kits and an excellent opportunity for students to create some interactive and innovative coding to raise awareness of digital wellbeing.

This can include themes such as:

• work and study life balance
• postural considerations of using technology
• personal security and safety online
• adhering to social media ethics and protocols.

Entrants from Year 3 -6 can develop an app, game, animation or website, and they must submit a short video showcase with their entry.

For more information see the teachers in the library or visit for more details.

Entries close on the 17th September 2021.

Book Club News

Hi Families! Just a reminder that Book Club Issue 2 is due Thursday 18th March. Issue 1 Back Orders will hopefully will arrive soon.

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 spend 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

The Book Club LOOP platform for parents allows you to pay by credit card. Loop orders are due by Thursday 18th March. Your child’s order is submitted directly to school and the books will be delivered to your child’s class. You can place your child’s order at the link below or using the LOOP app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.

Cash orders can be handed into the library by Thursday 18th March also. Simply fill out the order form on the back of the catalogue, place the form and the exact cash amount (no change given) into an envelope or clip seal bag and drop off to the LIBRARY ONLY!

Julie Collins
Book Club Coordinator

YMCA OSHC

What a busy month we have had! Our children are showing some keen interests in outdoor physical play, imaginative role play and sensory experiments at the moment. We have made potions, stress balls and lava lamps. We’ve had lots of children interested in our home corner and they have thoroughly enjoyed the camping set up in the classroom. The playgrounds have also been utilised most afternoons and children have played games such as troll under the bridge, 44 home, lava monsters and the classic duck, duck, goose. Children have been offering up suggestions towards the OSHC program and educators have been supporting their ideas to come to fruition. Their enthusiasm is contagious!

Our April holiday program is in its final stage and will be available next week. We will be having some fantastic activities on offer including laser tag, indoor bowling and a trip to the movies. Once the program is released, bookings can be made via the My Family Lounge app for existing families. New families are also more than welcome, and will just need to enrol prior to booking. Enrolment enquiries can be sent to the below email address.

If you have any questions, concerns or feedback please phone or email us.

Many Thanks,

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

P&C News

We had our P&C AGM last Wednesday night. Thanks everyone for your attendance and participation. Great to see some new faces as well.

We’d like to extend a massive thank you to the outgoing Executive and Subcommittee reps. We appreciate the time and commitment they have given.

We have elected our Executive for 2021. Congratulations to:-

School Council 2021

Next P&C Meeting

Our next P&C Meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday 21st April at 6:30pm in the Staffroom.

Tuckshop News

We are so excited to let you know that we will be bringing pikelets back to our day to day menu from Thursday 18th March for $1.00 each.

Reminder as we come to end of term we start to run our stocks down for the holiday break. Online ordering is the best way to stay informed of stock availability.

Meal Deals

Our meal deals for the rest of the term are:

• Ashden’s Rugby Meal (created by Wyalla house captain) $6.50
  Beef pie, Popcorn and Popper
• Leila's Netball Pack (created by school captain) $6.50
  3 Spring rolls, Muffin and Popper
• Join Flynn's ant army (created by school captain) $7.50
  Pasta Bolognaise, Garlic Bread and Flavoured Milk
• Chappy’s Meal Deal $6.50
  Fish Sub, Chocolate Mousse and Quelch stick
• Mr Waldron’s Lunch Pack $6.00
  Chicken lettuce mayo wrap, Banana Muffin and Popper
• Cruize’s Soccer Pack (created by Aroona house captain) $7.00
  Sausage roll, Orange slices and popper
• Niamh’s Dance Pack (created by Kooringa house captain) $7.00
  Ham and Cheese toasted Sandwich, watermelon cup and popper
• Keira’s Cheer Power Pack (Created by Student council leader) $6.50
  Pasta Bolognaise, Brownie and popper

Daily Specials

Pizza Wednesday

• Margarita Pizza $5.00
• Ham and Pineapple Pizza $5.00
• Mega Meat Pizza $5.50

Sushi Thursday

• Chicken and Cucumber $3.50
• Tuna and Cucumber $3.50
• Vegetarian $3.50

Ordering

The preferred method of ordering is online at QuickCliq.com.au, as all details of in stock items are available. We will be introducing QKR within the next couple of weeks and will be running both ordering platforms for a change over period. Please ensure you update your child’s profile with their correct class information for 2021.

We also accept over the phone orders and cash orders over the counter.

Cash

Tuckshop is once again accepting cash sales via the bag system and for over the counter items in break times.

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 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
3481 4337
tuckshop@ksspca.qld.edu.au

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop is currently accepting phone orders Monday and Thursday 8.30am – 10.00am or email orders. Please ensure you include your phone number in any left messages. Uniforms will be packed and delivered Mondays and Thursdays.

Parents are welcome to the uniform shop however appointments are preferred. Social distancing must be maintained, with only one family at a time in the shop.

Payment methods accepted Eftpos, credit card, direct deposit and cash.

We are currently out of size 8, 10 and 12 Jade shirts and size 6 skorts. These are currently on order and some of them will be here next week.

In preparation for the cooler months, parents are encouraged to place their order for winter uniforms now.

Ordering Through Uniform Shop

The following options are available:

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

The preferred payment options are by Eftpos either by email order or over the phone by credit card or direct deposit.

Uniform Shop Hours

Thank you
Kay Mitchell & Kristi Milligan
3481 4323
uniformshop@ksspca.qld.edu.au

Containers for Change

Community Notices

Parentline

Kids do better when their parents feel supported. Parentline is a service that can offer that support by providing free confidential phone and Webchat counselling and support to parents living in Queensland.

Parentline offers support from 8am-10pm, 7 days a week. Therefore can be a safety-net for families by providing support when it’s most needed. This includes after hours, weekends, where families may feel isolated and where local services are unavailable.

Parents can call 1300 30 1300 or visit

All parents want to do the best for their children. However, sometimes help is required due to things outside their control. From newborns to teenagers, whatever it is. Talking things over with a qualified Parentline counsellor, who can offer guidance and support, may help the parent understand what their loved ones need.

10 things every parent should know, Dr Justin Coulson

Moreton Bay Region Libraries invites you to an evening with Dr Justin Coulson, Kidspot author and parenting expert, on Wednesday 17 March, 6.30pm - 8.30pm at North Lakes Community Hall. Justin will share 10 key research-based tips for positive parenting. Plus, get the chance to ask Justin your parenting questions! Suitable for parents and carers of primary school aged children. Free event, but bookings required. Go to the link below and search ’10 things every parent should know’.

Love to Sing? Join Voices of Birralee for their Harmony Week Celebrations – 16-20 March 2021

Queensland’s Voices of Birralee is celebrating Harmony Week with a series of Open Rehearsals for their training choirs and Previews for their signature choirs. Harmony Week is about spreading the message of ‘everyone belongs’ and at Birralee this is achieved by learning music from different parts of the world – singing is a universal language and there are so many reasons to sing. Singing increases self-esteem, provides a sense of belonging, enhances memory and boosts overall mental and physical wellbeing. Voices of Birralee nearly has a choir for everyone – their weekly programs cater from 5 to 35 years. Harmony Week is free to attend and pre-registration for COVID safety is preferred. Visit for more information or call 3367 1001.

Orienteering Queensland

Come and Try Orienteering! Foot or Bike Options.

Three exciting events are at Pine Rivers Park, Strathpine:

• Saturday 27th March, 8:30 -11:30am
• Saturday 17th April, 8:30 -11:30am
• Saturday 12th June, 8:30 -11:30am

More information about orienteering in Queensland can be found at the link below or by emailing admin@oq.asn.au.

Raptors Gridiron

Redcliffe Festival of Sails

This Good Friday, point the steering wheel towards Redcliffe and spend the day by the seaside at the COVID-Safe Redcliffe Festival of Sails! Packed with fun, family friendly entertainment and activities there is something for everyone to enjoy! Festival of Sails is also the best vantage point to catch the historic Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race! There’s no better place to kick off the long-weekend!

Kallangur Neighbour Day

Neighbour Day is Australia’s annual celebration which aim is to increase positive and sustainable social connections between neighbours and communities around us. Neighbour Day has five main aims:

• Strengthen communities and build better relationships with the people who live around us
• Create safer, healthier and more vibrant suburbs and towns
• Promote tolerance, respect and understanding
• Break down community barriers
• Protect the elderly, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged.

Kallangur Neighbourhood Centre is inviting you to come and see our new premises, meet the staff and enjoy a cup of tea or a chat with a new neighbour.