12 May 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Yours in education,

Leanne Odorico
Principal

Parade Presentation

Congratulations to the students of Senior D, Miss Camilleri and Mr Crowe that presented an entertaining and informative parade presentation. The students spoke very confidently as they took us on a journey around the world exploring animal adaptions related to each animal’s environment. Well done teachers and students!

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 2 WEEK 2

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 2 Week 2

TERM 2 WEEK 3

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 2 Week 3

Date Claimers

Due Dates for Payments

2022 Prep Enrolments

We are now taking names of Prep students for 2022. Children who were born between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017 are eligible to commence prep in 2022. Parents are invited to contact the school office (ph: 3481 4333) if they are intending to enrol their child at Kurwongbah for Prep in 2022. Enrolment forms will be sent out in Term 2 and interviews conducted early in Term 3. Please contact the school for further information.

Kurwongbah Kids Playgroup

We welcome parents and their young children to our Kurwongbah Kids Playgroup, held every Friday in the Sports Hall.

National Walk Safely to School Day

Now in its 22nd year, National Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is an annual event when all Primary School children will be encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. It is a Community Event seeking to promote Road Safety, Health, Public Transport and the Environment.

All information can found at: walk.com.au

The event will be held throughout Australia on Friday 14 May 2021. Our school Adopt A Cop Acting Constable Jenny will be at the front gate on Friday morning to welcome and congratulate students and who walk to school.

The objectives of Walk Safely to School Day are:

• To encourage parents and carers to walk to school with primary school age children and reinforce safe pedestrian behaviour.
• To promote the health benefits of walking and help create regular walking habits at an early age.
• To ensure that children up to 10 years old hold an adult's hand when crossing the road.
• To help children develop the vital road-crossing skills they will need as they become mature pedestrians.
• To reduce the car dependency habits that are being created at an early age and which will be difficult to change as children become adults.
• To promote the use of Public Transport.
• To reduce the level of air pollution created by motor vehicles.
• To reduce the level of traffic congestion.

Prep – Mother’s Day Celebrations

Our Prep mothers were invited to a special in class celebration, where they could participate in craft activities and be pampered.

Junior A Mother’s Day Celebrations

Pine Rivers State High School Musical

Last Tuesday 50 students from Year 5 and Year 6 attended a matinee performance at Pine Rivers State High School of “Grease the Musical.” Not only was the performance entertaining for all who attended but it provided an insight for students of extra-curricular opportunities that high school has to offer. Thank you to Pine Rivers High School for the invitation and also providing free complimentary bus for our students to attend the event.

Mother’s Day Craft Stall

Thanks to our amazing members of our P&C Craft Group for their vast range of items that they had on sale last week at the Mother’s Day Craft Stall. Thank you to the hundreds of students who made purchases at the stall. We hope that all the mum’s felt very spoilt with the purchases that your child made.

NAPLAN Testing

The NAPLAN Online testing for students in years 3 & 5 this year will be held over two weeks, 11th – 21st May. These tests will cover Language Conventions, Reading, Writing and Numeracy, providing a point-in-time information in relation to student performance. Year 3 Writing is completed as a paper version and not as an online test. This is consistent with all Year 3 NAPLAN testing nationwide.

Students have ready completed practice tests to ensure each student is familiar with the testing format.

The timetable for the NAPLAN Online tests is below.

Parade Presentations Term 2 Updated

Parents of classes involved in parade presentations are welcome to attend parades from 9.00am each Friday. Parents of students receiving special awards are welcome to attend parade. Students of the Week will be celebrated through our school newsletter. Parents attending parade are asked to sign in using the Kurwongbah SS QR Code to assist with contact tracking if required. The code will be available at the door outside the entry of the Hall. This does not replace regular sign in protocols for parents volunteering in classrooms during school hours which continues to be done at the Office.

Term 2 Parade Presentation Schedule

Inclusion News

The reason I became a teacher was because I was inspired by great teachers and I really wanted to improve the lives of children. That was at the start, and then I learnt more. Not everyone is just like me, and not everyone has had the same experiences in life that I have had. Difference is far more than appearance and we can assume that every difference is visible.

I remain a teacher for days like today. I was in an upper school classroom, watching a student weave the words of persuasion into a comprehensive advocacy for why we should go to Luther Heights for our Year 6 School Camp. Then the lunch bell went and we moved on in our day. At the end of break, I was astounded by something just as magnificent. I was leaving a small eating group, where a child, who has put in just as much effort, simply, said ‘goodbye’ as I left the room. You know, in both of these cases, it was all the students who made the difference. Our children and staff support, emotionally and academically, each other with learning. We all use our strengths to build each other and receive the strengths of others to build our areas of need. We strengthen our self-worth through the feeling of pride that we get from helping others succeed, and we build the foundation of our self-worth from challenges we meet, overcome and are supported through. Community is strength.

Now I am not normal, and I don’t really believe that there is such a thing anymore. At my previous State School we had 76% of our students come from overseas, and there were 46 different languages or dialects spoken by the student group. Diversity and difference was no more apparent than in the lunch shed with the myriad of food. At that school, to be different, was the norm.

Last year, the Department release an Inclusion Policy, and it is about everyone. You can see from the infographic above, the specific groups listed within the policy, but as you dig a little deeper, the language is about education for ALL, and ALL students succeeding at what they need to succeed with. It’s not about A’s on report cards for everyone, it’s about meeting and being supported through the challenge. We all have challenges, and we are all part of the community.

Cameron Brown
Head of Inclusion

Inclusive Practices

People communicate in many different ways, some people use their voice, others use a device or a computer that speaks for them, and some people use sign language to communicate. In our Kurwongbah school community, we have students who use a variety of methods to communicate and it is important that we celebrate this diversity and actively work to engage and learn more about different methods of communication.

Recently some of our Prep students have begun to learn sign language with our visiting school Speech Language Pathologist Kathryn McGrath. We will share these signs and symbols through our newsletter so that our wider community can learn the signs at home too.

Kathryn McGrath
Speech Language Pathologist

Chappy News

Welcome to Week 4, Kurwongbah families,

I do hope that everyone had a very special Mother’s Day and that your children showed their love and appreciation for all that you do for them –not only our mum’s, but all of those who care for our little people and invest in their lives.

This term in my weekly parade challenges, I will be challenging the students to engage in meaningful and deliberate ‘acts of kindness’ to others. By encouraging our young people to act with positive intentionality towards others, we help foster a sense of ownership over their emotions and behaviours. This links in with empowerment – the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life (Oxford Dictionary).

To empower a child gives them the opportunity to realise that they are responsible for creating their life and their future. We, as adults and caregivers, provide the boundaries and guidelines for them to learn safely, while encouraging them to valued and capable. The more we encourage our children to think through their choices, options, and outcomes, the higher their levels of confidence and esteem will go.

Seeing our children and young people growing in confidence and self-esteem not only encourages us, but it also empowers us to release them to take risks and try new things, confident that they are learning to move through their world with autonomy and independence. We want to raise strong, responsible adults who have the ability to own their own decisions, and who are able to build into others in a positive way. This doesn’t happen by chance – we are given a great gift when we are tasked with raising children, and it is up to us to guide them along the path, letting go of their hands when it is appropriate, and watching them run when they can.

I love this quote by the late Dr Wayne Dyer:

“Our beliefs about ourselves are the single most telling factors in determining our success and happiness in life. A child’s self-image is a direct result of the kind of reinforcement he or she receives on a daily basis.”

Perhaps take some time this week to reflect on the questions below to help you gauge where your child might be at with confidence and self-esteem. You could even sit with them and have a conversation around these questions – it might not come easy at first, but I have discovered that children love to open up when they feel safe and supported, and hearing what is in their hearts is a great way to show them that they matter.

• How are your children feeling about themselves right now?
• Are they confident in their own ability to succeed and solve problems?
• Do they feel they can complete a task with little or no supervision?
• Do they feel good about themselves inside and out?
• Are they feeling smart and capable?
• Do they have a high sense of self-esteem?
• Are they kind and supportive to others?
• Do they understand why all these things are important to leading a healthy life?

Have a fantastic week!

Chappy Carly

STEM & Enrichment Education News

Makerspace Lunchtime Timetable

KSS Techgirls

The Techgirls received their welcome packs this week from the Techgirls Movement organisers. Students each took home a bag with a drink bottle, pen, sticky notes and holder and an earphone set. Their mentor will be Vidhu, who’s a Lecturer in Networking & Cybersecurity at South Metropolitan TAFE – Western Australia in Murdoch. The students will be liasing with her during their sessions to help them with their entry of creating an App for a community issue.

Seeking donations for Kurwongbah State School to attend the RoboRave Australia 2021 Competition!

Students in Year 4-6 have the opportunity to partake in the upcoming RoboRave Australia 2021 Tournament at the University of the Sunshine Coast at Sippy Downs on Sunday 30th May 2021. Teams will compete in two categories of Elementary (Aged 8 -10yrs) and Middle School (Aged 11-13yrs) in the SumoBot Lego Challenge in teams of 2-4. It is an exciting opportunity for Kurwongbah to compete in as this will be the first-time teams have competed in this event.

Kurwongbah is seeking any donations from the Community to help the students purchase team shirts for RoboRave, assist in registration fees and purchase Lego robotic components.

Please contact the Kurwongbah school office or Rebecca Rowley (Ph 34814333 or rrowl3@eq.edu.au) if you can assist.

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 at the link below for more details.

Entries close on the 17th September 2021.

Music News

Invoices have been issued for the Performance Uniform and parents will also have previously been invoiced for the Music Fees which were due to be paid by Friday 30 April. Once payment is received for both invoices, your child will be issued with a performance uniform. All students are required to hire the performance uniform except for Beginner Strings and Kurwongbah Blokes. Students are required to wear plain, black school shoes and white socks (turnover top socks) as part of this uniform (to be purchased by you). Joggers, boots or ballet flats are not acceptable as part of the performance uniform. Thank you to everyone who has already paid both of the fees. Please be aware that it takes a few days for payments to be processed so your child may have to wait for his/her uniform.

Choir News

Well done to the Senior Singers, Performance Group and Middle Singers who were recorded last Friday for the Choral Fanfare Festival 2021. The students looked and sounded beautiful. Entries close on Wednesday, 12 May and then the adjudicator will view all the recordings. Each choir will be awarded either Bronze, Silver or Gold and the adjudicator will pick the top five choirs from North Coast Region to compete in the Regional Finals. As soon as we know the results we will let you know.

Physical Education & Sports News

District Cross Country

Congratulations to the students who participated in the District Cross Country last Tuesday. You represented our school well with your sportspersonship and good behaviour. Well done to the following students: Harry, Vlad, Levi, Dustin, Sianna, Aaliyah, Hope, Billie, Zoey, Zach, Zeb, Breea, Emily, Jessica, Isaiah, Archie, Lucas, Miller, Bridget and Makayla. Extra congratulations to Aaliyah, Zach and Bridget on your selection in the Pine Rivers Team.

School Banking News

The Commonwealth Bank’s Dollarmites program will cease at the end of Term 2.

YMCA OSHC

Hello families

We hope all of the Mums enjoyed a very special Mother’s Day last weekend surrounded by love and laughter.

Did you know that we follow the My Time, Our Place school age care framework here at OSHC? Every day we are working towards our five learning outcomes which relate to each child’s sense of identity, their communication, their connection and contribution to the world, their sense of wellbeing and their confidence and involvement as learners. If you would like further information, Storypark contains a link to the framework within our weekly program which has been constructed around children’s interest and ideas.

The weather is starting to cool down so jumpers are coming out most days. To avoid these costly items being lost, please remember to label them with your child’s name. We have our Lost Property out each day so always have a look to see if you own any of the items.

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

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

P&C News

Qkr Online Ordering

Kurwongbah P&C has migrated from Quickcliq to Qkr!(pronounced 'Quicker').

Qkr (pronounced - Quicker) is a FREE app to enable mobile payment for school-based accounts. The app enables parents and carers of Kurwongbah students to use their mobile devices to place Tuckshop orders or make Uniform payments. No more loading credit to your account, paying for each child individually, or paying additional fees.

The school receives a detailed report of all payments. Orders are generated separately for the Tuckshop and Uniform Shop and filled accordingly.

To get started, view this introduction video and download the app today.

For those without access to a smart phone, a web-based version of Qkr is available at:

Any credit on your Quickcliq account will need to be used by May 29th.

P&C Survey

We want your opinion! At the next P&C meeting on 12th May, the attending members will being working on the Strategic Plan for the P&C. We want to make sure that we are representing the parent body at Kurwongbah and to do this we need your input. Please take 5 minutes to complete the Parent Opinion Survey below. If you have more you would like to add that doesn’t fit in the survey, you can email us at secretary@ksspca.qld.edu.au.

Tuckshop News

The tuckshop will be introducing QKR as our new online ordering system this week on the 12th May. Quickcliq will continue to operate until the 29th of May for parents to use any credit before migrating over to QKR.

Term 2 Meal Deals

The following Meal Deals will be available until the end of week 4:

• Join Flynn’s Ant Army $7.50
  Pasta Bolognaise, Garlic bread and Flavoured Milk
• Leila’s Netball Pack $6.50
  Vegetable Spring rolls, Banana Muffin and Drink
• Ashden’s Rugby Meal $6.50
  Beef Pie, Popcorn and Drink

We would like to thank Ashden, Flynn and Leila for an amazing 10 weeks of meal deals.

Meal Deals continuing until the end of term:

• Chappy’s Hot Diggety Dog Meal $6.50
  Hotdog, Brownie and Drink
• Waldo’s Pizza Box $7.00
  Ham and Cheese Pizza Slice, Garlic bread and Drink
• Miller’s Baseball Meal $7.00
  Hotdog, Pikelets and Drink
• Zoey’s Mundi Meal Deal $7.00
  Chicken nuggets, Banana Muffin and Drink
• Annie’s Tasty Toastie Pack $6.00
  Ham and Cheese Toastie, Brownie and Drink

New Meal Deals commencing week 5:

• Jaspaa’s Eat Me Box $6.50
  Beef pie, Brownie and Drink
• Lucas’s Energy Meal $6.50
  Sausage Roll, Brownie and Drink
• Makayla’s Softball Meal $6.50
  Cheese Pizza, Brownie and Drink

Daily Specials

Pizza Wednesday

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

Thursday Special

• Aiden & Chelsea’s Roast Chicken Special
  Roast Chicken, Baked potato, Vegies, Gravy and Garlic Bread $5.50

Ordering

The preferred method of ordering is online via the QKR app, as all details of in stock items are available. 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 the online QKR app. 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

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

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 include your phone number in any messages. Orders will be packed and delivered Mondays and Thursdays.

Parents are welcome to the uniform shop however we still must maintain social distancing with only one family at a time in the shop.

Payment methods accepted Eftpos, credit card, direct deposit, and cash. You can also now order your informs online via the Qkr app.

Winter Orders

Please place your winter orders now to avoid disappointment. You can put in your order and pay when it is ready.

Price Increase

Winter polar fleece jumpers and vests will increase in price on the 1st May, 2021. This will be the first increase on these items in 8 years.

• Jumpers - $32.00 (increased by $2)
• Vests - $25.00 (increased by $3)

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

Dakabin State High School Open Day

National Road Safety Week 16-23 May 2021

National Road Safety Week will be held from 16 to 23 May. We can all do our bit to ensure that road safety is a priority. Every time you are on the road, choose to drive so others survive. Take the pledge online and visit roadsafetyweek.com.au for more information.

Professional Tennis Coaching

Before school Program at Kurwongbah State School with Tennis Australia accredited coach Lorrae Thompson.

For further info regarding enrolments and pricing please contact Lorrae on 0402 110 508 or lorrae-guse-bell@hotmail.com

Australian Acting Academy

The Australian Acting Academy is one of Brisbane's oldest and most successful acting schools for kids 7-12 and teens 12-17yrs. They are also the newest addition to the Kurwongbah SS community as they start classes at our Hall 4-5.30pm for kids $285 and 5.45-7.45pm for teens $345.

Each term offers different skills and this term is the exciting art of taking a character to camera. You will learn how to act for camera, the difference between stage and screen, and most excitingly of all you will learn script analysis as you create stories for original scripts. Your work on camera is also sent home for you to review. The Acting Academy is all about supporting and developing creative kids and teens. The thing it is famous for is the Safety Net Philosophy where they make sure everyone supports each other to create safe places to take creative risks. You will not only learn new skills and have heaps of fun you will also make some great like-minded friends. the best part is you can come and try it for $1. If you don't enjoy it, that is all you pay.

To book in simply go to the link below or call Chelsea on 0490071298 for more information.