4 August 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The last 48 hours have seen rapidly changing circumstances with our communities. By working together, following Qld Health Directives and respecting the seriousness of this current situation we are working to keep our communities as safe as possible. My goal this week will be to ensure all students have access to learning@home materials. Parents can contact the school office if paper-based resources are required so contact free collection of resources can be organised. All parents and carers are requested to regularly monitor Kurwongbah SS email and Facebook communications for updates/changes to current organisation.

Teachers will be keen to ensure regular contact with your child through their learning materials and a quick thumbs up response to your child’s teacher through Class Dojo will indicate your child is engaging in remote learning during the day. If your child is unwell and unable to engage with learning@home experiences please inform your child’s teacher or contact the absence line at the Office to ensure our roll marking is accurate. Roll marking is a legal document and so it is critical we have accurate information.

A number of school-based events have been postponed this week including Prep enrolment interviews, drama lessons and after school activities. We will work with families to reschedule these experiences where possible. If the lockdown is extended beyond Sunday drama lessons will be provided for participating year levels as part of the learning at home resources.

Playgroup will also be cancelled this week. Please participate in Jeans for Genes Day at home and send photos to Mrs Cross. She will love share this experience with you remotely.

On a much nicer note, as a school in 2021 we have sustained our focus on writing improvement. Students across the school have been developing their understanding of the core elements of simple, compound and complex sentences, using noun and verb groups to position the audience and using Bump It Up Walls and Learning Goals to assist with personalised ‘next steps’ for writing improvement. This targeted effort has seen an overall list in Semester 1 English A-C student achievement results of approximately 7%. Percentage improvement above 4% is noteworthy so we are delighted with such a strong result for our students. We reframe our focus for Semester 2 with the mindset of success for all students. We can be proudest when all our students are achieving their personal improvement success.

At last Friday’s parade I highlighted some specific focus areas for improvement for our students:

• Presentation of their school uniform including wearing school or blue jumpers (not hoodies) and white socks or blue, black or neutral tights.
• Speaking appropriately to staff and peers at all times. There is no excuse for using inappropriate language at school and it will not be tolerated.
• Keeping toys including trading cards at home. These items often lead to disagreements which waste valuable learning time when staff are trying to resolve lunchtime squabbles.

Please remind your children of these expectations and support them to meet our school values daily leading to a kind, respectful school environment for all.

It is my greatest wish for our school community to be safe and well at this time.

Yours in education,

Leanne Odorico
Principal

Parade Presentation

Well done to Middle B, Mrs Banks and Mrs Coker for an entertaining parade presentation based on the book Charlotte’s Web. The students spoke confidently informing the audience on the key ways to look after and groom pigs.

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 2

TERM 3 WEEK 3

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 3 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 (34814333) if they are intending to enrol their child at Kurwongbah for Prep in 2022. Enrolment interviews for Prep 2022 commence this week. Please contact the school for further information.

Voluntary Contribution

Voluntary Contribution is a vital part of the Kurwongbah P&C’s commitment and helps to fund reading books, maths & science consumables, art consumables, digital resources, sporting equipment and positive behaviour learning program resources.

You can make a financial contribution to the school by completing the attached form and forwarding with payment to the school office. The contribution equates to $1 per week for the 40 weeks of the school year.

Term 3 School Opinion Survey

The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys are now available online and will now close on 6 August 2021. All families, school staff and students in target year levels (5 and 6) are invited to participate. Thank you to the many, many families who have already. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what our school does well, and how we can improve. Year 5 and 6 students have now completed their surveys in class over the next two weeks.

An invitation to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey has now been emailed to one parent/caregiver per family in the week beginning 5 July. The invitation was sent from the Department of Education, not the school, and it will have the subject line School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2021. Check your junk email folders if you can’t find it. The survey can be completed as soon as the invitation is received and will take approximately 5 minutes using a computer, tablet or smart phone.

Fun Run Postponed

Due to uncertainty with the Covid 19 Lockdown now extending to Sunday 8th August, the Fun Run scheduled for Tuesday 10th August has been postponed to a later date.

Show Holiday

A reminder that Monday 9th August is the Brisbane Exhibition Show Holiday for the Moreton Bay Region and the school is closed on this day.

Uploading Photos

Please be aware that if you take any photographs of a school activity they CANNOT be uploaded or shared with others. We do not want to prevent you taking photos of your child, however we need to be mindful of privacy issues and the safety of individuals.

School Uniform Days

This is a reminder to parents and students that we encourage the wearing of Sports House shirts each Tuesday. We also ask that students wear their formal check uniforms each Friday.

Swooping Birds

Spring is rapidly approaching and along with the warmer weather it also means the beginnings of the breeding season for many of our feathered friends. Some native bird species including magpies, plovers, butcherbirds and crows, are well known to swoop as a defensive behaviour to protect their young. Swooping is typically 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.

Children 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.

Not all birds of these species swoop. In fact, it is estimated that only 9% of magpies show this aggressive behaviour. Birds usually swoop for six to eight weeks, until their eggs have hatched and their young are grown.

Native birds are protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, it is therefore illegal to harm them or interfere with their nests and eggs.

If there is a swooping bird in your area:

• Take an alternative route - the best way to avoid being swooped is to avoid the bird’s territory

• Wear a hat and sunglasses or carry an umbrella to protect your face and eyes
• Dismount from your bicycle and walk through the area
• Don’t wave your arms, yell or throw objects at the bird - this will likely make the bird more aggressive
• Remain calm and walk quickly through the area, but don’t’ run - injuries often occur when people panic and run from a swooping bird

If you are concerned about a swooping bird on council land you can report it to council on (07) 3205 0555. Council may install temporary signage around the territory of a swooping bird to alert residents of its presence.

Building Resilience

Resilience is important in being able to cope with the challenges that life often presents to each of us. One of the ways that parents can help their children to build resilience is to talk through issues and assist them to solve their own problems as a first step, rather than jumping in and trying to solve problems for them. This will help children to become problem solvers, rather than feel helpless when things get tough.

Student Achievement – Mackenzie Rojahn

Congratulations to Mackenzie Rojahn who has won 2nd prize at the Pine Rivers Show for her artwork.

Kurwongbah Kids Playgroup

NAIDOC and Sports Week

We have had a lovely start to our Kurwongbah Playgroup this term. Our first two weeks our Playgroup has completed NAIDOC week activities and held their own Sports Day. We had some cooler weather which allowed our Sports session to occur in the Sports Hall. The children participated in an egg and spoon race with their parent, running races and a parent and child tag challenge. Inside the Hall, we had a bubble blowing station and an obstacle course for the children to enjoy in between races. These two sessions were thoroughly enjoyed by all participants.

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

Hello to our wonderful KSS families,

I trust that the term is going well for you all and that you have settled into the second half of the school year. I feel like I say this far too often but it really does feel like the year is flying by. We are already nearing the halfway point of the term and holidays feel like a distant memory away.

One of the things that I enjoy most about being a Chaplain, is the opportunity I have to continue growing in my learning about young people and ways to empower and encourage them. I also value learning about ways to better parent my own young people and how to step back or away from patterns of behaviour that aren’t facilitating their growth. I admit that I am not always the parent that I want to be and when I am faced with challenging behaviours, I can often revert to poor communication styles that further conflict as opposed to easing it.

One of the biggest challenging behaviours I am often confronted with is the ongoing battle of “back-chat”, and my frustration when one of my darling’s continues to battle with me verbally. After 27 years of parenting, I thought I would have this in the bag, but the reality is that I often find myself engaging with the backchat and then seeing things escalate. I was glad to then read, in a Michael Grose book, this little gem of wisdom and I wanted to share it so that others who may battle this beast, are empowered to try something different.

‘How do I stop responding impulsively when my kids backchat?’

This was a question asked recently at a parenting seminar and Michael’s response was as follows:

Don’t pick up the rope.

Picture a rope thrown on the ground…then decide to leave it there.

He then went on to explain that he discovered this tactic when one of his own children developed the habit of answering back, giving smart comebacks or issuing challenges to even the most reasonable of request. I am sure we have all experienced that with our children at times. He overcame this when one day he asked his daughter to walk the dog and she responded with, ‘Why me?’. At that point he pictured her challenge as a rope being thrown on the ground and, as he pictured this imaginary rope, he realised he had a choice.

Ignore her comments (leave the rope)
Or
Respond to her comments (pick up the rope)

The rope becomes a visual anchor that stops an impulsive response and keeps us in the parental position rather than reversing the power dynamic and giving the child control.

Michael explains that conflict between parents and kids is usually driven by issues of power, prestige, and position. Last-words, backchat, and comeback lines challenge those issues and is what makes ‘picking up the rope’ so irresistible. Once we pick that rope up, we are handing our kids the opportunity to create the dynamic and we often end up on the powerless end.

His advice to parents…the next time a child ‘throws the rope’ by having the last word, realise what is happening. You are being invited into a game of the child’s making. Look at the imaginary rope…then smile and walk away. Refusing to pick it up is the adult thing to do.

(From ‘Teach Your Kids to Shrug!’ Michael Grose, 2013)

I am going to give this one a red hot go with my favourite little arguer! I am not sure how it will work, but at this point in the game, I am willing to try anything!

May your week ahead be one that is full of positive engagement with your littles and with purpose in all that you do.

Chappy Carly

STEM & Enrichment Education News

Makerspace Lunchtime Timetable

Year 6 Digital Technology

The Year 6 classes are attending robotics lessons this semester to learn about computational thinking, block coding and algorithms and digital systems connecting to a network. Students will be using their mathematical skills and programming designs to make a robot perform set challenges for their sumo robot game in the Digital Technology assessment. They will create a Sumobot using an EV3 robot and compete against their peers in a robotics sumo wrestling competition.

Telling Stories Writing Competition

The ‘Telling Stories’ Writing Competition is organised by Mooloolaba Rotary in partnership with the Creative Writing Program from the University of the Sunshine Coast and Voices on the Coast. This competition is on again and open for students from Year 4-6. Students are to write their own story with the title being – ‘I should have waited.’

Entries are due on 23rd August and there are great cash prizes to be won. Please see the Library for an entry form or visit the below website.

Music News

With the events over the weekend there have been significant changes to the music program at Kurwongbah. While we are in a local government area lockdown, no instrumental music or choirs are permitted to operate. As the week unfolds, we will be given further details as to if /how lessons and rehearsals will be conducted. Details will be communicated to you as soon as we know the level and restrictions we will be operating under.

Resource Centre News

Book Week 2021

This year, as a part of Book Week celebrations and the promotion of reading and writing, we have two wonderful authors visiting Kurwongbah State School. These author visits will be a part of your child’s school day and will not require any payment to attend. However, as with other years there will be an opportunity to purchase a book written by these authors which can be autographed if requested. Order forms are attached and book orders with cash payment are to be returned to the library by the Tuesday 24th August. Please note that this is a service to promote a love of reading, and there is no requirement to purchase a book.

Prep – Year 2: Wednesday 25th August – Yvonne Mes

On Wednesday 25th August, Yvonne Mes will present to the prep, year 1 and year 2 classes.

Check out her website at

Oliver’s Grumbles

Check out a reading of one of her books “Oliver’s Grumbles” found on this website at the link below.

Click on episode 3 and the reading of the story can be found at the 10 minutes 40 mark. There are also some other great stories to listen to and watch on this Queensland Government website.

Book Week Colouring Competition

Get into the spirit of Book Week and enter the Book Week colouring competitions. Pick one of the colouring-in sheets attached from Yvonne’s books: “Little Bilby’s Aussie Easter Egg Hunt”, or “Oliver’s Grumbles”. Alternatively, create your own grumble picture to show Yvonne during her visit.

Entries due back to the library by Friday 20th August.

Year 3 – Year 6: Thursday 26th August – Candice Lemon-Scott

On Thursday 26th August, Candice Lemon-Scott will present to the year 3, 4, 5, and 6 classes.

Check out her website at the link below.

Eco Rangers

Read how Candice got her inspiration for the Eco Rangers series:

Competition

Why not enter this year’s Book Week competition. Please see attached a Book Week competition entry form: Design a Book Cover for a new book in the Eco Rangers series.

Competition entries due back to the library by Friday 20th August.

Book Orders

If you are interested to order a book by one of the authors, please fill in the attached, book order form and return it with CASH to the library. Please use the correct form for your child’s year level.

Book orders due back with cash payment to the LIBRARY by Friday 20th August.

NOTE - No CASH payments will be accepted until we are advised that this is permitted under the current COVID advise.

Book Week Parade

Book Week parade will be held on Tuesday 24th August. Details will be forwarded to you closer to the time.

Many thanks and Happy Reading,
Your friendly Library Crew

YMCA OSHC

Hello families

We have had a great start to the term and everyone is settling in well.

We have received some wonderful feedback recently, for National OSHC Educators Day, both in person and on Storypark. We appreciate all of the kind and supportive words. We are loving the communication on Storypark and hope to see even more engagement from families in that space.

We still have quite a large amount of lost property at the classroom so please take a look and claim anything that is yours. It is important to label all of your child’s belongings so that we can reunite you with it more easily.

Please remember that Monday 09th August is a Public Holiday for the Show Day in this region and we will be closed.

We’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions, so feel free to email us or drop by the YMCA office for a chat.

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

P&C News

Next P&C Meeting

The August general P&C meeting will be held Wednesday 11th August at 6.30pm in the school staffroom.

We encourage all parents, staff and interested community members to attend these meetings and have your say. If you have not yet completed and returned a membership form, these will be available at the meetings.

Fundraising News

Kurwongbah 80’s Disco Party

Come along and enjoy the fun. Food and merchandise will be available to purchase at both discos.

Father’s Day Stall

The Kurwongbah Craft Group are running a Father’s Day Craft Stall on Tuesday 31st August and Wednesday 1st September. Students will have the opportunity to visit the stall in their class groups to purchase inexpensive gifts for their loved ones (Dad, Grandpas, Step-Dad’s, general gifts). Gift prices range from $1.00 to $10.00.

Tuckshop News

With current Covid restrictions, the Tuckshop will be closed until advised can reopen.

Sandra and Carol
Tuckshop Convenors

Uniform Shop

With current Covid restrictions, the Uniform Shop will be closed until advised can reopen.

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

Containers for Change