31 August 2022

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Yours in education,

Leanne Odorico
Principal

New Students

A special welcome is extended to Jaydan Howe (4A) 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.

Date Claimers

Due Dates for Payments

Student Free Day

A reminder that Friday 2nd September is a Student Free Day and the school is closed on this day.

Staff Update

Welcome back to Mrs Massie, class teacher of 2B, who has returned from leave. Thank you to Mrs Shirley for teaching 2B while Mrs Massie was away.

RACQ Life Flight Helicopter Visit

Friday Week 6 our school was very fortunate to have the RACQ Life Flight Helicopter crew visit our school and talk to our students from Prep to Year 6. This was a culminating activity of the RACQ Streets Ahead Programme on road safety that all our classes had been learning about during the week. A very special morning for all our students. Funds raised through a free dress day in Week 10 will be contributed back to RACQ Life Flight as support for this essential program.

Book Week Parade

Thanks to our students, staff and families for an entertaining Book Week Parade on Friday as we celebrated our love of reading and books. Thanks to Moose Turner for organising the event and for being a great host. This week we have children’s author speaking to our Prep to Year 6 students about being an author. Prep to Year 2 is Tuesday and Year 3 to 6 is Wednesday.

Children Leaving Kurwongbah

We are staring the process of forming classes for 2023. 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.

2023 Parent Class Requests

2023 class formation processes are commencing. This is a thoughtful process which takes into consideration many factors. Our underlining consideration is always providing 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, 14 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.

Junior Swimming

Junior Swimming Block 1 (Year 2 classes) commenced on Friday 19th August at Genesis Pool with lessons concluding this Thursday 1st September.

Block 2 Swimming (Prep classes) commences on Monday 5th September. Payment for Block 2 swimming closed last Friday. No late payments can be accepted.

Block 3 Swimming for Year 1 commences on Monday 10th October after the school holidays. Final payment for Block 3 swimming must be paid by Friday 16th September. No late payments can be accepted.

2023 Prep Enrolments

We are now taking names of Prep students for 2023. Children who are born between 1st July 2017 and 30th June 2018 are eligible to commence Prep in 2023. Parents are invited to contact the school office on 3481 4333 if they are intending to enrol their child at Kurwongbah for Prep in 2023. Enrolments interviews have commenced and will continue this week. Please contact the school for further information.

Father’s Day P & C Craft Stall

R U OK? Day – Thursday 8th September

R U OK? Day is a national day of action when we remind Australians that every day is the day to ask, “Are you OK?” and start a meaningful conversation whenever they spot signs that someone they care about might be struggling with life.

School Parking Patrol Program – Moreton Bay Regional Council

Moreton Bay Regional Council (MBRC) Local Laws Unit undertakes a School Parking Patrol Program where officers complete scheduled school patrols, both in the morning and afternoon, to ensure that vehicles are parked in a safe and lawful manner. The primary aim of the program is to ensure that students and family members/caregivers are able to safely move around the school area as part of dropping off or picking up students from the school.

The Moreton Bay Regional Council Local Law No.5 (Parking) 2011 and Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1999 control parking or stopping of vehicles on footpaths, bicycle paths, marked yellow lines, shared paths, dividing strips and nature strips, along with vehicles parking across residents driveways and within ‘No Stopping’, ‘No Parking’, and ‘Bus Zones’ and Pick-up / Drop -off zones. Council is legally required to enforce these areas and the School Parking Patrol Program forms part of this process. Drivers are reminded that footpaths and nature strips are in place to promote pedestrian movement in a safe manner along roadsides and that drivers and residents must not stop on a bicycle path, shared path, dividing strip or nature strip. Please also note those vehicles that are parked with two wheels up and two wheels down is not considered as a lawful parking practice.

Local Laws officers conduct enforcement through the issuance of Penalty Infringement Notices as part of each School Parking Patrol. Please be aware that Council officers may take photographic evidence of vehicles stopping or parking illegally with Penalty Infringement Notices to be issued via mail at a later date to the offending vehicle’s owner.

For further information, members of the school community are welcome to contact Moreton Bay Regional Council on 3205 0555 or visit the link below for further guidance on parking restrictions.

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.

Covid Restrictions Update

Our school continues to have a range of COVID-safe measures in place, including:

• Maintaining good hygiene practices, including regular hand washing and use of hand sanitiser
• Continuing enhanced cleaning, including sick rooms and student or child service areas
• Encouraging all staff and students to stay home when sick, get tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms, and follow Queensland Health advice for positive cases and close contacts
• Providing rapid antigen tests (RATs) to students and staff who develop symptoms while at school, as well as priority access to RATs at Queensland Health testing clinics and provision of RATs for close contacts where available

Requirements for Close Contacts Unchanged

From 6pm on Thursday 28 April 2022, close contacts that do not have COVID-19 symptoms no longer need to quarantine.

Students who are close contacts must notify their school that they are a close contact. For 7 days after becoming a close contact, students over the age of 12 must wear a face mask while outside of their home, including at school, and when outdoors if unable to physically distance. Queensland Health also recommends that children under the age of 12 wear a face mask when it is safe to do so.

It is recommended that students undertake a rapid antigen test (RAT) on the first day they leave home, and every second day (e.g. days 2, 4, and 6) until they are no longer a close contact. Close contacts that develop COVID-19 symptoms must not attend school and should isolate until their symptoms resolve.

If You or Your Child Tests Positive to COVID-19

Queensland Health requirements for people who test positive to COVID-19 remain unchanged. You must follow the Queensland Health guidelines outlined in the first steps to take if you have COVID-19.

Eco-Marines News

Over the last two weeks the Year 4 students have been trialling multi-sort bins to sort their waste. The Eco-Marines have been sitting near the bins at lunchtime and educating students on which bin to use. They have mentioned how quickly the Year 4 students have learned which bin to use for each type of waste. With the Year 4 students joining the Year 5 and 6 cohort that already use multi-sort bins, we have noted an increase in organic waste and last week collected over 300 recyclable containers in a week for the first time. Parents can assist by limiting the amount of packaging sent in school lunch boxes and thereby stopping waste before it even arrives at school.

The Eco-Marines continue to do a great job in making Kurwongbah State School a cleaner and more environmentally friendly school.

Kurwongbah Kids Playgroup

Kurwongbah Playgroup is starting to grow in numbers as our new 2023 Prep students prepare for "big" school. We may need to implement our booking system each week to ensure your little person is not missing out on their Friday fun. There are a few ways you can indicate your attendance:

• Let the Playgroup Staff know each Friday for the following week
• Make a booking through the Kurwongbah School Office (07) 3481 4333
• Email Mrs Cross directly at mcros119@eq.edu.au

Chappy News

Hello Kurwongbah families,

What a great time we had with the RACQ CareFlight rescue chopper making a special appearance on our school oval. I absolutely loved seeing (and hearing) the student’s excitement as the chopper was coming in to land, and then to witness their smiling faces all through the rest of the day as they talked about the experience. It was a fantastic community builder and was such a wonderful opportunity for the whole school to come together.

I really valued seeing the excitement of our student’s because often my time at school is spent talking with students around things that, at their age, they simply should not have to be dealing with or trying to walk through. I don’t mean just within their personal sphere, but also the broader world that they live in, is simply not the same as what it was for many of us as we were growing up. I may be showing my age, but when you only had 5 channels on tv to choose from, no internet and a home phone that was connected to the wall, you were pretty well safe-guarded from outside influences and harms!

While we can do our best as parents and carers to shape and protect our children, and to provide the best for them that we can in our own situations and circumstances, I do believe that we may be unaware of how we are harming our children by allowing them access to apps and websites in the online space that are not appropriate for their age and developmental level. In many ways, letting our kids have access to apps, games and websites that are age-inappropriate, is like giving them the keys to our car, along with our credit card, and telling them they can do what they want. Car crash and major debt ahead!

As a parent, I am not innocent, I totally admit. I have been guilty of allowing my children access to apps and sites that are age-inappropriate because it was easier than saying no. And, I have had to deal with the fallout of what has happened in the online space as a result. I have also had to work through the challenges of removing my child from age-inappropriate apps and platforms, and responding to the emotional angst of said-child while they processed not being able to access the things they wanted to. Not easy by any stretch, but I can say that the difference in my child as a result, is life-giving for me as a parent.

Given I am so often talking with students about this, I thought I would make a list of the most popular apps, games and websites that I hear about at school, along with their recommended minimum age for access. I was surprised when I saw how many my own children had access to without me being aware of the suggested age and I think it worthwhile to share in this space.

There are a number of ways we can keep our children safe online, and knowing the age-appropriateness of what they are accessing is one of them. I have attached a great info-sheet from eSafety that can help guide you as a parent/carer into providing a safer online experience for your young people. The eSafety Commissioner website also has a great amount of information and resources available that can help support families in the online space.

Please have a wonderful week and stay well!

Chappy Carly

Guidance Officer (GO) Greetings

Greetings Kurwongbah families!

At this stage of the school term, when everyone is getting a bit tired, I would like to give a reminder about the importance of regular school attendance.

Research shows that in Queensland, “higher student attendance at school is associated, on average, with higher student achievement”. Regular attendance at school helps your child to learn better and make friends – they achieve more when they come to school all day, every school day (except when sick).

If your child is regularly refusing to come to school, please contact us for advice and support – we will be happy to help you and your child.

Olivia Devereux
Guidance Officer

Inclusion News

Please, try to go through a day, without reading. If we are conscious of this, then we may not even realise we are reading, because for many of us, the daily read is automatic. However, if we were given a Science Journal, we may need to take some time to make sense of the words, or even decode some of the words. Reading is key to the universe!! That may be a little dramatic, but you get my point.

This week was Book Week for 2022. How good is it that as a society we have unlocked reading for so many more of us? We have Braille books, with raised line illustrations, we have audiobooks as well as QR codes to unlock the messages within. iPads are amazing too – they have accessibility including spoken content, Reader View on internet pages and a function with the camera which discriminates text in a picture and will read it aloud.

With an inclusion lens, the QCAA has clarified reading, writing, speaking and listening to be more that handwritten words on a page, or opening a book and independently obtaining the message coded on the page in the letters. There are options for children to support their access to Australian Curriculum.

I do say this with a thought of caution. Assistive Technology is great, however primary school is where we lay the foundations for literacy. I know we have a rapidly changing world, where technology is playing an ever-increasing part, but at this point, our production and reception of print and words is imperative. There is very little more taxing on our young people’ brains as writing. I guess it is like when we as adults are first learning to drive!

When a child is writing, they have to generate an idea, remember the idea, break it into words, hold the pencil, remember the letters and form them, spell the words, plus punctuation and grammar, etc, etc, etc. In lower primary school, this is the perfect time, as it is when the language centre of the brain is at it’s prime in terms of development. My caution comes, in that if we introduce assistive technology into this space too early, or eagerly, then we may potentially be limiting the developmental pathway of a child, in this area.

In most areas of life, we play a balancing game. If we apply too much assistance, then we become dependent and limit our development. If we apply too little, then our success can be limited, which has a flow on with motivation. self-esteem and outcomes. The balance in life, sits with the inclusion principle of ‘Normalization’. This is not about the person, but the experience for a person. Normalization is the utilization of culturally valued means in order to establish and maintain personal behaviours, experiences and characteristics that are culturally normative or valued. So, if we view learning to read and write as culturally normative behaviours and experiences, then we want our children to have as close as possible experience to the norm, but with a balance that says, we want our children to be successful, so let’s assist to an appropriate level!

Cameron Brown
Head of Special Education Services

STEM & Enrichment Education News

Makerspace Lunchtime Timetable

Girls Explore Tech - Book Donation

A special thank you to IAG – Girls Explore Tech, for the generous donation of books valuing over $400. These books were donated as an initiative of IAG to support women in Tech. Kurwongbah had two teams enter into the Tech Girls Competition last semester and the students were excited to receive this valuable resource that will help with coding and programming. The books will be ready to borrow from the library next week.

Buy $mart

Selected Year 5 students are creating amazing activities for the upcoming financial literacy competition. Films, posters, games and story books 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!

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 opens for students from Year 4-6. Students are to write their own story with the title being – ‘I wonder why?’

Entries are due on 12th September and there are great cash prizes to be won. Please see the Library for an entry form. Details of word count and prizes are below:

Grade 4: 300 – 500 words
Grade 5: 400 – 600 words
Grade 6: 600 – 800 words

Prizes sponsored by FireFly Education:

Overall winner - Professor Gary Crew Trophy and Cash Prize of $150.
Grade/Category Winners - $50 cash and medal.
2nd Place - $30 cash and medal
3rd Place - $20 cash and medal
4th & 5th - $10 cash and certificate

Premier’s 2022 Coding Challenge

The 2022 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 the importance of digital technologies for 21st century citizens and to predict digital skills and environments of the future.

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

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. 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 from 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. Simply fill out the order form on the back of the catalogue, place the form and the exact cash amount into an envelope or clip seal bag and drop off to the LIBRARY ONLY!

Julie Collins
Book Club Coordinator

Tuckshop News

Our meal deals this term are:

• Lexi’s Nugget Meal $6.90
  4 Dino Nuggets, Brownie and Drink
• Ebony’s Chicken Nugget Meal $6.90
  6 Chicken Nuggets, Honey Soy Chips and Drink
• Hayden’s Football Food $8.30
  Taco Boat, Moosie and Drink
  (Moosie needs to be collected from Tuckshop)
• Harry’s Perfect Pizza Pack $7.50
  Ham and Pineapple Pizza, Fruit Cup and Drink
• Cooper’s Cowboy Kick Off $7.70
  Hotdog, Honey Soy Chips and Drink
• Zac’s Mid Centre Meal $7.50
  Hotdog, Chocolate Mousse and Drink

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.

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

Parents are welcome to the Uniform Shop during opening hours with no appointment necessary. If you have an hour to spare and would like to volunteer in the Uniform Shop please email or call me, volunteers are urgently needed.

2023 Prep Uniform Fitting Appointments

We are now taking Prep appointments during the October 2022 Pre Prep Program.

The uniform shop will be open between 10.30am and 1.00pm on these dates. Please note that an appointment is necessary with our uniform shop convenor Kay Mitchell. Appointments may be arranged by phoning 3481 4323 on Mondays or Thursdays between 8.30am and 10.00am or by emailing uniformshop@ksspca.qld.edu.au.

We look forward to meeting all our new 2023 Preps.

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 a large range of second-hand uniforms in most sizes available including check shirts, blouses, winter jumpers and jackets.

School Backpacks

School backpacks are available for $50. These backpacks are chiropractic approved and have a guarantee for the full time your child is at school.

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.
3. Qkr! Online Orders
   Download the Qkr! App, or use the web-based version of Qkr from the link below.

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

Uniform Shop Hours

Delivery days are Monday and Thursday.

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

Containers for Change

Community Notices

Chess Mates Program

Chess Mates – Spring Holiday Program

Pine Rivers Aquatics

Interested in swimming with us? Come and join our club with fun and affordable swim squads and learn to swim. Click on the link below for further information.

Lemonade Kids

Trevena Glen Farm – Equine Assisted Learning

R U OK? Day Free BBQ – Encircle Pine Rivers

We are putting on a free BBQ and invite you to come along, connect and join the conversation. Click on the link below for further information.