12 October 2022

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Yours in education,

Leanne Odorico
Principal

New Students

A special welcome is extended to Ari (Prep B), Luke (2D) and Zane (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.

Student of the Week

TERM 3 WEEK 10

TERM 4 WEEK 1

Top Kurwongbah Staff

Top Kurwongbah Kids

Congratulations to the following students who have recently received Top Kurwongbah Kids Awards by showing our School Values:

TERM 3 WEEK 10

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 3 Week 10

TERM 4 WEEK 1

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 4 Week 1

Outstanding Students for Term 3

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.

We would like to acknowledge all nominated Outstanding Students for Term 3:

Term 3 2022 Outstanding Students

Date Claimers

Due Dates for Payments

Staff Update Term 4

• Mrs Butler (Prep D) returned from leave this week.
• Mrs Murphy (4B) has accepted an acting PE position at Deception Bay State School and will be replaced by Mrs Blake.
• Mrs Hodgson will teach 4C on a Tuesday to Friday this term and Mrs Bell will teach 4C on a Monday.
• Mrs Coker (3E) returned from leave last week.
• Mr Thoburn (6D is on leave for the first two weeks of Term 4, replaced by Mrs Shesgreen and Mrs Warner.
• Mrs Sanderson returns from leave as Literacy Improvement Teacher for Years 4 – 6.
• Mrs Harris returns as class teacher of 6A.

Parade Presentation

Congratulations to 3C and 3D for an entertaining and well-presented retell of the story “The Lorax” by Dr Seuss. Students spoke and sang very confidently during the performance. Thank you, students, Miss Banks and Mr Koenig.

Sporting Excellence

Congratulations to Mackenzie who came first at the Australasian titles in Melbourne in May this year and was offered a golden ticket into the 2022 World Scooter Championships in Arizona USA on October 14 – 16. Mackenzie will be the youngest ever to compete in the junior division. He left on Sunday for 2 weeks. Mackenzie’s progress can be seen on his Instagram account @mackenxiedixon01.

Abigail recently completed in the ISKA (International Sport Karate Association) Queensland titles. She placed this in the Kata, third Sumo and first in the Sword Combat. She has now been selected to represent Queensland in the Australian Championships in Sydney in December. Congratulations Abigail, you are a super star.

Well done Copper for some continued strong performances in Taekwondo over the holiday break. Cooper competed in a higher weight division for the first time and continued experiencing success. This is Cooper’s last tournament before he travels to Melbourne later this year for the National Titles. Great work Cooper.

Well done to Matteo for some great individual and team skills during the National School Futsal Championships over the holidays. Matteo was selected as part of the Australian Futsal All Stars to travel to Barcelona in May 2023. Awesome performance Matteo!

Gold Coin Free Dress Day

Thank you everyone who supported the Gold Coin Free Dress Day on the last Thursday of Term 3. The school raised $711.15 for RACQ Life Flight.

Year 5 Camp – Mapleton

Last week the Year 5 students and staff attended a three-day school camp at Mapleton in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. The students had a terrific time and came home with many wonderful experiences and stories to share. The students were involved in a range of activities which can’t normally be undertaken at school such as high ropes activities, rock wall climbing, archery, canoeing, bush skills and problem-solving games.

Thank you to Mrs Aland, Mrs Farley, Mr Crowe, Mrs Gillespie, Mrs Connolly, Mr Fowler and Mr Wood for attending camp and making it such a memorable time for our students. A special thank you to Mrs Aland and Mr Wood for all their organisation and planning of camp.

Children Leaving Kurwongbah

We are in 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 this 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

Block 3 Swimming for Year 1 commenced on Monday 10th October at Genesis Pool with lessons concluding Friday 21st October.

2023 Prep Enrolments

We are continuing to take Prep enrolments for 2023. Children who are born between 1st July 2017 and 30th June 2018 are eligible to commence Prep in 2023.

We also have enrolment opportunities available for new students in Year 1 – 6 for 2023. Parents are invited to contact the school office on 3481 4333 if they are intending to enrol their child at Kurwongbah in 2023.

Pre-Prep Program 2022 for 2023

We will be holding our Pre-Prep Program on the dates listed below. Please contact the office either by phoning 3481 4333 (Admin) or emailing lthom273@eq.edu.au to book you preferred program dates.

Parents/Carers are required to remain with their child for the time they are on school grounds. During these times you will have access to key personnel within the school to assist you in your child’s transition to Kurwongbah State School.

Please ensure your child has a small bag with the following items:

• Some fruit and something small for lunch – please note some children attending may have food allergies and we ask you to consider this when selecting food to bring
• Hat
• Water Bottle

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. We look forward to meeting you on our Pre-Prep says and welcoming your family to our school community in 2023.

Please let us know if you will not be attending so we can allocate this time other student.

School Parade Presentations – Term 4

School parades are held in our school hall from 8.55am each Friday except for Weeks 9 and 10 when Parade will be on Thursday. Parents are welcome to attend. A list of parade presentations for Term 4 is below.

World Teacher’s and Support Staff Day

On Friday 28th October our school will be celebrating World Teacher’s and Staff Support Day. This day is a great opportunity for students and parents to show their appreciation for all the hard work our teachers and support staff does with their students. Kurwongbah staffs are extremely dedicated and have a strong commitment to their role as educators. I encourage students and parents to make this day special for their child’s teacher. We will be acknowledging the wonderful work our teachers do at Parade on Friday 28th October.

2023 Student Leadership

The process for the selection of our 2023 Student Leadership team has commenced. Students currently in Year 5 2022 are able to nominate for the positions of Student Leaders Council, House Captain and Music Captain. Nomination forms are due back to the office by Wednesday 19th October. Following this, students will be shortlisted with speeches and elections occurring over a number of weeks this term. We encourage our Year 5 students to nominate for a leadership position and wish them all the very best in this process. Nomination forms are available from the office.

School Disco - Friday 21st October

Lost Property

We have a large of jumper and jackets in the lost property box that we would like to see reunited with their owners. If you are missing a jumper or jacket, please come and have a look in the Lost Property box located outside the First Aid room.

Bell Times

Parents are reminded of the bell times. If you are planning to collect your child during the break times, please ensure you contact the office to advise, so we can have your child waiting at the office. We can’t otherwise guarantee to locate your child until they transition back to their classroom.

Contact Details

It is important that the school have the correct contact details. This is especially important in emergency situations or if your child presents as unwell during the school day. If you have changed your mobile phone number, address or email address, complete the attached form and forward to the office. Please be also aware if you have a change in emergency contacts.

Parking in and around the School Site

As a new school term commences, Council’s Local Laws unit undertakes a School Parking Patrol Program where officers undertake scheduled school parking 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. Your school forms part of this Parking Program where Local Laws officers may be scheduled to attend at some time throughout the school term.

Eco-Marines News

This term, the Eco-Marines are keen to resurrect ‘Waste Free Wednesdays’. Students will promote ‘Waste Free Wednesday’ on Parade and recognise students who make an effort to reduce their waste. We hope the school community gets behind this initiative.

The Eco-Marines will also educate staff and students on to how to reduce their use of electricity in the classroom and the importance of conserving water.

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

Inclusion News

Information and Privacy

Our children are precious; they are the most precious possession you will ever have. We have been working our way through our 2023 Prep interviews and in each new enrolment; we talk about privacy, our Facebook for School and our Website and Newsletter.

The information about our children is private and personal. We don’t share information outside of Education Queensland without your consent and some information is not ours to share. With our Year 6 students transitioning to high school, information such as Speech-Language and Cognitive Assessment results are not ours to share. They require an additional level of authority, and realistically belong to the parents.

So, when it comes to information security, I believe, we as a system have come a long way. For those families who have children working with external service providers, are in a medical, disability or learning difficulty space, you may have had more than a few forms to sign over the time. I don’t mind having the process, when it is about ensuring the privacy of information for our children. It can cause concern for some though, and I get that. This year was our first year of having a single Consent to Share form, across services, except for Guidance services. Having this form and the detail upon it means that we only share information that parents/carers consent to. Whilst this may not seem important, but when our students are transitioning to some high schools, working with psychologists, then we want to operate with the best support that we can offer.

As our new school support funding system becomes clearer, I would like to share details that come to light, but wanted to take this opportunity to clarify a change in the clinical sharing of information that has been identified by Education Queensland lately. As a school, we are accountable to the accuracy of the information that we share, so we must keep a copy or record. Where we are asked to complete questionnaires for students’ Psychologists and Medical experts, we are more than happy to provide the information, we are not able to complete the on-line versions of the questionnaires, as the information we provide, we are unable to keep a record of. Where we are asked, we make a request for a hard copy of the questionnaire and then move forward from there. It is definitely not an unwillingness to share; it is just a motivation to complete things in the appropriate manner.

So, paperwork will never, ever, ever go away. We will be seeking signatures for ever. At least in consent to share information, we have a single form that covers us for a year, to share with the external providers that Parents/Carers nominate. And we have clarity in relation to the pathways that are appropriate for sharing. We definitely find that a team approach recognising the collective educational setting expertise of the school, combined with the clinical expertise of our external therapists, cemented with the priceless knowledge of a parent, gives our students the greatest outcomes.

Cameron Brown
Head of Special Education Services

Guidance Officer (GO) Greetings

Greetings Kurwongbah families!

Queensland Mental Health Week (QMHW) is an annual awareness initiative that promotes individual and community mental health and wellbeing, boosts awareness of mental illness, and celebrates the contribution of the mental health and community sectors. QMHW takes place in the week of World Mental Health Day on 10 October. In 2022, the week will be celebrated from Saturday 8 October to Sunday 16 October.

Kurwongbah State School is acknowledging the importance of looking after both physical and mental health by encouraging teachers to engage in a mental wellbeing activity with their class during the week. Photos of the class activities will be shared at our school assembly on Friday, 14 October.

If you would like more information about QMHW or support services that are available, please see the attached brochure.

Olivia Devereux
Guidance Officer

STEM & Enrichment Education News

Makerspace Lunchtime Timetable

Buy Smart Competition

Congratulations to Emerson, Indi, Stella and Summer, who have been short listed in the Buy Smart 2022 Premier’s Financial Literacy Competition. They will be attending the awards ceremony at Parliament House in Brisbane at the end of October where the winning students and their schools will share in more than $15,000 in cash prizes. What a fantastic achievement!

Battle of the Brains – Year 6 Trivia Competition

On Thursday 10th November selected students in Year 6 will compete 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 will compete in nine rounds of eleven questions in categories of general knowledge, mathematics, science, sport, spelling, movies and music. Best of luck students!

Solid Pathways Coding Competition

Congratulations Dale from Year 6, who was a prize winner in the recent Solid Pathways coding competition! Dale attended the virtual award ceremony and presented his Scratch maze game to the audience. Fantastic result Dale and well done and your hard work!

Highly Commended – Kurwongbah Year 6 Science Team

Congratulations to the Year 6 Science Team who received a highly commended for their entry in the Hermitage Plant Competition on Native Foods. Students received a medallion for the school and a certificate each for their entry. Congratulations!

Music News

Save the Dates for Term 4

End of Year Night of Music and Awards – Tuesday 8th November

The students from our choral ensembles and instrumental ensembles will put on a great evening of entertainment on Tuesday, 8 November. The following groups will be performing:

• Junior Singers, Middle Singers, Senior Singers, Performance Group, Kurwongbah Blokes
• Senior Percussion Ensemble (Junior Percussion students will perform with Junior Concert Band)
• Beginner Strings, Junior String Ensemble and Senior String Orchestra
• Junior Concert Band and Senior Concert Band

The Music Support Group (MSG) will be having a sausage sizzle before the concert. There will be no interval however the canteen will remain open until 7.00pm. Volunteers are most welcome to help. Please email fundraising@ksspca.qld.edu.au if you can help out.

Details of the evening are as follows:

• Performances commencing at 6.00pm
• Doors open at 5.30pm
• Gold coin donation for entry
• Music Support Group will be serving food from 4.45pm. There will be no interval during the concert however the canteen will stay open until 7.00pm
• Cash sales only – there are NO Eftpos facilities available
• Full Performance uniform (including black school shoes)
• Awards will be presented after each ensemble perform

We are also after some lucky door and raffle prizes to be donated for this night. Over the past few years we have had wonderful families donate chocolates, lollies, wine, gift cards/vouchers from various places, iTunes cards, toys and much more. It doesn’t have to be a huge prize – all donations big and small will be accepted with gratitude. All prizes need to be delivered to the office or music room by Monday 7th November so they can be wrapped.

Prep/One Singers

What an amazing start we had to Prep/One Singing Club. There were 108 very excited singers at the first rehearsal with Mrs C and Mrs Waltisbuhl last Thursday. The Prep/One singers will perform on Parade with all the other choirs on Friday, 11th November. This group will not perform at the End of Year Night of Music.

Instrumental Music Recruitment for 2023

Next week, the Instrumental Teachers will begin the process of recruiting student for the 2023 program. Children in Year 3 will attend the Band (brass, woodwind and percussion) Program orientation on Tuesday second break while children in Year 2 will attend the String program orientation on Thursday second break. Interested students will take a note home with details of the program. This is a lengthy process which will take a few weeks. Students will be notified once the entire process is finalised. We thank you for your patience in this process.

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

Welcome back to Term 4. We hope you had an amazing break. We have exciting news to share with you all to help cool down during the warmer months. The Tuckshop will now be selling Slushy’s for $2.50. Out Slushy’s are gluten free and made with 99% fruit juice syrup with no artificial colours or flavours.

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.

Prep Appointments

Prep appointments can now be made for the October 2022 Pre-Prep Program by calling on Tuesday or Thursday mornings after 9.00am on 3481 4323 or by emailing uniformshop@ksspca.qld.edu.au.

The uniform shop will be open between 10.30am and 1.00pm on the days of the Pre-Prep Program. Please note that an appointment is necessary with our Uniform Shop Convenor.

We look forward to meeting you on our Pre-Prep days and working with you in 2023.

Back to School Appointments

We are now taking back to school appointments in November and January. Please refer to the below attachment for times available.

Second-hand Uniforms

We have a very good range of second-hand uniforms, all in excellent condition currently available in the Uniform Shop. If 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 always have parents waiting for second-hand uniforms. 

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 at https://qkr-store.qkrschool.com/store

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

Pine Rivers State High School – Expressions of Interest

Pine Rivers State High School welcomes expressions of interest for Year 7 enrolments for 2023. You can resister your interest online at:

Or call the school on 3881 4700 and we will help you with this process and book you in for your enrolment interview. The next available dates for enrolment interviews are:

• Wednesday 12th October 3.30pm or 4.30pm
• Wednesday 23rd November 3.30pm or 4.30pm

Please note that students must have submitted their enrolment package and attended an enrolment interview prior to Orientation Day on Monday 28th November.

Chess Mates Program