1 March 2023

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Yours in education,

Leanne Odorico
Principal

New Students

A special welcome is extended to Nasiah (2A) 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 1 WEEK 4

TERM 1 WEEK 5

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 1 WEEK 4

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 1 Week 4

TERM 1 WEEK 5

Top Kurwongbah Kid – Term 1 Week 5

Date Claimers

Due Dates for Payments

Young Leaders Day

On Monday 20th February our Student Leaders Council, Music and House Captains attended the National Young Leaders Day. We travelled into the city on a bus and then went to the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre. When we got there, we were greeted by Ezra and Dean, the two dancing directors. We then played a game with DJ Raff to get us ready to start the day. During the day we listened to a number of high-profile Australians talk about their journey as a leader. The first speaker was Anthony Carroll, known as “Harries” from the TV Show Bondi rescue. Next was Hillary Rogers who was the best-selling writer and publisher of the ‘Girltopia’ and ‘Dragon Girl’ series. Then we heard from Bryson Klein. He is the Australian Ninja Warrior finalist and 1st place winner of the USA vs The World Competition. The last speaker was Greta Bueta who is a Netball superstar who plays for the Australian Diamonds and Queensland Firebirds.

What did we learn about?

We learnt about how to be a leader and the different roles of leaders. Some of the best advice was as follows:

• Do what you love
• Don’t be mean to yourself
• Bravery takes boldness, resilience and perseverance.
• Do your best and be happy with it
• Have the courage to change
• Play to your strengths
• Be true to yourself

During the break times we took photos with the speakers, we ate and then at the end of the break time we did a dance and a game.

Overall, we think that the best part of the event was the dancing and hearing from all of the four speakers and their journey to get where they are today. We will take on their advice as we continue with our leadership roles.

Summer, Indi, Yahirah and Olivia

Parade Presentation

Thanks to 4B and 4C for an entertaining and confidently presented parade presentation on Friday. The students took us through the school Positive Behaviour for Learning Mantras of Kind Words, Kind Actions, Right Time, Right Place, Right Job and Moving Safely. Thanks Mrs Farley and Mrs Dummer for being the first class to present on parade in 2023.

Clean Up Australia Day – Saturday 4th March

To coincide with this Australia wide event, Clean Up School Day is being held on Friday 3rd March. Mr Crowe and the Year 5 Eco Marines will organise a school clean up.

Interested students will meet in the covered areas before assisting with the clean up of identified problem areas around our school.

Juniors - First Break

Meeting at the Junior Undercover Area. Mr Crowe will have 2022 and 2023 Eco Marines as well as a support crew to assist the junior students.

Seniors - Second Break

Meeting at Senior Undercover Area.

Clean Up Australia have sent gloves and bags to assist with cleaning so we are ready to go.

Bell Times

Parents are reminded of the bell times. If you are planning to collect your child near a break time, collecting either just prior to the commencement of the break or at the end of the break is the best arrangement. It is very difficult to track down children who are out at play. This is especially important if parents have an appointment they are trying to get to. By letting the class teacher or school office know of the collection time prior to the start of school we can assist in having your child at the Office ready and waiting.

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. If parents are registered through QParents they are able to update details through this app.

Absences

State schools are required to notify parents on the same day any student is absent from school without explanation. Rolls are marked at 8:50am and 2:10pm each day. An SMS message will be sent to any parent of a student with an unexplained absence by 11am. Students who are not in their class at 8:50am will be marked absent and MUST collect a late slip from the office. Parents collecting their children early must sign them from the office before collecting from the classroom.

Absence Notification Process

Please remember to contact the school early in the morning if your child is going to be away or late for school so your child’s absence can be recorded correctly. The preferred method of reporting an absence is via the SMS number 0429 919 560. Otherwise, you can contact the school absence line on 3481 4366 or the main school admin line on 3481 4333.

Please be sure you indicate the following when reporting the absence:

• Name of child (especially if there is more than one child in your family)
• Absence reason – Please indicate if your child is sick or at an appointment etc. Indicating that your child is not coming to school, does not give a true reason for the absence
• Late Arrival – If your child will be late due to an appointment, please indicate an approximate time of arrival
• Dates of absences, if longer than 1 day

Same day notification

Our school will contact parents as soon as practicable on the day if a student is not at school and we don’t know why. If you are advised by the school that your child is away without a reason, please contact us as soon as possible by reply text to let us know where your child is. We will follow-up with parents if no response is received.

QParents

QParents is a simple and easy way to access information relating to your child. You can update information, access report cards and update attendance, absence information through this app. Future functionality may also include parental permissions for excursions and online permissions. These functionalities are currently in the development stage by the Department of Education. Please find attached information on QParents and how to register. If you have any queries or would like further information, please contact the office.

Parent and Community Code of Conduct

Customer Complaints Management Framework

NAPLAN 2023

In March 2022, Education Ministers announced that NAPLAN testing would be moved to Term 1 from 2023. The 2023 NAPLAN testing dates are Wednesday 15th March 2023 to Monday 27th March 2023.

NAPLAN is used by governments, education authorities and schools to determine whether young Australians are meeting important goals in literacy and numeracy.

Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are expected to sit the NAPLAN tests, which are held in Term 1 each year.

NAPLAN gives a snapshot of how children are performing in reading, writing, spelling, punctuation, grammar, and numeracy. It complements other effective classroom assessment and reporting practices.

Year 3 Students will be involved in a NAPLAN practice test on Monday 20th February and Year 5 on Wednesday 22nd February to ensure they are familiar with the online NAPLAN platform.

Please find attached a copy of the NAPLAN Parent Information Brochure as well as the NAPLAN Testing Timetable which begins on Wednesday 15th March.

School Photos

School photos for 2023 have been scheduled for Tuesday 28th March and Wednesday 29th March. (Week 10). Year 6 Photos and 2023 Student Leader Photos will occur on Tuesday 14th March from 2.10pm in the school hall. Information on class schedules and payment information will be sent out closer to photo date.

Parade Presentations 2023

Whole school parades are held each Friday morning from 8.55am in our school hall. Parents are most welcome to attend. During the year each class or year level will present a presentation on parade. Below is the 2023 parade presentation schedule:

Evacuations and Lock Downs

During Term 1 students and staff will practice our routines for emergency lock downs and evacuations. Students will be taught the specific signals and how they are expected to respond in these situations. Teaching students “Right time, Right place” and “Right Job” in emergency circumstances is a critical part of learning to be resilient, caring and safe.

Business Manager News

Another busy fortnight at Kurwongbah State School!

Grounds & Facilities

Planning is underway to improve our green spaces. This is a beautiful school with so many gardens and natural habitat for our native fauna. Our plan for the gardens is to simplify, reduce and refine the planting. We will focus on bird and butterfly friendly, drought tolerant, low maintenance, native plants to enhance the grounds whilst reducing workload for our groundsman. It’s a large task in a school this size so we will work on one garden/area at a time.

This weekend all the gutters will be cleaned. This is a costly yet vital part of the upkeep of our very leafy school! Keeping our maintenance schedules up to date means reduced incidence of water damage to the buildings.

Finance

Thanks to the very generous support of our local member Shane King MP and The Lions Club Kallangur branch we have kicked off our Student Welfare Account for the year with donations from both! We have also had offers of financial assistance from members of our community – this kindness is so very much appreciated! If you would like to make a donation to the Student Welfare Account, we will be able to use this money to support families identified as currently suffering financial hardship.

Family Accounts

I encourage all Yr5 and Yr6 parents and carers to take advantage of our new prepayment service. I have previously emailed to offer the opportunity to commence payment plans for 2023 camps. We can accept prepayments for any amount, for any reason to sit as credit on your family account, so that when camps, excursions or music fees are invoiced, we can apply your credit balance and let families know how much, if anything, is left to pay. We can also help with payment plans. Parents/Carers can opt to set up a regular direct debit, use Centrepay or make random payments of any amount at any time that suits. Contact Lucy Kilby or myself, care of the school office for further information.

Please feel free to contact me at BSM@kurwongbahss.eq.edu.au should you require further information.

Kind regards
Karen Grant-Freeman
Business Manager

Casual Cleaners Wanted

Kurwongbah State School would like to invite interested parties to apply for casual cleaning roles at the school. Split shifts of 3-4 hours duration commencing 5am and/or 3.00pm Monday to Friday is regularly available.

A knowledge of school cleaning would be an advantage but not essential. Applicants would be required to hold a current Working with Children Blue Card and submit to a Criminal History Check before commencement. The school will help with processing these.

Please email or drop your resume outlining your working experience or direct any queries to Karen Grant-Freeman bsm@kurwongbahss.eq.edu.au or via the school office.

Eco-Marines News

Congratulations to Mia, Jasmine, Bethany and Aster for being elected Kurwongbah State School EcoMarine Ambassadors. I would also like to acknowledge the other 30 students who nominated for the role and spoke so confidently in front of their peers. I encourage those students who missed out on the role to join the EcoMarines support crew and assist with implementing positive environmental practices at the school this year.

The first event the EcoMarines are promoting this year is a ‘Clean-up Australia Day’ at Kurwongbah State School this Friday 3 March. On parade students have been educated by the EcoMarines on the importance of not littering and they have encouraged students to volunteer one playtime to assist with cleaning their area of the school. The school has been sent gloves and rubbish bags to assist with the clean-up. Please encourage your child to join this event.

For those who are interested ‘Clean-up Australia Day’ is on Sunday 5 March and events have been planned for within the Moreton Bay Council region.

Kurwongbah Kids Playgroup

Inclusion News

‘Don’t get angry!’. I’ve heard it before, I may have said it before, and I definitely know my Mum said it to me.

Why not get angry? Sometimes, things make us angry. It is one of the gametes of emotions that make our lives rich. Anger, along with happiness, joy, excitement, frustration, anxiety, sadness, and love are all naturally occurring, body responsive, natural reactions to what happens to us as we travel through life, navigating events, occurrences and relationships. Please show me a marriage that hasn’t experienced some frustration or anger or show me a parent/child relationship that hasn’t had some anxiety or anger.

I think what we mean when we say ‘don’t get angry’ is really, ‘stay in control of your anger’. From the moment we are born, we are dependent, as adults we then model how to regulate our emotions for the young people in our lives. From here, our children learn to co-regulate with significant others in their lives, until they are confident enough and feel safe enough to regulate on our own.

I think in the space of emotions, we should be positive models of control and consideration because children are learning from us, whether we are teaching them or not - they are watching. In relation emotional literacy, I feel we should be labelling our emotions (this is anger, this is frustration, this is annoyed, this is happy, this is joy, this is excitement), linking it to the size of the emotional and talking through how we control it.

I remember a light bulb moment, when I was working in a special behaviour unit. When the group had earnt a reward, on the day of an excursion, when we were about to play a fun game or do a highly engaging activity – our students would lose control and blow it, big time. In relation tour body signs, excitement and anger show up the same way – we have high energy, high heart rate, high breathing rate, tight and tense muscles and lots of movement. This is hard to control when you are a little person.

As adults, let’s lower the stakes, add in perspective, normalise all emotions, model and teach children to regulate and control to the best of their abilities as young people. A great example is NAPLAN, which is coming up for our Year 3s and 5s. It is not going to determine a child’s future or a school’s value. It is around 120 minutes of having a go and doing your best, and then it’s over with. Nobody can do more than their own best. Let’s keep the stakes low!

Cameron Brown
Head of Special Education Services

Guidance Officer (GO) Greetings

Greetings Kurwongbah families!

The following information is from the Australian Government’s eSafety Commissioner website below. This is a useful resource to help you and your child navigate any online issues.

Cyberbullying is when someone uses the internet to be mean to a child or young person so they feel bad or upset. It can happen on a social media site, game, app, or any other online or electronic service or platform. It can include posts, comments, texts, messages, chats, livestreams, memes, images, videos and emails.

These are some examples of ways the internet can be used to make someone feel bad or upset:

• Sending hurtful messages about them.
• Sharing embarrassing photos or videos of them.
• Spreading nasty online gossip about them.
• Leaving them out online.
• Creating fake accounts in their name.
• Tricking them into believing you are someone else.

Sadly, cyberbullying happens a lot in Australia and around the world. eSafety helps prevent and deal with cyberbullying and its impacts by providing information and resources, and by investigating and helping to fix the most serious cases of cyberbullying.

eSafety’s advice to children experiencing cyberbullying is:

• Get help from a trusted adult — or call  Kids Helpline .
• Get help from the police if you are in immediate serious danger.
• Try not to say anything back — it could make things worse. 
• Keep evidence — an adult can help take screenshots or keep a journal in case you need evidence to report it.
• Block or report them — most games and apps have a way to block or report someone. See  The eSafety Guide  for links.
• Report to eSafety — you can  report cyberbullying and get help to remove bullying content and support.

Olivia Devereux
Guidance Officer

STEM & Enrichment Education News

Makerspace Lunchtime Timetable

Design Technology

Year 5 students are creating a service for an edible plant as part of their Design Technology unit and assessment. Students will need to bring in a container or repurpose an item that will support their plant that they are growing in the school’s sustainable garden. Items can be brought to the Makerspace for collection. Milk containers, tubs, tins and plastic bottles are just a few ideas for this project.

Solid Pathways

Solid Pathways – STEM is an innovative program specifically designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Years 4 – 6. Students develop as problems solvers, critical and creative thinkers and harness a passion for change and innovation.

Solid Pathways uses the stimulating and interactive real time online learning platform (iSee) to deliver the program and enable students to collaborate with other students.

Year 4 students will be Project Sustainability students and will engage in an inquiry to explore how and why sustainability and environmental protection are important global topics. Year 5 students will be investigating the story behind data. Students will describe and interpret data and evaluate misleading data by drawing inferences to identify the purpose behind representing the data. Year 6 will look at the science behind Indigenous cultural burning and its impact on land, animals and people. They will study the science of fire, investigate and review how fire management practices have changed since colonisation.

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

P&C News

Community minded and giving parents needed.

Do you enjoy setting and achieving goals, giving to others, and working as part of a team to improve your child’s school experience? Then a role on the P&C is perfect for you.

Our P&C has a number of current members who have children either in the last year of Primary, or whose children have all graduated. To ensure the P&C continues to be operational, new parents are needed to fulfil the roles being vacated.

The Kurwongbah P&C will be holding the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 8th March at 6:30pm. At this meeting, all of the roles within the Executive team and Fundraising Subcommittee will be open for election.

The most important roles to fill are those of the Executive team - President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.

This year, the President Mel Crowhurst will be stepping down from her role after seven years on the P&C as her children are now in High School. This is a wonderful opportunity for a new parent to step in and guide the P&C on its next journey.

If you would like to learn more, or ask any questions about what this role is, please contact Mel via email president@ksspca.qld.edu.au.

Nomination Forms can be found online or within the Kurwongbah State School office.

2023 Membership

Parents are encouraged to become members of our P&C by filling in the form attached and returning to the office. The P&C is ready to hit the ground running and look forward to a productive and rewarding year and this will only be achieved if our incredible community band together!

Fundraising News

Pancake Day

Thank you to the P&C members, staff and student leaders, for the epic pancake morning last Tuesday. P&C members stayed through to first break to make sure all students were able to access pancakes.

A special thank you also to our parents and students for your patience during the long line up. The wait was worth it, the pancakes were delicious!!

We would also like to extend our gratitude towards, State Member Shane King, Coles Murrumba Downs and Coffee Royal Mobile Coffee Van for their generous donations.

Easter Raffle

Tuckshop News

When ordering on QKR, please make sure your child’s class for 2023 is updated. This ensures your child’s tuckshop will be in the appropriate place at break time.

Our meal deals this term are:

• Liv’s Hot Diggity Dog Meal $7.20
  Hot Dog, Pikletes and Drink
• Emerson’s Flavourful Feast $6.00
  Fried Rice, Blueberry Muffin and Quelch Stick
• Billie’s Bites Meal $8.00
  Hotdog, Moosie and Drink
• Rogue’s Pizza Hut Meal
  Cheese Pizza, Garlic Bread and Drink
• Chappy’s Party Pack $8.50
  Beef Pie, Chocolate Mousse and Drink
• Yahirah’s Magnificent Mac and Chases $8.30
  Mac and Cheese, Moosie and Drink
• Hayden’s Nugget Meal $9.70
  6 Nuggets, Honey Soy Chips and Drink

All meals come with a popper however this can be upgraded to a flavoured milk for an additional $0.55. Sauce can also be added for an additional $0.40.

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

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.

Don’t forget to wash your Kooringa shirts with light colour and to wash the Jade polos and other house shirts inside out. This will help retain the colour.

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.

Second-hand Uniforms

If you have uniforms that you no longer require, please bring them into the Uniform Shop. We urgently need all sizes.

You can either sell them through the shop or donate them. If you can’t get into the Uniform Shop to drop off your second hand uniforms you can leave them at the Office with Uniform Shop written on the bag.

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

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

Encircle – Cultural Workshops

Rivers Baptist Soccer – Sign Up

Chess Mates 2023

GKR Karate