2024, T3Wk4, Kilcoy State School Newsletter
04.08.2024
Acknowledgment of Country
This newsletter comes to you from Jinibara Land. In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples today. We are thankful to be able to work, learn and play on Jinibara land.
KSS Vision & Values
"We believe that all members of the Kilcoy State School community have the right to work, learn and play in a safe and inclusive environment."
Our STAR values are:
SAFETY - Taking Responsibility - Active Learning - Respect
Principal's welcome
Dear Parents and Carers
I am so proud of our students and the personal growth in their social and emotional learning! With our dedicated focus on developing Positive Behaviours for Learning, Kilcoy State School Students have shown me this week what tremendously resilient people they are. With the unexpected cancellation of the Fun Run, not only did our students manage the disappointment well, but they were able to easily develop a positive outlook. We look forward to confirming and sharing a new Fun Run date early next week.
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On Wednesday 7/8/24, Kilcoy State School will go 'Yellow'. We ask all students to come dressed in yellow to help raise awareness for our focus on being Active learners!
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Safety Alert #1: Please ensure that you do not drive your car into the dedicated bus zone (on the Hope Street side of the school) to collect your children. For the safety of our students, cars should not enter this area. Please use the Stop, Drop and Go (staying in your car) on Royston Street, or park and walk in to collect your children. Thank you for helping to keep our students safe.
Safety Alert #2: to increase their safety, all Prep students are released to a nominated responsible person, directly from the classroom door each afternoon. They are not allowed to leave on their own. If you are the responsible person collecting them, please park on the street (not in the Stop, Drop & Go) and walk in to collect.
Our next P&C Meeting is this week, on Wed 7/8 at 4.15pm in the Resource Centre (Library). We will be discussing the progress we have made in 2024, formalising the Uniform Policy and Asking for feedback and recommendations about our '2025 and beyond' school focus areas.
The P&C represents your voice in the direction and support of our school and we urgently need more parents to participate. You are welcome to bring your children as we have a space for them to play in while we meet.
Notes and Reminders:
- Year 6 Elected Leaders 'Leadership Workshop' on Monday 5/8 has been postponed due to presenter injury.
- Speed Soccer is on! Yr4-6 students who self-selected and purchased a ticket will play on Thursday 8/8.
- Monday 12/8/24 is a Public Holiday for all staff and students.
- Week 6 sees the National Week of Action against Bullying commence!
- Science Week, and our Kilcoy State School Science Expo, commences on the 12/8
- You are invited to attend our next Parade in the school hall on Thursday 15th August at 2.20pm
- Book Week commences on the 19th of August
- The Book Week Character Parade is on Thursday 22nd August - get your costumes ready!
The suite of School Opinion Surveys is undertaken each year by the Department of Education to obtain opinions about our school from families, school staff and students in target year levels (5, 6, 8 and 11). The surveys help identify what we are doing well and help us understand where we can improve.
The survey invitation was emailed in the week beginning 15 July and is titled 'School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2024'.
Each school family will receive one email invitation from the Department of Education to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey. The survey is anonymous, and the results are not reported in ways that an individual’s response can be identified by the school.
Parents/Caregivers are encouraged to complete the survey. The survey can be completed via computers, tablets or smart phones with an internet connection. For Parents/Caregivers who do not have access to the internet school computers/tablets will be available. Parents/caregivers who experience difficulties accessing the survey can request a new survey from the School Opinion Survey team via email schoolopinionsurvey@qed.qld.gov.au
Can’t find your invitation? If your family has more than one parent/caregiver, check that they haven’t received the invitation and/or check your junk email folder.
-Mrs Nash.
Spotlight on Attendance
Our whole school current attendance rate is 90.17%
Prep: 90.40%
Year 1: 88.96%
Year 2: 90.78%
Year 3: 91.29% <- Congratulations to Year 3!
Year 4: 88.85%
Year 5: 90.26%
Year 6: 90.69%
If your child will be absent, please make sure you call the absence line on (07) 5422 3366 to let us know why they are away so that it can be recorded accurately.
Our goal is for every child to be in attendance, every day.
Deputy Principal: Mrs Webster
Being Brave - a performance by Brainstorm Productions
Have you ever had a significant event happen to you and haven't been able to go to work? This is highly likely. When we are emotionally depleted, we don't function at our best. Children are very vulnerable to this and rely heavily on adult support. Students come to school to learn, but students need more than just curriculum. Kilcoy State School supports students to be resilient and independent learners. Thank you to the parents who paid for their children to attend the 'Being Brave' performance. Students in years 3 - 6, who attended this performance, were provided with a variety of scenarios which they may encounter and then solutions on how to cope with these scenarios. The performers spoke to the students about reporting to the eSafety commissioner if they had no other options. The eSafety Commissioner is also a great place to start for parents who need information about online safety for your children. Do you know if your children are messaging other people online? Have you discussed with them who they can and cannot message? Use the link below to find out more information and enjoy the photos from the performance. eSafety also has information in a variety of languages. I have included the Tagalog translation.
Curriculum - Year 1/2
Year 1 and 2 students are focussing on picture books and stories from different cultures. They will write and present a retell of their favourite story to their peers at the end of the term. It was a pleasure to view the progress of their work so far. The year 1 students were excited to tell me about their vivid vocabulary and vivid sentences.
-Mrs Webster
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)
Our Term 3 focus is: Active Learning
Active learners are characterised by their engagement and willingness to take responsibility for their own learning. They actively participate in the learning process and think critically about the material they are studying. Active learning also involves higher-order processing and critical thinking skills, which help students expand their knowledge and develop cognitive and social-emotional skills.
Active learners are curious and have the ability to identify gaps in their knowledge, actively seeking out missing information. They are also inclined to explore and ask questions, demonstrating a desire to learn and improve their understanding.
Active learners are motivated, engaged, and take an active role in their own learning process, leading to a deeper understanding of the subject matter.
In the third column below, you can see what our school-wide positive behaviour expectations are for students, in order for them to be Active Learners.
Sports News
Inclusion Support
As a life-long learner, I have made it my goal this year to explore how we can better use assistive technology in our classrooms to support all students. At the end of Term 2, I had the opportunity to meet with Mr Jeff Souter, the Education Queensland Assistive Technology 'Guru'. Jeff shared many valuable insights that will help us deliver what we are working towards:
- Individualised use: Every student is unique and it’s important to tailor the use of assistive technology to fit their specific needs. I have started assessing and working with specialists to determine the most appropriate tools for the children that may utilise assistive devices.
- Ensuring that both students and teachers are well-trained in using assistive technology. Part of my role is to develop the skills needed to provide training sessions to both teachers and students with ongoing support to ensure these tools are effectively integrated into our classrooms.
- Encouraging all students to embrace and support the use of assistive technology. By promoting understanding and acceptance, we can help reduce any stigma associated with using these tools.
If you have any questions or would like more information on how assistive technology can support your child’s learning, please feel free to contact our Inclusion Support Team.
- Mrs Harriet McVeigh.
Literacy, Numeracy and EAL/D Support
Year 5/6 A and Prep 1 students team up on Monday afternoons to share their love of reading. Reading together provides a unique reciprocal advantage for both older and younger students at our school. When older students read with younger ones, they reinforce their own literacy skills and deepen their comprehension through teaching. Simultaneously, younger students benefit from individualized attention and gain a role model to inspire their love for reading. This mutual learning experience fosters confidence, strengthens relationships, and promotes a positive, inclusive school culture.
A big thank you to year 5/ 6 A teacher Mrs Vella and Prep 1 teacher Mrs Pendergast for encouraging this cross-age reading partnership. The students really look forward to meeting up with their buddies every Monday as you can see in the photos below.
Kind regards, Mrs Karen Burton. Literacy, Numeracy and EAL/D Support
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If you have any suggestions for content, please forward them to admin@kilcoyss.eq.edu.au
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