2024, T3Wk8, Kilcoy State School Newsletter
01.09.2024
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
It was really exciting to finally see our Colour Fun Run go off with such a splash of colour! It was glorious to hear the squeals of excitement and laughter in the air. I was so happy to see many parents in attendance and was also proud of how our upper school students willingly helped clean up afterwards. They are developing wonderful character traits which are attributed to great examples at home and at school, but also to their personal commitment to being good people.
As a special thank you - students who raised more than $10 in the Colour Fun Run fundraiser will be provided with a free cheeseburger, supplied by the P&C, on Tuesday 3-9-24 at first break. We thank Kilcoy Global Foods, CJs Kilcoy Bakery and our Kilcoy State School P&C for their contributions.
Thank you also to our fabulous staff for joining in on the fun - more delightfully messy Colour Fun Run photos of our students will be shared in the next newsletter but please enjoy this preview of the final moments for now...
I will be accessing long service leave for the next two weeks and in this time, Mr Brad Tavelardis will be acting as Kilcoy State School Principal. On Thursday, Mr Tavelardis came in to meet the children and staff and was very impressed with our school as a whole. Mr Tavelardis has a wealth of knowledge of Education Queensland schools, working in many roles including inclusion and support, and a variety of high school and primary school roles most recently as Deputy Principal at Jinibara State School and also as Acting Principal at Peachester State School. Please make him welcome in our lovely school. I will return after the holidays for the start of Term 4.
In the next two weeks, an invitation to book in for our Term 4, Week 1 (2-10-24) offering of Parent/Carer and Teacher interviews will be sent to your registered email. Please keep an eye out for this email. This is a great opportunity to meet with your child's teacher and find out more about how to help your child progress, before the next reporting period closes.
Upcoming Events:
- Prep Bunyip Hunt - Tuesday 10-9-24
- Valley Champs Netball and NRL -Wednesday 11-9-24
- P-2 Fire Education visit - Friday 13-9-24
Book Week Staff Photo: The wonderful people below demonstrate each and every day their genuine commitment to your child's education and their wellbeing. I wanted to share this picture with you, as an example of highly trained staff who recognise that school-life is a situation where you lead by example in all ways. I love their dedication to learning, fun and making school a fun place to be.
-Mrs Nash
Next Newsletter: Immediately prior to Term 4.
Spotlight on Attendance
Our whole school current attendance rate is 90.01%
All year levels who increased their attendance rate are shown in green. Great work!
Prep: 90.84%
Year 1: 88.73%
Year 2: 90.64%
Year 3: 90.49%
Year 4: 88.67%
Year 5: 90.37%
Year 6: 90.37%
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
Success requires hard work and discipline. Learning to read isn't a skill that is acquired overnight. As a child, I remember bringing home books to read. I didn't learn to read overnight. I also didn't learn my times tables overnight. I practised every night until I knew my times tables fluently. Aristotle's quote is certainly on pointe. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit. Have you ever looked at a really fit person and wondered how they can be that fit? That doesn't just happen. It is regular hard work every day - regular sit ups, regular push ups. To play a musical instrument well requires daily practice. These are all examples of repeated daily habits, which lead to an individual being successful.
At the end of the term, we see the fruition of the hard work. The daily habits of Active Learning in the classroom are paying off. The prep students are writing amazing sentences about rhyming words. The year 1 and 2 students have been learning how to present their retells and this practice in the classroom is paying off. Have no fear! The daily writing in 3/4 has supported them in writing their narratives about overcoming a fear, while the 5/6 students have learned how to insert hyperlinks and audio in a PowerPoint to present their narrative based on a poem. Not only are we seeing the culmination of this term's work, we are seeing the culmination of this year's work. The growth in many of our student work is pleasing and it is because they have good habits at Kilcoy State School.
-Mrs Webster
Book Week
Please enjoy our gallery of photos from our recent Book Week event!
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.
P&C News
Hello Families,
Big thank you to all that came to support our 2024 Father's Day Stall. We unfortunately sold out of nearly everything and were unable to open any other time other than the class visits. We do apologise for this, but this has never happened before, so we were happy that the students enjoyed the products we chose to tell.
Our colour run finally happened on Thursday 29th and it was a great afternoon had by all. If you haven't seen our Facebook post yet, THANK YOU to each and every one of you that made this day happen. Without the help and support from you all, events like this cannot go ahead.
As we move into term 4, we as a committee start thinking about 2025 and the goals we want to achieve and how we want to support the students. This also means that our executive positions become available to be applied for. Our AGM is in February/March, and this is where we welcome our new executives. If is this something you think you'd be interested in applying for - President, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer - We invite you to attend our meetings in Term 4 so you can see the roles each of these positions does. If an executive position doesn't catch your eye, please consider becoming a member. Parent support is needed when we hold events, fundraisers or support the school with their events and if we don't have the support or manpower, these events just can't happen.
Our next P&C Meeting is this week, on Wed 4/9 at 4.00pm in the Resource Centre (Library). We hope to see you there.
- KSS P&C Committee
Sports News
Congratulations to Quinton and Stevie! You have made us proud! Stevie competed in the 10 years Girls 1500m and 800m and came 7th and 8th respectively. 
Quinton competed in the 10 years Boys Multiclass 100m, 200m, 800m, Long Jump, Discus and Shotput. He will compete in State Championships - Congratulations Quinton!
Inclusion Support
The Wellbeing Room, located in the resource centre, is a safe and welcoming space where students can go if they need time to calm down, regain their composure or to feel supported during challenging moments.
How does the space work for our students?
- Quiet place: It’s a quiet space with calming activities and resources designed to help students relax and refocus in times of need.
- Support staff: At times a student might need a bit of extra help to manage their emotions. Support staff are able to assist students in the Wellbeing Room by utilising co-regulation techniques to help them get back on track.
- Re-entry Once the student is feeling more settled, they can return to their classroom ready to continue their learning.
Why it matters? The Wellbeing Room is important in creating a supportive and inclusive environment at Kilcoy State School. By providing a space where students can take a break and calm down, we’re helping them build important skills for managing their emotions and coping with stress.
- Mrs Harriet McVeigh.
Literacy, Numeracy and EAL/D Support
Celebrating Book Week with "The Walk of the Whales"
In week seven, our school was buzzing with excitement as we celebrated Book Week! This special event is always a highlight of the year, and this time was no exception. As part of the celebrations, we included a Book Walk which featured the wonderful book “The Walk of the Whales” by Nick Bland. Book Walks are an enjoyable way to emphasise the importance of reading and to create lasting positive memories associated with books and learning.
“The Walk of the Whales” tells the story of a group of whales who, tired of the pollution in the ocean, decide to take a stroll on land. Through their adventure, the book delivers a powerful message about the importance of protecting our environment, and it captivated our students with its vibrant illustrations and engaging narrative.
On the walk, students collaboratively explored the narrative, reading the text and talking about each page. They also took their clip boards and interacted with the story by answering questions about what they saw, read, understood and inferred from the narrative. The story not only encouraged a love for books but also sparked important conversations about caring for our planet, just like the whales in Nick Bland's story.
Kind regards, Mrs Karen Burton. Literacy, Numeracy and EAL/D Support
Community News
Qld Oztag Visits
Getting tagged and loving it! Kilcoy Oztag is looking to kick off a Brand new Oztag venue in just a few weeks' time! Not sure what oztag is? Get in touch with us now to find out more about our upcoming Come N Try session as well as our Junior Season that kicks off on Tuesday 10th September! Can’t wait to see everyone down at our local Kilcoy venue.
Email: kilcoy@oztag.com
Facebook: Kilcoy Oztag”
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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