School Newsletter 2023, Term 1, Week 6
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.
Principal's News: Belinda Nash
Dear Parents and Carers
The Kilcoy State School P&C AGM will be held on the 15th of March at 5pm in the school Resource Centre near the hall. We encourage all parents, carers and community to attend. Every year, all P&C Executive positions must be voted on. If you are interested in joining the P&C or obtaining a position as President, Vice-President, Secretary or Treasurer, please feel free to offer your assistance. Membership renewals will be accepted at the AGM as well, but you do not need to be present to renew your membership. More information and forms are available in the P&C section below.
There are some very important safety messages below. Please take time to read them carefully. In addition to this, disappointingly, our school has experienced a break in each weekend for the past three weekends. Please keep an eye out and if you see anything unusual, please report it to the police. You can call School Watch on: 13 17 88.
If you see a crime in progress, call Triple Zero (000).
Arrival times: Please make sure your children are not arriving at school too early. Students are not allowed to be onsite before 8.15am unless they are attending Instrumental Music Band practice or atttending a staffed event. Parents needing to start work prior to this time must enrol their children in a Before-School-Care program to ensure they are safely monitored.
Importantly - If your child has trouble sitting still for longer periods of time, please support them by ensuring they don't arrive at school until after 8.40am. From 8.15am, children are required to sit in the hall in their class lines. They are welcome to read a book or talk quietly. This is an important time to be relaxed and calm so that they can enter the school day ready to learn.
If your child requires significant movement activities early in the morning, please complete these at home. Some children genuinely struggle to sit still for this amount of time and unfortunately, as staff do not commence work in the hall prior to 8.15am, there is no alternative activity available.
Important Safety Messages: Using the Stop, Drop and Go
Parents and Carers - Please ensure that you are familiar with the following rules related to using the Stop, Drop and Go area. This area is an important method used to drop off children safely and pick them up quickly and carefully. Currently, our staff are needing to monitor the use of this area quite a lot have recognised the need to remind everyone of the following rules during drop off and pick up times.
- You must not leave your car unattended in this zone. If you need to walk in to the school for any reason, please park away from the Stop, Drop and Go zone.
- Please queue along Royston Street and wait patiently.
- Have your child enter the car from the footpath side. If that is not possible, you must exit the car to safely assist them.
- To keep the pickup line moving smoothly, if your child is not ready and waiting for you in the gated area, you must continue driving through the Stop, Drop & Go zone, do a loop of the block and rejoin the queue.
- Children will be released from the waiting area to walk up to the first three cars in line only. Please do not ask them to run up the hill, it is dangerous and they are not allowed.
- If you need to collect from an area outside the Stop, Drop and Go zone, please make alternative arrangements with your child. Many parents pick up from across the oval for this reason.
Annual Improvement Plan: This week, working in year levels offline, our teachers engaged in the Collaborative Assessment of Student Work (CASW). They presented student samples of work, identified the progress and the next steps for each student, working as a team. This collegial engagement is vital to the ongoing professional learning of all staff and is celebrated for its impact on developing robust student achievement. We are very lucky to have such a talented team of staff committed to achieving excellence and equity for every child at our school.
Attendance: Our current attendance rate is 92% however our goal is 95%.
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.
*This week, Year 5 students have the best attendance rate at 93.81%
Every day counts in Prep because going to
Prep every day …
• will make sure your child gets the most out of their important first year of school
• will make your child’s transition into Year 1 easier
• improves your child’s reading, writing and maths
• builds a positive approach to learning
• strengthens your child’s independence and confidence
Community engagement & collaboration: On Friday 10th March at 5pm, we will hold our Term 1 Filipino Parents Meeting in the Resource Centre at 5pm. This is a great opportunity to engage with the school with the support of our amazing bilingual teacher aides - Mrs Sheila Maratas and Mrs Glezel Ladroma. Local employer Kilcoy Global Foods provides our school with two days of bilingual TA support to help our students for whom English is an Additional Language, engage with their schooling in Standard Australian English. This is a difficult task and we are appreciative of the support offered.
2023 NAPLAN changes
From this year, parents and carers will get earlier, simpler and clearer information about their child’s NAPLAN achievement based on new, more rigorous national standards. Education ministers have agreed to change the way NAPLAN results are reported to parents and carers, now that all students are taking the tests online, and with the move to an earlier NAPLAN in March.
New proficiency standards with 4 levels of achievement for each year level will replace the
previous 10-band structure that covered all 4 levels tested and the old national minimum standard
set in 2008 when tests were on paper. The new proficiency standards include a baseline benchmark
to identify students who are likely to need additional support.
You can read more about these changes in the attached media release, and FAQs. If you have any concerns at all, please call the office to make a time to meet with me to discuss and plan for your child.
-Mrs Nash
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)
The focus for our next two weeks of learning will be on Reducing disruptive behaviour in class
Students should be able to commit to the following statements:
- I listen to teacher instructions
- I do my work
- I try my best at all times
We all make mistakes. When we do the wrong thing in class our teacher will give us a rule reminder. If you keep doing the wrong thing it interrupts the lesson or activity and your classmates may miss out on their learning. This is disruptive behaviour but we can change the way we act to help ourselves and others.
We ask that Parents assist us by discussing these statements with your children, and let them know that these expectations are needed to help our school function well. When children see and hear that their own parents give the same messages as school, they are more committed to positive action when at school.
-The Kilcoy State School PBL Team
Spotlight on Learning - with 5A and Mrs Bassingthwaighte
CYCLONE IN A BOTTLE
5A investigated how cyclones are formed using a model
We -
• Explored the rotational direction of a tropical cyclone.
• Modelled the formation of a tropical cyclone.
• Predicted the outcomes of the model.
• Identified potential safety risks associated with the activity.
• Used equipment to model the formation of a tropical cyclone.
• Drew an annotated diagram showing the vortex and direction the water spins in the model.
• Compared observations made while modelling with predictions
5A Science
Mrs Smith: District Swimming
P& C
Dear Parents and Carers
PUBLIC NOTICE OF AGM
The Kilcoy State School Parents & Citizens Association will hold this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at 5pm, Wednesday 15th March 2023 in the Kilcoy State School Library. All staff, parents and citizens of the Kilcoy community are invited to attend.
Kilcoy SS P&C’s focus is to support the school, staff and students by providing funding for enhanced services, resources and improvements to the facilities of the school.
At the AGM, there will be:
- A call for membership for this year*
- The adoption of the updated 2023 Model P&C Constitution
- The endorsement of the 2022 Auditor’s Report
- The endorsement of the 2023 Student Protection Risk Management Strategy
- The adoption of the 2023 Strategic Plan and Budget, and
Nominations and election of the 2023 Executive Committee, positions vacant include:
- President
- Vice President
- Treasurer
- Secretary
Other potential positions, to be discussed and decided at the AGM, may include:
- Grants Officer
- Fundraising/Events Coordinator
- Communications Officer
- Sponsorship Officer
There is no expectation that everyone who attends the AGM will then join as a member. If you are interested in observing what happens at a P&C meeting, please come along.
If you are unable to attend the meeting but still want to become a member or nominate for an executive position, please fill out a membership/Nomination form, which is available at the school office or below and return to either the school office or by email to PandC@kilcoyss.eq.edu.au, by the 14th of March 2023
A description of each Executive position is provided below.
Refreshments will be provided.
*ALL members will need to redo a membership form.
Kind regards,
Dahinda Whitley, P&C President.
P&C Executive Role Descriptions
P&C Fundraising
Dear Parents and Carers
We are excited for the upcoming Slime Run, on the last day of school. If you haven't set up a profile online yet, please do so quickly so you can start raising money. Congratulations to Prep B for being the class who raised the most money this week, winning them a ZOOPER DOOPER Party!
Thank you so much for supporting our school to be the best it can be, especially through fundraising. This term we are excited to announce that we are fundraising for upgrades to our tuckshop equipment with a Slime Spectacular School Fun Run with Australian Fundraising!
The Slime Spectacular School Fun Run will be on Friday 31st March in the last session of the day.
- Students will be given free sunglasses and a rainbow headband for the event.
- Students will be covered in non-toxic water-based slime from head to toe!
- Safety data sheet is available upon request for the Slime.
How Do We Fundraise?
Fundraising for our Slime Spectacular School Fun Run is entirely online. Follow the instructions in your child’s sponsorship booklet to create a cybersafe, online profile page at www.australianfundraising.com.au. At the end of our fundraiser students can order up to a total of 5 prizes based on their donations received. They can even mix and match!
Please note: all cash donations must be converted to online donations before Friday 31st March. The school or P & C cannot accept any cash donations for this fundraiser.
The P & C will be holding a class Zooper Dooper party each week leading up to the event for the class who raises the most sponsorship for that week! And even more exciting is the major class prize for the most funds raised over the entire fundraising period. The highest achieving class will be treated to a VIP tent on the day of the Fun Run. This will include treats and the opportunity to run the course first, as well as the super exciting chance to slime one of our teachers!
Extra Incentives to Fundraise!
- Online Golden Coins – complete fun online tasks to redeem an extra $75 towards your prize credit.
- Monty the Monstar’s Bonus Prizes – achieve milestones to unlock Monty’s bonus prizes.
- $10,000 JB HI FI Spending Spree for one organisation’s highest fundraising student – it could be you!
- Our school will win an extra $5,000 if we have the highest average fundraised amount per student in 2023.
- A Play Station 5 Gaming Bundle – see your child’s sponsorship booklet for more!
For further information, please contact our P & C via the Facebook page, or by leaving an enquiry at the office.
-The P&C Fundraising Team
Headlice Central
Currently, we are noticing an increase in the occurrence of headlice reports at school. Thank you to those parents who have let us know and have treated their children's hair.
The following information is provided to support parents to manage these annoying visitors! :)
Head lice are small, wingless insects that live in the hair on your head and can be challenging to eradicate. They can only survive in human hair, need to feed from the scalp several times a day and can only survive up to two days off the person's head. Though not dangerous, head lice are a
common problem for children between the ages of 3 and 11 and have nothing to do with personal hygiene or cleanliness and do not carry disease. Head lice can crawl onto your scalp when your head touches the head of someone with head lice and, although rare, they can be transferred through a hair brush or hat.
Lice eggs are called nits and are about the size of a small flake of dandruff, but cannot be easily shaken off or brushed out. Lice lay their nits on hair shafts close to the scalp and rely on the warmth of the head to hatch. Nits hatch within one to two weeks of being laid and once attached, the shell looks white or clear and stays firmly attached to the hair shaft. If lice are not treated, this process repeats itself about every 3 weeks.
Signs and Symptoms:
The first signs that your child may have head lice is a tickling feeling in the hair, frequent scalp itchiness or sores/scabs on the scalp from scratching. It is important to be aware that the itching may not be immediate and in some cases, it can take weeks before your child starts to complain.
Although very small, a single adult louse can be seen and is about the size of a sesame seed. They usually look like tan or brown dots.
Unless the infestation is heavy, it is more likely that you will see nits in your child's hair, rather than lice crawling around. A good method of checking your child's head is by parting the hair in small sections and checking for lice and nits with a fine-tooth comb close to the scalp, behind the ears, and around the nape of the neck. Good lighting and magnifying glass may help this process. If you are still unsure, and your child is constantly itching and complaining, speak to your health care provider or pharmacist.
Attached below are treatment options that are effective and affordable. From personal experience, using cheap white hair conditioner and a proper metal toothed comb is the most effective and cheap method! You can buy these from the IGA and chemist.
Headlice pictures and life cycle
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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