School Newsletter 2023, Term 1, Week 8
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
As we approach the last two weeks of school, our students are busy working on assessment tasks that indicate their level of understanding of the content learnt so far. This is an exciting time for teachers to monitor their progress and work with students to identify their next steps in learning. This will also provide valuable information to share and discuss with you at the upcoming parent/carer and teacher conference in T2, Wk1. More information is supplied about this below.
The Kilcoy State School P&C AGM was held on the 15th of March in the Resource Centre. It was really lovely to see the 2023 Executive Team initiated into action! We are pleased to welcome the following parents who have taken on these roles in support of our school.
- President: Mrs DJ Whitley
- C0-Vice President: Mrs Katie Buckley
- Co-Vice President: Mrs Amy Wreford
- Treasurer: Mrs Ma Theresa Sabandal
- Secretary: Mrs Jess Kranenburg
At this meeting, our current Fundraising Coordinator Mrs Jo Jeppesen has let us know she is stepping down from her official role after many years of helping. We are incredibly thankful to Mrs Jeppesen for her ongoing contributions to our school. From Fluro Discos to Christmas Carnivals and Slime Runs, Mrs Jeppesen has led the way in fundraising at our school. Thank you to Jo!
NAPLAN: This week, NAPLAN testing commenced for Year 3/5/7/9 students. The test sessions (two this week, two in Wk9) are short at approx 45mins, and are designed to meet the needs of each child tested, becoming easier if they get questions incorrect, or more complex if the student continually gets them correct. This means the test is differentiated for each child, depending on their response accuracy. We will be there to support all children and will provide testing adjustments to reflect the differentiation they receive in class normally (e.g. additional breaks, extra time etc).
Date Claimer: Parent/Teacher Meetings: On Wednesday 19th April from 3.15pm - 5.30pm in the hall, teachers are offering parents/carers an opportunity to meet with them to share student progress updates and identify any concerns about your child. You will be provided with a link to book your 10 minute timeslot, in the last week of school. The system has flexibility for bookings to be made to coordinate across multiple classes. During these short meetings, parents/carers will have an opportunity to collaborate on another date, if more time is needed.
Annual Improvement Plan: This fortnight, our staff have been working closely with our regional Principal Advisors for PBL, Autism and EAL/D students to build staff capacity to meet some of the more complex needs of our community. We're very excited to add their expertise to our own and look forward to continued learning in this space. I am very proud to be the principal of a school where the staff are so invested in making sure they are using the most up-to-date knowledge and skills. This commitment to our learners is the cornerstone of what makes our school a great place to learn. Thank you also to the parents who are collaborating with us to ensure that their children are set up for success. We value our relationships with you and appreciate the team approach.
Attendance: Our current attendance rate is 91.5% 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 93.86% This is also an improvement for Year 5, nice work!
Community engagement & collaboration: It was great to meet with a group of our Filipino parents on Friday evening last week, to make plans for some exciting upcoming cultural events. Thank you to those who gave up part of their Friday evening to make it happen! Working together like this is part of how we make our school a place that everyone feels welcome and included.
Hot Tip: Did you know you can use the drop down menu at the top to translate this newsletter into many different languages?
Kind Regards, Mrs Nash, Principal.
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)
We are collecting input from our community to develop our schoolwide behaviour expectations. Please select from the options below to identify the school expectations that you value the most.
Poll is closed
-The Kilcoy State School PBL Team
Harmony Day - Thursday 23-3-23
This year, we will celebrate Harmony Day on Thursday 23-3-23. We will move our regular parade day from Tuesday to Thursday and follow this with a celebration meal of food from different countries. Australia is one of the world's most successful multicultural countries and our cultural diversity is at the heart of who we are.
We invite families to send a small amount of food from an identifiable country for the children to share and learn about. If your child has dietary restraints and you would prefer your child not eat the food, please let your child's teacher know.
We also invite students to wear Orange clothing on Thursday.
Students have been busy creating works of art that represent their class commitment to Harmony. You can see these art pieces and hear about them at our special Harmony Day parade on Thursday 23-3-23 at 9am.
Mrs Smith: Sports News
P&C Fundraising
Dear Parents and Carers
While we are super excited for the upcoming Slime Run, on the last day of school, we need to take a few important steps to end on a good note.
On the last day of school, it will be a free dress day - please wear old clothes that can get very messy! If your child catches a bus home, you MUST send another set of clothes for your child to get changed into before getting on the bus.
Every day, the lovely people at Christensen's Bus and Coach company provide us with clean safe transport in their buses and we must do our part to keep them that way. If you'd prefer, parents are welcome to attend and view the Slime Run, providing their own transport home.
Fundraising hints: If you haven't set up a profile online yet, please do so quickly so you can start raising money.
Thank you so much for supporting our school to be the best it can be, especially through fundraising. The Slime Spectacular School Fun Run will be on Friday 31st March.
-The P&C Fundraising Team
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
Newsletter Sponsors
