School Newsletter 2023, Term 2, Week 8
Acknowledgment of Country
This Staff Memo 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.
Kilcoy State School Vision & Values
Our school vision:
"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 News: Belinda Nash
Dear Parents and Carers
The holidays are fast approaching - I hope you have your family holiday planning done! :) In the next issue, we will be sure to include holiday ideas to keep little hands and minds busy. We have now commenced planning for Term 3 units and look forward to developing exciting learning experiences for our students.
While not a unit of work, one exciting learning experience coming up in Term 4 is the Year 5/6 Camp at Noosa North Shore Retreat. The $50 Camp Deposit needs to be paid by the 16-6-23 and we have opened up our school Qkr! account to make this an easier process. This non-refundable* deposit is to secure your child a space at camp and allow us to determine the accurate final price. All Year 5 and Year 6 students are encouraged to attend. Memories made at camp last a lifetime! We have had about 85 students indicate their interest which is wonderful.
Payment plans are available and we urge you to contact the office if you would like to access that option. When final numbers are determined (by deposit numbers) we will then start a waiting list for any future enrolments. If someone has paid their deposit and for some reason is unable to attend, we may be able to transfer their place to the next person on the waiting list and offer a refund when the space is paid for. To access this extra-curricular event, attendance at camp is reliant on students demonstrating safe and respectful behaviours.
How and when to access teachers: Recently, we have noticed a number of parents in the mornings seeking information face-to-face from teachers about their children. While we love to share, we need to identify the best time and place to do it, in order to respect the learning and teaching needs of all.
Our staff have a duty of care to be in the classroom, teaching their students from 8.50am. They are unable to stand outside, or at the door in teaching times. Immediately prior to this, they are guiding their class to transition smoothly to learning. This is a very important school-wide process and also not a suitable time for teachers to stop and talk to parents.
We would like to be able to give your questions the proper time and effort deserved, and request that you make an appointment through the office/or via email with the teacher, to discuss any concerns. You are welcome to write a note to pass on any important messages for that day.
You are also welcome to email teachers at any time noting that staff will respond in working hours, at their earliest opportunity. In the teaching profession, our job is never 'done', it is an ongoing process. Our staff are very generous with their time and this can make it difficult for them to feel that they have done 'enough' for the day. As a community, we must prioritise the health and wellbeing of our amazing staff and encourage them to 'switch off' when not at work. A well rested and healthy staff member will be better able to help our students succeed.
Thank you for helping us to achieve this.
Semester One, 2023, Academic and Behavioural Reporting: As this term draws to a close, teachers are busy finalising student assessment of learning. It is important that your child is in attendance every day so that your child has the best opportunity to evidence their learning. Semester One report cards will be emailed to all listed parent emails on Wednesday of Week 10. Please update your contact details if your details have changed and you haven't done so already.
Attendance: Our current attendance rate is 9o% 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.
Community engagement & collaboration: Next week, we will recognise the Philippines Independence Day on Monday 12 June from 11.30-1.30pm. Our Filipino community, including parents, high school and primary school students have been diligently practising their performances for our community. We are very lucky to have our brilliant Kilcoy State School P&C Association, Kilcoy Global Foods, CJs Kilcoy and Coff & Co Bakery all working together to provide free burgers for all children. These free burgers must be ordered through our QKr! App by midnight tonight! They will be delivered at second break to the classrooms. Please feel free to join us at attend this important cultural event. You'll see at the bottom of the flyer all the amazing local businesses who have contributed including EldonJays and the DC Asian Store.
Early Years Transition to school: This week, we held the first of a series of transition-to-school events for our 2024 Prep cohort. We held an 'Explore Prep' session on Thursday and welcomed families into our school, Prep classrooms and Prep Playground. These events will be held regularly each term, increasing as we move towards the end of the year. If you missed this event, don't worry - you are welcome at the next one and all following. The more opportunities you have to settle your child into schooling routines, the better they will be prepared for Prep.
2024 Prep Enrolments: If your child will be starting Prep in 2024, please request an enrolment pack from the office. They can also be downloaded from our school website here:
Kind regards, Mrs Nash.
Philippines Independence Day 12-6-23
Sun Safety
We are a Sun-Safe school and encourage parents to have their children apply sunscreen before school. As part of our standard school uniform requirements, all students are required to wear their school hats during outside learning and play, and on excursions. Students without school hats will be required to play in the shade, or access the Resource Centre. Your child must have their school hat every day at school every day. If school hats are lost or in poor condition, new hats can be purchased from the office for $17 each.
Deputy Principal's News: Lisa Webster
The final week of Term 2 has provided students and staff with multiple opportunities to celebrate our wonderful school community.
Curriculum Teaching and Learning - Staff have been busy writing reports, planning curriculum for Term 3 and moderating student assessment and folios of student work. The staff at Kilcoy State School are committed to ensuring all students have access to the curriculum.
Under 8s Day was held last Friday. Whilst the students were busy making craft activities, flying foam planes, sitting in emergency vehicles, viewing surf life saving equipment and getting their faces painted, the overall feeling of the day was a very calm one. Students, adults and community members were content and happy. Thank you to the P- 2 teachers and support staff for ensuring a happy celebration of U8s students. Thank you also to the children of Mount Kilcoy State School, NCC Early Learners, Kindy and Play to Learn for joining our Early Year Celebrations.
Our 2 days of Athletics Carnival resulted in a win for Mackenzie House, but the real winner was the school community. The students ran and jumped their hearts out! They congratulated and supported each other. The staff, lead by Mrs Smith, worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth athletics carnival. Congratulations to our school and community.
Mrs Webster - Deputy Principal.
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)
This week, our PBL Team will be collecting input from our own students, on what expectations should be listed for all to follow while at our school. The development of this matrix of the expectations for behaviour will be influenced by a group of students selected from Year 3 to Year 6, working with our PBL Team (Mr Ras, Mrs Corby, Mrs Racchi, Mrs Webster, Mrs Steell, Mrs Nash).
When this is complete, we will have had input from Administration, Teachers, Teacher Aides, Parents on the P&C, and our Students. Creating this set of expectations for behaviour with input from all stakeholders means that it will be representative of all who will be required to follow it.
-The Kilcoy State School PBL Team
STLaN Update
Many hands make light work!
A huge thank you to the Filipino mums who gave up their time to assist Mrs. Steell cover our new library books. While Mrs. Steell kept the team topped up with chocolates and coffee, stories were shared and laughs had. We really value our volunteers at Kilcoy State School.
Play is serious stuff for kids - The importance of playing games
Children may not realise it but while they are playing games, they are strengthening their language skills which ultimately boosts their achievement and facilitates cognitive development too.
The photo below shows year 1 and 2 students playing ‘Hedbanz’ during their breaktime. ‘Hedbanz’ is a fun language game that develops communication skills, increases a child’s vocabulary and enhances social skills.
It has been super to see many students come into the library during their free time and take advantage of some of the language games we have available. The students in the photo independently organized themselves to play, negotiated boundaries and supported each other during the play to be successful. It was delightful to witness.
Sports News
Cross Country – Massive congratulations to Faith Hanton who ran another 3kms at the Regional Cross Country. The school is very proud of such an outstanding achievement.
Well done to Charlee Stanton and Faith Hanton for attending the girls Rugby League District Trials. The girls will attend another trial on Monday and we wish you both the best luck for selection
Athletics Carnival - our annual Athletics Carnival will be held in weeks 9 and 10 this term. we are seeking volunteers to help. Please contact the office and let us know if you are available. We will roster you on an event and still see your child participating.
Wednesday 14th June 1.30pm 1500m at Yowie Sports Fields
Wednesday 21st June Senior Students only at Yowie Sports Fields
Thursday 22nd June - Whole school Athletics Carnival at Yowie Sports Fields
Please see attached program for further information.
Parents & Citizens Association
P and C NEWS
- Pie drive ordering is full swing and there is still time to get yours in. Orders are to be paid for and handed to the office before 10am on Tuesday the 13th Collection of pies will be Thursday 22 June 2pm-4pm at the tuckshop. Payment can be made via QKR, direct deposit or at the tuckshop Wed/Thur/Fri
- Our next P&C Meeting is next Wednesday 14th June, 3:30pm in the KSS Library. Everyone is welcome and we hope to see you there
- There is a QKR App issue that is happening at the moment that is affecting some families. This the response we have been given by the QKR team. If there are any other issues, please let us know. We apologise for this inconvenience and hopefully it’ll be solved ASAP. "If a parent has a new Android phone, they will not be able to download the App. The tech team are currently working on fixing this. The parents can pay through our website portal. Website for Parents https://qkr-store.qkrschool.com/store/#/home They need to login with their account credentials. (Email and password)"
TUCKSHOP NEWS
- Nacho Wednesday will now be a fixed weekly special. Nacho’s will be available every Wednesday at first break.
- For the last 2 weeks of school, we will be trialling having hot food available for second break. This will be a limited menu and can be ordered via QKR or over the counter in the morning. Keep an eye out on our socials for the limited menu and when ordering can start.
-The P&C 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
