Principal – Andrew McDonald Fortnight ending Thursday, 19th March 2020

2020 Term Dates

Term 1

28th January—3rd April

Term 2

20th April—26th June

Term 3

13th July—18th September

Term 4

6th October—11th December

Pupil Free Day September 4th

Parade

9am Friday Mornings

P&C Meetings

1st Wednesday of the Month at 6:30pm

in the Resource Centre.

Date Claimers

25 March—P&C AGM

27 March—P&C Easter Raffle Drawn

3 April—PBL Rewards Day

3 April—Last Day of Term 1

20 April—First Day of Term 2

4 May—Labor Day Public Holiday

15 May—Ipswich Show Public Holiday

Student Absence Line: 3280 3266

Priority 1: Excellence in Teaching

Consistently implement evidence

based, high impact teaching strategies

Priority 2: Excellence in Learning

Enhance systems and processes

for making student growth visible in

an inclusive environment

Priority 3: Excellence in

Partnerships

Implement a dispersed leadership

model that supports the sustaina-

bility of effective systems and pro-

Week 6 (06/03/2020)

Prep A Paige S

Prep B Jayson J

Prep C Emilia P

Prep D Carter D

1A Liam K

1C Cleo N

2B Memphis T

2C Haley D

2D Laura O

3A Flynn E & Mason O

3B Braxton D

4B Eliza D

5A Harlem D & Isabella H

5/6A Aleckhai S

6A Cloie B

Week 7 (13/03/2020)

Prep A Imogen C

Prep B Brayden M

Prep C Cooper H

Prep D Ruby M

1A Emma K

1B Jessica H, Levi M & Liam P

1C Destiny D

2A Hailey Q

2B Abigail M

2C Charlie C

2D Alex S

3A Joshua W

3B Lachlan B

4A Paige F

5A Isaac J

5/6A Arabella V & Ebony R

6A Ethan H

Effective hand hygiene is vital

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, it is important to

remember that effective hand and sneeze/cough hygiene is the best

defence against viruses and can help prevent the spread of illness.

Lead by example and encourage your children to:

wash their hands regularly with soap and water, before and after eating, and after going to the toilet

use alcohol-based hand sanitiser if soap is not available

cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of their elbow

dispose of tissues in the bin immediately

if they’re unwell, stay at home and avoid contact with others such as touching, kissing or hugging.

Check out the 20 second routine video for effective handwashing.

Our public private partners, Delta FM have advised us that they have checked with their chemical and consumable suppliers and they have access to enough supplies of soap, cleaning chemicals, toilet paper, etc. They have reviewed and adjusted their cleaning protocols to ensure they are taking all necessary action. They are continuing to monitor all advice from the World Health Organisation, the Aus-tralian Authorities and the Department of Education. Term 1 School Events

In relation to my previous message on Monday regarding novel coronavirus COVID-19 and the impact on end of

term events, we have received a number of updates. Changes since the previous update are shown in red.

As the situation evolves, there may be further changes to the above events or our broader response. I will endeav-

our to keep you updated.

Thank you for your understanding in helping us manage this public health issue. Andrew McDonald

Principal

Upcoming Event Response

20/03/20, 27/03/20, 3/04/20 Parade Cancelled – awards to be handed out at class lev-

el. Expectation of the week at class level. 20/03/20, 27/03/20, 3/04/20 Interschool Sport Cancelled – Term 2 dates to be determined closer to

the time

Various Dates School Representative Sport Cancelled until further advice - including district, region-

al, state, national, interstate and international competi-

tions 20/03/20 School Banking Program Temporary pause until end of term 1 at this stage

20/03/20 National Day of Action Against Bullying/

Harmony Day

Postponed

20/03/20 P&C Disco Postponed to term 2, date to be advised. Although,

likely to be cancelled and merged with semester 2 disco

if situation continues. 23/03/20 School Cross Country Whole school event cancelled. In regards to the School

Representative Sport being postponed, our Yr3-6 Cross

Country will not be done at class level and will be post-

poned until closer to district trials (if they go ahead) 25/03/20 P&C AGM Continuing – no changes

3/04/20 Easter Bonnet Parade Cancelled

3/04/20 Rewards Day Continuing – no changes – event is already at a class

level not whole school level

National Day of Action Against Bullying / Harmony Day

We have received advice that the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA) on Friday 20 March 2020 is

postponed. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused, however this decision has been made

with the health and safety of students, staff and the community as the priority. The new date for the National Day of Action

against Bullying will be announced as soon as possible. We’ll keep you updated with our school’s future NDA / Harmony

Day plans when the new date is advised.

In light of this announcement, students are required to wear their regular school uniform to school tomorrow, 20 March.

Arriving Late to School

Arriving late to class, although better late than never, is disruptive and means the child arriving late misses important in-struction. This instruction includes our Spelling Mastery program which begins at 8.55am every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Your child’s learning is very important to us and our teachers recognise the value of every minute they spend within the teaching and learning process. It can also be very difficult for a child to enter a classroom whilst oth-er students are engaged in learning. Late students often feel anxious when entering a quiet, well-structured classroom of engaged learners. It is important to be on time every day. A set routine can help;

have a set time to go to bed

have a set time to get out of bed

have uniform and school bag ready the night before

have a set time for starting and finishing breakfast

set a time for daily homework activities

speak about school positively Additional resources can be found on the Education Queensland website: https://education.qld.gov.au/initiatives-and-strategies/initiatives/

every-day-counts/for-parents-and-community

Coronavirus Advice for Parents and Carers

Ongoing reports regarding Coronavirus has led to a significant amount of discussions amongst our students. It is natural for children and young people to have questions or concerns. Sever-al days ago a fact sheet was sent to families and carers discussing the best ways to support children in these times. I have included a number of key points below. Pay extra attention to your child’s needs It is perfectly normal for children to have questions about events that are covered in the media. There is a common mis-conception that talking with children and young people about a topic such as Coronavirus may increase their anxiety. However, research suggests that it usually has the opposite effect. For children, not having information is scary, and many children will fill in the blanks with their own imagination – often imagining something far worse than the truth. Responding to questions If a child brings up Coronavirus or asks questions, it is important to acknowledge how they may be feeling and to answer questions as honestly as possible. This will help them feel informed and understand what is happening. It is important to emphasise that even though the number of people with the virus in Australia is increasing, the majority of people who con-tract the virus will either not get sick at all, or will get mild symptoms from which they will recover easily. Some pointers for how parents and carers can have a calm conversation with children and young people about Corona-virus and try to ensure that any concerns around the situation is kept at bay;

1. Be aware of your own behaviour. 2. Tell children the facts. 3. Explain what efforts are being made to contain the virus. 4. Finally, offer practical advice such as easy hygiene habits for children to adopt.

Communication is important It is important that the lines of communication with children be kept open at all times. Children and young people need to feel informed and safe, especially when they hear so much information in the media. Discussing the Coronavirus situation openly with children will provide the opportunity to reassure them that they are safe and dispel any false information they may have heard on the radio, TV or through rumours from their friends. With the situation changing rapidly and to minimise anxiety in children, it is important for conversations about Coronavirus to take place regularly between parents and carers and their children. The message for our kids is to stay calm and carry on. Jason Ball Deputy Principal

Instrumental Music All instrumental students have been issued with an invoice as part of the new student resource scheme. This pay-ment contributes towards our Instrumental program by offsetting the cost of maintaining equipment, purchasing band music etc. Please forward all payments through the school office. Payments or payment plans need to be finalized to remain in the school program. Help by providing a safe area to practice their instrument Establish a regular practice time and routine Listen to them play and encourage them Play their Tutor book DVD/online downloads so you both know what to expect. All students have received a Practice diary, which needs to be completed and returned to each lesson. It is essen-tial for progress to ensure your child plays on their instrument at least 3 times in the week. Times and days might vary according to other activities but the more time spent working through set exercises and handouts will ensure mini musicians are made! With the Easter holidays coming up now is the perfect opportunity to get your own instrument serviced or clean

your school instrument mouthpiece.

Booval Tone Town, Ellaways, Music Express, Blow Winds, The Brass Music Specialists all offer instrumental services

on all private instruments.

Tips on cleaning mouthpieces can be found in your tutor book as well as via these links:

Cleaning a Brass Mouthpiece (Trumpet, Trombone)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7haTc8lHSMc

Cleaning a Woodwind Mouthpiece (clarinet, saxophone)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J9P2rwlj2U

Cleaning a flute head joint

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2OD_0jPEcQ

Dallas B

Ashton D

Riley D

Lachlan F

Margaret F

Bridget G

Lacie K

Samuel M

Oscar O

Laura O

Charlotte S

Alexander S

Elyse T

Mia V

We have received advice that the National

Day of Action against Bullying and Violence

(NDA) on Friday 20 March 2020 is postponed.

This means planned activities have been

postponed and students are expected to

wear their normal school uniform.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience

this may have caused, however this decision

has been made with the health and safety of

students, staff and the community as the priority.

The new date for the NDA 2020 will be announced as soon as possible.

We’ll keep you updated with our school’s future NDA plans.

Thank you for your continued support to say Bullying. No Way! every day of

the year

The following students have reached 100

Gotchas this fortnight and received an

ice block!

2020 P&C

Our next P&C Meeting is on Wednesday 25 March 6:30pm. This will be the Annual General Meeting, where the

2020 P&C Executive is elected.

Tuckshop The tuckshop is still operating as normal, however due to supply issues please check flexi schools for available menu items.

School banking The Commonwealth Bank has temporarily suspended the School Banking program. The last day of school banking will be 19/3/20 until further notice

Easter Raffle Don’t forget to return all raffle tickets sold or un-sold to the office. The raffle will now be drawn on Friday 27th March and winners notified by phone call

3B over the course of this term have been looking at grouping living and non-living things based on observable features. We worked out that mould was a living thing. We were also able to create a flowchart which included products of living things, once living things and never living things.

Parents and carers – Do we have your latest contact details? There are times when we may need to get in touch with you. Do we have your most up to date details? If not, please contact the school so we can update our records. These details include your name, address, phone numbers, email address and emergency contact details. Please remember to let the school know if any of these details change.

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