…..Engaged and resilient students learning in a safe and inclusive environment…..

This week I am going to mention the process all our students have been involved in during the first two weeks of school. In most classes teachers and students have been involved in collaboratively developing their own class expectations in line with our school rules – Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be a Learner. This collaborative approach encourages interaction and dialogue between teachers and the class where each person can hear other peoples input and reasons about particular behaviour or classroom choices.

New playground

Today saw the opening of our new Ninja Course which is for our year 3-6 students. Considerable work and fundraising went into this project and I would like to sincerely thank our P&C for their many fundraising events that contributed to the cost. Thank you also to Hellen for her tireless work with sourcing quotes and dealing with different suppliers.

The first students to have a go were our school captains – seen here cutting the ribbon before trying out the different activities.

Before and after school procedures

Our changes to before and after school movement throughout the school commenced last year. The changes have been implemented with the safety of our students in mind, to ensure that our teachers have the necessary time to prepare for the school day and attend essential meetings and to maximise learning time and end of day classroom routines.

Morning Drop-Off:

We kindly request that students be dropped off no earlier than 8am. Students with parents will be able to wait in areas A (outside the tuckshop), Area I (prep and year 1 eating area) and outside Block K until a bell rings at 8.25. Students will be able to access breakfast club from their eating areas. Parents and students are asked to stay away from directly outside classrooms until the bell goes at 8.45am. This allows students to put their bags where they belong, get their items out and then sit and wait to be let into the classroom.

We request that the painted red lines are not crossed until the bell rings at 8.45. This allows our teachers to adequately prepare for the day and also ensures that students are not running around on play areas or along verandahs which poses a safety risk to themselves and others.

If you need to see your child’s class teacher, please arrange with them (preferably by email) or come to the office who will contact the class teacher to come and speak with you.

Afternoon Pick-Up:

Similarly, we ask that parents arrive for pick-up and do not gather outside classrooms at the end of the school day. We are requesting that you remain outside the red lines that have been marked to minimise disruption to classes, limit noise and movement which is distracting to the students. This allows our teachers to conclude their instructional day and prepare for any after-school responsibilities without interruption.

Our goal is to create a safe, structured, and efficient environment for all students and staff and we appreciate your support in following these guidelines.

Day 8 and class changes

This year we were very fortunate to get the exact number of students we needed to keep our 30 teachers. We had a much lower Prep enrolment leading up to the start of the year – something we have very little control over. Keeping the 30 classes ensured that we had no significant class changes and our students have settled in well with their new classes and teachers.

Donation

Thank you very much to Shane from the Pedal Shoppe for his generous donation of some bikes that we are able to use for raffle prizes throughout the year. We have valued their support over many years.

NAPLAN

Students this week have been participating in practice NAPLAN tests in preparation for the tests coming up in March.

While NAPLAN testing often gets some negative publicity as it is a point in time test, it does give us some valuable insights into what programs we have that work well for students, what sort of gains students have made from year to year and allows us to use the data to check against other data sets that we have at school to see how results align. It is not something to be afraid of.

One thing we often hear is that ‘my child is anxious in doing the test’. Anxiety is a part of our life and it is how we approach it and deal with it that makes us more resilient. If you go for a licence, this is a point in time test. If you are anxious does that mean you will never try and get a licence to be an independent person. No students are punished for their results but it can show areas that we need to be more precise in delivering a school program.

Having my own children who have been through the school system and both done NAPLAN, I know that they sometimes experienced nervousness of doing the test but it is how we approach this type of activity with our students and offer them words of encouragement that often makes the difference. It highlights the importance of our You Can Do It program and these are some of the best words as a parent we can use with our children – You can do it. Have a go, do your best and that is what counts.

BYOD program and APP consent

ONLINE CONSENT FORM & TECHNOLOGY CONTRACT

We take the online safety of our students seriously and part of this is ensuring that we have the correct permissions before students can access various Apps on their Ipads. All the Apps we use have been assessed for their safety however parent permission is still required.

PLEASE complete the following permission forms as soon as you can so that students can get the most out of the online learning that we provide.

Online Consent form – This year the form is accessible online through Qparents. Paper copies will be available from the office if you require one.

This needs to be completed for all students whether they use an iPad or not. The form will appear on your Qparents app over the next few days and is very easy to complete.

When you click on the link it will explain the purpose of the form, if you have any concerns or questions please email our HOC Hayley Wingrove hxnol1@eq.edu.au

Responsible use of Technology contract – This form will come home as a hard copy to all students who are a part of the BYOD program & bring an iPad to school. It must be signed by a parent and the student and returned to your class teacher.

ONLINE CONSENT & QPARENTS – WIN A BIKE!!!

Sign up, Activate & complete the Online Consent form via Qparents by Friday Feb 28 to be in the draw to win a bike!

I have sent a reminder email to your inboxes with a link to begin the process of registration. The email will come from noreply@qparents.com.au please check your junk folders

Please contact Bek in the office if you did not receive an email and wish to sign up for the Portal.

GREAT NEWS!! If you have already activated Qparents all you need to do is complete the Online consent form to be in the draw!

Student Led Conferences and Parent teacher interviews

This term we have two opportunities available for parents/guardians to hear what is happening in your child’s classroom and how your child is progressing.

The first is the student led conferences where you will be guided by your child through their learning, they will share goals with you that they have made, show you what work they are doing and how the different information around the classroom helps them with their learning.

An invitation from your child will be sent in the next couple of weeks.

The second opportunity is the formal parent/teacher interview. This will be held in week 9 this term and you will be able to select a time suitable to you through our online booking process. Further information will be provided in future newsletters.

Active school travel.

This Friday will be our first Active School Travel walk to school. We will be meeting at the baseball diamond at Paradise Point at 8.00. From there we will walk to school and students will get their bag tags stamped. This enables them to go into a draw for some great prizes at the end of the term. Hope to see you there.

As part of our involvement in Active school travel, they provide a grant towards some infrastructure to encourage active travel to school. We have had a new cover built in our bike enclosure for student bikes.

Electric Scooters.

In the last newsletter we asked that students not ride electric scooters to school. We do not permit students to ride scooters to school and store them at school in the bike racks. Use of electric scooters is not permitted according to Queensland Transport guidelines. I have attached the relevant information below.

Safety of all staff, students and our community is a priority and we ask that you respect the school’s efforts to ensure everyone’s safety around school.

Taken from the Queensland Transport Website

Rules for personal mobility devices

You can use a broad range of personal mobility devices in Queensland. They are a type of vehicle so you must comply with the rules for personal mobility devices and the general road rules.

To ride a personal mobility device, you must be either:

• at least 16 years
  or
• at least 12 years and supervised by an adult while riding the device.

Children under 12 years of age must not ride personal mobility devices.

Therapists on the school site

Given the lack of classroom space for our students and teachers we have had to make the difficult decision that we are unable to provide access for private therapists to have access to the school to provide therapy for students.

Private therapy sessions will need to be conducted at a student’s home or at the therapist’s private practice.

We apologise that this service is not available at the present time.  

Inner Wheel Donation

Thank you very much to the Runaway Bay branch of the Inner Wheel Club, represented by Barbara and Anna, who kindly donated funds from their branch to assist
with providing resources for students and families in need. They have been doing this for many years and we value their support

School Musical

This year is our school musical year. Students have been nominating this week to be part of the cast and in the next couple of weeks the auditions will be held for the major parts.

Our musical this year, as with previous years allows every member of the school to participate through the main cast, in the choir or in the dance groups that are year level specific.

The musical this year has been written by members of our staff and while I don’t want to give too much away, it is a celebration of school at Coombabah throughout a child’s 7 years.

Please encourage your children to practice their scripts if they are trying out for one of the key roles and we look forward to hosting another successful event later in term 3.

Bikes in the school grounds

On our recent assembly we asked students to walk their bikes out of the school grounds. We would like to extend this to everyone and ask that if you are riding your bike into the grounds with your child that you dismount before getting anywhere near the access gates.

This is especially relevant for riders entering through the back of the school and riding down the road from the hall. Please dismount from your bike at the end of the modular buildings to ensure that pedestrians can enter and exit the school safely.

All camp deposits must be paid on time.

Please contact Jo in finance to discuss any payment plans. Please email jsmit1743@eq.edu.au

Ensure all permission forms are returned to the class teacher.

Sign up, Activate & complete the Online Consent form via Qparents by Friday Feb 28 to be in the draw to win a bike!

I have sent a reminder email to your inboxes with a link to begin the process of registration. The email will come from noreply@qparents.com.au please check your junk folders

Please contact Bek in the office if you did not receive an email and wish to sign up for the Portal.

GREAT NEWS!! If you have already activated Qparents all you need to do is complete the Online consent form to be in the draw!

Did you know you can electronically sign permission forms on Qparents?

Did you know you can easily pay invoices on Qparents?

Did you know you can see report cards, outstanding payments & behaviour on Qparents?

Qparents really is the best way to keep informed and up to date – and it goes with them when they change schools or head to High school.

Don’t have 100points of ID? That’s ok – there is a box in the bottom left of the screen that you can click if you don’t have enough ID – follow the prompts and you will receive a message saying it has been sent to the school for verification. We will approve from our end using the documents you enrolled with and a confirmation email will let you know that you are good to begin using the app.

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