5 May 2017

Newsletter Articles

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Phone 3826 0333 or Email office@edenslandingss.eq.edu.au

Important Dates to Remember

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Principal’s Report

New Principal Appointment

The process for appointing a new Principal to the school has been finalised. On this occasion unfortunately I was not the successful applicant. The successful applicant is Ms Gail Quigley who is currently Principal at Surfers Paradise State School. Gail is an ex-teacher from this school so knows it well. Gail, myself and the Executive Leadership Team will be engaging in extensive processes to make sure we have a smooth transition of principals in week 6 of this term. My final day of service to you will be Friday 19th May.

I would like to thank the many parents, students and staff who have supported me during my 15 months of principalship and most recently as I was made aware of this news. The many people who have shared with me the successes we have had in our school has certainly been heartening. One of the finest compliments I can have as a leader is that I have fulfilled my desired legacy of leaving our family better off as a result of my leadership. More specifically that I have changed the lives of children, staff and community members and that those changes have evoked a passion for learning, a drive for excellence and a community of support.

The feedback that I have been able to achieve a wonderful place for our students to learn characterised by high standards and supportive processes has been great. I’m ever so grateful for my time here and yes it is certainly hard to leave!

I must take this time to recognise the significant work our outstanding staff have done over the past 15 months – our teachers and our Leadership Team are second to none. None of these positive changes to our school could happen without our support staff working with us both at school level and also at regional office level as well. I’m also very grateful for the opportunity provided to me by our Assistant Regional Director, Mr Darren Scott who has unconditionally supported my development as a leader and as a principal at this level. I also want to acknowledge the fantastic Executive Committee we have in our P&C Association who work tirelessly to support our children, our school, our community our staff and me as principal.

It’s been a beautiful trip with this wonderful community for me as a leader and I thank you sincerely for the absolute privilege of working with you all in your school to ensure we deliver the very, very best outcomes for our students.

Leadership Team Retreat

On the 4th & 5th May our Leadership Team will be away working on the initial school based evaluation informing our next 4 year strategic planning cycle. Ms Quigley will also attend this event with us and we are using an experienced Executive Coach to assist us with the review process. Upon our return the Executive Team will then work with various interest groups to facilitate a full school review of our performance over the past 4 years. This helps us to plan for the next 4 years of school improvement work. It is also an excellent opportunity for us to have a quality changeover process for our new principal. I look forward to sharing some information around that process with you upon our return.

Parents and Citizens Association meeting

Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday 15th May at 7 pm. All welcome to attend! We are planning for our 20 year birthday celebrations on the last day of term and could do with some help!

Over the next 3 weeks I hope to have many more opportunities to discuss our school with you and to gain further insight into our operations for the next 4 years. Once again I thank you for the opportunity to have worked with you and your children.

Regards
Andrew Cummings
Principal

Deputy Principal’s News

Welcome back to what is shaping up to be a very exciting and busy term. Students have slipped back into learning seamlessly, and it is encouraging to see so many wide-eyed happy faces when I enter classrooms.

Outside of school hours care (OSHC) is coming to Edens Landing State School.

Registration is now open for Outside of School Hours Care (Before and after school and holiday care). Packs are available from the school office. YMCA have won the tender to provide this service, and will be commencing services for holiday care during the June/July holiday. Please support this service as YMCA will be an amazing asset to our school community and the Edens landing Family.

Year 5 Camp

Our first ever year 5 camp will take place in week 5 this term. If you missed the payment date but still want your child to attend, please contact the office. The students are very excited about their big adventure and opportunities to show their leadership potential.

BUSH DANCE

Please mark the 23rd June on your calendar for our 20th Anniversary celebration Bush Dance. Every class will be performing a dance, we have a bush band coming to perform and there will be entertainment, food and activities for the whole family. Tickets will go on sale soon, so please watch for the flyer which will be coming home soon.

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Our explicit teaching of behaviour expectations will continue throughout the year, focusing on the Rule of the Week – each week teachers explicitly teach lessons which focus on a selected aspect of school expectations.

The rules for weeks 3 and 4 of term are outlined below. Teachers will be discussing these with their students over the next two weeks, and it would be wonderful if parents spoke with their children about the importance of each rule.

Week 3 – Be Respectful- Use polite language

Being polite or having manners is a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. Children are not born with this awareness, so they need to be taught. Around the 18-month mark, a child begins to understand that other people have feelings just like them, so this is the time to start teaching children that their behaviour affects others. These lessons need to continue at every developmental stage of your child’s life. Some points to consider:

• Good manners are a good habit. Speaking and behaving politely is a way of life, not just something you pull out when you're at a wedding or visiting Grandma. It's important to start as early as you can so manners become something a child does automatically, whether she/he is at home, at school or away.
• Polite behaviour will help your child's social development. Children who aren't taught social graces from an early age can be at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to social interactions with their peers. Like adults, children may not want to spend time with other children who are rude to them and make them feel bad about themselves.
• Learning manners is a lifelong education. It won't happen overnight, and you need to take it slowly. Introducing one new social skill a month -- teaching your 2-year-old to say "hello" when another person addresses him/her, for example, and rewarding with praise when he/she does so -- makes the process manageable for everyone.
• Your behaviour counts. Children will copy what they see. If they see and hear you using polite language towards family members, school staff, friends and people you meet throughout your day, they are more likely to do this themselves.
• Consistency is important. Acquiring good manners and using polite language takes lots of practise and reinforcement, so make sure that you, your partner, and your caregiver are encouraging (and discouraging) the same behaviours.

Week 4 - Wear uniform with pride

During this week, teacher will talk to students about showing respect for our school and respect for yourself by presenting neatly and wearing the school uniform. As part of this, we expect all students who have hair which touches their collar to wear their hair tied back. Students with long fringes must also have their fringe pinned back.

Discussions will include:

• Dress codes and uniforms are often part of having a job.
• The dress code minimizes conflict in the school.
• Minimises judgment based on appearances.
• Teaches students to follow rules/laws. (Students accept that there are rules that we all abide by, students respect the learning environment)
• Students who demonstrate self-respect dress neatly – with hair brushed or combed, face and hands clean, uniform neat and clean.

Yours in Education

Cheryl Gibson
cgibs2@eq.edu.au

Deputy Principal’s News

What a fabulous start to the term. This week we gave away more than 440 books to children who have been reading each day. I would like to make this 760 books we give away. All children have to do is READ every day – parents just need to let us know that their child has read every day. Most homework sheets have a section regarding daily reading that parents can sign.

Reading can be reading a shopping list, a comic, a recipe, a newspaper, a magazine, signs on the way home, rugby league results, instructions for games or Lego, any reading on technology, or actually reading a book. It can also include your child being read a story by yourselves. All these activities are seen as reading and therefore can be indicated as reading on the class homework sheet.

How can I help my child read fluently?

To help your child develop reading fluency:

• Model fluent reading. Provide opportunities when your child can hear you read aloud. Be sure to read with expression pausing appropriately at punctuation marks and changing voice for characters.
• Teach your child high frequency sight words. High frequency sight words are words that readers are encouraged to recognize without having to sound them out. It is estimated that the first 100 sight words account for approximately 50% of what we read. Words such as “the”, “and” and “he” are considered high frequency sight words. These words can be practiced on flashcards. As you and your child read, point out the sight words in the story. Some children are able to identify the words on flashcards; however, this skill does not transfer to reading. Pointing them out as you read helps in transferring to reading the words in books.
• When having your child practice reading aloud, help your child choose books at his/her independent reading level. Use the 5-finger rule as a guide. This means that a child shouldn’t struggle with more than 5 words on a page.
• Repeated reading has proven to be one of the best strategies for developing reading flu-ency. Children should be provided with many opportunities to read the same passage (or story) orally several times. It is best if the adult reads the passage (paragraph, story) first and then has the child read and re-read the same text. Typically reading the text 4 times is suggested when focusing on improving fluency skills.

Under 8’s day, 2017

25th May 9-11am
Prep – Yr 1 – Yr 2
Junior Oval area.

Parents and younger siblings invited to come along. We have a range of amazing activities for the children (and adults) to enjoy.

Anthea Grant
Deputy Principal

Curriculum News

Welcome back to Term 2.

We have an extremely busy term ahead with lots of exciting things happening across the curriculum.

To begin the term we have the RACQ team at Edens landing presenting ROAD SAFETY TALKS to all Year levels. This is a very important topic for our students and community.

Below is a brief outline of what each Year level will be focusing on. Please take the time to talk to your children about road safety and what they learnt through the RACQ talks and continue to consolidate these important messages at home.

Prep & Year 1:

• Safe Pedestrian – Teaching children the ‘Stop, Look, Listen, Think’ strategy when crossing the road.
• Safe Playing – Educating children on choosing safe places to play that are not near the road or driveway.
• Safe Passenger – Children learn to enter and exit the car using the ‘Safety Door’ (back passenger door) and to ‘Slip, Clip, Clap’ showing the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

Year 2:

• Safe Pedestrian – Students revise the strategy of ‘Stop, Look, Listen, Think’ when crossing the road and choosing a safe place to cross.
• Safe Cyclist – Children learn the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet and how to wear it correctly using the ‘Two Finger Rule’.
• Safe Passenger – Students recognise what driver distraction is and learn strategies to become a safer passenger in the car.

Year 3 & 4:

• Bike Safety – Students are shown demonstrations of the consequences of not wearing a helmet. Through demonstrations, students learn that helmets absorb energy and protect their heads, and other safety gear they need to wear.
• Bike Maintenance – An engaging game educates students on how to maintain their bikes and safety features required on every bicycle.
• Bike Rules – Students learn the importance of following rules when riding a bike using the ‘Five Finger Rules’.

Year 5 & 6

• Bike Safety - Students are shown demonstrations of the consequences of not wearing a helmet. Through demonstrations, students learn that helmets absorb energy and protect their heads.
• Seat Belt Safety – Students are shown three television advertisements and then asked to choose which one would convince them to wear a seat belt and why.
• Distractions – Students learn how easily a mobile phone can be a distraction for a driver and explore ways to reduce the risk of driver distraction. Students also identify other potential risk taking behaviours and the consequences associated with taking these risks. They discuss how they can alter their own actions to ensure they are safer on and around the road.

LIFEFLIGHT HELICOPTER LANDING

Friday the 28th March as part of the RACQ program the Lifeflight helicopter landed on the main oval at approx. 9:10am.

Year 3 students listened to a presentation from the Lifeflight Pilot and Years 4-6 students received a presentation by Finbar Mills.

All students had the opportunity to view the helicopter taking off sometime between 10:30-11:00am.

Have a Wonderful Week
Rachel Pope

Our Core Business 2017

1. Reading Results / Pedagogy.
2. Better outcomes for all Behaviour

P E News

Cross Country

Congratulations to all students who participated in the Edens Landing Fitness Fun Run This was a great day with lots of great results and a lot of fun had by all participants. A special mention must go to Anna and Clay who set new school records.

Thank you to all of the families and friends who came along to attend the event.

Thank you to the P & C who provided ice blocks to all students at the conclusion of the race

Results of the first three place-getters in each grade are published below.

Running Club

Running club will continue this term. This will be held every Monday and Thursday morning from 8-8:30am. Please see Mr O’Donnell for a permission form if you would like to join.

School Representative Sport

Congratulations to the following students who have been selected in district and zone teams.

Jonty- Pacific Rim AFL
Kade- Beenleigh Zone Touch
Callum- Beenleigh Zone Touch, Pacific Rim Rugby League
Anna- Pacific Rim Soccer

Interschool Sport

Due to the recent floods, fields have been left in an unplayable condition and therefore the rest of the competition has been cancelled.

Hats

Over the course of the year, lessons will be held on the oval. It is essential that your child/ren has a suitable school hat for all lessons. A note will be issued to students who fail to bring a hat to lessons. If your child/ren is unable to take part in a lesson due to an injury or medical reason, please provide a note.

School Sport Dates

Senior Sports Day (3-6): 15th & 16th June
Junior Sports Day (P-2): 18th August
Swimming Carnival (3-5): 4th December

Contact

I can be contacted at kodon30@eq.edu.au should you want to discuss anything regarding Physical Education at Edens Landing.

Yours in Sport
Ken O’Donnell
Physical Education Teacher

Stefanie Alexander Kitchen Garden News

The first term was a huge one, for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program.

Firstly we relocated the garden, lock stock and barrel, to the land between the tuck shop and E block. The weather decided to sit in the high 30º to 40º, just to make it interesting, but with a lot of help from, Mr Steve, we got it done.

The results we are achieving in this new garden are fantastic. For any of you who haven’t seen the garden, please come and have a look. It is great to see how healthy all the plants are, the quality of the produce being picked twice a week for the kitchen, is second to none.

It is great to have the junior school participating in the program this year and I’m sure they are enjoying it as much as I am.

This term the Year 6’s are focusing on a healthy drink, so they are going to have a ball designing some weird and wonderful combinations. I’m sure the parents are going to be test dummies for some strange combinations.

The Year 1s are focusing on a number of things, particularly seed to sandwich.

This means they will firstly plant tomato seeds and then nurture them through seedlings, to planting them out and eventually picking and slicing the fruits of their labour and making the sandwich. Procedures will be introduced to them this term and what better way than with the ultimate procedure, a recipe.

Year 2s will be looking at how we use water in the garden and the kitchen. What a great thing to do in this Queensland climate, that is either drought our flooding. For those of you who watched the garden being established, you would have seen how much water it required. It’s a great thing to explore.

The life cycle of a plant, parts of a plant will be dissected by the year 4s. They will look particularly at tomato plants, and the needs of the plant to allow it to produce fruit. Along with this they will be looking at garden “friends and foe”.

So a busy, exciting term ahead for all of us, what a great adventure we are having together.

During this term we will ask for help from the school family, whether it be volunteering in the garden or the kitchen or maybe it might be a small donation of products for use in the garden or kitchen.

The building of the garden continues, so we hope you come and visit it and I am happy to discuss with you our plans.

Happy growing and cooking
Chris (Chef) Jones
SAKGP Facilitator

YMCA Outside School Hours Care

To enrol your children in the YMCA OSHC program, you will need to complete the enrolment information package. Family enrolment packs are available from the school administration office- complete the enrolment form and return it to the school office. Once all the information has been entered into the YMCA data base, you will receive a confirmation email. The YMCA will commence operations on Monday 26th of June.

P&C News

Next P&C Meeting 15th May at 7pm in School Administration Office- Staff room

Tuckshop News

Welcome back to term 2. I hope you all had an enjoyable break.

ORDERING PROCESS

At the bottom of the menu there is information on how to order tuckshop using the paper bag system. If you use this method for your tuckshop orders, please use 2 bags if there is more than 1 item i.e. sandwich and juice needs 2 bags. Use one staple in the top left hand corner of the bag to secure the 2 bags together. Please do not staple or sticky tape the entire top of the bag closed. Just fold the bag/s a few times and either drop off into the quick drop box or take it to class to put in the tuckshop folder in the classroom. If you are concerned about money falling out of the bag, pop the tuckshop bags into a snap lock bag.

Another method of tuckshop ordering is the DIY system. There are bags and a quick drop box set up at the tuckshop counter. If you use this to order your tuckshop please write the order on the bag/s put the money inside the bag, fold the bag a few times and place it into the quick drop box. If change is required, it will be put in the corner of the bag and returned with the tuckshop. Friday mornings there will be 2 DIY areas and another quick drop box.

We also have an online ordering system called Flexischools. This is our preferred method of ordering. Our flexischools cut off time is 8am the morning of service, please make sure your orders are in and confirmed by 8am or they will not be processed on the flexischool website.

If you make a Flexischools order and for some reason your child does not come to school, call the tuckshop and let us know before 9am so the order can be cancelled and you will be refunded. If you do not let us know then the order will not be cancelled and therefore you will be charged. If no one answers the phone it is because we are busy so just leave a quick and clear message with child’s name and class.

Getting online is easy and only takes a few minutes to register. Simply go below and click “Register Now”. You will be sent an email with further instructions on how to complete the registration. Once registered, you can start placing orders immediately. If you have any questions, FlexiSchools provide a great help desk on 1300 361 769, or you can contact them via their website.

Any information regarding the tuckshop and volunteer rosters will be here in our fortnightly newsletters and if there is anything that cannot wait for the newsletter I will post on the Edens Landing State School P&C Association Facebook page -

Annette Honnery
Tuckshop Convenor
Tuckshop@elsspc.org.au
3805 7999

Uniform Shop News

Open times:

Thursdays 8:15am-9:15am

If you have any questions please email: uniformshop@elsspc.org.au

Peita-Marie Winsor
Uniform Shop Convener

If you require an online order form please send me an email and I will happily send you one.

School Student Banking