9 February 2018

Newsletter Articles

Contact Details

• Have your contact details changed?
• Have you moved address?
• Do we have your current phone number in case of an emergency?
• Are your emergency contacts still current?
• Are you receiving our newsletters by email?
• Do we have your current email address?

PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE TO UPDATE YOUR DETAILS

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

Important Dates to Remember

Visit the ELSS website for all calendar events:

QSchools

The QSchools app is a convenient way to receive up-to-the-minute information from Queensland state schools PLUS save the events directly to your devices!

How do I download the QSchools app? To download the app visit the application store for your device:

iPhone/iPad
Android
Windows phone
Windows PC

Office News

Report Student Absences

In the event that your child will be absent from school please call the student absence line on 3826 0360 to leave a message. Alternatively you may also use the absence email - absences@edenslandingss.eq.edu.au . Please record your child's name, class, date of absence/s and reason for absence.

Late Arrivals

Students who arrive to school after 9:00am must report to the office windows for a late slip prior to going to class.

Excursions

When your student is involved in an excursion or activity at school which requires payment an invoice is issued by our system. Some families currently receive their invoices via email which not only helps to alleviate the amount of paper used but also provides all the required information for our preferred payment method BPoint.

The invoices will be sent directly to parents’ emails, we are asking that you ensure your details are current and that you have active email addresses listed at school on your child’s file. Payment of these invoices is only required if you wish for your child to attend the excursion/activity.

OVERPHONE or ONLINE CARD PAYMENT SYSTEM

PHONE: 1300 631 073

To access the QLD State School Card Payment System. Use the CRN and Invoice number located on your invoice.

Or Visit the link below

Biller Code: 1002534 (Department of Education and Training)

*CRN and Invoice number can be found on your invoice Or by contacting the office on 3826 0333

*Please note: Due to changes in departmental handling of credit card payments we are no longer able to take credit card payments over the phone at school*

Change of Details

Please email the school on office@edenslandingss.eq.edu.au stating your child’s name and class to confirm your email address and if applicable advise of any contact details that may have changed, to ensure we are able to contact you in an emergency.

Thank you for your continued support

Charmaine Johnson
Business Manager

Principal’s News

Good afternoon Edens Landing community

Well here we are at the beginning of another year of learning at our wonderful school.

I would firstly like to extend a warm welcome to our new families who have joined us…I know you will love this community as much as I do. Also a very big welcome to our Prep students who are embarking on their first year of school.

The year has started off very smoothly and the students are well into their learning and classroom routines. The students look wonderful in their uniforms. Thank you to you all for ensuring your child is in uniform…it certainly makes a difference to our school spirit.

Captains table

Over the next few weeks I will be holding a series of Captain’s tables for our new parents. My Captain’s table is a very informal get together where parents have an opportunity to chat with me about the school, what they like and ideas about how we can improve in what we do. Invitations will be sent out over the next few weeks. Hope to see you all there.

If for some reason you missed out on attending a Captain’s Table in 2017 and would like to do so, please contact the office to arrange a time to attend.

Parking

A reminder that there is a system in place for using our Stop Drop Go Zone. Parents are requested to complete a form which will then give them a visor card for their car. This makes the pick up more streamlined. Of course, this system will only work if the users follow the system. It is disappointing to hear that some parents are parking in areas that is causing traffic congestion and putting our students at risk. Please remember that the parking bays out the front of the school are for parking only, not for double parking whilst waiting for your students. Thankyou for helping keep our students safe.

P and C meeting

On Monday 19th February will be be holding our general P&C meeting followed by our annual Annual General Meeting. On the agenda for the meeting will be the parking issues, student resource scheme, school uniform just to name a few. Our P&C meetings are an opportunity for parents to give input into some of the decisions that are being made around your child’s school and their education. I really hope to see many parents attend as I know there is a lot of interest around some of the agenda items. A flyer has been sent home with your child detailing our meetings.

Facebook

Facebook is utlilised as a main communication tool between school and home. Please make sure you have liked our page to get the latest, up-to-date information.

Deputy Principal’s News

Welcome to another wonderful year at Edens landing State School. I hope you all had a fun filled holiday break. Edens Landing State School focuses on building better learning environments for all students through innovative and exciting curriculum and actively teaching our students appropriate behaviour that allows them to get their needs met in efficient and socially acceptable ways, as well as rewarding students for demonstrating appropriate behaviour. This is achieved through our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) program.

To reward the students who display appropriate behaviour, and to encourage students to strive to be the best they can be, we have a school wide rewards system. The students were very excited last year about our new rewards system.

Our rewards system is based on a series of ‘collector card’ style “GOTCHAS” which students can collect to build a whole set. Once a whole set has been collected students will get their photo displayed on the ‘Wall of Fame’ in the foyer of the office block. Additionally, students will work towards individual goals to gain access to a variety of exciting experiences of their choice which has replaced Gold & Diamond Days. Attendance is not a component of this system, however, the more students are at school the more opportunities they will have to receive a GOTCHA.

Uniforms

Thank you to our amazing families who have sent their children to school, in full school uniform. It has been pleasing to see our students returning to school wearing their school uniform with pride. For those who are not sure of school expectations it is outlined below.

Girls: Shorts or skirts in navy blue. School shirt. Black school shoes with short white socks.

Boys: Shorts in navy blue. Black school shoes with short white socks.

All students: If hair touches the collar, students are to tie their hair up. All fringes are to be pinned up off the face. Ribbons, head bands and bows/hair ties are to be school appropriate and in school colours. Jo-Jo bows (or other large items) are not part of our school uniform, even if they are in the school colours.

Watches, stud or sleeper ear-rings and medical alert items are the only permissible jewellery. Culturally significant pieces are permitted where appropriate.

Hats must be worn for all outside activities. Our school hat is reversible so can be worn for sports days and competitions. If a school-hat is not purchased from the uniform shop, a navy blue wide brimmed hat is required. Caps are not sun-safe so are not appropriate for school use.

Before School

It is important that all students arrive at school at 8:30am and go directly to the old hall where they will be supervised by a teacher. If students arrive at school before 8:30am they must go directly to the old hall and be seated. Teachers will collect students from the hall at 8:45. Please note, LEARNING begins at 8:50am, therefore it is essential for students to be on time to begin learning for the day. If students arrive after 9am they are to report to the office and sign in where they will receive a late slip.

Homework

Literacy is one of the most important foundations for success in school and life. At ELSS we believe that the best way to equip children for their future is by helping them build solid language and literacy skills. To support this, Homework at ELSS will consist of reading daily for at least 10 minutes with an adult or older sibling where possible. Please record everything your child reads on the recording sheet.

To encourage and celebrate students reading, the Leadership Team at ELSS reward students who reach the goal of reading EVERY NIGHT with a book prize from the school.

About Year 6 2018

Year 6 is a very exciting year for students, with lots of special opportunities available to them. School Leaders have been announced, with our badge ceremony being help on assembly in week 3.

Seniors received their senior shirts this week and look wonderful wearing them with pride. We will be placing a second order this term for students who missed the deadline last year or who are new to the school. A note has gone home this week. This will be the last opportunity for Year 6 students to order a shirt, so please return payment by the due date.

A new project consent form has recently been sent home. All year 6 students must return this form as they are a legal requirement for some of the events in Year 6. If your child has not handed you this form, please pick one up from the office. Students without this form will not be included in the year book or graduation presentations.

Camp forms have also gone home this week. If you would like your child to go, full payment must be made by the due date. If you want your child to attend but find the lump sum payment difficult, please contact the office to arrange a payment plan. This payment plan must be finalised by the due date.

About Year 5 2018

Once again, year 5 have been offered the chance to attend camp. This camp is part of our program to encourage leadership skills in our students, and is one of the opportunities teachers will use to assess potential leaders for year 6 2019. It is a short camp, which focusses on the skills good leaders require and on personal resilience and growth. We encourage all students to attend this camp as it covers a great deal of year 5 curriculum. Notes will be going home shortly. If you want your child to attend but find the lump sum payment difficult, please contact the office to arrange a payment plan. This payment plan must be finalised the due date.

Year 5 will once again participate in our excellence afternoons this year. These activities are aimed to extend students’ personal learning in the area of excellence they select. We will be looking for donations of resources to help support this program. So please respond generously when this letter comes home.

Rule of the Week – each week teachers explicitly teach lessons which focus on a selected aspect of school expectations.

For those of you who were with us last year, you will remember that we have three rules which support student learning and reflect the needs of our school community. Our school rules are: As a Learner I am: SAFE, RESPONSIBLE, RESPECTFUL.

Over the first few weeks of this year teachers will be discussing the school rules with their students, explaining what these rules look like in each area of the school.

Yours in Education
Cheryl Gibson
cgibs2@eq.edu.au

Deputy Principal’s News

I love the start of a new year! The children, teachers and staff are enthusiastic and eager to get to know each child so that they can help them along their pathway to success.

I enjoy walking through the classrooms and greeting the children, meeting the new students and greeting the ones that have grown so much in the past 12 months.

As you know I am very passionate about the early years and I know that parents want to help their children as much as possible. Each newsletter I will share some fabulous resource or information that can help parents and families.

The Queensland Government has developed a very comprehensive website “Early Years Count”

At The Early Years Count, fun activities and information on early years development can be explored through each of the five areas of support;

Five ways to learn and grow each day

• Play: children learn through trying out new ideas and concepts;
• Care: providing a safe and caring environment for physical and emotional health;
• Read & Count: learning about written language and basic numeracy concepts;
• Talk & Listen: developing language and communication skills;
• Encourage: providing support and encouragement to build healthy self-esteem and coping skills.

By supporting play, providing healthy and caring environment, encouraging ideas and learning and providing opportunities to develop language, literacy and numeracy, you can support your child’s development and make their early years count.

I urge you all to explore this amazing resource.

Anthea Grant
Deputy Principal
agran37@eq.edu.au

Curriculum News

How do you know that a great school is a great school? You can’t tell by just looking at test data, or by how well the students behave in the playground. Great schools are complex and diverse. Great schools produce students that not only read and write, but choose to. Great schools have the desire to see every student individually succeed not just academically, but in all areas that they are passionate about, such as sport, art or learning a language. After just 2 weeks as the Head of Curriculum at Edens Landing State School, I know that I am blessed to be a part of a great school. A great school that personalises education to meet the needs and goals of students. A great school with a dedicated teaching team. A great school that is continually improving productive partnerships with our community so that learning at school and home are strongly connected.

So how can parents stay connected with what’s happening in the classroom? Term Overviews! This year will see our term overviews continue to build with more information for parents on the Australian Curriculum and ideas for activities and online resources you can use at home that support your child’s current units of work. Term Overviews will be uploaded to the school website at the beginning of each term. You can find them in the ‘documents’ section.

PE News

School Representative Sport

Over the course of the year, students have the opportunity to participate in a range of sporting trials. This is offered to students who are born in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and are wanting to excel in their chosen sport/s and represent at a higher level for example Pacific Rim, South Coast and Queensland School Sport.

It is expected that any child wishing to undertake these trials has experience and demonstrated skills and knowledge in the chosen sport, generally having participated at club level.

All information needed to attend the trial will be handed out closer to the date. Please note that some sports have age and gender restrictions due to safety and number of teams being selected. A full year overview can be viewed via the attachment below. A nomination note has recently been sent home and this must be returned as soon as possible. If your child hasn’t received one, they will be able to collect one form the office.

Should you have any more questions or queries, please feel free to contact me at kodon30@eq.edu.au

Interschool Sport

Each year students in grade 5 and 6 participate in an interschool sporting competition for four weeks during term 1 and term 2. Students compete against other schools within the district in a round robin format where each team will play a minimum of 2 games per day. Boys will be able to play soccer or rugby league and girls will be able to play netball or touch football. The dates of the interschool sport competition are the 9th March, 23rd March, 20th April and 27th April.

By now your child/ren should have nominated what sport they would like to take part in for interschool sport. Further information regarding the competition will be provided once all forms and teams are finalized.

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.

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
PE Teacher
kodon30@eq.edu.au

P&C News

Welcome back to school everyone!!

AGM and General Meeting

Our first meeting for the year will be held 19th February 2018 at 7pm. This will be a general meeting and our AGM where a new P&C executive will be elected. Positions that need to be filled are:

• President
• Vice-President
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Fundraising co-ordinator
• Grants Co-ordinator

The P&C is essential for the school, as it runs the tuckshop and uniform shop, and is responsible for most of the fundraising for the school. Please come and be a part of our team, even if you just attend our meetings.

Get involved in the School Banking program.

Edens Landing State School is excited to offer the Commonwealth Bank School Banking program to all students.

School Banking is a fun, interactive and engaging way for young Australians to learn about money and develop good savings habits. Children who deposit money into their Youthsaver account through School Banking earn Dollarmites tokens, which they can save up and redeem for exciting rewards.

The rewards available during 2018 are:

• Twister Power Handball
• Secret Scratch Pad
• Sparkle Glitter Pens
• Glow Light
• Mighty Boom Handball
• Heat Reactor Pencils
• Slushie Maker Cup
• Zoom Flying Disc

School Banking is also a great fundraiser for our school. Our school receives a Regular Savers Contribution of $5 for every 10 deposits processed per student as well as an Annual Contribution which is based on the number of students who made at least one School Banking deposit in the prior year.

Getting involved in School Banking is easy!

All you need to get involved in the School Banking program is a Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account. You can open an account for your child in one of two ways:

1. Online

Visit the link below and click on the link to open a Youthsaver account.

2. In branch

Visit a Commonwealth Bank branch with identification for yourself and your child, like a driver’s licence and birth certificate.

If your child has an existing Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account they can start banking straight away. They just need to bring their deposit in every week on School Banking day using their Dollarmites deposit wallet.

School Banking day is WEDNESDAY. Each week you need to put your bank book into the grey bag in your classroom.

If you would like to know more about School Banking, please ask for a 2018 School Banking program information pack from the school office or visit the link below.

Tuckshop News

Welcome to 2018

Some information to go with our new menu. There have been some price increases due to supplier price increases and some items removed from the menu.

Items removed from menu – BELT burgers, Quench Drinks, Slushies, Baked Bean Sandwiches and Grainwaves chips.

Items with price increase – Beef Pie, Beef Lasagne, Sausage Rolls, Hot Dogs, Hamburgers and Wraps and Salad Boxes. Please make sure if you are ordering these items to use the new 2018 prices from the GREEN menu.

At the bottom of the menu there is information on how to order tuckshop using the paper bag system. Our preferred method of ordering is our online system called Flexischools. Our Flexischools cut off time is 8am the morning of service, please make sure your orders are completed and confirmed by 8am or they will not be processed on the Flexischools website. If your child is not at school and not needing their Flexischools order on that day, please contact the tuckshop and inform us so I can cancel the order, if you do not contact and cancel the order with me then your order will stand, and no refund will be given. If there is no answer, please leave a clear message including childs name and class. If there are any problems with the Flexischools website and ordering system, please contact them directly.

Getting online is easy and only takes a few minutes to register. Simply go to the website 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.

Information and volunteer roster is in the fortnightly newsletter and I also post updates on the Edens Landing State School P&C Association facebook page.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any issues with tuckshop or would like to come and volunteer. There is no need to stay the whole day, a couple of hours at the most is normally only what is needed. The tuckshop can only provide lunches to children if volunteers help. Many hands make light work.

Have a great year

Annette Honnery
Tuckshop Convenor
tuckshop@edenslandingss.eq.edu.au
3805 7999

Uniform News

Uniform Shop Opening hours
Every Thursday 8.15am to 9.15am
OR
Order through Flexi schools

Don’t forget to keep an eye on out P&C Facebook Page for Updates on many things we post about.

Chappy News

Hi everyone,

Hope your holidays were restful and you were able to have lots of family time. Welcome back to you all.

This year I will be continuing to run the programs from 2017. These include the YMCA breakfast program on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8am to 8:30am. The Chic Chat program with year 6 girls in term 2 and 3, and the parent support afternoon tea on every second Thursday of each month from 1:45pm until 2:50pm in G-Block. The dates for this term are: February the 8th and March the 8th. SUPA Club for year 4-6 will also be continuing to run on Thursdays at second break, this is a spiritual support program that requires parent permission.

I am in the school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I am located at G-Block, if you would like to meet me please feel free to drop in and say hello.

With the start of the new school year many families are worried about their children building good friendships at school, so here is an article for the kids matter website on teaching children friendship skills.

Teaching children better friendship skills

Are you worried that your child is having trouble making friends? Perhaps he or she walks out of the school gate alone each day or talks of trouble finding other children to play with at lunchtime.

It’s important to remember that like so many aspects of your child’s development, friendship is a learned skill. Just like learning to play the piano or ride a bike, practice helps children learn how to interact with other children and make friends.

The long-term benefits of friendship are many. Through friendships, children learn to relate to others and foster a sense of belonging to a group – skills that will continue to serve them into adulthood. Plus, children with friends are more self-confident and perform better academically at school than those without friends.

But friendships are not always easy. Your child may find it difficult to share their favourite toy or listen to another child’s instructions during a game in the playground. Children who are bossy, aggressive or unable to say sorry can be difficult to get along with.

The good news is that there’s a lot parents and carers can do to help children make friends. You are one of the most powerful influences in your child’s life, so make the most of it, and remember that children are learning social skills through their relationship with you and from watching how you relate to other people.

You can also promote positive social skills:

• Teach your child to smile and say thank-you when another child lends them a toy.
• Plan a fun game for when your child invites a friend over for a play date.
• Talk to your child about their friends and any problems they might be having – this helps children feel supported and encourages resilience.

Reference:

Chappy Tricia

Outside School HOURS CARE- OSHC

Messages from the Team

We have two new educators who will be joining our YMCA Edens Landing OSHC team. Tara and Romany are already part of our YMCA Brisbane OHSC team and we are excited for them to be joining us here at Edens Landing over the coming weeks. Both educators bring with them a wealth of experience in OSHC, childcare and education.

What we’ve been doing

Over the recent school holidays, we were running our Summer Holiday Club program. This program included an excursion to the Cinemas to see the very funny film Ferdinand. Both the children and educators expressed how much they enjoyed the film as well as the opportunity to be out in the community for a day.

We also had some fantastic themed days here at school, including Water Play Day, where we used water balloons to play a range of fun games. The highlight of the holidays was definitely the inflatable water slide which kept our whole group entertained for an entire day! We always have new and different activities each school holidays so keep an eye out for our Autumn Holiday Club program in the coming weeks!

Join us for

We are still accepting 2018 enrolment forms! If you haven’t already enrolled into YMCA Edens Landing OSHC come and see us in the Multi-Purpose Hall and complete an enrolment form. We welcome both casual and permanent bookings each day for both before and after school care.