27 April 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s News

Edens Landing Little Learners

Our early years playgroup has commenced with our introduction morning taking place last Wednesday. We had 8 early learners attending with interest from many others.

The purpose of the playgroup is to get to know our little ones before they begin school as well as giving parents tips around building of oral language skills.

Staffing

Ms Ashley Pinner finished with us last Friday to commence her maternity leave. Ms Alana Watts will be working in the Pathways program for Term 2. Her replacement at this stage is Mrs Karen Sass. Karen has worked at ELSS extensively in a relief teacher position and has taken several contracts.

Ms Cath Hill is on sick leave trying to recover from a pneumonia type illness. Her replacement is Mr Greg Dettering. Greg worked in 6C last term replacing Ms Cureton. He also went on Year 6 camp so has a good relationship with the students.

Anzac Day ceremony

Our Anzac Day ceremony held Monday was very successful. Federal Minister Mr Bert Van Mannen, Councillor Stacey Macintosh, Senior constable Luke Turner were all in attendance. Our school leaders were complimented by our guests on their speaking skills and the way they conducted themselves. I was so very proud of all our students for the respect they showed during the ceremony.

Bush Dance

Preparations are well under way for our annual Bush Dance. The date has been confirmed as Wednesday 27 June. This is a great community event. All proceeds will be going to our Kitchen Garden program.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN is looming closer and our teachers are busy preparing our students. Whilst NAPLAN is not our only point of truth it is still a measure used by the department to determine how successful our school is. NAPLAN dates are 15, 16 and 17 May.

Joint Agency Meeting

Last Friday Councillor Macintosh, Constable Luke and the admin team met to discuss extra resourcing for our school around transport (bus services) and support for our multi-cultural students and their families. A survey from Councillor Macintosh will be coming out soon gaining information around whether families would use bus transport should it be available. We are very excited about this productive and ongoing partnership to improve resources for ELSS.

Warmly
Gail Quigley
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.

KOKODA TRAINING HIKES

I have had the privilege of walking with our Kokoda Challenge students over the past few months. Last weekend they hiked up a mountain that would make most adults bend at the knees if they had to tackle the climb. Our amazing students hiked on with a smile on their face and a bounce in their step the whole way. Robina High School’s team was also at the same hike training the high school students for the same challenge our students will be participating in on the 2nd of June. The staff leading the high school stopped twice to praise the commitment and enthusiasm of our students. He commented at the end of the hike how impressed he was with how well the students were able to complete the course. He also commented on the commitment of the staff and parents who support our Kokoda teams, getting them to the hikes and preparing them for the challenges that arise. The Robina High School leader called our students the “Little Rippas” a name that might just stick. If anyone is interested in joining our team please contact Mr Hopkinson (lhopk36@eq.edu.au) who is the mastermind behind our program.

KITCHEN GARDEN PROGRAM

Anyone who has been to our school recently would have seen how productive our garden is and how much our students love working in the garden and kitchen. This is a unique program which covers a large portion of the curriculum across the school. Many concepts from Science, Mathematics, and Technology are covered in our program which is why it is one of the cornerstones of our STEM program. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful resource for our students to interact with and learn from. Chef Chris is the guru behind this program and has sent a wish list for donations to further improve the garden and make the experience even more enjoyable and educational. Chef Chris is appealing for donations, of materials, you may have around your home or know of someone who has these things and would like to see them being used by our students.

Due to the need for us to ensure our student’s safety at all times, all donations will have to be seen and approved by us, before anything can be accepted.

The above list is a wish list and any or all of these will make a huge difference to the already fantastic Kitchen/Garden Program we have the pleasure of offering.

There may be other things you have that will also be beneficial and we would love to be offered them.

You may also know of people who may want to volunteer their time, to assist with the workload involved, in maintaining this productive garden. It may be you or a grandparent or retiree (we can arrange blue cards) who has time available. There are many, many, retirees out there who, during their life have maintained amazing gardens, vegetable and ornamental and have downsized or moved to a retirement village and no longer have the pleasure of their own garden. These people’s knowledge alone would be invaluable to Chris and he would love to talk to them and discuss ways we can help each other.

BUSH DANCE IS BACK IN 2018!

Please mark Wednesday the 27th June on your calendar for our Annual Bush Dance. Every class will be performing a dance, we have the Ran Tan Bush Band is coming back to perform and there will be entertainment, food and activities for the whole family. Entry will be a gold coin donation as was the case last year.

Once again we are asking for support to make the night successful.

The Year 5 cohort are running a Lucky Jar stall. They want their stall to be a big hit so are asking for every child in Year 5 to bring at least one jar filled with anything you like. Suggestions: Lollies, coloured popcorn, small cars, hair ties and decorations for girls, marbles, toy animals, vouchers, small toys. Bottles can be left at Mrs. Gibson’s office. If you don’t have a jar, just send in the items and we will put them in jars for you. Anyone else who has items suitable for this stall are welcome to donate.

We are also looking for parents to volunteer on the night to help the teachers run stalls and activities. If you are able to help for half hour or so, please let your child’s teacher know.

The Student Council are once again running the Lob-A-Choc stall on the night. This was a huge success last year with everyone lining up to take a turn, if we get enough chocolate bars we will be able to run two stalls to reduce the time standing in line. In order for this stall to be successful, we need a range of chocolate blocks (big or small). If every family donates one block of chocolate we will have a fantastic stall on the night. Please leave all donations at Mrs. Gibson’s office.

For those who did not attend last year, this is how the ‘Lob a Choc’ works. It involves setting up blocks of chocolate (a variety of big and small) randomly on a wire grid. Customers stand behind a line and throw coins, trying to land them on the chocolate blocks. If they are successful, the chocolate is theirs. Under some blocks of chocolate there will be a ‘golden ticket’ which offers the winner a bonus prize. All funds raised through this stall will go directly to our kitchen garden program.

The Kitchen Garden crew will once again be offering cakes and coffee/tea on the night. The teachers and other staff are always amazing at baking up a storm. Last year we had many families donating baked items which was a much appreciated addition to our stall. Anyone who would like to contribute baked goods is asked to let their child’s classroom teacher know or simply deliver the goods to Mrs Gibson’s office in the morning on the day.

In order for this stall to be successful, we need a range of chocolate blocks (big or small). If every family donates one block of chocolate we will have a fantastic stall on the night. Please leave all donations at Mrs. Gibson’s office.

We are looking forward to seeing all of our families enjoying the Bush Dance and joining in the fun.

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

Deputy Principal’s News

Mother’s Day

On Friday 11th May we will be having a special Mother’s Day assembly at 9am, followed by activities in classrooms then at 10:30 am a special Morning Tea in our Teaching Kitchen with Ms Quigley and the Leadership team, and other guests.

Australian Early Development Census

This year is a collection year for the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), which is a nationwide census of early childhood development and helps our school and community understand how children are developing before they start school, what is being done well, and what can be improved. The AEDC is an Australian Government initiative run by the Department of Education and Training.

As the census gathers information about early childhood it will be carried out by the Prep teachers in the last two weeks of this term.

Children do not need to do anything to be included in the census and will attend class as usual. During the census, teachers record information (including children’s names and dates of birth) based on their knowledge and observations of each child in their class. The questions to be used by the AEDC in the upcoming collection are available at the link below:

Let’s have a go at writing

This week some students shared their writing with me, and I was amazed at the efforts of a prep child re-telling the story “Who Sank the Boat?”

Having a go at writing and drawing at an early age helps children learn and understand how ideas are communicated.

Children who draw before they tackle writing tasks produce better writing - it’s longer, more syntactically sophisticated and has a greater variety of vocabulary. It is likely this is because the act of drawing concentrates the mind on the topic at hand, and provides an avenue for rehearsal before writing - rather like a first draft where they can sort things out before having to commit words to a page.

Encouraging writing through play and everyday learning opportunities can help boost your child’s interest in letters and words, to provide the foundations of reading and writing skills for later years.

You can incorporate writing into playtime by creating name tags or shop signs, or take advantage of real life opportunities to show your child how writing is used every day in writing lists, notes or letters.

•Show your child how to record their own ideas by writing down things they suggest, like an idea or story.

•Discuss some of the different words that you use or the way you can make a sentence, making links to words or letters your child already is familiar with.

For more information visit

Date claimer: Under 8’s Day

This year we will be celebrating Under 8’s day on Wednesday June 6th.

PE News

Cross Country

Congratulations to all students who participated in the Edens Landing Cross Country. 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 Matin and Anna 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.

Representative News

The following students have been selected in representative teams

Tyana- South Coast Netball
Callum- Pacific Rim Touch Football
Alize- South Coast Rugby League

Beenleigh Zone Cross Country

The Beenleigh Zone Cross Country Trial was held earlier in the week with students competing from grades four, five and six participating in the event held at Rivermount College. Congratulations must go to all students for being great ambassadors for Edens Landing and displaying great sportsmanship, pride and exemplary behaviour. In a field of over 100 students in every race, Edens Landing results were pleasing placing third overall in our division. A special mention must go to Aydon who placed 2nd, Anna 2nd, Freshta 3rd, Matin 6th and Callum 8th. These students will now compete at the Pacific Rim Trial next week.

School Sport Dates

Senior Sports Day (3-6): 21st and 22nd June
Junior Sports Day (P-2): TBA

Running Club

Running club will commence on Monday 23rd April and be held every Monday and Thursday mornings from 8-8:30am.

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

Chappy News

Hi Everyone,

Term 2 is here and his term I will be starting the Chic Chat program with some year 6 girls, during second break on Tuesday. It will run again next term. At the end of term 3 to celebrate the completion of the program, myself and other school chaplains organise a mother daughter dinner to celebrate. This dinner is free and is a lot of fun, last year the mother said they really enjoyed it. This program teaches girls self-esteem and how valuable they are, which is very important especially before starting high school. If you would like your daughter to be involved next term please contact the office and ask them to leave me a message.

The breakfast program continues on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. If there is anyone who would like to volunteer to help out at breakfast club, please do not hesitate to talk to me or the office. You will need a blue card.

The parents afternoon tea is the second Thursday of every month at 1.45pm to 2.45pm. The dates for this term are the 10th May and the 14th June. They are now located in lower B-Block (the old art room).

How to Parent Based on Your Child's Strengths

7 Ways to Parent to Your Child's Strengths Instead of Weaknesses

Our children are unique just like everyone else — we're all one in seven billion — so why do we continuously focus on their weaknesses and the things they don't do as well as other children? Mary Reckmeyer, PhD, author of Strengths Based Parenting and executive director of Gallup's Donald O. Clifton Child Development Center, believes that it is our job as parents to do our best to help develop our children's innate talents and natural inclinations so they can succeed and experience a well-lived life.

To start parenting to your unique child's individual strengths, Dr. Reckmeyer shares seven exercises that will help parents take small steps toward making a change.

1. Don't look at "problems" and try to "fix" them.

For whatever reason, at home and in school we often focus on what a child does "wrong." If you ask any parent if they were well rounded as a child, and if being well rounded has been the reason for their successes in life, it’s likely they’ll attribute their successes to specific talents. Not everyone can be good at everything, so the sooner you begin to look at what your child can do rather than what they can’t do, the better equipped they’ll be to understand their natural affinities in order to "create a path to well-being.”

2. Help to replace bad behaviors with something else.

Dr. Reckmeyer uses the "biting stage" in preschool as an example of a "bad behavior" that elicits emotion in parents. "Parents get so focused on their child biting that they will constantly ask, ‘Did you bite anyone today?' or remind them, 'Hey, remember we don’t bite?' and everything is around what we don't do. You have to find the other things that the child is interested in and know what their talents are so that you can have another focus. Get away from the biting focus or it’s never going to change.”

3. Look at the types of activities and environments that your child is repeatedly drawn to.

If there are activities that your child is consistently drawn to — Dr. Reckmeyer refers to these activities as ones that spark "timelessness," as your child completely loses track of time when doing them — pay attention to those and figure out how you can challenge your child within the activity.

If their "timelessness" activity is Legos, you can then challenge them to build on the potential strengths that come out of the activity by asking them to build something out of certain blocks, or maybe have them explain their building process. These natural inclinations are like a muscle you can help your child flex and grow in different ways so that they can become assets for them.

4 Develop a "network of partners."

You are not the only person that your child sees and spends time with on a daily basis — as a parent you might see your child doing something new and think it’s really special, but maybe every child is good at it, or it’s not that big of a deal. When you have other people — grandparents, neighbors, teachers, etc — to be able to weigh in on certain aspects of your child, it can really help to have that reinforcement and affirmation of your child’s special talents so that you know what to build on.

5 Give them undivided attention whenever possible.

Dr. Reckmeyer urges parents to think about the number of times a child says to their parent, "Watch me!" Children just want to know that their parents and teachers are paying attention to them. "Give your kids that undivided attention as much as you can. You don’t even have to say anything, and sometimes that’s what’s best — bite your tongue, listen to them, and appreciate being there with them."

6. Employ wait time between questions and answers.

"The average time an adult waits to respond after being asked a question by a child is an amazing nine-tenths of a second. That’s nothing," Dr. Reckmeyer says. "My rule is a three-second rule: triple the amount of time you wait to hear what a child is thinking. Three seconds still isn’t very much, but I think once you start doing that, it slows you down to let you stop and appreciate the child in front of you and helps you to build your relationship on something that’s important to them at the time: listening.”

Once we start spending time listening to our kids, figuring out what they need from us to continue to succeed and thrive becomes much less of a guessing game.

7 Don't expect change to come overnight.

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to parenting to strengths, and we can make changes and have new goals and focuses, but Dr. Reckmeyer knows it won't happen completely overnight. "Our goal is to have kids who have lives well-lived, which I think is a lot about taking one step at a time — but sometimes you need to just force yourself to think about what works for your child and jump right in with a new focus," she says. "If you decide to switch it up and take a positive focus and really individualize when you’re looking at your child’s strengths, that means you’re looking at your child for who he is — he’s one of seven billion people and he’s unique.”

Small changes over time will turn into a positive, strength-building routine for the whole family.

Referenced from :

P&C News

P & C have 2 positions available- Secretary and Treasurer.
Applicant applying for the Treasurer position must have MYOB finance experience.
Further details contact pandcpresident@edenslandingss.eq.edu.au

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 hand in your bank book to your teacher where it will be brought down to the banking ladies.

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:

TuckshopNews

• Please make sure if you are ordering items, it is from 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 www.flexischools.com.au 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 are normally only what is needed. The tuckshop can only provide lunches to children if volunteers help. Many hands make light work.

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.

Outside School HOURS CARE- OSHC

Important Dates to Remember

Visit the ELSS website for all calendar events:

Office News

You can now pay for your student's activities or excursions via cash or EFT at Window 3 at the office between 8.15 and 10.30am WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY mornings. Cash WILL NOT be accepted outside of these hours.

Bpoint payments and bank transfers close 3 days before the cash due date listed on the activity information.

PLEASE NOTE that NO PAYMENTS made after 10.30am on the last payment date will... be accepted.

Current payments due are:

• Year 2 Historical Village Excursion $18 - last payment date for Bpoint/bank transfer Wednesday 25 April, cash/EFT at window Friday 27 April
• Year 5 Camp $158 - last payment date for Bpoint/bank transfer Friday 4 May, cash/EFT at window Wednesday 9 May

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

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

Community News