BSS – The Community Since our first newsletter, I have taken time to meet with each staff member in our school. I‘ve had the chance to get to know a little bit more about each teacher, teacher aide and office staff; their

families, their learning and working journey and their history with Boondall State School. We discussed their personal vision for the future and what they would like to see as the ‘next step’ for BSS. One notable take away I had from this experience was the distinct sense of community at BSS.

Now I have worked in a lot of schools across the state and often the word ‘community’ is readily used but at Boondall State School you have a HUGE portion of staff that have personally invested in the school. They have trusted their own children to be a part of the learning community. Some have grandchildren at the school. Some had their own children at the school long ago but remain as part of the team as they feel so connected to the community. I heard stories of teachers now teaching the children of children they taught. Generations being a part of the Boondall State School community. This is unique and something as a school, we should feel very proud of. I certainly feel genuinely fortunate to be able to be a part of this warm and welcoming community.

EVERY DAY COUNTS Every Day is a learning day at BSS and EVERY child has a right to learn and grow every day. We want to see children at school from the very first day in Prep, until they move from BSS to high school. Of course there is the odd day that children are too unwell to attend but be very careful that children are not beginning a pattern of absence that is difficult to undo. Firstly, ALL children (and lots of the adults) are finding it difficult to come to school each day because of tiredness. We all need to build ‘school fitness’ and become used to the day to day of a school week. Tiredness is not a good reason to stay at home and in fact will make it even more difficult for your child to keep up with the class both with building school stamina as well as their academic levels. Secondly, ALL children have days when they don’t want to go to school. They may feel nervous or worried because something was difficult the day before, or they made a mistake or had an argument with friends. These are all normal parts of their learning journey at school and is an opportunity for them to learn the skills to manage themselves when things are not perfect. This establishes them to develop the skills they need for the real world. Parents who are most helpful to their children help them work through difficult situations as they can see the lifelong skills these opportunities present. If there is something ongoing, always make a time to talk things through with your child’s teacher.

From the Principal’s Desk

13 Feb: Student Leader Induction Assembly Bramble Bay AFL 14 Feb: Bramble Bay Swim Carnival 17 Feb: P & C Meeting 24 Feb: Bramble Bay Rugby League Colour Fun Run sponsorship commences 26 Feb: Met North Swim Carnival 2 Mar: Bramble Bay Netball 5 Mar: Bramble Bay Football 10 Mar: Holi Day.Met North basketball 11 Mar: SCHOOL PHOTO DAY

If you need a hand, there are a number of books read by a few pretty famous footy players that might be a lovely way that you and your children can see the value of being at BSS every day. https://everydaycounts.education.qld.gov.au/ Every day we take the roll in every class. We have a target of 95% attendance for our school as a minimum. The graph below shows that since we have been back in 2020 we have had some really great days and some days were too many students have been absent and missing a learning day.

This graph shows attendance each day………………..

We want each of our year levels to be over that 95% target each week.

Year Level Weeks

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

P 98.1 96.3

1 95.5 93.5

2 94.6 97.1

3 93.7 95.8

4 94.4 92.8

5 96.1 94.5

6 95.8 95.7 PREPs Prep parents, this graph shows the number of students ABSENT each day since we began our prep year. Already we can see that a number of students have missed days at the end of the week. The teachers are very aware of how tired the children get at the end of the week and adjust their programs to manage this but we want EVERY prep student here every day. Give your child the very best beginning to their school journey by having them at school every day.

AROUND THE GROUNDS We need your assistance. Please keep an eye on our school. Unfortunately, someone has

poisoned the trees at the edge of our oval. Though the matter has been referred to the police, the greater concern is the cost that will be involved in attending to the removal of the trees. This is an unexpected and unnecessary cost to the school and takes away from the budget we want to utilise for the children. Any damage to our school takes away from the children. Please make sure you report any suspicious behaviour to School Watch on…..

PJ Reading Night Thanks to all the staff and of course all the many parents, families and children that shared in PJ Reading night 2020. Mrs Brooke Harris, did a spectacular job at organising the evening where we shared our favourite books, enjoyed some famous faces sharing a story, enjoyed the excitement of the lucky door prize giving and snuggled with family to share a story. I hope everyone is busy with their reading logs and I can’t wait to see the first photos of children reading at home shared on assembly.

Have a fantastic week Sharni Tomkins Principal

Parent Communication Thank you to everyone who attended the Meet and Greet. A positive relationship between school and home goes a long way in supporting positive learning outcomes for students. If parents would like to meet individually with teachers to discuss their child’s learning, please make a mutually agreeable time with the classroom teacher. Save the Date Parent-Teacher interviews will be held on Monday 23 March between 3.00pm and 7.00pm. A letter with booking instructions will be sent home on Wednesday 4 March with your child. We would love to have 100% of parents/carers participating. Student Leadership Induction Thursday 13 Feb. A reminder for parents of children being inducted as school leaders: Student Leader Induction Assembly 8.30am Thursday 13 Feb Morning Tea to follow Experiencing Difficulties? We are fortunate to have a number of excellent local support services for people experiencing a range of difficulties. While we acknowledge matters can be very private and personal it is important that you are in contact with the right support if required. This is particularly important for matters that are effecting your children. Family and Child Connect (phone 13 32 64) is a government organisation who point you in the right direction when you need support. This is an excellent service which I encourage you to contact if required. Bike / Scooter Safety Please remember to ensure students are wearing helmets and riding safety to and from school. Students are required to walk bikes and scooters into and out of the school ground. Please remind students to be careful of vehicles and pedestrians as we do not want accidents to occur. Greg McCallum Deputy Principal Years 4 -6 __________________________ It has been wonderful to see the excited faces of our new Preppies and how quickly they have settled into their classes. When visiting the Year 1, Year 2 & Year 3 classes I have seen how quickly the students and teachers have developed classroom routines and started their learning. Remember every day at school counts and learning begins as soon as school starts in the morning at 8:30am. Communication Thank you to all parents/carers who took the time to attend our Meet and Greet last Monday. Positive home and school partnerships are very important and assist in setting students up for success. All classes would now have sent home a Term 1 newsletter informing parents/carers of routines and expectations specific to each particular class. Please make contact with your child’s teacher if you didn’t receive this. Daily learning at school is valuable; we ask that parents/carers make an appointment to discuss matters with their child’s classroom teacher in order to avoid interrupting key learning time.

Deputy Principals

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program Parenting can be hard work; it’s okay to ask for help and free help is available. Triple P - Positive Parenting Program is a world-renowned program that helps make raising children and teenagers easier. It is available free of charge and on a voluntary basis to all Queensland parents and carers of children up to 16 years. The program will give you practical skills and tools, and help build the confidence you need, to:

manage your children’s behaviour set family routines and rules that everyone follows develop positive relationships, so you can get along well with your kids and argue less raise happy, healthy and confident children balance work and family without stress create a happy, safe environment where your family can thrive.

Visit the Triple P Queensland website to learn more about the program Robyne Harris Deputy Principal Prep to Year 3

Home Reading Photos We love seeing students participating in home reading! To celebrate our love of reading we will share some home reading photos on assembly each week. Any student who sends in a home reading photo will receive a book to keep! How to participate:

- View the table below to see which week is your child’s allocated photo week - Take a photo of your child reading during this week, with the set theme - Send you photo to info@boondallss.eq.edu.au BY WEDNESDAY 3pm to be included. Due

to the time it takes to organize assembly items, submissions after this time are unable to be included.

Brooke Harris

Literacy Coach

Home Reading Photo Challenge!

WEEK YEAR LEVEL THEME

Week 3 Staff strange places

Week 4 Year 2 with a sibling or cousin

Week 5 Year 4 in the outdoors

Week 6 Year 6 with a buddy

Week 7 Year 1 with a parent or carer

Week 8 Year 3 with an animal

Week 9

Prep free choice

Week 10 Year 5 with a friend

Literacy Coach

Book Club closes Friday 14 February. Please have your orders and

payments in to the office by 9.00am.

Book Club

School Photo Day

Music Shirt Students who are in the School Band (Year 5 & 6 students who attend 7.30 rehearsals on Tuesdays) and students in Senior Choir need to have a Music shirt. The shirt is the same for Band and Choir so there is no need to buy two if your child is in both groups. This year we are trialling buying these shirts through Flexischools. The cost is $31 and the sizing is a slightly shorter fit than the current polo shirts. I have samples sizes available in the Music Room if you would like to try them on with your child. I do suggest that parents with Year 5 students consider getting a size bigger to last until the end of Year 6. If you do not use flexischools but need a shirt, please email the P & C on pandc@boondallss.eq.edu.au . I have asked for flexischools to keep this open until the 21st of February so that orders can be in by the end of Term 1, ready for performances in Term 2. Choir Senior Choir and Intermediate Choir started rehearsals this week. It is important that I have signed forms for Senior Choir students to attend the after school rehearsals. Intermediate Choir have not received their forms yet. Keep Making Music, Mrs Spooner

All classes have now visited the school library, with Years 1 to 6 students borrowing at least 2

books to take home. Below is the weekly timetable for all class borrowing. Perhaps put this

timetable on the kitchen fridge where it can be seen, as a reminder of allocated borrowing days.

As Prep students have a selection of library books in their classroom to take home this term, they

will start to borrow from the school library in Term 2.

Please assist your child/children to return their books back to the library on time. It is requested

that Prep to Year 3 students have a waterproof library bag to borrow (it can be a plastic shopping

bag). It not only protects our library books from leaky water bottles, lunch boxes and swimming

togs, but becomes part of the weekly procedure to borrow and encourages students to be

responsible and care for the books that belong to the whole school.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

2E1

4/5R2

6A5 6A6 5/6C5

4/5R2

6C4

1I2

2T2 1I1

6C4

1H1 2E2 5Q1

3C3 1F2 3F1 1H2

3C1 5R1 4A4 4A2

2T1 3C2 5Q2

4A1

Music Matters

Library

March 2018 ATTACHMENTS:

The library currently has no plastic bags! If you happen to have any clean plastic shopping bags to spare, the library would love to take some off your hands. Happy Reading! Mrs Betts

Some school activities and physical education, particularly contact sports, carry inherent risks of injury. Parents are advised that the Department of Education and Training does not have Student Accident Insurance cover for students. If your child is injured at school as a result of an accident or incident, all costs associated with the injury, including medical costs, are the responsibility of the child, parent or caregiver. Some incidental medical costs may be covered by Medicare. If parents have private health insurance, some costs may also be covered through the private health insurance. Any other costs would be borne by the parents. Student Accident Insurance is an insurance policy that pays certain benefits in certain circumstances should your child have an accident. It is a personal decision for parents as to the types and levels of private insurance they arrange to cover their child for any accidental injury that may occur. Parents should contact their insurer or an approved Australian insurance broker for more information about student personal accident insurance cover for their child

CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS OVER PHONE

The school office will no longer be able to accept credit card payments over the phone. Instead,

you will be required to phone a secure payment portal (BPoint IVR) to make payments to the

school. The phone number for BPoint IVR is 1300 631 073 and you will need the CRN (included on

all our invoices) and the invoice number to complete the payment.

Details relating to this new facility are included on all of our invoices. Please note that there is no

change to the school accepting EFTPOS or credit card payments over the counter at the office. This

change only affects credit card payments made over the phone.

Need a Justice of the Peace? Just call in to TAIGUM SHOPPING

CENTRE

Our Justice of the Peace service is available three days per week, each Monday, Thursday and Friday from 9.30am – 11.30am. They are located near The Coffee Club.

Student Accident Insurance

School Payments

Justice of the Peace Service

March 2018 ATTACHMENTS:

1. The Uniform Shop has reverted to opening every second Friday of the month (not

every second Friday) and this Friday, 14 February we are trialling opening from 9.15am

to 10.00am after assembly has finished. The P&C Exec team are meeting this week to

discuss what the opening hours will be moving forward.

2. 2020 Senior Shirts AND Music Shirts are now available to order-pay for through Flexischools until 21 February 2020. This change was made to take advantage of the systems P&C already have in place for ordering, with the approval of the school/music teachers/Christine and to relive the pressure on Admin. Families experiencing hardship in paying should speak with the school office, whilst families unable to use Flexischools should email pandc@boondallss.eq.edu.au so I can make alternative arrangements for them to pay. 3. Uniform Shop Out of Stock Items are: Formal shirts (Size 10, 12, 14 and 16); Navy Polo Shirts (Size 8 and 12); Skorts (Size 12); Reversible Navy School Hats (Elliot, Cuthbert and Perkins); Prep Hats (Size S/55cm). The hats are still available to order on Flexischools as we have a known delivery date (end of the term) which has been reflected in Flexischools. 4. The remainder of our formal stock replacements should arrive this week 5. Please send all Uniform Shop queries to email pandc@boondallss.eq.edu.au

We are already in week 3 and it has been wonderful watching students settle into their classes and routines. 1. The first P&C meeting for the year will be on Monday, 17 February from 7pm to 8.00pm in

the school music room. P&C meetings are your opportunity to be involved, to learn what is happening around the school and to have input. We have an active P&C at Boondall State School and always welcome new members and/or attendees at meetings.

2. Planning is underway for the 2020 Colour Fun Run which will be held on Thursday, 26

March. This will be our third year of Colour Fun and more details will be released soon. If you know a business that may be interested in sponsoring our Colour Fun, please email pandc@boondallss.eq.edu.au We will also need volunteers to help share the colour powder on the day so please register to help at https://signup.com/go/AJVwgSW

3. Disco Date Change: due to the upcoming local election our Term 1 disco has been moved to

Term 2 on Friday, 19 June.

4. The Rise Café Term 1 Menus may be found on the school website with paper copies available from the Rise Cafe. If your child has any issues with their orders, please encourage them to visit the Rise Café as soon as possible on the day. Flexischools is the preferred ordering method given our limited volunteers. The Rise Cafe always welcomes new volunteers so please see Rise Cafe convenor Megan if you can lend a hand, even 10 minutes after school drop off can be a huge help.

5. The Uniform Shop has now reverted to opening every second Friday of the month and for Friday, 14 February we are trialling opening after assembly from 9.15am to 10.00am.

P & C News

Uniform Shop

March 2018 ATTACHMENTS:

Flexischools orders continue to be delivered to class teachers’ mailboxes by every Friday. If you have any queries regarding the Uniform Shop, please email pandc@boondallss.eq.edu.au. We appreciate everyone's patience and understanding as we work with our suppliers to replenish out of stock items. We are constantly evaluating our systems and processes to ensure we are meeting families’ needs given our limited resources.

A successful P&C relies on volunteers to operate. With approximately 700 students at Boondall State School, providing services like the Rise Cafe, Uniform Shop, Gift Stalls, BBQs, working bees, school banking etc requires volunteers. No experience is required so if you or another of your family members would like to help please email pandc@boondallss.eq.edu.au

March 2018 ATTACHMENTS:

Boondall Barracudas Swim Club We hope everyone has enjoyed diving back into the pool after a wonderful break. The pool was repainted over the holidays and looks amazing! Congratulations to our Barracudas that swam in the recent Brisbane Sprint Championships. A great experience and some new PBs to top it off. Good luck to all those participating in the Bramble Bay Swimming Trials this Friday as well. The Boondall Barracudas club nights resumed on Friday, 31 January kicking off the second half of our season and we have been excited to see some new families joining us. For anyone else that would like to join swim club, discounted half season memberships are available. We cater for all swimming abilities and have swimmers as young as 3 years old. Please refer to our online membership form for more details: https://forms.gle/QwAD1ranu2ae9hC49. We also offer a free trial so that swimmers may try out a club night first. This is a great opportunity to experience what happens on club night. Please email boondallbarracudas@hotmail.com if you would like to join in the fun. Did you know Swim Solutions offer Boondall Barracudas swim club members a 5% discount on lessons or squad fees (conditions apply). For more details go to www.swimsolutions.com.au or speak to Kimbra or Pam at the pool after school. Refer to the attached flyer for more information about swim club and email boondallbarracudas@hotmail.com if you have any queries. We look forward to seeing more families down at the pool. Swim safely! It has been a busy opening two weeks at YMCA Boondall with the children settling into their new classes and the new routines here at the Y. Week 1 revolved around new beginnings and setting goals for the future which the kids engaged with and learned from. Week 2 we recognized World Wetland Day given our close proximity to the Boondall Wetlands. Our Preps have engaged with their own program specially designed to meet their own specific developmental needs. This year also saw the debut of ‘Boondall Boot Camp,’ a fitness session run daily for all enrolled students (and parents) to increase their gross motor skills and aerobic endurance. The children have all been engaged in the program and actively participate in its construction. If you require our service feel free to contact us at abl@ymcabrisbane.org or come in and speak to our friendly staff located in the building next to the Hall.

PCYC Outside School Hours Care

Boondall Barracudas Swim Club

March 2018 ATTACHMENTS:

Positions Vacant Casual School Crossing Supervisors Positions exist for Casual School Crossing Supervisors at local schools. • • A School Crossing Supervisor must be able to work in all-weather conditions,

• • Up to 1 hour and 30 mins per day, 5 days per fortnight on a rostered basis.

• • Relief opportunities on your rostered days off.

• • Pay Rate $30.34 per hour. Commencement of employment for the successful applicant is dependent on: • • The favourable outcome of a health assessment.

• • A Positive Notice Blue Card (you do not need to have a blue card to apply for the position).

Contact Road Safety on 3066 3448 for more information.

March 2018 ATTACHMENTS:

March 2018 ATTACHMENTS:

March 2018 ATTACHMENTS: