Beerwah State School

What a wonderful start we have had to Term 3! It is my pleasure to be Principal of Beerwah State School for the first 5 weeks of Term 3 while Ms Austen is on leave.

I have been so impressed with the behaviour of our students and how willing they are to show kindness to others. This is supported by our amazing staff who are dedicated to improving students’ wellbeing and learning outcomes.

I would like to thank the P&C for their hard work in preparing and running Parents, Pancakes & Parade. This event was very successful and it was great to meet many of our parents and carers.

NAIDOC Week

This week in class students have participated in NAIDOC Week activities, celebrating the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. I would like to thank Ms Bourke for organising these activities.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Thank you to all parents/carers who booked in an interview with their child’s classroom teacher on Wednesday afternoon/evening. I received a lot of positive feedback from teachers and parents/carers on how productive and valuable these conversations were in supporting student learning for Semester 2.

Staff Update

This week teachers will be continuing some Term 3 planning meetings that had to be postponed at the end of last Term.

Facilities Update

Last term a comprehensive Arborist report was done on the health of trees around the school and the impact of trees on buildings and walkways. Extensive Arborist work was conducted around the school over the holidays actioning recommendations from this report. This included reducing the risk of impact from tree damage on buildings and walkways in the event of severe weather.

There was also building maintenance work on the exterior of A block.

School Opinion Survey

The 2022 School Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday, 11 July to Friday, 12 August.

School Opinion Surveys canvass the views of parents/caregivers, students in Years 5 & 6 and school staff from every state school on what our schools do well and how they can improve. Opinions on the school, student learning and student well-being are sought from a parent/caregiver in all families and students (Years 5 & 6) from each state school.

Our students will be completing this survey at school. Parents will be emailed a link to the survey in the week beginning Monday, 11 July. The email uses the subject line: School Opinion Survey for parents/caregivers, 2022.

I would ask all parents/carers who receive an email, to complete this survey as the more surveys completed, the more meaningful the data will be for our school.

Celebrating Success

It is hard to believe we are halfway through the Year. At the end of last term PI1 celebrated their learning by performing their Story Retells for parents.

On our first parade in Term 3, certificates were handed out for Students of the Month (June), the Tidiest Class Award for Term 2 went to 5/4A2 and our Sound and Lighting students received their badges.

Scott Bowden (Principal)

Check out our calendar of events throughout the year, via the school's website at

Beerwah State School

You can sync any event to your personal calendar by clicking to  open the event and click on the  'Add to Calendar' button.  

Check out our Facebook page for more Celebrations and what's happening at our School.

Beerwah State School Facebook page

READING

This year, we have been sharing information about the evidence-based ways to teach reading. Our curriculum team has also been reviewing our personal reading (previously home reading) program.

To inform our review, we would like to collect some feedback and information from our parents. Below is a link to a short (less than 5 mins) anonymous survey. The responses will be very important because they will give our curriculum team information make more informed decisions in how we approach personal reading.

The survey will be open until Friday, 29 July.   Click here for link to survey  

INCURSIONS and VALUE ADD PROGRAMS

Our school incursions are an excellent way to provide a range of learning opportunities for our students, while also keeping costs at a minimum by removing the expense of transport. There are several upcoming incursions which will be very beneficial for the students participating:

Week 2 (20 - 21 July) – Raw Art Each class will have artists complete an art project. This is part of the teaching that is occurring in the lead up to arts week.

Week 3-4 (27 July - 1 August) – Life Education Classes have modules selected which specifically relate to their Health and Physical Education curriculum. These age-appropriate modules provide children with high quality and practical strategies to make healthy choices.

Week 4 (2 August) – Souths Cares (South Sydney Rabbitohs) Children will have the opportunity to participate in a series developed by Souths Cares – the health and wellbeing arm of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. This will be free to all and more information will be coming out very soon.

ARTS SHOW

Our Arts Show is coming up in Week 8. There will be art works displayed by all classes and performances for our Masterpiece Dance group, concert band and senior choir. The Art Show will be open on Thursday, 1 September at 3:00 – 4:15 (this is when all performances will happen). This Art Show will also be open (without performances) on Saturday, 3 September when P&C are running their Car shine and show.

Keep your eyes on our Facebook pages for the theme announcement and launch next week!

Matt Deady (HODC)

"Everyone is a reader, some just haven't found their favourite book yet"

Encourage your child to read each day and borrow a book to take home to read and share with you. Please check the Library timetable for your borrowing day and bring in your red library bag.

The Library is open Monday mornings from 8:30-9am, and Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am. Students can borrow on their class borrowing day at lunchtime and before school on these days. They must bring their red Library Bag. Library bags are available through the Uniform Shop for $13.00.

Library Timetable

Each year since 1945 the CBCA has brought children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week. During this time schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators.

The theme this year is Dreaming with Eyes Open... 

20-26 August     #CBCA2022    #dreamingwitheyesopen

Click here for the list of Shortlisted books

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is well underway and some students have collected a second form already to record their reading achievements. If you need another form pop into the Library we have lots of spares.

Liz, Lyn, Tanja, Michelle, Coralie, Carla, Tania, Gayle, Bron and Pam had fun and challenged themselves with push ups, sit ups, squats… to a massive 16 575 push ups completed in June and $720 raised for Lifeline, Movember and The Push for Better Foundation. 

P&C Meetings

The first P&C meeting for this term will be held next Monday, 18 July (Week 2), in our Resource Centre Library. Please come along and meet our small and caring team of volunteer parents and carers. You will also have the opportunity to meet our acting principal Scott Bowden.

We welcome new faces, and you will learn what’s happening behind the scenes at school. How and when are the events organised? Who decides on food in the Tuckshop? How do we choose what we are raising funds for? These are the types of discussions we have. Come along and join us to be part of a great team. If you can’t join in person, you can always zoom in, just email P&C to get the link: pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au.

Volunteering

Did you know, schools that have a strong school volunteer base perform better. There are so many demands placed on schools with limited financial resources. Any volunteer effort can help bridge that gap at no additional cost to the school. Taking things off the plate of teachers, administration, and staff frees them up to do what they do best—educate our children.

We are always in need of volunteers for a variety of purposes. Sometimes it’s just for an hour, other times a little more. Sometimes it’s even making a few phone calls from home. If you can spare some time, we’d love to hear from you. Many hands make light work and currently we need more hands!

Facebook Page

Do you ever feel like you're missing out? Do you hear about things after they happen?

Are you aware that the P&C has a Facebook page? We post regular updates on many things: Tuckshop, Uniform Shop, events, special days etc. It's a really great place to find out what's going on & it's open to everyone, not just for P&C members. A reminder is sent out at the beginning of each week so you can stay on top of things. Just search @beerwahsspandc on Facebook and click to follow so you can get the most recent information too.

Make sure you like our Facebook page to stay up to date with all that is going on from the P&C. Here you will also find the Tuckshop menu and ordering info, and any specials. Click here to visit the Beerwah SS P&C Facebook page  

Events & Fundraising

We will send out information shortly for the pie drive. The ONLY way to order is via Qkr! This will simplify things for P&C and the pie makers. It also means parents don’t have to scramble about to get cash for the order!

On the last newsletter, we announced our next major event for the year, on Saturday, 3rd September we shall host a Community Car Show. We need some volunteers to make the day run smoothly, and also to assist with preparations, please contact P&C via our Facebook page or email pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au Should any families have businesses that involve cars or other vehicles, please get in touch as we would like to involve local businesses, especially those with a school connection.

Working Bee

Our next working bee in the school grounds is on the second Saturday of the term, 23 July. Put it in your calendar to come along and give us a hand to tidy the grounds from 9am – 12pm, no gardening experience required, just a little enthusiasm. Your assistance will be rewarded with a sausage sizzle!

New Ordering information - IMPORTANT

We are aligning with the school and moving our online sales for everything to Qkr! It’s super easy to download and use, and there are no fees for parents when you order things, and you can pay for multiple things in one transaction. It will be a gradual change over so for now we will only use it for Tuckshop (once it re-opens in week 3) and the Pie Drive fundraiser shortly. Parents will be notified when we move the Uniform Shop and any other fundraising or special events. Of course, it’s new for all of us so we may have some teething problems, but everyone should find it more convenient to order and pay for everything in one simple app.

Tuckshop

We were very sad to say goodbye to our regular Convenor Nicole last term, however Kylie who was assisting in the last few weeks will be managing things moving forward. The menu will change slightly so if you find your child’s favourite isn’t there anymore, let us know so we can see if we can add it again. We also welcome suggestions to add to the menu, of course it will depend on feasibility as it’s likely to be open just one day each week unless we can get more volunteers.

Please note, Tuckshop will open Week 3. Updates will be provided on Skoolbag and our Facebook page.

Click here to download our Tuckshop Menu

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop will open each Wednesday afternoon 2.30-3.00pm, or at other times by appointment.

The best way to order uniforms is ONLINE. Alternatively an order form can be collected from the Office. Items will then be sent home with the student or can be collected from the Office.

To ensure orders are processed quickly, once you have placed an online order, please send your details to pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au

Once again, our Uniform Shop online ordering will soon move to Qkr! Notices will be sent out on Skoolbag and our Facebook page when we make changes.

Click here to Order Uniforms Online

Kandoo Joeys is open to all families with before-school-aged children. It runs every Wednesday from 9.00am-11.00am in J Block next to the Admin Block. Each month we have a different theme and provide an environment rich with play-based learning opportunities.

Children can come along and sing, dance, and try some of our sensory experiences that promote language development as they describe the feeling, smell, taste, and what it looks like as they explore with their fingers and hands.

Our mission is to work with our community to create and provide opportunities for every child to learn through play, supporting a successful transition to school. Bring a hat and some morning tea for your child, and join in the fun and social connections. Everyone is welcome!

Our priority is for the safety of our community, members, and staff therefore, comply with current Public Health Directives as well as  practising social distancing and rigorous hand hygiene. If you, your child, or anyone in your family/household has travelled overseas in the last 14 days, is being tested for COVID-19 and awaiting results, or is currently unwell, stay home and avoid visiting playgroup at this stage.

You can check out the Playgroup at Home Queensland website for some fun activities, blogs, and resources and also also Playgroup at Home Queensland Facebook group. 

For more information contact Linda Merwood at admin@beerwahss.eq.edu.au

Helping Hands provides quality before and after school care. This service forms strong, collaborative ties with the school, children, families, and the local community; to ensure the needs and interests of every child and family are supported. We provide an environment in which children feel safe and have fun. Afternoon tea is included.

We are located in D Block which is next to the Senior oval. For the children’s safety it is a requirement that you park in the allocated staff car park and use the footpaths to walk to and from the Centre. The car park will be open in the morning 6:30 to 7:30 and afternoon 5:00 to 6:00. Outside of these times, you will need to use the normal school carpark located on Old Gympie Rd. Children must be supervised at all times by an adult.

If you have any questions please phone Helping Hands Co-ordinator Sharon on: 0448 083 043, or click on the link below.

The Dental Van will soon be visiting Beerwah State School offering free dental care to every student from Prep to Year 6. 

Consent/Medical history forms will be issued to your children. If you would like your children to access this service, please complete the forms and return them to the school office or the Dental Van as soon as possible. Extra forms will be available at the dental van or through the link below.

Once forms are returned, dental staff will contact you to organise an appointment for your children. Appointments will be at the dental van on site at Beerwah State School. If you have any enquiries, please phone the dental van directly on 0419799367. If staff are unable to answer, please leave a message and they will return your call as soon as possible.

Click here to visit Oral Health Services website

This initiative is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment through the Helping Children with Autism package. It works together with parents, carers and educators of school-aged children on the autism spectrum to provide current, relevant and evidence informed information through workshops and online resources.

Click here to visit Positive Partnerships website

Concerns regarding young children with difficult and defiant behaviours? The Management of Young Children Program (MYCP) is available in 2022.

The MYCP is supported by Beerwah and Landsborough State Schools (therefore no cost for these families) and is a practical and individualised behaviour support program for parents and carers of young children aged 2½ to 7 years and their families. It is a well-established and evidence based early intervention program targeting children who display defiant or oppositional behaviour with the aim of reducing such problematic behaviours in primary school and beyond.

For more information or interest in participating in the program, please see the school website link or contact the Landsborough State School office 5436 2777.

Our School has our own Skoolbag iPhone and Android App to help us communicate more effectively with our school Parent/Student community. Download the Skoolbag App to receive short messages, reminders and alerts. Parents will also be able to use eForms for absentee notes and change of details.

Click here to visit Skoolbag website

Take advantage of the QParents payments function to pay your invoices by simply logging in and paying online at any time.

If you have not registered for QParents yet, please email admin@beerwahss.eq.edu.au or call into the school office to collect the registration information. Over time, QParents will become an integral part of how we communicate with parents. Get on board now to enjoy the ease and convenience that QParents offers. More features will become available in the future.