Beerwah State School

Spring has arrived and the end of Term 3 is fast approaching. The next major activity we are preparing for is the start of swimming lessons at the beginning of Term 4. Please see your Skoolbag App for all the details and if your permissions and payments still need to be sorted. The school website has had a refresh to make it even easier to look at the events calendar which includes payment deadlines.

STAFF UPDATE

This week is School Support Staff Recognition Week and last week was Teacher Aide Appreciation Week. There are so many people who support our teachers and students. They include Teacher Aides, Office staff, Schools Officers, IT Technicians and support staff who visit schools (such as Speech Pathologists).

We have welcomed a new Spanish teacher Mr Chris DeNunzio to our school for the remainder of the year. Senora Serrat had been experiencing some vocal challenges due to ill health and decided to reduce her LOTE teaching. This week year level teaching teams have been meeting with Mr Deady to plan for Term 4 curriculum units.

RESPONSIVE SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY

The Department of Education has released a new resource allocation model for students with a disability, replacing the Education Adjustment Program. Students with disability – Resourcing for reasonable adjustments (RAR) provides additional teachers and teacher aides to enable us to make reasonable adjustments for students with disability. This is great news for our students with disability, as resources will be provided for the adjustments students need to learn and achieve. Find out more on the Education website.

Wishing all families a restful break. The first day of Term 4 is Tuesday, 4 October.

Janet Austen (Principal)

On parade this week, we checked in on the progress to the Fun Friday -Supersized goal. With more than eleven and a half thousand (11500) Kandoos earned, students are well on the way on achieving their first whole school Fun Friday goal.

Congratulations to the Students of the Month for August.

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 - ORAL LANGUAGE

Oral language is the ability to understand and communicate. When children have more opportunities to listen and respond to a wide range of language, they build a wider knowledge and understanding of the English language. This is a foundation of reading as children will have a stronger vocabulary and broader background knowledge to bring to texts they are reading. This short video discusses oral language development and how it can be supported. It is focussed on the Early Years, however, the same ideas also apply to older children – the content that’s being discussed will change.

Matt Deady (HODC)

We had an amazing Arts Show for 2022. A big congratulations to all the students and staff for their hard work to put on such an amazing display of Rags to Riches. This year we used the Arts Show as a form of ‘culminating activity’, where children displayed worked which they are being assessed on. The Year P-2 children represented a character from a story. In Years 3-6, children collaboratively represented a social issue. I greatly enjoyed reading the explanations of art works and seeing the deep level of thought that went into them.

A special thanks to all the staff who helped – in particular, the Arts week committee, Mrs Rae (for the amazing choir), Ms Dalzell (for the brilliant band) and Miss Sarah (for the magnificent Masterpiece Dancers).

Today, 8 September, students and staff wore a splash of yellow for R U OK? Day.

Parents/carers joined us for a free afternoon coffee / tea and some bocce on the lawn as a way to check in & meet other parents and say R U OK?

You don’t need to be an expert to have an R U OK? conversation. Listening and giving someone your time might be just what they need to help them through.

Check out the information and resources on the R U OK? website

"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 8:30-9:00am, 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

Mrs Rachel and Ms Merwood

P&C Meetings

The next P&C meeting will be held after the school holidays on Monday 17 October at 6pm in our Resource Centre Library. Please come along and meet our small and caring 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, volunteering is Good for Your Health. Research shows that people who volunteer live longer, have lower stress levels, and are generally healthier. You can’t beat an opportunity that allows you to spend more time with your children AND decreases your stress.

The P&C Association are now an approved volunteer organization with Centrelink (Services Australia) so if you need to complete volunteering hours, the school is a great option. Contact us by email and we can arrange to work out how we can help each other.

Specific volunteer needs:  Tuckshop assistance – Tuesday 10-11am (or earlier if possible)

Facebook Page

It’s wonderful to see so many new likes & followers on our Facebook page. It really is the best place to find out what’s going on & coming up.

If you haven’t got on board, look for our page and like us to keep up to date with everything P&C. BSS P&C Facebook page

Events & Fundraising

We have been working very hard this term with lots of fundraising opportunities, thank you to all volunteers who have helped in any way, we appreciate all you do.

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who assisted with the Father’s Day stall in the Resource Centre, Multi-Purpose Room last week, it was a great success and almost all items sold out! There would have been lots of happy father’s, grandfather’s and caregivers on Sunday.

Car Boot Sale

Despite the relentless rain, we didn’t want to cancel all our hard work and preparations, so we went ahead with our first car boot sale & community event last weekend. Of course, the rain held some visitors away, but we still had a great time. Lots of people wandered around looking at items for sale and getting bargains of all descriptions. It was lovely to see parents looking at the children’s artwork in the hall for a second time, or if they couldn’t make it last Thursday. We had so many plants donated to be sold, and the bake stall was just amazing, the generosity of our parents and community is astounding when we ask for help.

A huge thank you to all our volunteers, teachers, teacher aides and children that helped to make the morning a success. The Lion’s cooked the sausages and the SES & rural fire brigade arrived with their trucks, not just because of the weather!! We even had an unexpected entertainer wandering around with his ukulele & doing magic tricks for the children. Our Father’s Day raffle was a huge hit, with the prize tally totaling over $3000! All winners were notified.

Pie Drive

Notifications will be sent on Skoolbag & Facebook when the pies are ready to collect, They are expected next Tuesday 13 September from the School Hall 2.30-3.00pm. If you are unable to collect in person, please make arrangements for someone to collect on your behalf as we have very limited storage.

Did you know the P&C fundraising goes towards many costs at school, many of the recent incursions were part or wholly funded by P&C to reduce costs for parents, such as the Life Ed program.

Term 4 will also include smaller activities. Keep an eye on the newsletter and the Facebook page to keep up to date.

Working Bee

We have been very lucky to get some native plants through the Council’s environment levy and intend to plant during our next working bee which is scheduled for the second Saturday of Term 4 (15 October). So mark it on your calendar!

Recycling Program

P&C have registered with Terracycle as a collection/drop-off point for various things that normally don’t get recycled. Currently there is a box in the library for the collection of old pens and stationery that no longer works (not pencils). Take a look to see what can be included. This week we’re adding a box for old dental products to get recycled. Sponsored by Colgate, please recycle your old toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, dental floss packets, and electric toothbrush heads. Visit www.terracycle.com.au to find out more. Over time we’ll add more boxes to recycle other products. Items can be dropped off anytime the library is open, boxes are beside the window.

It’s a wonderful initiative to reduce our landfill and look after our environment.

Carolyn Brewer (P&C President)

TUCKSHOP

The Tuckshop will be open on Tuesday for the full menu each week, and every second Thursday we will offer a meal deal. This is dependent on volunteers so if we need to change times or days, we will announce it on Skoolbag & Facebook.

We will gradually develop a schedule for meal deals, if parents or children have ideas, please email them to pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au. This is also who to contact if you need to change a menu item for your child, as there is no opportunity to add comments in Qkr!

Click here to download our Tuckshop Menu

Click here to order online or download the Qkr! app on your mobile device.

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 via Qkr! It’s quick & easy & there are no transaction fees. 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

Click here to order Uniforms Online or download the Qkr! app on your mobile device.

Click here to download the Uniform Shop Order Form

Wednesday, 7 September was our last session for this term.  Our first session back will be on Wednesday, 5 October. The theme for October is imaginative play, so the sky's the limit for different learning-through-play opportunities next month.

Our works of art looked amazing in the "Rags to Riches" Art Show held in our school hall last week. We put forward a Playgroup Community "Around the World Play" piece and Charlie helped create a car track using recycled materials. Enjoy the photos attached.

We look forward to seeing you all next term as we continue to celebrate Around the World Play.

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.

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

Given the ongoing COVID issues/ implications and other stressors on families, it seems timely to share this helpful website from Beyond Blue: https://healthyfamilies.beyondblue.org.au/age-6-12/mental-health-conditions-in-children/anxiety/strategies-to-support-anxious-children

The 10 practical ideas are aimed at children aged 6 to 12 years. Please consider the 9th strategy which involves an interactive, online program for the prevention and treatment of childhood and adolescent anxiety. This free program which was developed at the University of Queensland, has programs for a range of ages and parents: https://brave4you.psy.uq.edu.au/

Andrew Graham (Guidance Officer)

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.

This year the Family Fun Day Event will be hosted by Australia Zoo. It will be held on Saturday, 10 September from 9am-1pm.

The annual Child Protection Week Event aims to provide parents and families with the opportunity to seek advice and access various information regarding services and supports for families. These include therapeutic services, early intervention, and community and parenting support programs  to enhance family wellbeing. The day will also involve a variety of fun entertainment and activities for families, such as face painting, games, giveaways and much more.

Please also find more information about this years Family Fun Day Event and accompanying Child Protection Week Campaign, which is located on the Sunshine Coast Families 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.