Beerwah State School

Welcome to 2023!  I would especially like to welcome our new parents/carers and students to our wonderful school. Congratulations to everyone for a great start this week.  The atmosphere of our first week was calm and purposeful and classes were active in learning from the very start.

I am very excited to be back this term as Principal and look forward to working with you and your children to support them to be the very best they can be.

Full school assemblies will start next week on Tuesday, 31 January in the Hall at 9:00am. Assemblies will be held in the Hall every week and parents/carers are welcome to attend every week.  If your child is receiving a certificate, you will receive an email from the classroom teacher the week before, inviting you or a nominated family member to remain behind after assembly for 10 minutes and have a piece of gluten free chocolate cake with your child to celebrate their success.

This week, students brought home a label with their surname to be displayed on your car’s sun visor.  This label assists us to identify your car quickly at the stop, drop and go area which minimises wait times and congestion.  Simply attach the sign with some rubber bands to the sun visor and then flip the sun visor down as you approach the pickup area.

Next week, you will receive a classroom newsletter and classroom behaviour management plan.  Please read the plan carefully as it explains how the teacher will be fostering appropriate classroom behaviour and managing inappropriate classroom behaviour.  It is necessary for you to return the attached tear–off slip to your child’s teacher.  Please discuss this plan with your child to reinforce their understandings. We host Parent/Teacher Welcome interviews in Week 4 on Wednesday, 15 February from 3:00pm in the Hall. All families are encouraged to take this opportunity to talk with your teacher about your child, their likes and dislikes, and what makes them the wonderful unique human beings that they are; so as a partnership team we can get the best possible year of learning happening for them at Beerwah! Please refer to information from Mr Deady in this Newsletter for more details around booking interviews.

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Scott Bowden (Principal)

Student travel to and from school, when they are not with their parents/carers is expected to comply with the school’s Student Code of Conduct. This year we continue to have staggered starts and finishes: P-3 8:50am-2:50pm; Years 4-6 8:55am-2:55pm. Helping Hands staff collect P-3 students from the gate for the afternoon OSHC session.

CAR AND BUS

The main public car park is situated off Old Gympie Road. and is part of the government road system. It has car and bus parking and has also been designed to provide a special space to enable cars to pull up to set down and pick up students.

Looking at the school, the area to the left of the main gate is for drop off of students only.

Signage indicates a “STOP DROP GO ZONE“, “2 MIN PARKING 8am-3:30pm“ and “NO PARKING”.

• Drivers must not double park in the “Drop and Go Zone” nor leave their vehicle unattended during school drop off and pick up times, as posted on the Stop Drop Go signage.
• Please place your vehicle in a SINGLE queue and wait patiently for the queue of cars to move through the “DROP OFF ZONE“ then, after setting down/picking up your passengers, drive from the space with EXTREME caution.
• No passengers should be getting in/out of a vehicle when it is in the single queue. This is a very dangerous practice because of risk of younger students copying the behaviour of older students or adults. The car parks opposite the Stop Drop Go gate are 15 minutes during drop off and pick up time so they are available for drivers to pull into if their student/s are not yet at the Stop Drop Go gate.
• The Bus Zone is located at the end of the Car Park and is a BUS ONLY Zone.
• Signage is in place to notify drivers that this is a BUS ENTRY ONLY. Do not drive into or park in the Bus Zone and keep exits clear.
• Always drive very slowly through the car park.

If students have a concern about a problem on the bus, it should always be reported to the driver in the first instance. If that has not been possible or it is a repeat problem, they can report it to the office when they arrive at school or parent/caregivers should phone the school in the afternoon. If community members have any concern about driver behaviour in the Old Gympie Road car park they are advised to contact Police Link. The school has been advised that police prefer first hand and immediate reporting of incidents.

BIKE

Each rider must register at the office to become a member of our Kandoo Bike Shelter register. They will make a commitment to ride to and from school safely and to keep their bikes or scooters secured. Once registered, each rider will be given a special access code to enable them to secure their bike in the shelter. Students must have a lock to secure their bike/scooter in the racks.

Any children who wish to use the shelter must register prior to bringing their bike/scooter or other form of personal transport to school. This can be done at the office in the days prior to riding to school. Students who registered last year are not required to re-register this year.

Parents and carers are asked to ensure that their children have the capability and knowledge to ride to school safely and that the children can control their push-bike or other equipment used to ride to school. For example, for safety, they must be able to stop safely. They must be able to stop as they approach the school’s Peachester Road entrance and driveway and walk their bike into the shed.

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

Welcome back for another year of learning at Beerwah State School. Last year I shared information about how children learn to read in each newsletter. This year I will continue to share information about how children learn and the best ways that we can support this - in reading as well as other learning areas.

Parent-teacher interviews are the cornerstone of the relationship between parents and teachers, and directly affect educational outcomes. Term 1 interviews are very important as we build the relationships and knowledge that will benefit learning for the rest of the year.

Parent/Teacher/Student interviews will be held at 3:00pm – 6:00pm on Wednesday 15 February in our School Hall.

• Interviews with class teachers are 10 mins with a 2 minute break in between meetings
  
• For children who are supported by our support teachers - we are also offering 20 minute interviews with these teachers
• Spaces for all interviews are limited. If you require more time, please contact your teacher directly to make alternative arrangements
• If bookings become full please contact the school to arrange a time

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

BORROWING

The Library is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am. Students can borrow on their class borrowing day, at 2nd break and before school on these days. They must bring their red Library Bag. Library bags are available through the Uniform Shop for $13.00.

WEEKLY CLASS AWARD

During Parade each week we acknowledge a class from the lower school and upper school by presenting an award for being Kandoo active learners, Kandoo safe, and Kandoo respectful, that reflect our school values. 

LIBRARY TIMETABLE

P&C MEETINGS

VOLUNTEERING

Some of our parent volunteers from 2022 have moved on as their children changed school, so we are looking for new P&C members. Without the parent volunteers, we cannot offer all the services & events we have been (Tuckshop, Uniform Shop, Book Club etc). There are lots of little things that are simple to do from home if you can’t come into the school. It’s tricky balancing our busy lives but with more helpers, we share the roles to make it easier for everyone.  Please get in touch if you are considering joining us.

The P&C Association are 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.

FACEBOOK PAGE

If you haven’t already jumped onto our Facebook page, you should. It’s a great place to see what’s coming up, what volunteers are needed & helpful reminders in case you missed the notification.

It’s also the easiest place to get in touch with P&C. Just find our page and like us to start following. BSS P&C Facebook page

EVENTS & FUNDRAISING

We have a great calendar of events for this year, keep an eye on the school newsletters and our Facebook page for updates. The calendar will be finalized at the next meeting.

We will hold our Term 1 Parents, Pancakes & Parade on Tuesday 21 February, Pancake Day 2023! Come along to the Tuckshop and enjoy pancakes with your children for a gold coin donation. We’ll also have a coffee van in attendance so you can get your morning brew and be ready for the day! Stay around to watch the children on parade in the Hall and see who receives the class awards and hear updates from our acting principal Mr Bowden. 

WORKING BEE

We will hold our Working Bee’s on the 2nd Saturday of each term from 9:00am-12:00pm. The first one is on Saturday 4 February. It’s just a small amount of effort for a huge return in our wonderful school grounds and appearance. Isn’t it lovely to wander past native flowering plants as you engage with the school? Our children can learn so much from nature and helping it along with a little effort is a great way to connect with other parents, and great for our own wellbeing by connecting with nature.

Come along and try! Plus, your children will get recognition for volunteering with a new P&C Volunteer Superstar badge.

RECYCLING PROGRAM

P&C are 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 on their website to see what can be included.

We also have 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. As an added bonus, P&C will receive funds as we send off our recycling donations. I encourage you to reduce your landfill and contribute to our recycling program. It makes sense for the planet, sense for the P&C, and sense for your environmental conscience. 

TUCKSHOP

The Tuckshop is currently closed as we don’t have the required volunteers. If you are available to assist on a regular basis, please get in touch as we would love to provide the facility to all children at least one day each week. Please email pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au

UNIFORM SHOP

The Uniform Shop will open each Wednesday afternoon 2.30pm-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

Click here to download the Uniform Shop Order Form

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.

Register online https://fixtures.sccsa.org.au/login or come to one of our sign on days. They are being held at the Mooloolah Valley Soccer Fields, which is behind the Mooloolah Valley Country Club. They will be on the 29 January and 5 February from 9am-11am.

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

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