Issue 14 1 September 2021
From the Principal Desk
Book Week
A warm thank you to all the parents and carers who engaged with our Book Week celebration last week. There were excellent numbers at Monday night’s Pyjama Night and at our Grandparents and Elders Day. A special mention to all the effort that went into costumes for our Book Week Parade. This was a fantastic parade and students and staff should be congratulated for their efforts. The school also raised important funds from our Book Shop so thank you as well to the families that supported this.
Student Free Day – Friday 3rd September
A friendly reminder that this Friday is a designated Student Free Day. Whilst there will be no students at school, staff will be at work undertaking professional development.
Student Illness
Whilst the COVID-19 situation has eased in recent week’s in Southeast QLD, we are still in the midst of a global pandemic and outbreaks continue to spread in other states. The Department of Education continues to mandate that schools ensure that children who are unwell do not attend school. Please help the school by keeping your children at home if they are sick or exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
Parent Requests for 2022
Traditionally here at Kingaroy State School parents have been invited to make an appointment to meet with the Principal if they have any preferences for their child’s class the following year. This may include a preferred teacher or classmates. I am inviting parents to make an appointment from the start of next week until the end of Week 2 of Term 4. Whilst preferences are not guaranteed, every effort is made to ensure that our classes are as successful as they can be to start the new year.
Year 4 Class News
How well do you know our awesome country Australia? The Year 4 students are writing an Information Report on ‘Australia’ this term in English. They have enhanced their knowledge and understanding of this great country, by learning many new things about the geography, flora and fauna, tourist attractions and culture of this unique, island continent and country that we call home.
The 4D students would like to share some of their favourite facts about the ‘Land Down Under’.
- Australia’s National Flower is the wattle and ‘Wattle Day’ is on the 1st of September.
- There are more kangaroos than people living in Australia.
- The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world.
- Australia is the only country covered be a single continent.
- 4 out of every 5 animals are native to Australia.
- The platypus and echidna are the only two mammals in the world that lay eggs to give birth. They are known as monotremes.
- The kangaroo and emu are two animals that can’t walk backwards and were chosen for the Australian Coat of Arms to represent a culture moving forward.
- It is the driest inhabited continent in the world with about 1/3 of Australia being desert.
- Uluru in central Australia is the largest monolith in the world.
- Australia’s first or Indigenous people have been living in Australian for over 60,000 years.
Need any jobs around the house that require some measuring? We have been learning about how to measure length, weight, capacity and area and what we use to measure these with.
The students have really enjoyed using the measurement and fraction skills learnt this term and have applied them to many everyday practical situations. We used our fraction knowledge to plan for a ‘Pizza Party’ and we may have even inspired some future Master Chef contestants and a love of cooking this term. The students were able to follow a ‘Scone Recipe’ for Science Week by measuring the correct amount of flour, lemonade and cream. The final product was both delectable and delicious so the measurements must have been accurate! Just ask any Year 4 student, especially after we added the homemade butter from 3/4WE and strawberry jam made by 4BD.
A huge thank you to all the mums, dads and students who attended Parent-Teacher Interviews last week and for the time and effort you have spent on creating costumes for the ‘Book Week’ parade last Friday. Well done and thank you on behalf of your children!
Book Week Activities
Bookweek, PJ Night, Grandparent's Day and Bookparade.
What a fabulous week! Parents, staff and children arrived Monday night dressed in their pyjamas. Teachers and students read stories on the big screen, everyone was invited to have a warm milo, and our Bookfair was officially launched.
Grandparent's Day was absolutely amazing on Thursday. Many excited students had the opportunity to show off their reading skills to loved ones. Afterwards there was lots of enthusiasm, as both grandparents and students looked at the display of old items from yesteryear and shared stories.
A good time was had by all. Our parade on Friday was a huge success to finish off an awesome week of celebration. Staff, students and parents dressed up in amazing costumes as they danced around the hall to the beat of DJ Braz's lights and music. Thankyou to everyone for making this such a memorable week for all students at Kingaroy State School.
Book Week Parade
P & C News
Please remember to send along some money with your child/ren to buy dad a special Fathers' Day Gift from the stall with tomorrow being the last day. The stall will be open at second break and after school untill 3.30pm. If you have any items at home that you could kindly donate it would be very welcomed. Items will vary in price rangeing from $1 to $10. Could you please send along a bag for your child/ren to carry their gitfs home in.
Thank you.
Book Club
Orders for Book Club Issue #6 are due back by this Friday, 3 September.
Gardens
Class 5k have been busy this last couple of weeks learning about our soil and how to keep it healthy. Angela Griffith from Bunya Valley Landcare has generously volunteered her precious time to educate the kids on soil and will continue to teach them over the coming weeks about plants, insects, wildlife and water conservation whilst the children get their hands dirty in the garden beds around the school hall.
Last Thursday Angela charitably donated a truck load of organic mushroom compost in which the children of 5K delightfully spent their Thursday afternoon shoveling, wheelbarrowing and raking around the garden beds. They had a ball. There were some pleasing displays of turn-taking whilst children helped each other climb into the back of the truck to shovel compost into waiting wheelbarrows below.
It was a wonderful opportunity for them to practice patience, sharing, and team working skills, whilst learning and getting in touch with nature at the same time.
Students Gardening
This Thursday will see the class spreading mulch over the beds so that they will be ready for planting after the school holidays. The mulch is to be warm heartedly donated by Boonenne Timbers. Thank you so much to Andrew and Libby for their kind contribution to our garden work. Also, an enormous thankyou to the team at Land Care who spent the best part of their Saturday morning excavating the garden so that it would be ready for the class to tend to. These people are passionate about reaching out and helping their community. It is this act of giving that sets a beautiful example of the nature of people around our town. We are very fortunate to be receiving this wonderful support.
The P&C would love any donations of plants to put in our lovely new gardens. Preferably Natives... but most plants will be welcomed. Please contact the school if you have any questions.
Tuckshop
The P&C are desperately seeking helpers in our Tuckshop. The Tuckshop is managed and run by the P&C and therefore requires volunteers to ensure it continues to operate.
We require 10 parents to assist by donating just 1 day out of the term to help our lovely Chris prepare food for the children. Generally, Friday is the day helpers are most needed.
If you are able to do this, please let the office staff know.
Meeting
Our next general meeting will be held on Wednesday 8th September at 6pm in the school Library. This will be our last meeting before the school holidays. We would love to see some new faces and gain some fresh insight and new perspectives.
Coming together to support each other whilst working towards a common goal can give rise to the achievement of extraordinary things. Our purpose is to work with the school to ensure your children have the best possible experience during their schooling life, and we would love to have you onboard.
Thank you
The P&C would like to thank the following people for their continuing support with the school...
Bunya Valley Landcare is a not-for-profit organization committed to working in partnership with communities to undertake environmental and greening projects. You can find more information about the wonderful things they do on their website.
Thank you again to Andrew and Libby Keenan who were more than happy to support our gardening project and have offered to donate a truck-load of mulch to the school. What a wonderful gift and such a pleasure to have them onboard.
If you are able to donate towards any of our ongoing school projects, we would love to know about it.
Kind regards,
Karmen Cleveland
President
From the Guidance Officer
Talking Families SEPTEMBER 2021
Checking in when they check out
Your friend hasn’t been in touch for more than a fortnight. They usually call every couple of days, or text at least. Hardly a week goes by without organising a playdate for the kids or a yarn over coffee. The last time you caught up, they looked pretty tired, and not the normal kind of parent tired but outright exhausted. Come to think of it, they were unusually short with their kids too. Sure, they might just have a lot on—we are all being challenged in many ways right now—but what if it’s something more?
That feeling? That’s your gut saying your friend might not be OK. But, surely they’d let you know if they weren’t, right? Well, not always. Reaching out for help can be hard, especially when everyone else seems to be managing OK. So, what can you do?
Start a conversation. As parents, talking about the common challenges of raising children can be a helpful way to check in with your friend, show them you understand their struggles, and create a safe space for them to open up. Ask if they are OK.
Listen with an open mind. We all parent differently, and what works for someone might not work for someone else. Make sure they know they won’t be judged for sharing their experience.
Encourage action. Ask if there is a way you can help them. You could offer to mind their kids while they take some time for themselves. Or you could offer suggestions of things that have worked for you when you were struggling. If the conversation is too big for you to take on alone, or if you think your friend is at risk, encourage them to seek help from a professional. oneplace has details of more than 58,000 family and community services in Queensland, and Parentline offers professional counselling and support over the phone.
Check in. Organise that playdate or coffee catch up and ask them how they are going. They might not have done anything since you last spoke or they may not want to talk about it. And that’s OK. Knowing that you are there for them can make a huge difference in where they go from here.
Are you OK? It’s a little question that can have a big impact. Your friend might not need anything more than a quick chat today, but next time they might. Either way, they’ll be grateful you asked.
R U OK? DAY is 9 September 2021. You can find more resources at ruok.org.au
