1. education
2. school

Science Club
Just like a CSI
crime scene.
Well done to our
BSSS students who
made the Bayside
District Soccer
Team
From the
Principal’s desk…
Dear Parents/Caregivers
451 Old Cleveland Road East
Birkdale 4159
Ph: (07) 3820 4333
Fx: (07) 3820 4300
Email [email protected]
[email protected]
www.birkdalesouthss.eq.edu.au
This newsletter is the last for term one and I’d like to thank
the school community for your support over the term.
We thank Mrs Crocos
Over the last 25 years, our school
has benefitted from having such
a skilled and enthusiastic teacher in the form of Elizabeth Crocos. Recently, Mrs Crocos made
the commitment to teach in a
small rural school in Central
Queensland where she will experience many new challenges
and enjoy many success stories.
Mrs Crocos will be leaving us at
the end of this term and will be
taking up her new position for
the rest of the year, with possible
extension. We are fortunate to
have a skilled teacher who has
rapport with our students to take over teaching class 3A. Mrs Sullivan has taught in our
school in various roles and is excited to be taking over the reins of class 3A.
Both teachers are currently working on a transition plan to ensure learning continues
from day one of term two. On behalf of the whole school community of Birkdale South
State School, I wish Mrs Crocos every success
in her new role.
Office hours 8am-4pm
Birkdale Sth
Grapevine
Term 1
Wednesday 1 April
Special Parade 2pm
Music Dress Up Day
Thursday 2 April
Osprey Cup
Last day of term
Friday 3 April
Public Holiday
Good Friday
Happy and
safe holidays
everyone.
Looking forward to a productive term two.
Teachers are currently planning collaboratively with their year levels and our Head of
Curriculum to ensure we continue to improve
student learning in reading and mathematics.
Teachers are focussing on high yield teaching
strategies to engage students in learning and
achieve genuine learning growth.
Japan Homestay Program
An information for parents evening where all
information will be presented to parents, will be held this Wednesday at Ironside State
School at 6pm. Notes have gone home today to those parents who indicated they are
interested and would like to know more about the program that will involve grade 5 and
6 students travelling to Japan in the September holidays. If you didn’t indicate that you
might like your child to participate in this year’s program and now you are considering it,
you need to give the office a call before Wednesday and indicate that you will be attending the meeting at St Lucia on Wednesday night.
Easter Vacation
As always, I hope you enjoy quality time with your family over the break and stay safe.
Yours in Education
Craig Douglas
Keeping Parents Informed
30 March 2015
Edition 5
Be Green! Read from the screen
and think before you print…
Deputy Chat...
Loreyse Agnew-Green
As Term 1 draws to a close it is good to reflect back on a great start to the year, with learning
being the primary focus and the reduction of interruptions evident.
Harmony Day – An amazing Art Installation almost complete and ready to hang to remind us
of the value of Harmony everyday.
Closing the Gap Breakfast – Thanks to those who assisted and those who participated and
enjoyed a healthy breakfast to promote exposure and care around aspects of Health related to indigenous community members.
Cross Country – Great to see the whole school involved.
Brainways Days of Excellence – Yet another successful round of workshops, which students
have generally enjoyed. Reports will be sent home with report cards at the end of the semester.
Chess Competitions
Week 8 was a big week of Chess. There were 4 new developments:
1. We held our first workshop with coaches
2. We had 6 teams at the Brisbane South Term 1 comp for Gardiner Chess – everyone
tried hard. The following students had noteworthy results: Shea individual 2nd in B Grade;
Checkmates team 2nd in B Grade He-Rou and Jerome Merit award.
3. Ormiston College Tournament – Tian Yi 1st – Novice Division; He-Rou 2nd- Beginners Division
4. Girl Guides Tournament – Oscar and Jarrod representing.
Please read the Chess News from outside agency highlighting two of our BSSS Students.
Money
Staff members on duty in the
tuckshop area have been
noticing the sharing and exchanging of money among
the students.
We discourage this practice
as we believe parents are
not sending their hard
earned money to school to
be spent on other students.
Please reinforce with your
children that money sent to
school for tuckshop is for
them and though it is nice to
want to share, sometimes it is
not appropriate.
Program Alive – is presenting at the next P&C meeting a plan to offer students Chess Workshops and Drama classes on a fortnightly basis for 1.5 hours each Monday afternoon at a
cost of $10 per session – keep an eye out next term for more information.
Coderdojo – off to a good start – members are starting to construct a portfolio. All students
are using Code.org and some are working with Scratch to build their own games.
Spelling Mastery
Congratulations to the group of Year 1 and 2 students who have been identified for starting
Level B in Term 2 – Textbooks can be organised through redlandsschoolzone.com.au or by
phoning The Lucky Charm Victoria Point before the end of this week to guarantee delivery to
school for the beginning of Term 2.
Level A students will begin in Term 3 and a note to order books will go home toward the end
of Term 2.
There are still a handful of students from the upper levels who have not purchased a text –
photocopying has now ceased and they will be handwriting all exercises now which may
slow the pace of the program.
Curriculum...
Fiona Lane HOC
Welcome to the last HOC corner for term 1, wow didn’t that go fast. As this is the last one for this
term I thought I’d just make note of some fantastic work that is happening in our school.
1.
Year 2 are working on building vocabulary and have implemented a program that encourages students to interact and engage with interesting words that they come across in
their reading
2.
Prep teachers will be looking at a home reading program which will begin early next term
3.
Across the school I have noticed many classes using their xPads in a variety of ways to
engage and promote independence and differentiated learning opportunities.
4.
All staff are working together to create a Birkdale South Reading Program that embeds a
common language and approach to how we teach reading.
Bring on term 2, we are looking forward to continuing our learning journey.
Be Safe!
Be Responsible!
Be Respectful!
Be a Learner!
Positive Behaviour for Learning...
Megan Willmott
Wow by the end of this term we will have every class filling a Beehive.
What an effort! Next term we will be presenting the beehive tally in a table in the Newsletter.
You will be able to check up on how all the classes are going!
It is even more exiting to know that many individual children have achieved their 50 certificate. Well done to all those people. As the holidays are fast approaching, this is an important time to be thinking of our ‘Be Safe’ rule, not just in the school grounds but outside too!
Happy Holiday Wishes from the PBL Team.
Deadly News...
Kim Paulson
Closing the Gap
We had a great response for the Close the Gap Breakfast with many students enjoying a
healthy breakfast of yogurt, fruit and cereal. Promoting a healthy meal such as breakfast is
one way of acknowledging a healthy lifestyle for everyone. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have a life expectancy gap of 15-17 years compared to non-Indigenous Australians. Our message to students was that everyone deserves the same equal opportunities for
health, education and wellbeing. Thanks again Mrs Green you’re a champion and also to
the staff and students that helped serve and clean up.
Harmony Day
BSSS Jajam dancers were invited to dance for Harmony Day at the Birkdale South Child
Centre. Despite the heat while getting ready the students were excited and ready to
dance. It was a fantastic opportunity to share culture with the community especially the
young children at the centre. As always the Jajams danced amazingly and acknowledgement goes to Bailey M year 5 (the big sista of the group) and to Katelin C year 4 for their
leadership within the group. Too Deadly!!! BSSS Jajam Dancers I’m really proud of you all.
Yuwayi, Kim.
Workplace Health and Safety...
Narelle Davy
Be Safe and enjoy your Easter Break in the great outdoors. Parents it important to remind students of safe practice we hope the resources below help in regards to sun and bike Safety.
Thank you to our BSSS staff for setting the example for student safety in our
school.
Classroom Spotlight...
Lower School— Prep to 3
Year 3A—Literacy Program
Daily 5 means
1.
read to self,
2.
read to someone
3.
listen to reading
4.
word work
5.
work on writing
Craft means
C—Comprehension
R– Response to text
A—Accuracy
F-Fluency
T-Terms and Vocab
Upper School— 4 to 6
Year 4
“If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking
about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” ― Albert Einstein
Problem solving has been the focus of the work the Year 4 students are currently completing
with Mr P. Students have been looking at styles of problems, strategies to solve problems and
beginning to use a thinkboard.
The thinkboard is a wonderful tool that students are given which helps them work through any
problem they encounter. It is based on George Polya’s 1945 book ‘How To Solve It’, which is
still regarded as the most influential and successful approach to problem solving. The thinkboard has 4 steps:- SEE, PLAN, DO, CHECK.
With the thinkboard, the year 4’s have been tackling many problems and experiencing great
success.
School Leaders’ Report
On Friday 27th March, we had our first whole school cross country. Years 4,5 and 6 were able
to complete the 2k or 3k race depending on their ages. Those year levels were also able to
training 3 days a week with MS Butterworth, Mr Johnson (PE Teacher) and a quest trainer Mr
Leister. P—3s practiced an obstacle course during weekly PE lessons. All students achieved
highly and had a great time.
Specialist Hightlights...
The Team
Ellen Gibbs Classroom Music, Joanne Wolfe Instrumental Music, Julie Schmidt Strings
Ryan Sensei Language, Jean Schenk Library and
Dean Johnson and Yvette Butterworth Sports Physical Education
♫♪ Music
Miss Gibbs
Classroom Music Spotlight
This week we are featuring Prep A who have been having lots of
fun learning to sing and play instruments to lots of different songs.
The students use tapping sticks to keep the beat, and get the
chance to improve their confidence by singing in front of the
class. They get to wear the special “Singing Sunglasses” when
they perform for a bit of fun.
Upcoming Events
•
Sylvan Woods Nursing Home Excursion: Thank you to all
year 6 students who have returned their permission slips to
attend this excursion on Wednesday 1 April. We are very
excited to share our beautiful singing with the residents for
their Easter celebrations. All students must wear their music
uniform to this excursion. Students will walk supervised by
Miss Gibbs and Chappy John and will be out of school
grounds from 10am-12pm.
Practice Times
Junior Choir
Wednesday 1st
Break
Senior Choir
Tuesday 1st Break
Boys Choir
Friday 1st Break
•
Musician’s Dress Up Day: This is on the same day as the Senior
Choir Excursion Wednesday 1 April. Students are asked to dress up as
Senior Strings - Friday 8am
their favourite music star for a gold coin donation.
(Group lesson during the day for
There will be prizes for best dressed P-3 and 4-6 as
well
both Junior and Senior Strings
as a tuckshop voucher to each student in the
class
that
raises
the
most
money
overall.
We
are
Junior Band - Thursday
having a special parade to celebrate this
Ms Wolfe
(Group lessons during the day)
day with performances by Senior Choir, Sen(Junior & Senior
Senior Band - Wednesday 3 to 4pm
ior Band and the teacher band, plus some
Band)
(Group lessons during the day)
important presentations. This parade will be
[email protected]
held in the school hall from 2pm onwards, all
Ms Schmidt
welcome.
(Junior & Senior String
Ensembles)
•
Birkdale South’s Got Talent: If your child is interested in being a [email protected]
part of this year’s competition they will need to fill in an entry
Ms Gibbs
form and return it to Miss Gibbs by Week 2, Term 2. Heats will
(Junior & Senior
be held in the hall from Week 3. More information to come at
Choirs)
the beginning of Term 2. If your child did not receive an entry
[email protected]
form, please see Miss Gibbs in the Music Room.
Ensembles—Choir, Band, String
It has been a very busy start to the year for the Inclusive Music Program and we thank all parents, students and staff for helping us get off to a flying start. Term 2 is going to be full of exciting events like The Junior Premiere Concert, Birkdale South’s Got Talent and much more. We
wish all families a very happy and safe Easter break and look forward to returning to Term 2.
Library
I would like to thank the Library Assistants for all
their help throughout the term. They will be receiving their badges on parade on Wednesday
1st April .
Our ANZAC Day display is set up in the library for
students to visit with their teachers during their
library times. Please feel free to come and view
our display as we commemorate the 100 year
anniversary.
Student borrowing will continue this week. Thanks for
the great response in returning books on time. If you
come across any over the holidays just drop into the library next term.
Language—Japanese
It has been a busy and rewarding term with the language students in
Years 5 and 6!
Students have been exposed to numerous aspects of Japanese culture, especially that which is related to the classroom. The majority of
students confidently respond to instructions in Japanese and use
vocabulary associated with classroom items. They have been busy
making signs and labels in Japanese script for all the rooms in our
school!
Holiday idea
Hire a Studio Ghibli movie and watch it with your children. They are a
great collection of animated movies created
by talented Japanese movie makers including
Arriety, Spirited Away, Laputa Castle in the Sky
and My Neighbour Totoro.
Parent Information Evening for Japanese Trip
This Wednesday 1st April from 6 to 7pm at Ironside SS, St Lucia.
Please ring our office to register your attendance.
Sport and Physical Education
Cross Country
Congratulations Birkdale South on your efforts during the cross country last Friday. It was fantastic to see everyone involved and being active. Look out for results and photos in the next
newsletter.
Good luck Osprey Cup Teams competing in basketball this Thursdays at Wellington Point
High.
Sporting Recognition
Congratulations to the following students for their recent sporting achievements;
1. Nathan B was successful during the AFL district trials
2. Zoe & Tara F and Ella J competed in the ‘Super Kidz Tri’ triathalon a few weekends
ago at Mooloolaba
3. Nadia I competed in the QLD Sprint Championships for kayaking and won silver. She
also travelled to Sydney for the Aust. Sprint Championships won 2nd and a 4th
4. Tess P and Emma C both attended to district trials for girls basketball
5. Koby L successfully made it into the district hockey team
6. Kyla H has been selected in the Brisbane U10 Development Squad for soccer. In
June she will travel to Portugal to play in the Iber Cup and Spain to play in the
Donesti Cup
PE Reminders
• Please return Project Consent forms for students selected for district sport trials ASAP.
• Osprey Cup for basketball is this Thursday.
• Interschool sport starts Term 2 Week 2. Permission notes will be out soon.
Finance and Admin
Megan Murphy
Activity
Osprey Cup – Basketball
Interschool Sport
*letters will be sent home early this week*
Bowling
ICAS
Year Level
Various
4-6
(selected students)
4-6 (selected students)
P-6
Cost
$7.50
$36
Due Date
Tuesday 31 March
Tuesday 28 April
$66
$8.80 per subject
Tuesday 28 April
Friday 20 March
School Fees for 2015
Instrumental Music and Choir
Prep
Various
$110 & $40
Various
OVERDUE
OVERDUE
**Please Note – it is very important to bring in the Participation Agreement forms when paying for the
fees not matter the payment method eg online, cash at window
Payment Options
There are various payment methods to pay for school fees, excursions/incursions etc. Our most preferred method is internet banking (see details below). We also accept payment at the Administration
payment window on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8-10am. This payment can be made by cash,
credit card or cheque. If paying by the internet, please also send in the students permission note.
Internet Banking
Each student has a unique student number which identifies your child and must be used for each transaction. We also ask you to note that each excursion activity or Levy note also has a unique code
which will identify the activity you wish to pay for within the excursion/levy letter. Please use this code
along with the unique student number in the description area when making payments to the school.
With so many students and activities going on in the school at any given time it is crucial that parents
provide all the necessary information when using Internet banking as per the details below. When
sending money to the office, please ensure it is in a ziplock bag or envelope.
PAYING BY THE INTERNET: Direct Payment into School Bank Account
School’s Bank A/c Name
Birkdale South State School
BSB Number:
064172
Account Number:
00090039
Childs Reference Code:
The unique Student ID Number (ask office if unknown)
Activity Reference Code:
Displayed within each excursion note
Support Team
The Team
Danee Cikoja Support Teacher Literacy and Numeracy, Megan Willmott Special Education Teacher,
Dorin O’Sullivan Guidance Officer, Sue Dahl Advisory Visiting Teacher—Behaviour
Support Teacher Literacy and Numeracy
The Year 3 classes have also been working hard in their reading groups as we work our way through the
12 Reading Comprehension Strategies. Children are also exposed to NAPLAN questions and texts in
these groups. We talk to the students about being ‘Test Savvy’:
•
Look at the text you’re about to read and connect with prior knowledge you have on the topic.
•
Read your text carefully.
•
Understand what the question is asking you- you may need to read it more than once.
•
Read all options when presented with a multiple choice question- you may need to read them
more than once.
•
Always select the best answer- there may be one which is close to being correct, but there is always a ‘BEST’ answer.
•
If you’re not sure of the answer, scan your text for key words to find the supporting sentences to
help you make a decision.
•
Don’t spend too long on a question, if you are finding it really difficult to answer, move on to the
next one and come back to that question later.
•
Answer every question
•
Always check your work when you are done, thoroughly. This means check all questions have
been answered. Spend any remaining time re reading texts to confirm answers you are not sure
of.
•
Most importantly, BREATHE! We know you are trying your best.
Remember to encourage your children over the holidays to keep up their reading so we can pick up
where we left off in Week 1 of next term .
Enjoy your holiday, stay safe, happy reading, Miss Cikoja
Farewell and Good luck
Liz Crocos
As many of you are aware Mrs Elizabeth Crocos, a long standing
staff member (25 years), has been offered the opportunity to be a
small school principal in a remote location. She takes up this position at the beginning of Term 2. We have benefitted greatly from
having Liz as a member of our staff, her expertise around Technology, Mathematics and Science has been outstanding and she has
been a driving force in positioning BSSS very favourably in terms of
infrastructure and know how. She will be missed by students & staff
and we wish her well in a great professional adventure. Her class 3A
will be taught by Mrs Michelle Sullivan.
Comment from one teaching partner—Mrs Kennedy BSSS 1982-2010 & 2014-2015
Teaching with Liz in Year 7 for 16 years was an adventure. Every year was different due to the
innovation that she would bring especially with computers.
As a teacher she is conscientious and a master of pedagogy and a person she is warm and
caring. She has the perfect combination of skills that makes her one of the best teachers of
my generation and one of the greatest assets that Birkdale South SS has ever had.
School Banking
Karen Standring
School Banking Day
Every Wednesday
The School Banking Rewards Program has some fantastic reward items up for grabs. Each
reward item is worth 10 tokens each. Once your child has individually collected 10 tokens
they need to include them in their deposit wallet along with the reward item they would like
to redeem. The coupons can be found on the redemption card that each student received
at the beginning of the year. If you can’t locate yours they are also available in the Uniform
Shop and School Administration. There will be two new items available for redemption in
Term 2.
* Invisible Ink Martian Pen
* Intergalactic Rocket
From all of us at School Banking, we wish all students and their families a wonderful holiday
and hope to see you all back in Term 2.
Chappy’s Chat
John Rutter
The End of Term 1 is upon us and what a challenging but rewarding first term at our school it
has been. I have loved meeting so many of you around the school and I have been so welcomed as a new member of the school and am very thankful to t6eachers, parents and Students for that.
Wednesday
25th March
I also want to thank everyone who joined us for the Bush Dance on the 21st; the weather tried
to hold us back but the night was a lot of fun and a great time for us to get together as a
community outside of school hours. Thanks to all the families that came along and both got
behind the theme of the event by financially supported the Chaplaincy Program through
purchasing tickets and joining in on the fund raising games played on the night. It was a
great success and your support means a lot to me.
A big thanks to all the volunteers that helped us on the night with setting up and packing
down as well as those who cooked and served us all great food during the evening including
that apple pie and ice cream!! Too good!! Thank you to our Sponsors who support our School
and the Chaplaincy Program. They are: Dominos Birkdale, Randall’s Farm, La Bella Italian
Café, Cleveland and Whisky Business, Capalaba. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Lastly thanks to all the students that entered the colouring in competition. I had so many entries which made it so difficult to award winners but I trust that everyone enjoyed creating
their artwork and being part of the Bush Dance through that competition.
Chappy John
I want to wish everyone a great Easter and hope everyone enjoys the School Holidays. Easter
is such a special time for me; it’s a time for giving thanks for the great things we have in our
lives. Life isn’t easy and full of challenges but a heart that is grateful through tough times
opens the door for hope and joy in brighter days.
I look forward to seeing you all in Term 2
NEW WAY TO ORDER BOOKCLUB – IT IS NOW ALL ONLINE
When the AGM was held on 9th March we were unable to get a parent to volunteer to fill the position of Book Club coordinator so our school is now signed up for
LOOP (Linking Online Ordering and Payment.) Every class is now registered for this
new chapter which will begin in Term 2.
What does this mean to Parents?
This means that we will no longer be accepting CASH, you will need to order and
pay online for the books. The website is www.scholastic.com.au
Here are the instructions for how to order and pay online.
•
•
•
Simply grab your Book Club Catalogue
For a quick start, just click on ORDER
OR Register first to save your details for next time (existing Scholastic Store customers can simply log in)
•
•
President—Cathy Bidois
www.facebook.com/BSSSPandC
[email protected]
Events
Wednesday 1 April
Easter Raffle Drawn
Select your school and your child's class
Add your child's first name & last name (so the school knows who the book is
for)
•
•
P&C News
Enter the item number from the Book Club catalogue
All orders are sent directly to the school for submission to Scholastic. Books will
still be delivered to your child's classroom if you order by the close date
Afterwards, there's no need to return paper order forms or payment receipt details
back to your school!
Please note: You need to know what class your child is in for 2015. I have a number
of orders with the wrong class on them, and please use child’s name not the parent name as this doesn’t help the books get to your child.
What happens if I forget to order before the cutoff date?
Never panic we have this covered as well. You can still order online, however,
once the cutoff date has been and gone you will be charged an extra $4.99 and
the books will be delivered direct to your home.
Easter Message: This is our last week of Term 1 so we would like to wish everyone a
Happy Easter, safe holidays and looking forward to seeing everyone back on 20tth
April ready for another exciting term. Please play it safe during the Easter period.
School Resumes
Monday
20th April
Book Club
Books have been sent home with
students today.
Tuckshop Roster
Week 10
30/3 C Bastow
31/3 J Gidley
1/4
S Adams, P Penna
2/4
Tuckshop Closed for orders
(over the counter sales only for
drinks, ice creams and chips).
3/43 Easter Friday
Thank you to everyone who has
volunteered in Tuckshop for
term 1.
Uniform Shop
Opening Hours
Tuesday and Thursday
8 to 10am
REDLANDS PRIMARY SCHOOL RUGBY LEAGUE COMPETITION
DRAW: Senior games
Time: All games will be played at 3:45- 4:30pm.
Seniors Field 1. Juniors Field 2
Teams are made up of: Senior 11-12 Junior: 9-10
Venue: Alexandra Hills High,
Referees Supervised Alexandra Hills High School Students
Round 1
25/3/15
Round 2
1/4/15
Round 3
22/4/15
Round 4
29/4/15
Round 5
6/5/15
Round 6
13/5/15
Senior Team
Bye
Junior Team
Bye
Wellington Point
VS
Red.Bay
Wellington Point
VS
Birk.Sth
Birk.Sth
Wellington Point
Vs
Redland Bay
Wellington Point
VS
Birk.Sth
Birk.Sth
Birk.Sth
Vs
Redland Bay
Wellington Point
VS
Red.Bay
Wellington Point
VS
Birk.Sth
Wellington
Point
Birk.Sth
Vs
Redland Bay
Wellington Point
Vs
Redland Bay
Wellington Point
VS
Birk.Sth
Wellington Point
Birk.Sth
Vs
Redland Bay
Wellington
Point
Birk.Sth
Vs
Redland Bay
Wellington Point
Redland
Bay
Birk.Sth
Redland
Bay
Redland Bay
Birk.Sth
Redland Bay