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 Week 8 Newsletter Term 2 2015 Reporting Parents, the report cards are nearly ready for release. The teachers have invested a great deal of time in completing the student’s evaluation. Students have been working very hard over the term to maximise their potential and achieve the best they can. When admin have screened the reports they will be released electronically on the last Wednesday of term by Mr Hackwood. Year Level Planning The A/Heads of Curriculum Mrs Pickford & Ms Griffith will be planning with staff next week. Each term at this time will be planning with teachers. This will mean that your child’s teacher will be offline for half a day either morning or afternoon investing time to work on the successful implementation of the National Curriculum. Student Attendance and Late Arrivals Parents, I have seen an increase in the number of late arrivals of a morning. Instruction commences at 8.55am and the classroom doors are normally open at 8.45am when the bell rings. The reason I am raising this is that a number of classes have their literacy blocks first thing in the morning. Being 10-­‐15 & 30 minutes late, students are missing out on priority learning time and especially reading. Some parents are citing issues with parking in which case I suggest you consider the following: • Using the set down drop off area. • Dropping students off in close proximity to school and they walk into one of the entrances to the school. • Alternatively asking older siblings to drop off the younger brother or sister. I hope parents find some of the above strategies useful. On another matter, attendance of all children in our school is vital. Every day is a learning day and every day counts. We are requested to track the data of our school. Networking with Neighbouring Schools I have begun working with the neighbouring Principals in the three closest schools -­‐ Mango Hill State School, North Lakes State College and Moreton Downs State School. The intent is to share best practice and develop stronger educational links. We are intending to externally moderate our work with them in Term 3 and look at common areas for professional development. HOC’s met with neighbouring schools prior to the year level planning sessions to increase alignment across our educational alliance. P&C Meeting This was held on Wednesday 10th June 2015. Please see my report below: • Welcome • Effective Enrolment 1174 • Concept of Priority List • Financial Report –see attachment • Facilities update -­‐8 classrooms & proposed hall • Parent & Community Engagement Policy • DP’s reports • Heads Of Curriculum Report • Chaplin’s Report • Recruitment & Selection • Reporting •
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Concept of Study Tours Other Business Sponsorship Parents as mentioned in the previous newsletter we are currently seeking sponsorship for the proposed electric sign on the boundary of our school. In a large and growing school it is my clear desire to enhance communication through a variety of means. To this end I am looking within our broader community businesses and industries to come on board and sponsor our sign which is approximately K30. We are seeking dual sponsorship to half the financial cost to potential sponsors and I anticipate that we will be able to acknowledge you on the school sign, along with acknowledgement through the school website, with exposure to 876 families. Car Park An electronic gate is currently being installed to prevent illegal parking in our school grounds. This has been a necessity to ensure the safety of students and effectively manage authorised staff parking. Staff Absence with Professional Development Last week Mr Mark Wrigley one of our A/Deputy Principals completed a WPHS course. The final component is an online component. This is a legislative requirement to ensure our school has safe work place and improve practices for students and staff. Special Education Program at Bounty The Bounty Boulevard State School SEP Parent Information Booklet 2015 DRAFT will be sent home this month with the students who have access to Special Education Program (SEP) resourcing. This booklet summarises practice and policy for SEP students at the school. The Newsletter will often contain attachments with information on programs and events as well. Teacher Professional Development in supporting students with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Twenty Bounty Boulevard State School Class Teachers and Support Teachers (both SEP and other) have completed six hours of face to face instruction. These dedicated teachers will go on to finish the total twenty hours of course time online. All components of the course are completed after school hours. The More Support for Students with Disabilities (MSSWD) is a Commonwealth Government initiative which aims to ensure Australian schools and teachers are better able to support students with disability. Building workforce capability to further strengthen and improve learning outcomes for students with disability is the key strategy of this initiative. The intensive learning program, developed from evidence informed practice, is empowering schools leadership teams and staff to better support students with disability. SEP Play Program: Sensory and Vestibular Activities: SEP Students are supported inclusively through-­‐out school. They have the option of attending Play Program at the SEP at breaks and are encouraged to bring a friend. Options include a range of sensory activities which are proven to be effective in supporting students with sensory needs including those on the Autism spectrum. Soft plush cushions can be very relaxing to hold, bean bags stuffed either with beans or with foam off-­‐cuts provide a range of sensory experiences, games which allow students to hit or kick a ball allow them to explore using different levels of pressure and force, fit balls allow students to explore vestibular (balance) senses as do balance boards. Students also benefit from exploring different textures such as play dough, rice in a container, kinetic sand play. All of these activities also provide an opportunity for students to work on their hand strength. All of these games also involve social skill and communication development in the areas of inviting friends to play, negotiating games, resolving conflict and taking turns among others. This environment and these activities are supervised by an SEP Teacher who often works with an SEP Teacher Aide to facilitate the interactions. This also gives staff an opportunity to discuss any issues which students raise and to assist them to develop their own problem solving skills and resilience that will support their engagement in the community. From: Jennifer Davies and all our wonderful SEP Staff. Some Play options Speech-­‐Language Support at Bounty We often get asked by parents what they can do to help their child’s communication development at home. Here are some tips that you can use-­‐ and some you might be using already! 1. Spend dedicated time every day just talking with your child. This could involve asking about their day, talking about activities you both enjoy, or telling each other stories. Some great times to do this are during regular family activities such as dinnertime, bed time, car trips or outings. 2. Read books with your child. Reading books together is a great way to spend time with your child and help develop your child’s language. Try talking about the story afterwards, and ask your child questions about the story. Making up stories about the characters is fun as well! If your older child is reading on their own, ask them to tell you about the story they’re reading. 3. Limit screen time (this includes televisions, iPads, iPods, phones and computers). Children learn language through human interaction, and especially through how others respond to their attempts at communication. iPads are a great tool for learning and entertainment but they are no substitute for spending time interacting with caregivers, siblings and friends. Consider limiting screen time to a maximum of 30mins per day. 4. Model the language you want your child to use. If your child makes a mistake with their language, provide them with the correct language in a natural way. They don’t need to repeat it, but it is good for them to hear it. For example: Child: Yesterday I goed on a school excursion. Parent: Yes, yesterday you went on a school excursion. 5. Keep an eye on your child’s hearing. If a child isn’t hearing correctly, they will have difficulties learning new sounds and words. Limit your child’s exposure to prolonged loud noises (e.g. having music turned up too loud in their headphones) and, if you have any concerns, consider having a chat to your GP about your child’s hearing. Bounty Boulevard State School currently has two Speech-­‐Language Pathologists who visit the school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. If you have any questions or would like some more specific strategies to use at home, please feel free to contact them via email: Caitlin McGrath ([email protected]) and Catherine St. Clair ([email protected]). Student Leaders Report The Student Leadership Team meet each fortnight in our lunch break and on the first Friday of every month we meet with the administration team. During these meetings we have been talking about lunchtime activities and school competitions to help keep students busy. The Art Ministry will be holding a Prep colouring in competition, judging will be by Art Ministry members and prizes will be awarded. The Ministry of the Minds have been planning the paper plane competition and giant egg drop. Keep an eye on the website to find more information. The Sports Ministry have been working on lunchtime activities. We have organised a soccer games for year 4, and more games will be starting for other grades later on in the year. The Behaviour Ministry have been announcing the School Wide Positive Behaviour Social Skill of the week. The Student Affairs have been working on Pyjama day which will occur on the Friday of Week 10 (last day of school for term 2), and will be a gold coin donation. The ICT Ministry have been working on a photo competition there will be in 2 separate competitions. A year 3/4 and 5/6, prizes will be won with the best photo. The Performing Arts Ministry are holding their popular “Talent Quest”. Class and Cohort finals will be beginning this week. Stay tuned for further updates from the Ministries! Student Leader Fundraising: Over the semester the student leaders have organised two fundraising events: The first was a free dress day “What I want to be when I grow up”. All money raised went to the Children’s Hospital Foundation. Funds Raised totalled $1065. The second fundraiser was “Crazy Hair and Sock Day” for the Leukaemia Foundation. We raised a total of $1037.05. Thank you for all of your participation. On behalf of the Student Leaders Angus Clark Vice-­‐School Captain
Heads of Curriculum Staff are currently completing the Reporting period with reports due to be emailed home in the last week of this term. Planning for Term 3’s units of learning will commence next week, Week 9, with teachers working collaboratively to provide the best possible learning opportunities for their students. Teachers will be exploring a range of differentiation strategies to embed in their units of learning as well as day-­‐to-­‐day teaching and learning practices. The acting Heads of Curriculum will meet with their respective colleagues from North Lakes State College, Mango Hill State School and Moreton Downs State School this week to plan for moderation of certain assessment tasks later in the year and to identify and share common practices towards providing the students in this catchment with optimum learning opportunities. Both HOCs recently met with the HOCs from the North Coast Region and engaged in a higher-­‐order thinking workshop featuring a new Education Queensland initiative, the program “Flying Start”. This program to be developed in schools is aimed at promoting and developing divergent and creative thinking and general metacognition (thinking about our thinking) in our students. The Book-­‐a-­‐Night program, whilst been in operation at Bounty for quite a few years, is entering the final stage of adjustments and amendments to cater for our increased school population. New bookmarks, certificates and classroom posters identifying the incentives involved in the Book-­‐a-­‐
Night program are at the final publication stage, with some students already having been presented with their 125 night milestone awards. A Wall of Honour to celebrate our school’s avid readers in the Book-­‐a-­‐Night program will be on display in the L.I.C. from Term 3. We encourage all parents to promote nightly or daily reading in the home, reinforcing the love of reading and the development of strong reading and comprehension skills. Lee Griffith and Meg Pickford Chappy Spot Sometimes as parents we seem to want to come across as we are confident in our parenting and we have it all together. But the reality is that we are all just trying to do our best with the knowledge and strategies we just have gathered in our life journey and at times we feel so alone. There are many organisations out there offering to help us with our parenting journey. Michael Grose is just one of many who offer a heap of resources and information to help us all. I want to encourage you all to not feel alone and know that it’s ok to admit that we don’t always have the right strategies to deal with each stage of our children's journey. Reaching out for help or gathering information for new ideas to help with our parenting, help creates clarity and a less stressful home environment. That is the end goal anyway. We want to enjoy our kids while they are kids and to do the best we can as parents so that they can grow up to their full potential. Take care, Chappy Christina. Finance Update PAYMENTS – Please ensure you are checking you have received a receipt when payment has been made for an excursion or activity. These receipts are provided to teachers daily. If you do not receive a receipt, please check with the office to ensure payment was received. Invoices are generated with at least 5 weeks’ notice for payment. Individual reminders are not sent out to parents and it is therefore imperative that you are checking that you have received a receipt for proof of payment. Payments must be made by 11:30am on the due date – this includes payments made via direct deposit. Payments must be made at least two days prior via direct deposit to ensure payment is in the account by that time. We strongly recommend payments to be made in instalments – weekly or fortnightly to ensure payment is made in full by the due date. Payments will not be accepted after the due date. ACTIVITY Pine Rivers Heritage Museum Upcoming Events ACTIVITY DATE COST $12.50 Tallebudgera Final Payment 2V, 2M & 2FM – 16/06/15 2D & 2T – 17/06/15 2L, 2W & 2H – 18/06/15 17/08/15 – 21/08/15 Canberra Trip mandatory instalment 16/08/15 – 21/08/15 $200 Voluntary Levy This levy is strongly encouraged to be paid to assist in the purchase of – 1. Technology resources – iPads, laptops and software for student use. 2. Art and craft materials 3. Reproduced class materials – i.e. printing of booklets, work sheets. Last year with the assistance from levies paid this partially funded the purchase of 60 iPad’s used throughout the school. $195 DUE DATE FOR PAYMENT 12/06/2015 18/06/2015 24/06/2015 $120 or $240 for 2 or more students Remaining Date Claimers Semester 1 Jun 8
Holiday (Queen’s Birthday)
Jun 9
Parent Workshop – Behaviour at Bounty 2pm – 3pm (Terri Barker)
Jun 10
P&C Meeting @ 7pm staffroom
Jun 11
Performing Arts Showcase – Yr 2 / Yr 3 Audience
Jun 11
Performing Arts Showcase – Yr 4 – Yr 6 Audience
Jun 12
Winter Interschool Sport Gala Day Yr 5 & Yr 6
Jun 15 – Jun 19
ICAS Writing
Jun 16
ICAS Spelling
Jun 16
Yr 2: Pine Rivers Historical Museum 2V, 2M, 2FM
Jun 17
Yr 2: Pine Rivers Historical Museum 2D, 2T
Jun 18
Yr 2: Pine Rivers Historical Museum 2W, 2L 2H
Jun 18
Prep Fairy-tale Ball @ 9.15am
Jun 22
Bounty’s Got Talent Finals @ 12.00pm – 1.30pm
Jun 23
BBSS P-1 Athletics Carnival
Jun 23
Yr 4 – 6 800m races (2pm – 3pm)
Jun 24
BBSS 2-3 Athletics Carnival
Jun 25
BBSS 4-6 Athletics Carnival
Jun 26
Pyjama Day (Student Affairs Ministry)
Jun 26
Last day Term 2
Jun 27 – Jul 12
Holidays
Semester 2
Jul 13
Day 1, Term 3
Jul 15
P&C Meeting @ 7pm staffroom
Jul 20 – Jul 22
School Photography (Class timetable will be published on the school website)