FREE DRESS DAY (Friday 19 March)

Dear mums, dads, carers and colleagues

This past week has been highlighted by our parent-teacher interviews.  We conducted 629 interviews across the two afternoons.  Thank you sincerely to the teachers and families for their attention to building these partnerships.  I hope that those who attended found them very worthwhile.

This coming week will see us being even busier with:

• School photos  (All students must wear their full and correct formal uniforms for photos day)
• Free dress day on Friday
• School disco on Friday evening

IMPORTANT:  Please complete the surveys

Families will soon receive two automated emails with access details and links to surveys that must be completed for your children.   Only parents or carers for which we have recorded in our school system that students reside will have received these emails and links.  Please note that only one parent or carer needs to complete the surveys.

Survey 1:  Online Services Consent Form  (estimated completion time - 5 minutes)

The purpose of the Online Services Consent Form is to inform you about the third party online services used in our school and how student information, including personal information and works, may be recorded, used, disclosed, and published to the services.  We will only allow the following information to be accessed by these provides:

• Student's first name
• Class name
• Teacher's name
• Access codes provided through the app (eg a Mathletics password)

If the app provider requires more than this we will not use the app.

Survey 2:

Digital Devices User Agreement and Anti-Bullying Agreement (estimated completion time 5 minutes)

The purpose of the Digital Devices User Agreement and Anit-Bullying Agreement is to acknowledge that you have read and agree to the Coomera Rivers State School Digital Devices User Agreement and Anti-Bullying Agreement which can be found in our Student Code of Conduct, and that you have discussed both with your child.

Thank you in advance for completing these two surveys.

National day of action (Friday 19 March)

Our school will once again this year, support the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence with a free dress day.  We invest heavily in developing strong levels of character, tolerance and kindness across our students and community.  If you would like to know more about how we do this, please refer to our Student code of conduct (CLICK HERE).  The section on bullying starts on page 47.

The term bullying gets used a lot and usually incorrectly.  Our school uses a very clear process to manage instances of bullying.  Most of what we investigate and manage is conflict, retribution (pay back) or nastiness.  This is why we focus so heavily on creating an environment of kindness.  

We use the agreed national definition for Australian schools describes bullying as:

• ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social
  and/or psychological harm;
• involving an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening;
• happening in person or online, via various digital platforms and devices and
  it can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert).
• behaviour that is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time (for example, through sharing of digital records);
• having immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders.

Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.

Behaviours that do not constitute bullying include:

• mutual arguments and disagreements (where there is no power imbalance)
• not liking someone or a single act of social rejection
• one-off acts of meanness or spite
• isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence.

However, these conflicts are still considered serious and need to be addressed and
resolved. At our school, our staff will work to quickly respond to any matters raised of this nature in collaboration with students and parents.

Woolworths Pots of Fun

If you shop at Woolworths and don't use your free pots of fun at home, we would love to have them at school.  We currently use these seed propagation kits to reward students who are volunteering their time to tidy our school or maintain a garden area.  They are hugely popular but I cannot buy enough groceries to have enough for everyone involved.  So if you are able to donate yours to school, we will turn them into yummy herbs and colourful plants.  

NAPLAN Online 2021 - Year 3 and 5 students

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assessments happen every year.

Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are tested on the fundamental literacy and numeracy skills that every child needs to succeed in school and beyond. NAPLAN is a national, consistent measure to determine whether or not students are meeting important educational outcomes.

NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing against national standards in literacy and numeracy and over time.

NAPLAN tests are one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process, they do not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. Your child’s teacher will have the best insight into your child’s educational progress.

NAPLAN results do not measure overall school quality.

NAPLAN Online testing at Coomera Rivers will take place from Tuesday 11 May until Friday 14 May for Years 3 and 5 students.

NAPLAN is made up of tests in the four areas (or ‘domains’) of:

• reading
• writing
• language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
• numeracy.

Further information regarding NAPLAN Online testing for 2021 will be sent directly to parents/caregivers of Year 3 and 5 students.

CLICK HERE to access further information on the National Assessment Program website.

Are your details up to date?

Have you changed your street address, email address or contact numbers in the past 12 months?  Have there been any changes to your family circumstances that the school needs to be aware of?  Please contact the school or visit QParents to update your records.  

Kind regards

Vic