Dear mums, dads, carers and colleagues

Headlining this week's activities was our NAIDOC Week celebrations, Year 5 leadership camp and the Global Innovations activity for students in Years 5 and 6.  Both were very impressive indeed.  Thank you to all the teachers who contributed to these experiences for our children.

With just 18 school days remaining in the 2020 school year, it will be very busy.  Please make sure that your children are at school on time each day so they can make the most of celebrations.

Remembrance Day 

We recognised Remembrance Day this week.

Annual parent surveys (Have your say)

We will continue with our surveys to allow parents opportunity to give feedback on various aspects of our school.  This will guide our policies for 2021.  Topics include:

• Student Code of Conduct  (Closed - Thank you to everyone who participated)
• School uniform  (Opens this issue - CLICK HERE)
• Homework (Opens Issue 37)

Plans for 2021?

Leaving us:  If you are leaving our school community at the end of this year, please contact the school office as soon as possible so that we can prepare the necessary transfer documents for you.  

Enrolling:  If you have friends or family who are considering enrolling at Coomera Rivers, please ask them to contact Mrs Finch in the school office as soon as possible.  We ARE accepting some out of catchment enrolments in all year levels but the positions are filling very fast.  Once they are filled there are no more.  

Important dates

We will keep making necessary adjustments to this calendar of events as we finalise our plans the conclusion of the 2020 school year.   Please check this list each week and add the pertinent information to your fridge calendars.  

Kind regards

Vic

Well done the Week 6 Excellence Award recipients.

Diamond promotions

Prep to Year 2

Years 3-6

Cyber-safety in Prep

Last week our Cyber-Safety Agents I and T held a story-telling session for the Preps at break time. The Agents read 'Once Upon A Time Online', a great tale that showed our preppies how to use their iPads safely and responsibly. They discussed playing games, using apps, going online and even how sometimes it’s great fun not to use the iPad at all but play with their friends. This fun session was originally planned to coincide with Day for Daniel, but had to be postponed at the last minute. The Preppies couldn't wait to return and know that cyber-safety is important every day!

Dance classes

This week, Year 3 and Year 4 students had a ball completing their Multicultural Dance assessment task.  Here are some snap shots from their videos.  Mrs Blyth's Monday classes will complete their assessment this Monday 16th.

Student leadership program

The 2021 student leadership process has already begun with Year 5 students submitting their formal applications. However at Coomera Rivers, we feel it is important that every student be provided with an opportunity to develop the appropriate skills that will enable them to thrive in leadership. Regardless of whether students are considering a leadership role in our school, we see these skills as transferable in that they will help students not only in future careers but also everyday life.

Last Wednesday our entire cohort of year 5 students participated in the 'Aspire Higher' program run by the company Unleashing Personal Potential. Through a series of workshops, the message of 'leading without a badge' was reinforced. Students engaged in a range of activities that relied on building and extending trust, getting to know one another and appreciating the strengths of others, to teaching them about the power of teams and how to work effectively in a team. The Great Race proved to be quite the highlight and really tested grit and patience.

The program was certainly an opportunity for teachers to see all students develop their communication and problem solving skills and of course, see them all shine as leaders. Twenty-nine students were shortlisted from their applications, general everyday conduct and how they performed at the workshops and were invited to attend Leadership Camp at the Runaway Bay Sporting Complex. Best of luck to all students in their leadership journey, whether that be as a school badged leader or their own personal leadership.

Proud of her heritage

Congratulations to MJ on the wonderful dot print she did as part of NADOC week.  The detail is impressive.

In maths this week

And around the classes

Friday saw 29 aspiring Year 5 leaders partake in a leadership day camp at the Shearwater Broadwater Park and then the Runaway Bay Super Sports Centre. The camp is designed to further develop the leadership and team work skills of students who are seeking to gain a badged position next year, in particular, as Head of School or Head of Student Council.

Students were asked to focus on 3 attributes for effective leadership ~ Communication, Persistence and 'Mind Toughness'. This meant their resilience was set to be tested and they needed to work together to acheive success.

Stand-up paddle boarding was probably the highlight of the day and saw students working in pairs to manoeuvre the board from one end of the beach to the other. Students needed to contend the tide going out which meant steering was tricky and the current was enough to make it a little more challenging, however they didn't let this deter them from making the most of their time in the water. Students were also lucky enough to have a pod of dolphins swimming nearby.

After a team game on the beach where students had to escape 'prison' by digging a hole big enough for all students to pass under the 'wall', students then walked back to the Sports Centre to get changed and have lunch. Competition was fierce in our next activity where students learned a game that resembled 'stuck in the mud' but was played with a pool noodle. This is a game that encouraged strategic thinking and team work and the best part was probably being allowed to whack one another with the noodles!

The final team building activities included plank walking to avoid the 'lava', the 'electric current' challenge, low ropes and the blind fold maze. These challenges required our aspiring leaders to not only think strategically but also to communicate effectively, consider and be patient with their team mates, and when something didn't work, reflect on how to improve.

Staff from the Sports Centre were once again blown away with the calibre of leadership qualities these students already display and we are very confident that the role of our 2021 Head of School and Head of Student Council are in good hands. The next step is to short list this group of 29 to just 12 students who will then move on to an interview phase. To say this is a difficult decision is an understatement.

Yarning Circle Opening 

The main parts of our Yarning Circle are completed and this week, we conducted a small ceremony to celebrate its opening.  At Coomera Rivers we aspire for all of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to see their culture and heritage woven into the fabric of their everyday schooling experiences. Our local indigenous community members are an integral and valued part of our Coomera Rivers family and the Yarning Circle, no doubt, will become a special space that will provide opportunities for us to connect, hear yarns and learn more about our local history and heritage.

It has been the work of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Educational Team to promote and educate our school community on the important work of embedding of Indigenous perspectives within our daily practises. I am extremely proud of their achievements thus far and thank them for their commitment in seeing this project to fruition. I make special mention of Mrs Karen Caswell, Ms Cheyanne Conroy, Ms Brittany Dare and Ms Waide who were integral to the process.

The Yarning Circle and the accompanying story poles are the first installation, in what we hope to become a cultural hub – with a mural and the planting of native plant species planned. A thank you as well to Ventia and Mr Chris Church for his assistance in coordinating and overseeing the build of the Yarning Circle. Thanks also to Justine Dillon for joining us on Monday and conducting the smoking ceremony.

This space – a space for harmonious, respectful communications and the sharing and preservation of culture – is dedicated to our children. 

Family link

Tyles visited Ms Waide this week to show her a story written and illustrated by members of his family.  He was seriously proud!

Year 2 coding for NAIDOC week

This week in DigiDesign, we celebrated NAIDOC week and the Year 2 students combined their coding skills using spheros to create a story using Aboriginal symbols.  Students worked in teams to create a story and setting the symbols out in a line.  Students then used the movement, lights, speaking and sound features to code, write and create a story. Then students connected to the spheros and ran their coding through the robots. Their video stories are uploaded to their DigiDesign Seesaw class if you wanted to view them.

And across the classrooms

The students have busy as well.

Student trade show and pitch event

We believe in students’ abilities to create positive change in our community and during this term some of our students worked together to develop social-enterprise ideas to make our community and world a better place. 

During a professional development session on Entrepreneurial Thinking with Mrs Pinnington, Ms Wager and Miss Reid were buzzing with excitement as they came up with ideas to link entrepreneurial thinking to their current HASS units. Both Year 5 and Year 6 have been completing HASS units on the Global Goals where they had to identify an issue and prototype a solution. Year 5 were completing their unit on a local scale and Year 6 on a global scale. Entrepreneurial thinking fit perfectly and so the Global Innovators Trade Show and Pitch Event was born.

Students worked together in teams to create a community map, practice ideation & design thinking techniques to come up with ideas to the problems they identified.  They shared ideas in a visual way, created prototypes, and showcased their ideas to their peers and teachers at a trade show. Several teams were selected to pitch their idea to a panel and a winner was chosen.   The students were in their element sharing their businesses and solutions with each other and were empowered with practical entrepreneurship and leadership skills.

The students showcased the focus and dedication they have for making their community a better place now and in the future. Our future is in good hands with these community-minded young people.

2021 Instrumental Music Program

Many students have expressed an interest in joining the Instrumental Music program in 2021 and over the last few weeks our band and strings teachers have been meeting with them to discuss the program and find out their preferences.  Next week students who have been successful will receive a formal offer from the school.  However we are sending one last message to our families: if your child is currently in Year 2 and is interested in playing a string instrument, or currently in Year 3 and interested in playing a band instrument - or if you have any questions - please email Mrs Zander by 3:00pm on Monday afternoon so your child can be included in the recruitment process.

We are currently gathering feedback, via an on-line survey, in relation to our uniform. The survey is an annual feedback mechanism for the school. Your suggestions make a difference so please complete the survey before it closes on Friday 20 November at 4pm.

 Click here to access the survey.

Thank you to our families for your support of our Colour Explosion Fundraiser!

With the registration and donation deadline now passed, the Colour Explosion fundraiser now moves into the prize ordering stage.

Colour Explosion prize ordering opens Saturday 14 November.

The deadline to place your Colour Explosion prize order is:

3pm Friday 20 November.

Selecting a prize goal when registering does NOT automatically convert to a prize order.

You must log on to www.myprofilepage.com.au between Saturday 14 November and 3pm Friday 20 November to order your prize.

Students that have not selected a prize by this date will have a random prize selected on their behalf.

If you have any questions, please email the P&C

Are you looking for that accessory to support your team on our senior school Swimming Fun Days?

Well we have the answer!

Available through Flexischools now are silicon wrist bands and corkscrew hair ties in our house colours!

Stock is limited so order yours today!

As we near the end of the 2020 school year, it is time to start considering your before and after school care needs for 2021.

All current 2020 BSC and ASC bookings will cease after close of business Wednesday 9 December 2020. Bookings will not roll over to 2021. All families seeking care at Coomera Rivers OSHC in 2021 must complete a new booking request.

How does the booking process work?

Step 1 - Family submits booking requests

Booking requests are open now for families to apply for OSHC in 2021. Please ensure your start date for BSC and ASC is Wednesday 27 January 2021.

To enrol for BSC and/or ASC in 2021, please click here to submit a booking request.

Step 2 - Service sends booking offers

Booking requests received will be responded to within 2 business days.

Step 3 - Family accepts and confirms booking offer

Families need to accept and confirm booking offers within 2 days of receiving the booking offer email to finalise the booking process. This is done by following the steps that will be outlined in the booking offer email.

Please note the QikKids website is not optimised for use on mobile devices, including iPads and mobile phones. The enrolment process must be completed on a computer.

If you have any questions regarding this process please do not hesitate to contact the service via email

Vacation care bookings are open to ALL families of schools. You do NOT have to attend the before and / or after school service to be able to attend vacation care. Enrolments for vacation care are very welcome from all of our Coomera Rivers families.

There is no minimum number of days that you need to attend - just book for the days you need.

Price includes breakfast and afternoon tea.

All children require the following items every day of vacation care:

* morning tea
* lunch
* water bottle
* closed in shoes
* brimmed hat (no caps)
* sun safe clothing (no singlets or stroppy dresses)

The details of the upcoming program are attached. The program colour code is:

Green = Excursions
Orange = Incursions
White - In Service days

For bookings or further enquiries please contact us:
Phone: 5596 8377
Mobile: 0455 968 377
Email: croshc@coomerariversss.eq.edu.au

      
School Immunisation Program

If you have children at high school in Year 7 next year, be on the lookout for an invitation for your child to participate in the free School Immunisation Program.  In February, you will be sent an email or SMS from Queensland Health with a link to an online form. The form will provide information on the vaccines being offered and ask you to confirm if want your child to participate, or not.  Click here or more information about the SIP and vaccines being offered, please visit or phone 1800 940 750.