Dear mums, dads, carers and colleagues

Our biggest job this week was to complete the 2021 NAPLAN tests in Years 3&5.  This is a huge undertaking. Thank you sincerely to everyone who supported the students across the week and a special thank you to the P&C for providing fruit breaks and our celebration boxes. Special thanks to our school staff who supported the students.  Their work was tremendous!  I especially liked the theme days they followed.

Our Year 3&5 students showed great persistence in giving their best effort. We have one more day on Monday for catch-up testing for Numeracy.  NAPLAN does not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance.  I know that your child’s teacher will have the best insight into their educational progress. 

The test results will be sent back to the school in the near future, after which we will send the reports home to families.

Every student NEEDS these forms completed by their parents

1. Online Services Consent Form 
2. Digital Devices User Agreement and Anti-Bullying Agreement

We sent home some emails to all families earlier this year, where the forms listed above could be completed electronically.  Many families completed them but we need these forms completed for every student.  Consequently, parents who have not completed them will be sent a paper copy in the coming week, to complete and return to school asap.  If you completed the forms online, then there is nothing more to do.  

Why are these forms required?

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.

The purpose of the Digital Devices User Agreement and Anti-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.    Click here for a copy of the Student Code of Conduct.

Thank you in advance for completing these two surveys.

Uniform blitz is coming

We will be holding a uniform blitz from Week 6.  Each day across the week we will be checking for correct uniform.  Every family who has enrolled at Coomera Rivers has spent time at an induction where the uniform requirements were explained.  Every family has then completed an agreement at enrolment to show that they will meet the requirements.  Please read the code to familiarise yourself with what is required.  Click here for the document.  

You can avoid problems simply by having your child in correct and complete school uniform or, if there is a problem, by sending your child's teacher an email or note to explain the problem.  

Road safety around the school

I have been outside the school each afternoon across the past week or so to evaluate the traffic around the school.  And what I noticed really worried me.  And it wasn't the motorists who caused this - it was some of the students.  I will speak with everyone this coming week about what is expected.  I would like you to support these expectations as well.  When school and parents are aligned, the outcomes for children are better.

Bike riding:

I was really shocked to see the bike riding behaviours of most students.  They can ride a bike well enough but they have absolutely no awareness of or care for traffic and pedestrians.  Some are not wearing a helmet at all.  Some are riding through the school car park zones.  The safety of your children is at risk.

1. Always push your bike from the crossings into the school when you are coming to school
2. Always push your bike as far as the crossings when you are riding home
3. Always wear a helmet (properly) every time you ride
4. Only bikes can be ridden to school.  Scooters and skateboards cannot come to school.  
5. Always be careful around pedestrians and give them space
6. Always cross the road at the designated crossings
7. Always store your bike in the bike shed (a lock is recommended)
8. Always go home the way your parents expect you to go

Pedestrians: 

1. Always stay out of the car parks at school
2. Always stay off the road
3. Always use the crossings to cross the road (where they are available)
4. Always go home the way your parents expect you to go
5. Always be kind to our neighbours by:
   • Leaving their dogs alone
   • Leaving their properties and cars alone

Play at school

From Week 6 we will be making some changes to our playgrounds so that we can open up our Loose Parts play areas.  Some of our play areas will become multi-age play areas and some new areas will open.  I will give families a insight next newsletter.  This is really exciting.

What we have learned from our Loose Parts play trials so far

As we say, 'We are here for learning' and boy we are learning a lot about our students when they are playing with loose parts.

• Boys like to hit things......lots of things
• Children can make a swing out of anything
• Girls know how to lay plumbing pipe
• Children know how to manage their own risks
• Creativity really starts to kick in at the 15 minute mark
• Children are not afraid to play with unknown people in loose parts
• Siblings tend to 'find' each other in the loose parts zones
• Children play better together when they are in mixed aged groups
• An old cardboard box is the most exciting play equipment

Kind regards

Vic

Congratulations to these students on earning Excellence Awards this week.

And also to this week's Mathletics champions

The bugs are moving in

Animal Welfare League visit Year 3

On Thursday the AWL came out to bring a sense of community and purpose to this term's Year 3 science unit. Katherine talked to students about the AWL and what they do for our community and told us more about how animals keep warm in winter and cool in summer. Her dogs Mr Clooney and Bean showed us some cool tricks.

The year 3’s presented her with all our donations and we are very excited that we were able to help the animals who are waiting to find their fur-ever homes.

Alexa nails her written task

Alexa (1N) wrote an informative text about a scorpion, completely on her own. She used her sounding out strategies for all the technical language and for the words she found difficult. This is an amazing effort and Miss Stuurtraat is very proud of her dedication to learning.

Written by Alexa (1N)

Year 1 Digi-Design

Year 1's are learning about healthy and unhealthy food options and are in the process of designing a healthy lunch box to market to the school cafe. They have been using the online lunch box builder  to choose their healthy food. Check it out for some ideas.  

Kiwi Club

This term we have started learning about the Maori kowhaiwhai pattern through art. Kowhaiwhai (pronounced kor-fy-fy), are shapes or symbols that are repeated by rotation, reflection and translation as geometric patterns. The kowhaiwhai patterns give us information about tribal genealogy and ancestors, and differ between iwi (tribes). These patterns are most often found on ridge poles (tahu) or rafters (heke) in a meeting house (wharenui).

Prep gets moving

The preps are learning some different skipping skills in PE this term and Prep C acted out some dance moves in Drama.  These are brilliant coordination skill-builders.       

Citizenship demonstrated

Brooke, Maya and Annabelle from 5L have been demonstrating outstanding Citizenship. For more than a term now, they have consistently given up their first play breaks to take a Year 1 buddy for Conversational Reading.  Mrs Davies and Mrs Jensen have been very impressed with their commitment and dedication to others. The girls have had a positive impact in improving their buddy's confidence and love of reading.

            
Year 4 Mindfulness Club

Year 4 students have started participating in a Mindfulness Club before school.

On Mindful Mondays, students are able to participate in a guided meditation session.

On Grateful Wednesday students share something they are grateful for and enjoy some peaceful colouring.

And on Flexi Fridays students join in with some yoga.  

The numbers have been growing every session, and teachers are noticing a change in students behaviour, attitude and effort in the morning sessions. This is not surprising given that research shows that gratitude and mindfulness both significantly affect maintaining a positive emotional state.

The Mindfulness Club is open to all year 4 students from 8:00am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

People of Character

Following on from our call out, here is our first episode amplifying a local, unsung hero!  Please listen to our Year 4 students as they share Tammy’s story.  Click here to go to Seesaw.

We would love it if our school community can support the amazing work that Tammy does so for the next two weeks, we are collecting donations for her program. As the year progresses and ‘formal season’ approaches, the need for Tammy’s program will increase. Donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated:

• Dresses and Suits
• Shoes – ladies and mens
• Dress shirts and ties
• Jewellery
• Clutches and small handbags
• Hair accessories and makeup (new)
• Coat hangers
• Lavendar pouches
• Washing powder (suitable for delicates)

Salaka Drumming

It was a HUGE hit in 2019 so we’ve asked them to come back!! This term students will participate in workshops with dancers and performers from Ghana where they will learn about African culture, music and folk tales. More importantly, not only will every student get an opportunity to play the djembe (’talking drum’), but also teachers get the opportunity to showcase their skills too! Students will be getting a taste of Salaka in their music lessons over the next few weeks in the lead up to the incursion. Permission forms are due 14 May and payment of $7 is due 25 May.  Please email your class teacher with any questions.

Regional Sport

Touch Football

Congratulations to Seantayne on his selection in the South Coast U12 Boys Touch side. He'll off to play against Queensland's best in Townsville later this term.

District Sport

Rugby Union

Well done to Si'u, Jett, Colten and Noah, they have been selected in the Broadwater Rugby Union team. All of these boys have been tremendous with their effort towards sport this year.

Tennis

Cruz has been selected to compete in the Super 10s Tennis League. Only 16 boys in the South-East Queensland region were selected. Well done, Cruz!

Kokoda

Last Saturday morning, our Kokoda teams arrived at Burleigh beach before the sun rose to practise for the Kokoda Schools Challenge. It was a beautiful morning and training as the sun rises makes for an excellent session. Our teams did close to 9km and capped it off with a swim! Thanks to our teachers and parents who are supporting our sessions.

AFL

Our Boys and Girls AFL teams will be off to Livingstone College on Tuesday to have some friendly matches and against Livingstone and Ormeau. A lot of players are still learning the game, so this will be a valuable experience. Thanks to Mr Cope who has given up a lot of his time to train our 2 teams.

Running Club

As the winter season rolls in, we are getting a wet oval in the mornings. We recommend that students bring some alternate clothes and shoes and we will allow them time to change back into their school uniform at the completion of Running Club.

Congratulations to our Esport representatives, Mathias, Jacob, Kade, Jaden, Byron, Tyler, Aiden, Jasper who today competed in The Fuse Cup Gold Coast finals at Emmanuel College. 

The competition was fierce with students from Ormeau SS, Hillcrest Christian College, Emmanuel College and St Stephens College all racing for final Mario Kart victory.  None of our team made it to the final round however, Mrs Hardwick was very impressed with the great character the team displayed during the day including the support they had for all competitors right to the end.  They looked like they had a ball!

The Fuse Cup provides students with a great opportunity to develop skills of resilience, persistence and sportsmanship while playing in a safe and supportive environment.  

This week the Department of Education's Cyber-safety and Reputation Management team visited our Years 4-6 students to discuss digital citizenship and cybersafety.  

The session covered: 

• Understanding digital footprints and responsible digital citizenship 
• How to protect personal information when creating online accounts 
• Cyberbullying and standing up for friends online 
• Account privacy and how to create a strong password 
• Responding to negative online content 
• How to handle yourself if you're having a difficult time online. 

One of the key takeaways for our students was that many social media apps, such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok and Youtube, have an age restriction of 13+ which means they should not have accounts for these while they are in primary school. 

The students learned that even if a parent had given them permission to create an account, they are still breaking the rules of the terms and conditions of those sites. It was reinforced to students that rules and responsibilities online are the same as in the real world and there are consequences for both. 

Students were asked to go home and ask the adult in their life to help them delete or deactivate their accounts if they have any. 

Our Cybersafety Agents I & T were on hand to gather all the key messages to share with the rest of the school throughout the year.  

Screen time at OSHC     

Last Friday morning at OSHC, our TV wasn’t working. The children who arrived at 6am were so worried - “What are we going to do!? I’m bored!”

Miss Jodie asked the children, “What do you do at home when you’re not watching TV?” To which the replies were, “I play my iPad”, “I sleep”. 

We were excited to show the children some of the simple games we used to play as children, and when Miss Jodie suggested Mr Squiggle, a few children showed interest, but no one knew what Mr Squiggle actually was! 

As the game started, it took a little while for the children to find their creativity. What was first a “square”, then turned in to a duck, a fridge, an alien. Tyler’s creativity was so impressive! By the end of the morning, we had 10 children playing Mr Squiggle, teaching the game to other children and creating some VERY challenging squiggles! 

Another group of children who usually watch TV, asked Miss Rachel if they could make cubbyhouses with boxes - Miss Rachel was so excited, and the boys had an absolute blast. 

Lots of the children went to the hall and spent their morning doing just dance challenges, with lots of laughter. 

Miss Rae, cooking eggs for breakfast, went through THIRTY eggs and two loaves of bread, with our very active children loving their breakfast (and they didn’t need a reminder!) 

At the end of the morning, Miss Jodie spoke to the educators about their morning, “This was the best morning ever! I didn’t have to follow up on behaviour once!” The children agreed, it really was the best morning... the difference? No TV!

This is the start of more screen free mornings at OSHC, as the new Guidelines for screen time in OSHC recommendations encourage a maximum of 30 minutes screen time during BSC. 

We can’t wait to teach the OSHC children some new games and crafts that they may not have seen before. 

FREE PARENTING SEMINAR

HELP YOUR CHILD HANDLE UPS AND DOWNS, INCLUDING ONLINE

We all do our best to supervise our children’s online activities, but this Triple P – Positive Parenting Program seminar offers tips on how to develop your child’s ability to cope with problems, now and in the future, in real-life and online. The seminar is fun and friendly and only 60 minutes long, it’s FREE, and it’ll help kids AND parents take the drama out of family life (including screen time), and deal with issues calmly and more confidently.

Come to the free Raising Resilient Children (Focus on Cyberbullying) – Triple P Online Seminar Wednesday 19th May from 7:00pm to 8:00pm (Zoom).

REGISTER NOW:  https://www.triplep-parenting.net.au/qld-uken/find-help/check-our-calendar/2021-05-19/cyberbullying-seminar/raising-resilient-children-focus-on-cyberbullying/109166/

Hoppy’s Car Wash at Pimpama has an amazing offer for our families (and their friends)

For just $20 you will receive three Ultimate Car Washes valued at $25 each. Total value $75!  Limited vouchers available.  Orders are open now via Flexischools.

Hoppy’s Car Wash Pimpama is donating all proceeds from the sale of these vouchers to our P&C Association.

Please see terms of use below.

1. Vouchers must be used in order- 1, 2 etc
2. Same vehicle must be used for all washes
3. Valid for date range May, June & July 2021 only. Strictly no extensions.
4. Large vehicle surcharges apply – from $2
5. Excess dirt / bug charges may apply – from $5 bugs, $10 dirt
6. Vouchers not exchangeablefor cash
7. Can be used at Hoppy’s Pimpama only
8. Only one voucher booklet per registration