Please note that activity dates and times may change

Dear mums, dads, carers and colleagues

The past week has been sweltering outdoors, but inside the classrooms, the air-conditioners are keeping things very pleasant.  During these kinds of weather conditions, teachers ensure that children are given regular opportunities for drink breaks, we encourage games in the shade and we also keep a watchful eye on how students are feeling.  

It has also been so pleasing to see the students reunite with their friends after the Christmas vacation.  Their care for each other is simply beautiful.

Restructure is complete

Thank you sincerely to our staff and parents for making the restructure a smooth and positive experience for everyone involved.  My deputies and I were thrilled with how supportive and caring our staff were in creating the new class structure and moving students to their new teachers.  We are now ready to launch into 2023.

Enrolment trend

Numerous primary schools have opened in our local area to help alleviate the enormous enrolment growth that our school experienced around 2015.  This is working really well and our enrolment is slowly declining as we now enrol fewer students each year.  This year, our opening enrolment is 1019.  This is a drop of around 50 students from the same time last year.

What will be important this year?

Our aspiration for every student is to be

Good at learning - Good at life

To achieve this in 2023, we will be focused on:

Reading

• We are focused on all students developing a deep love of reading and being successful in learning to read and comprehend texts. 
• We need families to read at home - a lot!

Deep learning

• We will be further developing character, citizenship and collaboration skills for all learners.  
• We need all students to attend school as a strong routine.  Our target is 95% attendance.  We need families to create strong school routines across each week and each day.

Student leaders

We selected our Heads of School and Heads of Student Council late last year, but there are many more leadership opportunities to which students can aspire.  We conducted the selection speeches this week and all of the nearly 50 students spoke wonderfully well.  Add to this a similar process in each of the Years 3-5 classrooms for Student Council Representatives and Environmental Warriors positions and there have been nerves-a-plenty.  We will announce the recipients in the coming fortnight.

Gallery this week

Kind regards

Vic

With Ms Waide

Our prep students have enjoyed engaging in lots of fun learning activities in their first weeks - including some very active PE lessons. No wonder they are so exhausted at the end of the day. 

With Ms Waide

Student Excellence Awards 

Well done to all the Year 1 students who are off to an amazing start to the year earning student excellence awards!

With Mrs Gatti

Student Excellence Awards 

Welcome back to school

We had heaps fun being super heros this week.  This was part of our school writing task.

With Mrs Gatti

Student Excellence Awards 

Welcome back to school

We are all so happy to be back at school with our friends.

With Mrs Gatti

Student Excellence Awards 

Welcome back to school

Year 4 students are excited for another year of fun, friendship and learning!  And they are not at all camera shy.

With Mr Meijboom

Student Excellence Awards 

Celebration of Learning

Learning in 5M - Collaboration & Paint and Chat

With Mr Meijboom

Student Excellence Awards 

Celebration of Learning

The Arts is a new specialist subject offered to our students this year.  It is a combination of dance, music, drama and media and visual art.  Students have been exploring their creativity and getting to know themselves as artists.  

Before school activities

Running club and soccer training are an instant HIT!

Running Club operates every Tuesday and Thursday morning, 7.45 - 8.15am for Prep to Year 6 students on the school oval. Congratulations Tyrell for achieving our first award for the year!

Soccer training runs every Wednesday morning, 7.45 - 8.15am for Year 5 & 6 students on the school oval. Well done Megan for achieving our first award for the year!

                 

Inter-school sport

• Soccer - Viney Park. 9-a-side.
• Netball - Pimpama Sports Hub. 
• Oz-Tag - Coomera Sports Park. 6-a-side. 

• Basketball - Gainsborough SS. Team numbers pending. 
• Touch - Coomera Sports Park.  6-a-side. 
• Netball - Pimpama Sports Hub. 
• Rugby League - Coomera Sports Park. Team numbers pending. 

Everything you need to know to have your children's iPad ready for the school year can be found right here.

• 2023 iPad requirements
• BYOD program check list
• BYOD program inTune set up for parents.
• BYOD program required apps for 2023
• Coomera Rivers cyber-safety expectations
• Coomera Rivers iPad expectations

For the 2023 school year, our school photos business partner will be Leading Image School Photography.

Why the change?

Following feedback from the school community last year, we started the process of investigating alternatives that might better meet the needs of our families.  We feel that families will be very happy with the prices, quality, photo packages, ordering time frames and turnaround times that Leading Image Photography will offer.

When are school photos?

This year our school photos will be taken over three days from Wednesday 1 March to Friday 3 March. As the date gets closer we will share more details with families.
     

Our school has four sports houses.  You can work out which house your family is in by following the system.  

System:  Families are assigned a sports house based on the surname of the oldest student enrolling.  House allocations rarely change.

Children will need a t-shirt in their house colour when they participate in the house sports carnivals this year.  These carnivals focus on participation with Fun-Fitness-Friendship being the central elements.

Get your Sport House colours ready!

With our Sport Fun Day event scheduled for late this Term, now is time to start thinking about those house colour accessories!

Our sports house shirts are made of a breathable fabric, have a collar for sun protection, school logo and, most importantly, your house colour and name!

Orders of these shirts are open now on School24 and Stock is limited! 

We have included below the size chart to assist with sizing for your orders. This chart is also accessible from the School24 site when ordering.

Please note

Sports House Shirts are now located in a dedicated uniform ordering section of School24. Please click on the Uniform Online - Order Uniform tab on the home page to access ordering.

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

From the start of the 2023 school year, our school moved our online ordering platform over to School24.  This is the new platform to place Café orders, order Religious Instruction Books, Sport House Shirt orders etc that once were managed via Flexischools. 

Why the change? 

Due to feedback from the school community last year, we started the process of investigating alternatives to Flexischools that might better meet the needs of our families.  We feel that families will be very happy with how easy the School24 platform is to use, the fee structure and the reliability of the platform.

Sign up for your School24 account

Attached to this email is a guide on how to set up your School24 account and how to download the app.

Need support setting up your School24 account?

The attached guide is user friendly but, if for any reason at all, you are having trouble setting up your School24 account, you can contact the team by phone and / or email. These contact details can be found at the bottom of the attached guide.

No longer need your Flexischools account?

If, with the move to School24, you will no longer need your Flexischools account, a step by step guide on how to close and have any current balance refunded to you can be found here

Placed on order via Flexischools for Year Book, Religious Instruction books or Senior Shirts?

Orders placed with Flexischools for both items listed above will be received. Religious Instruction books will be issued during Week 2, Year Books we expect by the end of Week 4 and Senior Shirts will be issued, as planned, Friday of Week 4 of this Term.

Please email the P&C at pandc@coomerariversss.eq.edu.au for a TEAMS link.

P&C meetings are a great way to keep up to date with what is going on around our school. The meetings also provide our families with an opportunity to have input and feedback on matters relating to school and community life.  Meetings are open to all families and we encourage families to attend our on-line meeting and contribute to your school community which forms a vital part of your children's educational journey.

We look forward to seeing you on-line at our next meeting.