Please note that activity dates and times may change

Dear mums, dads, carers and colleagues

Welcome back to our Year 6 campers today.  They certainly had a lovely time and did not sleep very much at all.  Thank you sincerely to our fantastic staff who took everyone away, looked after them and returned them safely after all the fun was done.  You are sensational.  Look out for a full report in Issue 4 of the school newsletter.

School's Kokoda Challenge 2023

From Monday, we will be taking expressions of interest in the Kokoda Challenge for 2023.  This year, students in Years 5&6 are eligible to compete for selection in one of our teams.  The Challenge is true to its name.  Teams will be required to trail run an 18km course on Saturday 3 June (Brisbane venue) as well as attend Saturday morning training sessions each fortnight and complete some personal fitness work at home.  The final teams will be selected from the group and staff and some parent leaders will lead the teams at training and on the course on competition day.

School costs: 

• The school will pay the nomination fees

Participants costs and requirements:

• Team members will need to purchase the team 'Challenge' shirt and other uniform attire. 
• Consider trail running footwear instead of regular joggers.  Invest in good socks as well.
• Consider a light trail backpack with a built in water bladder.
• Travel to & from training sessions and the event.

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.

NAPLAN date change

From 2023, NAPLAN will be moving from May to March. NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning at school.  NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so.  This year’s test will take place from 15 to 27 March for children in Years 3 and 5. The school calendar above shows our NAPLAN test window dates.  The change of date means that school systems will have access to results earlier.  

We have started to set up for the testing program and will complete a practice test in class in the next few weeks.  

Parent information afternoons (Monday Week 5) 

On Monday 20 February, our teachers will be providing our families the opportunity to attend an information session in your child’s class.  The presentation will cover topics such as:

• About our school
• Positive behaviour rewards
• Attendance
• Learning expectations for 2023
• Student achievement marking
• Reporting scales and clarification
• Evidence of Learning
• Our specialist teachers and
• Supporting your child’s learning

If you would like to attend and have the opportunity to ask questions about any of the above topics please RSVP directly to your classroom teacher with the number of adults attending. 

Children at the sessions:  We understand that younger children may need to attend with you but we ask that you are mindful that everyone will be trying to get the most from the information session.    

We also understand that your school-aged children may need to stay with you. Children will need to be supervised by their parents but we are investigating some options to assist.   

Presentation selections:  All classroom teachers will be presenting at the one time - 2:45pm - 3:45pm.  For some families, this will mean that they will need to select the one session that they would like to attend most, and catch up on the other sessions on-line.  Please RSVP to the session that you wish to attend.

Before we start:  Classroom doors will open at around the 2:45pm start time so please wait outside the room while teachers dismiss their class from the day and set up for the information session.  Your assistance at this time will be greatly appreciated.

Catch-up opportunities:  If you cannot make it, the presentation will be made available for all families to access at your own convenience.  Remember that you are able to request a meeting with your child's teacher at any point to discuss their progress.  In most instances, a limit of two meetings per year is considered by the department as appropriate.

And following the sessions

will be a reading workshop that shows families the most effective ways to help their children learn to read and comprehend texts.  This workshop is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.  3:45pm - 4:15pm.  Your teachers will provide you more information about this.

Kind regards

Vic 

After the Day 8 changes to some classes, to ensure that orders made via School24 for the Cafe and for events are delivered to the correct classes, we will need families, when you next log in to School24, to update their child's 2023 class.

We thank you for your assistance and understanding.

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.

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.
     

As you know, school photos were held this week

Orders are still open! Please visit Leading Image and use the Access Key W35HW5P6.

Individual  / Class images

Families have until 4pm Thursday 9 March to place orders for individual and class images / packs.

All students will have an individual photo taken on Photo Day regardless if they are ordering or not

Need more time?

Orders for individual / class images / packs will remain open for 6 months after the photo shoot however, if ordering after 4pm Thursday 9 March, these orders will incur a postage charge and be sent directly to parents.

If you have any questions or need help ordering please call Leading Image on 1300 084 586

From our P&C for families of students who are representing South Coast or Queensland

This Term our P&C is holding a Kripsy Kreme fundraiser. We apologise now if you are already drooling in anticipation! 

Orders are open now via School24 and close at 4pm on Friday 10 March at 4:00pm.

Pick up will be Thursday 30 March from 1pm - 3.30pm.

Please see the flyer below for all the details on how to place your order.

Students will also receive a paper order record form from their classroom teacher on Monday. This form will help you collate any orders from your friends and family so, after collecting your order, you know how many and to who you need to deliver to.

The class, in each year level, that purchases the most cartons of Krispy Kreme's will win a class party!

So ask your friends, tell your family and start collecting orders today! 

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.

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.