From the start of Term 3, the school Cafe operations will transition from school managed to P&C managed and, as part of that transition, the Cafe is getting a brand new name - and that is just the start!

Our Cafe will now be known as Crusaders Cafe.

The Crusaders Cafe staff team will be made up of Caryn James as the Cafe Manager and Kaylene Brooks will be the Cafe Assistant. Caryn and Kaylene look forward to working with our amazing volunteers to provide an exceptional service to our school community.

Please see below some of the exciting changes planned for the start of Term 3 and the Crusaders Cafe team have more surprises in store – watch this space! 

You can have a sneak peak of the NEW Crusaders Cafe menu here.

Dear mums, dads, carers and colleagues

Report cards

The school emailed the Semester 1 student report cards home yesterday.  Please check your email in-boxes for copies.  Remember to place equal value on academic progress and effort grades.  A strong work ethic is will maximise learning outcomes each day so continue to promote this with your children.

Sports days

We very much enjoyed the sports fun days this week with races, field events and the very popular tug-o-war.  The full wrap and galleries are in the sports news section below.  

Thank you to the families for supporting the students and the event once again this year.  Your attendance and positive encouragement has an enormous impact on the enjoyment levels.

Thank you to the P&C for supporting the days again this year.  Most people do not see their work as it is mostly behind the scenes.  But Subway lunches, staffing the cafe for the day, and acknowledging staff are just some of the jobs they fulfilled each day.  

And thank you to our school staff for their commitment to ensuring that the event was memorable for our children.  Special thanks to Ms Findlay, Mrs Duffy, Mr Burrows and Mr Barnes for their hard work.

Colman, in fourth place after Day 1, blitzed the competition on Day 2 and emerged victorious at the close of the carnival.

Attendance breakfast

We acknowledged students whose attendance this term met the target number of days at school.  To congratulate them, we cooked pancakes.  I must apologise to families for my poor communication regarding the event.  It led to confusion and some families being unaware of the event.

Thank you to our P&C for supporting this event and to the staff who cooked and served our students.

A very generous offer

One of our school mums is a talented and published author.  Montanna has very generously donated a copy of her book ‘The Forest of Tukino’ for each of the students in Year 6.  Click here to learn about her and her story.

The book, The Forest of Tukino, follows the stories of four different forest creatures – each experiencing a form of domestic violence.  I have read the book and found it a clever tale where the stories, initially appearing separate and isolated, all intertwine with, for me, a very poignant conclusion – AKA The Beginning.   When you read the book, you will see what I mean by this.

I am convinced that the story will be a very powerful tool for family conversations about the harmful effects of coercive control and domestic and family violence. The book launch for The Forest of Tùkino took place in early May, in the lead up to Domestic and Family Violence prevention month here in Australia.

How to get a FREE copy:

A FREE copy of the book is available to Year 6 students (Year 6 only), should you wish for them to have it.  Simply email me with your child’s name and class and we will send a copy home.

Helpful supports:

Should you or someone you know need support due to domestic or family violence, there is help available. 

• Queensland Government Support 
• White Ribbon Australia 
• The school’s Guidance Officer and Social Worker are also available to assist.  Contact the school to speak with them.

School chess tournament

Our Semester 1 chess competition finished this week.  As a club, our chess knowledge and strategy is improving all the time, and the current quality is excellent.  

Semester 1 winners:

• Junior champion (Prep to Year 3) - Coleton
• Senior champion (Year 4-6) - Danika
• Coach's awards - Kayreen, Harry and Sam

Thank you to our chess coaches, Ms Lewis and Ms Vanessa, and our Head Coach Stephen from Gardner Chess, for a great semester of learning and fun.

Please contact the school office if you would like your child to join chess club.

Thank you

Thank you to staff and families for a wonderful Semester 1.  School resumes on Monday 8 July at 8:30am.  Please enjoy a busy and safe winter vacation, preparing for another busy term ahead. 

Some of the  headline activities for Term 3 include:

• Sea World excursions for Prep students
• Eisteddfods competitions for our band and strings ensembles
• Inter-school sport
• All schools touch football and Oztag competitions
• Year 4 day camps
• NAIDOC week celebrations
• Public speaking competitions
• Parent-teacher interviews and 
• The opening of the Crusaders Cafe (Run by our P&C Association)

Happy holidays

Vic

Well done to these awesome students on finishing the term so strongly.

Awards gallery

Foxwell SSC STEM Demonstration

Our Year 6 students welcomed Foxwell State Secondary School staff who shared a Science Demonstration, as part of their STEM excellence program.

GEM (Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness)

Last week a group of teacher and OSHC educators participated in professional learning to enhance to deliver of our program to students and families.  Mrs Lewis wrote this summary of the day. 

It was also great to see that The Resilience Project is a program that is not just helping our students. It is a program that is helping thousands and thousands of people, adults and children alike. Broncos and the Maroons have partnered with The Resilience Project to help tackle mental health in our schools. It was also great to see some footballers talk and explain the importance that mental health plays in their own roles. We all know that our professional sports stars need to physically prepare for their games, but to know that they practice this and do this stuff to prepare mentally, is just incredible and I believe this will help our young people understand the importance of mental health.

Obviously, I’m a huge fan of football :)  but can anyone tell me who the male football player is?

Mrs Gatti, that would be Alex Glenn.  He is a back rower and former captain of the Brisbane Broncos.  He also represented Cook Islands and New Zealand in internation Rugby League.

When Broncos launched their partnership, Pat Carrigan, who has worked closely with Hugh Van Cuylenburg as part of the Queensland Maroons Origin Program, credits the mental health advocate with helping him build his own resilience, on and off the field.

“I’m really passionate about the work that he does,” Carrigan said. “Those values that I learned through the Project are things that are helping me become a better person before I become a better football player.”

Ali Brigginshaw – who was one of the footballers that spoke at The Resilience Project conference for teachers – is also passionate about getting awareness of GEM out into our schools and community.

“I had to overcome so many challenges being the only girl playing rugby league, I wish someone had taught me resilience from a young age. I had to learn it myself, so having this program to help kids, not only the ones that are great at sport, but the ones that do the arts, or just academically strong, is great. I wish I had that, so as Broncos, I think it’s a great partnership being able to help young kids,” Brigginshaw said.

If you would like to read more about the partnership between the Broncos and The Resilience Project, head to the Broncos website (link below)

https://theresilienceproject.com.au/2023-parent-carer-hub-inspire-hugh/

OzTag achievements

Well done to Zara (6P), Nia(5S), Shayla(6P) & Flynn(5P) who have been selected in the Storm teams that will compete at National Titles later in the year.

They also just competed at the State Cup, where they will select a Queensland team to take on NSW later in the year. Flynn was named tournament MVP.  Huge effort!

Broadwater Rugby League

Well done to Shayla (6P) who has been selected in the Broadwater Rugby League team.

Athletics trials

On Monday, Coomera Rivers held its Athletics trials. It was great to see our 10-12 year old students competing against each other in the Track and Field events. Thanks to everyone who competed, the Year 6 helpers, Mr Meijboom, Miss Caitlin and Mr Barnes for all of your assistance with the day.

Athletics Age Champions

10 Years: Flynn & Cleo

11 Years: Shayla & Callum

12 Years: Hugh, Arthur & Honor

Sports Fun Days

Tuesday and Wednesday were out Sports Fun Days at Coomera Rivers. We had our sprint races, lap races and tabloid events each day, and importantly, the weather turned up for us.  I cannot imagine better weather conditions.

It was amazing to see the smiles, the fun, and the community spirit across the two days. A special shout out goes to Heads of House who were tremendous in supporting the students across both days of events, and the PE Team in setting up and packing up.

House Results

Junior sports day gallery (Wednesday):

Senior sports day gallery (Tuesday):

The school dental van is based at Coomera Rivers.