Dear mums, dads, carers and colleagues

It is always risky making predictions about the weather but, when our children are concerned, it is always better to be safe.  That was the premise for the decision around postponing the disco this evening.  As it turned out, the band of storms appeared to split and move both north and south of Coomera.  Nonetheless, it was still the right decision and we will be able to have our fun next Friday evening.  Thank you to everyone for their understanding and support.

Coronavirus updates

Click here for the latest information on the Queensland Health website about the Coronavirus situation.    

Year 5 hits the beach

Our Year 5 students visited Burleigh Beach this week as part of their beach safety and awareness program.  They became nippers for the day and learned about how to enjoy the beach safely and the potential dangers that are not always obvious.  The importance of swimming between the flags was reiterated regularly.  

We visited Burleigh across two days.  The first was hot and sunny.  

The very next day was less hospitable.

Environmental Warriors

Our senior classes (Years 3-6) each have an Environmental Warrior leader.  This team is collecting empty plastic water bottles and soft drink cans to recycle.  We are aiming to raise $500 by the end of the semester and hope to buy a bee hive from the profits raised through the recycling. 

This poster was created by Environmental Warrior Maddison in 4P.

Mrs Wynne and Miss King provided an absolutely heartwarming moment for Michael. Michael is a student in Mrs Wynne's class and he earned a reward. Michael asked if his reward could be to go to another class and teach them about Roman Numerals. Mrs Wynne worked with Michael to outline what he needed to do to put together a great lesson before sending him off.

Miss King and 6K welcomed Michael into their Year 6 class where he conducted his 30 minute lesson. Michael used gradual release to support his learning. He had little catch phrases as attention grabbers and he even introduced and taught some Latin base words.  And he concluded with his own song about the periodic table.  Outstanding!

Well done to Year 4 for engaging in active learning during Science so far this term. Each week, students have conducted experiments to develop and consolidate their understanding of forces. They have explored Force and Speed, Gravity, Friction, and Air Resistance to develop their knowledge and understanding in order to answer the big question, 'How do forces affect objects?'.

           

Kind regards

Vic

Our whole school continues to focus on helping our students be, 'Good at Learning ~ Good at Life' and for the past few weeks we've been recognising students who show grit, perseverence, tenacity and resilience.  These attributes are essential for learners to flourish as citizens of the world.  Congratulations to our Student Excellence Award winners.

We had a lot of visitors to the office this week to show us their amazing work.  Well done everyone!

Due to the unpredictable weather, the decision was made to postpone the Barn Dance Disco that was originally scheduled for this evening.

The new date for the disco is Friday 13 March. The times remain unchanged.

If you have:

• purchased a ticket and can still attend next week - there is nothing to do! Your child will bring home their new disco ticket next Friday 13 March
• purchased a ticket and no longer can attend, please email the P&C and we will arrange a refund
• not purchased a ticket but can now attend on Friday 13, Flexischools has been reopened with ticket sales closing at 4pm Wednesday 11 March.

Come along in your best Barn Dance outfit BUT never fear, whilst there might be the occasional boot scooting boogie dance opportunity, the music will still be that hip, cool and rad stuff the kids think is AWESOME!

Get those cowgirls, cowboys and sheriffs ready to come scoot along to our Barn Dance Disco on Friday March 13.

Junior Hoedown (Prep to Year 2) starts at 4.30pm and goes to 6.00pm with the Senior Stampede (Year 3 to Year 6) starting at 6.30pm and finishing at 8.00pm.

The fair-dinkum deadline to purchase your Barn Dance Disco tickets is Wednesday March 11 at 4pm - tickets available via Flexischools.

Please refer to the flyer below for all the details.

PLEASE NOTE - Please take special notice of the information, on the flyer, around senior students NOT to be at junior disco and junior students NOT to be at the senior disco as well as the requirements for signing in and collecting students as, refusal on the night of the disco, may offend.

It has been an exciting week training for The Fuse Cup and there is only three weeks to go until the final team selection for the Term 1 Gold Coast finals at Emmanual College. 

The values of the cup: integrity, strength, teamwork and inclusion, as well as the character traits we are developing through deep learning, grit, tenacity, perseverance and resilience are shining through in all the students challenges.  

We have also had a sneak peek this week into some of our competitors training sessions!

The Department of Education's Cyber-safety and Reputation Management team visited our Years 4-6 students this week 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 be using these or have accounts for these while they are in primary school.

They 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.

Another key message for students was about thinking before you PUT anything online.

Is it Positive?

Is it Useful?

Is it Truthful?

If not then do not PUT it online.

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.  They are excited to share their first message next week.

     
Broadwater Hockey trials

Good luck to Trey and Spencer who will attending the Broadwater District Hockey trials next Thursday.

Broadwater Netball trials

Kapreyce, Symphony, Kaysiyah, Ataahua, Mia and Maia will be attending the Broadwater District Netball trials next Thursday. Good luck girls.

Broadwater Rugby League

Last week we selected Kobe, Maison, Trey, Vercoe, Eru, Si'u, Jett, Brigham and Noah to attend the Broadwater District Rugby League trials.   After the first round of trials, the following students made it through to the final round of selections: Kobe, Maison, Vercoe, Eru, Si'u, Brigham and Noah.

South Coast Swimming Carnival

Sylas competed at the South Coast Swimming Carnival and represented our school nicely. Well done!

AFL

Well done to Mr Cope who has been doing some great training with his AFL Team. Kicking has come a long way since their first training session.

        
Representative Sport Calendar

Kokoda Training

Good luck to your Coomera Rivers Crusaders who will train in the steep, rocky terrain of the Nerang Forest this weekend. Thanks to the teachers and parents for supporting this.

Running Club (Runners of the Week)

Prep: Harper & Himani
Year 1: Sammie & Connor
Year 2: Emily & Callum
Year 3: Indi & Cooper
Year 4: Annabelle & Jacob
Year 5: Scarlett & Judd
Year 6: Leah, Mia & Brigham

Skipping Club

We had a busy morning on the courts with our Skipping Club on Friday morning. Our skipping winners this week were Judd and Alyna. Well done!

You can visit the Music Seesaw Blog by clicking here

Prep Music

So far this term in Music lessons the Preps have been learning about playing instruments in different ways: fast, slow, soft and loud! Last week we started using the Chime Bars and have been learning about jumping beaters (using both at the same time) and walking beaters (one at a time alternating hands). We have also been starting to learn our Easter songs in preparation for the Easter Hat Parade (Friday 3rd April- 8:45am in the hall). See some of our Prep classes playing the chime bars on our blog.

Busking at the Cafe

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, Busking at the Cafe is returning once more at the end of the term, however it will be happening in week 9 (not week 10 as previously stated) to ensure that our year 6 students can join in! The schedule is as follows:

• Tuesday 24th March: Beginner Band, Year 1/2 Choir and Year 3/4 Choir
• Wednesday 25th March: Senior Band and Year 5/6 Choir
• Thursday 26th March: Junior Strings and Senior Strings

Please come and join us in the Main Undercover Area from 2:10pm when we will wow you with the amazing talents of our students! They cannot wait to share with you what they’ve been working on this term!

Drama in Year 2

We have had an exciting start to drama this year.  Year 2 students have we been learning to develop role play and characterisation through camping and holiday experiences.

Students were about to role play different camping or holiday experiences using props, their imagination and the use of technology with the app AR Makr. Mrs Benton was able to use the app to create a fire, students were able to role play toasting marshmallows on sticks. It was exciting to see drama and technology come together for a drama lesson.

Students have also been participating in lots of drama activities to promote body movement and awareness. Photos below are students being mirrors.

Over the last two weeks, our students learned and created a song for the 5 food groups and what they can do for our bodies. We identified different ways we feel when we are really hungry, over full and everything in between and we discussed foods we might eat at different stages of hunger. Our group has slowly expanded so we now have two groups running at the same time; a Prep-Year 2 group and a Year 3-6 group. The students look forward to Wednesday afternoons each week and this term, are having fun learning about healthy eating in a fun environment. Healthy Kai=Healthy Life!

Sienna is one of the school's Environmental Warriors and to show her commitment she recently participated in the Clean Up Australia campaign.  She focused on McCoy Park - a local park area in Coomera.  She found chairs, fridges, so many bags of rubbish. A sensational contribution!

Aria recently had her hair cut and made ponytails for donation to local charitable organisations and wig-makers, where they can contribute to wigs for those suffering from alopecia areata, cancer or other medically-induced hair-loss conditions.  This is an incredible show of thoughtfulness and it is contributions like these that help make today's children tomorrow's citizens and community leaders.  Well done Aria.

Extra-curricular activities

Did you know your children could be moving their bodies at Zumba on a Thursday afternoon?

At CROSHC we offer a different extra curriclar activity each term for your children to participate in to keep them healthy and active! Last week was our first week of Zumba and it was a hit. All the children had so much fun learning new dance moves, shaking their bodies and building new friendships.

Many of our families participate in extra curricular activites that are run through the school. As Mr Graham would tell you, his favourite is chess, our kids love going to chess and coming back to OSHC to teach their peers the new skills they have learnt on a Wednesday afternoon.

Basketball has been a massive hit this year with many of our families participating in the class run by Xpress Basketball on a Friday afternoon from 3:00pm-4:00pm. We have enjoyed watching the students improve their skills each week and want to practice what they have learnt at any given chance.

We have families who go to ESport, AFL, Soccer, GMG and Good start which are all amazing programs that are orgainised through the school. To find out more on how to get your children involved please contact the school and don’t forget to fill out an extra curricular activites form which you can find near the sign out area at CROSHC.

The Student Resource Scheme payment deadline was Friday 28 February.  Thank you to those that have joined our Student Resource Scheme (SRS) and have made payment (or have a payment plan in place).

If you are one of the families that have made the decision to not join our Student Resource Scheme, please be aware that access to the subscriptions the scheme provides will have now (or will in the coming days) cease. Please ensure that the required educational subscriptions have been privately purchased and are available on your child's iPad.

If you would still like to be part of the SRS, please contact Corporate Services for the required form. Access to the subscriptions the Scheme provides will be reinstated once the registration form and payment has been received.

We remind families that the Student Resource Scheme cost is $120 per child and the cost to provide all of the subscriptions covered by this Scheme privately is $442.

Our students in Years 3 and 5 will be undertaking NAPLAN testing online in May this year. Moving NAPLAN online brings many advantages including a test design that offers test items tailored to students’ knowledge and ability.

We will also be participating in a national practice test on Monday 23 March. This is an excellent opportunity to fine tune any technical and logistical needs, as well as familiarise students and teachers with the online testing process.

Parents and caregivers of children in these NAPLAN year levels will need to be aware of important information relating to privacy, which can be found on the NAPLAN website’s parent information page.

As our school runs a bring your own iPad program, you can assist us by ensuring the NAPLAN Online locked-down browser is downloaded prior to testing. You should have received an email from both myself and your child's class teacher with instructions on how to do this.

Information about BYO devices is also available on ACARA’s website.

We will keep you up-to-date in the lead-up to May, but if there’s anything you need in the meantime you can email Mr Meijboom. 

In honour of NAIDOC week, the South East region Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander team will be conducting a region wide NAIDOC Art Competition open to all students enrolled in South East Region schools.  This year’s NAIDOC theme is Always Was, Always Will Be.

The competition allows schools and students to showcase their creative talent, build on their knowledge of Indigenous culture and to celebrate and contribute to NAIDOC week within their own community.

• Entry is open for all Coomera Rivers students from all year levels.
• All art work should be representative of the 2020 NAIDOC theme: Always Was, Always Will Be, and be inspired by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.
• All entries must be drawn or painted on paper no larger than A3 size.
• All entries must be clearly labelled on the back with the entrant’s name, age, school and year level.
• Artworks are to be submitted to Ms Waide via Corporate Services by Friday 27th March so they can be posted to the judges by end of term.
• All artwork entered will be displayed/hung at the South East Regions 2020 NAIDOC Exhibition.
• The judging will take place after the competition closes. The judges’ decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered in to.
• After judging, the winning artwork will become the property of the South East Region Department of Education and may be used to promote the South East Region’s 2020 NAIDOC Awards and/or on the South East Region 2020 NAIDOC Awards.
• The regional winner will be notified on Friday April 24th, 2020.

Our Colour Explosion is coming....

There is nothing better than fun fundraising and what could be more fun than a Colour Explosion?  This term, in conjunction with Australian Fundraising, we will be holding a Colour Explosion on Friday 27 March.

Last week, your children should have come home with a sponsorship and information booklet that outlines how the program works including how to set up your online fundraising platform and how to order your prizes! We have also attached below a Parent Information letter to get you started.

All profits from this event (and all P&C fundraising activities) will be invested back into classroom air-conditioning so please get behind this donation drive, share it with friends and family near and far!

Important dates:

Please find the important event details and deadlines below:

• Fundraising start date: Today!
• Fundraising deadline: 3pm Friday 20 March
• Prize orders open: Monday 23 March
• Colour Explosion event day: Friday 27 March
• Prize orders close: Friday 3 April
• Prize delivery: Early Term 2

Important info:

• To be eligible for a reward (prize) and to take part in the Colour Explosion, each student must raise a minimum of $10 before the fundraising deadline and be registered online (even if doing paper based donations). Students participating will also receive a pair of Colour Explosion sunglasses and rainbow wrist band.
• Raise $20 or more and students will also receive a rainbow head band!
• If, for any reason at all, you would like to participate in the Colour Explosion but can NOT meet the registration or donation deadline, please email the P&C BEFORE the deadline and we will be able to assist.
• Unfortunately, once the deadline has passed no further registrations or donations will be able to be accepted.

Good to know:

• Whilst online fundraising is preferable, families that do not wish to do fundraising online do have the option of a paper based donation. Please refer to the sponsorship and information booklet for more details.
• If choosing a paper based donation option, you still MUST register your child online
• When setting up a student profile you will need to enter your child's full name for administration purposes however, when sharing the profile, only your child's first name will display online.
• The highest fundraising class (per capita) per year level will win the chance to have a water balloon fight with Mr Graham (and the sector Deputy) and their classroom teacher.

On the day - Colour Explosion event day information:

• Teachers will confirm what time your class will be participating in the Colour Explosion by no later than Tuesday 24 March.
• Families are more than welcome to come along and cheer their children on!
• Children participating in the event will need to bring along on the day white or lightish coloured old clothes to participate in, thongs (we participate in bare feet but use the thongs to transition from class to the oval) towel to dry off with and a garbage bag to bring the colour explosion clothes home in.

If you have any questions please contact the P&C.  Happy fundraising!

Incredible value available...

Buy now

For just $20 you can buy three Ultimate Car Washes valued at $25 each. Total value $75!

Limited vouchers available.  Orders will open at 4:00pm Monday 9 March via Flexischools.  Hoppy’s Car Wash Pimpama is donating all proceeds from the sale of these vouchers to our P&C Association.

Terms and conditions apply:

1. Vouchers must be used in order - 1, 2 etc
2. Same vehicle must be used for all washes
3. Valid for date range April, May & June 2020 only. Strictly no extensions.
4. Large vehicle surcharges apply – from $2.00
5. Excess dirt / bug charges may apply – from $5 bugs, $10 dirt
6. Vouchers not exchangeable for cash
7. Can be used at Hoppy’s Pimpama only
8. Only one voucher booklet per vehicle registration

Hot cross bun drive is open

Baker's Delight are offering families of our school a choice of delicious Hot Cross Buns.  

The price for a half dozen packet is $7.50 and $2.00 from every packet ordered will be donated to our P&C.

Available to purchase is your choice of:

• Traditional
• Choc Chip
• Apple and cinnamon
• Mocha

Orders are open now on Flexischools and will close at 4:00pm Wednesday 25 March. Orders will be delivered on Thursday 2 April.

The GCCC Election will be held on Saturday 28 March.  We are looking to have an Election Day BBQ as the school will be a polling booth on the day.  However, to be able to do this, we will need volunteers to assist on the day for as little as 2 hours.   All up, we will need 16 volunteers throughout the day.

If you can help, please click this link and follow the instructions to sign up.  We will review our available volunteers on Friday 21 March and make a decision on wether this event can proceed or not.  We very much appreciate your support.

The Music Bus visits our school every Friday morning before school. It is a great opportunity for children to learn an instrument - especially one that is not taught at school.  Click here to visit the Music bus website.     

The dental van is currently at Coomera Rivers and is offering free dental check ups for all students, even if you don’t qualify for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule! This means every student can have a free dental check up and all general dental treatment done in a facility conveniently located at our school, thanks to the Queensland Government. We are a service that only treats children, so we are accommodating to the extra time some children need.

The dental van is at our school until April 13 so book in now as appointment slots fill fast!  Ring 1300 300 850 to book.  Click here for more information.