Dear mums, dads, carers and colleagues

Our time on home programs has come to an end.  From Monday, school is once again open for all students in all year levels.  Congratulations to everyone for their care and focus on children and their continued learning.  Mums and dads have been wonderful in their consistent delivery of the programs and teachers have been awesome in the creation and monitoring of them.  This has been a wonderful community partnership.  Well done.

To show their gratitude to our parents and families, the school staff has constructed a thank you video.  Our very own Mrs Walker is on vocals and she also created the lyrics.  Please hit the link and enjoy.  Click here to see the video.

School is back so please remember the restrictions and follow the rules

Managing the transition to and from school each day is a difficult task and it requires every adult - and I emphasise every adult - to follow the restrictions and guidelines completely. The government has made the restrictions non-negotiable and we must all comply. If we cannot get these restrictions right I fear that we will need to create a new plan that could see all students being dropped at the gate each morning and collected from the gate each afternoon and no parents being able to enter the school campus. I do not wish to do this but fear that we may be forced into this situation if adults continue to ignore the requirements.

Click here to watch this message

Those parents who are dropping their children at school each day must remember to:

• Use the Kiss n Go or a safe street nearby the school and children can walk into the school from there. Staff will be at the gates each day.

Who can enter the school grounds?

• Only PREP parents are currently allowed into the school.
• No other parents are allowed to come into the school unless you have personal approval to do so because your child has special needs.  You will receive a gate pass to show to be able to come into the school.  Please note that this will allow you drop off and collect from the cafe area only.  Parents of Years 1-6 students will not be able to attend classrooms unless they receive direct authorisation from me. Please contact me if you believe you need this.
• Please see me or one of the Deputies or Mrs Walker if you would like to apply for a gate pass.  

Parent waiting areas (Before and after school):

• No one is able to wait along the pathways at any time.
• Please spread out in the cafe area.

      
A successful daily drop off and collection plan will look like:

• Only Prep parents (& authorised parents) delivering students to classroom doors; and
• No one at all waiting on pathways.

I am looking forward to the removal of all restrictions but we need to do the right thing at the moment if we are to achieve this.

If we are successful, we can maintain the current plan. If this does not work, stronger restrictions must follow.

Please help by doing your part.

How can you support your child returning to school?

Congratulation Mrs Pinnington

Mrs Pinngton was recognised this week for the work she is doing as a Young Change Agents Champion.  Congratulations Mia! 

Mia began her involvement with Young Change Agents in 2018, immersing herself in an Explorer program alongside her students. After this, Mia completed our teacher e-learning modules and proactively developed her own materials to adapt the program to her students. Mia then led the facilitation with a group of students with YCA’s support in 2019. Mia became a huge supporter of Young Change Agents’ work in Southeast Queensland and is one of our strongest teacher champions. Mia is now planning to host a multi school program for 50 students & 15 teachers from 10 local schools

Congratulations Makayla

Makayla was recently chosen out of lots of other dancers to participate in a photo shoot for a new Dance ebook. She was very excited to travel to Brisbane to do the photo shoot and dress up again in her dance costumes.  Awesome work Makayla.

School numbers this week

Stay well and look after each other

Vic

Prep amd Year 1

Year 2&3

Year 4

Year 5&6

This weekend we have released a special CHOIR EDITION from our amazing Head Of School vocalists!  Log in to your child's Music Seesaw tab to see if you can work out 'Who is who?' and match the Mask to the Singer plus view all the past week's episodes of Coomera Rivers - The Masked Singer.

Click here to see the performance (through Seesaw)

Preparing your children to return to school

In some families, children have been out of school for nearly 7 weeks now. This is a similar sized break to the annual Christmas holidays so for some kids it will be quite an adjustment to return to school routines. How your child goes will depend largely on their individual personalities and feelings about school but there are some things you can do that will put them in the best position to cope.

• Accept that all feelings are ok and are part of being human – we can all experience a mix of emotions about something and that is ok! Try not to stress if your child is not feeling or talking positively about school. Just listen to what they say and remain calm and accepting. It’s normal to for children to feel unsure or nervous about going back to school after such a long time away.
• Parents are the role models for their children. Demonstrate that you are strong and resilient during this process and that is what will be copied by the students.
• For anxious kids, talking through the steps of getting to their classroom can help – 'We get out of the car and go through the school gate. We then walk along the path to the classroom. We put your bag on the port rack and walk to the classroom door. We say hi to our friends and find your desk.' 
• The evening before your child returns, make sure you allow more time to settle before bedtime if they are feeling excited or nervous.
• This weekend, start moving your child back to their usual sleep and wake routines to ensure they are getting enough sleep. Kids who are not getting enough sleep will not be able to be as resilient either physically or emotionally.

Here are the optimal sleep requirements for school children according to age:

More tips:

• Talk casually with your children about school – What are you looking forward to most about going back to school? What are you going to miss about staying at home? Stay positive and encouraging.
• Start to consider with your child what they might like to have for school lunches. You could write a list of options and shop and cook some of the items on the list in readiness for the return to school. Baking and cooking [or buying] some treats together for their lunch boxes could be setting them up for a successful transition.
• Help your child pack their school bag the night before and make sure their uniform is ready to put on. A visual checklist can help them remember what they need to take. This can help make the first morning back go smoothly.
• Some strategies to reduce anxiety to try over the weekend – Belly Breathing (deep slow breathing -four slow breaths in and six counts breathing out, is known to help calm children and help them feel more in control); power pose (standing still, making sure heels and balls of feet are well grounded into the floor, with head up and shoulders back can make you feel in control) and practising gratitude (everyday you encourage your child to say three things they are happy for and that will put the brain in a positive mood).

Parents and teachers are looking forward to getting our children back to school. Working together on making their transition as smooth and calm as possible will ensure the best outcomes for our kids.

Have a great weekend!
Kath Sly
Guidance Officer

We all love our food, especially here at OSHC! Our children have not shied away from letting us know what the like, what they definitely do not and what they would like to see on our menu for breakfast and afternoon tea.

If you have been coming to OSHC lately, you would have realised that our children are working on developing lifelong skills. They are now in charge of buttering their own toast, pouring their own cereal, milk and water, and ordering the breakfast special like at a cafe from the educator working in the kitchen. Of course, we still help our children if they need it, however, we have been blown away at their ability to help themselves. Their smiles show just how proud they are of themselves!

Learning these skills allows children to appreciate their work, exercise their fine motor skills and take responsibility for their eating. We have many pro-butter-ers in the OSHC house now!