Beerwah State School

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to our first newsletter for Term 2. We have had a very smooth and settled start to the school term. As I am conducting my daily class visits, I am seeing classes engaged in their learning and focused on improving their learning outcomes. I am so excited about the term ahead of us.

The refurbishment of A Block is now complete. Our students are enjoying their brand-new classrooms and new furniture. I have also been able to organise new furniture for students in B Block. Having comfortable desks and chairs in classrooms will help students to engage in lessons to be the very best they can be! I have been able to replace 16 desktop computers in our ICT HUB. Our P&C have agreed to replace the remaining 10 desktop computers in the ICT HUB. Replaced computers will then be placed in classrooms around the school for students to access during class time where appropriate. The P&C have also agreed to purchase class sets of decodable books which will really assist to improve our students’ reading abilities. A big thank you to our P&C for everything they do for our school and also to parents/carers for supporting P&C events which allows for the purchase of equipment to assist our students in their learning.

EASTER EGG HUNT

Our Easter Show was a huge success on Easter Saturday 30 March.

I would like to thank Carolyn Brewer and the entire P&C for all of their hard work in organising and running this event. Not only was this event a wonderful fundraiser but it also brought our wider school community together building a collective responsibility for our students’ education. We had over 1000 people walk through our gates on the day!

CROSS COUNTRY

Our school cross country was a huge success last Friday. Organising and running a whole school event is not an easy thing to do. Janelle Murphy did an amazing job in doing this. A huge thanks to Janelle and all other staff and students who helped out on the day!

ANZAC COMMEMORATIVE STUDENT CEREMONY

On Tuesday, I escorted our School Captains and Vice-Captains, Ryan Bartimote, Tahlia Robinson, Joe Wilson and Jasleen Kaur to ANZAC Square in Brisbane to participate in a very special commemorative ANZAC ceremony especially for primary and high school students. Our student leaders had the opportunity to represent our wonderful school by laying a wreath in the ceremony and also had the opportunity to meet the Governor of Queensland, Dr Jeannette Young.

ANZAC ASSEMBLY

On Wednesday, we held our school Anzac Ceremony in our school hall. Our School Captains and Vice-Captains, Ryan Bartimote, Tahlia Robinson, Joe Wilson and Jasleen Kaur displayed great leadership qualities running a very smooth ceremony. Thank you to Mr John Nisbett – President of the Beerwah & District RSL Sub-branch for being our guest speaker. Thanks also to those classes who created wreathes to lay at our Stone of remembrance after the ceremony. We received great feedback from two visiting teachers on the day, saying that our ANZAC assembly was one of the most respectful and well organised ceremonies that they had seen for many years!

ANZAC DAY COMMUNITY MARCH/CEREMONIES

On Thursday morning, our students marched and participated in the Beerwah community ANZAC Day march and ceremony. Thank you to all those students who represented our school. Thank you to our School Captains and Vice-Captains, Ryan Bartimote, Tahlia Robinson, Joe Wilson and Jasleen Kaur for laying a wreath in the ceremony and to Ryan Bartimote for reading a special ANZAC poem in the ceremony. I would also like to thank Coralie Lillecrapp, Gayle Bismark, Karen Batson, Tania Cox, Megan Zakis and Matt Deady for giving up their time to supervise our students.

A big thank you to our School Captains and Vice-Captains, Tahlia Robinson, Joe Wilson and Mrs Philpot and Coralie Lillecrapp for representing our school at the Beerwah Dawn Service.

AUTISM AND NEURODIVERSITY AWARENESS DAY

Today, we acknowledged Autism and Neurodiversity in our school community. Students participated in class activities to raise awareness and gain a deeper understanding of autism and neurodiversity. It was great to see so many students wearing multi-colours to support this day. Thank you to Tara Wilson for organising.

PARENT/CARER MORNING TEA

Just a reminder that every 4th Monday of the month we will be holding the Principal/Chappy, Parent/Carer morning Tea. You will have the opportunity to have a chat with myself and our School Chappy, Mike Turner over a tea or coffee and also meet other parents. This is held in our library from 8:30am – 9:00am. Thank you to those parent/carers who attended last week.

Have an awesome weekend!

Scott Bowden

LIFE EDUCATION - HEALTHY HAROLD

Each year students from Prep-Year 6 participate in Healthy Harold modules, which are delivered by Life Education. These are very high-quality educational modules that are aligned to our curriculum plan for the Health and Physical Education learning area. Students participate in one Module, which are approximately 45 minutes – 1 hour long.

The cost has been subsidised by our wonderful P&C so it is only $5 per student.

More information, including details of the modules we will be running will be in the permission form coming out very soon.

LEARNING TO DECODE

Decoding is the ability to work out words that are written. When children are learning to do this, we use decodable texts. These texts are written using a limited number of letter-sound relationships.

Books are chosen so that children are only reading a text using the letter-sound relationship that they know. Decodable texts are used for children to learn and practice decoding so that they become fluent readers.

If your child is having difficulty decoding a word, model saying the sound represented by each letter and blending the sounds to read the word. For example: for the word ‘cat’, point to each letter and provide the sound it represents /c/ /a/ /t/, then blend the sounds to read ‘cat’.

When your child is learning new letter-sound correspondences, they may read slowly, and it may look laborious. This is typical of beginning readers and is no cause for concern. Practise is key to becoming a skilled reader. Encourage your child to read their decodable texts often and to other family members.

LEARNING WALLS

As we finish week two, we are seeing our English learning walls take shape across the school. Learning walls are co-constructed by teachers and students throughout a unit of work so that children know, and can access:

1. What they are learning to know and do in the unit

2. How they will be successful in the unit

3. Feedback about the ‘next step’ in their learning

4. Examples of how to complete the assessment task/s in the unit

5. Resources used in teaching for students to use when completing the assessment task/s

Here are a couple of the learning walls from our classrooms.

Check out our calendar of events throughout the year, via the school's website at

Beerwah State School

You can sync any event to your personal calendar by clicking to  open the event and click on the  'Add to Calendar' button.  

Check out our Facebook page for more Celebrations and what's happening at our School.

Beerwah State School Facebook page

"Everyone is a reader, some just haven't found their favourite book yet"

BORROWING;

Tuesday 3/4, 4/5, 5/6A, 5/6B, 5/6C                    Return books on Monday.

Wednesday Prep1 , Prep, Yr1/2                        Return books Tuesday

Thursday yr 3, Yr 2/3                                           Return books Wednesday 

If you require a Library bag they are available through the Uniform Shop for $18.00.

If you have any questions with regards to sport, please phone Ms Murphy at the school on 5436 5555 or email jlmur1@eq.edu.au

Janelle Murphy (HPE Teacher)

On Friday 26th April Beerwah State School staff and students came together for a celebration of neurodiversity in National Autism Acceptance Month by wearing colourful accessories such as ribbons, scarfs and socks. It was a great way to raise awareness, understanding and show our true colours today to break down barriers and take Action today.

In our classes we discussed how everyone is unique, that it is important to celebrate difference and how to support our peers with neurodiversity, whether it be Autism, ADHD, dyslexia or another conditions that may be diagnosed.

The link below takes you to an excellent YouTube video with 2 children describing how their peers, friends and adults in their lives can help support their differences. https://youtu.be/dUbsyd8Fnyw

P&C MEETINGS

Thank you to all who attended our meeting this week, we had a great turn out of parents. We discussed many fundraising opportunities and ideas for future events. Our next meeting is on Monday 20th May (week 6) at 6pm in the library. Do come along and join us, we’re a friendly bunch and always welcome new members or just come for a look to see what we discuss.

VOLUNTEERING

We are so grateful to all our volunteers. Our P&C is run purely by volunteer help so we wouldn’t have our tuckshop, uniform shop, book club, Mother’s Day & Father’s Day stalls, and we wouldn’t have our Easter Show without our volunteers.

We always welcome new faces, putting your hand up to help doesn’t mean we’ll lock you in forever, if everyone can do just one thing, our children will benefit hugely.

Did you know: Children whose parents are involved in their schools do better. Research has shown that children of a school volunteer make better grades and perform better on tests. They’re also better behaved, have better attendance, and are more likely to graduate and continue their education. The more parents participate at school, the more successful their children will be. There’s a great reason to volunteer!!

The P&C Association are an approved volunteer organization with Centrelink (Services Australia) so if you need to complete volunteering hours, the school is a great option. This can be extended to grandparents and other friends, they will need to apply for a Blue Card to volunteer in the school which is an easy process we can assist with. Contact us by email and we can arrange to work out how we can help each other.

FACEBOOK PAGE

If you haven’t already jumped onto our Facebook page, you should. It’s a great place to see what’s coming up, what volunteers are needed & helpful reminders in case you missed the notification. We’ll also share our tuckshop specials and any meal deal information, so if you don’t see the posts, you might miss out!

It’s also the easiest place to get in touch with P&C.

Just find our page and like us to start following. BSS P&C Facebook page

EVENTS & FUNDRAISING

We have a number of events planned for this year, keep an eye on the school newsletters and our Facebook page for updates. We will need volunteer help at each event so please put your hand up.

We had an enormous turnout for the 2024 Woodlands Easter Show, despite the weather leading up to the morning, we weren’t going to let that deter us. On Easter Saturday approximately 1200 visitors came through the school gates and took part in our Easter games, sideshow alley, met the farm animals, checked out the market stalls, bought some delicious home baked goods, had a bacon & egg roll, grabbed a coffee, climbed through the fire truck, and of course had plenty of chocolate in the massive egg hunt.

This was our most successful event yet and we managed to raise a huge $14,500!!!!!!!!

Thank you once more to our amazing local sponsors and all the businesses who supported us with donations, we are so lucky to live in such a supportive community. Thank you also to all the visitors who attended, we hope you had as much fun as we did

Mother’s Day is coming up, which means we will hold our Mother’s Day stall on Thursday 9th May. Each class will have the opportunity to purchase gifts at designated times throughout the morning. Further details will be sent out on our Facebook page and Skoolbag. If you have some time to help out on the stall, we are looking for volunteers. We need people from 8am – 11am but just an hour would be a great help. Please email pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au or contact the office if you are available.

BOOK CLUB

Your child will have received the latest book club brochure, sent out last week. The best way to order is online at www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP all books are delivered to the school and distributed to each child. If you would prefer to order as gifts, ensure you select that option and your items will be available for collection from the office. The due date for orders is always stamped on the front of the brochure so don’t miss out! An extra bonus is that the school receives 15% of all order values to purchase books for our library. Books are such a wonderful addition to any child’s life and there are some amazing prices in the book club.

TUCKSHOP

Tuckshop is open each Friday, first break only. All ordering will be via Qkr! which will be made available one week before. All orders need to be placed by 3pm the Thursday prior so our volunteers have time to shop. The menu can be viewed on the tuckshop noticeboard and on Skoolbag. Each week there is a different special for $5 and additional snacks and drinks can be ordered too.

If you have a little time on Friday morning to give Sarah a hand, she would be very grateful. Just 20 minutes to chop some fruit, or stick the labels on bags, that would be a huge help. pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au

UNIFORM SHOP

The uniform shop will open each Wednesday afternoon 2.45-3.15pm, or at other times by appointment.

Now the weather is getting cooler, black jackets or jumpers are the required uniforms to keep them warm, the uniform shop has stock of these items.

The best way to order uniforms is ONLINE via Qkr! It’s quick & easy & there are no transaction fees

Alternatively, an order form can be collected from the Office. Items will then be sent home with the student or can be collected from the Office.

To ensure orders are processed quickly, once you have placed an online order, please send your details to pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au Click here to Order Uniforms Online Click here to download the Uniform Shop Order Form-

Did you know that Qkr! Can be accessed from any web browser? If you prefer to use a computer or tablet or unable to download the app, simply go to https://qkr-store.qkrschool.com/store/#/home and set up your Qkr! account to access school payments, uniform shop, and tuckshop ordering.  

Welcome back to another fun filled Term of learning through play. This month is Nature Play month. When children play in nature, they investigate nature’s sounds, colours, and smells. It is through trial and error while children observe and explore their environment that they develop resilience, cognitive, social, and emotional development. The unstructured environment of nature play allows children to be leaders in their play. At Kandoo Joeys Playgroup we provide an environment rich in learning through play that includes engaging hands-on activities, craft, stories, songs and social interactions. 

Kandoo Joeys is open to all families with before-school-aged children. We open every Wednesday morning from 9.00am-11.00am from Weeks 2-9 of the school Term. You will find us in J Block, next to the Admin Block. Bring along a hat and some morning tea for your little one and come and join in the fun and social connections as your children learn through play. For more information contact Linda Merwood at playgroup@beerwahss.eq.edu.au

Helping Hands provides quality before and after school care. This service forms strong, collaborative ties with the school, children, families, and the local community; to ensure the needs and interests of every child and family are supported. We provide an environment in which children feel safe and have fun. Afternoon tea is included.

We are located in D Block which is next to the Senior oval. For the children’s safety it is a requirement that you park in the allocated staff car park and use the footpaths to walk to and from the Centre. The car park will be open in the morning 6:30 to 7:30 and afternoon 5:00 to 6:00. Outside of these times, you will need to use the normal school carpark located on Old Gympie Rd. Children must be supervised at all times by an adult.

If you have any questions please phone Helping Hands Co-ordinator Sharon on: 0448 083 043, or click on the link below.

Concerns regarding young children with difficult and defiant behaviours? The Management of Young Children Program (MYCP) is available to support you.

The MYCP is supported by Beerwah and Landsborough State Schools (therefore no cost for these families) and is a practical and individualised behaviour support program for parents and carers of young children aged 2½ to 7 years and their families. It is a well-established and evidence based early intervention program targeting children who display defiant or oppositional behaviour with the aim of reducing such problematic behaviours in primary school and beyond.

For more information or interest in participating in the program, please see the school website link or contact the Landsborough State School office 5436 2777.

Our School has our own Skoolbag iPhone and Android App to help us communicate more effectively with our school Parent/Student community. Download the Skoolbag App to receive short messages, reminders and alerts. Parents will also be able to use eForms for absentee notes and change of details.

Click here to visit Skoolbag website