Beerwah State School

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to 2024! I would especially like to welcome our new parents/carers and students to our wonderful school. Welcome to Miss Eastley who will be team teaching with Mrs Horton in 1/2 and also Mrs Marks who will be team teaching with Mrs Craig in 5/6C. Congratulations to everyone for a great start. The atmosphere of our first two weeks has been calm and purposeful and classes have been active in learning from the very start. The refurbishment of A Block and Prep/1 classroom has been completed and students are enjoying their new classrooms. I am very excited to be working with you and your children this year to support them to be the very best they can be.

Day 8 census was completed yesterday and I am pleased to let you know that due to enrolment numbers we are able to maintain our 10th class. There will be no changes to the current class structure.

ASSEMBLIES

Just a reminder that full school assemblies will be held in the hall each week on Tuesdays at 9:00am. Parents/carers are welcome to attend every week. If your child is receiving a certificate, you will receive an email from the classroom teacher the week before, inviting you or a nominated family member to remain behind after assembly for 10 minutes and have a piece of gluten free chocolate cake with your child to celebrate their success.

NAME LABELS FOR STOP, DROP & GO

New students were given a label with their surname to be displayed on their car’s sun visor. This label assists us to identify your car quickly at the stop, drop and go area and minimises wait times and congestion. If you need your existing label replaced, please email the school admin@beerwahss.eq.edu.au. Attach the label with some rubber bands to your sun visor and then flip the sun visor down as you approach the pickup area.

CLASS NEWSLETTERS AND BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT PLAN

You will receive a classroom newsletter and classroom behaviour management plan from your child’s teacher. Please read the plan carefully as it explains how the teacher will be fostering appropriate classroom behaviour and managing inappropriate classroom behaviour. It is necessary for you to return the attached tear – off slip to your child’s teacher. Please discuss this plan with your child to reinforce their understandings.

PARENT/TEACHER WELCOME INTERVIEWS

We host Parent / Teacher Welcome interviews in Week 4 on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 from 3:00pm in the Hall. All families are encouraged to take this opportunity to talk with your teacher about your child, their likes and dislikes, and what makes them the wonderfully unique human beings that they are, so as a partnership team we can get the best possible year of learning happening for them at Beerwah!! Please refer to information from Mr Deady in this Newsletter for more details around booking interviews.

SCHOOL PHOTOS

This year our school photos will be taken by Photoday photography. School photos will be taken on Thursday 29 February (Week 6) with a backup day on Friday 8 March (Week 7) for students who were absent. Student are required to be in full school uniform. No senior shirts are to be worn on the day. Please click on the link for more information and to order photo packs. https://photoday.com.au/bss2024

UNIFORM

This year, one of my focus areas will be school uniform. We have a school uniform policy which can be found on our school website. Please ensure your child is in full school uniform each day. Wearing our school uniform with pride helps to maintain a positive culture within the whole school community. Last year, I was concerned about some of our girls wearing short bike pants instead of the required school culottes, dresses or pants. This does not look good, especially when a long shirt is worn over the top and does not portray a good image of our school to the community. Please ensure your student is also wearing the correct school hat and not a cap along with black shoes. Please make an appointment to see me if you are having difficulty with uniforms.

LINE-UP PROCEDURES

I have implemented a new process at line-up, at the end of each break to ensure our students are settled and ready for learning in each session. Classes will be awarded points at line-up for being the most settled and best active listeners. The class with the most points at the end of the week will receive 30 minutes reward time on a Friday afternoon and the class with the most points at the end of the term will be invited to a pizza party.

STUDENT INDUCTION CEREMONY

On Monday 5 February, we will hold our annual Student Induction Ceremony, where our 2024 student leaders receive their badge of office. You will already have received an invitation if your Year 6 child is receiving a badge. All other parents are welcome to attend the Induction Assembly.

APPS TO DOWNLOAD

Can I encourage all parents/carers to download the Skoolbag/Audiri app which is our preferred way to communicate important messages and also the QKR! app to order and pay for uniforms, tuckshop, excursions, etc.

'AWAY FOR THE DAY' - MOBILE PHONES AND WEARABLE DEVICES

The Department of Education has implemented a new mobile phone and smart watch policy across all schools in QLD.

Queensland state school students are required to keep mobile phones switched off and 'away for the day' while on school grounds and while attending school activities, such as representative school sport, excursions and camps. Students may hand their devices to the Office upon arriving to school for safe keeping and collect upon leaving.

Wearable devices, such as smartwatches, can be worn to school but notifications must be switched off so that phone calls, messages and other notifications cannot be sent or received.

Your child can continue to bring their phone to school to communicate with you, once outside the school grounds.

'Away for the day' supports schools to maintain a strong focus on educational achievement, and student wellbeing and engagement by:

· providing optimal learning and teaching environments

· encouraging increased face-to-face social interactions between students

· promoting the health and wellbeing of students through increased social interaction and physical activity

· reducing the potential for students to be exposed to the negative impacts of the digital world, resulting from unsafe or inappropriate technology use.

As a parent or carer, you play an important role in supporting your child to engage with technology in safe and respectful ways. Parents can support schools to implement the 'away for the day' approach by:

· talking with your child about the requirement to have their phone switched off and away for the day, and/or notifications disabled on wearable devices

· using the school's preferred communication method to contact your child during the day, such as phoning the school office

· establishing routines at home to help your child balance their use of devices and screen time.

Please contact the school if you have any questions or concerns regarding this policy.

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Scott Bowden

It’s great to be back at Beerwah State School for a new school year. I feel so fortunate to have spent the last six months of 2023 travelling around. I want to add my thanks to Ms Hansen for stepping into the HoD role while I was away.

Each fortnight this year I will be sharing some examples of learning from different classrooms. These may be stories, photos or videos. I look forward to showcasing the amazing teaching and learning occurring across our school every fortnight.

This week, one of our core curriculum goals was that children in Years 1-6 know what they’re learning in their English unit this term. This is a summary of a conversation I has with a child in Year 6:

1. What are you learning about in English this term?

We are writing a fantasy chapter that must have a good character, evil character and setting.

2. What make a story a fantasy?

It’s made-up and imaginary.

3. What is a setting?

It’s where the story happens (and when it happens)

This first question can be asked at home as well as a good alternative to ‘how was school?’ because it encourages more conversation. The second and third questions I asked to check that children understand what these words mean.

PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS

As Mr Bowden mentioned, parent-teacher interviews are an excellent opportunity to build our partnerships that will help children have a really successful year at Beerwah State School.

Our parent—student-teacher interviews will be held in the school hall on Tuesday 14 February at 3pm until 6pm.

Each interview is 10 minutes long, with a 2 minute change over time.

We will be using the School Interviews booking system again. This will allow caregivers to book meeting times online.

Bookings will open on Tuesday 30 January at 8:30am.

Bookings will close on Friday 9 February at 3pm.

There will be a link and QR code with instructions sent via Skoolbag and direct email on Monday 29 January.

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

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)

P&C MEETING:

Our first P&C meeting is going to be held on Monday the 12th February in the School Library at 3pm. Our meetings roughly run for 1 hour. It's a great way to know what's happening in the school and help plan for future events.  Please come along and meet new faces and be a part of our school community.

TUCKSHOP:

Tuckshop is up and running please keep your eyes on the weekly specials and place orders before cut off times to be sure your child doesn't miss out! Also if you were able to come in and help out on a Friday the Tuckshop volunteers would really appreciate it.

BREAKFAST CLUB:

Breakfast Club is running on a Monday morning and this is a free of charge YMCA funded Breakfast for students to enjoy. Please note again this is managed by volunteers so if you have spare time on a Monday morning and able to help the ladies would be grateful for the extra help.

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

Tuckshop is open each Friday in term 1. Check the menu on the Audiri notices that were sent out. Each week our volunteers will prepare a healthy weekly special with other items available to order to create lunch for your child/ren. We may add further specials so keep an eye on the Qkr! app for these. If you can spare some time to volunteer, and you would like to meet some other parents who are passionate about fresh, homemade meals, come along to the tuckshop any Friday morning. Even 20 minutes to chop some fruit will be a great help.

If you are able to assist in the Tuckshop please contact Megan Zakis (P&C President) by email on pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au or leave a message at the office on 54365555.

UNIFORM SHOP

The uniform shop is open on Wednesday afternoons at from 2.30pm - 3pm.

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.

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 year at Kandoo Joeys Playgroup.

Our first session this year will be Week 3 Term 1 Wednesday 7 February.

Each month we have a different theme, February is Creative Play Month. When children engage in creative play, they are given the opportunity to make mistakes and use trial and error to express their ideas. "It's the process not the product!"

At Kandoo Joeys Playgroup we provide an environment rich in learning through play that includes engaging 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 in 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 at Kandoo Joeys Playgroup. 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