Beerwah State School

Dear Parents/Carers, 

Welcome to the Week 6 Newsletter for Term 4. Please remind your children to bring their drink bottles to school every day and to stay hydrated throughout the day.  All students need to wear a school hat if they would like to play outdoors during break times.  Please make sure your child’s name is clearly marked on their school hat.  

Staffing Update 

Andrew Graham, our wonderful Guidance Officer will be taking leave for 2025.  Mr Graham and I are working with the Senior Guidance Officer to find a suitable replacement for 2025. 

Prep Numbers 

 In Term 3 & 4, Mrs Brannigan and I have been busy visiting all of the Kindy’s in our area, promoting our school.  This is paying off as we currently have 35 prep enrolments for 2025. A big thank you to Mrs Brannigan and Jeannie in Prep, who accompanied us to talk to all the Kindy kids!  These enrolment numbers will really help our Day 8 numbers and a 9-class structure in 2025. Please be aware that if our numbers significantly change in the first 8 days of 2025, we may need to change the structure of our classes. 

Remembrance Day 

On Monday 11 November, we will have a short Remembrance Day Assembly in the Hall at 9:00am.  All Parents/Carers and families are welcome to attend.  Any students or families who would like to lay a wreath may stay behind at the end.   

After this Assembly concludes, I will be taking the School Captains and Vice Captains to the Beerwah Community Remembrance Day ceremony. 

Tuckshop Appreciation Day 

Last Friday was Tuckshop Appreciation Day.  I would like to thank our wonderful tuckshop volunteers for their hard work and dedication to our students. 

Year 3 Oval Passes for 1st Break 

To help year 3 students transition to the Senior Oval in 2025, we have introduced Senior Oval passes this Term.  Each day, Year 3 teachers give out these passes to 3 of their students, which allow them to play on the Senior Oval that day. 

Student behaviour 

We have been focusing on improving student behaviour this year and supporting students to be the best they can be both in the classroom and the playground.  We have implemented many strategies this year which have had a significant positive impact on behaviour.  Our soccer league program has taught our senior students many team playing skills around resilience. This has decreased behaviour incidents on the Oval by 80%.  We have introduced an alternate activities timetable at lunchtimes.  This timetable has reduced playground incidents by 70%.  We are also focusing on classroom behaviours and have implemented many PBL strategies and professional development sessions around managing tricky behaviours. 

I am asking all parents/carers to assist us by regularly talking to your children about the whole school behaviour focus of the week.  Also, please do not send your child to school before 8:30am each day.  We do not have supervision in the tuckshop area until 8:30am and it is important that we have a settled start to each day in order to setup our students up for success. 

We have Helping Hands on the school grounds for any families that need before or afterschool care. 

Vacation Care 

Helping Hands will be running Vacation Care over the Christmas holidays at our school to support our families! 

Details for the Holiday Program are: 

Monday 16th - Friday 20th December 

Closed for 2 weeks 

Monday 6th January - Friday 24th January 

Open 6.30am - 6.00pm 

2025 Preps are able to commence with Helping Hands from Monday 6th January 

Have a wonderful weekend. 

Scott Bowden 

Stanley River 

On Monday 28 October, we had teachers from the Stanley River Outdoor Education Centre come to deliver our annual leadership program to our Year 5 students.  

The sessions covered topics including – communication, team work and decision making. The image below is the outcome form one of the activities where children put working in small groups to select the four most important ‘leader attributes’ from a large collection.

2025 - Student Leadership 

Last week we handed out our 2025 student leader nomination forms to Year 5 students. Student leadership is an important part of the school experience because it allows for ‘student voice’ through our Student Council and gives our student leaders opportunities to practice leadership skills and collaborative decision making.  

The process for student leader selection is:

- Nomination – students complete nomination forms and hand to teacher by 11/11.

- Speeches – students who nominated will present short speeches to the Year 4-6 cohort at a special assembly on Thursday 21/11. 

- Voting – Students in years 4-6 and all staff will vote on Thursday 21/11. The school leadership team (Mr Bowden, Miss Pam, Mr Deady and Mrs Horton) will use student nomination forms and votes to decide 2025 student leaders.

- Announcement – 2025 student leaders will be announced at our presentation parade on Thursday 2/12.  

2025 – Australian Curriculum Version 9 implementation 

In 2025 all Queensland state schools will be implementing Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum in the learning areas of English and Maths. 

While this is an update of the existing Version 8.4, there are some significant changes that we are busily working through. In the coming newsletters I will explain the key changes that we will see in English and maths and how we are implementing the new Version 9 in a way that responds to our students and school context. 

Khaki Day 

Our Khaki day is coming up on 15 November. This fundraiser is on Steve Irwin Day and raises fund for Wildlife Warriors, which continued the work to Steve Irwin to protect and preserve wildlife. 

Children wear khaki and bring gold coin donations on Friday 15th. 

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)

Beerwah State School are collecting donations of non-perishable food items and books for the Christmas Hampers that are collected by the Chaplaincy Committee.  Thise hampers are donated to St Vincent de Paul Landsborough to donate to local families in need.  There are boxes in classrooms where the items can be delivered to or you can leave at the office.  Thank you very much for your support.

Beerwah State School Chaplaincy Committee

Come and join our awesome school community in 2025 Prep-YR6.

Enrolling is easy, see the editable enrolment forms on our school website under the Enrolling tab, email back to admin@beerwahss.eq.edu.au or drop into the school office to collect a pack. Once we receive the completed documents, we will book your meeting and tour with our Principal Mr Scott Bowden. 

Our Prep 2025 Meet the Teacher event will be held on Tuesday 26th November at 1.30pm.  Please meet outside the office for a 1.40pm start. 

Kandoo Joeys Playgroup is on every Wednesday from 9-11am for all babies to Pre-prep children, this is a great way to start transitioning your Pre-prep and meet other families that will be joining prep with you!

 Yr1 - 6 Enrolments Open - If you have friends looking to relocate to a new school. We are open to all year 1-6 levels in 2025.

P&C Meetings

Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday 18th November, week 8 at 6pm in the library. We will spend this next meeting finalising plans for 2025, events, fundraisers and how we can help the school to help our children.

Come along and join us and see how you can be a part of a really important group of caring parents and citizens who want to make a difference in our children’s schooling lives.

Volunteering

Did you know: Volunteering will improve your health. Volunteers show increased strength, tend to walk more, and experience all of the benefits of that higher level of activity – including healthy blood pressure, lower risk of heart disease and less chronic pain. Recently, researchers explored that last factor. It seems that those who volunteer not only experience less chronic pain, but they have a greater tolerance for pain, in general. The study connected three factors: pain, depression, and life purpose. Of the 200 women (aged 50 and up) they studied, those who volunteered were almost 10 percent more likely to have a strong sense of purpose, be less depressed and experience less pain.

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

We try to keep our Facebook page very active with all our notices here along with the Audiri (formerly Skoolbag) app.

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

Community Bake Sale – calling all bakers!

The P&C have been invited to host a bake sale at the inaugural Beerwah Heart Crop Swap on Saturday 9th November from 9-1pm. We are seeking bakers to contribute to our sale, things like slices, cupcakes or cookies. We are also seeking volunteers to help sell the goods. If you can spare 30-45 minutes on the day we would be very appreciative, it is tricky for just one or two people to manage the whole time. Please email or message through Facebook if you are available: pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au Come along to the event to see what it’s all about, another wonderful community event organised by the council.

Artshow gifts

For those who purchased gifts of their childs artwork, they will be coming home soon. The order has arrived and will be distributed to families who ordered. The items look amazing and are perfect for gifts. Thank you to those families who placed orders as the P&C receive a small portion of funds for the school.

Christmas Raffle

Raffle tickets will be sent home in week 7 so please check your child’s bag. They are due back on Wednesday 27th November, all winners will be notified. Please support the P&C by purchasing a book of tickets. We have a number of fabulous prizes on offer, make sure you see the note with the tickets in a couple of weeks. Tickets are only $2 each and with the top prize valued at $170, it’s well worth the investment to have a chance at winning.

Entertainment Book

Don’t forget to keep an eye on our Facebook page for offers for the Entertainment membership. There are continuous bonuses, and we get 20% of the purchase price for our fundraising. With the Christmas holidays just around the corner, this could make a fantastic present for someone, or yourself! Not only are vouchers for discounts in QLD or Australia, but they also even stretch to Bali! Have a look at their website: www.entertainmentbook.com.au Plus, there are currently offers of 5% off all Virgin Flights! When purchasing, remember to select Beerwah State School as your chosen fundraiser.

Recycling Programs

Let’s group together to try and make small changes to help our planet. By recycling as many items as possible, we can reduce the amount of landfill.

We are registered collectors for TerraCycle for those hard to recycle items.

Please collect:

· empty toothpaste tubes

· old toothbrushes

· pens, highlighters, texters and markers that don’t work

· Glad (or similar) packaging – zip-lock bags or cling wrap.

We collect these items to send to TerraCycle who will turn them into useful products. If you’d like to know more, please have a look at their website www.terracycle.com.au.

Donations can be dropped off to school, collection boxes are available in the library.

The school is also registered to collect drink cans and bottles through Containers for Change. There are bins throughout the school so you can drop off your recycling as you bring your child to school.

Book Club

The next issue will be sent home soon with some great bargains are ideal for Christmas presents – it’s never too early to start thinking about those gifts! 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.

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 will be open each Friday in term 4 (unless otherwise advised). All ordering will be via Qkr! which will be made available approximately one week before. All orders need to be placed by 6pm 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. Running the tuckshop is not a job for just one volunteer! pandc@beerwahss.eq.edu.au

UNIFORM SHOP

As mentioned in previous newsletters and correspondence, uniforms are now available from The School Locker in Maroochydore.

Ordering is online or in-store, it’s so simple and convenient. Plus, by setting up your free Student Advantage Membership online, you will access special members pricing where applicable.

If you don’t have this information, look at the school website for details.

If you are uncertain of the size you require, one of each size of polo shirt and dress will be available in school to try on. Appointments need to be made in advance, please email janie.bssuniformshop@gmail.com to arrange an appointment.

The P&C have second-hand uniforms available for sale at drastically reduced prices depending on the condition. Contact Janie at the above email address if you would like to have a look at what’s available.

If you have uniforms that are too small, or if your child is leaving school, please drop in your uniforms to the school office as we will happily re-sell to another family who can use them.

With limited volunteers and fundraising opportunities, this is one avenue that will help all families, and the P&C Association.

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.  

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  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.

16th to 20th Dec    Open

23rd Dec to 3rd Jan Closed 

6th 24th Jan Open 

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