Term 3 Week 6 2022
Principal's Report
Our Outside School Hours Care is Awesome!!!
Congratulations and good luck to our P&C and our Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) who have been shortlisted as P&C of the year in the 'Business of OSHC' category. It has now come down to the final two and the winner will be announced on Saturday 27 August 2022 at the State Conference. We are a very fortunate community to have such a dedicated staff who add value to our students' day when attending OSHC. The staff are highly skilled and highly valued by our staff and parents and loved by our kids! Thank you and good luck to Danielle, Frances, Kathy, Megan, Kelly, Keira and Denise.
Paint the Town Red Read
This year we have a new adventure for the students of Prep, Year 1 and Year 2. Paint the Town Read!! The aim of the day is to promote the love of reading and the importance of reading across the Coolum community. It also aims to promote that reading does not just happen at school or in the classroom but all around us every day and that every opportunity to read helps our children’s achievement.
Paint the Town Read is on Wednesday 24 August, week 7 during Book Week. We have a huge amount of support from the local business community, Police, local council and Dan Purdie’s office.
On the day our students will walk the business district of Coolum where they will visit businesses who will read a story to our students. The books the business read to our students have kindly been donated to our school Library by the businesses. This will culminate at Lions and Norrie Job Park where students will be treated to some morning tea and a ride on the Ferris Wheel!!! All students will also be provided a show bag which includes a book selected by our teachers and sponsored by Dan Purdie. A massive thank you to our sponsors of this wonderful community event.
Before and After School drop offs and supervision
A reminder that school does not open until 8:00am and finishes at 2:40pm. Outside these hours we have minimal supervision as staff are preparing for the day ahead and following up the day just finished. We have noticed many parents meeting with other parents outside classrooms while collecting their children. While doing this please ensure you provide the necessary supervision of your children. This includes ensuring they are safe by not climbing fences and railings or riding bikes or scooters through the school. Your assistance in this is appreciated by the school community. Should you require care before or after school please contact our award winning OSHC.
Anthony Ryan
Principal
News from Prep P
In Prep this term we are focussing on fairy tales and nursery rhymes to springboard our integrated studies program. Whilst fairy tales can get a bad rap due to the 'Disney' models portrayed out there, we have found many ways to learn through these old classics.
The first value that comes to mind is courage. That last Billy Goat must have been pretty brave to take on the troll under that bridge. Jack takes on a giant as a way to save his family from poverty. But as for the gingerbread man, he was just fast and not too bright in his predictions.
Fairy tales often do not have detailed descriptions of the characters. The child has to think this through for themselves and it differs from picture book to picture book. This creativity allows the child to come up with their own ideas of the background of the character and their princess can be any nationality, any size and belong to any group that they desire.
Patience, creativity, cleverness and bravery are rewarded while arrogance, greed and lies are punished. The wicked are defeated, and good reigns supreme. How long does a prince have to wait for his princess? How long would it have taken for Jack to get to the clouds just by climbing?
With regard to the teaching in the room, we used Goldilocks to discuss and experiment with capacity. Is that bowl really going to hold more porridge just because it is wider? We even compared coco pops to oats to see which cereal would sustain Goldilocks up for longer due to the weight and density.
Size comparisons are done through the Billy Goats and the bears chairs. And science takes on a new level when we discuss why that brick house lasted longer for the third little pig and is it really possible for the sky to fall.
Creating real gingerbread men gave us the chance to taste the mixture before and after cooking. Most would agree that it is best in the soft, squishy state before crisping it up in the oven. And spatial awareness is really tested to see how many mini M& Ms can fit onto the body of my creation before it goes into the oven.
Prep P photos
Kathy Pitt
Teacher of PRP
School Musical News
Have you bought your tickets for our school production of The Wizard of Oz?
Tickets are selling fast! Follow this link so you don't miss out.....https://www.trybooking.com/CBDZV
This year's performance is dedicated to Rhianna Quarry, our original "Glinda the Good Witch" (cast of 2012), who sadly passed away last year, at the age of 21 from brain cancer. Rhianna was a vivacious, brave and above all, generous young woman. Following her example, this years cast would like to raise funds for the Cittamani Hospice Service, a charity nominated by the Quarry family on Rhianna's behalf.Cittamani is a community based organisation that provides professional and compassionate in-home palliative care on the Sunshine Coast.
Science Spectacular with Dr Rob
To celebrate Science Week, students in Years 1-6 enjoyed a visit by famed scientist Dr. Robert Bell (https://www.doctorrob.com.au). ‘Dr. Rob’ led a range of amazing science experiments tailored to each year level with the help of students. Throughout the day we saw gravity defying water, stuck books, disappearing cups, an amplified slinky, a singing chimney, balloons that didn’t pop, paper that wouldn’t burn, steel that did burn, magnets attracting and repelling, cans imploding, dry ice rockets firing, something called elephant’s toothpaste and of course we had to have some fireballs. This enrichment day was offered to students at no additional charge as it formed part of our Student Resource Scheme.
Thanks to Dr. Rob for such a fantastic day of science!
Dr Rob images
Andrew Grummitt
STEM Teacher
Eisteddfod Success
Congratulations to our sensational Senior Voices who sang so beautifully at the Sunshine Coast Junior Eisteddfod . Although they missed out on a place by just 1 point, they certainly were up there as one of the strongest choirs out of 11 Sunshine Coast private and state schools. And they most definitely did themselves, our school & Mrs Mackay very proud!
Our delightful Junior Voices performed so exceptionally well, that they were awarded second place!! A massive congratulations to Ms Russell and her amazing Groovy Gals and Beat Boys for this wonderful achievement.
Huge thanks to both Mrs Mackay and Ms Russell for creating these wonderful opportunities for our students!
Eisteddfod
Story Dogs Dress Up Day - Friday 9 September
Other News
Check out the competition taking place at our very own school coffee shop throughout August.......
Reporting your child's absence
If your child is absent from school it is important that you notify us as soon as possible. To report your child’s absence please either complete the short form available on the website at https://coolumss.eq.edu.au/our-school/absences or telephone us on 5471 9300.
Absences may be reported both on the webform and on the telephone in advance for planned absences.
We thank you for your assistance.
QParents
Did you know that the QParents portal is available for Coolum State School? QParents enables schools to offer parents secure access to information about their child. Parents can communicate directly with the school and update their child’s address and medical conditions, submit reasons for absences and make online payments for school invoices.
QParents is available to all families and not just our new families! If you would like to receive your unique invitation code and child's EQ ID please email us info@coolumss.eq.edu.au to request this.
Contact details
Have you changed your mobile number recently? Have you moved house?
It's important that we hold up to date contact details for you and your nominated emergency contacts. If you would like to update your details please pop in to the Administration Office or email us at info@coolumss.eq.edu.au .
RideScore Active Schools
REGISTER NOW!
- Do you live close to school?
- Do your children have a bike or scooter?
- Would you like peace of mind knowing your children have safely arrived at school?
If you answered YES to these questions, then RideScore is for you!
We are one of nine Sunshine Coast schools that have been invited to trial the RideScore Active Schools Program in 2022.
What is RideScore?
RideScore is an incentive-based program delivered by Sunshine Coast Council and We Ride Australia to increase active travel to and from school. The program is open to all students who ride a bike or scooter to school, as these can easily be fitted with beacons.
Participating students will receive a personal sensor (beacon) to attach to their bike or scooter. The school bike storage facility will be fitted with a Bluetooth reader that detects the signal from the beacon and sends a notification to the nominated contact that the student has arrived at or departed the school gate. Please note that the beacon is not a tracking device, it only records school arrivals and departures.
Data is collected by the online platform, enabling incentives to be offered at certain milestones.
Activities will also be planned throughout the school year to promote and encourage active travel, including cycling education classes for all Year 4 students.
How do I register?
Step 1 - Download the RideScore App (Search for ‘RideScore’ in the App Store or on Google Play)
Step 2 – Receive your sign on bag (will be distributed via the classrooms) that includes:
- Your child’s beacon & instructions on how to pair and fit
- Bike Lock
- Scorecard
- Road Safety Information
Step 3 – Start riding or scooting
Step 4 – Visit the RideScore website for great resources and safety tips
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