Term 2 Week 4
Principal's Report
Being a good friend
Friendship is defined as the caring relationship which exists between two or more people. Having friends is important to everyone, so helping your child to develop skills in establishing good friendships is an important parental role; one which is supported at school. Much is said about the traditional ‘three R’s’ in education, but there are really ‘four R’s’ and the fourth ‘R’ is relationships. School is about learning to live as a community member, and relationships and friendships are the glue that keeps communities together.
Here are some ideas and advice for developing healthy friendships:
- Be honest and truthful.
- Be there when your friend needs you; be helpful.
- Respect people’s feelings and belongings.
- Share your feelings and be a good listener.
- Be kind and caring.
- Invite people to join in your games and activities.
- Never talk about people when they are not there.
- Always keep your promises.
- Be prepared to forgive and forget; it is human to make mistakes.
- Ask for help when you need it.
- Be the kind of friend you’d like to have.
Making and keeping friends requires a lot of effort. It’s not always easy and sometimes friends do things which are hurtful. A good friendship is one in which the people involved all work together to make it an enjoyable and rewarding experience for everyone. Be prepared to step in and help your child if you sense that their friendships are not appropriate or suitable. Talk to your child’s teacher if you are unsure.
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 also 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
Bike Trail Official Opening
On Friday 28 April we officially opened our fabulous new bike trail! This amazing addition to our school is the product of what started as an idea from our students back in 2020 that was brought to life with the support of many bodies including our P&C Executive, our parents and principal, Anthony Ryan.
With assistance from Jason Collett of Trailworx, our students brainstormed with Mr Ryan to come up with an exciting design incorporating a range of great ideas. We approached Sunshine Coast Council to help us make this happen and received great support from Councillor Maria Suarez in helping us through of the planning requirements.
We needed money to make this happen, and that’s where our P&C Executive and you, our parents stepped up. The Coolum Carnival is a huge annual event hosted by our incredible P&C and attended by our fabulously supportive families, with the proceeds of the evening all going back into the school. It was the proceeds of the 2021 Carnival that funded the bike trail.
It was with great pleasure that we invited back the students who played an integral role in the planning of the track to enjoy seeing the fruits of their labour come to life. Now students at Coolum High School, it was great to have Smith, Callum and Cory along with Principal, Troy Ascott and teacher, Ryan Stewart join us for the opening. We welcomed Councillor Maria Suaraz to officially open the track, she talked with us about the plans in the pipeline to build another bike track in Coolum for the use of the whole Coolum community to enjoy. Jason Collett from Trailworx and our P&C Executive joined us to see the finished track in action and being enjoyed by so many of our students.
This project, in the planning and construction for several years, is already a huge asset to our school. It is such a healthy and fun activity for our very lucky students to be able to enjoy.
Noosa District Cross Country 2023
Last Friday 32 of our amazing students travelled up to Noosaville State School for the annual Noosa District Cross Country. There was tough competition and a large number of schools and students from the Noosa District Region that our runners had to compete against. They all represented our school with great pride and sportsmanship on the day. We had quite a few top ten finishes and two students in particular deserve special mention for their performance on the day. Congratulations to Maya Falkbring who placed 3rd overall in the 10yrs Girls 2km race and Sunny Canina who placed 5th overall in the 11yrs Boys 3km race. Maya and Sunny have progressed to the next level of competition and will represent Noosa District at the Sunshine Coast Regional Cross Country that will be held later this term. Well done to all our students and good luck Maya and Sunny!
Ben Moody
PE Teacher
2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge
We are delighted to invite all Coolum students to join in the 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC).
The PRC is not a competition but a way to encourage students to develop a love of reading for life. Students are encouraged to select a range of fiction and non-fiction books suited to their reading ability and record books read during the reading period, between 8 May to 26 August.
To complete the challenge:
- Prep to Year 2 must read or experience at least 20 books
- Years 3 and 4 must read at least 20 books
- Years 5 to 9 must read at least 15 books.
Experiencing books can include shared reading, listening to stories, or reading picture books. The aim for the 2023 challenge is to engage more students to read than ever before! Last year, 167,000 participants from more than 940 schools and 340 centres read a total of 2.39 million books!
Key dates | Activity |
8 May – 25 August | Reading period for Prep to Year 9 students |
25 August | Student reader record/consent forms submitted to teacher (they can come in earlier if completed). |
Every student who completes the challenge will receive a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier. We look forward to seeing as many of our students as possible take part in the 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge.
Due to the high volume of reader entrants in the PRC, the department utilises a third party organisation (Median Technologies Pty Ltd) for collecting the reader entries, printing the individualised certificates and mailing them to schools.
The department needs to receive consent in writing before it uses or discloses an individual’s personal information or materials to a third party organisation. Consent forms are printed on the back of the reading record notes.
Reading record and Consent forms will be sent home with your child soon.
Happy Reading!
Susan Gers
Reading Challenge Coordinator
News from 6D
The students in 6D have had a great start to Year Six. They spent some time reflecting on their favourite things that have happened so far this year, as well as what they are looking forward to in their final year of primary school. Here are some of their responses.
Favourite thing that has happened so far this year:
The Bike Track Grand Opening and making the basketball district team – Finn
Visiting Coolum High School – Anya
Meeting my prep buddy and getting to mentor her and play with her each week – Zoe
Making the district basketball team for the first time – Fletcher
The late night bus ride back from camp – Brooklynn
Representing the school soccer team and going to Regionals – Lucas
Being accepted as the Coolum State School music leader – Eve
Hanging out with friends – Khai
Going to school camp – Molly
Getting Miss Domio as my teacher and getting my Year Six shirt – Chloe
The science experiments – No name (there’s always one)
What they are looking forward to:
Spending the last day with friends – Oscar
Our last primary athletics and swimming carnival – Otila
Coolum Carnival and graduating primary school – Zoe
The end of this term but not the end of the year because I like primary school – Marcus
Graduation and Coolum High School visits – Brooklyn
Trying to make the AFL team – Jye
My graduation – Jordan
Doing the Barns Lane advertisement this term and our last Coolum Carnival - Kate
Ashleigh Domio
Teacher of 6D
News from 5M
What a year we have had so far in 5M. Finally, a normal start to the year after the last 2 interrupted years. Lots of learning and getting to know each other and I can already see different personalities beginning to emerge and class leaders, leading by example. Last term we were lucky enough to have Miss Abi Nettle become part of our class as she completed her final 6 weeks of teacher placement. Hopefully we will see her again when she graduates and becomes a fully qualified teacher.
Camp as always is the highlight of Term 1 and this year was no exception. It was fantastic to witness students becoming involved in all sorts of activities to build new friendships and get them out of their comfort zone. It was great to observe students push themselves to go higher than they thought they would or work together to achieve a common goal. All in all, a fantastic start to the year for a fantastic group of students.
Mark Kerr
Teacher of 5M
Japanese Word of the Week
もう一度お願いします (mou ichido onegaishimasu) : Can you please say that again?
If you can’t hear or understand the other person’s reply the first time, you can ask them to repeat it with this phrase. It is also helpful to remember the phrase “Dou iu imi desu ka?” (“What does (it/this/that) mean?”)
Brad Yaxley
Japanese Teacher
‘Paws’ for Appreciation
Last term, Enzo from 6D had a ‘Pawsome’ idea and the Coolum community came together to make it happen. Instead of asking for birthday gifts, Enzo reached out to his fellow students to see if they would help him collect items for the RSPCA.
We are proud to say that is just what they did. On the day of Cross Country, Coolum students rallied to help Enzo and filled 8 boxes with goodies. Items ranged from pig’s ears, pet treats, tins of food and blankets. All items were welcomed by the RSPCA volunteers when Enzo’s dad made the delivery and asked us to pass on their thanks to everyone who was able to help.
How did Enzo feel about all your help? He was ‘purrfectly’ happy.
Other News and Events...
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 and submit reasons for absences.
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!
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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