Term 4 Week 6
Principal's Report
Can you believe we have only 4 weeks until the end of the year! I love this time of year when we get see the culmination of the efforts of our staff and students’ tireless efforts from throughout the year.
Last week was tremendous having the opportunity to see our instrumental and choir students perform. Throughout the year these students have accomplished so much together and won many awards, however what I enjoyed most was seeing the joy on their faces as they played and sang for their family and friends. I think that’s better than any gold medal. Words move the mind but music moves the soul and for our music we have the four soul sisters Mrs Mackay, Mrs Russell, Miss Anderson and Mrs Guest to thank for such wonderful opportunities.
Then last night we sang and danced with the AllStarz at our Dance Extravaganza choregraphed by our own Ms Bollard. The girls energised the audience for 2 ½ hrs with 16 dance routines including a team performance with Coolum State High Dancers. The support and encouragement from family and friends for this team is remarkable and is truly appreciated by Ms Bollard and the team.
Throughout the year the music, dance and sporting opportunities that are offered round out the holistic education that we are so proud of here at Coolum SS.
Anthony Ryan
Principal
Prep Enrolments 2024
If you have a child starting Prep in 2024 and haven’t yet submitted your Enrolment Application to the Administration Office, then please do as soon as possible.
Our Enrolments Officer Katie, will be happy to assist you with any questions or queries that you may have.
World Kindness Day
We are really looking forward to celebrating World Kindness Day at school on Monday. Wear your brightest colours and bring a gold coin donation to support The Salvation Army Christmas Appeal.
News from 4T
In our Call of the Wild unit, we have been researching endangered animals, learning about their life cycles, dependence on the environment and how science can help these endangered animals.
The animals 4T are focusing on researching are the Cassowary, Loggerhead Turtle, Hairy-nosed Wombat and the Grey Nurse Shark.
Here are some of the interesting things 4T has learnt about their chosen animal.
Taylor – The shell of Loggerhead Turtle can reach up to 1.5 metres in length.
Max D – Did you know Southern Cassowaries are related to Emu’s and Ostriches?
Ivy L – When baby wombats are first born, they are the size of a jellybean.
Arlo – Wombats are related to Koalas more than any other mammal.
Zane – Cassowaries can jump nearly 2 metres straight up in the air.
Lucy – Wombats know how to be aggressive when they feel threatened.
Sierra – It depends on if it’s cold or hot in the nest what gender the Green Sea Turtle egg is.
Jaxon – The Grey Nurse Shark has a moderately stout body with a pale under surface and two dorsal fins that are used for swimming.
Mikayla – A Loggerhead Sea Turtles shell can grow up to 90cm long.
Ayva - Between 1926 and 1965 approximately 63, 000 wombat skins were redeemed for cash.
Nayun – In a Loggerhead Turtle nest, if the temperature is warmer than 32 degrees it’s a girl and cooler than 28 degrees for a boy.
Ivy – Loggerhead Turtle hatchlings are reddish brown above and dark blackish, brown below.
Marley – The Grey Nurse Shark has five gill slits and a sharp pointy noise.
Zara – Wombat droppings are shaped like a square.
Zeke – Cassowaries use big kicks to protect themselves.
Sammy – Cassowaries use their horn to kill their prey.
Gracie- Hairy-nosed Wombat’s fur blends into the landscape.
Fletcher – Cassowaries have powerful legs for running fast and kicking.
Mason – Cassowaries have long red wattle on their neck.
Jax- It takes 20 years for a shark to become an adult.
Harrison - Cassowaries are an adult at 2-3years.
Aura – The Hairy-Nosed wombat is very strong so it can defend itself.
Lucy – Wombats are endangered from deforestation.
Charlie – Grey Nurse Sharks have brownish spots and a tail fin.
Bailey – Grey Nurse Sharks are endangered.
Stevie – Wombats are nocturnal.
Iris – Light pollution stops the Loggerhead Turtle from laying eggs.
Max – Grey Nurse Sharks are being killed by humans overfishing.
Ms Telfer
Teacher of 4T
Spelling Bee Results
Last term 98 Coolum students competed in the Premiers Spelling Bee. This online competition challenged students to spell 30 words as fast as they could. Our best spellers scored 28/30 in under two minutes, an excellent result.
The best students from round one then moved into a state competition. It was a tough competition with only six students progressed into this round, Ruby W, Mael R, Jayda B, Scarlett E, Ronin D and Fooga K. Our most successful student was Mael with a score of 26/30 in 1 minute 30 seconds. A fantastic result, but unfortunately not strong enough to enable him to get into the National round.
Congratulations go to all students who participated and a special mention to our year level winners –
Year 3 - Ruby W
Year 4 - Mael R
Year 5 - Ronin D
Year 6 - Fooga K
The Coolum 2023 Speller of the Year went to Mael with his fabulous speed and accuracy.
Judith Moore
Teacher
The Environmental Team – Beach Clean Up
Last Wednesday the Sunshine Coast Council organised a school’s beach clean up morning. This coincided with the start of the turtle nesting season.
The Coolum Environmental Team were up for a challenge and set off to clean up Stumers Creek on a very blustery morning. The team worked together to pick up rubbish. Sadly, there was plenty of microplastics to be picked up along the high tide line. These often come from larger pieces of plastic like bottle tops, that have broken down and are tricky to spot by humans but happily munched on by marine life that mistake it for food. If you see microplastics you should always pick them up. The ickiest thing we had to pick up was dog pooh bags with our trusty litter grabbers. We were surprised that adults didn’t realise that these bags need to go into a bin and not get left on the beach, more yucky plastic!
Next, we went to Cooper’s Lookout at Kawana. Here we met up with other schools and sorted through the rubbish we collected. We got to check out the Reed Check stand, explore the Coastal Van with its amazing microscope and investigate the Sunshine Coast Council’s TurtleCare information stand. Shelly the Turtle came to thank all the school for helping to keep the beaches cleaner.
This term picking up litter is one of our environmental challenges set by the team. At Coolum we now have some buckets and litter grabbers that students can use at break times to help keep litter out of the water ways. These are stored in 4A, Mrs Albrecht classroom. Everyone is welcome to sign out some grabbers and use them.
The other challengers the team set the students are to encourage their families to use reusable containers and buy big bags of chips to put into reusable containers for lunches. Help us minimise the plastics in lunch boxes.
We hope you can all help us. Remember, 'The Earth will thrive if we pick up 5!’
The Environmental Team
Japanese News
Japanese Word of the Week
~はありますか？(~ wa arimasu ka?) : Do you have ~?
Use this phrase to ask the store clerk for an item you are looking for. Replace the ~ with the name of the product you want.
Brad Yaxley
Japanese Teacher
Urgent Job Vacancy
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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