Term 1 Week 10
Principal's Report
Wow, what a start to 2024 it has turned out to be! There have been many highlights for this term from school camps, student achievements in learning, excursions, stem activities, dance performances, market days and individual and group sporting achievements. I was asked recently what’s the best thing that has happened at Coolum SS this term. I reflect on the activities mentioned above and others but it’s not hard to settle on the resilience of our students, staff, P&C and community who despite any challenge in our school year have been solely focussed on ensuring every child has every opportunity to learn and have experiences that adds value and meaning to their world. It takes a village to raise a child, thank you to our Coolum community for being our village!
Now that the holidays are approaching, it’s time to think about keeping the kids entertained on over the easter break. There are many activities you can do with your children which are inexpensive and good fun. All of these experiences help children learning about the world around them. Teachers can use these experiences in their teaching to make school relevant to their world.
You don’t need to entertain them every moment of every day, but if you plan a couple of special family activities with them, it helps to break the monotony as well as building relationships with them. Have you taken the kids fishing lately or tried rollerblading or bike riding with them? What about yabbying or a picnic by the river, lake or beach? Had a barbecue in the bush recently? Take a picnic lunch to the local gardens and relax under the shady trees. Throw in the frisbee for some fun and games with them. Have you been out on a boat with them? Try canoeing or kayaking or a cruise on a paddle steamer. Or just lie on the banks of a river and watch the boats float by.
You can do some very simple activities with them on those rainy days when you are stuck inside. Consider these ideas: write or email a friend to come over and play; write a shopping list together; draw a map of the neighbourhood, your house or the way to Grandma’s; plant some seedlings; look at photo albums and tell stories about when you were a child; design, make and fly a kite; estimate, compare and count collections of things; visit the local library and borrow a book, or buy a new one to share; teach them to play hopscotch or a board game; ride a bike, throw a ball, kick the footy; cook some biscuits together or make a yummy fruit salad.
Most importantly…..TALK, TALK, TALK with your children.
Have a great holiday and enjoy spending time with your children; they’re very special young people! I look forward to welcoming you all back for the start of term 2.
P&C AGM
Last night our P&C held the annual AGM. Congratulations to our 2024 school executive Mrs Stephanie Hartas (President), Mr Shane Urban, Mrs Clare Bates-Pay and Mrs Lisa Nugent (Vice President), Leona Onions (Treasurer) and Maree Groshens (Secretary). During the AGM a motion was raised to award life-membership to the Coolum State School P&C. A massive congratulations from our school community to Shane Urban, Mrs Clare Bates-Pay, Mrs Lisa Nugent, Mrs Rebecca Ellis and Mrs Denise French. The commitment and dedication from these new life members has extended across many years and accomplished many wonderful outcomes for our school, Thank you!!!
Can we ask you to please consider being a part of the P&C and throughout the year, consider, could you add value to the Coolum SS P&C on the executive for 2024 to help to contribute and add fresh ideas to our school community through the many committees, tuckshop and fundraising activities held throughout the year.
Anthony Ryan
Principal
Parent Teacher Meetings
News from 3J
A warm welcome to our school community from 3J. We cannot believe how quickly this term has gone already and how much learning we have already squeezed into Term 1. There are only a couple of weeks before the end of term, and 3J are ready for a restful break after working hard!
NAPLAN
As you are aware 3J have had a busy week completing their NAPLAN. I have been impressed by the positive attitudes and resilient mindset of all students in our class. Here is what 3J had to say about it:
I was really proud of my work – Sam
It was hard work but our reward was treats – Ari
I am proud of myself – Olivia D
I am really proud of my work. I am cool and amazing – Olivia A
I liked the treats – Dash
I was very focused when I did NAPLAN and it was hurting my eyes because it took so long – Hamish
I liked the treats at the end – Jack
I am very happy with my work – Ava
I think I did really good work in NAPLAN, it was fun – Mia
I didn’t like NAPLAN so much – Jakobi
It was very glitchy… it was very good besides the issues – Savannah
It was so boring – AJ
I liked that we could use the I-Pads – Zephyr
I was really really proud of myself – Jenson
I hated the maths because it had some really hard questions – Ginger
I think I did good – Axel
I would like more time… people need more time – Emma
I like that you got Skittles after NAPLAN – Blake
I’m really proud because of the difficulty – Noah
NAPLAN is a bit boring – Georgie
It felt like it was a MILLION hours -anonymous
Finally, 3J would like to thank you for all your support this term and wish you a restful and (hopefully) sunny break 😊
From everyone in 3J
News from 6D
6D have had an amazing start to their final year of primary school. When asked about how their year has gone so far and what they are looking forward to, here are some of their responses.
Some thoughts and feelings about the year so far:
- It offers more experiences and rights than other year levels (Jeremy)
- There are more opportunities (Hamish)
- It’s fun, exciting and there’s lots to do (Anarki)
- It’s fun, easy and we have a lot of control (Isabel)
Some of the favourite things that they have done so far in Term 1 are:
- Camp (half the class)
- Miss Moore’s lessons (Ruby)
- Getting our buddies (Emily)
- Sports trials (Leo)
- Allstarz (Delilah)
- School captain and musical practise (Jeremy)
- Learning about volcanoes (Eddie)
The thing they are looking forward to this year is:
- Musical (Olivia, Hamish)
- Sports day (Beckett)
- Doing school captain roles (Hamish)
- Allstarz competitions (Delilah)
- Swimming carnival (Caitlyn)
- Coolum Carnival (Emily)
- Graduation (Harry)
Ash Domio
Teacher of 6D
Japanese Word of the Week
__ o Kudasai (をください) – I would like , please
I would like __, please. This is useful in a variety of situations: at restaurants, in stores, and on many other occasions you’ll encounter while traveling. In Japanese, it’s __ o kudasai (simply fill in the __ [blank] with the item of your choice).
To get the most out of this phrase, you may want to learn other vocabulary words, such as water (mizu). Mizu o kudasai
Brad Yaxley
Japanese Teacher
Environmental News
Last week we celebrated kindness in our school and the community. When you are kind to the environment this means you are being kind to yourself and others. But how can I be kind to the environment? The Environmental Team have put together some ideas.
Did you know you can recycle aluminium? When you peel the wrappers off your Easter eggs or foil covers on yoghurt pots scrunch them into a ball. Keep adding layers to your ball until it is the size of your fist and then it can go into the recycling bin.
If you see litter, wherever you are, pick it up, even if it is not yours. Make your days plastic free whenever you can. Use recycled containers instead of plastic bags. Buy large bags of chips and put them into smaller boxes that can be reused.
Next term we are going to helping our students to use less plastic in their lunchboxes. Watch this space for more ideas.
Have a great holiday and remember when you are kind to the environment, you are kind to yourself too.
Student of the week
RideScore Active Schools
Do you live close to school?
- Does your child have a bike or scooter?
- Would you like your child to get an active, healthy and fun start to the day?
- Would you like a system that tells you automatically when they have arrived or left school?
If you answered YES to these questions, then RideScore is for you!
We are one of 11 Sunshine Coast schools that are enjoying RideScore Active Schools Program funded by councils Transport Levy.
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 will be open to students who are able to ride a bicycle or scooter to school.
Participating students receive a personal sensor (beacon) to attach to their bicycle or scooter. The school bicycle storage facility has a Bluetooth reader that detects the signal from the beacon and sends a notification to the nominated contact to inform them that the student has arrived at/or departed the school.
Each trip is recorded by the RideScore app, providing incentives when the students reach their milestones. Earn great prizes:
- 20 Trips – Mystery prize
- 70 Trips – Movie ticket
- 120 Trips – Bli Bli Aqua Park voucher
Activities will be planned throughout the school year to promote and encourage riding and scooting, including fun events and bicycle skills classes for all year 4 students.
This program was developed in 2022 with a Federal grant funding from the Move it AUS program, with the support of Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) and Stockland.
How do I register?
Step 1 - Download the app (search ‘RideScore’), complete your registration details
Step 2 – Receive your sign on bag (posted within 1 week) that will include:
- Your child’s beacon & instructions on how to pair and fit
- A scorecard (your app will also keep a live score)
Step 3 – Start riding and scooting!
Visit the RideScore website for more information, great resources and safety tips.
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.
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 .
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.
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