Term 2 Week 4

Principal's Report

It is with mixed emotions that I confirm to you all that at the conclusion of this term I will be finishing as principal here at Coolum State School. It was a difficult decision to leave such a wonderful community, however I have been afforded the opportunity to contribute and provide support to schools as a Senior Reviewer with the School and Regional Review Team.

During my time here, I have had the privilege of witnessing the growth and development of your children, both academically and personally. It has been incredibly rewarding to be a part of their educational journey and to see them evolve into confident and capable individuals.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you for your unwavering support throughout my time here. Your involvement in your child's education, whether through volunteering, attending school events, or simply being present in their lives, has been instrumental in creating a nurturing and thriving learning environment. I would like to make special mention of our very active school P&C members and their dedication to supporting school staff and students to add value to our school programs. The focus this team has on supporting every aspect of a school community is second to none!

I am proud of the accomplishments we have achieved together as a school community, from academic achievements to extra-curricular successes. I have full confidence that Coolum State School will continue to flourish, and I am excited to see the continued growth and success of the school in the years to come. The Coolum State School staff are an exceptional group of people. They ensure every child is afforded the opportunity to grow and be nurtured individually so they can be the best person they can be. Through the inspirational staff, the school has developed a strong academic program, arts program and sporting program embedded with social and emotional development that is the envy of many schools.

While I may be leaving Coolum, I will always carry fond memories of my time here and the wonderful relationships I have formed with students, parents, and staff members alike. Please know that although I may no longer be physically present at the school, I will always cherish the connections we have forged and the impact we have made together.

Thank you once again for your support and dedication to our students and staff. It has been an honour and privilege to be your principal, and I wish you all continued success and happiness in the future.

Anthony Ryan
Principal

Dig Into Reading

In this edition of Dig Into Reading we look at some of the complexities of English and how children practise their word reading skills. 

As children develop their understanding of letter-sound correspondences and apply this knowledge to reading words and texts, they learn more complex English spellings.  Children learn that:

• The same sound can be represented by different letters; the words ‘play’, ‘rain’ and ‘stage’ all contain the sound /ay/ but the spelling is different in each one.
• The same letter can represent different sounds; the letter ‘c’ can represent a ‘k’ sound as in ‘cat’, or an ‘s’ sound as in ‘race’.
• Small parts of words can have a meaning all their own; in the word ‘walked’, the ‘-ed’ tells us that the walk has already happened — it marks past tense.

Children practise their word reading skills by reading decodable texts that contain only the letter-sound correspondences children have been taught.

As children develop their decoding skills and their reading becomes more automatic, they will move from reading simple decodable texts to authentic texts. Authentic texts are any texts that are read for enjoyment or learning and that support word reading, language development and engagement.

Cross Country Winners!

Last Friday 35 students represented our school at the Noosa District Cross Country. We came away winners overall on the day with a wonderful performance of sportsmanship and athleticism from our students.

The track was extremely wet and muddy, however our runners showed great resilience in competing and had an absolute blast. They were covered in mud and their shoes were soaked.

Congratulations to all our students that competed, not only did they run hard but their behaviour is to be commended as well for representing our school with great pride.

Special congratulations go to Ayva (10 years girls), Maya (11 years girls), Wyatt and Sunny (12 years boys) for qualifying for the Noosa District team to compete at the Regional trial later this term.

Once again congratulations on a magnificent performance from all our athletes and good luck to Ayva, Maya, Wyatt and Sunny for the Regional trial.

Huge thanks go to Mr Moody and Mrs Proctor for supporting and cheering on our students on at the event. 

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2H’s Mother’s Day Tribute

Dear Mum,

Thank you for getting me a pet cat! (Beau)

I love when you play with me with balloons. (Max)

I love you so much for helping me with stuff. (Harley)

I love the way you make me food, especially white noodles. (Sequoia)

I love when you cheer me on at soccer, it makes my heart so happy. (Dylan)

I love that you help me learn and grow. (Angus)

Thanks for never letting me down and when you always tell me to never give up. (Sophie)

Thank you for brushing my hair. (Billie)

I am so happy you are my Mum. (Shiloh)

I am sorry for making you cross. Can I do some chores for you? (Zoe)

You always make the day shine. (Stevie)

Thank you for cheering me up when I am doing my swimming lessons. (Arna)

Thank you for cleaning my room. (Leon)

I love when we make cookies together. (Isla)

Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate Mum. (Archer)

I am sorry for being mad at you for no reason. (Charlie)

You’re always there if I need you. (Selena)

Thank you to all our wonderful mums!!

Julie Hoffman
Teacher of 2H

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4M’s Camp Experience Day and Adventure Day

All of Year 4 had an amazing day at Maranatha Recreational Camp on Tuesday, 7 May, 2024. 4M got to experience the terrifying Tower of Tremble, Raft Building and Rocket Ball, as well as meeting our Camp Leader, Wizzy.

We had to put on a harness and try to build a trembling tower of crates with our partner within three minutes. The record tower of crates was 10 ½ crates! That tower certainly trembled but Zephyra and Evie survived!

After that we learnt all about “granny” and “reef” knots and constructed rafts to float on the mighty river. All rafts survived being paddled out to the opposite river bank but one collapsed on the way back. Don’t worry! All students made it back to safety.

Finally, we loved playing Rocket Ball which is like baseball but we had to use a slingshot instead. Reminder – Don’t wear red while on camp playing Rocket Ball or you will soon become a target!

The best thing was when we saw that it began to rain, we knew that we were going home and would not have to line up outside for the showers tonight and would not have to sleep on a squeaky plastic mattress!

The next day, Wednesday, 8 May, we came to school exhausted but we were ready for our Adventure Day! This was absolutely amazing! Thank you very much to Mrs Maas-Albrecht, and all the Year 4 teachers for planning, designing and organising this day. It took a lot of out of school time for Mrs Maas-Albrecht to organise both days (lots of phoning and booking people, and heaps of paperwork!) and we are very grateful. All of Year 4 says, 'Thank You!'

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Laura Morris
Teacher of 4M

Coolum AllStarz News

Congratulations, Coolum AllStarz Dance Team!!  After months of intense rehearsal sessions since February, the team of 24 dancers finally competed in their first competition for 2024. 

Last Saturday, the girls danced in 5 categories at the Noosa Autumn Dance Series.  They placed in every dance and did an outstanding job!

Final results were as follows:

• 1^st Contemporary
• 1^st POM
• 2^nd Hip Hop
• 2^nd Jazz
• 2^nd Lyrical

What a fantastic effort, girls!  A huge congratulations to you all - you were wonderful and did Coolum State School very proud.  Many comments were made about the behaviour, respect and good sportsmanship our AllStarz showed to other competitors.  What a pleasure it is to work with you all - I am so very proud.

Once again, thanks so much to the amazing friends and families who came along to support the girls, it was so wonderful to have you all there.  Well done, everyone! 

The AllStarz will continue rehearsing and learn a Musical Theatre routine in preparation for their next competition in July.  Stay tuned for their performances at Under 8s Day and Junior and Senior Athletics days at the end of this term.

Sam Bollard
AllStarz Coach

Japanese Word of the Week

Itadakimasu (いただきます) – An expression of gratitude for the meal you’re about to eat

Certainly not required, but if you say itadakimasu before you begin eating, whether in a restaurant or at a person’s home, they will surely be impressed with your manners.

Essentially, this phrase expresses humility and thanks for the meal you are about to enjoy.

Brad Yaxley
Japanese Teacher

P&C News

Tuckshop Volunteers wanted 

Do you have a few hours to spare to help out in our Tuckshop? If so, we'd LOVE to hear from you! Please pop into the Uniform Shop or Tuckshop or call us on 5471 9371.

Mother's Day stall

Come along and support our Mother's Day stall......

Student Success

Congratulations to Arwen in Year 6 whose excellent artwork has scored her amazing recognition in the Fantastical Sharks and Rays competition. The brief was to use your imagination to portray one of the 10 endangered sharks/rays.  She won her category and now she will have her ray recreated by a well known artist and displayed at the Australian Muesum! Arwen will attend the opening of the exhibition and will meet the contributing artists.  This is an incredible achievement for Arwen, we are very proud of you! 

Here is a photo of Arwen with her stunning work:

Congratulations go to Indie in Year 1 and Scarlett in Year 2 who won 1st place in the U6 Jazz category with their dance club at a recent competition. Getting such amazing results at such a young age shows the great future ahead these dancers have. Congratulations girls!

Let’s Go Plastic Free!

In our last newsletter we announced the Environmental Team mission to encourage students to stop using single use plastics in their lunchboxes.

Next week, on Tuesday 14 May, we are asking all our students to make a big effort to bring only items that are unpackaged, or packaged using reuseable containers, in their lunchboxes and join us in supporting ‘Plastic Free Tuesday’.  Each class will be asked to show their teacher their lunchbox to establish which class is our ‘Plastic Free Tuesday Champion’.

So, what does a plastic free lunch box look like?  Here are some tips from our wonderful Environmental Team

Neve – use a lunchbox with sections to help reduce your need for plastic.

Asher – avoid using plastic wrap on your sandwiches.

Indigo – if you need to use foil, take it home and when you have big enough ball it can be recycled.

Arwen – use re-useable containers instead of plastic bags.

Bonny – avoid small sachets of yoghurt, buy a big one and pour it into small re-useable tubs.

Lochlan – buy big bags of chips and bring them to school in small re-useable boxes.

Khaleesi – use bees wax wraps.

Alice – Don’t buy multi packs of chips, find an alternative.

RideScore Active Schools

Register Now

Do you live close to school?

1. Does your child have a bike or scooter?
2. Would you like your child to get an active, healthy and fun start to the day?
3. 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.