Term 4 Week 6
Principal's Report
Dear families
It is hard to believe that we are halfway through this term already! Students across all grades are working hard in their classrooms in preparation for the end of unit assessments. It is incredibly important for students to be attending school every day during this time to minimise the disruption to learning and assessment. By this time of the term, your child should be able to clearly tell you:
- What they are learning.
- How they are going with their learning.
- How they know where they are at and also what their next steps are for them to improve.
At Coolum SS we encourage students to access support from their teachers and support staff, form their peers and also from the learning walls in their classrooms. Learning walls will have a range of resources available to students to help them identify some great examples of successful work, and the criteria to achieve. Ask your child about the English learning wall in their classroom.
As you will have seen in my previous correspondence regarding the traffic lights and the crossing supervisors, there have been many discussions around students and families safely crossing the roads when coming to and from school. I have met with families, the Department of Transport and Main Roads and also the Sunshine Coast Council. What we have clearly established is that we all want our children to be safe. Council have discussed additional barriers and fencing to stop students crossing in unsafe areas. I will share more information around this as I receive it. TMR staff have also planned out some ongoing learning opportunities for students, particularly in the younger grades to continue lessons around safe crossings. TMR have also had signage made to be placed around the old crossings and the lights to remind our students of the safe crossing expectations. Today, I also received a call from Dan Purdie’s office to advise that the crossing supervisors will be extended until the end of the school year. This is a great outcome and I would like to thank Dan and families for their continual advocacy for the safety of our students. We will continue to work together to monitor and review this issue.
Have a wonderful fortnight,
Shannyn Taylor
Principal
Newsletter 5K
What a year we have had 5K. Lots of learning and getting to know each other filled our first term along with NAPLAN. Camp as always is the highlight of our school year and this year in term two it 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. Term three found us at camp where budding leader stepped up, leading by example and the student’s different personalities beginning to emerge. 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 full teacher. All in all, a fantastic start to the year for a fantastic group of students.
Mark Kerr
Teacher of 5K
Showcase of Musical Talent
🎵 What an amazing Showcase of musical talent we were lucky enough to see here at Coolum State School on Tuesday night. Students across all areas of our Music Programs demonstrated how hard they have been working and rehearsing all year, and truly impressed their family and friends at our annual Instrumental Music Showcase Evening.
We were treated to sensational sounds from our 🎻 String Orchestras – along with colourful Cowboy Hats and some fancy dancing and instrument twirling! And our 🎺 Concert Band members wowed the crowd with their ‘Monster’ sound, their ‘Zombie’ brains and the spectacle of the 5 Sombreros! In addition, we had outstanding solos by Goldie on violin, Addi on clarinet, Ella on piano, and a delightful flute duo from Khaleesi and Stella. To round out the evening, our gorgeous 🎤 Junior Voices sang ‘A Little Song’ and entertained us all with the ‘Ghost Ship’.
🤩 A special thank you to Miss Sarah who came along and supported our students throughout the night. And to our music department’s Awesome Foursome – Mrs Guest, Miss Anderson, Ms Sharise and Mrs Mackay – your endless enthusiasm and energy, and passion for Music is a credit to our school and we cannot thank you enough! Bravo, everyone! 👏👏
Dig Into Reading
Understanding dyslexia
Dyslexia is a language-based reading disorder. People with dyslexia may have difficulty learning to read accurately and fluently, and to spell. They have unexpected difficulties with the sound structure (phonology) of language. Dyslexia is relatively common and affects 5–10% of people. Watch this video to learn more about dyslexia.
RideScore Double Points Week 7!
Do you want to boost your chance of reaching your final prize milestone for 2024, or do you have your eye on the end of year winner’s yellow jersey?
Ride to school next week to earn double points every day!
We look forward to seeing more students riding and scooting to school.
Environmental News
Last week we awarded our Plastic Free Winners. The Junior class with the least amount of single use plastic in their lunchboxes went to PRC who an almost perfect score of 39 and the Senior class winners were our amazing 5C students who had 37 points.
Environmental Team
Prep 2025 Enrolments
Prep 2025 enrolments are now open. Please collect an Enrolment Pack from the office. Our Enrolments Officer Katie will be happy to assist you with any questions or queries that you may have.
Other News
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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