newsletter-2012-11-01 - Currimundi State School

ACROSS THE PRINCIPAL’S DESKCurrimundi Primary SchoolNo: 17 – 1 November, 2012Congratulations to Currimundi State School Students and Teachers on their great results in this year’s 3, 5 & 7National Tests.Students at Currimundi State School were similar to or above State and National Minimum Standards in14 out of 15 areas.In 10 of 15 areas 95% (or more) of students achieved the National Minimum Standard.These outcomes are the result of a great deal of hard work and dedication from teachers and students and as aschool community we should be very proud of them.2012 Results(% of students who reached National Minimum Standard)Year 3Reading Writing Spelling Grammar/PunctuationNumeracyCurrimundi 100% 100% 94.3% 86.8% 100%QLD 91.6% 93.8% 90.4% 88.3% 90.5%Australia 93.5% 95.3% 94.0% 93% 93.9%Year 5Reading Writing Spelling Grammar/PunctuationNumeracyCurrimundi 95% 94.9% 97.5% 87.5% 97.4%QLD 83.2% 83.3% 88.5% 81.9% 87.3%Australia 91.8% 92.2% 92.6% 90.4% 93.4%Year 7Reading Writing Spelling Grammar/PunctuationNumeracyCurrimundi 93.8% 95.3% 93.8% 98.4% 100%QLD 90.0% 87% 87.6% 92% 92.3%Australia 94.2% 89.9% 93% 95% 93.7%Deputy Principal NewsThis term is certainly speeding along. Our students are almost halfway through term 4! The overall behaviourand effort that students are displaying at the school is to be commended. Just recently the Sunshine Coast Daily,Caloundra Weekly and Kawana Weekly promoted Currimundi State School’s stand against bullying as anexample to all schools. The CURRA Kids TALK, WALK, SQUAWK has struck a chord with many of our students.Some of the year 7 students have choreographed a play to educate the school about inappropriate behaviour

and bullying. The Student Council have also continuously modelled appropriate behaviours for being a CURRAKid. Examples of this include mentoring younger students in the playground at lunch breaks and assisting atschool events such as the family Movie Night, Talent Quest and the upcoming Carols Night. Thank you also tothe contribution that the P & C make towards the school and most recently, for organising the family MovieNight.Currimundi State School has continued to receive steady growth across the school. Welcome to the new familieswho have enrolled at Currimundi State School this term. The Prep teachers and teacher aides recently hosted aPrep Play Session for our 2013 Prep students. The play session was enjoyed by a large number of new studentsand families. If you are aware of any other new families coming to our school in 2013 please encourage them toenrol this year to assist with important staffing considerations.2012 Student Resource SchemeThank you to all parents and caregivers who supported their child/children through payment of the 2012Student Resource Scheme. This scheme operates under the Policy & Guidelines of the Department of EducationTraining and Employment FNM-PR-018.$17,955.55 has been collected through the Scheme this year. This represents payment by 74% of our studentpopulation and therefore it is very disappointing that 26% of our student population have not supported theschool in providing resources for their child/children. The money from this Scheme has been used to provide thefollowing resources:-Prep to Year 7 Mathletics and Reading Eggs ICT ProgramsClass workbooks and worksheets which substitute for the purchase of textbooksReading BooksAustralian Curriculum BooksArt & craft supplies, cooking items etc for practical learning experiencesClassroom project materialsStudent reference materials (books, audio/video tapes and software).We hope our 2013 Student Resource Scheme will receive 100% support by parents and caregivers. By notjoining the Scheme you are stating that you will provide these resources for your child/children, however as youcan determine from the list of resources, its purpose is to provide you, the parent, with a cost effective, valuefor money alternative to purchasing textbooks, resources, consumables and materials yourself that are difficultto purchase elsewhere.Payment for the 2013 Scheme can be made during the remainder of this year or before Friday, 22nd February,2013. Payment must be in a sealed envelope, accompanied by the Participation Agreement Form. If you do notelect to join the Scheme you are still required to return the Participation Agreement Form, indicating yourintentions, to the school office by Friday 22nd February, 2013. It will then be the responsibility of the parent orcaregiver to obtain all the resources provided by the scheme for their child/children.2013 Booklist Order FormsWe are again using Schoolstuff.com.au for our 2013 booklists. Schoolstuff are booklist specialists who pridethemselves on their customer service. ANY queries you may have in regards to booklists you can call them directand their friendly call centre staff will happily help you out.Every child will receive a paper copy today, with all requirements for your child for the 2013 school year. Youcan place your order online, over the phone or by posting the form directly to Schoostuff and it will be deliveredto your chosen address.There are no cut-off dates for ordering but it is recommended you order as early as possible. If you have a lay-byyou would like to complete, please call Schoolstuff on (07) 3847 7656 or email enquiries@schoolstuff.com.au.All this information is on your order form.All students new to Currimundi State School will need a homework Satchel and a Student Portfolio which willneed to be purchased from the school tuckshop.Also included with your 2013 requirements will be information regarding the Student Resource Scheme for 2013,which has to be paid by every student, and the Voluntary Financial Contribution. These two items are paiddirectly to the school. Proformas for 2013 are provided to facilitate these payments to the school.

Currimundi State School 2013 CalendarsCurrimundi State School 2013 calendars are now available for purchase from the school office. For $6.50, yourschool calendar includes most of the important dates for 2013 and room to record some of your own.Thanks to the Tuckshop Team!Tuckshop Day is on Friday 2nd November and Currimundi State School would like to give a big thank you to all ofour tuckshop helpers and volunteers who have put in a great effort this year, especially to our convenor KatePlumb.The role of our tuckshop and the people who provide nutritious food and drinks for students and staff is veryimportant to our school community. I hope after each shift our tuckshop helpers feel their contribution hasbeen appreciated by the students and the school.The many volunteers who put their hands up to help out have been wonderful and it is great to have theminvolved in the school’s daily operations.You Are A CURRA Kid’s AwardsCongratulations to the following students who received a ‘Curra Kid’s Award: Following school rules — Caylen Bartz (2G) Showing Currimundi courtesy — Tyrone Stephan (5A), Emmalynn Richardson (3S) Putting litter in bins — Lily Summerville (1S), Caliyah Norris (2H) & Malakai Hilbrink (PR) Handing in money — Jack Liebig (1C) Sitting while eating own food & putting hand up and waiting to be dismissed — Seth Hansen (3J) Helping teacher — Charlotte Meri (3B) Handing in lost keys — Zane Grady (4J) Reporting their concerns about a child ‘stuck’ on the monkey bars —Makayla Nissen (2C)Consideration of Student Placement for 2013Request forms are now available from the school office. These forms are for educational reasons only andspecific teachers cannot be requested. Forms must be returned by Friday 2nd November, 2012. No late formswill be considered.2013 TransfersIf your child/children will be transferring from Currimundi State School at the end of this year, please notify theoffice as soon as possible.Year 7 Graduation - photos neededThe Graduation Committee are appealing to parents of the year 7 students to provide photos of their studentsengaging in school activities over previous years. The photos will be used for this year’s graduation videopresentation. Utmost care will be taken with your photos and they will be returned to you as soon as they havebeen scanned. Please give your photos to the class teacher with the student’s name clearly marked on the back.Your help with this is very much appreciated.Beach Carnival - 23rd NovemberWe will be conducting the annual ‘Beach Carnival’ on Friday 23rd November. Students will be competing for the‘Joel Parkinson / Kerri Thomas Shield’ which is named in honour of two former Currimundi students. This is the10th year we have conducted the Beach Carnival.The carnival starts with the surfing finals in the morning before school then the Junior Carnival (Prep to Year 3)commences at 9 am and runs until 10:30am.The ‘Tin Lid’ event will then be held at 10:40am with all students on the beach to watch. Each class will have acompetitor to cheer on for this event. Last week, 23 ‘Tin Lids’ started training on Tuesday mornings at Dicky

Beach SLSC. We are planning for all classes to be present on the beach so that the competitors will have a largeaudience to compete in front of.At the completion of the ‘Tin Lid’ event, the Senior Carnival (Yrs 4 to 7) will commence at 11:20am and run until1:10pm. Prep, Yrs 1 & 2 students will return to school for first break and recommencement of classes.Parents are encouraged to come along and support your children. This carnival is a major event on our calendarand we look forward to another successful carnival this year as students ‘Ride the Waves to Success’.The carnival is proudly supported by Club Kawana, Dicky Beach SLSC, North Caloundra Surf School , CaloundraRSL and Woody’s Surf Designs.Helping Children Cope with Fears and WorriesSix year old Jessica doesn’t want to go to sleep in her own bed. “You stay with me Mum”, she says. Jessica’sMum reads another story. Her Mum gives her one more kiss and leaves. A few minutes later, Jessica appears inthe doorway. “I’m scared something might happen to the house. The roof might blow away.” Mum: “Nothing’sgoing to happen to the house.” Jessica: “But I saw it on TV.” Jessica had not seemed to be bothered about theTV before. Now her parents realize she must have become worried after seeing TV news items about recentevents.Understanding children’s fears — we all get scared for all sorts of reasons, and often our fears are to do with ourown uncertainty about what could happen, or events may trigger past experiences that were unpleasant.Sometimes children/adolescents may have fears that seem unreasonable to adults, but even what may seemillogical to adults; these can be very real to children. Some fears are very common amongst children, withdifferent sorts of fears appearing at different ages. Prep children are often afraid of imaginary things likemonsters hiding under the bed. In early primary school children are usually more fearful of real things thatmight happen, like being hurt. Later fears are more typically about possible failure at school or in sport, or whatothers might think of them.Noticing when children are afraid — it’s not always easy to tell when a child is frightened or worried. Obviousthings that the child responds to immediately, like thunder, are easy enough to recognise, but some things arenot as obvious. Children may not tell you they are scared although often they show it through their behaviour.When children are scared or worried they may:become clingy or demand that a parent or carer stay close to themhave sleeping difficulties (or when young want to sleep in their parent or carers’ bed)lack confidence to do things they did happily beforetake refuge in the safety of their room in preference to socialisingavoid situations that make them feel scared or anxiousask a parent or carer to do things for them or with themcomplain of aches or painsexhibit mood changes for no obvious reason.Helping children to cope with fears — Children need adult support in order to learn to cope with fears. Theyneed reassurance to reduce their anxious feelings, and skills for coping so that they can gradually learn tomanage fears themselves.How parents and carers can help:Acknowledge how your child is feeling. Naming it, (e.g. ‘feeling scared, threatened’), helps the child begin to seefear as a normal emotion that can be overcome.Stay cool yourself so you can model positive coping.Tell them how you learned to get over fears when you were their age e.g. When talking in front of aclass how did you cope, and work with your child to come up with some ways of lessening thestress/anxiety.Positive self-talk can help children put fears into perspective. For example, “the storms on TV are faraway from here. Our house will be O.K.”Asking what a respected peer (or for younger children what a favourite hero) might do in this situation.Learning relaxation skills is often very helpful for dealing with fears —breathing exercises, sitting quietlyand focusing your mind on enjoyable tasks.Help the child put realistic limits around the scary situation e.g. parents could explain that the TVpictures were about something that happens rarely and only when the weather is extreme; or giving atalk to an audience is only 5 minutes of an entire day and being prepared will make that time go faster.

Since television is a frequent trigger for children’s fears it is important to monitor television viewing tominimize exposure to things that may be frightening.Learning to cope with fears and worries develops resilience and confidence —important tools for life.Adapted from: http://www.kidsmatter.edu.auCaloundra Coalition of State Schools ICT ConferenceOn the October Student Free Day, the Caloundra Coalition of State Schools brought together the biggestgathering of Prep to Year 12 state school teachers on the Sunshine Coast for its annual conference. Theconference aimed to support teachers from all phases of learning to incorporate information andcommunication technologies into the classroom to engage our techno-savvy learners. Presenters were teachersfrom across the coalition talking to other teachers, sharing their technology practices.STUDENT PAYMENTS - DUE DATESYear 7 Graduation—$15.00 Friday 30th November, 2012STUDENT AWARDSPBlueEthan Pine, Shaun MolloyAriana RatcliffePRedKira Franks, Talisha Bowthorpe, HarrisonRonchi BowthorpePYellow Joel BrownShannon Bishop1BDeclan Abbott, Charlie Harris,Cabel Shaw1CBrayden Cook, Sophie HarfootAnnie Hart, Jack Liebig1SSummer Taylor, Henry Wells,Jack Philp2CSummer Turner, Zoe Holmes,Kira Ronchi2GCloe Wilkinson, Caylen Bartz,Kai Coyle2H Harry Rezek, Laura Webb, Shaun Walden 3B Kaylah French, Nicola Hewitt,Amber Stenchion3JJarod Neumann, Neisha Stegeman,Kane Foley3SKobie Kennett, Sam O’Connor,Chloe Barnes4HBrice Webster, Ella Ronchi,Lulu Fellows4JZoe Compton, Jay Deakin,Shaun Munday4/5C Rebecca Wilson, Tyler Simpson,5ABailey Brauns,Gemma Hockney5/6J Brock Bassett, Kane Bray,6HCody CostaJarrad Hawes6TBrendan Jeans, Braydon Tunstall,Maisy Robson7DPatrick Keenan, Natasha Newmann,Blake Worth7FLuke Lewis, Brenton Abbott,7WBill Honeywill, Matthew LeckiePania Peluso-PrestonOthersSenan Mulroy-Reilly, Jessica