Barkly Highway State School - Term 1 Week 4
Principal's Welcome
Welcome everyone, to our first newsletter for the 2022 school year. The school grounds and classrooms have been buzzing with happy, excited and enthusiastic children and adults who have been able to start the school year.
During week 1, staff available welcomed students at the gate and in the school grounds, whereas this was more relaxed in week 2 with teachers returning to their classroom preparation, until 8:20. The staff are thankful for the family support, following COVID-19 expectations, which have assisted with the safety and wellbeing of our school community. With 50-60 students absent in week 1, the majority not being able to attend school, as they are following current health guidelines. In week 2, the absences have reduced to 25-35, with some families experiencing a roll-on from being in close supervision to being tested positive for COVID-19. The official recording of absence has been updated so that absence linked to COVID-19 is documented as attendance not required, with no penalty for absence. It is therefore important that families keep in contact with the school, so that school attendance documentation is accurate.
The delayed return to school, provided an opportunity for the staff to be prepared for all the students return on the 7 February. The delayed book drop-off into 2022 classroom and meeting the classroom teacher / teachers saw a reduced number of families participating, however, reduced the Monday morning demands for these families.
The P&C Association was excited to receive the July uniform order so that uniform orders could be filled and made available for collection. This mammoth job, was done by parent and staff volunteers who supported the Uniform Co-ordinator. The sea of blue and gold each day, from our youngest to the oldest, is testament to our families supporting our school uniform expectations.
Thank you to everyone for your continuing support.
Fiona Kropp
Deputy's Report
What a wonderful week we had with our students returning to learning last week! During visits to the classrooms, the learning buzz was evident from day one. Thank you to our families for preparing students for school with uniforms, hats, lunchboxes, books and pencils.
PLAY BEFORE FOOD Lunchtime Routine Years 1 to 6
Our students have transitioned to our lunch routine smoothly. They are enjoying playing first and are returning to classrooms after eating, settled and ready to begin learning. At second break, students can eat at any time or choose to play the whole break, if they wish. We encourage everyone to use an insulated lunchbox. Lunchboxes are stored in classrooms in the class fridge during learning time.
8:25 Learning time
10:25 Playtime
10:55 Eating time/Tuckshop handed out
11:10 Learning time
1:10 Play & Eating time
1:35 Transition to class lining up area
1:40 Learning time
2:30 Home time
Our Prep teachers plan on transitioning to PLAY BEFORE FOOD towards the end of this term in preparation for moving to the ‘big school’ for playtime & eating at the start of Term 2.
EVERY DAY COUNTS
Students are expected to be at school every day of the school term to ensure they have every opportunity to participate in the learning activities that occur each day. Parents and caregivers are requested to inform the school when a student is away on any day. Leave a message on our absence line by calling 4437 3633 or reply to the SMS. Our school continues to aim high and has an attendance goal of 93%. Last year our overall attendance was 89.4%.
FRIENDLY REMINDER - SCHOOL MORNING ROUTINE
After 8:15 - Students arrive at school. (Students who arrive at school before 8:05am are required to sit in the undercover area until the 8:05am bell.)
8:05 - 8:20 – Sitting/talking with friends or playing handball. (Students do not go onto verandas or to ground floor rooms until they are collected by a teacher at the 8:20am bell).
8:20 bell - Students move to class line-up areas after visiting toilets and drink taps. Teachers transition students to learning.
8:25 - Teaching commences. Students who arrive after the 8:25am bell, or after the roll has been marked in classrooms, must collect a late arrival slip from the school office to join the class.
Student Leader Badge Presentation
On Friday, our student leaders will receive their badges from the school Leadership Team in their classrooms. These badges are presented to the students who have been chosen by their peers and staff to represent our school as Sporting House Captains and Vice Captains for 2022 or, as our Semester 1 Years 3 to 6 classes Student Councillors. Our 2022 School Captains and Vice Captains will also be presented with a special school badge from the P&C Association.
Thank you everyone
Cheryl Gallagher
K-2 Deputy Principal - Project 1000
Mount Isa set to be the Smartest Town in Queensland.
Education Queensland has identified Mount Isa as the perfect town to start a project like no other in the history of Education. Project 1000 refers to the 1000 children enrolled in Kindergarten to Year 2.
Six Kindergarten to Year 2 Deputies have been appointed in our town. The deputies will be based at Barkly Highway SS, Mount Isa Central SS, Townview SS, Sunset SS, Healy SS and Happy Valley SS.
Leah Wilcox, Rebecca Cremona, Kym Hilton, Danya Benson, Patricia Stark, one more deputy will arrive soon.
Project 1000 is a team connecting with families and the community to lift the performance and wellbeing of 1000 Kindergarten to Year 2 children in Mount Isa.
Together they will be accountable and build on existing effective practices and partnerships across the Early Years.
Intentional collaboration will enable precision to meet the needs of every child, family and teacher as the community works, learns and improves together.
Sharing the Project 1000 vision and driving this project alongside of me at Barkly Highway State School is our dedicated Prep to year 2 teachers.
Together we have been working around the clock to ensure every child transitions into their classroom successfully. Students have enjoyed new learning in all subject areas. Year level planning, Collaborative Inquiry, Data Deep Dives and Reading Conversations have started ensuring all students skills and interests are being catered for through the curriculum. This year everyone at Barkly Highway has had an amazing start!
Rebecca Cremona
BHSS K-2 Deputy Principal
Project 1000
Library News
A warm welcome to all Barkly families old and new! We are excited to see everyone back and we are ready for a great year. During the year we will have some wonderful events in and around the library.
Our library routine is as follows:
Students are borrowing once a week with their class.
Prep –Year 3 require a library bag to take their book home and they can borrow 1 book.
Students in Years 4-6 do not need a library bag for their books to go home and may choose 2 books. These are usually a fiction and a non-fiction book.
All books are due back every week and may be re-borrowed. Students who have an overdue book cannot borrow until the book is returned. Overdue notes are sent home regularly. We know that accidents can and will happen and we ask that you kindly send the damaged book back to school. If your student has lost a book, please notify the library and the school asks kindly that you help financially with the replacement cost.
Students can access the library during first break during playtime. From Prep (who are joining us a little later in the term) to year 2, students can read books, play games and draw. Additionally, our older students from Year 2 have access to the desktop computers which they can use to play games online, check e-mails or work on assignments.
We offer 7-8 Book Club issues through Scholastic a year. Children will bring a catalogue home from which you may order and there are two ways to do this. You can either fill in the order form in the catalogue and send it together with your cash payment to the school office, or use the convenient online LOOP ordering option, with no forms or payment needing to be sent to school. All orders come to school and are distributed as soon as they arrive. Generally brochures are handed out on a Monday and all orders are due back at school by Friday the same week. Late orders may be held over until the next order. Our first brochure was handed out on Monday and all orders are due back this Friday.
Twice a year we have a Book Fair, also through Scholastic, which is a shop for our students to browse. Our first Book Fair is coming up very shortly. It is planned for Week 8 from the 14-18 March. A second Book Fair will be later in the year.
While we do earn a commission for sales which helps us to purchase resources for the school and in return will benefit our students, there is no obligation to purchase.
We also will celebrate Book Week in August and usually have a Dress up Day where students may come dressed up as their favourite Book Character. So put a note in your calendar!
Please feel free to contact us in the library with any question or queries you may have.
Kind Regards,
Svenja Spitzner-Lewis
Instrumental Music
It is with great excitement that we welcome your family to our instrumental music program in 2022. We are looking forward to an exciting year of music making. All students involved should have received their enrolment information. Invoices will be sent home via the office. Students should now have received their instruments and books. Students should be practicing at home to.
Learning to play a musical instrument and acquiring the unique habits of mind that come with it is one of the most incredible opportunities that our school can offer your child. In addition to musical accomplishments, this year your child will learn to :
· Be patient and persistent with difficult tasks;
· Delay gratification by working in order to sound better;
· Develop curiosity, problem solve, and cultivate grit.
1. Treat music as a long-term commitment right from the start. Students who identify that they will play their instrument for longer than one year outperform students who only commit to one year of playing by up to 400% — practicing the same amount of time if not less!
2. Treasure the escape. Instrumental music gives children the room to find their genuine passions, the freedom to discover true independence, and the space to fail and bounce back. They will become better people this year through their musical studies.
3. Embrace the “offline” time. Musical instrument instruction facilitates this offline, “slow world” learning and brings children together in a unique, “unplugged” ensemble when they have band/orchestra/chorus class.
4. Understand that your child’s instrumental music experience is just as (if not more) crucial to their growth as human beings than any other subject. Home practice should be treated as an essential part of the homework routine. When taught well and minimally supported at home.
5. Don’t let your child quit too soon. All children are capable of enjoying a successful music experience with a little support. By not letting your child quit, you are sending a clear message to everyone in our school system that you believe playing a musical instrument cultivates crucial “non-cognitive” skills that matter so much in the grown-up world. Spend 5-10 minutes a night helping your child create a practice routine and they will be far less likely to become frustrated and quit too early in their studies.
We will take care of the musical instruction, but the actions of parents assisting their children’s practice at home, accompanied with a long-term commitment to children staying in our school music program, will ensure that they receive the best education our school has to offer.
Thank you
Cara Taggart
Instrumental Music Teacher
So much fun in Year One!
Our 1 Gold class have been enjoying our English unit: retelling imaginative stories. This week we have read The Rainbow Fish and created our very own “Five Finger Retell” rap which has been great to remind us of what we need to include when retelling our favourite stories. We made a Walk and Talk mat and even made our own Rainbow Fish. We can’t wait to see what the next book we’ll be reading is!
NOTIFYING OF CONFIRMED CASES
This week we have had a confirmed case of COVID-19 identified in our school. As this occurs, the school community will be notified and reminded to monitor for symptoms, stay home if unwell and get tested if they develop COVID-19 symptoms. The identity of individuals within our school who have a positive test result cannot and will not be disclosed.
STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT – Phones / Smart watches at school
Students who bring phones or wear Smart watches to school, are to turn these off before school and leaving these devices at the office for collection at the end of the day. This is the focus of our social skills lesson this week, as a result of an incident in the playground last week.
We thank and value the support given by our parents and caregivers who discuss these expectations with their children.
Jewellery at school
Jewellery (including necklaces, bracelets) is not to be worn at school. Students will be asked to remove jewellery and not to continue to wear at school.
We thank and value the support given by our parents and caregivers for discussing these expectations with their children.
Prep Blue
In Prep Blue, we have been working hard to transition to school. We have been learning our daily routines, our sounds, how to recognise and write our names and how to play kindly with our friends. Check out some superstar writing below. We love celebrating our achievements each day.
Each week we learn about a colour – week 3 was RED! We had so much fun making Clifford the dog, apples, love bugs and lady beetles. Prep Blue and Gold have both been busy learning the Red Song, and have started learning the Blue Song for Week 4! I’m sure they would love to sing the colour songs to you. 😊
