Barkly Highway State School - Term 3 Week 8
BHSS students showcase creativity at OptiMINDS Regional Challenge!
Principal's Welcome
FATHER’S DAY BIG BASH CRICKET MATCH
Thank you to our P&C Association that has been working quietly in the background, putting together the Father’s Day Big Bash Cricket Match which is being followed by a family movie night. These activities are for our Barkly Highway families and students participating require adult supervision in the school grounds during this time. Don’t forget to bring your chairs.
Looking forward to catching up with families during the afternoon and evening.
PARENT-TEACHER-STUDENT DISCUSSIONS
Parent-Teacher-Student Discussions are scheduled for Week 10. This important discussion is one of the two formal opportunities that is scheduled in the school calendar for parents / caregivers to discuss an individual student’s achievement, effort and behaviour, as well as set student goals for future success. All teachers (including The Arts, NCT and HPE teachers) will make time available for parents / caregivers of his or her availability, which could be different for each teacher. Each meeting is allocated 15 minutes, however, if more time is required, teachers will schedule another meeting with you to enable the Week 10 timetable to run to time for other families.
Every family is encouraged to take this opportunity to meet with their child and teacher, as it provides the basis for future expectations for learning success.
Individual teacher letters have been sent home with each student this week. Please return your responses to your classroom teacher as quicky as possible, to arrange your meeting time.
PRINCIPAL BUSINESS DAY
Last week, Cheryl Gallagher and I attended the North Queensland Region’s Principal Business Meeting in Townsville. Along with over 150 school leaders we had the opportunity to hear key addresses focused on the excellence in teaching and learning in North Queensland and we also participated in self-selected workshops based on complex case management and successful transitions for every child. It was an extremely engaging few days from which we return with leadership challenges to achieve North Queensland Region’s explicit improvement agenda.
Deputy's Report
“Childhood and adolescence are critical stages of life for mental health. This is a time when rapid growth and development take place in the brain. Children and adolescents acquire cognitive and social-emotional skills that shape their future mental health and are important for assuming adult roles in society.” – WHO
R U OK Day: The importance of mental health cannot be overstated. The video message for our children in the song Together it’s okay! (RU OK?) is:
“Remember it’s okay sometimes if you’re feeling blue
You’re not alone, you have friends who can comfort you
They’ll be the ones by your side and they’ll get you through
Soon it will be okay
Together we will find a way
Tomorrow is a brand new day
Together we will be okay”
Watching this video may open up discussions about mental health and help our children learn how to express their feelings and act on those emotions in a positive way, seeking support when needed. Watch the video at this URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09qk0lXTfi4
The proverbial saying 'A problem shared is a problem halved' expresses the idea that, when in difficulties it is useful to talk to someone about them. It’s lighter when we share the load! That’s why R U OK? is encouraging young people everywhere to take the time to comfort their friends when they’re feeling sad.
Kind regards
Cheryl Gallagher
IMPACT – Solve IT
Solve IT was an exciting program that provided students with the opportunity to develop a range of problem-solving strategies and apply these to numeracy problems.
For 12 weeks the students would meet Mrs Roberts every Wednesday afternoon in the library. They then connected with an online teacher from the IMPACT Centre. Students were introduced to the See-Plan-Do-Check approach and collaboratively worked with their peers.
In the following weeks students worked through problems using their new knowledge of: Part Part, M.A.D Triangle, rates, ratio and scale and patterning.
In the final week students were placed into groups to work together to review, consolidate and celebrate success. Well done to William Blyth, Pippa Puttock and Darby Giles who took out both the Virtual Cup and Shield.
OptiMINDS
On Saturday, three Barkly Highway State School teams participated in the OptiMINDS regional challenge. Over the last seven weeks, teams had been working on their long term solution. Hannah, Olivia, Breanna and Lilith presented an engineering solution and demonstrated resilience and perseverance. For their efforts, they received a Spirit of OptiMINDS award. Claire, Evah, Savanna, Lillian and Jewel were awarded Honors for their demonstration of an engineered structure that could hold 2 poppers and suddenly change height. The language literature team developed a creative innovation of two different texts and presented an engaging performance earning Sophie, Riley, Jasmine, Ava and Shyliana first place. The language literature team has also been invited to participate in the OptiMINDS State Finals in Brisbane. Miss Connolly and Mr Alley are very proud of the ideas, creations and performances this year! We would also like to extend a massive thank you to Mrs Lewis and Mrs Wilcox for volunteering their time to be judges on the day.
Library News
How amazing was our Book Week Dress-up Day last Friday!
It was amazing to see so many excited students in wonderful and fantastic costumes and families being able to support this event.
The Premier’s Reading Challenge has now concluded and we are looking forward to receiving certificates later in the year for students who have completed the Challenge. Well done everyone for reading 15 or 20 books during the Challenge.
Book club Issue #6 has now closed and we are awaiting delivery for those orders.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any queries you may have.
Kind Regards,
Svenja Spitzner-Lewis
5/6 Gold News
On Friday of Week 7, 5/6 Gold participated in the students versus staff dodgeball match. Even though the teachers took out the win, a lot of fun was had by all. Students in our class displayed wonderful sportsmanship, fair play, and respectful and responsible behaviour. As their teacher, I was super proud of them. Watch out for the Week 8 students versus staff soccer match!
Also this term, 5/6 Gold work towards Oodie Friday. Students earn this through good choices and behaviour. We are really enjoying this cosy reward every Friday!
Events & Flyers
Want to know what's happening within the school? Check out our School Calendar to keep up to date.
https://barklyhighwayss.schoolzineplus.com/calendar/1
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