Barkly Highway State School - Term 3 Week 2
Principal's Welcome
Welcome back to the second half of the school year! We hope your family have enjoyed the break and are feeling refreshed and ready for the term ahead.
During Term 3, we will be continuing to focus on the development of literacy and numeracy skills, as well as offering a range of extracurricular activities to enhance the students overall learning experience. We encourage all our students to get involved in these activities and make the most of the opportunities our staff give of their time to enable these to be available.
The school community is a busy place with many events occurring concurrently. I encourage families to stay informed and involved in your child's education. Please take the time to read our newsletters, attend parent-teacher-student meetings, and communicate with your child's teacher if you have any concerns or questions. If your child is unable to be at school, please inform the school of the reason behind each absence. This can be done via QParents, reply text, note, email the office or classroom teacher or call the absence line on 07 4437 3633.
Please assist us achieve our target of “Zero unexplained absences”!
This term our Buka Street staff carpark (pedestrian crossing end) will be that little bit busier with the preparation for the installation of the school lift now in progress. This requires some of our staff parking in the area of the Gallipoli Pump Track and Recreational Park.
Please encourage your children to come straight to school in the morning. A number of students are congregating in the pump track area before school and incidents are impacting the start of the school day. Signage in the area, state “Children under 8 years old must be supervised by an adult”.
Our School Review Report has arrived and the Infographic Document was available at the July P&C Meeting. Next week, the leadership team will be meeting with our School Supervisor, Helen McCullough, to plan our next steps. More information will be available in the coming newsletters.
We look forward to a successful and productive term ahead and thank you for your continued support.
Kind regards,
Fiona Kropp
Deputy's Report
REGULAR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
Did you know? Research shows that in Queensland, higher student attendance at school is associated, on average, with higher student achievement.
Why is regular attendance at school important?
Regular school attendance will mean that your child has a better chance in life. Your child will achieve better when they go to school all day, every school day.
- They learn better
- They make friends
- They are happier
- They have a brighter future.
Please see attached article for further information on how to support your child to attend school. It provides information on these topics:
- What should I do if our family is going on a holiday in school time?
- Do I need to let the school know if my child has been away from school?
- Are you having problems getting your child to school for some of these reasons? If so, a set routine can help.
- What should I do if my child won’t go to school? We are here to help. 😊
BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL EXPECTATIONS
As outlined in our Parent Guidelines, students at Barkly Highway State School are instructed after release from classrooms, to make their way home, leaving the school grounds immediately if they are going home independently OR moving to the gate where they are being collected, sitting quietly as no play is to occur in the school grounds at this time. (School play areas, Prep and the front fort have signs stating that they are out of bounds before and after school and parents are asked to support the school expectations in monitoring your children and how they move out of the school grounds).
We also encourage all students to head straight to school after leaving home in the morning. Parents and caregivers, we ask for your support with keeping our children safe while travelling to and from school.
SCHOOL ZONE PARKING AND PICK-UP
Schools are busy areas, where there are often lots of children—who do not always understand the danger of roads and vehicles. Make sure to take extra care when parking and driving on the roads and streets around the school. Please follow the signed parking rules at all times.
Safe entry and exit of the school grounds
We are teaching our students through our Positive Behaviours for Learning approach to be responsible when entering and exiting the school grounds by walking safely to pick up areas. Our students can leave or enter the school grounds by walking in or out of the pedestrian gates located at the Stop Drop N Go area on Urquhart Street, on Buka Street near the pedestrian crossing and on Bougainville Street.
Our social skill for this week is: Be responsible when entering and exiting the school.
- Walk all scooters and bikes (wheeled vehicles) while on the school grounds.
- Use the gates to enter and exit the school.
Parents and caregivers, we ask for your support with keeping our children safe while entering and exiting the school grounds.
Thank you for supporting the school expectations by:
- driving and parking safely near schools,
- monitoring your children as they enter and exit the school, and speaking with them about walking in and out of the school grounds safely.
Prepare for bushfire season
Ahead of fire season, get your kids involved in making a Bushfire Survival Plan. Prepare and pack an evacuation kit in advance, in case you need to leave at short notice. Know if your property is at risk by searching your postcode and regularly check the fire danger rating in your area. Tune in to warnings systems to take notice, stay informed, make decisions and act. What do you have to lose? Find more information at www.qld.gov.au/bushfires
Be Safe, Learn Safe, Work safe
Cheryl Gallagher
Engagement & Wellbeing
Hello families! What a wonderful NAIDOC Day we had. We would like to extend a thank you to our elders, Nanna Elizabeth, Nanna Sondra, Aunty Barb, Aunty Di and Uncle George for their guidance and assistance in making the day so special. Students enjoyed hand art, cooking (the puftaloons were amazing!), sand art, Dreaming stories, bingo, face painting and a traditional Kalkadoon game.
Our social skill this week is about safety and being responsible. The students have been learning that we should walk our scooters and bikes while on school grounds and to use the gates provided to enter and exit the school. We have also spoken about crossing the road safely. As we are currently without a crossing supervisor, we need to make sure that we look right, then left and right again before crossing at the zebra crossing.
This week also saw our Semester 2 student councillors take their pledge and be presented with their badges. We are confident that our leaders will represent our student body and school as role models.
5/6 Red Class News
Our 5/6 Red class have settled into the new term and welcomed Miss Hill with open arms. It’s been a busy start so far with lots of extracurricular activities happening such as NAIDOC day. They absolutely loved immersing themselves within the activities and trying new foods. The Jonny Cakes were a big hit – thank you so much Aunty Di and Aunty Barb. The class have enjoyed spending their afternoon DEAR time outside on the coloured grass in the fresh air and hope to continue learning outside more often.
Library News
Term 3 is in full swing, and it is a busy one in the library as well.
Book Club orders for Issue 5 are due this Friday. If you wish to order please hand your order with payment into the office or conveniently order online via LOOP.
The Premier’s Reading Challenge is still open until 25 August. Students from Prep-Year 2 are experiencing 20 books as a class, Year 3-4 recording 20 books independently, while year 5-6 are recording 15 books. A certificate of completion will be issued by the Premier later this year. To be able to issue a certificate we will need the permission form (attached to newsletter) returned by the time the challenge closes.
Save the Date!
Book Week is from the 19-25 August and our Book Week Dress-Up Day will be 25 August. We are very excited to see the vast array of wonderful and imaginative Book Character Costumes our students conjure up.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any queries you may have.
Kind Regards,
Svenja Spitzner-Lewis
Prep Blue's Garden
Prep Blue has continued to work hard in our garden. This week they picked their snow peas that they have been growing and caring for since Term 2. They picked, washed and bagged them. They then wrote a description to put on the bags. We put them into our shop front ready for purchase! They were very popular. Up next will be cucumbers! They are almost ready for harvest. Stay tuned!
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
Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barklyhighwaystateschool
