Barkly Highway State School - Term 1 Week 2
Principal's Welcome
Welcome to 2024
Our school year has had an excellent start with our students settling into new classrooms with new teachers and students. Common school expectations, based on our Student Code of Conduct and our school values have been revisited in every classroom to ensure a clear understanding by everyone. Each class has established classroom expectations (sometimes referred to as “rules”) based on our school values, be a learner, be respectful, be responsible and be resilient. Important school procedural expectations for our school community which may have been observed by parents in the school, include transitioning (where and how lining up looks for each class), where do belongings go (lunchboxes, hats at different times of the day). As these and more impact on the culture of the school in the long term teachers will revisit regularly as felt necessary.
Equity and Excellence - Realising the potential of every student, is the long-term strategy of state schools and has guided the work of our school since its release in February 2023. During the week of student free days, teaching staff reflected upon achievement in 2023 and the school strategic priorities for 2024 (as outlined in the school strategic plan and annual implementation plan).
Our priority areas for 2024 are:
- Investigate and implement evidence-based reading strategies to support, improve and enhance Year 3-6 English
- Enhance the embedded early years transitions and teaching and learning (including reading) through P-2 WOW (P1000 Ways of Working)
- Empower all students, ensuring First Nations and additional needs students, families and communities increase student learning and wellbeing outcomes, by closing the achievement gap
Our school priority areas will be revisited throughout future newsletters, as these are the core of teaching and learning in every classroom for every student.
2024 Meet and Greet – Book Drop Off
Thank you to our families who attended our meet and greet sausage sizzle on the morning of Friday, 19 January. This event has become a tradition in our school and the feedback from parents and families, again this year, was extremely positive. The morning provides an opportunity to welcome new and existing parents and families to the school, children to chat with their new teacher and/ or classroom members, drop off all the school supplies and of course taste a delicious sausage. Thank you, Mr Grummitt, our P&C President who is always available to man the barbeque and Kamrynn Roberts for preparing us all for the day. Many of our students attending loved saying hello to our school mascot, Barkly Bee, who attended on the day. A great school family event to start the school year.
2024 ClassDojo
ClassDojo is a communication platform that Barkly Highway State School use to share school and classroom related information. Classroom teachers will include photos and videos to keep families informed of the learning occurring in classrooms, along with flyers advertising details of special events such as parades, school and class notices. Often the flyers related to school events are also posted on our school newsletter and/or Facebook. Use of other forms of communication such as: email, phone call, meetings, are used to have individual conversations with your teacher.
Staff have agreed for their own wellbeing and to separate home and school life, teachers will only communicate using Dojo between 7:30 and 4:30 school days. You may see uploading of posts to Dojo outside of these hours, however, staff are not interacting with families.
Have a fantastic fortnight. I look forward to sharing the important work of teaching and learning which has already commenced in our school and chatting and catching up with everyone in the weeks ahead.
Kind regards,
Fiona Kropp
Mrs Roberts Report
Team Up
PCYC are working with us again this term and delivering a program called Team Up with our 5/6 students.
Team Up, aims to provide students with skills in the following areas:
- Social Connection & Communication
- Emotional Regulation
- Conflict Resolution
- Problem Solving
- Trust & Teamwork
- Leadership opportunities
The 4 classes will participate in 1 hour sessions, each week for the entire term.
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club is up and running again this year. A big thank you to Mrs Smith for helping while on her maternity leave, the kids and staff appreciate your support.
Everyone is welcome, you will find Mrs Smith and other familiar faces on a Thursday and Friday morning in the science room from 8:00. Thursday – cereal and Friday – toast.
Meet our new staff
Tayla Teede-Miller (Miss Teede)
Teaching: I have been teaching for 3 years.
Hobbies: I enjoy cooking, gardening and camping.
Class: I am teaching 4 Blue
Something interesting about me: I’m left-handed and have blue eyes
Sam Duncan (Miss Duncan)
Teaching: This is my 5th year in Queensland.
Hobbies: Reading.
Class: I am teaching 5/6 Red.
Something interesting about me: I have lived in London.
K-2 Deputy's Brief
What a great start to the year we are having! It has been wonderful getting around to all our Prep – Year 2 classrooms and seeing the wonderful connections and relationships being formed as well as lots of important learning happening already. I am looking forward to working closely with our Prep – Year 2 students and teachers during our very big, busy and exciting Term 1.
Isabella Morgan (Miss Morgan)
Class: 1 Blue
Teaching: This will be my second year both teaching and on year one.
Hobbies: I love reading and all things music, particularly choir.
Something interesting about me: I have a twin sister and I was born in America.
Kate Thomas (Ms Thomas)
Class: 2 Blue
Teaching: I have been teaching for 4 and a half years.
Hobbies: I like running, dancing and gardening.
Something interesting about me: I was born on Mothers day.
Kind regards,
Yvette Wehlow
Engagement & Wellbeing
Hello everyone, my name is Alisa Wheeler and I'm the Engagement and Wellbeing support teacher on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I`m looking forward to working in this role for Term 1.
Social Skills and ThinkTank
Our school values (Barkly Bs) are explicitly taught, modelled and practised daily within our classrooms. Each week we focus on a particular expectation which is taught throughout our weekly social skill lesson (Tuesday) and reinforced throughout the week.
On Tuesday’s students also engage in ThinkTank. ThinkTank is an opportunity for students to voice their opinions about what is happening in and around our school.
This week students discussed;
- How they were feeling about being back at school
- Years 4,5,6 discussed their play areas
- Before school expectations
Jewellery
At Barkly Highway we want our students to wear their uniforms with pride. As stated in our Parent Handbook
‘The wearing of decorative jewellery such as necklaces, chains, bangles, bracelets, wristbands, anklets and rings are not part of the schools dress code.’
These items can be hazardous when children are moving about or playing. Acceptable items under the school`s dress code include;
- Small wristwatches
- Small plain ear studs
- Small gold or silver sleepers,
- Medical tags and school badges
- Religious or culturally significant items
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)
“At Barkly Highway State School, we believe in supporting strong relationships to provide a positive, inclusive and professional approach to learning and behaviour”.
Positive Behaviour is a whole school wide approach to promote positive relationships and interactions with our students. There are seven essential features and we know that effective classroom practices that support students and teacher wellbeing, increase engagement and maximise learning time. Our whole school PBL approach is directly linked to our school values known as the Barkly Bs. Signage around the inside of school and outside on each boundary fence ensures that everybody in our school community can work together with a common understanding of our school’s expectation. Shortly all new families will receive a fridge magnet to promote the school expectations at home and remind children when preparing for the school day.
In the Classroom with Prep Gold
What a welcome to school we have had in Prep Gold, with so much growth and learning happening every day. We have enjoyed playing, cooking, creating, singing and learning the sounds and letter formation of SATPIN, through our BHSS signature style of age appropriate pedagogies which keep us all engaged, excited and enthralled in the process of learning!
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
BHSS is collecting plastic lids. Keep saving your clean lids and bring them into school.
