Newsletter 12 24 July 2024

From the Principal

Dear Parents/Carers

NAPLAN Student Reports

Students in Years 3 and 5 will be bringing home their NAPLAN student reports this week. Please take the time to review these reports with your child.

Extended Absences

If your child will be absent from school for 10 days or more due to extended holidays or other reasons, please contact the school administration. We have appropriate forms that need to be filled out to ensure that your child's absence is properly documented and managed.

Enrolments for 2025

In 2025, we will be considering out-of-catchment enrolments in some year levels. If you haven't already registered your child's enrolment for 2025, please make sure to do so as soon as possible. Please click on the link below to register . This will help us with planning and ensuring that we can accommodate all students.

https://burandass.eq.edu.au/enrolments/enrolling-at-our-school 

After-School Playground Use

We kindly ask all parents and guardians to leave the oval and play area promptly with your children at the end of the school day. Children playing around the covered areas and play sets often mix in with students booked into the Outside School Hours Care program with Helping Hands. This can make it very difficult for staff to manage the roll and ensure the safety of all students. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Have a great week.

Simon Vaseo

Upcoming Excursions/Incursions

School Opinion Survey

The suite of School Opinion Surveys is undertaken each year by the Department of Education to obtain opinions about our school from families, school staff and students in target year levels (5, 6, 8 and 11). The surveys will help identify what we are doing well and understand where we can improve. The survey invitation will be emailed in the week beginning 15 July and is titled School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2024.

Each school family will receive one email invitation from the Department of Education to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey. The survey is anonymous, and the results are not reported in ways that an individual’s response can be identified by the school.

Parents/Caregivers are encouraged to complete the survey. The survey can be completed via computers, tablets or smart phones with an internet connection.

For Parents/Caregivers who do not have access to the internet school computers/tablets will be available. Parents/caregivers who experience difficulties accessing the survey can request a new survey from the School Opinion Survey team via email schoolopinionsurvey@qed.qld.gov.au.

It’s important that as many parents/caregivers as possible complete the survey, so we would appreciate if members of this committee would raise awareness of this survey with other parents and caregivers.

Can’t find your invitation? If your family has more than one parent/caregiver, check that they haven’t received the invitation and/or check your junk email folder.

From Inclusion

When looking at difference, the tendency is to focus on deficits rather than strengths - a student's difficulty with concentration or executive function. With a strength-based approach, the focus is on strengths - the ability to design, sporting prowess, or knowledge of certain topics. Taking a strength-based approach allows a person to see themselves at their best – the value they bring by just being themselves. This is not to say we ignore areas of support, but if we keep overlooking the strengths of our students, they may only focus on their own deficits.

As teachers, we are often reminded of the 8 to 1 ratio – 8 positives for every 1 negative. However, this ratio doesn’t only apply to teachers and their students. Apparently, all of us – children and adults – need to receive 8 positives for every negative, and this applies to home as well as school.

Dr Mary Lynch Barbera (Behaviour Analyst) gives us the following advice:

‘ …… give each other, our teachers, our classmates, our children, our parents, our bosses, the people who serve us, and everyone else who we interact with, much more positive feedback – a smile, a thumbs-up, a thank you, and a good job, can all go into the positives pile.’

Unfortunately, children with a difference tend to have the ratio flipped, and sometimes not only flipped, but flipped and then some.

So…. while celebrating the unique differences amongst our students and community members, we will debunk myths, look at support, and most importantly celebrate strengths. This week we will start by looking at:

The ADHD Superpowers

ADHD a common, but often difficult to recognise, condition. It has nothing to do with intelligence, but everything to do with a difference in how the brain is wired. Often associated with inability to focus and impulsivity, ADHD also comes with other challenges that are not as easily recognised or understood. People with ADHD:

• Have difficulty managing emotions which can present in different ways:
  • quickly get frustrated with minor irritations
  • worry excessively about small things
  • have difficulty calming themselves down
  • easily take offense
  • feel urgency to fulfil their needs
• Can focus on areas of interest such as sport, video games, art & craft – hyper focus. This ability tends to lead to accusations of lacking willpower or laziness.
• Can’t make themselves pay attention – it is not a lack of self-control.
• Have trouble being organised, managing belongings and time, getting started, and turning off alertness for sleep.
• Often don’t think before they do or say (no need to explain the results of that).
• Can clown around and attention seek.

Myths Associated with ADHD

Brain imaging and extensive research have informed experts a lot about ADHD. There are however, still many myths that cause confusion. These include:

• ADHD isn’t a real condition
• It is a difference in how the brain develops, and is often hereditary
• People with ADHD need to try harder
• Telling someone with ADHD to focus is like asking someone who is short-sighted to see further
• People with ADHD can’t ever focus
• If they have an interest, they can hyper-focus
• All sufferers of ADHD are hyperactive
• Some quietly daydream, or avoid through nose blowing, toilet visits, pencil sharpening
• Only boys have ADHD
• Boys are more than twice and likely to be diagnosed, as girls tend to present as daydreamers
• ADHD is a learning difficulty
• ADHD isn’t a learning difficulty, however the symptoms can interfere with learning
• Kids with ADHD will outgrow it
• There are many adults with ADHD. They were kids once. You might manage symptoms more easily, but they don’t go away.
• ADHD is a result of bad parenting
• ADHD is a brain difference, not bad parenting. Fidgeting and a lack of impulse control can be a medical condition, not a lack of discipline. However, all children need to be aware of appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, as appeasing inappropriate behaviour has significant consequences for a child now, and in the future.

ADHD is different for everyone, and can be diagnosed at any age. In Australia it is estimated that 1 in 20 people have ADHD. That’s more than 1 in every classroom, and for our school community, that is very much the case.

SUPERPOWERS

Although every individual has their own strengths, some common Superpowers those with ADHD often share are:

• Creativity and thinking outside the box – unbounded imagination and creativity
• Flexibility in thoughts and emotions – compassionate and caring
• Intuition and deep emotional connections – innate understanding
• Curiosity and keen observation skills – rarely satisfied with the status quo
• A need for movement and exploration – spontaneous and willing to take a risk
• Innovation and problem-solving abilities – always an alternative perspective
• Charisma and leadership qualities – excellent at motivating others

Encouraging these superpowers helps children discover new talents and excel in activities they enjoy. By understanding these strengths, we can help children explore their full potential and grow into confident and successful people.

Here is a great video explaining ADHD through the eyes of a child:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t9UHQgtDfU

Katherine Austin

Inclusion Teacher

Philosophy Corner

From the Music Room

CHOIR EXCURSION

I had a great time at Holland Park with the choir last week for a day of choral rehearsals and performances directed by Tim Sherlock. Below is a beautiful summary written by Lenni to share a bit more about the day. Thanks to Ms Lee for the pictures from the concert.

Buranda students were singled out numerous times for engagement in rehearsal and Tristan was chosen for a bold performance of a solo speaking part in one of the combined choir pieces. As we opened the concert, one of the hardest moments for them was waiting on stage as the audience arrived in anticipation of their individual item! I have included a link below to the choir’s recording of this song from last term, they did a fantastic job tackling a piece in a foreign language with challenging harmonies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQJFl8CXU8k

Thanks to all the parents for your support of this excursion and for the work of the students on the day.

Ms Tafra

Classroom Music Teacher

Choir Kids Communicating

On Friday the 12^th of July, the Buranda State School Choir had the privilege of going to Holland Park State High School and participating in their Choral Cluster Day. The day consisted of three sessions in which the choirs from several schools in South Brisbane learned three original songs written or arranged by the conductor. It was a day for singing, friendship, fun and community spirit culminating in an end of day performance by the new “mega choir”. It was a truly beneficial experience for everyone that attended, and we can’t wait to do it all again next year.

By Lenni

Choral Excursion

Book Week

This term we will be celebrating Book Week again with both a collection of book donations for It's from Elsie and an invitation for the whole school to dress up as a character from a book. We will celebrate Book Week on Thursday, 29 August this year. Save the date and start thinking about your costumes and book donations! 

HOW TO DRESS UP FOR BOOK WEEK

This year’s Book Week theme is “Reading is Magic”. Think about a book that you love that feels magical to you, and choose a character from that book that you would like to dress up as for the day! This is BOOK week so we would love to see characters that came from books first (not a movie that they produced books for later!)

HOW TO DONATE A BOOK TO IT’S FROM ELSIE

• Choose a picture book that is appropriate for a newborn baby. This might be a book that your parents read you as a baby.
• Purchase a brand new copy of the book (not a second-hand copy)
• Keep the book in the bag or wrapping it was purchased in to prevent contamination (these books are going to very vulnerable little babies and we don’t want to spread any germs!)
• On Thursday 29 August, bring the book to school and place it in the boxes on the bag racks outside the music room.

If you have any questions about Book Week you can ask Ms Tafra, Ms Border or Ms Cetinic.

We’re looking forward to seeing all your amazing costumes!

Ms Tafra

Classroom Music Teacher

From the P & C

Tuckshop

Tuckshop this Friday, 26 July, has chicken burgers, plus lots of other yummy things.

Orders close on Qkr! at 8pm tonight.

Thanks for everyone who has volunteered to help the tuckshop so far.

We still need more volunteers to make the tuckshop run. If you can spare a couple of hours on a Friday this term please sign up at this link.

Fundraising update

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Winter Solstice on 15 June 2024. In addition to being a great event with the fabulous music from the Tales of Strangers Band plus the roaring bonfire, we raised $5780 for the school.

The Sports Day sausage sizzle and home bake sale last term raised $761.

These events put us on track to meet our fundraising goals (of $20,000) for year to pay for the school Environment Program run by Mr Andrew Bryant and contribute to the school music program and other things for our kids.

Colour Run at the end of this term

As an exciting fundraising event this term, we are planning a Colour Run on Thursday 12 September 2024.  Kids will crawl or run through some inflatable obstacles on the school oval and be covered in a rainbow of coloured powder (and maybe some water to make it super messy). This is the first time we’ve held a Colour Run at Buranda and we hope it will be lots of fun for kids, parents and staff.

You can see pictures of what the Colour Run will look like at this link.

We’ll put more information out about this event soon.

Warm regards

Chris McGrath

P&C President

E: president@burandasspandc.org.au

M: 0432899097

P&C website: https://www.burandasspandc.org.au/

P&C on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BurandaPandC

From the Community