Newsletter No. 13 - 9 August 2023
From the Principal
Hi Everyone
It’s a busy time through the back end of term 3. Please be aware that there are the usual term 3 lurgies floating around too. Keep children home to recover and rest if they are unwell.
If you are not returning to Buranda next year please notify the office.
Our year 5/6s will be on camp from Tuesday 22 to Friday 25 August at Maroon Outdoor Education Centre.
Students will attend the LifeEd or Ditto sessions in the next week.
Next Wednesday is the Ekka Public Holiday.
Next Friday is the Budgie Cup Soccer. Best wishes to our students who are participating.
I know you’ll be glued to the Women’s World Cup on Saturday night. The Matildas will give the French team a contest to remember. I attempted to lock Ludivine in the uniform shop this morning and not let her out until Sunday…but she picked the lock!
Have a great week.
Simon Vaseo - Principal
School Opinion Survey
The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted in Term 3 and will close on 18 August 2023. All families, school staff and students in target year levels (5, 6, 8 and 11) will be invited to participate. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what our school does well, and how we can improve.
An invitation to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey will be emailed to one parent/caregiver per family in the week beginning 17 July. The invitation will be sent from the Department of Education, not the school, and it will have the subject line School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2023. Check your junk email folders if you can’t find it. The survey can be completed as soon as the invitation is received and will take approximately 5 minutes using a computer, tablet or smart phone.
Parents/caregivers who do not have access to the internet at home are welcome to complete their survey online at the school. School computer will be available in the office.
Thank you to all the parents/caregivers, students and school staff who completed this year’s School Opinion Survey. We look forward to sharing our survey results with you when we receive our school report later this year.
Finance News
UPCOMING EXCURSIONS/INCURSIONS
NAME | EXCURSION/INCURSION DATE | CONSENT FORM DUE | AMOUNT | PAYMENT DUE |
P-2 Ditto Show | Tuesday 15 August | 4 August | $11.00 | To be invoiced |
| Yr 4 Camp | 4 O 4 - 5 September 4 W 11 - 12 September | 18 August 25 August | $138.00 | To be invoiced |
| Budgie Cup | 18 August | 14 August | $4.50 | To be invoiced |
Prep enrolments for 2024
Families that have registered for prep 2024 should have received an email, from our office last week, regarding enrolments. Please remember to bring any supporting documents as outlined in the letter emailed to you. To secure your child's enrolment please visit the school before Friday 18 August.
If your child is due to start prep next year and you have not registered, please call the office asap.
Prep inteviews will be held on either Wednesday 11 October or Thursday 12 October.
Prep Orientation will be held on Thursday 23 November.
More details will be given to you on collection of your child's enrolment forms.
Kind regards
Rosemary Beake – Admin officer
Mt Gravatt District Track and field
On Monday and Tuesday this week we had 30 athletes compete at the Mt Gravatt District Track and Field event. All students performed brilliantly, supported and cheered for each other and represented Buranda SS to the best of their ability. Six of our athletes have been selected to be part of the Mt Gravatt Team to compete at the Metropolitan East Selection Trials.
Congratulations to the following athletes for placing and making it through to the Mt Gravatt Team:
William - 3rd 100m, 3rd Long Jump, 2nd High Jump
Eva - 3rd Long Jump
Sifti - 1st Shot Put, 2nd Discus
Harry, Nilssen, Ollie - through for minor placings in events.
2023 has been our largest representation at District Athletics and we achieved our best results. Thankyou to parents who came along and supported all of the children.
A mighty event by all involved.
Julie Wain -Physical Education Teacher
District sports
Lost property
We have numerous lunch boxes and water bottles in the lost property, these will be disposed of at the end of each term if they are not collected.
From Inclusion Support
Becoming Allies – Part 5
Neurodiverse children find organisation of their school equipment very difficult.
Hot Tip: They are best with one folder with everything inside. Limit the number of pencils, pens etc.
Many children who are neurodivergent have strengths that neurotypical children don’t have. These strengths can include having an excellent memory for detail, or the ability to hyper-focus. There are common areas however, in which neurodiverse students frequently need extra support at school. Executive functioning skills, such as planning, organising, prioritising, and initiating tasks, are challenging for neurodiverse students, and to succeed they need our support:
- Checklists for routine – with pictures where possible 😊
Children who are neurodiverse can struggle with their working memory, making it difficult to follow a sequence of verbal instructions. Kidsfit Australia illustrate this perfectly with the following example:
Little Jonnie is asked to wash his hands, then brush his teeth, then get dressed, then pack his bag for school. The first instruction “wash hands” may conjure up an image of the bathroom, which may prompt the thought of a rubber ducky, which may prompt the thought of bubble bath and a toy boat, at which point the instruction of washing hands has been forgotten, not to mention the sequence of instructions that followed.
While it may appear that Jonnie hasn’t been listening, or worse has been disobedient, the reality is that a new train of thought came by which took Jonnie off course. Johnnie hears what you are saying just fine, but because his mind cannot create a sequence of images relating to your instructions, he cannot stay on task and will be easily distracted.
Using organisational checklists and charts, instead of giving verbal instructions helps keep all children, but particularly those who are neurodiverse, on track. Pictures are more effective than words, and for children who are neurodiverse, using photographs of them performing a task is particularly helpful e.g., a photo of them cleaning their teeth, packing their school bag etc.
- Give ONE instruction at a time
Neurodiverse students tend to be easily distracted. It helps them immensely if we remember to give them one instruction at a time. They get overwhelmed when receiving a number of instructions, and this can result in them disengaging from an activity and becoming disruptive. One instruction at a time allows neurodiverse children to focus on that instruction and complete it to satisfaction, without exacerbating the anxiety associated with not knowing what to do next.
- Modify your expectations
Moana Bywater gives a good analogy to help people understand what it’s like to be neurodiverse:
Imagine you were asked to complete a puzzle with Lego pieces, or a Lego masterpiece with puzzle pieces – it just isn’t going to work.
At present our schools are generally set up for left-brained success. Many assessments ask for information to be recalled and recited, and students earn grades dependent on comparison to an expected standard answer. Have you heard of that saying ‘Outside the Box’? Well, neurodivergent individuals tend to be outside the box thinkers. How often have we thought ‘Where did that come from?’ when listening to an answer from someone who is neurodiverse. Neurodiverse students often don’t follow a linear sequential way of thinking. They are generally creatives, problem solvers, intuitive and artistic types who, if you take the time to listen, can teach us a thing or two, and give us an alternative way of viewing the world.
Visual pictures or experience, such as watching a movie or documentary, or going on an excursion, could be considered instead of reading a book. This allows an alternative way to learn if a child struggles with conventional settings. It also supports a child’s self-confidence and sense of self, as it acknowledges that neurodiverse individuals can process the world differently and this understanding is a great step to creating a world in which that is OK!
- Redefine time
Give clear instructions when a task/activity needs to finish. “Screen time is finished now”.
Ask your child to wind up what they are doing, to allow for a gentle transition. “Please finish that chapter/question/level and then stop (the activity)”
Use visual timers. Many neurodivergent children have difficulty with traditional clocks, both digital and analogue. Visual timers illustrate time as a visibly diminishing quantity - like a piece of pie getting smaller, or sand going through to the bottom of the hour glass.
Finally, and probably the easiest way to support a neurodiverse child, lend a hand. Everyone in our school’s ecosystem can support all of our children. Check-in to see if a child’s pencil is sharp. Remind the person next to you of what the next step is. Demonstrate a structured way to keep a wardrobe or tidy tray clean and organised – this is far more helpful that continual reprimand for an untidy and messy bedroom or work station.
We want all children in our community to thrive socially and academically. Understanding and support are a great place to start, but teaching them strategies to manage themselves is even better. Homes and classrooms should be safe spaces for them to explore a variety of strategies to figure out what works best for them.
Every one of us has some strengths in our executive functions, and every one of us has some weaknesses in our executive functions. Let’s all help each other. LEND A HAND!!!
From the Music Room
This week I am featuring our work in the Year 3/4 and Year 5 music classrooms. These are mere snapshots of everything we cram into our weekly lessons, we keep busy up here!
The Year 4 students have been learning recorder this year and Year 3 students in the 3/4 class have learnt the melodies on glockenspiel. They have been assessed on performing two melodies using 3-5 notes and, for a challenge and due to popular demand, our next assessment will be playing the theme to the children’s show “Bluey”. They have also been practicing notating a pentatonic (5-note) scale using felt boards and counters.
The Year 5 students have been learning ukulele this year and have recently started learning a new chord and strumming pattern. They have also been working on 6/8 rhythm dictation using paddlepop sticks, paper plates and rubber dots to build the rhythms they hear.
All classes have been reminded this fortnight that good musicians listen and work as a team.
Camilla Tafra - Classroom Music Teacher
Music
Book week
This year we will be celebrating Book Week on Thursday 31 August by participating in Elsie’s Book Club. This is a charity founded by Ms Warhurst in honour of her daughter, Elsie, who passed away last year at only seven days old. This August would have been Elsie’s first birthday and marks one year of Ms Warhurst living without her.
Students and staff are invited to bring in a picture book to donate to Elsie’s Book Club and to “dress up for Elsie”, dressing as their favourite character from a book. Staff members or students who do not feel comfortable dressing up are invited to wear pink to school on this day instead to show their support.
How to Donate a Book
1. Choose a picture book that your child loved as a baby or let them choose a book they think would be good for Elsie’s Book Club.
2. Purchase a new copy of this book from a bookstore (NB: As these books are donated to Neonatal Intensive Care Units it’s essential that they are newly purchased books to limit the spread of germs)
3. Wrap the book or keep it in a plastic bag to protect it from picking up any extra germs on its way to hospital.
4. Bring the book to school on Thursday 31 August and place it in the box at the bottom of the music room stairs in its bag/wrapping.
5. Your book will be delivered to an Australian Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for parents of premature or unwell babies to read to their child while they are in hospital, supporting their connection at a time when they may not be able to hold them.
You can read more about Elsie’s Book Club here.
How to Dress Up for Book Week
1. Think about this year’s Book Week theme, “Read, Grow, Inspire” and choose a book you think works well with this theme.
2. Get creative and put together a costume to dress up as a character from the book. You could buy a costume or make a costume. Op shops are great for piecing things together!
3. On Thursday 31 August, come to school dressed as your Book Week character.
4. At 8.45am join the school in front of the flag posts for a Book Week photo in your costume.
From the P & C
New iPads for prep classes
At last week’s P&C meeting, the P&C agreed to a request from the school to pay for 14 new iPads for the prep classrooms, to replace old iPads. The cost is slightly more than $7500.
This is in addition the P&C’s normal contribution of nearly $20,000 to pay for the Environment Program (Mr Bryant) in the school garden and musical instruments.
We’re really pleased to support the school in these ways. Thanks to all the parents who have contributed to fundraising for us so we can support the school like this.
Inaugural Colour Run if we find a volunteer convenor
If we find a volunteer convenor, we are proposing to hold a “colour run” on 8 September, the second-last Friday of this term, after second lunch.
A “colour run” involves the kids running or walking around a course where they are sprayed with coloured powder and water. It is very messy and super fun, so the kids will need a change of clothes and towel.
You can see a short film of a colour run here (though this one is by a commercial organiser and done as a school fundraiser): https://youtu.be/en2YPGfn6b8
Many schools hold colour runs as fundraisers, and in future years we might do the same, but for this year we plan to offer the colour run for all students for no charge and not involving any fundraising (i.e. this is meant as just a fun event for the kids on a Friday afternoon).
We need a coordinator and some volunteers to organise the event but this won’t involve any fundraising, just the logistics of the event such as ordering the colour and setting up the course.
We have approved a budget of $600 to purchase the colour and other things needed.
If you would like to volunteer as the convenor or as a helper-bee, please email Deanne (E: secretary@burandasspandc.org.au).
Treed area next to school oval now open for play
As a result of the working bee we held before the Winter Solstice in June, the treed area along the fenceline next to the school oval is now open for kids to play during lunch.
We plan to add some seats and a few other things to make this area even nicer. It has good shade for the hot days of summer. We’re really happy that kids can now play in this area. Thanks to all our helpers at the working bee (including our local State member, Amy McMahon MP).
Tuckshop
Tuckshop this Friday, 11 August, has chicken/vegetarian parmi balls with rice, plus options for savoury muffins and yoghurt pots.
Remember to place your orders on Qkr by 8pm tonight.
The tuckshop still needs volunteers if it is to keep running each week. You can sign up in 3 easy steps:
1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp: https://signup.com/go/DsjgPso
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.
Note: SignUp does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact Cass Somers at tuckshop@burandasspandc.org.au
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