Newsletter 12 May - Week 4 Term 2

Message from the Principal

This Friday is National Walk to School Day. Please find resources at www.walk.com.au The key message in this campaign in 2021 is: Until they’re ten, children must always hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road.

Students in years 3&5 have completed the literacy component of the NAPLAN testing yesterday and today. Numeracy will be held tomorrow.

Please be reminded that no animals are permitted on school grounds without prior approval from the principal. If you walk with your pets to school, particularly dogs- please keep them on a lead and restrained at all times (even if you feel your dog is calm/passive- all dogs can be very scary for some students)- and do not bring them onto school grounds. Thanks for your cooperation.

As mentioned previously, wet weather has delayed the handover of the upgraded outdoor learning area.  The project is very close to being completed. There is work scheduled to remove the old shed, which contains asbestos (outside of school hours) later this month. There’s also some additional works to be installed/finalised. We will open the space as soon as handover has taken place and the turf and plants are established. All of our staff are very excited to use the new space.

Students have commenced environmental education lessons with Mr Bryant this term.

Have a good week,

Simon Vaseo

Principal

From the Head of Curriculum

Robogals Brisbane

Robogals Brisbane is hosting a free day-long workshop in the next fortnight on Saturday, 15^th May, 2021. You can find the event page of our workshop below.

Girls in Robotics Day - Micromelon Workshop

Robogals was founded as a student club at the University of Melbourne in July 2008 by mechatronics engineering undergraduate student Marita Cheng, together with software engineering student Mark Parncutt and three other engineering and science students, Kelly Chiu, Ann Chee Lim and Vi Vu. (Wikipedia)

I was fortunate to be at a conference where Marita Cheng was a keynote speaker. Her story and the work of Robogals is very inspiring for our students and for the community, generally.

NAPLAN Test Dates

NAPLAN tests are being completed this week by Years 3 and 5 students.

Remember, NAPLAN will give each student a comparison of their progress in the testing areas against all students at that grade level across Australia as it is a national test. NAPLAN is not however, high stakes testing as there are no positive or negative consequences for students from sitting the tests. We encourage the students to have a go and try their best, as we do with all their schoolwork. Naturally, some students get excited and/or anxious about doing a test. The best preparation for the tests is a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast on the morning of the tests. This link will take you to some test taking tips that might help you prepare your child for the tests.

https://andrewfuller.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/preparingfortests.pdf

Information about NAPLAN is open access to parents at the following link https://www.nap.edu.au/

German

This year 216,000 students, from 1,894 schools, from a total of 60 countries worldwide competed in the Education Perfect World Championship.

Our students excelled again. For German, for schools of our size (size refers to number of students studying the language) Buranda SS came first both in Queensland and in the whole of Australia.

Buranda students achieved: 

10 Credit, 7 Bronze, 1 Silver, 1 Gold and 2 Emerald awards.

Congratulations to all our participating students.

Caroline Bartolf - German Teacher

Premier's Reading Challenge

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is on again. Please check your child’s library bag for a letter explaining the challenge and the record form to use. The PRC is not a competition but aims to engage all students in reading widely for pleasure and learning. The reader record form should be completed (book title and author) each time a book has been read. When the challenge has been completed, please return the forms to the library.

To complete the Premier’s Reading Challenge:

• Prep to Year 2 must read or experience at least 20 books (includes shared reading, listening to stories, or reading picture books).
• Years 3 and 4 must read at least 20 books
• Years 5 and 6 must read at least 15 books.

The record form should be signed by a parent/guardian when completed and returned to the library. The challenge closes Friday 27 August.Every student who completes the challenge will receive a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier. Students who participate but don’t complete the challenge receive a Certificate of Participation from the school.

For more information about the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please visit:

http://education.qld.gov.au/schools/readingchallenge/

Thank you for your support.

Karen Hollands, Teacher-Librarian

From the Garden

Well, work has almost finished in our new garden area and I’m so excited I’m almost wetting my plants again!

Over the past few weeks, the students have been having a look around the school’s wider garden areas after about four months off lessons. I’m happy to report that things are looking good in all corners of the school. Some classes started weeding the Fairy Wren Forrest on Friday and it was delightful to see a stunning little male Wren in his full breeding plumage, closely followed by a number of females, hunting together after we had finished.

May I again recommend to you ‘The Science Show’ on ABC’s Radio National each week. The show (and podcast) gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate. It is an essential part of my week.  Happy Autumn.

Andrew Bryant - Environmental Education teacher

From the P&C

You’re invited!

Dear Buranda State School Community,

This year, Buranda State School P&C are hosting a Biggest Morning Tea to help Cancer Council raise vital funds for people impacted by cancer – and we'd love for you to join us for this great cause!

When: Thursday 27 May at 8am

Where: Buranda State School Hall

Entry: Gold coin donation. 

Details: Please bring a plate to share, meet others and be part of the morning!

We can’t wait to get together and share some tasty treats, all while helping create a cancer free future.

If you can’t make it, you can still help us make a difference by donating to our fund raising page here https://www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/s/29646/34960

Zoe Gill - P&C President

From the Tuckshop

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED!

We can only run a Tuckshop because we have our amazing, wonderful volunteers .

But more volunteers are needed, there's so much to do, please help us!  

As a volunteer your job may include chopping veggies and fruits, loading/emptying the dishwasher, tasting food, serving children, etc. If you don't like cooking you don't have to. Only one hour of your time is a much-needed amazing contribution. 

It's a great way to meet other parents and contribute to our school community... we simply cannot do it without volunteers.   

We are currently working on Thursdays and Fridays.

Check our Volunteer Link   https://signup.com/go/rqwpybE

Ice blocks

Ice blocks are every Thursday and can be ordered through the Qkr! app. New cards are to be collected from the tuckshop unless the children are in Prep - teachers will hold their cards. New cards must be purchased by 5pm on Tuesday. Please contact Ludivine on ludivinedr@hotmail.com if you have any issues.

From Helping Hands

Hello again from the team at Helping Hands,

Just to let you all know that bookings are open for the next vacation care period. Brochures are yet to be emailed as they are being finalised but will be emailed out to all families as soon as possible. I have managed to secure inclusion support so I will definitely need to know the numbers coming to Vacation care so I can staff correctly. Just to explain about inclusion support, inclusion support means we can put an extra staff member on, not to "follow" the child but to support the main staff when they are dealing with tricky behaviours. If numbers go up with bookings, our extra helper can get eaten up in numbers and I am trying to make sure this does not happen this holiday period.

Numbers continue to climb, so please make sure you have the bookings you need. If you make a booking for the term only, then this does not roll over into the next term, you will need to rebook.

The office is manned (womanned) between the hours of 7am to 9am and 2.30pm to 6pm. The phone is not answered at any other time as staff here work a split shift. Please do not ring repeatedly or send text messages expecting immediate answers if it is not between those times. The work phone stays here at work, otherwise I would be working an 11-hour day, every day. The phone is checked as soon as we get here.

A huge thank you to Billy for bringing us new pets, Susan and Karen (Mice) and to the Webber family for their dedication and love of our dear and departed Spot. The Webbers have now stepped up to have Susan and Karen on the weekends, and I know we all miss Spot who has joined the great Cheese in the sky.

Kindest regards,

Sue Chiswell
Coordinator
Helping Hands Buranda 
Phone 0429 528 206
Email: Buranda@helpinghandsnetwork.com.au 

Community