Parent Workshop: Behaviour Day against bullying/ violence Cross Country Friday 31 st March Last day of Term 1

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1 15 February 2017 Important Dates Monday 20 th February Parent Workshop: Behaviour Friday 17 th March Day against bullying/ violence Friday 31 st March Cross Country Friday 31 st March Last day of Term 1 Leadership Ceremony On Friday, 3 rd February, the Year 6 Leadership Ceremony was held. All Year 6 leaders were presented with their Senior badges. Our School Captains, Emma and Luke, and our Sports Captains, Ameila and Matthew (Weinholt) and Taylah and Caitlin (Kent), were all presented with their badges and blazers. A leadership cake, a symbol of the final steps that our senior students will take on their journey through primary school, was cut and shared with the guests of our senior leaders.

2 Year 6 Camp By the time you receive this newsletter our Year 6 campers will have returned from Emu Gully. I m sure they will all be very tired, but excited to share their stories of success. Thank you to Ms Smith and Mrs Gibson for organising this amazing experience for our students.

3 Parent Workshop Opportunity Do you understand how the school behaviour level system works? Or what the colours (orange, purple, silver, gold) mean? If you would like to know more, the behaviour committee will be holding a workshop for parents on Monday 20 th February at 3.00pm in the library. Attendance Students need to be at school each and every day to give them the best chance to achieve their potential. It is important that parents understand that clear correlation between school attendance and achievement at school. Students with excessive absences are far more likely to fall behind in their work and experience a lack of success in their schooling. The table below shows how frequent absences reduce the overall time in attendance at school which is highly likely to have a significant impact on student achievement. If your child misses. 1 day per fortnight That equals. (90% attendance) 4 weeks per year Over 13 years of schooling that s.. Nearly 1.5 years Which means the best your child might perform is. in Grade 11 1 day per week (80% attendance) 8 weeks per year 2 days per week (60% attendance) 16 weeks per year 3 day per week (40% attendance) 24 weeks per year Over 2.5 years Over 5 years Nearly 8 years in Grade 10 in Grade 7 at Grade 4 The school has a target of every student achieving a minimum of 95% attendance at school in 2017.

4 Raising Concerns, Issues From time to time, parents often have concerns or issues surrounding their child at school. I would ask parent to please use the following process; 1. The first point of call is your child s classroom teacher. 2. If you and the classroom teacher are unable to resolve the issue, then please come and see me (while my door is always open, please be aware I may not always be able to see you straight away and you may need to make an appointment, as I maybe teaching or have prior commitments). Medications and Illnesses Unfortunately over the course of a school year your child may become ill. To prevent the spreading of germs, I have included the recommended exclusions times from Queensland Health. I would ask parents to please refer to this document when appropriate. No Smoking on school premises Can I please remind all parents that smoking is not permitted within 5 metres of the school grounds! Many thanks for your support with this issue. Year 6 Senior Shirts Notes were sent home last week regarding ordering 2017 Senior shirts. Anyone wanting to purchase a senior shirt need to have returned their note along with payment by Friday 17 th February. Additional notes can be collected from the Year 5/6 classrooms. Head Lice Facts... Head lice do not carry or transmit disease They do not live on pets such as cats or dogs Head lice are brown or greyish looking wingless insects They are about the size of a sesame seed Head lice are human parasites and require human blood to survive Head lice eggs (nits) are small, brown-greyish-white, oval shape that are glued at an angle to the side of the hair shaft Head lice cannot live off the human host for more than 24 hours

5 They are able to reproduce after approximately 28 days and live eggs hatch in 7-10 days in warm weather, and up to 30 days during cooler weather Head lice live on a host for approximately 60 days, 30 of which can be egg laying days Eggs found further than 1-2cm from the scalp are usually empty cases that remain attached to the hair Head lice are an increasing problem because the lice are developing resistance to the traditional pesticide products on the market. For this reason, people are turning to natural remedies which are not only more effective, but safer for the health of our children Lice do not drop dead as soon as a treatment touches them, they can live for a couple of hours after a treatment has been applied so don t be alarmed if they move after you remove them from the hair Myths... Head lice live in hats and classroom carpets - It is highly irregular for them to be spread through the sharing of personal articles such as hats because like any creature, head lice will not leave their food source to go to an inhospitable foreign environment You need to clean the house from top to bottom - This is a waste of your time and could be better spent removing live lice and eggs They jump from head to head - Head lice cannot hop, jump or fly. They swing and climb onto the hair and move to the scalp to feed. Head lice are mainly transmitted by hair-to-hair contact and secondly by head-to-head contact Head lice like clean hair best - Clean hair tends to have more fluffy flyaway s, which are useful for the louse to use when transferring from person to person but it makes no difference to them If you see a child scratching their head they must have head lice - head lice can often make the scalp itchy but it is possible to have them without any symptoms Only dirty people get head lice - Head lice don t distinguish between clean and dirty hair Only kids get head lice - Head lice can be caught by anyone. Pre-school and primary-school-aged children and their families are infested most often. Girls get head lice more often than boys and women more often than men due to length of hair and type of play Keeping your head underwater kills head lice - Head lice cannot be washed away or drowned, they can actually survive under water for up to two hours! Are children with long hair more prone to infestation? A: The short answer here is no. Since head lice concentrate themselves as close to the scalp as possible, having long hair does not provide a better environment for them in which to live. That being said, long hair is more likely to hang over, come loose and come in contact with an infested friend s head. For that reason alone, long hair may be more prone to getting head lice. It is recommended that long hair be tied back in a braid, bun, or plaited ponytail, especially when there is a known outbreak of head lice. Do I need to sterilize combs, brushes etc? A: It s a good idea to clean brushes and combs in boiling water (this will kill head lice) Don t share hair brushes! Everyone in the family should have their own. Don t ever share them with your friends either, not even your Bestie! You wouldn t share your toothbrush would you? It s no different really! Do I have them? How can I tell? A: While it is certainly more difficult to identify lice on your own head, it can be done. Look for nits around your ears and part your hair and look closely at your scalp, especially around your hairline. You may even be able to spot a live bug if you look carefully. If you don t find anything but are still unsure then this is the time to enlist your partner or phone a friend. Make sure you are in good light, sunlight, bright reading light etc. I find a magnifying glass helpful too. Get them to look carefully, section, by section checking for any eggs (nits) attached to the hair shaft. Nits are oval in shape and about the size of a strawberry seed. They can be found in various shades from brown to greyish-white. Viable nits are generally laid close to the scalp (within 5-7mm) but can be found anywhere on the hair shaft. If they are found further along the hair shaft and have a milky white/opaque appearance they are most likely already hatched and of no consequence. If they can be blown or flicked off the hair they are not eggs but more likely dandruff or dry skin.

6 Writing from the Year 1/2 class One day when I went to bed. I felt something lumpy. I looked under the sheets and I found a box. Inside the box there was a robot. As soon as I opened the box the robot shot lots of chocolates at me. By Angus One day I found a box inside the house. It had Christmas stuff in it. I set up the Christmas stuff. By Isabelle One day I found a box in the car. In the box I found a chick. By Cooper One day I found a box in my bag. In there was everything I wanted. The garbage truck came and it wanted to take it. I said NO! By Riley One day I found a box. It was a magic box. Inside the box was a little kitty. By Lilly Year 3 Japanese Lesson This term in English, Year 3 are studying a book called Kumiko and the Dragon written by Briony Stewart. This book is set in Japan. We invited Oba Sensei to our room to talk to us about the Japanese culture. He showed us where Japan is compared to Australia, some traditional costumes and how we can find things from the Japanese culture in our everyday lives. Thanks to Oba Sensei for visiting our class!

7 Student of the week Week 3 Prep: Yr 1/2: Yr 2: Yr 3: Yr 4: Yr 5/6C: Yr5/6J: Grace displaying care, active learning and responsibility. Cooper for wonderful writing and being an active learner. Keyana making good choices. Cooper making positive behaviour choices. Jacob for working hard and being a good role model. Caitlin being well prepared and attentive in class. Emma for actively contributing to all classroom discussions. Week 4 Prep: Yr 1/2: Yr 2: Yr 3: Yr 4: Yr 5/6C: Yr 5/6J: Jake making a fantastic start to each day by being on parade. Isabelle working hard with writing tasks. Charlotte always using 100% effort. Charli showing care and responsibility in the classroom. Adas for always working hard and being a pleasure to teach. Emily for always following school and classroom rules. Charlie for giving 100% effort in all classroom activities. Word on the street Word Definition Use in a sentence Active Learning To be ready to learn. The student showed active learning when she put her hand up to ask a question.