Welcome Back Week 2 Term 1 2024

Welcome back to all our new and existing families for a bright and exciting Term 1. We recently saw the resilience of our community in the recent cyclone event and I wish to thank all our families for their patience and understanding during this difficult time. It was great news that we are fully operational and there was no damage to our school buildings and grounds. Staff are now looking forward to the delivery of the new English and Maths V9 Curriculum and building safe and supportive classroom environments for our students. We have been particularly prepared this year for the delivery of the curriculum with three recent days of professional learning for all staff over the course of the student free days. Our whole school focus is to ensure all students reach their full potential in English. There are 2 priorities to achieve this and they will be:

1. Embed consistent school wide processes to quality assure curriculum delivery
2. Embed the Bowen State School signature pedagogical practices through collegial engagement

Our recent regional data report for semester 1 2023 has given us some great base line data to start the year.

Starting Strong Years P-2 89.5% C and above in English. The state wide target was 80%

Building on foundations Years 3-6 89% C and above in English. State wide target was 80%

Well done Bowen State School, what a great start to the new year. This year teachers will be released off class every week to monitor student progress and use preventative strategies at the data wall to plan the next steps for learners, celebrate growth and wonder where the next steps in the teaching and learning will be.

Next week our school will host our annual P&C AGM. We encourage new and existing families to support our school and nominate for one of the executive roles.

The P&C plays an important role in decisions around ways we can support the students at Bowen State School, school events and the continued service of a tuckshop for our school. With the 160^th anniversary approaching in 2025 this year will be a great opportunity to start planning this significant event. Looking forward to seeing everyone in the library next Wednesday at 4:30pm.

Christien Payne
Principal

We would like to extend a warm welcome back to everyone. 

What a great start all children have had this year despite everything the weather decided to send our way. 

Teachers have worked around the clock planning engaging learning activities for each child to be successful confident learners.  

We encourage you to ask your child each day… 

1. What are you learning?  
2. How do you know?  
3. How are you going? 
4. How can you improve? 
5. Where can you go to get help?
   
   
   

Everyday Counts! 

All staff are committed to your child’s learning journey but we need your support to make sure your child attends school every day.  

Attendance will be a big focus this year at Bowen State School. 

Research shows that in Queensland, higher student attendance is associated, on average, with higher student achievement. Additionally, attending school every day helps children to build social and emotional skills such as communication, teamwork and resilience. 

Why is regular attendance at school important?  

Regular school attendance will mean that your child gets a better chance at life.

Your child will achieve better when they go to school all day, every school day: 

• they learn better 
• they make friends 
• they are happier 
• they have a brighter future.

Please communicate with us by calling the office or responding to the absence text you will receive on the day your child is away.  

Greetings Bowen SS community! I am delighted to introduce myself as Sue Thompson, a new addition to the Bowen SS team for the upcoming 6 months. I will be available on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. With 27 years of experience in schools across North Queensland, I am dedicated to promoting the social and emotional wellbeing of all students. It has been a pleasure getting to know the students and staff over the past two weeks, both in their classrooms and during playtime. The warm welcome from everyone has been truly heartwarming.

As we embark on week 3, some of us may still be adjusting to life back at school. Establishing a consistent morning routine can greatly contribute to a calmer atmosphere for the entire family. By creating a predictable structure, we can minimize emotional responses and clearly communicate non-negotiable elements. Over time, this routine will become natural and habitual. For younger children, visual routines (prompts) are particularly beneficial as they provide a sense of expectation, develop time awareness, and enhance feelings of safety and security.

If you require assistance in developing a morning routine, please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of the Student Support Team (SST), Chappy Sandy, or myself. We are here to support you.

Instrumental Music lessons will start on Thursday in Week 3 for all new and continuing instrumental music students. Timetables and instrument loan forms will go home Thursday of Week 2. Thank you for all your support.

Amanda Mattiske
Intrumental Teacher

Prep D has had a great start to the school year. We have been learning and practising daily routines and are getting pretty good at lining up! The Prep D students have been working on being amazing ‘whole body listeners’ and have been having lots of fun getting to know their new classmates.

3H have begun the year full of enthusiasm and are demonstrating their eagerness to learn new things. In science this semester we are looking at living and non-living things. We are pretty good at it, but one item set off some lively debate. Maybe you can help?

Is Paddington Bear living or non-living? 

Students in 4A have enjoyed revising math concepts including number, geometry, money, fractions and mathematical language. Our class focus has been on completing Daily 10 questions, setting out book work to a high standard, and understanding making mistakes means our brain synapses are firing and we will learn from the mistakes we make. 

For Science this term, we will be exploring the planets in our solar system. Students will get to select a planet and create a poster and a model of their planet to present to the class. We will also get to view many videos and visuals resources about the planets which is fun to see! 

Welcome back to another year of sports at Bowen State School. Term 1 is a very busy term with many sporting trials and our school cross country event. 

Upcoming Sports Trials 

Monday 5th February: Bowen Sub Touch Trials – Bowen Sporting Complex (Girls and boys born 2012, 2013 or 2014) 

Tuesday 6th February: Bowen Sub Basketball Trials – Bowen State School Hall (Girls and boys born 2012, 2013 or 2014) 

Wednesday 7th February: Bowen Sub Netball Trials – Bowen Sporting Complex (Girls born 2012, 2013 or 2014) If there are any boys interested in netball please let Mr. Dunn or Miss Maher know. 

Tuesday 13th February: Bowen Sub AFL Trials – Bowen State School Kennedy Street Oval (Boys born 2012, 2013 or 2014) If there are any girls interested in doing AFL please let Mr. Dunn know. 

Wednesday 14th February: Bowen Sub Rugby League Trials – Denison Park (Boys born 2012 or 2013) 

Swimming NQ Trials 

For students who are competitive swimmers they have the opportunity to compete in the NQ swimming trials. There are qualifying times that students must meet to be able to enter this event. Paperwork has been handed out to students who have expressed interest. If you have missed this paperwork please email Mr. Dunn at school lrdun2@eq.edu.au ASAP as entries are due by 13th February. 

Bowen State Ballerz 

Unfortunately our school basketball team the Bowen State Ballerz had a pretty big setback when their trip to Melbourne had to be cancelled at the last minute due to our recent weather event. Fortunately we have been able to reschedule this event and are now going in March. A massive thank you to all our sponsors. The team received their bags, playing gear and polos last week, they were very excited!! 

Swimming Year 3 to 6 

Starting next week we have our swimming program starting for students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. This will run for six weeks. The program will focus on water safety, educating students on how to stay safe around water and what to do in the case of an emergency. 

Before School Cross Country Training 

Starting in Week 3 students in Years 3 to 6 will have the opportunity to participate in cross country training before school from 8am to 8.30am on Mondays and Wednesdays. Students must have completed paperwork to be able to participate. Due to our extreme heat at the moment we may have to cancel some sessions. Please keep an eye on Facebook for updates. 

Leigh Dunn
HPE Teacher

Welcome to 2024!

For those that don’t know and are new to our school, my name is Ethan Shaw and I am the Head of Special Education Services (HoSES). My role is diverse but is centralised around leading, coordinating and managing high-quality teaching and learning programs for students who require adjustments to achieve their potential. I work with teachers, families, support services and of course students to enable every student to achieve success by having their individual needs met.

I am always open and keen to work with families and encourage families to be proactive and discuss their child’s specific learning needs with myself as well as your child’s classroom teacher. Please feel free to email or call at anytime throughout the year to discuss your child’s specific learning needs.

Staff at Bowen State School teach to the point of need of each student based on a range of ongoing assessments. Classroom and Specialist teachers work to ensure that the academic, social and emotional needs of all students are being planned for and then met through quality differentiated teaching programs. Supports and reasonable adjustments are in place for many students to ensure they achieve success in their learning, whilst feeling positive and engaged in their learning.

Early Childhood Development Program (ECDP)

Early Childhood Development Programs are aimed at ensuring children with a disability can achieve maximum skills and the capacity to access and participate in schooling. The Bowen ECDP is hosted right here at Bowen State School. We are very fortunate to have Amanda Parter facilitating the ECDP program for children 3 years and above who meet the requirements of the program this year with myself (Ethan Shaw) coordinating the program. The attached flyer goes into more detail about the program however, I encourage you to get in contact with me to discuss further and answer any questions.  Feel free to call the school or email ecsha0@eq.edu.au. 

Reading Hub has begun for 2024.

Students in Grade Two were invited to attend Reading Hub this week. Many of our school leaders assisted by listening to the readers and signing their booklets of attendance. Thank you.

Grade One students will be invited to begin reading Hub in Week 3.

Reading Hub is held every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, in the library. It starts at 8:15am and finishes at 8:40am. We encourage all grade one and two students to attend. Parents/caregivers and other community members are very welcome to come and assist with Reading Hub. Listening to our young readers read is important. Reading is an essential skill for educational success. 

Welcome to 2024! 

To begin our PBL journey this year, all classes have co-constructed a set of “Class Expectations” that students will be required to follow to demonstrate that they are following our school’s four values. They will also have constructed a set of consequences (positive and negative) in response to these four expectations. 

Classes will be reviewing our behaviour matrix to ensure all students and those new to our school community are reminded/aware of our school’s four values of being RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, SAFE and a LEARNER.  

Teachers are also busy handing out GOTCHAs in recognition of students who are following the four values. Teachers will tally students GOTCHAs and place their names in the draw for our Friday Parade PBL draw, when they have received 10 blue GOTCHAs and swap for 1 gold GOTCHA. Our first PBL Rewards session will be in Week 5 and students will need 30 blue GOTCHAs or 3 gold GOTCHAs to participate. 

Have a great first few weeks! 

Emma Chandler 
PBL Team Leader