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Welcome Back
Welcome back, all families, to an action-packed Term 4! I hope everyone is rested and ready for the 11 weeks of great teaching and learning at Bowen State. Our school has collated the Term 3 English and Maths data, ready to share with families at the upcoming parent, teacher, and student interviews in Week 3. I was extremely proud to share the whole school data with teachers at the staff meeting and to reflect on the tremendous growth and achievement across the school. On average, we had 55% of our students achieving an “A” or “B” in English and Maths.
Nearly every cohort achieved well above the regional target of 85% of students achieving a “C” and above, with most cohorts achieving between 90% and 95% at this level. Well done to all students and staff for this outstanding data! We will continue to invest in building our teachers’ capacity and making adjustments for learners to ensure we finish the year strong with our Semester Two results. I encourage families to celebrate with the teachers next Tuesday and seek feedback on the goals and next steps for students this term.
Regional Collaboration
This week, the leadership team was able to collaborate for the day with regional staff to review our Explicit Improvement Agenda and consider the direction for our school in 2025. We used the data from this year to celebrate our impact and began planning future conversations in collaboration with our staff.
SOS Celebrations
This week, we received our 2024 School Opinion Survey data. I would like to thank staff, parents, and students for your honest feedback. Our school will celebrate the growth and identify areas to focus on within our 2025 Explicit Improvement Agenda. Below is a small slice of some of the strongest agreement or growth from 2023.
Staff
- Students are encouraged to do their best at our school 97.9%
- Students with a disability are supported at this school 93.6%
- I enjoy working at this school 89.6%
- The wellbeing of employees is a priority for this school 76.6%
- The school leadership team model the best behaviours expected of all employees 81.3%
Students
- The expectations and rules are clear at my school 94.1 %
- My teachers expect me to do my best 93.7 %
- My school encourages me to participate in school activities 93.1%
Parent/caregivers
- This school celebrates student achievements 99.0%
- The expectations and rules are clear at this school 98.0 %
- Teachers at this school motivate my child to learn 97.9 %
We have had a wonderful start to Term 4! Our Year 5 students had a four day school camp in Mackay. Feedback from students and staff was it was an outstanding success with many new friendships created and lots of personal growth was demonstrated. A massive thank you to Mr Dunn for his organisation and many hours of planning. A big thank you to our staff who were extremely proud of each student.
Last week we acknowledged the students who had 100% for Term 3, Week 6 to 10. Currently we have 5 students who have attended school 100% since the beginning of the year.
Student Council
The Student Council is raising money to install cold water taps in our Poole St Hall.
They will be organising our next whole school disco on Friday 18th October. We are seeking parent support to supervise on the night.
2025 Enrolments
We are currently meeting with our students and families who will be joining us for Prep in 2025. It has been very exciting to hear, What are you most excited about starting school? What should your teacher next year know about you? What can we do to make sure you have a great start to Prep?
These meetings are invaluable to us as they ensure we are ready to welcome students and give them a positive and successful start to school.
SUPPORT NEEDED
JEWELLERY-Staff have noticed a number of students are wearing jewellery that is not part of our school uniform. The follow is permitted to be worn:-
- Watch (smart watches on school mode or fit bits)
- Flat signet ring
- Small plain sleeper earrings
- Small plain stud earrings (no more than 2 per lobe)
- Medical alert bracelet or necklace
- Items of significant religious belief (permission has been given by principal)
FAKE NAILS- We strongly discourage students having fake nails. These are a safety risk during play time.
IMPORTANT DATES
Year 6 into 7 Transition- Bowen State High School
-Primary Transition Visit (curriculum lesson) Tuesday 5th November
-Transition Day – HEADSTART Wednesday 27th November – full day
Whole School Awards Ceremony – Friday 29th November
Year 6 Graduation – Wednesday 4th December
This term, our class is exploring literary devices. Students have already learned about similes, metaphors, alliteration and onomatopoeia. The class have also started to explore how to describe a character’s emotion through showing, not telling. Later in the term, the class will write their own narratives incorporating these literary devices.
Students in 4A have been exploring how the Earth’s surface changes in Science. They have been identifying the characteristics of different soils and accurately recording their observations through annotated drawings. The students have also been investigating the difference between weathering and erosion, and as part of their learning they visited Front Beach to investigate these processes in our local area.
The students in 6M are enjoying reading Peter Brown's novel, The Wild Robot. This term for English, the grade six students' are required to create a narrative and supporting image using elements of science fiction.
We are excited to announce that the community is expanding the "Engagement Bus" program we previously offered at school. This new initiative includes home drop-off services and a supervised basketball event on Wednesday afternoons, with home drop off.
Please see the flyer below for more details. If you would like a referral form for your child, feel free to contact Mrs. Danielle Upkett or Mrs. Selina Power at the school. Alternatively, you can reach out directly to Stella Life, the program coordinator.
Book Club Reminder!
It's time for our Book Club! This year's BUMPER Issue 7 is here, and it’s packed with an additional six pages of must-have reads to inspire your holiday reading.
Important Dates:
Orders are due by Friday, 19/10/24.
We believe that books make the best gifts, so we’re excited to bring back our FREE BOOKS OFFER for one last time this year! With every LOOP order over $20, you can choose a bonus title from our 'free book list.' Plus, every order for this issue will receive a $5 promotional code to spend on Issue 8—two great reasons to participate!
Ordering Information:
Please remember that orders can be placed online or through the LOOP App only. NO CASH ORDERS will be accepted.
As it’s that time of year, our gift function has been turned ON for LOOP parents. If you prefer to opt out of this option, please adjust your preferences via your account.
Happy reading!
