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NAPLAN online National Training
This week I attended National NAPLAN on line training in Townsville alongside Maxine Hilary our school Head of Curriculum for English. This year early in term two our school is engaging with NAPLAN online alongside schools across the nation. It is important to note that the Year 3 students will be writing in paper form for this year. Next year the Year 3 and Year 5 students will all conduct all areas of the NAPLAN assessment online including writing for the Year 3 students.
We are currently heavily engaged in NAPLAN readiness in our Year 3 and Year 5 classrooms. Students are conducting this through the good first teaching of the Australian Curriculum, coaching cycles with the leadership team and information sessions specifically tailed to the Year 3 and Year 5 teachers.
As the Principal, I understand that I must follow the protocols outlined around the delivery of NAPLAN assessment in our school and work with the NAPLAN Coordinator Maxine Hilary to ensure that the students and staff have the appropriate readiness training and support to ensure a good experience for teachers and students in this space.
The training session I attended gave Maxine and I the clarity ready to update and support staff and students in this space. Some great news for us is that students in Year 3 and Year 5 will receive an opportunity to engage in a practice test using the online resources within the last two weeks of this term. By providing children, a safe space to play in allows children to feel comfortable within this platform to be ready for the real test.
This Friday we are hosting a regional professional development at our school for NAPLAN online and accomodating the needs of students with a disability. This is an important opportunity for all our community learn how we can best support children requiring additional adjustments. We will be sending home information to all our families about NAPLAN online over the course of this term.
ARD visit
This week on Thursday, we hosted Graham Foster the Assistant Regional Director to our school for our second visit this term. We conducted classroom walkthroughs and talked to students about the work happening. The focus of the visits were based around Mathematics and the key work currently happening in classrooms in this space. Students were asked questions around what they were learning. What they already knew and how they could improve. The leadership team visited all classes and enjoyed some insightful conversations.
The remainder of the visit was spent with the leadership team discussing our current focus areas and how we are supporting the capability of staff to support students this year.
Looking forward to sharing more great stories happing in our school over the next fortnight. Until then have a wonderful couple of weeks.
I believe in:
Hard Work
Honesty
Transparency
Attendance
It appears that there are a few bugs out and about at the moment making it tough to improve our attendance rate over the past couple of weeks. Please be sure to notify our school office every day that your child isn’t attending school. Whether it be for sickness or any other reason, we need to know to ensure the whereabouts and safety of your child.
Current Whole School Attendance Rate
Friday Attendance
We have started to notice a trend this year and that is whole school attendance is at its lowest on Fridays. For 2020 attendance on Fridays is currently 89.6%, well below our regional target of 93%. Friday is a great day at school for a number of reasons. For starters we have whole school parade where we as a school, come together to celebrate student achievement, watch performances and sing songs, which unifies our school and builds our school’s culture. We also have lunchtime and before school activities for our students to participate in and have fun. If you’re in the middle-upper school we also have afternoon sport happening. However, the most important reason your child should be attending school on Fridays is that students are still learning in classrooms and our teachers are still teaching. So don’t let your child fall behind and make sure that coming to school on Friday is a priority for your child.
100% Club
At this Friday’s parade we will award those students who have had a 100% attendance rate for the first 5 weeks of school. I am very pleased to say that these awards will go out to a whopping 176 Bowen State School students. These students also got to pose for a photo that will be in our school’s lift out section of the Bowen Independent newspaper when it is released. Check out the awesome photo below. Keep up the great work!
Jeremy Callaghan
Deptuy Principal
We would like to congratulate are our newest Merit Badge recipients presented with their badges on Friday 6th March 2020. The purpose of a Merit Badge is to promote and recognise students that display outstanding behaviours at all times. Their exemplar behaviours reflect our School Wide Positive Behaviours. At Bowen State School we are Learners, Respectful, Responsible and Safe.
Year 1 - Smiley Badge Recipients
Year 2 - Smiley Badge Recipients
Year 3 - Smiley Badge Recipients
Year 4 - Silver Badge Recipients
Year 5 - Silver Badge Recipients
Year 6 - Silver Badge Recipients
Year 6 - Gold Badge Recipients
Curriculum News - Reading
Throughout 2020 will have a strong focus on improving reading outcomes for all students at our school. This exciting journey is going to involve all students, staff, families and also the wider community. We look forward to sharing tips & strategies to help make reading fun at home. These can be used when your child is reading to you but also when you are reading to your child.
Everyone here at BSS acknowledges that you:
- are your child’s first teacher
- want your child to succeed as a reader
Building strong parent partnerships
Parents play an integral role in the education of their children. Much of what children learn takes place through everyday experiences at home.
Children’s literacy development can be improved when parents encourage learning through everyday activities. Modelling reading behaviours helps children recognise the value of these skills.
- children watching and listening to parents read
- children reading and talking about stories with parents
- discussing ideas in books and magazines together
- encouraging children to think and ask questions
The process for supporting reading
* Taken from: “Helping young children learn to read. What parents can do.” QLD Gov
5B
We have been super busy in 5B this term, with lots of earning and fun. Earlier in the term, students started off the morning the right way for Valentine’s Day by receiving a personalised message from Miss Bailey and a Freddo Frog to show students they are all loved and cared for in our classroom.
In Math’s we have been learning how to convert 12 hour and 24 hour time. We used Tic Toc biscuits to learn how to read analogue time and covert the time to digital and 24 hour time. Lots of had fun was had but students favourite part was definitely eating the biscuits after our hard work was complete.
I have been teaching the whole year 5 cohort science, which has been lots of fun. We have been learning about adaptations to prepare for making our very own creatures as part of our assessment. We have been doing some experiments including a camouflage experiment where students had to find M&Ms that were mixed with skittles. This was proven to be quite a tricky task and students were able to see how creatures camouflage to survive in environments.
4A/M
Year 4 AM have made a terrific start to 2020. The focus in our classroom is using a Growth Mindset. When students learn that putting effort and using the right strategies can help them get better at things, they feel empowered, and try harder. When they know their brains can grow after making a mistake, they are more confident, resilient, and are not afraid to fail!
For the past six weeks students have studied the writing style of author, Roald Dahl and how he captures the imagination of children . Art has focused on producing drawings like illustrator Quentin Blake. Mr Payne visited 4AM as a guest art teacher. The students are now transferring this learning by writing their own new chapter and drawing their own illustration. On Friday 3 April, 4AM will be celebrating their achievements by hosting a Tricky Twits festivity. Students will design a menu, games, play and display their finished chapter. Parent invitations will be sent home shortly.
GO Update
A large part of my role is to advocate for young people to achieve success at school. To support students to feel safe and happy at school whilst being engaged in learning. I am also privileged to lead our Student Support Team (SST). The SST is made up by Chappy Beau Brooker and Ms Karenne Williams Community Education Counsellor (CEC). We have hit the ground running in 2020 and want to take this time to officially introduce the team. It’s been a pleasure meeting a lot of you throughout the year and working with our awesome students. Our role is to support students to achieve our school values of being safe, respectful, responsible and a learner.
We support students through:
• check ins/check outs – to set up for a positive day/session
• rewards for displaying school core values
• mentoring
• lunch time activities
• goal setting
• family/school connecting conversations
• In class curriculum support
• Improving self-concept and building resilience
• case management
• referrals to external agencies
If you have any concerns regarding your child don’t hesitate to contact the school. Initial concerns are encouraged to be raised with class teacher first. Then our learning engagement teachers (LET)
Prep: Karen Weekes
Year 1 and 2: Fiona Radcliffe
Year 3 and 4: Kate Grady
Year 5 and 6: Scott Mitchell and Student Support Team (SST). Head of Inclusion Mrs Sibley or GO Mrs Upkett.
We are extremely lucky that our school values student wellbeing and successful outcomes for all students. We have an amazing support staff structure at Bowen State.
Hello everyone from CEC Miss Karenne,
The last fortnight has been busy with meet and greets with the parents of our amazing students.
Friday Damper Day is proving to be successful as any parents attending Parade are invited to come for tea/coffee and Damper. We have made several different types and the ladies from the Torres Strait have given me much advice on different types of Dampers, so far it’s the Coconut Damper that is proving to be a huge success.
Please let any parents of students who would like to attend that they are invited to share a cuppa, some damper and a chat, I am unfortunately away for the next 2 weeks but on my return I have some great plans for NAIDOC and am excited that I have the support of many of our parents who have offered their cultural expertise on the day.
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are so involved in providing entertainment by way of Dancing and Didgeridoo playing they are practicing each week with the support of our amazing Gareth and Buddy who are considered superstars by our young boys. We have a Mens’ Business group on Thursdays and I am hoping to have a Womens’ Business group running as soon as I return.
The students are committed to sharing culture with their school mates and are becoming celebrities in the kitchen with their cooking Chow Chow for the Breakfast Club. The boys are planning on repeating this for Harmony day on the 20th March. Please if you can, come and support our deadly young students who are making a real difference, I am sure you too will enjoy their cooking.
I have to thank Miss Conway for all her longsuffering support with our ATSI boys learning to play the Didgeridoo they are all stars, and have advised me that they will be ready for their first performance with the Prep ad Year 1 students very soon.
My priority is to meet all our parents before end of Term 1 and I am privileged to be welcomed by our families.
Thank You
Sports Update
I would like to congratulate all students that participated in the Rugby League and Netball Bowen Sub District Trials this week. All students put forth a great effort and did an excellent job representing Bowen State School.
Special thanks to Mr. Mitchell and Mrs. Adsett for helping with training sessions and trials.
Congratulations to the following students who have been successful in making the Bowen Sub District Rugby and Netball teams:
Rugby League Netball
Kai Hatherell Harris Wright
Rory Uski Erin Romeo
Shanae Murdock
Rebecca Daniel
Rashawn Watego
Good Luck at the Whitsunday District trials on Monday March 16th 2020!
Upcoming Bowen Sub-Distict trials are as follows:
Soccer- Monday March 23rd 2020- Final trials to be held for girls this Friday afternoon.
Softball -Monday March 30th 2020
Many students have started training for Cross Country before school. It is great to see so many students signed up and keen to challenge themselves to reach new fitness goals.
We will be hosting our Inter-house Cross Country trials on Thursday April 2nd at Bowen State School. The event will kick off at 9:15 am on the Gregory street oval and run for the morning session. Details and times will be sent home closer to the date.
During March, all students in years 5 and 6 have the opportunity to take part in the CSIRO Bebras Challenge, as detailed in the attached letter.
The challenge will take place at school, in the STEM lab.
There is no cost to enter and it is a great way for students to develop their team work and problem-solving skills, in an engaging set of online challenges.
Students may enter individually, or as a team. We would like to have all year 5 and 6 students take part, with support from their peers and teachers.
Please complete the permission form, which has been sent home, by next Monday, 9th March, so that registrations and team make-up, can be completed.
