Remembrance Day

This year marks the hundred and second anniversary of the ending of World War 1. On Thursday at 11am our school united to remember and reflect on all service men and women who served and are still serving in peace keeping projects today. I was overwhelmed by the respect shown by our students during the ceremony and the leadership from various children during the service. Handmade Poppies created by our prep students were laid at the memorial garden. The morning provided a great opportunity for us to come together as a whole school community and pay our respects. Please enjoy the highlights and photos on our school Facebook page. “Lest we forget”.

School leaders

This week Mr Callaghan and I had the pleasure of listening to seven outstanding students share their leadership speeches for the 2021 School Captain and Vice-Captain Positions. We heard a passion for this school and various stories of great leadership and commitment to help others. Well done students. The next step will be speeches to fellow students with a culmination in the announcement at the senior awards parade on Monday Week 9.

Fire drill

Thank you all staff and students who successfully engaged in our first fire drill for the year as a whole school including changes to the whole school policy and exit plan. The school has been working hard on rectifying outdated processes to make a safer and clearer procedure. The whole school now exits to one location being the Gregory Street oval. We were impressed with students conducting the drill. They were safe and calm following their teacher’s direction. Well done students and staff.

Playgroup success

As the year winds to an end I reflect on the huge success and opportunities that our weekly playgroup has opened for our families and wider community this year. We have devoted specialised staff dedicated to our playgroup and the organisation has grown and evolved immensely. The morning has had a structured theme and catered from babies to Kindergarten aged children. We will be running playgroup again in 2021. More information regarding this will be shared on our Playgroup Facebook page. I would like to thank families and staff for the great mornings had and have enjoyed coming down each week reading stories and being part of all the fun! A special thanks to our amazing playgroup team Ann-Jay, Karen Weekes and Lara who have put in a tremendous amount of effort into the planning, coordination and resourcing of the themes each week. Their innovative ways to check in and communicate with families has been fantastic. Well done!

Year 6 High School Transition

Last week our school played host to a number of Bowen State High School teachers, as they visited our school to take our Year 6 students for a series of Micro lessons, as part of their transition to high school programme. The students from Bowen SS and St Mary’s were involved in a range of subjects that are on offer at BSHS including English, Drama, Design, Art, HPE and Science. All of our students represented our school exceptional well throughout the programme and made a great first impression to their future High School teachers. The next big event for our transitioning students to look forward to is on Friday the 4^th December where our students get to spend the whole day at Bowen State High School fully emerging into schooling as a High School student.

Attendance

Attendance has had a slight decrease over the past couple of weeks, however this was probably likely considering sickness travelling through the community of late. Contrary to the trend, our 3D class did manage to achieve an outstanding 99% attendance rate for last week!

Remember that if students are not sick then they should be at school. This time of the year is critically for all our students to complete their final assessment pieces, so they can receive their true grade that they deserve. Learning is happening every day at Bowen State School right up until the last day of school on Wednesday the 9^th of December.   

1 H/P

This term students have participated in a guided investigation designing a musical instrument. They have written a procedure and published it using photo story on the ipads.  Students enjoyed exploring elements of light and sound to design their instrument.

2 D/G

This term in Science we have been exploring what objects are made of (materials) and their properties. For example: object is a belt, materials are leather and metal, and properties are strong, flexible and light. This week students had to construct an object that could carry an orange and sandwich for 5 metres and be able to be wiped on the inside with a wet sponge. The students worked out that the object would need the properties of strength and water resistance. Check out some students testing their objects.

4G

4G have been working extremely hard throughout Term 4. In English, we have been reading the quest novel, 'Rowan of Rin.' We are now about to start writing about the way Rowan is represented in an important event at the end of the story. In Maths, we have been learning about decimals and fractions, chance and data. Below is a picture of the class playing 'decimal dominoes.' We played lots of games like this to help us with our understanding of decimals and the different ways they are represented.  

5S

This term we are looking at the novel Holes by Louis Sachar and comparing the movie and the book. We have discussed the similarities and differences and provided judgements based on two other stories - The Lorax by Dr Seuss and Storm Boy by Colin Thiele. The kids have really been getting stuck in, by filming their own movies on the iPads

Swimming Lessons

We have two weeks left of swimming lessons until the big carnival!! Students have shown a great effort and have been working very hard in preparation for the big day!

We are very pleased with the level of participation from students and encouragement from parents in ensuring all students attend. Thank you for your ongoing support with this, it is very much appreciated and could save a life!

Swimming Carnival 

Notes were sent home with students this week for the swimming carnival. Please ensure this is returned to classroom teachers by Friday November 20^th 2020.

SPECTATOR UPDATE: ONE parent/member per family will be allowed to attend the event. Guests will be required to sign in upon entry and maintain social distancing where possible.

Below is an approximate schedule for the day along with lunch pack options available.

Below are lunch pack options that will be available at the canteen on the day. The regular menu will be available for purchase as well.

Option 1

Small Sausage Roll & Water Bottle or Fruit Popper = $5.50

Option 2

Large Sausage Roll & Water Bottle or Fruit Popper = $6.50

Option 3

Meat Pie & Water Bottle or Fruit Popper = $7.50

Music News

Year 4 Performance Group

A big healthy hello to all of the Bowen State School Families,

Did you know that nearly all Queensland children do not eat the recommended daily intake of 2 fruit and 5 vegetables?

In fact fewer than six percent of Queensland children eat adequate vegetables and over a third of daily energy intake comes from discretionary food and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt. Unfortunately 1 in every 4 children is obese. So, in a class of 24 students’ statics indicate that at least 6 of those students would classify as obese.

Alongside the home, schools play an important role in teaching children to experience and enjoy fruit and vegetables to ensure they develop the skills to support life-long healthy eating habits.

School lunch boxes can support students in reaching their daily recommendations just by encouraging the follow items being packed:

• Fruit – fresh, frozen, pureed or canned in natural juice
• Vegetables – carrot, capsicum, cucumber, corn, snow peas just to name a few
• Legumes and beans – chick peas, baked beans,
• Dairy - plain milk, yoghurt or cheese
• Lean meats such as poultry, eggs and fish
• Grains & cereals – seeded breads
• And of course plain water.

So until next time let us all work on our daily 2 & 5!

Olivia Gordon

Pick of the Crop Coordinator

ECDP News

Term 4 is often a busy time of year for most, our ECDP students are transitioning to their prep classes and new schools with great enthusiasm. Parents, Classroom teachers and support staff are working together to ensure for a  smooth transition. ECDP will finish up on Monday the 23rd November 2020.  This will be a short session from 9am to 10:30am.

We have been busy and excited with the recent delivery of our new sensory swing that's located just outside the library, many children have been seen to be relaxing in this space. We would also like to thank our groundsman for helping us just after the school holidays with painting our concrete just outside the library, it has given our learning space a fresh look.

Transition is happening also in many other areas of the school. Students will have started to visit many new areas of learning getting ready for next year, visiting new classrooms or garden areas for reading groups many students are very excited for the next year.

If you have any concerns in regards to transition for your child, please contact the school by phone or call in to make an appointment to discuss.