End of an eventful term

What an amazing end to a huge Term 3 for Bowen State. So many key events to reflect on and achievements for our school community. Our 100^th day of prep, followed by Challenge Games, farm tours, construction of the yarning circle, fete, disco, circus performances, Grip leadership, badge parade and end of term rewards. Wow! So much action in an enormous term. I know staff and students are looking for a well earnt rest and opportunity to recharge the batteries. As a school we are looking forward to the next 10 weeks of the teaching and learning and next steps for students at our school. We will be reflecting on the key work of 2021 and the next lift for Bowen State in 2022. Recently we held the student free day and spent the time on a variety of professional development for our staff.

An important session on this day was spent on COVID-19 readiness planning including home learning. Staff were provided the Queensland COVID 19 planning framework which outlines a variety of guidelines around the school environment. These documents that are provided by Education Queensland are guided by the Queensland Government and support schools to be prepared and planned for school closure or emergent lockdown. Staff were informed of the school governance and support networks through the Emergency Response Plan. We want to be prepared at Bowen State and ensure that if required our school can action our plan at short notice.

As I have mentioned before families will be kept informed and communicated through various platforms if the need arises.

Congratulations Mrs Sibley

I am pleased to announce and congratulate Mrs Ann-Jay Sibley for her permanent appointment to the Bowen Cluster Head of Special Education Services position through the higher classification process. Families may be unaware that Ann-Jay has only been acting in her role and this is a great news story to end the term. This permanent appointment brings stability for our school, the community, cluster schools and certainly a clear future in Bowen for Ann-Jay, Paul her husband and Jacob her son. Please join me in congratulating Ann-Jay as you see her around our school.

School holiday security

Previously our school has been the target of senseless and selfish acts of vandalism and attempted forced entries. A timely reminder to be on heightened alert with school holidays approaching. Can I please ask families to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour seen on school grounds to the local police and or contact school watch on 13 17 88.

Looking forward to sharing more great stories around the teaching and learning next term. Until next fortnight have a great school holidays.

Teaching and Learning Happens Every day at Bowen SS

Unfortunately, over the last 2 weeks of term 3, student attendance has decreased significantly falling to 85% for that period of time. All but 2 classes reached our 93% attendance target and one class of students had as little as 70%.

Because of this significant drop off in attendance, this means that a concerning number of students have not completed or had the opportunity to complete their assessment pieces to the best of their ability. Missing out on these opportunities to demonstrate their learned abilities will affect their reporting marks at the end of the year.

Over the past 2 years, Mr Payne and I have worked tireless hard to ensure that quality learning happens in classrooms every day, right up until the final bell of the last day of school, each term. We even extended timelines for report cards to be issued later to allow teachers more time to make the most of the final days of school in Semester 1. Our belief is that the more learning your children are exposed to, the more chance they have to achieve at school and succeed at life. Taking the last week off school to start an early holiday is not an acceptable reason for students to miss out on their education.

We would like to congratulate are our newest Merit Badge recipients presented with their badges on Friday 10th September 2021. 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.

In Prep M the children have been working all term listening and creating rhyming words. Last week all children presented their four-line rhyme in front of the class with a loud clear voice and actions to engage their audience.

Year 5H: Next term the students will be writing a comparison of a novel, “Wonder” and its film adaptation and state their preference. The students in year 5H have already started reading the novel this term and are keen to watch the movie after the holidays.

As the term comes to a close, 6G have enjoyed completing their final English assessment piece. This task involved students using Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins' book "My Place" to assist them in writing their own double-page spread for the year 2021. They wrote about their families, their teacher, personal interests and possessions, and events that have happened around the world this year. The finished products were great!

Students in 4AM have been having a lot of fun exploring Digital Technology and using an app called Stop Motion on the iPads to make a mini movie.

After writing a review of the novel, Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda their groups worked on creating a diorama to represent a setting from the book. They explored recording their voice over and sound effects.

This was a great opportunity to learn about the capability of the app and how much work it takes to make a quality production.

Year 1 students have been busy adding a new character to the ‘Tiddalick’ story without changing the ending. Sierra, Eden, Max and Montaya added these Australian animals to the story.

Over the last couple of weeks 2MG have been very creative and have each put together a collage to represent a superhero theme. They should all be very proud of their artworks as everyone looks fantastic and tells a different story.

Vaccination of children aged 12 years and older

Dear Parent/Guardian,

The Chief Health Officer has written to me and other school principals across Queensland to urge you and your family (including all children aged 12 years and older) to take the opportunity over the upcoming school holidays to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

Children aged 12 years and older can receive a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a Queensland Health vaccination location or at a participating General Practice (GP). In the very near future, you will be able to access Moderna (Spikevax) vaccine at a participating community pharmacy.

I too encourage you to please make this a priority for your family these school holidays by taking the below actions.

How to book

Register your interest (https://www.vaccinebookings.health.qld.gov.au/registerforvaccination/) to receive your COVID-19 vaccine at a Queensland Health vaccination location.
1. Older children can register themselves separately if they have their own email address or
2. A parent/guardian can register and set up their children as dependents. All correspondence will be managed through the parent/guardian’s email address. Read more about creating a dependent in the vaccine booking system. (https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/protect-yourself-others/covid-19-vaccine/book/help#dependents)

If you need assistance with vaccination bookings, call 134 COVID (13 42 68).

Access the COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Checker (https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/covid-19-vaccine-clinic-finder) to book a vaccination at a participating GP or community pharmacy.

Walk in opportunities

Walk in appointments are currently available at selected Queensland Health vaccination locations. To find your closest walk in vaccination location, please visit www.health.qld.gov.au/vaccinelocations.

Consent

For young people, consent from a parent/guardian is usually required. In Queensland:

individuals aged 12 to 15 years may require a parent/guardian to provide consent, however may be mature enough to provide informed consent
individuals aged 16 years and older are generally deemed to have capacity to consent for vaccination.

It is recommended that children under the age of 16 have a parent/guardian with them at their vaccination appointment. Young people seeking to provide informed consent themselves, without parental consent, should speak to their vaccinating clinician.

Find out more about age of consent for vaccinations (https://www.health.qld.gov.au/clinical-practice/guidelines-procedures/diseases-infection/immunisation/consent).

Additional information and support

For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine and children, please visit Queensland Health’s website for children, young people and parents (https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/protect-yourself-others/covid-19-vaccine/information-for/young-people?fbclid=IwAR0Im8Fd6taqDM6XNG-ZYULLSlVJR0_3vwh3jkpG-1ak2Y9bTQgPGvqxac4). General information about the vaccine is also available in multiple languages (https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/covid-19-vaccine-information-in-your-language).

If you need an interpreter to book your vaccination appointment, call 13 42 68 and ask to be connected to an interpreter. If an interpreter is needed to phone this service, first call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50 and they can connect you.

If an interpreter is needed at the vaccine appointment, advise a staff member when you arrive at the vaccination location so they can arrange this for you. This is a free service.

Thank you for your cooperation to keep Queensland and our school communities safe.