ARD visit

Last week we hosted a number of regional staff to our school. I have included some great feedback from our ARD Helen McCullough that we received for the school and some of the next steps:

Thank you also for warmly welcoming Kylie Smith (Regional Director) and Suzanne Currin (ARD) who were co-visiting as part of Suzanne’s transition and induction. Please thank all teachers, students and leaders for a positive and comprehensive visit at Bowen SS.

 Thank you also for the opportunity of talking with staff about the walks and talks and the collegial engagement framework to support clear line of sight to classrooms at all levels. A shout out to the teachers and leaders who also were able to share their thinking and experience on the walkthroughs that we did today – their voice was much appreciated.

Prep – “Learning wall in place. Discussed with teacher how she uses the wall and how children make meaning from the C-A of the task. Bump it up structure with clear alignment to the GTMJ and success criteria. Next steps identified was continuation of committing student work samples and explaining strong samples to students. Students identifying and writing their examples of verbs and their preference examples. On the student work there is a clear alignment to the learning intention (lesson level) and the success criteria – allowing for students to reflect and conferencing with teachers of the elements of the success criteria evident in the student written response.”

Walkthroughs

This week we engaged in walkthroughs through each classroom. The focus has been the use of the “learning walls” and the expectations around “book work”. We have an agreed framework with look for’s and staff receive feedback on evidence of effective practices and direction for the next steps. This is an important part of What makes Bowen State Great as we know the high yield research-based practices support the best learning environments and outcomes for our students.

Looking forward to sharing more great stories around the teaching and learning this term. Until next fortnight have a great couple of weeks.

Christien Payne
Principal

I believe in: Hard Work Honesty Transparency

Our whole school attendance currently sits at 88%

Our attendance target is 93%.   

Congratulations to 3/4C for having the highest attendance with 92%. 

Well done to 1T, P/1WC and 3/4C for having 100% attendance on one day over the last two weeks.

 HEALTHY LUNCHBOX HEALTHY BRAIN

Your child’s lunch box can contribute up to 1/3 of their daily intake of nutrients. It is important to pack foods that will sustain their energy throughout the day. Use the CORE 4 as a guide for a nutritious lunchbox.

Pack the CORE 4-

1. Main lunch item (sandwich, wrap or pasta salad)
2. Core snack (crackers and cheese, veggie sticks, yoghurt)
3. Piece of fruit
4. Water bottle with an additional small reduced fat mile drink or 99% fruit juice

Active kids need 1 extra snack (popcorn, rice crackers, tinned fruit, muffin)

Celebrating Science at Bowen State School

We had a visit from the Super Science Circus Show this week providing our students with some cool science facts and experiments. Each year level will be continuing with their scientific learning in the classrooms covering a range of topics.

Preps: Properties of different materials

Year 1: Exploring the Sky & Land

Year 2: Good to Grow-Living Things

Year 3: Experimenting with Heat

Year 4: Physical Properties of Materials

Year 5: Exploring the Transfer of Light

Year 6: Explaining Natural Events and Change

The theme for National Science Week this year is Glass: More than meets the eye.  It celebrates the many roles that glass plays in our lives – from phone screens to optical fibre to glassware in labs – plus investigating glass as a part of our sustainable future.  We will be learning more about glass over the coming weeks.

Challenge games was an exciting time for all involved 12 students, three teachers'  and parents from both Merinda and Bowen State School attended the two-day event in Townsville last week. We would like to thank our sponsors Cruise Whitsundays, Abbott Point and our School P &C for their dontations. We would like to also thank Detour Coaches and Ingenia Park for helping us travel safe and hosting us in their accommodation. Keep an eye out on Cruise Whitsunday Instagram page for some of our photos. We are having our presentation of trophies and certificates in two weeks time .. Date to be advised. Our students participated in a range of sports over two days and won so many ribbons each. We look forward to participating next year.

A huge thank you to the parents who joined us for our stay, and of course Mrs Sibley, Mrs Radcliffe and Miss Chandler. 

It has been a busy time in the Technology Lab so far this Term. Some of our students have been busy Coding and Decoding Algorithms and practising their mouse skills by creating Pixel Art pictures. Everyone has been very focused on the tasks and enjoying learning some new skills.

Mrs Radcliffe

Prep students have been learning about materials and their properties. Prep L have spent some time out in our environment exploring the different types of materials around our school. Students used magnifying glasses to investigate the material, students were able to name the material and describe how it feels.