Bowen State School eNewsletter

Don river dash special parade

We are very excited to invite our families to join us on Wednesday, August 30th, at 8am, at the undercover area, as we welcome local heroes and parents of Sam and Harry Jack. Tom and Sally Jack. Tom was the 2022 Winner of Class F - Veterans (All Powers) 35yrs - u45yrs, is back and ready to amaze our community again in 2023.

This year, he's taking it up a notch by forming a husband and wife team, tearing through the terrain in a Class 11 Buggy. But that's not all – Tom's incredible skills will be put to the test as he transitions from his buggy to his Husqvarna motorbike for the DRD23 IRONMAN challenge on both days. Don't miss this thrilling display of passion, power, and determination at the Don River Dash event. Let's gather to celebrate local pride, Sally and Tom's remarkable journey!

We are encouraging any students who race bikes, enjoy riding bikes or quads, to come dressed in their Motocross safety gear. We will have media presence including local sponsors and want to get some great photos to promote this awesome event. Students at this parade will have a chance to win some cool merch from the sponsors.

E Block Refurbishment of Prep classroom and STEM space

This week Brian Smith Constructions commenced construction on the internal refurbishment of E Block. When completed we will have a brand-new refurbished prep space and Science & Technology room. The works will be completed by the end of next term, ready for 2024. I have included the graphic images provided to the school, of what the finished product will look like.

Mrs Weekes on leave last three weeks

Our fantastic Deputy Principal Mrs Weekes will be on leave for the last three weeks of this term. She is going to visit her daughter in the UK and travell throughout Europe. We are all very jealous and certainly will miss the dedicated and professional role she performs each and every day. Scott Mitchell our learning support teacher will replace Karen in her time of leave.

Congratulations Mr Shaw

This week I finalised the process for the term 4 role of Head of Special Education here at Bowen State School. Some great applications were received but I am very pleased to announce that Mr Ethan Shaw was the successful applicant. Well done Ethan! I think all the staff would agree his friendly, professional and understanding mindset, is greatly appreciated by our staff and students. Ethan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role and has done a stella job to date. Please join me in congratulating Ethan as you see him around our school.

Our whole school attendance is currently 88.24%.

There has been a tussle between Prep D, who have consistently been the weekly class attendance winners, and the other classes. Congratulations to 6S and PD who have taken the trophy recently.

Student Council

The Student Council is raising money to purchase portable football posts for the ovals during playtime. Fundraising events-

CHESS CLUB

Each Monday and Thursday, at first break, in the Library, students can play chess or learn to play. In Term 4 there will be a Chess Competition.

SCISSORS PAPER ROCK COMPETITION

Each Wednesday students can play in the scissors paper rock competition in the undercover area. It is 50 cents to play. The winner receives a voucher from the tuckshop. Week 6 winner was Diloth in 4C.

FREE DRESS DAY

In week 10 there will be a free dress day for a gold coin donation. The theme will be revealed closer to the day.

We are over half way through Term 3 and over half way through the year! How time flies!

Last week, students enjoyed participating in their Week 5 PBL Rewards Celebrations. They had so much fun with activities such as finger knitting, icing biscuits, whole school hide and seek, iPad time, Just Dance, and many more! They now look forward to their Week 10 celebrations which will be decided amongst the class. Ask your child what they are working towards, to help keep them motivated!

For the past few weeks, we have focused on being resilient. Students can practise this by following the Hi-5 strategies when faced with a challenging situation, or trying mountain breathing, to refocus. Think to yourself, “I won’t let this bother me” and just keep swimming and moving forward.

Next week, we will be focusing on being responsible: recognising our own emotions. For this, students will look at the Zones of Regulation. It is important for students to be able to identify and communicate which zone they feel like they are in, so that staff and students can offer support, strategies or alternatives to bring them into the Green Zone.

Keep moving forward!

Emma Chandler

PBL Team Leader

Grade 6 - Year 7 Bowen State High School Additional Transition Visit

This coming Wednesday (August 23), Craig Ninnes from Bowen State High School will be running a transition session for selected students who may benefit from an additional session to help their transition to secondary school. The session will be held in our school library with students attending from 2:05pm - 2:30pm and parents/carers of the selected students are invited to attend from 2:30pm - 2:50pm to hear from Craig about the transition process, how the school supports all students, ask questions and importantly begin to develop a positive relationship.

Invitations have been sent out to selected students and their families, however, if you feel you or your child would benefit from the session and you have not received an invitation then please send me an email (ecsha0@eq.edu.au) and I will ensure an invitation is sent home.

As always, I encourage you to contact me should you have any questions or concerns about your child's academic, social or emotional learning.

Many thanks,

Ethan Shaw

Acting Head of Special Education Services (HoSES)

In Maths, Prep D have been learning about data collection. We have been learning how to ask ‘YES’ and ‘NO’ questions, record answers using tally marks and how to infer what the data means. We then collected data about PIZZA! First, we designed our own pizza and then asked 5 friends the question “Do you like pizza?” Next, we recorded our answers and inferred that ‘most people like pizza’. Then, we had to make up our own new question to ask our friends about an ingredient on their pizza. We have been practicing our questioning and recording skills in our own Pizza Parlour in the classroom, which has been a lot of fun!

This term in 1M we have been reading the 'Willy the Wimp' series. We have taken on the role as the author and have been creating new characters to add into the 'Willy the Wimp' books. Everyone has done a wonderful job creating their characters and writing about what they will do in their chosen story. Students are now sharing their new characters to the class and asking each other questions about the characters they have created.

We have also been busy creating beautiful artworks to brighten up our classroom.

In 3A, this week has been very exciting for some and nerve wracking for others. 3A students set up a children’s theatre with a stage, master of ceremony, a camera technician and seating . They presented a written retell of the Lorax from the perspective of another character and then they critiqued each other’s presentation.Everyone feels very proud of their writing and public speaking and are keen to do more.

This term in Science, we are investigating the observable properties and characteristics of materials. This week we have investigated what happens to 10cm lengths of plastic samples when they are stretched. We tested pieces of a Sports Power bag, a produce bag and a plastic sleeve. To ensure that the investigation was a fair test, we only changed one variable - the types of plastic.

Our results showed that the 10cm length of the Sports Power bag was able to be stretched the most with the longest recorded being 33cm. We also learnt that it was very important to stretch the plastic pieces gently or they would snap. 4T really enjoyed conducting this investigation.

Students in 5/6H have been busy as bees this term, smashing out work like rapt, regimented robots. That sentence there, is the calibre of content we’ve been excelling at - Similes, Alliteration, Metaphors, Onomatopoeia, Hyperbole, Noun Groups and all things Figurative Language! Here are just a few of the brilliant poems the class wrote about an endangered animal of their choice which included examples of figurative language and the issue involving the endangered animal. Clever kids!

Students in year 6H, imagined that their class were writing letters to a future Year 6 class at Bowen State School, to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Queensland becoming a state in 2059. Their letter will be sealed and preserved in a time capsule, ready to be handed to a student in that class. They also included a map of their place.