21 February 2025

ADMIN NEWS

Volunteering at School

If you are interested in volunteering at school in the tuckshop, or to help with swimming or in any other capacity, you may need to apply for a Blue Card (Volunteer).

Parents do not necessarily need a blue card, however Grandparents do.

Volunteers wishing to apply for Blue Card:

1. To apply for a Volunteer Blue Card in order to volunteer within our school, go to: 
   Apply for a blue card or exemption card and register for an account at the bottom of the web page. 
   Once you have your account number, please email this to bsm@pomonass.eq.edu.au so you can be linked to our school.  
   *Please also include your full name, date of birth, phone number and email address in the email. 
2. Once you’ve received notification from Blue Card Services that you’ve been linked, you can complete your volunteer application.  (Please Note: if you apply prior to receiving this notification, you will need to pay a fee.)  After receiving the notification, the application will be free. 
3. Please note if you are currently a parent of a student enrolled in our school, you do not need a blue card. 
4. Please be advised that restricted persons cannot volunteer or be employed at a school.  If you are a restricted person and start or continue volunteering or working at a school, serious penalties can apply.  For further information on restricted persons and penalties, please go to: Restricted person and restricted employment for individuals fact sheet 

QParents

Parents, if you are not already using QParents, you have recently been sent an invitation to your email address.

QParents is a user-friendly portal (accessible via app or web browser), that provides parents with secure online access to information about their child’s schooling.

By using QParents, you can access information for your children about: ▪ attendance details ▪ timetables and upcoming events ▪ report cards and assessments ▪ invoices and payment history.

We encourage all families to begin using QParents as it is a secure way to access information, and make payments on invoices, as well as record absences for your students.

Student Absences

Schools will:

• monitor student attendance
• notify you if your child has an unexplained absence as soon as practicable on the day of your child's absence and continue to follow-up with you as practicable
• use effective teaching strategies to engage your child in learning
• help you with strategies to encourage your child to go to school
• provide support for families.

Please advise if your student/s will be absent from school for any reason.

Options for notifying the school of student absences include:

• Use QParents (preferred)
• Leave a message on the student absentee number: 54 808 222 and select absence line.
• Email the school administration email – admin@pomonass.eq.edu.au

If for some reason, your student/s will be absent for more than 10 school days, you need to contact the school prior to the absence and complete an Exemption from Compulsory Schooling, which has to be approved by the School Principal.

Student Resource Scheme Fees (SRS)

In late 2024, we conducted a review of both our SRS Fees (Student Resource Scheme Fees) and our Year Level Booklists.

As a result, we determined that we could source some of the items that were on the booklist at a better more competitive price for parents, by buying in bulk so some items were removed from booklists and included in the SRS Fees instead.  

Further to this, every student’s GEM Workbook was included into the SRS Fees. 

To accommodate these changes, the pricing of the booklists was less than in previous years, and the price of the SRS Fees has increased to $130 per student for the year.

We have done this to make everything fair and equitable for all families, and this decision was endorsed by the school P&C at the final P&C meeting for the year.

The letter regarding the Student Resource Scheme Fee will go out today, along with the invoices for SRS Fees for 2025.

If you wish to opt out of the Student Resource Scheme, you will need to complete this on the paperwork that comes home, and then you will be provided with a list of resources that you will need to provide to school for your student/s.    This is a completely separate list of resources to the Year Level Booklists.

There will be payment options on the SRS paperwork that you receive.     Should you need to arrange a payment plan, please contact Tammy, our Business Manager to arrange this.

HOW IS YOUR CHILD GETTING HOME FROM SCHOOL?

We have had quite a number of students coming to the office in the afternoons as they are unsure as to how they are getting home.  Even though parents may have reminded their child in the morning, by home time, they have forgotten.  This is very distressing for your child and quite time consuming for our office staff as they have to call parents to find out what arrangements were made.  There are many different types of bag tag systems which can be purchased online and are relatively simple to use.  These are also more effective than leaving a written note in your child’s bag.  We appreciate your help in this matter.

DATE CLAIMERS

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

NAPLAN 2025

Information for parents and carers

MUSIC WITH MR GRIMISH

Students in 3KL are learning to read and play music associated with the portrayal of different characters and their actions. They’ve been introduced to a new rhythm and a new time signature and are killing it!

GEM IS BACK IN 2025!

We are excited to announce the return of The Resilience Project – GEM Program to Pomona State School in 2025!

Our whole-school wellbeing program is designed to support and promote positive mental health across the classroom, staffroom, and wider community. As a school, we are proud to embrace the core components of Gratitude, Empathy, and Mindfulness (GEM), alongside Emotional Literacy, Connection, and Physical Health.

Through relatable storytelling and humour, the program fosters open conversations about wellbeing and equips everyone with practical strategies for building resilience and happiness. We believe these tools will empower our community to thrive mentally and emotionally.

Click the link to learn more about the program: The Resilience Project

PJM PREPS AND THEIR BUDDIES

Preps have been getting to know their buddies! Last week the Preps collaborated with their buddy to colour in a beautiful bookmark. This week the buddies helped us practice our names and draw portraits of each other. Next week we will visit the library together and share a story. The Preps truly enjoy seeing their buddy around school and in the playground - Thanks 6CL!

NDSHS MUSICAL

Audition information for Grade 5 or 6

We would like to invite students in grade 5 or 6 who have a keen interest in Musical Theatre to audition for a role in the 2025 Noosa District SHS musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory My name is Louize Lyle and I will be the coordinator of the Musical Theatre Program in 2025.  To gain a position in the Musical Theatre Excellence Program in 2025, students must attend an audition at Noosa High (Cooroy Campus) in the Drama Room (03) on Tuesday 1 April from 3.30 – 5.30pm. I will attach a map of the school for your convenience.

For the audition students will be required to perform a 1-minute musical theatre piece of their own choice from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This piece must include dance but could also include song and dance. Students are welcome to wear costumes for their audition however this is not essential. We will be looking for students who are well prepared, enthusiastic, energised and skilful.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be staged at the Cooroy Campus on August 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Students will be required to attend Tuesday afternoon rehearsals in week 8, 9 and 10 of term 2 and then Monday afternoon rehearsals from week 1 – 4 term 3. Some weekend rehearsals will also be required, and an overnight camp will occur early in term 3. 

Please note the cost of the program for successful participants will be $150, this will cover costs for costumes, hair, makeup, musical t-shirt and camp.

Please email Ms Louize Lyle (llyle1@eq.edu.au) to register for your audition by week 6 – Monday 3 March.

We are so excited to have the opportunity to invite primary school students into this unique experience. Our Musical Theatre Excellence Program has been hugely successful for many years and highly rewarding to all involved. We encourage you to support your students in auditioning for this program.

Kind Regards

Louize Lyle
Musical Producer / Director