31 January 2020

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Welcome to all students and families, new and old. We have had a great start to 2020. School staffing allocation will be calculated on the number of students actively enrolled on the eighth day of school (Thursday 6th February). I would like parents to be aware that should class changes be required they will take affect from Monday 10th February.

I would also like to thank Brian George from Countryside Realty for his generous donation towards our Year 6 Graduation ceremony at the conclusion of the 2019 school year. I thank him for his ongoing sponsorship of our school events.

WELCOME TO NEW STAFF

We have a couple of new faces in the school. Welcome to Ms Lesley Whitehouse who will be working with Mr Trewick and Mr John Brennan who will be working with both Mrs Whatmough and Mrs McIntye’s Year 6 classes.

UNIFORM EXPECTATIONS

As we all welcome our students to an exciting new school year, these first few weeks are also critical for ensuring that our high expectations in work, behaviour and uniform are conveyed to all students consistently. Uniforms are available for purchase from the tuckshop. A big thank you to all of our parents for your wonderful support in this area.

SCHOOL CROSSING

Today a familiar sight around schools is the School Crossing Supervisor. Their role is to ensure that pedestrians who cross the road at the school crossing do so in a safe manner. Please find attached a video on the school crossing supervisor and how to safely use the crossing.

Help keep our children and our School Crossing Supervisors safe.

SCHOOL STAFF CARPARK

Could I remind parents and community members that the main school road access and staff car park should not be used as a drop off or pick up point. This is a particularly dangerous area between 2:45 pm and 3:30 pm and is out of bounds to students. No parents should be driving into the school grounds unless using the disabled parking space at the front of the administration building with the appropriate permit.

STUDENT RESOURCE SCHEME

Pomona State School in consultation with the P&C Association has chosen to operate a Student Resource Scheme for 2020 to assist parents with the cost and resourcing of additional educational resources that provide enhanced learning opportunities. The scheme is supported and approved by the School’s Parents and Citizens Association and operates under the policy and guidelines of The Department of Education and Training (DET). The scheme is not used to raise funds for other purposes. The scheme provides the entire package for the specified participation fee and is not available in parts.

Participation in the scheme is voluntary and there is no obligation placed on a parent/caregiver to participate. A parent/caregiver’s decision to participate is based on consideration of the value and convenience afforded by the scheme. However, please be aware that materials required under this scheme are not funded by school grants.

The purpose of the scheme is to provide the parent/caregiver with a cost effective more economical alternative to purchasing required resources and consumables through reduced prices gained from the school’s bulk purchasing processes. The provision of this scheme ensures that well-resourced learning by our students remains our key focus.

Total cost of the scheme is $70.00 per student and details of what is included in the scheme will be forthcoming, but includes subscriptions to Mathletics, Reading Eggs, Ebooks, Apps, school produced workbooks, as well as Design & Food Technology and Art supplies. Please do not make any payments as yet, you will be invoiced shortly after returning your participation agreement form, should you wish to participate.

If you do not wish to participate you will need to return the form and it will then be your responsibility to purchase/provide all the resources provided by the scheme.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR LEARNING

This year Pomona State School will have a focus on Positive Behaviour Learning throughout the year. Each week will have a topic that students will engage with through the explicit teaching of the focus skill within the classroom.

Our Positive Behaviour Learning program aims to actively and directly teach the skills necessary for children to be accepted into and participate effectively in the variety of group situations they will experience in a school setting. Through teaching the same skills concurrently throughout the school a consistency in language, expectations and consequences or responses are recognised by both students and staff.

Week 1 – High 5
Week 2 – High 5

ADMINSTERING MEDICATION AT SCHOOL

If your child requires staff to administer medication to your child at school, please contact the school office in the first instance to discuss your child’s requirements.

Please note, school staff will only administer medication that:

• has been prescribed by a qualified health practitioner (e.g. doctor, dentist)
• is in its original container
• has an attached pharmacy label. Pharmacy label must show prescribing doctor’s name.

Office staff will ask you to complete and sign Section 1 of the Administration of medication at school record sheet.

School staff are bound by these regulations and we hope that all parents will acknowledge and cooperate with these rules.

REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENTS AT RIST OF ANAPHYLAXIS

If your child is at risk of anaphylaxis, it is important for you to provide the school with your child’s emergency medication and their ASCIA Anaphylaxis Action Plan, completed by your doctor. This Anaphylaxis Action Plan provides the instructions for the school to administer your child’s medication in an emergency, which is specific to respond to their health condition.

If you have any concerns about your child’s health condition, please contact the school.

REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENTS AT RISK OF ASTHMA

If your child has asthma and requires assistance to administer their medication, it is important for you to provide the school with your child’s emergency medication and their Asthma Action Plan, completed by your doctor. An Asthma Action Plan provides specific instructions for the school to administer your child’s medication.

We recognise that some students are capable of managing their asthma without adult assistance. If you are confident that your child can confidently, competently and safely self-administer their asthma medication, let the school administration know. The school will record your decision. Please note that if your child requires assistance in an asthma emergency, staff will provide Asthma First Aid.

If you have any concerns about your child’s asthma, please contact the school.

HEAD LICE

The presence of head lice is a very common childhood occurrence in the community. The primary responsibility for the management and treatment of head lice in students belongs with parents.

As a school we notify parents via a letter if a parent has reported to the school that their child has head lice. This letter is sent to all the students in the class.

Students who are suspected of having head lice or eggs present in their hair are not excluded from class or school. However, if notified by the school, a parent may choose to remove their child from school to administer immediate treatment to their child.

• Avoid head to head contact with other persons (no sharing of hats)
• Keep long hair tied back or in plaits
• Do not share brushes, combs or pillows
• Keep hair short, particularly during an outbreak
• Notify the school so that others can be alerted to the problem and can check for head lice and arrange treatments if necessary.

CONTACT DETAILS

Please ensure your contact details are up to date, this includes phone, email and emergency contact information.

We have a number of upcoming events in the next couple of weeks, including our badge presentation for our 2020 student leadership team, Year 5 & 6 Surf Skills and a whole school performance.

Cheers,

Alyson Covey
Principal

PROCEDURES FOR…….

P&C NEWS

Hello Pomona State School families

Welcome back and a big welcome to all our new families.

For those that don’t know, the P & C is a group of volunteers who help coordinate the fundraising efforts within our school, as well as run the tuckshop.

We will have a few major fundraisers throughout the year and we will require as many hands as possible to help out with these fundraisers. All money raised by the P&C goes to the school, for computer equipment, readers and other student resources for extra-curricular programs. We are always looking for new, creative and passionate people to be involved with our fundraising so that we can continue to support the school.

Our Tuckshop is run by 2 dedicated Convenors who share the role, so that we can provide a break-even service for our students. To keep our costs as low as possible, we thrive on Tuckshop volunteers as well. If you have an hour in your week that you could use to bake some cookies or muffins, do some dishes, or even fill orders into the baskets for our students, it would be a huge help. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please see Catherine or Sara in the tuckshop.

The P & C meets at 6.30pm on the 2nd Monday of every month with our first meeting of the year on the 10th February at 6.30pm in the library. We would love to see as many parents as possible attend.

Pomona State School P&C Committee

2020 DATE CLAIMERS

P.E - TERM 1

Hello to all new and returning families for 2020. PE swimming lessons start in week 2 of term 1 and run right through until Easter holidays. Classroom teachers will hand out swimming notes on the first day of school. Please have them signed and returned to your child’s classroom teacher by the end of the first week.

Swimming times are as follows:

** Please note this timetable may change depending on 2020 day 8 enrolment numbers.

As always, students will need: Togs, swim shirt, swim cap, towel, bag for wet clothes and no earrings or jewellery. Sunscreen is provided. Please clearly label your child’s swimming gear and uniform with their name to prevent change room mix-ups.

As always, parental assistance during lessons is a huge help for us and means your child gets more time in the water. We mostly require assistance for the preps and year 1 students so please feel free to come down and get wet if you have a child in these grade and are free on their swimming day.

The first semester is always very busy in regards to school sport. Students who have been chosen to represent Pomona at the Noosa District Swimming Trials on Wednesday the 19th of Feb (week 4) will receive permission and payment forms by the end of week 2.

Proposed dates for Pomona State School sport carnivals for 2020 are:

Pomona Cross Country – Tuesday the 28th of April (Week 2 of term 2). Our best 10-12 year old boys and girls will be selected from this carnival to represent us at the Noosa District Cross Country Trials, which are scheduled for Friday the 8th of May at Noosaville State School. (Week 3 of term 2).

Pomona Athletics Carnival– Tuesday the 23rd & Wednesday the 24th of June (Week 10 of term 2). Our best 10-12 year old boys and girls will be selected from this carnival to represent us at the Noosa District Athletics Trials, which are scheduled for Tuesday the 4th of August at Girraween Sports Complex (Week 4 of term 3).

Pomona Swimming Carnival –Tuesday the 17th of November (9-12 year olds) and Wednesday the 18th of November (5-8 year olds) – (Week 7 of Term 4).

Please keep in mind these are draft dates at this stage and will be confirmed closer to the events. I hope to see you all around the school soon.

Mr. Byrne - HPE

Chappy Chat

We have had an amazing start to 2020! Chappy’s room has been abuzz with children popping in to see what’s new in trinkets and bit-n-pieces that decorate the small space. If you weren’t a visitor to this space in 2019, you are welcome to pop in and say hi.

Those that are regulars love doing art - painting and drawing - and crafts, including learning to hand sew amazing little presents for family and friends and for themselves. There is knitting in the winter months too. Although, to make sure everyone gets the attention they need, we need more volunteers to help in break times. There are activities on Tuesdays and Fridays in Chappy’s room in the library.

I’d like to say a big welcome to all the new children to our amazing school. While I am sad that our Year six children have now gone to high school, I am happy that they have a whole new opportunity to do really well with their school endeavours and in the making of new friends.

Parents, I always welcome a visit from you! Perhaps you would like to find out more about what a chaplain actually does in the school to see if it would be a good fit for your child/children. Also, if you have any personal issues that you would like to speak with me in confidence about, I am available.

One thing chaplaincy is NOT is a religious program. As a Chappy my job is to spend time with children and help them adjust to new adventures, experiences and build new friendships. We often chat about values, emotions, gratitude, kindness, courage, perseverance, honesty and wellbeing to name a few topics. We work in groups and one-on-one. A Chaplain never judges.

In February some of the Year 5 and 6 students are taking part in a lunchtime goal-setting program that covers family, social life, behaviour, health and money. Sound like something you would like your child to be involved in? I am more than happy to run another program in the near future. Please call me or pop in on Tuesdays and Fridays. If I’m not in my room in the library, I’ll be around the school somewhere, just ask at reception, they can usually find me.

Just a reminder that Breakfast Club is on at 8.00 to 8.30 Wednesday’s, Thursday’s and Friday’s serving from the hall kitchen. It is completely free thanks to the Foodbank in Brisbane and Waves of Kindness in Noosaville.

Blessings.

Chappy Paulette Gee
0414 457 451

CALM THE CHAOS – RAISING CALMER KIDS

Noosa Council invites primary school children along to the popular Come n Try Sports Afternoon. Children can spend the afternoon ‘test driving’ a number of sports, all in one location. Local coaches will give free fun sample sessions in soccer, softball, orienteering, rugby union, AFL, NRL and gymnastics, so that you can test-run the sports before you decide whether to sign up for the winter season.

Details:

Date: 18 February
Time: 3.30 to 5.30pm
Location: Softball fields, Noosa District Sports Complex, Butler St, Tewantin
Bookings: Registration is essential

Note: Parents and Caregivers must stay onsite for the duration of the Come n Try event.

SUNSHINE COAST FOOTBALL 2020 SIGN-ON

BRISBANE HEAT COMMUNITY CRICKET PROGRAM

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PARENTS WITH CATHOLIC CHILDREN REGARDING THE SACRAMENTS OF CONFIRMATION, FIRST COMMUNION AND RECONCILIATION IN 2020