12 February 2021

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 was calculated on the number of students actively enrolled on the eighth day of school (Friday 5th February). Following day eight, we have had a number of staffing changes across the school. We welcome Bianka Erbacker as the LOTE teacher for Term 1, Lynda James as our Guidance Officer for Term 1 and Nicole Roberts is teaching year 5.

Thirteen classes have been confirmed for 2021 with no movement of classes and some changes to teachers.

PBB – Bernie Blackmore
PKT – Kim Thompson
1LS – Lesley Saunders
1/2MC – Melanie Clare
2KT – Kathy Lavender
2/3DS – Dale Stevenson
3AB – Audrey Brown
4PT – Peter Trewick and Lesley Whitehouse
4SF – Sandra Fahey and Rob Clare
5MW – Michelle Whatmough and John Brennan
5JW – Nicole Roberts
6JA – Jodi Taylor and Jess Askew
6CL – Claudia Laird
GO – Lynda James (Term 1) Shusheela Millburn – 1 day per week
Music – David Bruce
HPE – Ben Byrne
LOTE – Bianka Erbacher
Instrumental Music – Ross Lancaster
Learning Support – Allison Page
SWD – Shirley Savage
Curriculum/Enrichment – Jo Ramsay
DP – Barbara Harch
Principal – Alyson Covey & Barbara Harch
Business Manager – Carol Crump
Administration Officer – Tracey Dean

Staff on leave for the beginning of 2021 school year are Jo Clark, Jacque Wright and Jenny Dobson.

ILLNESS

Please remember that if your child is ill, please keep them at home and notify the office or leave a message on the absence line 5480 8260. Students who present to school with any symptoms of illness will be sent home.

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 via the Qrk app. 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.

Please do not walk through the staff car park to access the hall on parade days. Please use the concrete walkways through the undercover area passed the tuckshop.

Parents please remember to park in designated carpark spaces in the school carpark. This ensures everyone is safe when they are arriving or leaving school. Pine Street does not have designated car park spaces so please refrain from parking across driveway entrances.

STUDENT RESOURCE SCHEME

Thank you to the families who have returned there SRS forms and made payment so far this term. If you haven’t returned your SRS form, please complete and return as soon as possible.

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 RISK 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.

SURF AWARENESS

Our year 5 and 6 students will be participating in 4 sessions of surf awareness with the Alexandra Headland Surf Life Saving Club. The first session is this Friday 12th February.

2021 STUDENT LEADERS

Congratulations to our 2021 school leaders who received their leadership badge from Mayor Clare Stewart on Monday 8th February. I congratulate each of our school leaders on their selection and look forward to observing their growing leadership capabilities throughout the school year.

School Captains

Kai H
Asha P

Sports Captains

Kendall House
Tahlia P
Cassidy M

Lawson House

Hayley A
Willow S

Paterson House

Maddi B
Ella R

Cheers,
Alyson Covey
Principal

PROCEDURES FOR……..

UPDATING PARENT/CARER CONTACT DETAILS

Please ensure our office staff have your correct contact details – telephone numbers (for us to contact you – particularly important in the case of an emergency with your child), and email address (for invoices, newsletter, etc). Please also ensure that your child/ren’s emergency contacts are up to date.

ADMINSTERING MEDICATION AT SCHOOL

If your child requires a staff member to administer medication at school, please contact an admin member at 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.

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.

REGULAR ATTENDANCE

EVERY DAY COUNTS – the message is the same in 2020. The simple fact is, the more regularly your child attends school, the more they learn. Aside from illness and bereavement, for example, attendance is expected every day. Keep an eye out on Facebook for regular videos from Education Queensland. If for any reason your child will be absent from school, please ring our 24/7 absentee line on 54 808 260 prior to 8.45am.

STAFF MEETING DAY - TUESDAY

Parents, please be advised that on Tuesday afternoon I request that all teaching staff attend a meeting which starts at 3:00pm. Staff will leave their rooms quickly once the bell rings to signal the end of the day. If you have anything urgent to discuss with your child’s teacher please leave a message at the office for that teacher

UNIFORM EXPECTATIONS

Clothing. Clothing should fit neatly and be sun safe. It must be suitable for full participation in all curriculum areas and the playground. It should not be inappropriate.

Hair. Hair should be clean, tidy (brushed or combed) with no extreme colours (natural colours) and tied back if below the collar. Fringes must not interfere with a student’s vision at any time.

Jewellery. Students may wear one set of stud or sleeper earrings and a watch. All other jewellery is considered to be a danger to the child’s safety and must be left at home. Students will be reminded to remove unauthorised jewellery worn to school.

Uniforms are available for purchase from the Tuckshop.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2021

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

P.E - TERM 1

Hello to all new and returning families for 2021. PE swimming lessons started in week 2 of this term and will run right through until the Easter holidays. Classroom teachers handed out swimming notes on the first day of school. If you haven’t done so already, please have them signed and returned to your child’s classroom teacher as soon as possible.

Swimming times are as follows:

As always, students will need: togs, swim shirt, swim cap, towel, bag for wet clothes and no earrings or jewellery. Sunscreen will be 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 year levels 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 17th of Feb (week 4) should have received permission and payment forms last week. (These students were selected from our 2020 swimming carnival in Term 4).

Proposed dates for Pomona State School sport carnivals for 2021 are:

Pomona Cross Country – Wednesday the 5th of May (Week 3 of term 2).
Pomona Athletics Carnival– Tuesday the 15th of June (9-12 year olds only) & Wednesday the 16th of June (Whole school) (Week 9 of term 2).
Pomona Swimming Carnival –Tuesday the 16th of November (5-8 year olds) and Wednesday the 17th of November (9-12 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

LIBRARY NEWS

Thank you to all parents who helped their children find and return library books at the end of last year. There are still a few books outstanding from last year and I would certainly appreciate you helping your child look for their missing books. Accidents do happen, and if a borrowed library book is damaged, please encourage your child to return their book to the library and let me know what has happened.

The school library is open every morning from 8am to 8.30am and all students are welcome to come in at this time to read, play chess or other games and draw or colour in. It is also open every second lunch break is and always a popular place to be. We have dedicated Tuesday and Thursday second lunch breaks to ‘quiet reading time’ where the library becomes a place to purely sit quietly and read.

As per previous years, there will be two Scholastic Book Club catalogues per term coming home with your child. These catalogues are filled with lots of good quality books at very competitive prices. The benefits of ordering are two-fold as your child is encouraged to read, and also Scholastic donate 20% of any sales back to the school in rewards. This enables us to purchase many classroom and library resources which we would not otherwise be able to afford. Ordering through Scholastic is very simple with two payment and ordering options. You can either order by filling in the order form at the back of the catalogue, popping cash or cheque payment into an envelope with your order, and dropping it into the box at the school office. Even easier is to order through LOOP. LOOP is Scholastic’s online ordering platform and it is very simple to use. To access LOOP go to the website below, click on ‘Book Club’ and follow the instructions. Please open the Parent’s Guide to Bookclub below should you wish to know more.

I always have spare catalogues in the library should you or your child require another one.

Please feel free to come into the school library at any time to have a browse. Parents and caregivers are able to register their details in the library and borrow from the library if they wish. We have a small but interesting Parent Library with a good selection of Parent Help books.

Sandy Nicholson
Library Aide

YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP – LET’S TALK DIALOGUE WITH CHRISTINE BONGERS

Sunday 14 March, 1:00 – 2:30 pm.

Learn how to create characters, show relationships and bring your stories to life through sparkling, authentic dialogue. Christine’s fun interactive 60 minute workshop also provides a “Dos and Don’ts of Dialogue” checklist and a bonus 30 minute Q&A at the end to answer all your questions about any aspect of writing.

Aimed at your writers 9+. Cost is free for Book Links members. Use your membership events code when booking. General admission for all others is $10 for one login per family.

This event will be held online via ZOOM. A link to the session will be sent in the order confirmation and a reminder on the day.

AN EXCERPT FROM ‘NOOSA TODAY’

CHAPLAIN COMMISSIONING

by Ian Jobling

The chair of the Noosa Regional Chaplaincy Committee (NRCC), Russell McGuire, has invited all chaplains from state schools throughout the Noosa area, and members of the Noosa community to the Annual Commissioning Service to be held on February 15.

School chaplains provide social, emotional and spiritual support to all students, staff and children, and the prayers and support of local Christians and the wider community provide an empowering factor for them.

As well as having an opportunity to speak to the school chaplains about their roles and challenges in schools over afternoon refreshments at 4pm, those attending will be given a brief overview of the Chaplaincy programme by SU QLD Field Development Manager – Sunshine Coast, Steve Kilah.

Tewantin State School Principal, Rob Jennings, will outline what the Chaplaincy programme delivers in schools, and Member of Parliament Llew O’Brien will relate how chaplains impacted his life.

Lisa Klein, a chaplain who works in both a primary and secondary school will then speak about her experiences, joys and challenges.

The hour-long event will conclude with a formal commissioning of the chaplains by local clergy members, representing a number of Noosa Churches. Interested persons are welcome at this significant milestone in the life of the school chaplains. Please register to attend via the link below.

The Commissioning Service will be held at Noosa Christian Outreach Church, Eumundi-Noosa Rd. Noosaville on Monday 15th February. Afternoon refreshments will be served upon arrival at 4pm so there is an opportunity to meet and chat with the Chaplains. The service will commence at 4.30pm and finish at 5.30pm.

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION NEWS

Religious Instruction will recommence on Wednesday afternoon February24th. We are looking forward to a wonderful year. Thank you to all the parents who have enrolled their children. The goal of the program is to inform students about the basic beliefs of the Christian faith from a non-denominational perspective. The approved programs to be used are Year1- Beginning with God (CEP publishers) Years 2 – 5 Godspace (published by Christian Resources) and Big Questions (CEP publishers) for Year 6.

The R.I. team consists of Melissa Chapman (Years 1&4), Ann Liddell (Years 2& 5), Tony and Evie Neale (Years 3 &6) with help from Matthew Alderton.

ROVING RESTORERS PROGRAM - NOOSA CHAPTER - FRIDAY 12TH FEB 2021

Please join us for the Roving Restorers working bee:

When: 8:30 AM, 12 Feb 2021
Where: Ridgewood

Join us to help the landowner treat environmental weeds on a lovely property at Ridgewood.

Works undertaken will contribute to enhancing the biodiversity of the property and provide important connectivity to Tuchekoi Conservation Park and West Cooroy State Forest.

Please contact Noosa Landcare Project Officer – Tamara - projects9@noosalandcare.org for further details.

Participants will be notified the day before the event of the address of the property on which the work will be undertaken.

This program is proudly supported by Noosa Council.

NOOSA COUNCIL COME ’N’ TRY SPORTS AFTERNOON

Noosa Council is once again running its highly successful Come ‘n’ Try Sports afternoon.

When: Tuesday 16th Feb 2021
What: Come ‘n’ Try Sports Arvo
Where: Softball fields Noosa District Sports Complex, Tewantin
Time: 2.30pm set up for 3.30 – 5.30pm sessions (all vehicles off site by 2.45pm)
Target group: Primary school aged children

FIND-A-FROG IN FEBRUARY

Get ready to involve our kids as Citizen Scientists for the frogs of the Mary River and surrounding river catchments. Everyone can contribute to the collective understanding and protection of our beloved native frogs. Find out how via the link below.

POMONA DEMONS AUSKICK

U12 TO U16 GIRLS COME AND TRY

SUNSHINE COAST FOOTBALL – CALLING ALL GIRLS