24 June 2022

Newsletter Articles

MESSAGES FROM ADMIN

Holiday Break

We hope you all enjoy a safe and relaxing break these holidays. We look forward to everyone returning rested and ready for a jam-packed term 3! Teachers will be busy over the holidays planning and preparing for units of work full of learning for curious minds.

Term 3 will begin with NAIDOC Week celebrations and a whole-school performance. There will be camps and excursions for various year levels so keep an eye out for invoices and notes as we go. If you are concerned about making payments and are experiencing financial hardship, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us so that we can formulate a plan with you to ensure your child can participate fully in what will be a wonderful term.

Uniforms

It’s been so wonderful for us to see students wearing their full school uniform each day. Getting the little things right, like school uniform, means we can focus our attention on the big things. The added bonus is the pride we see children feeling in their school and uniform!

Lost Property

All lost property has been sorted and named items sent home before the holidays. Naming your child’s items means we can easily return lost and forgotten things.

Parent Library Book Selection

I have another on-line reading for us all this newsletter! Regular, meaningful conversation and the chance to build vocabulary and conversational skills cannot be overestimated for our young learners. Family dinners are the perfect grounds for conversations and discussions about all manner of things. This website has a link with conversation starters and topics you can use as a family to kick-start the chat around the dining table. I hope you like it!

PROCEDURES FOR………..

UPDATING PARENT/CARER CONTACT DETAILS

Please ensure our office 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 staff to administer medication 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.

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 studs 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.

DATE CLAIMERS

CONGRATUALTIONS TO OUR AMAZING STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL 2022

A big thanks to all parents and carers who came and supported the Pomona students and helped out at the athletics carnival in week 9 of term 2. The carnival was a great success full of fun, good sportsmanship, fantastic weather and a high level of participation!

Congratulations to Lawson for winning the annual house shield for 2022! Second year in a row! Well done must also go to Paterson in 2nd and Kendall in 3rd for their efforts. Students turning 10, 11 or 12 this year who finished in the top 2 for any event have the opportunity to represent Pomona at the district carnival on Tuesday the 26th of July (Week 3 of Term 3). Please be aware that selection in the Pomona team for the district carnival also depends on whether the students have met district qualifying times, heights and distances. I will touch base with successful students in Week 1 of Term 3.

Age champions were as follows:

9 years: Alba B & Heath W
10 years: Billie M & Liam M
11 years: Macey H & Chace V
12 years: Matilda B & Jedd P

Record Breakers were as follows:

Indiana G – 9 years High Jump (1.06 m)
Edward B – 11 years High Jump (1.28 m)

The carnival finished with an exciting teacher/parent versus student relay, which the teachers and parents won in a close finish!

Our Noosa District Reps for Semester 1 were:

Edward B – AFL
Jacob M – Rugby League
Zahlia B – Cross Country

Well done to these students!

Yours in sport

Ben Byrne
HPE

‘Winners are grinners!’ Jedd and Eliza, Captains of Team Lawson.

Congratulations to our Age Champions, from L to R: Heath, Billie, Chace, Liam, Matilda, Alba, Jedd and Macey.

YEAR 5/6 SUNSHINE COAST READERS’ CUP 2022

Along with Sandy Nicholson, I was very proud to take the Pomona State School Team to the Readers’ Cup. The team worked extremely hard for three months, each reading all five books and preparing questions for each other from each chapter in anticipation for the day. With 24 teams from State, Private and Independent Schools from across the Sunshine Coast, it was a room buzzing with excitement for, 5 rounds of 5 questions from each of the 5 books. With only 30 seconds to answer each of the difficult questions, it required; an excellent memory, intense focus, sharp listening, fast writing, excellent team dynamics, no questions and no teacher help whatsoever. The Pomona team delivered in spades! With the scoring out of 50 and only 1 and half points separating first to third place, we were absolutely thrilled to be only 4 and ½ points behind the winner at the completion of all the rounds and to end up in 7th place out of the 24 teams. It was very pleasing for us to see three State Schools take out the top spots. State schools are great schools and our five team members are among the best of them. Congratulations Ada, Summer, Finn, Billy and Connor. You should be very proud. Thank you for being outstanding ambassadors for our school.

Ms Whitehouse

Words of Wisdom from our wonderful Pomona State School team

On the 2nd June, our Readers’ Cup team travelled to Immanuel Lutheran College, to partake in the Sunshine Coast Readers’ Cup competition. There were so many great things about the day, but the thing I enjoyed the most was the games in between the rounds where you had to unscramble the authors’ names. One of them included this: CIRK IODRNAR. See if you can work it out! It was a great opportunity to learn how to work as a team and I feel so lucky that I got to participate in this amazing event.

Finn J - 5AB

When I got there, I was so excited and thrilled. I was finally here! After a term of working and learning with Ada, Connor, Finn and Billie I knew we were ready. The thing I enjoyed the most was being in a room full of students who love reading. This made me so happy. I also liked that I met one of the authors of the books we read; Pamela Rushby who was the author of Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle. The Readers’ Cup was a great opportunity and thanks to all the Readers’ Cup members for helping me learn.

Summer H - 6CL

Readers’ Cup was an amazing experience for my team and I. My favourite part was definitely meeting one of the authors, Pamela Rushby. We had only 30 seconds to write down our answers for each question of the books; Eliza Vanda’s Button Box, Devils in Danger, Help around the House, The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle and We are Wolves. It was a lot of pressure to write the answer in just 30 seconds, but it was worth it to see how happy we all were, winning or not. I would recommend Readers’ Cup for future Grade 5’s and 6’s.

Ada T - 6PT

My favourite part of the Readers’ Cup was when we were answering the questions. We would huddle up over our seats and quickly talk about what the answer could be. It was so exhilarating! Sometimes someone would whisper out an answer quickly and sometimes it would come down to the last second! Another favourite thing about Readers’ Cup was the in-between games. We would try and unjumble the names of famous authors and it was so fun!

Connor M - 5AB

I loved having the chance to be in the Readers’ Cup. My heart leapt up and down from question to question as it flew by to lunch and then the end. My team members treated me so nicely and I felt so honoured to be a part of the team.

Billie M - 5AB

Our awesome Readers’ Cup team, from L to R, Ada, Finn, Connor, Billie and Summer.

ICAS NEWS

Pomona State School will once again be participating in the world-renowned ICAS competitions this year.

What is ICAS?

ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to recognise academic excellence, assess students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals.

We encourage you to consider entering your child into ICAS this year, if they enjoy completing challenging and more difficult assessments.

Learn more about ICAS here.

How to participate in ICAS

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:

1. Read about ICAS subjects and prices here.

2. Go to Parent Portal here.

3. Enter our school’s access code –

4. Enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment.

Please note that the ICAS tests shown for selection are at the school’s discretion.

After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records.

We will notify you of the date(s) that we run ICAS at the school and when your child’s ICAS results are ready. You and your child can access the results once released via the Reports Portal using the TAP ID and pin found on the back of the ICAS certificate.

Your child’s data is kept private and secure by Janison, an Australian-owned technology group.

We are proud to offer ICAS and look forward to some fantastic results later in the year. Please note that the closing date for parent orders of all subjects is Sunday, July 31.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions.

Kathy Lavender
Senior Teacher
ICAS Coordinator

NOOSA SHIRE COUNCIL SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES