Dear Parents/Carers, 

Here we are with our final newsletter for Term 3.  I hope as many parents/carers as possible have taken the opportunity this week of a parent/teacher interview with their child's teacher. Those conversations can have quite an impact when home and school are well aligned. 

Traffic and Parking
In the last weeks and months, we have spent considerable time advocating with council and Education Queensland for arrangements that will see us operate our zones safely whilst ensuring that staff and families are working within the law. I was certainly frustrated last week when parents/carers were issued with infringements by Queensland Police without any prior conversations about how to problem solve the area. However, I have had some success this week and yesterday I met with a senior sergeant from Boondall Traffic Enforcement Unit who is willing to work on our behalf with Brisbane City Council, our State Member of Parliament and with Education Queensland to come up with some solutions to improve the area. 

The law is such that the yellow line needs to be there 10 metres either side of the lights to ensure that area stays clear. The law also says that parking or stopping on a yellow line can incur an infringement.  I have obviously pointed out that there is little choice for cars if there is a lot of traffic as they approach our zone and that these cars are not stopped or parked but paused and moving forward fairly constantly. Additionally, for cars to avoid the yellow line and go around the block, the roundabout etc just increases the risk at the roundabout and in the back streets. I will continue to keep the community up to date.  However, the zone will work best when: Year 4 to 6 parents/carers arrive between 3 and 3.10pm whilst Prep to 3 parents would be best arriving 3.10 to 3.20 so we can spread the traffic out. I must say since I issued this advice earlier in the week, we have had few cars on the yellow lines.

NAPLAN and A to E 
NAPLAN is a point in time test given on one day at two junctures (Yr 3 and 5) during a child's primary education. The best use of this information is on a whole school or year level basis to guide our curriculum delivery particularly in literacy and numeracy.  My philosophy is if a child does well it is a valid result, however, at times a child may not do well as expected and that's the danger of emphasising a test that is delivered on one day as the be all and end all. There are so many factors that can impact on a child's result in a test such as this.  Therefore, certainly our school's focus has been and will continue to be on improving our students' A to E results as this is the work that teachers and students are focusing on each day. 

In saying that, as a school we have received the results and the reports of individual students will be sent home by the end of this week. 

Key: G&P: Grammar and Punctuation  U2B:Upper 2 Bands 

        NMS: Above National Minimum Standard

Below are our A to E (Report Card) results. The colours show A/B percentages and C or Above as compared to the rest of the state. Dark blue is the Upper School Achievement Category and light blue is the middle category. The lower category is red. Therefore in four of the 6 categories our school is in the upper category in comparison to the state and in 2 areas we are in the middle category. Our school goal is to have 90% of students with a C or above and 50% as an A or B. 

IPAD INFORMATION EVENING: Wednesday October 13 via Zoom
(Current Yr 2 to 5 parents 6.00pm-7.00pm)
This is a date claimer for an evening information session for parents/carers who do not currently have their child in the IPad program here at school and would like to find out more about it. Next year, we intend to trial Year 3 students bringing an IPad to school if they already have one at home and it is compatible with our system. They will not use it to the same extent as students in Years 4,5 and 6 hence why we are suggesting that parents/carers just allow their child to bring an IPad along to school if they already have one. There are a number of roles and responsibilities for parents/carers, students and staff who are part of the program and it is important that we share this information prior to parents/carers making a decision for their child. 

Have a good week,

Kathy

NAPLAN Online School Readiness Test (SRT) 
Congratulations to all the year 2 and year 4 classes who successfully participated in the NAPLAN Online SRT. All students and staff effectively navigated the NAPLAN online platform using iPads. If you would like to experience NAPLAN online you can explore the NAPLAN demonstration site.  See link below

Maths Tournament
Three teams of Year 5 and 6 students participated in the Maths Tournament at Albany Hills SS last Monday.  The competition comprises a team event and a relay event. 

With five students to a team, they had to work collaboratively to problem solve their way through some challenging maths tasks.  None of our teams won but it was quality interaction which the children enjoyed.

Peer Mediators
There are a number of students who have earned their Bridge Builder badge.  These students have consistently undertaken their peer mediation duties in the playground to support the young children. 

These children will receive their badge on assembly next week.  Parents are welcome to come to the assembly to pin the badge on their child.

Science Week
This week in the Library we were celebrating all things Science! Students were able to participate in a variety of teacher and student led presentations and interact with different activities to explore biology, physics and chemistry. 

Music Workshop
The Performance Choir, Band and String Orchestra had a wonderful time at our Music Workshop. All three ensembles were practising hard, preparing for their annual Showcase concert held at the Highschool on the 10^th of September.

Volleyball Cup
Congratulations Volleyball Cup participants. Year 6 girls won gold! Year 4 boys won silver! Year 6 participant girls team won bronze! All other teams played consistently throughout the day. Also thank you to our parents and siblings who volunteered to supervise and support our students throughout the day.

Education Support Staff Day

Today we celebrated our incredible teacher aides and school support staff. We are so thankful for everything they do for all of us every day.  

Magpie Season In Brisbane

We have had reports of “swooping magpies” around the streets close to the school.

Here are some tips for avoiding Magpie attacks from the Department of Environment and Science:

• Wear a broad brimmed hat and sunglasses or walk under an umbrella.
• If you are cycling, it may help to get off your bike and walk through any magpie zones.
• Try taking an alternate route during magpie season.
• More ideas on https://environment.des.qld.gov.au/wildlife/livingwith/magpie_safe.html

Principal's Academic Award

Excellence in Digital Technology

Criteria:

• Shows enthusiasm and  commitment in lessons
• Uses Digital Technology safely and for learning purposes
• Works hard to improve skill level