Wondall Heights State School eNewsletter

Reminder: Friday 4 September is a Student Free Day, staff will not be attending school on this day.

Please contact WOSHC if you require Outside of Hours Care.

Wondall Outside School Hours Care (WOSHC)

Phone: 07 3668 0688

Email: info@woshc.com.au

Website http://woshc.com.au

Operating Hours

Thank you for your support and understanding last week with our water outage. My sincere thanks to parents and neighbours for dropping off bottles of water, hand sanitiser and the offers of help. We appreciate your support.

Dropping children at school 8.45am / collecting students at 3.00pm

To manage the pedestrian traffic around the school and social distancing requirements students in years 2-6 are encouraged to use the drop off and pick up zone. Alternatively, students can be dropped at one of the school gates to enter the school on their own (independently).

When collecting your child/ren, please meet them at a school gate, parents are requested to leave the area around the school immediately.

Prep and Year 1 Parents: We request that only one person enter the school grounds to drop off and collect children.

Parents are not permitted to congregate in the school grounds or sit outside classrooms. If collecting your child/ren from a school gate, please time your visit to the school to arrive as close to 3.00pm as possible.

We appreciate your ongoing support.

Student safety is our number one priority at Wondall Heights SS. Over the past weeks, we have had some children leave the school grounds during the school day, this is a Workplace Health and Safety hazard particularly when the school entrance is on busy Wondall Road.

To ensure the safety of all students at school it has become necessary to lock all school gates around the perimeter of the school. The school gate closest to the office from the drop off area will remain unlocked but must remain closed.

School gates will be open every morning and will be locked from approximately 9.00am and unlocked from approximately 2.40pm. The locking of gates took affect Monday 24 August.

I understand this may be an inconvenience to some parents and students however the decision has been made to keep all children safe whilst at school. Please plan your trip to school so that children arrive by 9am or you will need to enter via the drop off area gate on Wondall Road.

We are continuing to investigate options to secure gates and to enable access.

We are currently in the community consultation phase to develop our school’s Student Code of Conduct. Consultation forms an important part of the development and feedback process for the Student Code of Conduct.

Recently members of the Leadership Team rang 70 parents across all year levels to participate in a phone interview to provide feedback on the section called Preventing and Responding to Bullying.

Click Below to read the section Preventing and Responding to Bullying.

Preventing_and_responding_to_bullying.pdf

Preventing_and_responding_to_bullying _pdf 337.60 KB

Parents were asked the following questions:

Bullying Response Flow Chart for teachers – have we missed any important aspects that you feel we need to include?
Have you seen the National Definition of Bullying previously?
Do you have any other feedback on the section called Preventing and Responding to Bullying?

I would like to extend the opportunity for all parents to provide feedback on the section Preventing and Responding to Bullying. If you would like a member of the Leadership Team to ring you on Monday 1 September, between 9-10am please email me at mprov2@eq.edu.au alternatively you may like to respond to the questions via email.

Today’s growth mindset quote of the day …

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.

Henry Ford

Have a great week.

Melissa

BOOK WEEK

This week, we have been celebrating Book Week. It has been wonderful to see our community sharing their love of reading and being creative with the photos they have shared! Keep sending them in if you would like your photo shared on Facebook this week – please send to Mrs Abbot sabbo6@eq.edu.au .

We Love Reading at Wondall

We Love Reading at Wondall 3.55 MB

CELEBRATION OF LEARNING

Last week, Prep E read a book called "I Need a Hug", about an echidna who wanted a hug. The students were asked to write a response about what they would do if an echidna wanted to cuddle them. The creative ideas and vocabulary used are nothing short of amazing. Congratulations to Mrs Hogg and Prep E for these gorgeous pieces of writing!

PREP INFORMATION SESSIONS

We are currently taking Prep 2021 enrolments – please come to the school office to enrol your child ASAP, if you haven’t already done so.

Our next event will be Prep Interviews for those children enrolled for Prep 2021 at Wondall Heights State School. This year’s interview process has changed from previous years. There will now be a group interview where parents will be presented information and asked to fill in questionnaires whilst their children interact with our teachers, in a group setting. The new format is designed to create a sense of community and for children and families to meet and establish connections in preparation for 2021. This format will also allow our staff to spend more time getting to know your children and to observe their interactions with other children. To ensure you receive your invite, please enrol at the office ASAP.

Year 4- 6 Dance performance

Over the next two weeks, year 4 to 6 students will be performing their class dance during class time. Unfortunately, this year we will not be able to have the traditional concert but instead these performances will be recorded for students and families to enjoy. Some students do not have media permissions, which will result in these students missing out on participating in the recorded performance. If you are unsure of your media permission, please contact the office for clarification.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Due to social distancing regulations, interviews will be held over two evening, prep to year 2 on Tuesday 15^th September and years 3 – 6 on Thursday 17^th September. Interviews will be held from 3:30pm – 7:50pm in the Hall. Only one parent may attend the interview. Entry to interviews will be via the Hall foyer and exit via the opposite side of the Hall. We ask that while waiting outside for your interview you maintain social distancing and upon entry to the Hall, you use the provided hand sanitiser.

Bookings will be via SOBS from Monday 31^st August from 7am – Friday 11^th September until 5pm.

https://sobs.com.au/pt/parent.php?tsc=true

Student Code of Conduct – Use of electronic devices

This fortnight’s Student Code of Conduct instalment is on the use of electronic devices by students. At Wondall Heights State School, we provide opportunities for students to use electronic devices to support their learning. Unfortunately, from time to time, the use of these devices is not always appropriate. The excerpt below from the Student Code of Conduct outlines school, student and parent responsibilities when engaging in the use of electronic devices.

Use of electronic devices by students

Digital literacy refers to the skills needed to live, learn, and work in a society where communication and access to information is dominated by digital technologies. However, the benefits brought about through these diverse technologies can be easily overshadowed by deliberate misuse that harms others or disrupts learning.

In consultation with the broader school community, Wondall Heights State School has determined that explicit teaching of responsible use of portable electronic devices and other devices is a critical component of digital literacy. The knowledge and confidence to navigate and use these technologies safely while developing digital literacy is a responsibility shared between parents, school staff and students.

It is also agreed that portable electronic devices are not permitted at school. Such devices must be signed in at the office prior to attending class. Please respect the community agreed expectations. Items identified under the broad umbrella of portable electronic devices are, but not limited to, smart watches, phones, gadgets, computing consoles, video games and GPS devices.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities for students using approved devices at school or during school activities are outlined below.

It is acceptable for students at Wondall Heights State School to:

use approved electronic devices for
- assigned class work and assignments set by teachers
- developing appropriate literacy, communication and information skills
- authoring text, artwork, audio and visual material for publication on the intranet or internet for educational purposes as supervised and approved by the school
- conducting general research for school activities and projects
- communicating or collaborating with other students, teachers, parents or experts in relation to school work
- accessing online references such as dictionaries, encyclopaedias, etc.
- researching and learning through the department's eLearning environment
be courteous, considerate and respectful of others when using a device.
follow staff instructions.

It is unacceptable for students at Wondall Heights State School to:

use devices in an unlawful manner
use portable electronic devices at school
download, distribute or publish offensive messages or pictures
use obscene, inflammatory, racist, discriminatory or derogatory language
use language and/or threats of violence that may amount to bullying and/or harassment, or even stalking
insult, harass or attack others or use obscene or abusive language
deliberately waste printing and internet resources
damage computers, printers or network equipment
commit plagiarism or violate copyright laws
ignore teacher directions for the use of social media, online email and internet chat
send chain letters or spam email (junk mail)
knowingly download viruses or any other programs capable of breaching the department's network security
use school provided cameras anywhere a normal camera would be considered inappropriate, such as in change rooms or toilets
invade someone's privacy by recording personal conversations or daily activities and/or the further distribution (e.g. forwarding, texting, uploading, Bluetooth use etc.) of such material

At all times students, while using ICT facilities and devices supplied by the school, will be required to act in line with the requirements of the Wondall Heights State School Student Code of Conduct. In addition, students and their parents should:

understand the responsibility and behaviour requirements (as outlined by the school) that come with accessing the department’s ICT network facilities
ensure they have the skills to report and discontinue access to harmful information if presented via the internet or email
be aware that:
- access to ICT facilities and devices provides valuable learning experiences for students and supports the school's teaching and learning programs
- the school is not responsible for safeguarding information stored by students on departmentally-owned student computers or portable electronic devices
- schools may remotely access departmentally-owned student computers or portable electronic devices for management purposes
- students who use a school's ICT facilities and devices in a manner that is not appropriate may be subject to disciplinary action by the school, which could include restricting access
- despite internal departmental controls to manage content on the internet, illegal, dangerous or offensive information may be accessed or accidentally displayed
- teachers will always exercise their duty of care, but avoiding or reducing access to harmful information also requires responsible use by the student.

If you have any questions or feedback in relation to the use of electronic devices please feel free to contact me, pkond4@eq.edu.au .

Pam Kondys

City Meets Country

Thank you to the Wondall Community for your donations on the City Meets Country day. The students had a great time dressing up. We had some pigs, horses and lots of country bumpkins. Chappy Lydia made her way around to all the classroom to thank them for their support. We raised just over $700 for the school chaplains program. Thank you to Mellyla Loban for organising this school event.

Premier’s Reading Challenge:

Our Premier’s Reading Challenge finishes on the 28th August 2020. Please have forms returned to the school office by Monday 31^st August at 3pm. Hope you have enjoyed reading – it is the virtual travel of 2020.

Dance News

All Year 4, 5 and 6 classes - We are getting closer and closer to our film/performance day. Have you got your costume organised??? Only students with current media permissions will be able to be filmed. See the school office to collect a Media Release form if you need one.

4A – Business attire

Bring to school on Monday 31^st Aug and Thursday 3^rd Sept

4B – Orphans from ‘Annie’

Bring to school on Monday 31^st Aug and Thursday 3^rd Sept

4C – Primary colours – red, yellow and blue

Bring to school on Monday 31^st Aug and Wednesday 2^nd Sept

5A – Country/bush style

Bring to school on Tuesday 8^th Sept

5B – Ghouls, zombies etc.

Bring to school on Tuesday 8^th Sept

5C – 1950/60’s rock’n’roll outfits

Bring to school on Tuesday 8^th Sept