11 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

I hope that all of our families who attended parent teacher interviews were able to find out useful information regarding your child’s progress to date and that you have been able to have great discussions with your child regarding this.

Parents as Partners in Learning

As part of our 2018 Annual Improvement Plan we have a continued and strong focus on READING. This focus is on how we explicitly teach reading to our students, and to ultimately improve students’ performance and results in this area.

The teaching of reading starts at home. As parents, we are the first exposure to language development for our children, and just like our behaviours, our children will mimic our language. So how can you make the most of reading time with your child?

Getting the Most Out of Nonfiction Reading Time

Reading together remains one of the most important things adults can do with their young learner. Today, recommendations include, reading information or nonfiction books with much more regularity. Nonfiction books present many opportunities to learn new concepts and vocabulary, as well as broaden a student’s view of the world. Nonfiction books are written differently than picture books in that there are often more pictures, graphics, charts and photographs included within the pages. Parents can ease the transition into more nonfiction reading by encouraging your child to preview a book before reading and to be an active reader who asks lots of questions.

Take a “Book Walk”

One great way to make predictions about an unfamiliar nonfiction text is to take a “walk” through the book before reading. By looking closely together at the front and back cover, the index, table of contents, the glossary, and the photographs or other images, readers can start to get a sense about the topic. This scanning and skimming helps set the expectation for the reading. Take the time to walk through the book before starting to read.

Encourage Questions

A second way to develop more understanding with nonfiction books is to encourage your child to be an active reader who asks lots of questions. Parents can model these behaviours by talking or thinking out loud as you turn the pages of the book. This is a helpful way for your child to see and hear what a successful reader does when faced with difficult or unfamiliar topics. For example, “When I looked at this photograph, I asked myself, “Where is Antarctica? Is that the same place as the South Pole?” Then talk together about how and what you would need to do to find the answer to the questions. This will reinforce that many questions can be answered by reading a text closely and by paying attention to captions and picture titles. Some children enjoy writing their questions on sticky notes and working to answer them during the reading.

Previewing a text and asking questions are two terrific ways to navigate nonfiction texts. Enjoy spending more time with some fascinating informational books!

Taken from readingrockets.org

NAPLAN

Our Year 3 and 5 students wil soon participate in the annual National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests to assess their skills and understanding in the areas of reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

The tests will be conducted in all state and non-state schools across the country from 15th–18th May.

An individual NAPLAN report for each child will be sent home later this year. Results provide additional feedback for parents, carers and teachers on how students are progressing in key curriculum areas.

The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure your child that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program, and to urge them to simply do the best they can.

Further NAPLAN information for parents and carers is available online. Please contact the school if you have any questions about your child participating in NAPLAN testing.

Making Every Day Count

We have included countless articles on the importance of school attendance and we track our students on a weekly basis.

One of the common issues that is occurring is late arrival times to school. It is incredibly important for our students to be here on time so that they can start their learning day feeling calm, having all of the information they require and not feeling rushed by coming into class late.

Education Queensland has set a target of 93% attendance rate for schools. For the past two years we have achieved 92.8%. So whilst close, we are not meeting or exceeding this target. Remember that every day counts and every day absent adds up.

Meaningful May

Last term, I wrote in the newsletter about ‘Choose Kind’. In a time where we are all busy and working hard, we need to make a conscious choice when it comes to choosing kind. It’s easy to let our tiredness take over, but the role modelling we provide for our children and students is so incredibly important. This month is Meaningful May. We hope you can get some great ideas from this calendar in helping you along the way of choosing kind and happiness.

Feedback Friday

We will be hosting our second Feedback Friday session for the year on Friday 25th May at 2.15pm. This time the topic will be seeking your feedback on how is the school travelling.

At this session there will be targeted questions that are focused on the learning opportunities provided, communication, health and well-being and digital learning.

I would love to see you there and value adding to the great work that happens at Coomera Springs.

Finding the Off Switch When Kids Worry – Parent Article

Article by Michael Grose

Rumination is the ruination of a peaceful mind.

If you’ve ever spent a sleepless night worrying then you’ll know how problems always seem bigger when you keep tossing them around in your head.

It can seem like everything is stacked against you. When this happens you’ve got to find the off switch so you can get away from your worries for a while.

The same principle holds for children and teenagers when they worry. Their problems just seem to get bigger and they need to turn them off or tone them down so they can ease their anxiety.

There are eight easy-to-learn strategies that you can teach your kids to prevent them from ruminating – going over the same thoughts and worries over and over again.

1. Broaden their vision

Kids get tunnel vision when they worry. They often can’t see the bigger picture. For instance, a young person may fret over minor work matters such as getting the exact font match for an assignment they are working on, and neglect to get the sleep necessary for good learning the next day. Sometimes it takes a wise adult to remind children and young people about what really is important to them.

2. Put their attention elsewhere

Placing attention away from worries is an age old technique for parents and teachers. Commonly known as distraction, the act of focusing attention on something other than what causes them distress is vital for good mental health. Examples of distractions include – going outside, playing a game, shooting some basketball hoops or listening to music.

3. Give the worry a name

Somehow giving a worry a name makes it feel less scary and more manageable. My favourite picture storybook for toddlers ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on our Roof‘ by Hazel Edwards personifies fear of the dark as a friendly hippo. Much more friendly and easier to boss around if you’re a child.

4. Put your worries in a jar

Wouldn’t it be great to put all your worries into a safe and throw away the key? As an adult you may do this when you take time out to watch your favourite TV show; or lose yourself wandering for hours online. Children need something a little more practical. They can write their worries on some paper and lock them away in a jar by the side of the bed at the end of the day. It’s good to know that their worries can’t get out because they are locked up tight.

5. Limit talking time

It’s good if kids can talk about what’s on their mind but talking needs to be contained to prevent their worries from dominating their lives. Set aside ten minutes a day to talk about their worries and then put worry time aside until tomorrow.

6. Normalise rather than lionise their anxiety

Anxious kids are very sensitive to their parents’ concerns and worries. One way we build their concerns is by continually reassuring them that things will be fine. One reassurance should be sufficient most of the time followed by “I’ve already talked to you about that.” Continually going over old ground can allow worries to linger longer than necessary.

7. Give him the tools to relax

My wife relaxes in front of the TV, which is sufficient for her to take her mind off her worries. Some people need a bigger set of tools including mindfulness and exercise to help us neutralise our worries.

8. Move baby move

Get kids moving! Physical exercise is not only a great distraction but it releases feel-good endorphins that help children and young people feel better and more optimistic about the future.

Have a wonderful week ahead and thank you for your continued support!

Kind Regards
Martine Gill
Principal

PE Department News

District Cross Country Championships – Thursday 10th May

Congratulations to the 16 students who competed at the Broadwater District Cross Country Carnival this week. We are very proud of these students as they tried their best and represented our school with pride.

We had some fantastic results!!

The following students have qualified to compete in the South Coast Cross Country trials on 5th June.

11yr Boys – Jordee Brent finishing in 9th place
12yr Girls – Honey Perawiti-Hindmarsh finishing in 10th place
12yr Boys – Jacob Russell finishing in 3rd place

Gala Sports Day - Tuesday 29th May - Year 4, 5, 6

This term students in years 4, 5 and 6 will compete against Highland Reserve State School and Park Lake State School in a Mini Olympics Carnival. Each year level will be hosted at a different school.

Year 4 – Coomera Springs State School
Year 5 – Highland Reserve State School
Year 6 – Park Lake State School

Students will need to wear: their school sports uniform, hat and sunscreen.

They will need to bring: two water bottles, packed lunch and morning tea – NO TUCKSHOP facilities are available. There will be no ordered lunches for year four either as our lunch breaks at Gala Day do not coincide with the normal break times.

Athletics Carnivals – 12th, 13th, 14th June

Save these dates as parents and friends are invited to cheer on their children at our annual Athletics Carnivals.

Prep – Year 2 Carnival will be held on Tuesday 12th June from 9am – 12.45pm.
Years 3 - 6 Carnivals will be held on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th June.

Keep a look out on our Facebook page and in the newsletter for more detailed information closer to the date.

If you are unsure which house your child is in, please contact your classroom teacher.

Families and friends are invited to come along and cheer! Don’t forget to bring your chairs!

Mrs Hodder
PE Teacher and Sports Coordinator

Music Department News

FANFARE Permission Notes

Our Senior Strings and Senior Band members will be participating in the FANFARE competition at Upper Coomera State College on Wednesday 30th May. Parents please keep an eye out for a permission note (on blue paper), which was handed out to students last week. The excursion information and permission slip have also been emailed to parents. All FANFARE permission notes are due back to school by next Friday, 18th May.

South East Region Music Excellence Camp

A reminder that the Year 5 & 6 students who have been selected to represent our school at SER Music Camp will need to return their permission note and payment by Monday 21st May. Invoices have been generated this week and camp payments can now be accepted online or at the finance office.

Music Shirts

Our performing ensembles look amazing in their Music Shirts. If your child is in Band, Strings or Choir now is the time to order your Music Shirt for 2018 – available from the uniform shop for $30. Music Shirts can be worn to school on Thursdays in 2018. Prep parents please be advised that the Music Shirts are available from Size 4 upwards.

Alison Murray
Music Coordinator

P&C News

This week we said goodbye to our Retail Operations Manager Kylie, who has decided to move on. We wish her all the best. The Tuckshop will be operating as normal.

P&C Meeting

Our next P&C meeting will be held on Wednesday 13th June at 3:15pm in the resource centre next to the library.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Sharon Sharp
P&C President

Uniform Shop

Uniform Shop Change of Hours

The new hours for the uniform shop have now come into effect.

The new days are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 8.15am – 9.00am. We would like to continue to operate on a Friday but need volunteers for this to happen. If you are available to help for an hour every Friday please email Ange at csssuniforms@gmail.com

Tuckshop

We are open from 7.30am until 3:00pm for all your breakfast and lunch needs.

Frankie’s Tuckerbox Menu

The tuckshop is open Monday - Friday and offers a range of healthy choice options. Please refer to our Tuckshop Menu for more information.

School Terms 2018

School Terms for 2018 are as follows;

School Directory

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Community Notices

Grandparent Carer Information Day

Gold Coast Health Oral Health (Dental) Services

The Mobile Dental Clinic will be returning to Coomera Springs State School the week commencing 4 June 2018, please refer to the attached Oral Health Service Provision Schedule for further details.

If you require an appointment before 4th June, please phone the Oral Health Client Service Centre #1300 300 850 to make a time to receive a free dental check-up & any follow up treatment required.

To arrange an appointment for your child telephone:

The Oral Health Client Service Centre

Number: 1300 300 850 Monday – Friday 8.00 am – 4.30 pm (Excluding Public Holidays)

Child Dental Benefit Schedule Vouchers are accepted. When your child’s $1000 cap is reached, there will be no out-of-pocket expenses provided your child meets *eligibility criteria.

* Eligibility – All Queensland resident children aged four years or older who have not completed year 10 of secondary school and are eligible to receive Medicare benefits.

Further information on public funded oral health services can be accessed via below.

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