15 May 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Creating and maintaining a healthy school bubble of beautiful people

Like every organisation and business, our school is working on making the necessary changes towards operating in a COVIDSAFE way. These changes are there to ensure that we create and maintain a healthy bubble for our beautiful people who learn and work within it.

• We are following all the government guidelines with regards to health and safety and social distancing for adults.
• We ensure extra soap, hand sanitiser, more frequent cleaning and sanitisation across the school
• Our staff are not coming to work if they are unwell or experiencing symptoms. Unwell staff are being tested for COVID as a precaution and (to this point) all have been negative.

As we approach the winter months, it is more important than ever that no student comes to school if unwell. This is particularly important as larger numbers of students start returning to school-based learning.

Thank you to our families for your assistance with the required new procedures for student drop off and collection at school. We need to get this process working really well before our Year 2 – 6 students return to school-based learning. These steps are everybody’s responsibility.

We work together on the important COVIDSAFE steps necessary to keep our school community bubble of beautiful people as healthy as possible through this pandemic. Please continue to monitor our emails and Facebook posts as we transition towards all students learning from school on 25 May.

Continuity of learning

We are working in partnership to ensure continuity of learning during this historic period of home-based learning.

Continuity of community

Our community is separated but together at this time via the use of technology and innovative methods.

We wanted to ensure that our community (learning at home and learning at school) could participate equally on important school community events.

Supporting your child through COVID -19

It is a difficult and challenging time for all of us. We need to be ready to support children to deal with anxiety at this time. These strategies are provided to support your children.

You can support your child by:

• Monitoring reactions and listen to how they feel and what they are thinking
• Be aware of what you say when children and young people are around and let them know they can ask you questions anytime. Make feelings normal by letting your children know it is okay to have feelings such as sadness, anger, frustration, worry, fear or anxiety
• Share that you are also feeling this way, without overloading them with adult responsibilities. Encourage them to talk with you about how they are feeling, let them know there’s no wrong way to feel or think, and that all feelings are valid
• Providing correct information
• Be honest and stick to the facts, without providing too much detail. Limit the amount of media coverage children see, hear and read. Explain news to them and discuss what has been seen, read and heard
  - If your children are feeling upset or anxious about stories they are seeing or hearing, make sure they take some time off to think about something else. Switching devices off for a few hours may help.
• Providing a sense of stability for your children may help them feel more comfortable during times of uncertainty. If schools are temporarily closed or school attendance is interrupted, think about the importance of:
  - Sleep: getting enough sleep and rest can help us all feel better during the day. Set regular times for going to bed and getting up in the morning. Keep normal bedtime routines for younger children and expect the same from your older primary and high school-aged children too
  - Food and drink: make sure your children are eating regularly throughout the day and drinking plenty of water
  - Moving: being physically active can lift your mood, be relaxing and provide an opportunity for fun
  - Relaxation and fun: is there something your children enjoy doing that will help them relax? Everyone needs a little time out to just think about something nice, whether that is playing games, singing or communicating with friends. Set rules and limitations around social media usage and other online interactions.
• Providing reassurance:
  - Focus on the good: When times are difficult, it can help to take notice of the good things still in your life. Encourage your children to take some time to think about the positives—kind people, good friends, beautiful moments however small. Point out the people working to fix the situation.

Further information about looking after metal health and wellbeing can be found on the department website.

Queensland health

• How to look after your mental wellbeing in a crisis
• Supporting your teen when a natural disaster strikes

Beyond Blue

• Looking after your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak

Excellence at Coomera Springs State School

We celebrate excellence by students at Coomera Springs State School. Many of our regular extra-curricular and co-curricular excellence opportunities are currently paused. Students continue to demonstrate excellence throughout:

• Taking this time as an opportunity to learn and do things differently #INNOVATION
• Showing independence in organising learning #INDEPENDENCE
• Developing time management skills being able to spend more time on things that require more time #TIMEMANAGEMENT
• Improving digital technologies skills #DIGITECH
• Learning approaches that they can use in future life #21STCENTURY
• Students being recognised at our virtual assemblies #RECOGNITION
• Students showing great respect during ANZAC Day #RESPECT
• Students showing love and gratitude to someone special for Mothers’ Day #LOVE

Chris McMillan
Principal

Finance News

How can I pay an Invoice?

Our preferred method of payment is BPOINT

Please see below our “quick and easy ways” to pay 24/7:

BPOINT:

• Simply click the BPOINT link located at the bottom left hand corner of the invoice
• Enter your debit/credit card details
• Elect the amount you wish to pay
• Ensure you enter your email address to receive a receipt of your payment

Please note, you will need to do “individual” transactions for each invoice you receive.

BPOINT Phone:

• Phone 1300 631 073
• Ensure you have your CRN and invoice number handy –these can be found in the BPOINT box (bottom left hand corner of your invoice)
• Enter your debit/credit card details when prompted
• Elect the amount you wish to pay
• A receipt number will be quoted at the end of the transaction approval process

Please note you will need to do “individual” transactions for each invoice you receive.

EFT

Payment directly to our School Bank Account

Please ensure correct identification in your reference by including at least STUDENT’S SURNAME, CLASS, etc. Example SMITH, 1A Fees.

Important – When paying by BPOINT/EFT

It is advisable that you allow a “48 hour turnaround” to ensure payment reaches us by the payment deadline date.

For your information we have outlined below ALL current Fees/Excursions/Incursions:

Chappy News

Cyber-Safety

There are some alarming new statistics to consider when we think of how much time children are currently spending on online activities. During a recent cyber-safety training event for chaplains by the eSafety Commissioner, the following statistics were released for March and April during the current COVID-19 season:

1. 40% increase in cyber investigations
2. 86% increase in image based abuse reports
3. 48% increase in adult abuse reporting
4. 21% increase in cyber bullying reports targeting children

Parents, please avail yourselves to the resources on the eSafety Commissioners website. They provide eSafety resources, advice, guides and a mechanism for reporting for parents and children for protection online.

Please contact the eSafety Commissioner in the first instance if you want to report a cyber incident, or are concerned about anything cyber related. You can also call the school and the chaplain if you are concerned about any of these issues relating to your children. There is help available and the eSafety Commissioner has been very successful in removing online images and content and handling cyber bullying.

Desiree Geldenhuys
School Chaplain
desireeg@chappy.org.au

Guidance Officer

I can appreciate that this may be a stressful time for families, with many changes to the usual family and school routines due to COVID-19. Some families may have found it particularly challenging with their child learning from home and parents stepping into more of a teaching role. Change can bring on feelings of stress and can affect our sense of wellbeing. Please reach out to the school if you are finding this COVID-19 time stressful or challenging. We are here to support you.

If you need any tips or help with supporting your child, you can visit the Department of Education’s webpage on the Wellbeing of Students

This link can also be accessed from our school's website.

Prep and Year 1 have transitioned back to school this week, soon to be followed by Grades 2 to 6. So, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Very soon, we will all be back at school, and settling into a new “normal”.

For those parents still doing learning-at-home – Hang in there, you can do this!

Wishing you all well,

Emma Cooper
Guidance Officer

Uniform Shop

Tuckshop

Frankie’s Tuckerbox

The tuckshop is open Monday - Friday and offers a range of healthy choice options. Please refer to the 2020 Tuckshop Menu for more information.

Orders can be placed at the tuckshop between 8.15am - 9am or online via flexischools (We prefer online ordering)

Please use separate bags for each break for each student if ordering at the Tuckshop counter. Please clearly mark the student’s name, class and break on each bag.

Lost or forgotten lunches will be replaced with a jam, vegemite or honey sandwich and a piece of fruit at a cost of $4.00. Payment can be made over the phone by Eftpos or the bill will be sent home with the student so it can be paid next day at the tuckshop.

All counter orders will incur a 20c processing fee.

Phone orders are no longer accepted.

Flexischool Thursdays & Fridays

All orders on Thursdays and Fridays can now only be placed through Flexischools. NO BAG ORDERS OVER THE COUNTER WILL BE TAKEN.

For further enquiries please contact:

Coomera Springs State School – Tuckshop
tuckshop@coomeraspringsss.eq.edu.au

School Terms for 2020

School Calendar 2020s

School Directory

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