Thursday 30th January 2020 2020/01

The Biddeston Bulletin The Newsletter of the Biddeston School

2425 Cecil Plains Road Biddeston

Via OAKEY Q 4401

Phone (07) 4691 6145 Email: principal@biddestonss.eq.edu.au Web Site: www.biddestonss.eq.edu.au

Newsletter articles : staffbss@biddestonss.eq.edu.au

Mobile Phone : 0409 896 233

COMING UP SOON Feb. 04 ‘Meet & Greet’ evening 04 P&C AGM meeting at 7pm 10 Y6 Leader’s Speeches 11 Parent Information Sessions for everyone 11,18,25 Triple P Positive Parenting Seminar 28 Science Challenge Day March 06 Rossvale Netball Carnival 20 ‘Bullying – No Way’ Day 21 P&C Garden Party 23 School Perf. Tour @ Brookstead 10am 25 Interhouse Cross-country 26 Toowoomba Show Holiday April 03 Rossvale Cross-country @ Biddeston May 12-22 NAPLAN Online

CHECKLIST

� Recycle your newspapers at Biddeston – any day!

PLEASE ensure that ONLY newspaper, magazines &

junk mail are deposited in the bins – definitely NO

plastic of any nature, cardboard or shredded paper

or ANY FOREIGN MATTER.

� NO soiled baby nappies to be placed in ANY bins

at the school.

At Biddeston State School every THURSDAY from 9-11am

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06 08 12 13 14 14 15 17 23 26

Jed Fiechtner Blake Handford Flynn Skinner Mrs Thomas Miss Ribot Haylee Scott Nate Young Brynee Graham Mary Keutmann Isabelle Duncombe

Dear Parents, Community Members,

A warm welcome is extended to all for the new school

year. The enthusiasm of the students is always wonderful to experience, and along with seeing green grass from our recent rain for the first time in many months, we have had a marvellous start. It is amazing to think that only a little over two weeks ago we didn’t have a blade of green grass in the school grounds. Hopefully it is a sign of more rain to come.

We welcome our seven new Prep students, Jacob,

Lexie, Benji, Myah, Mackenzie, James and Flynn and their families. We also welcome new students Ruby, Bailee and Spencer across the school, along with their families. Welcome back to our returning students and families. We wish all Year 7 students from Biddeston SS the best start to their high school years.

Thank you Mrs Gotz, Mr Jeff Gotz and Miss Bloss for a

big effort in having the school grounds ready and well presented for the start of school. This year’s preparations even included mowing!

The staff has been very busy preparing for the school

year and spent last week setting up classrooms as well as engaging in extensive professional development including mandatory training, first aid, CPR, fire safety and curriculum. I commend staff on their commitment to training for their respective roles. We are very excited to commence a new year of learning.

We have started this year with 78 enrolled students.

This has made four classes, Prep/Year 1 (Mrs Haaksma) Year 2 (Mrs Janz - Tuesday to Friday and Ms Dukes - Mondays), Years 3/4 (Mrs Wilson – Monday to Wednesday and Ms Dukes Wednesday to Friday) and Years 5/6 (Mr Young). The official census day for enrolment numbers is Day 8, which falls on 6th February. Music and PE is taught each Tuesday, with Physical Education taught in the morning by Mr Morris and Music with Mrs Wheeldon in the afternoon. Languages (German) for the Year 5/6 students has been timetabled on Wednesday afternoons with Frau Samuel. Each week or fortnight we have Mrs Lange (Support Teacher: Literacy and Numeracy), Mrs Thomas (Special Education Teacher) and Miss Tayo (Speech Language Pathologist) visit to work with teachers and students. A Guidance Officer visits each term, along with various other advisory teachers, as required. We are fortunate to have some volunteers who give their time to read with students each week.

We have a number of things scheduled for this year,

starting with our new Breakfast program next Tuesday morning. Breakfast will be available for students between 8:15am and 8:30am each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning. If you would like to assist with this, please let us know. Breakfast will provide options of toast, cereal, fruit

and a drink. This program is available to all students and is free of charge.

We are hosting the Triple P Parenting Program on the

following dates, 3:00pm to 4:30pm: 1st session: 11th Feb - The Power of Positive Parenting 2nd session: 18th Feb - Raising Confident, Competent Children

3rd session: 25 Feb - Raising Resilient Children Child minding and afternoon tea will be provided. All parents are welcome, including those with pre-school age children. This is a great opportunity for our school to offer and for parents and caregivers. Please register on the link provided on the flyer. We will need 8-10 parents registered for this program to go ahead.

With the view of sustainability, reducing paper use and

cost, the weekly school newsletter will be emailed to each family with an email address, in preference to printing, unless a paper copy is requested. The newsletter can also be accessed on the School Website and QSchools app. This will be the only week a paper copy will be provided.

Keep an eye on the upcoming events in each week’s

newsletter (Thursdays) and we look forward to catching up with students and parents. Our school website has lots of information, forms and the weekly newsletters. The website is also linked to the QSchools app which can be downloaded to phones/iPhones and iPads/tablets. The QSchools app provides an easy way to access vital school information, including latest news, events and newsletters. A Calendar of Events is being sent home with upcoming events listed. Any changes to event dates will be in future newsletters.

The P&C is holding a ‘Meet and Greet’ event at school

on Tuesday 4th February at 5:30pm, followed by the P&C Annual General Meeting in the library at 6:30pm. Everyone is welcome and is encouraged to attend the ‘Meet and Greet’ and to support the P&C, school and students. The P&C is an active and vibrant group who continue to support and enhance what happens in our school. It gives the opportunity to meet new people, make friends, have a say and work together to support the school for the students. Our P&C has always been fabulous and has achieved great things each year.

Parent Information Sessions will be held on Monday,

10th February, starting in the Prep/Yr1 room at 3:10pm. The Year 2 session will begin at 3:30pm, followed by Year 3/4 at 3:50pm, with the Year 5/6 session commencing at 4:10pm. I strongly urge parents to attend these sessions. This is an excellent opportunity to meet the teachers, ask questions, find out class routines, the curriculum being taught and the expectations for your child/ren.

I welcome the Year 6 students to the leadership post

this year and look forward to hearing their speeches on Monday morning, 10th February. Parents of the Year 6 students are welcome to attend this assembly.

Our school is committed to teaching the Australian

Curriculum in each Core Subject area of English, Maths, Science and Humanities and Social Sciences. Other Key Learning Areas include The Arts, Design and Digital Technologies, Health and Physical Education, Languages (German - Years 5/6). Homework will start next week and we encourage you to support your child in their engagement with this,

whether it be a quiet place to work, a set routine, or taking an interest in what they are learning. More information around homework will be covered at the parent information sessions on Monday 10th February. If homework is having a negative impact on family life, please see your child’s teacher.

Each morning at around 10am the students stop for a

five minute snack break to give them the ability to work through the first two hour literacy block. Please pack a piece of fruit or vegetable to be eaten at this time. We’ve seen some fabulous fruit and vegetable snacks, with plenty of fresh fruit, but also cauliflower, cucumber, beans and juicy carrots. Cheese and nuts are also healthy options.

Playgroup will continue to meet on Thursday mornings

from 9am to 11am. Mrs Shaw is the playgroup facilitator. We have membership with Playgroup Queensland. We look forward to welcoming children and parents each week. Please bring some healthy morning tea. There is no cost to parents for playgroup. Playgroup has started back today, with lots of fun, playing and catching up with friends.

Just a reminder, students are to wait in the assembly

area for parents or the bus each afternoon. Students are to wait in the same area each morning before school if arriving before 8:30am. This is for student safety. Parents are reminded to check in with the supervising teacher when collecting your child/ren in the afternoon, to be checked off the departure roll. If picking up or dropping off your child/ren at alternate times due to appointments or illness, please call into the office to sign them in or out. This is a safety procedure so we know who is in attendance, at all times.

If your child is ill and will not be attending school or

you are running late, please be prompt in letting the school know with a phone call, SMS message or email. Due to legislation, absent students with no explanation will lead to contact with parents, asking of their child’s whereabouts. We use an electronic system for parent contact, called MGMbesafe. For your child’s attendance records, we are required to record a reason for their absence. Please give a reason so this can be recorded.

We have a small number of students who have

significant food allergies. Thus, the advice is to not share food and to wash hands after eating. This is the procedure we follow at school and we remind children. Please help us by discussing and explaining these rules with your child/ren also.

If you need to contact the school, the best email

address with which to reach Mrs Nielsen and me, is admin@biddestonss.eq.edu.au . My email address is swils3@eq.edu.au . The school mobile number is: 0409 896 233.

It has been wonderful to see all students wearing

uniforms and appropriate hats for the beginning of school. Please ensure your child’s belongings are all clearly named. We have a substantial amount of lost property through the year and most items are unnamed. In the event of lost property, please visit A Block (front building), upstairs on the veranda.

Medication forms are required for any medication to

be given to students during school hours. In the event

that your child needs medication administered at school, please collect a medication form from the office to be completed. Only prescribed medication with a medication form and clear pharmacy label on the medication can be administered to students by staff.

Our school’s behaviour code is Be Safe, Be Respectful,

Be Responsible and we have a focus each week for the students to learn. We follow ‘The Biddeston Way’, which promotes wellbeing, resilience, respect and teamwork. This week’s focus is transitions – moving responsibly from one activity to another.

From time to time, temporary positions come up at

school. These are usually for relieving when someone is on leave. I am required to follow correct procedures in regards to employment in these positions. If you would like to be considered for a temporary position should one arise, please send in your resume for our files.

Each week we have a violin, viola and piano teacher

visit each Friday. Please contact Daniel (Strings Attached) 0438 236 863 if you would like more information.

Sadly we have a tree near the bike shed that has done

it tough in the dry weather. An arborist has been engaged to advise on dealing with the tree.

Have a lovely weekend!

Kind Regards, Sharon

Payment Envelopes: With the payment of invoices

via BPOINT and EFTPOS, the need for envelopes has dramatically decreased. There is no need to return consent forms in envelopes. Bundles of 10 will be available from the office at any time. Please request if you need same.

Carbal Medical Services are again offering hearing tests for all students of our school. Our first visit is scheduled for 24th February. For students who identify as indigenous, there is no cost. A fee of $25 will be charged for all other children. A permission form is attached to the email for any who would like to access this service. Additional forms are available at the office.

You are encouraged to take advantage of this

great seminar. 4.5hours of your time can give

you skills to better parenting. NO cost.

Register NOW!

P & C Association

The AGM will be held on Tuesday 4th February at 7pm.

The meetng will follow on from the ‘Meet and Greet’ evening.

AGENDA:

P&C Contacts: President: Ian Speed 0402 227 206 Vice President: Matthew Patti 0400 331 340

Secretary: Haley Darr 0403 217 997 Treasurer: Mel Patch 0448 494 639

General

Fundraising Nicole Handford 0419 427 701

Cathy Blinco 0488 708 500

Uniforms Abbey Bess 0497 873 023

Tuckshop Wendy Edmondstone 0427 756 570

WE WISH TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE

SPONSORSHIP OF THE FOLLOWING

BUSINESSES.

For all your livestock, merchandise, insurance and livestock finance needs,

see the team at Landmark, Toowoomba

Branch Manager Guy Pitman 0428 740 151 Livestock & Auctions Plus Specialists

Simon Booth 0438 756 245 Andrew Costello 0429 485 191

Lachlan Darr 0448 848 034 Stud Stock Colby Ede 0417 265 980 Merchandise Manager

Robert Wiemers 0407 736 198

Insurance Ceri Martin 0429 685 847

Livestock Finance

Robert Moncrieff 0408 296 952

Toowoomba office, 388 Taylor Street, Toowoomba

Phone 07 4637 3000 Fax 07 4637 3022

www.landmark.com.au

Entry form for school-age children is available from the office.