25 February 2019

Principal’s Update

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

There is No Good Excuse for Poor Driver Behaviour

In lieu of my usual what’s been happening information, this week I make this plea to the parents and family members who drive children to and from school each day. Please step up and participate in making our roads safe.

For the past few years I have been hosting the Brightwater Reference Group meetings here at school. People who attend include: Local Council reps, Brightwater Residents’ Association President, Brightwater Neighbourhood Watch, P&C Association President and occasionally Qld Police reps. Unfortunately, there has not been a Reference Group meeting where the topic of driver behaviour around the school has not been discussed.

In order to support student safety, show courtesy to our neighbouring residents and reduce the number of complaints I continue to receive about poor driver behaviour I have:

1. Invested in the implementation of the Look Out program for the drop and go zone;
2. Placed 5 Teacher Aides on student supervision duty each afternoon at a cost to the school of $25000 per year;
3. Provided frequent reminders and requests in writing urging parents to follow road rules and signage;
4. Collaborated with local council and P&C to install stop signs, speed reduction signs, yellow no stopping lines and pedestrian crossings;
5. Collaborated with the P&C and Buderim Lions Club to implement a Walking School Bus for Brightwater students. Unfortunately this initiative was cancelled this year due to lack of participation from families;
6. Promoted students walking and riding to school via ‘Walk to School’ and ‘Ride to School’ days;
7. Collaborated with the local council to run the Bike Safety program for Year 4 students;
8. Collaborated with local council and Qld Police to assist with traffic management;
9. Rescheduled school tasks and priorities in order to attempt to move traffic on ourselves;
10. And this year, requested that parents no longer use Holloway Street to drop off or collect students due to the heavy construction vehicles and emergency vehicles requiring school access via Holloway Street.

Despite the significant amount of time and money invested, we continue to see driver behaviour that puts kids and others at risk.

I am somewhat at a loss as to where to go next in order to see all of our parents and family members commit to modelling courteous and lawful behaviours in order to keep kids safe.

I understand that everyone is busy with work and schedules and for many, it just isn’t possible to walk or ride with your children to school. My fear however is that without a concerted effort from every member of our school community to participate in a solution we are going to continue to see near miss incidents, damage to cars and property, drivers receiving fines and frayed tempers from those people who do the right thing.

As such I am requesting that when you attend the school tomorrow to collect your child you consider the following:

1. All of us have a responsibility and should play a part in keeping Brightwater kids safe.
2. Nothing should be more important than slowing down and driving with care and attention.
3. In the primary years, parents are a child’s first teacher. Your child will be shaped by the behaviours you model. Are you teaching your child to respect the law or show care for others?
4. Rather than trying to find a park at the school, your child may be old enough to be dropped off or collected from a nearby location e.g.: Aldi or the sports fields. Park the car and teach them to walk the block to school.
5. Setting up a car pool arrangement with a friend could reduce the number of cars accessing the school area as well as possibly providing you with a little extra time and sanity in the day.

One of the things I believe is special about our school community is that it is tight knit and focused on doing the best for Brightwater kids. I know we can fix this but we need everyone to help. Remember, no excuses for driving behaviour.

Thank you and have a great week.

Regards,
Robyn

Newsletter Articles

Deputy Principal News

Queensland Ready Reading

Brightwater State School and the Ready Reading program invites parents and community members to make a difference in their local community by volunteering in schools to support children’s reading.

Reading is a powerful tool to help children grow their vocabulary, language skills and imagination. It helps them to develop life-long skills that will support their future growth and learning.

The Department of Education’s Reading Centre and Volunteering Queensland are working together to help improve literacy for children in Queensland by training up to 3000 volunteers to share their knowledge and time to foster a love of reading.

Brightwater State School is pleased to host Ready Reading Training on: Tuesday 5 March 2019.

Sunshine Coast Daily Publications

Keep an eye out for our adorable Prep Cohort in the Sunshine Coast Daily’s ‘My First Year’ publication on Wednesday 27 March 2019.

Regards,
Shelley Butcher, Deputy Principal

Personalised Learning at Brightwater State School

Brightwater State School promotes access, participation and quality educational outcomes for all students and is committed to the delivery of the Australian Curriculum through personalised learning.

The way that our teachers target teaching to the needs of our students is through the use of data to identify where students are working from in a particular learning area, and what they need to get to achieve at the next stage. This is often articulated in a 'learning goal’ and students may have different learning goals as they move through the different developmental stages of the curriculum.

As with all schools, we have a rich community of learners with a wide variety of needs and support for these needs comes in an assortment of ways. In the classroom, teachers demonstrate personalised learning by:

• Exploring and catering to student preferred learning styles
• Providing a "Workshop Model" of delivering personalised learning whereby teachers select appropriate content and strategies based on pre-tests, student data and student learning goals
• Embedding Higher Order Thinking skills into lessons
• Embedding co-operative learning strategies into lessons
• Allowing students the opportunity to demonstrate and receive feedback on their learning.

Some students at Brightwater are further supported through small group intervention and extension programs as required and this may be in the classroom through teacher instruction or group settings in breakout spaces. ‘Learning Support’ for your child is not always an obvious withdrawal or one-on-one support as it may have been in the past and where possible, comes in the classroom setting through the training of an ‘expert teaching team’ and support staff.

Parents are encouraged to discuss their child’s learning needs with the classroom teacher to identify the various ways that student learning is supported at Brightwater.

Regards,
Shannyn Taylor, Deputy Principal

Students Lend a Helping Hand

Last Friday our Student Council conducted their first fundraiser for the year. Thanks to everyone who supported the day by wearing Green and Gold and making a donation to the flood relief fund. Our Student Council raised hundreds of dollars on the day and these funds will be directed to helping students in the schools affected by the flooding. Many schools and their students lost all their resources in the flooding and every little bit helps.

Regards,
Paul Taylor, Deputy Principal

Student Support Services

Brightwater Buddies

One of the great activities we have at Brightwater is the Brightwater Buddies Peer Mentoring program for Year 6 students. Last year we began training our then Year 5 students to be leaders in the playground. This term they are ready to go! Each 1st break, the Brightwater Buddies proudly wear their high-vis vests and carry their duty folders armed with Star Tickets to acknowledge positive behaviour in the playground. The Buddies also play games with students, promote inclusion for everyone and help to solve minor conflicts.

Strong Attendance = Success

We love seeing all students attending school every day. Of course there are times due to illness and unforeseen circumstances that your child may need to stay home. However, regular routines and school attendance can help students achieve greater results in the long term. If your child misses a day each week then they would have missed almost an entire term of school! If you are experiencing difficulties getting your child to school, then please let us know. We are always here to help!

Brainstorm Productions

Term 1 is an exciting term for our students! We are welcoming back Brainstorm Productions with the show ‘The Human Race’. Check out the promo here -

The Human Race is an anti bullying and resilience program for primary schools that reinforces positive relationships, and provides resources to help reduce the incidence of bullying at school and online. It encourages tolerance, kindness, respect and empathy.

The show is 60 minutes and will be live in our Hall on Tuesday 5 March and Wednesday 6 March, 2019. We encourage all students to attend. If you wish for your child to participate, please sign and return the permission form (to your child’s teacher), with cash payment of $5, no later than Tuesday 26 February. Payment can be made via EFTPOS at the office between 8.00am and 10.30am, and please ensure you bring the permission note with you. Please note BPoint is not available as a payment option. Please note, due to having to confirm numbers to the company prior to the performance, this payment is non-refundable if your child does not attend.

Candice Osborne, Head of Student Support

STEM News

Sports News

District Swimming

On Monday 11 February Brightwater State School had 17 representatives swim at the Cotton Tree Pool. All swimmers gave it their all and made Brightwater extremely proud.

On the day we had many students placing in the top 4 in their finals and we are thrilled to announce that Annie C, Fran K have all made it into the Coastal District Swimming Team. They will swim at the Regional Swimming Carnival in Caboolture next month.

Well done team Brightwater!

Margie Dunning, PE Teacher

Religious Instruction

The Religious Instruction program begins this year on Tuesday 26 February, between the hours of 1:15-2:45pm.  Each weekly lesson is ½ hour long.  The lessons are varied and relevant to the Christian Faith.  There will specific Biblical events discussed, music, craft, quizzes, skits, and lots more.

The program has been approved by the Christian Religious Program for the Sunshine Coast and is non-domination.  The instructors are trained volunteers. Students learn about the life of Jesus and his teachings of positive values including patience, self-control, compassion and the need to care about others. To run this program there is a $6 resource levy per child each year.   We ask that students attending Religious Instruction this year pay the $6 at the Administration Office.

If you have any further questions, or if you would be willing to be a helper to an Instructor, please arrange to speak with me by contacting the school.

Blessings from the team and Victoria Hoggan, R I Coordinator for Brightwater State School.

School Messages

Student Absences

Please advise the school when your child is absent from school. You can do this by:

• Email, office@brightwaterss.eq.edu.au or
• Phoning the school absence line, 5438 3166.

When phoning the absence line please leave the date, your child’s name, class, reason for absence and expected date of return to school.

The absence line is checked regularly throughout the day. As the busiest time in the Office is from 8:15am to 9:30am calling the absence line will help you to get your call answered swiftly and stop you being delayed waiting for the Office staff to answer the main line.

Administration Office Team

P&C News

Hi Everyone,

A friendly reminder that it is time to renew your 2019 Membership. It is Queensland P & C legislation that membership forms are completed every year. You must also complete a form to have access to our Facebook page. We will be removing members who have not completed forms so download one now or grab one from the Office, Uniform Shop or Café.

Don’t be afraid, joining the P & C is not a commitment to attend meetings and volunteer at every fundraising event. As a parent in our school, we are another way that you will have access to information about what is happening in the school via our Facebook page or emails. We post reminders about School Banking, Free Dress Days, Sports Days, Assembly's and Café Menus for example. We would love to have you join!

Our AGM will take place on Wednesday 13 March at 6:00pm. Nominations are welcome for positions on the committee.

Our Easter Raffle is coming up, tickets will be sent home shortly and more information will follow. Stay tuned!!

Have a great fortnight.

Regards

Your Executive Team

P & C Term 1 Events Calendar

Joining the P&C and Renewing Memberships

Don’t miss anything on the P&C agenda and events calendar. Become a member or renew your membership now. This must be done each year in accordance with P&C Queensland legislation. It’s really easy and quick and it ensures you will always be up to date.

The Membership form is attached to this newsletter, the P&C Facebook page or email us and request one at pandc@brightwaterss.eq.edu.au.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE P&C IS NOT A COMMITMENT TO GET INVOLVED; IT ALLOWS US TO COMMUNICATE TO YOU WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE SCHOOL.

Uniform Shop

The second-hand uniform shop is open every Monday & Friday morning till 9am. It is located next to the Café. Emily (Monday) and Charmain (Friday) will be there to help you.

Our second hand Uniform shop is run by your P & C Association and is another source for us to raise much needed funds for the school. The uniform shop is in desperate need of uniforms (formal, sports, other) jackets, jumpers, hats. All sizes needed. Please check your cupboards for uniforms that no longer fit and please donate back to the uniform shop (we do also purchase items depending on quality).

Please make sure that second hand uniforms are clearly re-labelled with your child’s name.

School Banking

If you would like your child(ren) to take part in school banking please use the following link to open a new account if you don’t already have one. Banking takes place every Tuesday, your child just needs to bring in the banking book to their class on a Tuesday morning. Every 10 times your child(ren) make a lodgement they can claim a prize.

You can lodge as little as 5 cents any time you take part in school banking and the P&C also benefits in terms of getting a fee from Commonwealth Bank each year based on the number of children in the school who bank some money throughout the year.

Contacting the P&C

Email: pandc@brightwaterss.eq.edu.au
Facebook: search Brightwater SS P&C Association or

(**must complete P&C membership form for access to Facebook Group**)

Meetings held second Wednesday of each month. Existing and new members are encouraged to attend. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 13 March 2019 at 9:00am.

Kind regards

Your Executive Team

Café

Don’t forget to get your morning coffee from the School Café. Full barista coffee is available.

Date Claimers

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