Dear Parent and Caregivers,

EVENTS

It has been wonderful over recent weeks to see our school performing/competing or participating with other schools on a range of platforms. As Principal of this wonderful school it makes me extremely proud to see our students giving things a go.  Whilst they may not always be winners they are always extremely well behaved, respectful and demonstrate excellent sportsmanship.  I am equally as proud of our staff who put their hands up to lead these activities, even though they usually come with an additional workload.

Firstly, it was fantastic to see our Wakakirri team perform again at Logan for the annual awards night.  Under the expert direction of Mrs Wilcox supported by Ms Kerr, Mr Harris, Mrs Hall and our Pre-service Teacher, Abbey Black they performed beautifully, behaved impeccably and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  Our nomination in the Environmental Story Award at National level was recognised again and Mrs Wilcox was recognised for 10 years of service to Wakakirri.  Congratulations to all!

Last week our Yr 5/6 students participated in the Volley Ball Cup at Craigslea SHS again participating and behaving well.  The Yr 5 girls green team came home with a silver medal and our Yr 6 boys green team came home with a bronze, but everyone played well and enjoyed the opportunity mixing with many other schools.

Today our Yr 4 students are over at Everton Park SHS participating in the MADD day where they are exposed to a range of arts activities in Media, Visual Art, Dance and Drama and tomorrow our Chess students are attending the Chess Tournament at St Dympnas with Mr Taylour and Mrs O’Malley.  This is the first time we have participate in this activity so look forward to seeing how our student go.  Also recently, our Maths Tournament team did extremely well at the Brisbane North Maths Tournament.  Whilst they were out of the running for the major placings they worked together and solved difficult maths problems as a team in the RELAY event and worked well to utilise all team members’ strong suits in the TEAM event.  Thank you to Mrs Hall and Mrs Burrows for their work with the students in preparing them for this event.

CLASS PREFERENCES 2023

As we introduced last year, we will run with a class preference process again this year where parents have an opportunity to provide some feedback around class placements for their children for next year.  This is not about selecting a teacher, as explained below we do not have staffing finalised or teacher placements finalised until much later in the year, but it is an opportunity to make us aware of any special information around learning styles, style of teacher and style of classroom and also re students to be placed with or otherwise. Whilst we take on board the feedback, of course there is no guarantee that all requests can be actioned, as ultimately, we have to make the best placements conducive to teaching and learning for all students.  The form is attached and can be completed digitally and emailed to the Principal email or returned in hard copy to the office.

STAFFING

Our Regional HR teams are currently working on Teacher transfers for the 2023 school year.  This year there are two processes- a requested transfer process where teachers can request a transfer to another school and then there is the required transfer process where the DoE will move teachers around to other schools in order to fill vacancies and to ensure there is balance across schools.  This year as part of the required process they are targeting teachers who have been 5-10 years in their current school and were made permanent at that school on the undertaking that they would complete some rural/remote/unfavourable service and have not done so thus far.  As with every other schools we have teachers who have been identified as part of this required process, so we are awaiting news late next week around who is impacted.  As this is just the first round of the process and there is likely to be further staffing changes next term, I will be able to enlighten the community as things become clearer early next term.

PREP ENROLMENTS

We have commenced our Prep enrolment interviews for next year with about 55 students already being enrolled for next year. These meetings are where we go through the enrolment process and collect information re the child and their needs for class placements for 2023.  We encourage families to finalise enrolments ready for the 2023 Prep transition and information sessions next term which will be held on November 2 and November 16, commencing at EPAC. 

If you have a Prep student to enrol for next year please contact the office and book an enrolment interview through the SOBS system at the following address.  https://eq.sobs.com.au/pt3/parent.php?schoolid=70109

Please pass on this information to families who are looking at our school for 2023.

MULTI-PURPOSE COURT ROOF

The new tender for the multi-purpose roof is currently out on QTender and today the project manager held a site meeting on site with a range of companies planning to tender.  Soon after the holidays we will have a new price so that we can apply for further funding for the project. With the additional time our P and C and school community have had to raise further funds towards the project, in addition to what was initially committed and the offer of additional funds from the School Subsidy Scheme, we are hopeful that this time we may be able to get the project completed this time around, as it is a much-needed piece of infrastructure in our school.

FLAG POLE

The new flag pole which has been purchased through the Past Students and Staff of ESS group has been installed.  This purchase was in addition to the lovely cabinet for archives in our office foyer which I featured in the last newsletter.  These additions to our school were made possible through donations from the 150^th celebrations and are very much appreciated.  Have a look at wonderful historical artefacts in the cabinet in the office next time you are at school.  I know the Happy Venturers Readers in the cabinet took me back to learning to read in a Qld Primary school in the early 1970s where we read about Dick and Dora, Nip and Fluff from the same texts until we could read.  How things have changed!

HOLIDAYS

As this is the last newsletter prior to the holidays, we wish all of our Enoggera families all the best for the coming vacation and we look forward to everyone returning for a busy and productive term 4 of learning and fun at Enoggera State School.

Till next time,

Mrs Anne Robinson

Principal

Pillar Practice

This fortnight for our Pillar Practice, we are focussing on ‘Being Safe’.  In particular, teachers are focussing on safety during break times.  With the opening of the new playground, there have been discussions and reminders on using the equipment safely and being patient while taking turns to avoid overcrowding and possible accidents.  As always, we remind students about the importance of walking on the concrete.  Please take the time to remind your children of our safety expectations, as receiving these messages from both school and home is effective in students remembering to be safe!

Facebook

There has been a lot of recent activity on our Facebook Page as we start posting our events for Term Four.  These can be located in the events tab down the side of our newsfeed. By posting our events now, it gives parents lots of time to prepare for the term ahead!    The more you interact with the page by liking and commenting on posts, the more our page will appear in your newsfeed.  Messages and questions on our Facebook page can be overlooked, so this is not the quickest and most reliable way of getting clarification around school events.  It is always best to ring the office or email the class teacher.  

Student Council

A reminder that the last day of the term is our Student Council fundraiser, ‘Dress Like a Pirate Day’.  Students are asked to bring along a gold coin donation which will be donated to the Childhood Cancer Research.   Our Student Council is meeting with Mrs Robinson and myself this week to discuss initiatives for Term 4.  Thanks for your ongoing support of our wonderful student leaders and the Student Council.

Morning Routines

A friendly reminder that under C Block (Year 2A and Prep B) is out of bounds before school for children and adults.  All students are to be waiting under D Block before school unless they are with a parent.  Students in the care of their own parent are required to wait under E Block.  For duty of care, all other areas are out of bounds as they are not supervised before school.   When students are waiting with parents, it is important that are expected to remain seated and to not run around playing, to keep our ‘before school expectations’ consistent for all students.  Thanks for your assistance with our morning routines.

Year 5/6 Camp

Next term, Tthe Year 5/6 Camp will take place from Monday 10^th October to Wednesday 12^th October, 2022 (Term 4, Week 2) at Luther Heights Youth Camp; Coolum.  The students will attend with Mrs Hall, Mr Roxburgh, Mr Woodrick and Mrs Burrows (Deputy Principal). 

A reminder that students who will require medication to be administered whilst away, the Medication Administration form is to be returned to the office by Wednesday 5^th October, 2022 (Week 1, Term 4).  All prescription medications (including labelled over the counter medications) need to be handed to the school office by Monday 10^th October Week 2, Term 4.  They must be clearly labelled in a zip lock bag, with the child’s name, the name of the medication, the doctor’s name who prescribed the medication and the dosage in the original pharmaceutical packaging.

In the lead up to camp, we will continue to meet with students to discuss expectations and prepare for camp.  We will be leaving school at 9:30am on Monday 10^th October.  We are looking forward to this wonderful opportunity!

Hello from Year 1,

This term, grade one have been learning about personifying an animal in for a story. They have been learning to give human traits to an animal and insert that character into a Willy the Wimp story. After creating their character they then used the Book Creator Application on the iPad to insert their character directly into the Willy the Wimp story of their choice. 

Here are some samples of their characters:

Here are some iPad samples. These are still works in progress. The students still need to edit their work before giving their final interview and explain who their character is and how it fits into the story.

The students have enjoyed the learning. Creating a character and then seeing it come to life in a story has provided them with a deeper understanding of how characters are developed in stories.

Finally, the students got to see and hear what a fire fighter looks like and sounds like when dressed in their fire gear so they won’t be so afraid.

Until next time,

Mrs Kent and Mrs Boone signing off.  

Metropolitan North Track and Field.

Congratulations to our students who competed at the Met North Track and Field Carnival at the end of August with some wonderful results.

• Ari – 4th in 1500m
• Chelsea – 7^th in Shotput
• Avery - 18^th in Long Jump

Volleyball Cup

Last week, 53 year 5 & 6 Students attended the Primary Schools Volleyball Cup at Craigslea State High School.  There were 24 schools participating with 191 teams across multiple competitions.  Our 8 teams did very well with two teams coming home with medals. Congratulations go to the Year 5 Girls Green team winning the silver medal in their competition and the Year 6 Boys Green team winning a bronze in their competition.

Never to be outdone – Enoggera received a special mention from the Announcer at the carnival for our performance of YMCA when the DJ turned up the volume.  Well done team.

Thanks to Mr Roxburgh, Mr Woodrick and Mrs Fitzpatrick for their support both on the day and in the lead up allowing all our teams to get in some practice. Also, thanks to our fantastic Schools Officers – Colin and Tane who managed to secure prime position to set up our tents at Craigslea before we arrived.

Interschool Sport

Gala Days are being planned for City District Schools for three Fridays in early term 4. Notes have been sent home and are due back at school this week for all year 5 & 6 students.  Teams have been nominated and some practice will begin.  If you have not returned the permission form or paid the bus fee – please do so urgently.

Plans are also underway for the year 3 & 4 classes to participate in skill development programs at school on the same three Fridays that the senior students are participating in Gala sports.  

Swimming

We will be returning to the pool for our PE lessons in term 4.  Please keep an eye out for notes over the next week or so with days of lessons and times where you may be asked to help if you have a little one in Prep to year 2.

With the holidays just around the corner it is a good time to make sure that your student – not only has everything they need for swimming but that they also fit and are ready to go.

• Swimming Bag (suitable to hold all swimming gear and uniforms when in the pool).
• Swimmers (please avoid cross overs straps for our younger students if possible, they can cause difficulties when getting changed for our little ones.)
• Towel
• Swimming Cap (COMPULSORY)
• Sunsafe Shirt (this may be either a rash vest or a T-shirt)
• Goggles (Recommended)
• Plastic Bag to carry wet swim wear after lessons.

(Please make sure ALL items of clothing are marked with the students name – this includes school uniforms.)

Wakakirri

Congratulations to all the students on their outstanding performance at the Awards Night. Watching the performers and backstage crew work together side stage displayed such great team work, well done. Thank you to everyone involved including the amazing ensemble of teachers; Ms Kerr, Mrs Hall, Mrs Harris and Ms Black. And can you believe that some of our incredible students ironed and bagged up the costumes!

Our school has been nominated for two National Festival Awards:

• Environmental Story Award
• Excellence in Performing Arts Award.

The accompanying photo outlines other amazing awards received by ESS, top job!

In October, Wakakirri will showcase a select number of stories from around Australia and announce the National Festival Awards. We are yet to receive the performance DVDs/streaming of the Live Event. As soon as we receive word, we will notify families.

The Awards Night marked 10 incredible years of Wakakirri at ESS and 17 trips to Logan! Congratulations to all past and present students, staff and families who have been involved in this wonderful event. Thank you for supporting the Performing Arts, the main aims being; to develop student confidence, competence in the arts, respect for self and others, and most importantly to have fun!

Chookas

Mrs Wilcox and the Waka Team

R U OK? THURSDAY 8^TH SEPTEMBER 2022

You have what it takes to make a difference

You don’t need to be an expert to ask R U OK? Listening and giving someone your time might be just what they need to help them through. The work of health professionals is vital, and their value cannot be underestimated, however we can all play a role in supporting the people in our world.

When we genuinely ask, ‘are you OK?’ and are prepared to talk to them about how they’re feeling and what’s going on in their life, we can help someone who might be struggling feel connected and supported, long before they’re in crisis. A conversation could change a life.

Mango Drive

The Mango Drive is back by popular demand!!

You can purchase 7kg tray(s) of Bowen Special mangoes (better known as Kensington Pride) on the QKR! App for $28 per tray. Each tray will usually have between 14 and 23 mangoes depending on size and weight.

If you haven’t ordered the mangoes before they come directly from the farm to you without being held for long periods in storage…they are a taste sensation, so so good!

Order by 17 October with a delivery window around the first week of December (exact delivery date will be known a week prior). You will be sent a notification on the collection date.

Bring on the mango smoothies and daiquiris!  Just in time for those Summer days!

Tuckshop

Volunteer opportunities for TERM 4 Tuckshop Volunteers and Home Bakes are now open!

Next term the tuckshop roster has weeks 2 to 6 listed for specific “Year Levels”, where we are seeking volunteers whose children are in that year, eg. Prep; Year 1; Year 2; etc. This is a great opportunity for parents to meet other parents as well as experience the school tuckshop, or for a group of friends to sign up and have some fun for a couple of hours. Hopefully you will enjoy it to sign up on a regular basis for each term!

Please click on the following link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn't work) to go to the signup sheet and volunteer either a Wednesday or Friday for your child’s/children’s year level:

volunteersignup.org/JQ73K

All parents and grandparents are welcome to volunteer. Also don’t be put off if the dates don’t suit, if you are available to volunteer on specific dates please sign up as we do not want to miss out on your help!

The Term 4 - Tuckshop Home Bake Roster is also available. If you are unable to volunteer in the tuckshop on a Wednesday or Friday, you may be able to assist with baking. We try to find easy recipes to follow! Please click on the following link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn't work) to go to the signup sheet:

volunteersignup.org/WP8PK

Thank you for volunteering!

Father’s Day Stall – Thank You!

We hope all the Dads loved their Father’s Day gifts! It is wonderful to see the kids so excited to come to the stall and select a special gift for that special someone, and then they share their excitement with friends showing each other what they bought! It is pure delight and happiness!

A massive thank you to our volunteers for a great effort at our Father’s Day stall!

Uniform Shop

Uniform Shop is open every Friday morning during the term from 8.00 – 9.00 am. You can purchase from the shop or pre-order uniform items via the QKR! App and pick up from the shop on the following Friday. If you are unable to pick the items up they will be provided to the office to distribute to your child.

Please feel free to drop off any pre-loved / second-hand uniform items in a reasonable condition to the Uniform Shop on a Friday morning or the tuckshop on a Wednesday.

Key Dates

Follow Enoggera P & C on Facebook to keep up to date on planned events, activities, Tuckshop menu and Uniform Shop.  It is the best way to stay informed on all the latest happenings!

https://www.facebook.com/EnoggeraSSPandC

P&C Executives

The Enoggera State School P & C meets every 4^th Tuesday of the month – next meeting is 25 October 2022