Striving for an engaged and motivated school community, fostering individual achievement, social responsibility and well being

Contact details PH: 4625 8555 Jane Street Dirranbandi QLD 4486 www.dirranbass.eq.edu.au Student absences line PH: 4625 8566 Absence SMS line 0418 164 912 Principal Mrs Andrea Killen Email the.principal@dirranbass.eq.edu.au

P&C Executive President: Amber Stewart Vice President: Jen Miller Secretary: Tanya Moore Junior Secretary: Jess Persse Treasurer: Tamara Burke dirranbandipandcsecretary@outlook.com

What’s Inside this issue: Pg 1 Opti-minds Pg 2 From the Principal Pg 3 P&C News Public Speaking Comp Tractor Day Pg 4 Secondary Snapshot Opti-minds Pg 5-6 Letters to the Future Pg 7 Blitz Master Student Awards Pg 8 Community Notices

Dirranbandi P-10 State School

Dazzler

“Success Follows Effort”

2018

Term 3

31 August

Our Opti-minds

teams excelled on

the weekend with

both teams taking

home prizes.

Team 1- Lincoln,

Chloe, Emily, Jaana

Awarded the ‘Spirit

of Opti-minds’

Team 2– Ellie, Lilly,

Darcy, Julia, Mia

Winning 1st place

in the Language

Literature category

Well Done!

STAFF Teachers Liz Bromwich Kirsty Cookson Jessica Davis Keeley Glass Monica Hadenfeldt Kylie Hegarty Rogan Kinnear April McLaren Jen Miller Mollie Rodgers Secondary Coordinator Kylie Hegarty PH: 4625 8534

Student Services Coordinator

Monica Hadenfeldt PH: 4625 8500 Head of Curriculum Jen Miller PH: 4625 8501 Instrumental Music Luke Todd Business Manager Michelle Burke Teacher Aides Tamara Burke Sheldon Dawes Darcie Fenech Bronwyn Hopkins Angela Hourigan Kathleen Ruttley Shelley Smith Amber Stewart Cleaners Keith Blunden Katie Macmillan Leonarda Tramacchi Groundsman Boyd Hopkins

FROM THE PRINCIPAL Year 6 Transition Camp This Monday our Year 6 students set off on their Year 6 camp. The camp is a component of readying students for their transition from Year 6 into Year 7. While on camp students will learn the importance of being organised, independent and being an active and responsible learner. Have fun on camp, Year 6! School Uniform Expectations As a school we communicate school pride in a variety of ways and our strong commitment to uniform is a key priority in the school. By identifying Dirranbandi P-10 State School through our uniform we unify our students and build a cohesive understanding of being a strong school community. We urge parents to keep up the very high standards already set in the wearing of uniforms and we, as a school, will maintain the high standards in the community. Expected uniform includes; maroon/mid-blue polo shirt with school logo maroon shorts maroon wide brimmed or bucket hat **We are a sun safe school** closed in shoes white socks clear nails (no coloured polish)

For Winter;

maroon or white skivvy

maroon jacket or jumper

maroon track pants/leggings or jeans

maroon or white stockings

any additional apparel (such gloves or scarf) is to be plain maroon

any beanie worn (outside only) is to be plain maroon and to finish on the head (no dangles) Important Dates… Sunday 3 September Fathers’ Day Monday 3 to Friday 7 September Year 6 Faith Camp Wednesday 12 September P&C Meeting 5pm **please note this is a date change** Thursday 13 September School Public Speaking Competition Friday 14 September Tractor Day Congratulations to…

Year 5/6 for the highest attendance percentage for Week 6. School attendance has been

affected severely by illness recently.

Henry and Julia for excellent participation at Beginner Band Camp.

Best wishes to…

To all our Dads, have a wonderful Fathers’ Day! Year 6 students and staff attending Faith transition camp. Have a great week! Darcy, Sam and Julia competing in the Balonne Team at the South West Athletics Carnival in

St George on Thursday and Friday.

Thank you to…

Faith Lutheran College for hosting our Year 6 students and staff on our transition camp.

Mr Todd and Miss Hadenfeldt for your work in holding the Beginner Band Camp. Our students

always enjoy the opportunity to work with students across the cluster and play in a bigger band.

Remember…

Our School Facebook page. You’ll find important messages about School events and

photographs of School happenings on our page. Have you ‘liked’ us recently?

Instruments for instrumental music lessons on Tuesday.

Enjoy the weekend! Andrea Killen

School Improvement Priorities for 2018

In 2018 our school improvement priorities are to improve student outcomes in:

Reading

Attendance – Every Day

2018 Term 3 Sunday - 2 September Father’s Day

Week 8 Monday - 3 September Homework Centre Parade Year 6 go to Faith Camp Tuesday - 4 September Sporting Schools-Athletics Little A’s Wednesday - 5 September

Tuckshop Book Club orders due Sporting Schools-Netball Thursday - 6 September Homework Centre Friday - 7 September Playgroup Year 6 return from Faith Camp Saturday - 8 September CWA Spring Affair

Week 9 Monday - 10 September Homework Centre Parade Tuesday - 11 September Sporting Schools-Athletics Little A’s Wednesday - 12 September

Tuckshop Sporting Schools-Netball P&C Meeting Thursday - 13 September Homework Centre Public Speaking Comp Friday - 14 September Playgroup Tractor Day

PBL FOCUS’ I am responsible when I am …

An Active Learner Safe

Respectful

Speak respectfully

P & C MEETING ** Date Change ** September 12th

5pm at the Old Moey

P&C TUCKSHOP NEWS Week 6 tuckshop special is… Pizza - $3.50 Specials will be available by order only.

YEAR 6 TRANSITION CAMP Follow the “What to Bring” list for packing over

the weekend Bus leaves on Monday morning at 7am from

the front of school We look forward to sending great photos and stories during the week whilst on camp. Faith students, and Mrs Bayfield have made a special request for fudge from the Dirran Bakery….. Mrs Hegarty has it packed!

PBL MEETING

3:10pm September 5th in Miss Glass’s classroom. Parents are very welcome.

At this meeting we discuss our school behaviour data and topics relating to our behaviour policy.

PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION

Thursday September 13th

All Year 4, 5 and 6 students will be participating in the school Public

Speaking Competition. Please assist your child/children by discussing

suitable topics for them to speak about. Choosing a topic your child is in-

terested in makes the experience much richer. Try ‘googling’ speech topics

for Primary students. Here are a few I found………..

Why I love my mum and dad.

Funny things my parents say.

Let me tell you about my imaginary friend.

Things that really happen at grandma’s house when mum and dad aren’t there.

What my mum does all day when I’m not around.

What my brother/sister thinks of me.

This year we are hosting the Balonne District Public Speaking Competition on October 12th

at the school. Students from around the district compete on this day.

SECONDARY SNAPSHOT Year 10 Work Experience Work experience placements assist students in their transition from school to work. It helps students with: better understanding of how classroom learning is applied in the workplace better understanding of the work environment and what employers expect of their workers an opportunity to explore possible career options increased maturity, confidence and self-reliance and increased motivation to continue study and/or undertake further training. We thank the employers for offering the opportunity as it is: making a positive contribution to the education and development of students contributing to the development of students’ workplace skills assisting young people in their career decision-making developing mutually beneficial partnerships with schools to

support students to become work ready building industry/school partnerships that provide for local

community needs and endeavours.

Jessica Purvis is currently at the Dirranbandi Hospital. She has been busy with both the nursing and operational sections of the Hospital. Jessica has finished her Certificate 11 in Health Support and her work experience placement enhances this course. We thank all the staff at the Dirranbandi Hospital for assisting and guiding Jessica on her work placement. Last Sunday Dirran had two teams attend the Regional Opti-MINDS tournament in St George. Opti-MINDS is an exciting opportunity for students to work as a team on a creative and original solution for a challenge. It empowers students to think, create and communicate. The teams can choose an open-ended challenge in either Language Literature, Science Engineering or Social Sciences. This year there were 20 teams from 7 schools. Team 1 (Lincoln, Chloe, Emily and Jaana) chose the Social Sciences category and were required to plan a celebration to commemorate the anniversary of a 30 year milestone for the Topi-Topi tribe. To Lincoln’s delight, the anniversary planning committee elected that the most suitable option was to create a giant statue of…Lincoln, the committee president! Team 2 (Ellie, Lilly, Darcy, Julia, Mia) chose the Language Literature category and showed how the book, Matilda, might have looked 30 years on. Miss Trunchbull was outraged to see Miss Honey’s class had started using emails and ebooks, as she adores coming home to a book at the end of a hard day’s work. In the end they decided that it didn’t matter how you read, as long as you do! Team 1 were awarded a Spirit of Opti-MINDS award for their teamwork, resilience and effort. Team 2 won their category and have been invited to the State competition later this year. Congratulations to both teams on their efforts. We look forward to more exciting challenges next year!

LETTERS TO THE FUTURE

To Year 5 student of the future,

Hi, my name is Chloe Brown and I am writing this to you because

I am in English class and I have to put this in a time capsule.

If this is not 2059 please put it back in the jar and wait till 2059. Just recently (the 6th of august) The Today Show came to

Dirranbandi to talk about the drought that has been going on for

about six and a half years. I was so excited to meet Tim and

Sylvia (presenters). One of my friends and I got a photo with

Sylvia. There was also a 15 year old singer called Mitch, he was

really good! I think that having The Today Show coming out will

be a great boost for the community. The Commonwealth Games were held at The Gold Coast this

year. I didn’t go to the Gold Coast to watch it but I was watching it

at home on the TV. I was very excited to hear that The

Commonwealth Games were finally being held in Australia. I hope

The Commonwealth Games will be held in Australia again so I

can sit in my rocking chair when I am 52 years old and cheer on

the Aussie team in my croaking voice. Just recently I got an Instagram account. I am so excited to be

able to communicate with my friends and post photos and videos

(whenever I have Wi-Fi). I wonder if Instagram has taken over

Facebook yet. I am also thinking about starting a YouTube

account with some of my friends. I highly recommend making a time capsule. Just yesterday my

sister, 2 of my friends and I opened a time capsule that my sister,

2 of her friends and I made back in 2014. We talked about how

everybody was walking around like OMG I love Katy Perry!

Hahahahahahahaha!

Anyway I have to go now.

Bye, Chloe

Dear Grade 5 student,

My name is Emily. The reason for writing this letter to you is to tell

you about my life during the year. First, I’m going to tell you about some of my interests. I really like

reading and I love anything and everything about art. I love to

sing and dance but I still need some practise though. Next, I’m going to tell you about some TV shows and movies that

have come out during the year. A TV show that came out was

Pointless another TV show that came out was The Tonight Show.

Some movies that came out this year are The Incredibles 2 and

Hotel Transylvania 3 Monster Vacation. Next, I’m going to tell you about some technology. One thing is

the Apple watch. Another thing is the Fitbit. This year my dad got

a new phone that was not a flip phone.

Lastly, I’m going to tell you a bit more about me. So I turned

eleven this year. I have learnt a new language, Chinese.

My sister is learning Irish and Dutch. I have 3 sisters and 3 pet

dogs. My favourite colour is navy blue and I love animals. My

favourite animals are pandas and polar bears. I have six people

in my family, My Mum, My Dad, My sister Aileen, My sister

Veronica, My sister Christine and me. I am a half aunty to three

kids. Their names are Gabby, Will and Hayley. I hope you have well enjoyed this letter to tell you about my life

during this year and what things have come out during this year.

I hope you have learnt a lot about my life during this year and

about this year in general. Hope you are well and like this letter.

Yours Sincerely, Emily

Hey Year 6 student, My name is Darcy and I am currently a year 6 student. I am this years primary school captain. I live on Pine Park with my family and pets. I would describe myself as outgoing and amazing. One of my favourite things to do is to gleefully play South West touch in Bundaberg which I got to do last week. My team undertook the splendid game for a whole week and once you participate in a game for a whole week you start feeling sore and it gets tedious. It’s like you’re on a straight road going nowhere. The fields were beautiful though, they were a green cloud. I also met some amazing friends that were as sweet as the lollypop. The small little town I live in called Dirranbandi got to hold the Paul Kelly and Friend’s concert. If you don’t have any idea who he is he’s the man that sings the song ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’. About 3000 people were there and that’s a lot for a little town. The sound was never ending, my ear drums kept popping. It felt like I was in the North Pole as the shivers ran up my spine. The concert was to raise money for our school Ag program. Our school happily achieved the goal and it was an amazing night all round. This year has been a very exciting year. Australia held The Commonwealth Games, the Today show came to Dirranbandi, Paul Kelly performed and it’s my last year of primary school. As it’s my last year of primary school life my mum and my Nana go on a holiday somewhere and I chose the remarkable Bali. Bali is a very interesting place with lots of people. I was happily smiling all the time except for when the rapacious monkeys stole my glasses. I would highly recommend going to Bali. The only abysmal thing about it is the extremely long plane flight. I wonder how life is when you get to read this remarkable letter. I hope you have enjoyed reading about how my life was. I can just imagine you happily smiling as you read this. Bye, Darcy

MORE LETTERS TO THE FUTURE Dear Dirranbandi P-10 State School Student in 2059, Hello. My name is Georgia Price. I’m in Year 6. Also, I’m excited to see where and what I am doing in the future or the present to you. I have had an admirably amazing half of the year so far. This year my family and I are going through a long drought. The Today Show came to Dirranbandi on the 6th of August to talk about the drought. It is really sad looking at the livestock poor and skinny. We have got four hundred cows on agistment. Agistment is somewhere you can take cows or sheep to be fed if you don’t have any grass. But you have to pay for agistment. The Commonwealth Games were here this year at the Gold Coast!! My family and I went to the hockey, boxing, athletics and diving. The Commonwealth Games is where very professional runners, walkers, jumpers, swimmers, throwers and divers compete. It is definitely a once in a life time opportunity. Also, I was very privileged to go. I hope there will be an Olympics in Australia again soon. The Olympics is a bigger and better competition then the Commonwealth Games. Someone famous come to Dirranbandi. I can feel the chilly cold weather like it was yesterday. It was great when I got to hear the amazing country music. I love helping out the school at events even if it is in my spare time. We did the Paul Kelly and Friends Concert to raise money for the Ag Studies Program. I hope that the Ag Studies Program will still be running in your lifetime because it is a great opportunity for you to learn more about farming. Overall the start of the year has been fully packed with lots of enjoyment. I really loved the Paul Kelly and Friends Concert and the Commonwealth Games this year. But I haven’t enjoyed the dreadfully drying drought as much, but hopefully it is not back for a while. Hope you have a better life. Yours Sincerely, Georgia Price Dear Year 6 Hello. I am writing to you to tell you about what is happening in the past. My name is Julia Emma Killen. I would be happy to tell you about the past. My school’s expectations are to be a safe respectful and an active learner. On the 6 of August the Today Show came to Dirranbandi. Mrs Killen and our school Captain were interviewed about the drought. My school was happily smiling in the back ground. There was a singer who came out to Dirranbandi. We have accomplished something really big for people around the town that own shops. One of them was Foodworks. Foodworks is our biggest food shop in town. It is like a desert in Dirran. Never doubt our drought. We live on a farm that has cattle and crops. For cattle you need grass, no water no grass. For crops you need them to grow and for them to grow you need to give them water and rain. We always have to work. Mum gets straight back into work when we get home and I have to go and have a shower and do my homework, after that we have to get ready for dinner. Then when we get up really early in the morning dad is already at work. Mum is ready to go. I am interested in a variety of things. We play tiggie and one, two, three home. I hope you will not have the experience of a drought as we have all across the world. I also hope that you will be able to have a better experience in your ability to learn. From Julia

Dear, Grade 5/6 student I am Kelisha Andrews. I am a grade 6 student in Dirranbandi QLD. I am really excited for you to read my letter. I hope you will know all about my life, this year, so far. In my family there are 8 people. Mum, dad, grandpa, grandma, Carlos, Andreas and Klaus. Carlos, Andreas and Klaus are my 3 older brothers. There are 5 dogs at our house and grandma has 4 at her house. Our dog’s names are Red, Lucky, Stumpy, Beccy and AJ. Grandma’s dog’s names are Flora, Foxy, Captain and Lucky Panda. When they bark it feels like an earthquake with an aftershock. Grandma also has 2 horses and 20 chickens. We also have sheep and some lambs. When the chooks make noises it sounds like they are choking on something. It is extremely loud. It might break my eardrums next time. Recently my brothers Carlos and Andreas moved out of my parents’ house. I have eagerly just got a social media account. I have got one for Instagram, Snapchat and Musical.ly. I got them all at the start of the year. I wonder if social media exists in 2059. Which is hopefully the year you’re in right now otherwise you shouldn’t be reading my letter. Also my dogs have Instagram accounts. My dogs are Flora, Lucky Panda and Lucky. My mum, my brother Klaus and my brother have Instagram accounts. No one else in my family cares about it. Andreas and Carlos also have Snapchat accounts. Just recently I went on a trip to Tasmania. It was so fun. It was my first time on a plane. I was remarkably scared on the plane. I went with my mum and my brother Klaus. When we were going to land on the ground my ears were vigorously ringing because of the pressure in the plane. When I first got there I saw a lot of Asian people. We stayed there for 2 weeks and 1 day. From grade 6 student Kelisha.

Dear people of 2059, Hi, my name is Mia and I am in Year 5. This is for someone living in the year 2059. We are in the year 2018. I hope you like my letter. I am excitedly writing this letter while we are in English. My teacher is Miss Glass. One of my hobbies is playing with dogs. My dog is named Panda and he is a blue dog. My brother’s dog is an ugly, long, hairy Chihuahua. His cunning name is Toto, he is a naughty dog and he pees on mum’s herbs at the most unexpected times so now I never eat mums herbs even if mum washes them. But Toto can be funny sometimes because he jumps up and down and lands on his head. But the thing that mum does and is so funny is that she calls him Tofu. I wonder what you like to do? One of my favourite movies is ‘I feel pretty’ because it is really funny. My favourite scene in the movie is when she thinks that everyone loves her, and she thinks that people think she is a model, but they think the complete opposite. I wonder what your favourite movie is? In Dirranbandi we have been having a drought and it has been like this for years. We can’t plant any wheat, cotton, chick peas or even mung beans. It is really sad for us and I really hate it. We are trying to push through with absolutely no rain ever to be seen. My family is struggling and so am I to get any rain here. In the future I hope you invent something to make it rain. From Mia

BLITZMASTER RESULTS FOR WEEKS 6 AND 7 GOTCHAS

Caitlin and Georgia spent some of their Gotchas to paint a teacher’s face!!

Here is their handy work. Thank you Miss Rodgers and Miss Davis

for being such great models!!!

STUDENT AWARDS

Congratulations ‘Active Learners’

Alex, Julia and Mack

150, 200 and 250 Gotchas - Well done

Georgia, Cormack, Kassidy, Charlotte, Sam

Well done ‘Students of the Week’,

Theo, Sam, Quin

COMMUNITY NOTICES