Week 6, Term 2, 29 May 2020

From the Principal

Well it has been our first week of having all the students back at school. It’s business

again, but not completely as usual. The students must be commended for the way

they returned on Monday straight back into their learning routines. On behalf of the

staff, I want to thank the parents and students for the overwhelming success of at

home learning. Teachers report that they have been able to continue on from the past

weeks of at home learning thanks to the hard work of all families. This is another ex-

ample of the complete investment of all staff and families in achieving student suc-

cess.

This week Miss McGhie and I started doing lesson observations. With our Radar on

Reading in 2020 we are on a journey with our teachers as we review and look at how

we teach reading from Prep to Year 6. I can confirm there is great reading practice occurring in this

school. Equally there is an excellent culture of collaboration where our teachers learn from and with each

other.

This week is Chappy Week. Chaplains make a difference in school communities. Our Chappy Kerry,

makes a difference in our school community. Kerry works directly with our students with an absolute fo-

cus on supporting well-being. Wider than this she supports families and staff in her own special way with

love and care. Thank you Kerry on behalf of our entire school community for your contribution to this

school. We want to thank Flour and Chocolate for supporting a staff afternoon tea to celebrate the great

work of Chappy Kerry.

Last week I received a wonderful call from Wendy Protheroe from Rotary International. They have donat-

ed two brand new laptops to help improve the access to technology for families that may not have access.

These two laptops will be used through the Chaplaincy Program for lunch time clubs, Chappy Kerry’s

small groups as well as the Homework Club which is held after school hours. We are thankful to Wendy

and Rotary International for this incredibly generous donation which we are already using to help our stu-

dents.

Finally, as I mentioned it’s back to business but not back to normal whilst we still observe appropriate so-

cial distancing procedures. I remind parents that adults are to restrict their entry to the school please and I

ask that where possible adults should depart the school area immediately after saying goodbye to their

children in the morning and when they have collected them in the afternoons. Please continue to only use

the two drop off and pick up points (Blue and Green zones). Thank you again for everybody’s patience in

following these guidelines. Remember if your child is showing any cold or flu symptoms they must remain

at home.

Have a great fortnight.

Matthew

From the Deputy Principal

Winning Team Pink Flamingos 1

What a FABULOUS week it has been! Seeing all the students return to school has been wonderful. The ex-citement on their faces at first break on Monday was priceless. I do not think I have seen so many happy children in one place for a long time. All students have settled back into the routine of school with ease, which has been great. When I have been walking around the classrooms I have seen students actively en-gaged in learning alongside their peers. I was even lucky to have a visit from some students in Prep C this week. They showed me amazing retells! I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our parents, car-ers and other family members who supported students during the home learning period. This was not an easy ask for families but the way you all stepped up shows how much you care about your children and their education. I hope you have enjoyed some quality back to work time or a nice break this week! Drop off and pick up has looked a bit different this week. Thanks to all parents for their patience and understanding as we navigate our way through this time. I have been proud of our students in the mornings and afternoons, they are certainly developing their independence. This week I spent some time chatting with our Guidance Officer Mrs Bowen about the return to school and the impact it could be having on our students. One of the areas that came to mind for both of us was the amount of ‘screen time’ students might have been accessing whilst away from school. I thought it would be timely to share what the appropriate amount of screen time for students is and how you can set up appropri-ate routines to manage the amount of time your children spend on their devices. The following tips may be helpful to parents. Watching TV and playing computer games are common activities for children, but it is important to note that children who spend long periods in front of screens are more likely to have poor physical, social and intellec-tual development. Activities that involve sitting down and that do not need a lot of energy are called ‘sedentary’. There are some recreational sedentary activities that are great for children’s development, such as: Reading books and listening to stories. Quiet play such as drawing, craft and puzzles.

However, these screen-based sedentary activities should be limited: Watching TV and DVDs. Playing computer and electronic games. Using smart phones and tablets. Ask yourself the following questions:

Is my child: Sleeping enough? Physically healthy? Engaged with school? Connecting socially with family and friends,

online and offline? Enjoying a variety of hobbies and interests? Having fun and learning while using screens? Using quality content? If you answer yes to most or all of these questions, your child is probably using screens in a balanced way as part of a healthy lifestyle.

From the Deputy Principal

Winning Team Pink Flamingos 1

The pull of screens is everywhere we turn. Teaching children to

choose quality screen time, over quantity, helps to create space

for families to engage in happy, healthy time together. Below are

some guidelines on safe limits for using screens.

Kids aged 5-17 should have no more than two hours of

screen time a day.

Kids aged 2-5 should have no more than one hour of unre-

strained (as in not sitting still) screen time a day – less is

better. Sedentary screen time is not recommended.

Children under two should have no screen time.

Based on information from the Australian 24-Hour Movement

Guidelines for the Early Years (birth to 5 years) and Children and

Young People (5-17 years).

So, how can you as a parent make a difference to the amount of

screen time your children have?

Be seen without a screen

Under two, no screens for you!

Start a no screen-time routine

More information is available to parents on the following websites

https://www.growinggoodhabits.health.qld.gov.au/need-to-know/

screen-time-guidelines/

https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/play-learning/screen-time-

media/screen-time

Assembly Award Winners Week 5 and 6 Week 5

Week 6

Have a great fortnight.

Sam McGhie

Prep Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

Jackson W Marlia E Oliver C Levi C

Everly R Daina-Rose N Ryder B

Charlotte D Corey M

Abbey S Aiden K James P

Lincoln C Lucas V

Cody B Jamison B

Jeremiah M Joziah H Jai-Ling D Aribeth P

Prep Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

Margot M Mitchell G Evelyn C

Hunter H Levi O

Lauranna C Liam S

Tiara B Sam S

Harry W Malinda M

Darcy W Hayley A

Calendar

JUNE

16 Prep Information Night 6pm Library

P&C Meeting 7:15pm Library

17 School Tour 9:30am

18 Prep Information Night 6pm Library

19 School Tour 9:30am

23 Prep Information Night 6pm Library

24 School Tour 9:30am

Prep Vision Screening

25 Prep Vision Screening

Prep Information Night 6pm Library

26 School Tour 9:30am

JULY

29-31 Year 5 Camp Mapleton

SEPTEMBER

2 Junior Athletics Carnival

School oval

3 Senior Athletics Carnival

Bowden Park

16-18 Year 6 Currimundi Camp

DECEMBER

2 Summer Music Showcase

Chappy News

What is Chappy Week?

Chappy Week is an annual community awareness and fundraising event for School Chaplaincy.

Like everything else this year Chappy Week has been different. It is pretty hard to top last year’s celebration,

but just having everyone back at school was enough to achieve this. It has been wonderful to walk through

and have a chat with everyone & see how they are going & what they have been doing.

I would like to thank everyone in the school community for making Chappy Week so awesome! It is a real

privilege to work in the Geebung State School community.

My heartfelt thanks to everyone for your kind messages of encouragement, art displays and lovely gifts.

Chappy News

Chappy News

THE ADRENALIN RUSH

When young people get home from school this week they are going to be INCREDIBLY TIRED. WHY???

Excitement and stress (which they will experience in bucket loads) will release adrenalin in their bodies. This

adrenalin will need to be offset in order to rebalance.

Our kids will need to deliberately plug into calm (and in doing so activate their parasympathetic nervous sys-

tem). They can do this by using all the common-sense stuff you might anticipate.

Keep these things in mind tonight:

DEEP BREATHING: Anxiety is transferable and so is calm. Things like reading a book together, hair brush-

ing, playing cards, watching a screen or painting nails all allow for two people to be close enough to transfer

calm.

LOTS OF TALKING: Talking can be counterproductive if conversations aren't what I call "high quality".

Amongst other things, high quality conversations are well time. Daily reflections should be done as early in

the evening as possible as it is likely to active their brain.

TECHNOLOGY: Screen time restrains the production of melatonin in the brain, which our kids need in order

to sleep. Try and avoid cellphones, bright lights, computers, loud music, and TV two hours before bedtime.

Consider more of a step down approach to bedtime and allow a few more hours than normal to unwind and

de-stress.

Look forward to seeing you around

Chappy Kerry

I have added some information from Michelle Mitchell that may assist some with coming back to school. If

you would like more information check out her facebook page

Geebung State School P&C Association

Keep up-to-date with information and events that are happening

in the school – a great way to keep connected!

Next meeting:

16 June 2020 at 7:15pm

limited numbers

P&C News

CONTACT INFORMATION:

P&C ADMIN: Michele Lavery: 0417 497 775; Email: gsspc.admin@bigpond.com TUCKSHOP: Helen Miers: 0409 391 822 UNIFORM SHOP: Michele Lavery: 0417 497 775 SWIMMING CLUB: Arno Vandenberg (President); Email: geebungswimmingclub@outlook.com OSHC: Tracey Smith (Coordinator): 3865 8971 or 0451 143 308,

Email: geebungpc.oshc@bigpond.com

P&C News

TUCKSHOP

National Volunteer Week was 18th-24th May 2020

A BIG thank you to all our Volunteers for all the help they give, we can’t do it without you. New Tuckshop Procedure Term 2 Tuckshop will be available for students, 3 days a week - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Commenc-ing Wednesday 27th May 2020.

Cashless sales only- Online ordering for 1st & 2nd breaks only.

Order must be in before 9am on the day.

No over counter sales before school or at breaks.

To set up your online account: https://quickcliq.com.au/ There is also a link on the school website & Qschools app Qschools app on apple app store or the google play store Once you have put your details in you are able to ‘Add student’

You will then

Select the school

Add your child’s first and last name

Select the Year level of your student (Prep to 6)

‘Room’ – this is the class they are in for example 3A, 6B, Prep C

Add any relevant health warnings

Hit the Blue ‘Add Child’ Button.

You will need to do this for each child you have, then you can add credit to your account. It is advisable to do this a few days before placing your first order as this will allow time for the credit to be processed. If you have any problems with setting this up please let us know. P&C phone: 0417 497 775 Tuckshop phone: 0409 391 822 Wed, Thurs & Fri 8 am – 1:30 pm

Helen, Tuckshop Convenor

UNIFORM SHOP

School uniform jumpers are available to purchase through Quickcliq. https://quickcliq.com.au/. See details

above how to set up an account. The uniform will then be delivered to your child’s classroom.

Notices

Notices

Notices

Notices