NAPLAN
Next week NAPLAN the National Literacy and Numeracy testing for students in Years 3 & 5 will commence from Wednesday 15 March. Please do not arrive late during these days. We do not want to make this more complicated.
This should not be a stressful time for our students. We want our students to simply see this as another piece of work that helps inform and provide feedback on their progress. The data gained, is used by teachers and the school to better understand how we can help each child.
Our students regularly participate in a range of formative and summative assessments as part of their normal school learning. Feedback on their work and setting personal learning goals is critical to our personal development.
Many of our students also choose to participate in ICAS, where the format of working online completing math and English tasks and many other subject areas, makes the NAPLAN tests feel very familiar.
This year our students will be completing the tests online. Only the year three writing will be completed using paper. This decision is so that typing skills do not influence their writing performance. Keyboard work for our students commences from Prep, gradually increasing through the years. Students today are very comfortable in using technologies for their work. The online NAPLAN tests give teachers much faster results and greater accuracy in information we use to inform our teaching for each student.
For some students, completing this test may not be right for them due to disabilities or language barriers. Our Inclusion teachers have been working with parents to plan how to best support our children. For some this can be more time to complete their work, or small breaks to allow them to concentrate. For others, it may mean they do not participate. Our belief is this is about the individual and supporting them.
Year 2 & Year 3 Swimming Carnival
On Monday 13 March, we have the Year 2 and Year 3 Swimming Carnival. Swimming events are planned to start at 9:00am and finish at 11:00am.
All participating students are to arrive at school dressed in their swimwear (togs and sun protection shirt) underneath their house coloured clothes (Melba – Blue; Wentworth - Green; Turner – Red) or their sports uniform. Also, please apply your child's sunscreen at home.
Students will take their swim bags, hat and a water bottle down to the pool area. All personal belongings should be named – that way if any item is misplaced the item(s) can be promptly returned.
Coorparoo Connect
I am looking forward to welcoming those parents who can come along to our first Coorparoo Connect for 2023. This first meeting will be a chance to meet our support staff and other parents and carers. Our purpose is to share, to connect for our children. A online survey will be coming out for planning and catering purposes. We would love to see you on Tuesday 28 March at 9am in the school hall.
Evacuation and Lockdown Drills
Recently a parent asked about our drills. It is a reminder that just because we do these four times a year and they are very much part of our Workplace Health and Safety requirements in the workplace (yes, school is a large workplace) for those new to school, it may be a confusing part of our year.
Evacuation drills are to practice and prepare 800+ children to move as quickly as possible to our designated evacuation area and to be accounted for. It could be due to a suspected fire, a gas leak, structural failure, bomb threat, earthquake or any other reason that requires us to evacuate and keep children safe.
All people on-site at the time are required to follow directions and plans and report to the officials on Carey field. Only once we can establish all safe, do we return to class.
Lockdown drills are when a signal is received and staff will proceed to lock doors and windows, turn off lights (to make it harder to see in) and sit on the carpet with students quietly. A lockdown may be for. Range of reasons, it could be someone suspicious is reported on the grounds, it could be a custody dispute or aggressive encounter at the administration, it could be a gas leak of a vehicle on one of the near major roads. Where ever safety is needing children to remain inside while things are dealt with.
We have strict procedures and access requirements in schools, but it does take a community to make this work. Outside of drop off and pick up times, all people in our grounds should be challenged as to why they are on-site? All visitors and volunteers, must sign into the office including any contractors and be supervised while in our school. Students arriving late must also be signed into our system. This is critical, as we use this data to know that all are accounted for in the event of an emergency or something going wrong.
Our leadership team also maintain a deliberate daily presence in the school before, during and after school daily. We do this to be able to care for our children, ensure all children are safe, and that any visitors to our school have a valid reason to be on school grounds. This also means that you know who we are, that you can approach us any time with questions. We are a big extended family! It is hard to know each of your names; however, we love to connect with you.
Parking and Traffic
While we discuss safety, the greatest risk is cars around children. Regularly I see parents not following the road rules and safety regulations around our school. If you are parking on the yellow lines, you are risking the lives of children and other adults on the crossings or near corners. If you are making illegal U-turns or blocking neighbours you are going to cause an accident and this is unacceptable. Council and police have been asked to enforce the rules. This is for everyone's safety.
Stop and drop! A simple concept. Do not park, do not stop and wait because your child is not there, someone in the line behind you is waiting. Park up the road and walk in and pick up your child please!
Brisbane Council is currently undertaking a review of our Stop and drop. People are making it ineffective and blocking the street. It would be unfortunate to lose this facility because we can't follow the simple rule. Stop, drop/ pick up and leave.
I do want to thank the majority of people who are fantastic! You use the crossings, park and walk to school! Have a chat and say hi! We love having you in our school as examples of how to do things right.
Exciting News for our Playgrounds
Our Senior Playground is taking shape quickly. This bespoke playground, nature play inspired concept has grown out of the ground! The massive poles are in place and the underground drainage work is complete. Landscape edging is now taking shape and the engineering of the steel supports that will hold up the tree houses have had final measures! This is bespoke and accurate work that takes time, but will. Be worth it. The platforms will arrive in the coming weeks, made for each set of poles to create a range of levels for our students to play and imagine. The original concept video is still on our website via: https://coorparooss.eq.edu.au/our-school/initiatives. While the end product will be slightly different, the concept gives an exciting idea of what our student leaders developed with our architect, Sharon Bell at the planning phase. Thanks to our P&C for helping me to make this project possible. Completion is for early term two!
On Kijini oval the next phase of our master planning of playgrounds is starting to take shape. The new fence went in late last year and the installation of Blue Room which expands our OSHC and provides an inclusion space for the school.
The trees along Kijini will become a nature inspired play space extending the opportunities for students' creativity. Recently, sandstone blocks were lifted into place creating a yarning circle and audience seating. In coming months landscaping will be completed by our ground's staff and then additional play pieces added, such as, a musical area. We want our students to be creative, to climb (not in trees) to use their imagination and learn to collaborate and play.