It is a very busy time at school at present as we are half way through the term. The wet weather continues to be a challenge and coupled with a secession of public holidays, it has made school life extremely busy.
For the last two weeks our students in Years three and Five have participated in the National NAPLAN testing. This year is the first where students have worked online, with the exception of year three writing. We have worked very hard over several years, ensuring our students have gained regular use of technology and opportunities to work online to develop confidence. Our efforts to build an effective school platform and access to devices has meant that for us, we had no technical issues during the testing periods. Our school now has over 365 laptops and 220 iPads, together with our upgraded bandwidth which was recently announced by the Education Minster, has meant that we can reliably ensure students can work online without issues.
I want to thank Mark Craswell for his work in organising and managing this complex program, our class teachers for the work they have done in preparation of our students, and most importantly our children for their efforts to do their best. NAPLAN data is a snapshot, it is good data to help inform our teaching programs and to celebrate children’s work.
COVID-19 and the flu have started to have an impact on our school staffing. While our numbers remain relatively low compared to the impacts that many schools across Brisbane have been experiencing, there is a significant shortage of teachers available for relief work this year. We have been managing using our specialist, support staff and school leadership members to cover sick teachers. I share this with parents so that you are aware that we are facing significant challenges that we have never seen before. It is increasingly likely that this impact will become worse in coming weeks as we move into the flu season.
As a school staff we are all fully vaccinated for COVID and in most cases have also updated our flu vaccinations. We continue to have cleaners working during the school day to ensure high standards of hygiene in public areas and toilets. We ask staff to stay home if sick and get tested. If students are sick we ask you to take them home and test. I really appreciate the efforts of families to stay home if sick, I understand how difficult this can be.
Our P&C do an amazing job in supporting our school community. Our recent Mother’s Day stall was wonderful. I want to thank the volunteers that helped to make this happen. Our Spellathon is our next big event. This not only is a great way to ensure our children are working hard to learn their spelling, but to also raise funds to support our school. The funds raised this year are going to be used to upgrade our Hall production gear that is now over 12 years old. This will benefit all students as they participate in school events, music nights, musicals and other activities.
Today is the National Walk Safely to School Day. Now in its 23rd year, National Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is an annual event when all Primary School children will be encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. Thank you to our families who choose to walk to school or park a few blocks away and walk! This is not only a great benefit to your healthy day, but reduces the impact of traffic congestion around the school. The important focus on the day however is about “Safely” road safety is critical to our students and provides an opportunity for us to teach our children how to cross roads, follow directions and ensure we develop safe habits.
Coorparoo State School will be holding a Sorry Day and Reconciliation Ceremony on Thursday 26 May 2022 in the MacCahon Hall at 1:45pm. This is an important day in our school life and you are welcome to attend. Many of our children will also be performing on the day as we build reconciliation.
Enrolments are now open for 2023. Next week our school tours will commence. If you know of a friend or neighbour whose child is eligible to enrol in Prep in 2023, please encourage them to enrol now. Our school catchment is about to be updated and we are uncertain where the new boundaries will be drawn. Those that are already enrolled will not be impacted.
Please stay informed about events and news at our school by downloading the Q-Schools app or visiting our website. The QSchools app allows you to select our school as a favourite and enable push notifications. You then will have the latest news and calendar of events directly to your mobile device. You can save dates and get push notifications of important information.