19 February 2016 newsletter
Transcription
19 February 2016 newsletter
Cnr of Gowan Rd and Illaweena St Stretton QLD 4116 Subscribe: http://strettonsc.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe 19 February 2016 From the College Principal Our Student Leadership Ceremony held this week was an affirming reminder of the power of one person to make a difference to an entire community. It was wonderful to see so many parents, grandparents and families at Tuesday’s ceremony, and we are always extremely grateful for the large number of supportive adults who make such a significant investment in terms of direction, guidance, support, encouragement and love for our young people. There is always such an abundance of positivity, energy, futures planning, excitement and pure unbridled HOPE at the beginning of the school year. It is a palpable force as it pulsates throughout our College. I believe that students need to have ceremonies such as this as a rite of passage throughout their schooling years, as they are powerful reminders to us all about the power of one person to make a difference. When one individual rises up because of an innate desire to improve the lives of others, what a ripple effect is created! And this is what leadership is all about. I see leadership as a privileged opportunity to give back to others. It is an opportunity to think about WE rather than the selfie-dominated culture of ME. It is an opportunity to turn problems and challenges into real opportunities for individual creativity and social entrepreneurship. There can be no doubt that our student leaders will have an opportunity this year to develop their individual character and values through their service leadership to others. I reminded our Email: admin@strettonsc.eq.edu.au Phone: 07 3723 0222 Fax: 07 3723 0200 leaders that they will be judged by their actions, their words, their behaviour, both inside and outside of the school gates. Obviously our Stretton SPIRIT, our college culture, will be affected by the quality of our student leadership, as they have the amazing power to exert their influence for good. It is my hope that our student leaders will always show humility rather than arrogance; compassion rather than selfish disregard; respect rather than disrespect; and above all else to show a willingness to serve and give of themselves. Our student leaders across all Year levels have a unique opportunity in front of them to move beyond the boundaries of the ‘me’ culture and to move themselves and the rest of the student body to become involved in and lead real and purposeful activities where their time, energy and motivation is expended in a voluntary manner for the benefit of others in the community. Schools such as Stretton exist to open the door of opportunity. I want our student leaders of 2016 to use every opportunity that is created this year to open that portal for others. I want them to share the knowledge and values which their families and teachers have embedded within them of pride, respect, dignity, integrity and self-worth. I want to see them displaying true generosity of SPIRIT in their circle of influence. I have great confidence that they will be an inspirational leadership team. I hope that they will always look back upon the year that was 2016 and know that they’ve been the best leader they could possibly be. That is all I ask. Until next time, Jan Maresca Executive Principal Gowan Principal News What a wonderful start to the year! We have already had a number of celebrations including our recent College Student Leadership Induction and Assemblies which have highlighted our wonderful student achievement. Our Student Leaders for 2016 are to be congratulated and I wish them well in their endeavours as leaders throughout the year. Our Student Leaders on Gowan Campus are: School Captains Neel Patel, Isobelle Rayner, Giselle Roe, Ishir Singh Prefects Mason Bennett, Adam Cajee, Amariah Collard, Dominic Gore, Jordan Oldano, Rebecca Tan, Harrison Tew, Sean Weston Drop off and Pick up procedure for our Prep children As of Week 2 the new routine will require the Prep children to go to the undercover area upon arrival at school where they will line up in their class groups. There will be signs in place, clearly labelled with the class names. They will need to sit in two lines with their bag to their side until their teacher comes to collect them after the 8:30 am bell. The children will then be escorted to their classroom to start the school day. You are welcome to walk with your child’s class and Teacher. Official lessons will begin at 8:45 am. The afternoon procedures will remain the same. The Prep children must be collected from the classroom at 2:45 pm. They will NOT be allowed to leave the classroom without a parent or a responsible older sibling. Until this time, we ask that you wait in the main undercover area to avoid any disruption to Year 1 and Prep classes. Racheal Jones Gowan Campus Principal Class Representatives Jayden Hansen, Ella Kanafani, Charlotte Brown, Lorelle Kireka-Rameka, Riona Elshani, Amelia Wright, Jessica Nicol, Coco Lin, Brooke Farrelly, Edie Miles, Sultan Sajid, Joshua Beetham, Kaylis Brown, Angelina Tomic, Alex Dmitrovic, Rebeka Schulz Fernandez, Max Boyd, Lucy Huynh, Bailee Williams, Shayan Ahmadi, Cynthia Chand, Lelya Boz, Ashley Cooper, Liam Rossow, Charlie Dyble, Zain Junaid, Nathan Li House Captains Kelsey Beetham, Jackson Dunne, Alyssa Karibalis, Nikita Marama, Rhys Roser, Gurshaan Sandhu, Jack Scott, Samuel Sili, Assemblies I would encourage all our families to attend one of our regular Assemblies on a Monday at 2:00pm to see the student achievements being celebrated. As communicated with our families and school community we have decided to split our regular Prep to Year 6 Assemblies, as the Gowan Campus has grown in enrolments. We will alternate each week between Prep to Year 2 and a Year 3 to Year 6 Assembly. We have discovered that this has now eased the congestion and made it more comfortable for all students, teachers and parents attending the Assemblies. Each term we will have a full campus assembly. Our first full assembly will be in week 9 – Monday 21st of March. Please see the dates of our up and coming assemblies below. Gowan Tour and Talk All families are invited to come along next Tuesday 23rd of February at 1:30pm for a Principal Talk and Tour of the Gowan Campus. We will begin this tour at the front of the Administration space near the flag poles. Looking forward to meeting many of Stretton families at this special event. Illaweena Principal News Student Leaders Our Student leaders were inducted into their roles and Year 12 students received their senior badges at a ceremony on Tuesday morning. We have a fine group of young people taking up Captain, Prefect, House Captain and Year Level Representatives from Year 7 through to Year 12. Our Captains led the Ceremony with aplomb. The College Captains delivered an insightful speech reflecting their collective understanding of their roles and their individual strengths. Their speech can be viewed via this link: The staff look forward to working with the student leaders and helping them to develop in their various roles. We were pleased to be able to share this ceremony with parents and community representatives who are great supporters of our college. Our student leaders for 2016 are; College Captains Johnny Arakkakunnel, Jonathan Fung, Mikaela Miley, Anastasia Sechenova Junior Secondary Captains Sara Ghamrawi, Declan Lau Prefects Israel Afolayan, Courtney Black, Kiara Bloomfield, Brittany Karanikich, Caitlin Lean, Kian McGrath, Kaela Mefford, , Hephzibah Olayemi Year Level Representatives Hamza Al Ansari, Rishabh Bhat, Aarushi Chadha, Navraj Duggal, Jayda-Lee Hira, Georgia Pearson, Ahniya Siua’ana, Jordyn Wilson 2 House Captains Megan Campbell, Megan Cole, Angela Faatuga Moe, Sarah Goode, Bryce Harding, Benjamin Howkins, Craig Hunt, Faith King, Lara McKinnon, Rebeckah Sweet, Cameron Terrill, Kaijah Waller-Thompson College Standards Speaking to parents in enrolment interviews they are attracted to our College by our high uniform and behaviour standards, the positive learning environment and the student outcomes. I want to thank the Deputy Principals and staff for the way they have put extra effort into ensuring these high standards, particularly with regard to uniform are in place from the beginning of this year. I also appreciate the support of parents who have ensured their students are coming to school in the correct uniform and with the materials they need to be successful in the classroom. Student Resource Scheme Our resource scheme is an essential element in providing quality resources for students to use in the classroom. Again, parents have been very supportive from the beginning of the year, paying this fee either directly at the payment window or from home using the convenient BPay payment method. Parents are also able to spread payments across the year to have the scheme paid off by the end of term 3. Forms for this are available from the office. A reminder that payment or an active payment plan must be in place before students are able to access elective activities (including sport, excursions, HPV, Formal, Camps etc.). Students in Year 9 to 12 may also have subject fees depending upon which subjects they have chosen. Without the payment of these fees students may not be able to continue in these resource dependent subjects. Communication There are many ways for parents to engage with the College and find out more about what is happening in our classrooms. Recently our IDT details held their open nights, Mr Jell has sent information about upcoming afternoon events for Year 11 and 12 parents and the Tour and Talk for Term 1 will be held on 23 February from 8:45am. We hold two Parent/Teacher nights to follow up Term 1 and Semester 1 reporting and we hope all parents take these opportunities to engage with the teachers and their student about progress in each subject. The first of these nights is Thursday 14 April from 3:00pm – 7:00 pm. Student Achievement Already our sporting students are being recognised. A massive congratulations to Klara Brac for being selected in the Australian Volleyball team to tour Thailand. This is a wonderful achievement for her and a reflection of the hard work she puts in to training and improving in this sport. Congratulations also to Sheldon Waller, Ryschan Thompson and Kaijah Waller-Thompson who have all been selected in their respective Met West Softball teams. Our Interschool sporting teams are completing their trials and training and will begin the Wednesday afternoon competition soon. We wish them well and trust they can demonstrate true Stretton SPIRIT on the sports field while building on the successful platform built by our teams last year. Geoff Latta Illaweena Campus Princpal Senior Secondary Deputy Principal News Year 11 Parent Information Session Year 11 and 12 can be hugely rewarding and memorable, but at times the pressures and expectations of achieving can be stressful and seem overwhelming. Students however, are not on their own. We believe that successful senior outcomes are a partnership between the school, the student and their family to support a young learner to their highest potential. Self-motivation and self-management is vital for success in Year 11. It is important for students to settle into a good study routine early in the year, learn to set priorities and develop a balance between study commitments and life outside of school. We believe that it is also vital that parents are fully aware and equipped to support their young learners at home and have a good understanding of the demands and requirements of the senior school. I would like to invite all parents and caregivers of Year 11 students to a school-based information session: Date: Monday, 22 February Time: 3:00pm to 3:45 pm Venue: Senior Learning Building; Illaweena Campus 3 This session is intended to support your capacity to assist your child’s success in the classroom. The 45 minute afternoon session will be presented by the Senior School Deputy Principal, Guidance Officer and the Head of Senior Schooling and cover the following topics: • A day in the life of a senior school student • QCE Requirements • Well-being and managing stress • Time management: Short-cuts and strategies for success in the classroom • Requirements at home: What should it look like? What can I do? • How to get involved with my child’s learning I hope you can make it and I look forward to seeing you there. Year 12 News Now that the Year 12s have settled into their final year of schooling our program of QCS preparation continues with the results of the full QCS practice test that they sat in November last year. The students will have access to the data in the days to come and be provided with a range of feedback and activities to help hone their skills for the two day test in September. The College will also begin the first of a series of 2016 OP analyser interviews for one on one feedback to each OP eligible student. The seniors will sit with their academic coach to be informed of their OP predictions, QSC progress and study techniques. Our 2016 QSC campaign also includes a series of regular ‘Masterclass’ sessions in the afternoon which are mandatory for all OP eligible students. I was very pleased to see a good number of seniors at our first OP maximiser session; a great way for our Year 12 students to work together, network and support each other in their studies. Drew Jell Senior Secondary Deputy Principal Getting Reading Right We have also continued to roll out the synthetic phonics program ‘Get Reading Right’ into our classrooms. The program gives our students the tools they need to crack the reading code so that fluency and comprehension follow. Synthetic Phonics is an effective method to get all children reading, because it’s explicit and systematic, helping children master the code of reading from the simple to the complex. For more information and resources please visit the website: http://www.getreadingright.com.au P-2 Assembly Each fortnight on a Assembly we will be celebrating student achievement. The recipients this week are: Stretton Stars – for outstanding effort in learning • Emily Hansen PF • Yazmin Hope 1C • Izabela Pemaj 2A Prep – Year 2 Deputy Principal News Prep Routines It has been a very busy start to the Term in the Early Years! Last week we started the new morning routine for the Prep children. Each morning they are to go to the undercover area upon arrival at school where they line up in their class groups. The children will then be escorted to their classroom to start the school day. The Preps did an outstanding job last week and are starting to become familiar with the school environment and classroom routines. 4 Green Gnome Award – Prep D and Miss Peace for the cleanest area inside and out of their classroom. A big thank you to Prep B and Mrs Bryant for performing “The Needs of an Animal” song which they are learning for their science unit on living things. Aimee Thompson Deputy Principal – Prep – Year 2 Years 3 – 4 Deputy Principal News BYO iPad This year in Year 3 and Year 5 we have five BYO iPad classes for the first time. We also have one Year 4 and two Year 5 & 6 Lighthouse classes using iPads. Our teachers and students have been very busy exploring the many ways that iPads can be used to enrich the learning process. To share a few examples, our students have been using their iPads in Mathematics to explore different ways of making 10 using 10 frames along with representing their problem solving solutions. In English students have been accessing texts for reading and annotating and highlighting the author’s use of language features. Across all learning areas students have been accessing our Wi-Fi network for research and note-taking purposes. They have used highly engaging apps such as Chatter Pix to communicate their understanding of characters they have read about and to explain their understanding of scientific principles. Judy Rose-Cooper Deputy Principal – Years 3,4 Years 5 - 6 Deputy Principal News This week Stretton State College acknowledged the student leadership team at our annual Leadership Induction Ceremony. I would like to extend my congratulations to all of the students who have been selected in a leadership position, whether it be School Captain, Prefect, House Captain or Class Representative. Our student leaders have already been taking a proactive role across the Gowan Campus, from leading and running assembly, to assisting in the playground and running sports programs in the hall. Last week we also acknowledged our Library Monitors, who on a daily basis assist in the library during first break. Anyone can be a leader and the world definitely needs more good leaders! What is leadership? It is all around you and shows up in many ways. Leadership is… • Doing the right thing without being asked or when no one is watching • Helping others in need We would like to publically acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our class teachers and technicians for ensuring such a smooth and successful start-up to this exciting initiative. To our families, thank you your ongoing support. Please be sure to check your children have now downloaded all of the required apps. If you are having trouble doing this, please communicate with your child’s teacher so we can offer support where possible. From http://inspiremykids.com We look forward to sharing our BYO classes’ journeys as the year goes on. Last week I wrote about setting learning goals. Setting routines is an important part of goal setting - A routine can be thought • Guiding others on the right path • Setting a good examples for others and being a good role model • Stand up for others even when it may be the hard thing to do 5 of as any procedure, process, or pattern of action that is used repeatedly to manage and facilitate the accomplishment of specific goals or tasks” - (Visible Thinking), Outside of school Rachel has a keen interest in art, film and languages and brings her love of these topics into her English classroom. Here are some thoughts for creating effecting learning/study routines: Rachel is incredibly excited about what 2016 holds and she looks forward to a future filled with lots of Stretton success. • Create and write down realistic learning/study goals - When do you usually study and for how long? - What subjects do you need to focus on or are having difficulty with? • Make study time a part of your daily routine • Structure and prioritise study time • Establish a study zone or place to study • Get enough sleep and rest • Track your progress Brad Stewart Deputy Principal – Years 5,6 School Council Nominations are called for a Parent Representative on our soon to be formed School Council. Please refer to the College website for the relevant nomination form. https://strettonsc.eq.edu.au/Supportandresources/ Formsanddocuments/Documents/School%20Council/ Stretton%20State%20College%20School%20Council %20Constitution%204.3.16.pdf The closing date for nominations is Friday 4th March, 2016. Please forward all completed nomination forms to Geoff Latta (Returning Officer), at the Illaweena Administration Office. There will be one Parent Representative on the School Council. An election will take place at the next P&C Meeting (16th March) if more than one nomination is received. Staff Profile Introducing Rachel Breen: Illaweena Literacy Coach, English teacher and reading enthusiast. Since her arrival at Stretton State College in 2011, Rachel has fulfilled a number of roles including English, Dance and Senior ESL teacher, Choreographer and most recently, Literacy Coach. Rachel’s belief that every student has the ability to succeed underpins her work as a Coach. This core belief has enabled her to work deeply with English teachers and provide critical assistance to students. An exciting addition to Rachel’s portfolio this year is ILLI (Illaweena’s Levelled Literacy Intervention). After much anticipation, the program is set to begin in Week Five. According to Rachel, this is a brilliant opportunity that will change the ability of struggling readers, allowing them to more easily make meaning of text. 6 Instrumental Music News Leadership Induction Performance On Tuesday 16 February our Hawaii Concert Band performed at the Student Leaders’ Induction Ceremony. This is the first performance this group has done since starting rehearsals in Term 4 last year. The band performed exceptionally well with many parents and staff commenting on the high standard of the performance. Credit must be given to these students for their hard work and dedication. Congratulations to all involved! Hawaii Tour A reminder that we have our final tour meeting coming up next week on Tuesday 23 February at 7:00pm. We ask that all families involved in the Hawaii tour be in attendance at this meeting. Our tour uniforms arrived on Tuesday and they look sensational! Once they have been packaged together for students, families will be invoiced and will then be able to collect them once payment has been received. I will email parents when they are ready. Rehearsal and Lesson Attendance As we move into Week 4, students should have now settled in to lessons and rehearsals for the term. The majority of our students are very good at making it to lessons and rehearsals on time, however, there are some students who have been absent or arriving late. As students only have one lesson a week with our excellent teachers it is vital that students are on time and prepared for every lesson. If students are sick, or unable to attend their lesson or rehearsal, students should inform their teacher beforehand via a note or email from a parent. If possible, an alternate lesson time will be arranged by the IM teacher. Lateness and non-attendance is noted by teachers so if you could please assist us by ensuring your children are prepared and are aware of their lesson time it would be very much appreciated. Student Levies Invoices for the IM levies have now been issued. If payment can please be made or a payment plan put in place by the end of Term 1 it would be greatly appreciated. These levies assist with the purchasing and maintenance of resources for our program. Thank you for your support of Instrumental Music. Adam Hornagold Director of Instrumental Music The Arts We are almost at the mid - point in what is a very short term and are now seeing all of our visual and performing arts classes settling into content and getting started on assessment items ranging from drama and music performances, FTV story boards and productions and visual art projects. As well as the exciting things happening in our classroom we have some of our regular programs starting up including our Illaweena and Gowan Choir rehearsals this week and our Open Mic Lunchtime Concerts to run from Week 5 through to Week 8. Congratulations also to our vocal soloist Diana Matai who performed the Mariah Carey classic “Hero” at our recent Student Leaders’ Induction Ceremony. We are also offering our Visual Arts students extra tutorial lessons on a Tuesday from 3.00pm – 4.15pm beginning in Week 5 through until the end of the term. These classes will be run by Ms Martens and directly aimed at students enrolled in Year 11 Visual Arts to allow students to complete some major pieces of work before the end of term. Students in this course will be invited to attend the tutorials via a permission letter. Our Senior Visual Arts students will also be enjoying a full day excursion on Friday to The Gallery of Modern Art at Southbank next Friday. More information about this excursion is detailed below. In what was a very exciting afternoon for a group of approximately 70 students across our College, we saw the auditions of our first school play take place recently. Students arrived with scripts in hand and ready to show off their acting skills. Our Drama staff Ms Monroe, Mrs Amos and Ms Jordan, were able to cast roles and were confident about the talent and preparation of our students. Rehearsals for our school play get under way this week also and we look forward to seeing this production take place over the next two terms. Leona Dangaard HOD - Arts Luke Fleming HOD eLearning Student Wellbeing This fortnight saw our pastoral care programs kick off in each of our year levels during our Tuesday Pastoral Care and STAR lessons. Our teachers have been working really hard to create some engaging, interesting and relevant lessons for our students. Our Year 7 and 8 students will be focusing on a unit called ‘The Art Of Growing Up’. This unit is broken up into topics of Building Relationships, Resilience and Understanding Your Friends and Peers. The Year 9 students are working from a program called ‘Unleashing Personal Potential’. This program is broken up into three sections: Growth Mindset, Grit and Wellbeing. This Term’s focus is Growth Mindset, where students will explore the difference between Growth and Fixed Mindsets and how they affect performance. Year 10 and 11 students are completing a program supported by the Australian Government called ‘Alcohol and other drugs education program’. These sessions address Responsible Partying and Decision Making while outlining the negative affects alcohol and drugs have on young people’s lives. Our Year 12 students are broken up into QCS and Non-QCS classes. Our QCS students started their QCS preparations while our Non-QCS students looked at renting in Queensland and all that comes with moving out of home. If you would like any information about any of these programs please contact me on jaust119@eq.edu.au Mystery Bus Tour – Year 12 Technology News The Year 7 and 8 Technology Centre is now up and running. This space has been designed to encourage 21st century learning in a modern environment. These rooms have been set up to provide and encourage the use and support of a range of digital technologies. Examples of such technologies include robotics, Minecraft in education and programming and coding. We are exciting to have these resources now available for your children and look forward to providing them with exciting new ways of learning. If there are any Year 12 students that have any suggestions for the Mystery Bus Tour after the formal please stop by my office. You can write down your ideas and place them in the box in my office. We’re all very exciting about making this a really fun night for you all so please let us know your ideas! Jodie Austin HOD Well Being Student Council Recently the Illaweena student leadership body successfully participated in a Valentine’s Day fundraiser for the Heart Foundation where roses were sold for $5.00 each. After weeks of dedicated planning and organisation, the leadership team, headed by Captain Mikaela Miley, sold out all roses in two days inWeek 2. On the following Friday, the team endeavoured to label, ribbon and wrap the roses in order for them to be delivered on Friday afternoon. Ecstatic faces filled the rooms 7 when the roses were delivered during fourth period, receiving a revenue of over $1,000. All profits from this fundraiser were distributed to the Heart Foundation. We hope that this fundraiser can be continued in upcoming years as it is a great way to bring smiles to faces and warm the hearts of Stretton State College. to come along to listen to books being read by our enthusiastic volunteers. Anna Galbraith Teacher Regards, Thanks for Ms La Sala who started this program with 'The Wide Mouth Frog". It was a very entertaining and funny story. Hope to see you all there. Halima Karger Books for Breakfast Coordinator Art at Stretton YEAR 12 VISUAL ARTISTS TAKE A ‘WALK WITH WOLSELY’ Year 12 Visual Artists have commenced the year studying Australian artist John Wolseley. Their studies form part of their unit titled Art as Navigation and Documentation. Wolseley immersed himself in a variety of Australian environments, often living in remote areas for months. He was interested in the effect that weather had upon his art surfaces; often burying his paper or strapping his canvas between trees. He was known to artistically map the terrain he lived amongst. Our senior school artists interpreted his methods in a variety of ways. They buried organic matter, digging it up once a week to photograph (using cameras and phones) the decaying process, or they chose another manner which would demonstrate the passage of time upon a natural form. They also used a viewfinder to map a micro terrain from within the school grounds. They produced a watercolour study from this Navigation. They are now looking at the work of environmental artist, Andy Goldsworthy who is noted for creating installation IN the environment with ONLY natural objects and NO formal tools. We have had some interesting results with that! Chess News Students wishing to participant in an interschool chess competition are invited to register for the Brisbane South Inter-School Chess Championships to be held at the Anglican Church Grammar School on the 22nd March. To register and for further details please refer to the link below. Library News Illaweena Library News Resource Hire Students who have made partial or full payment for their Resource Hire are encouraged to collect their texts from the Library before school or during lunch breaks as soon as possible. We have purchased a considerable number of new texts this year across all subject areas and they are screaming out to be borrowed!! Coming Soon! Year 7 students need to get ready for the annual Yu-Gi-Oh! Competition held during first break in the Library. There are a considerable number of dedicated players who come each lunch to battle against each other so we have decided to bring the competition back during Week 6. Scholastic News Their major body of work will commence with an Excursion into the city on Friday the 19th of February. Here they will view the APT8 exhibition at GOMA then navigate and document a journey all through the Southbank precinct, across the river, through the Botanical Gardens and Parliament House and up historical George Street. I can’t wait to share the results with all of you! Sandy Friend Year 12 Visual Art Teacher. Books for Breakfast Welcome back to a new year everyone. Books for Breakfast has started very successfully and is running on a Tuesday morning at 8:15am in the Gowan Library. All children are invited 8 Invitations are open for students in both Years 7 and 8 to purchase from the Scholastic Book Club catalogue. Already thriving on the Gowan Campus, we decided to extend the invitation to Illaweena students as well. Brochures can be obtained from Care Class teachers and payments made either online or handed into the payment window. Any enquiries please contact the Illaweena Library. WANTED! - Student Reviewers Scholastic is seeking student reviewers aged 6-13 years to read and review books. Sometimes students will have the opportunity to read books even before they are published! Selected students will join the Scholastic Reading Review Crew and will receive free books and manuscripts throughout the year and will be asked to read and review titles within 2 to 3 weeks. Reviews will be featured in the Scholastic Book Club catalogue, Book Fairs and local bookstores such as Dymocks. Nominations can be submitted online at http://www.scholastic.com.au/readers Maria Kapa Teacher Librarian Gowan Library News The past fortnight we have been learning about book care and how to care for our library books. The main rules are: 1. Carry your books in your library bag 2. Use a bookmark 3. Always keep books clean 4. Keep books dry and away from water Karen Jeffries Books for Babies Co-Ordinator 5. Don’t ever draw in library books. Last week library monitors were announced on parade and presented with their library monitor badges. After careful consideration, 20 monitors were selected from grade 6. The 2016 Gowan Library Monitors are as follows: Garth 6D Hayley 6F Mackenzie 6B Natalie 6G Meiting 6F Ava 6D Ariana 6A Aimee 6E Cameron 6D Felicity 6A Amy 6A Ashley 6C Samantha 6E Chloe 6F Nicole 6A Sonia 6A Charlie 6E Tiarne 6G Sophie 6B Emily 6D Congratulations! I look forward to seeing these students uphold the Stretton Spirit in the library. Just a reminder, all students need a library bag in order to borrow books during their library lesson. If you do not have a bag, these are available from the Uniform Shop on Illaweena Campus for a cost of $10.50. Happy reading, Sara Effron Teacher Librarian Books for Babies Our first Books for Babies welcomed baby Ishmatu, little sister for James, Mariah and Alex. Proud parents, Hawa and Sumaila received a book package containing two books – a book to share with Ishmatu and Reading Magic by Mem Fox. From the Uniform Shop Formal Knit Pullovers for winter this year are now in stock. If you would like to beat the rush when the cooler weather starts to arrive in the next few months, they are available for purchase now. Size 8 – 11 white sport socks are on back order. All other white sock sizes are now in stock. Primary and Secondary backpacks are now in stock and are available for purchase. Flexischools is still our preferred way of purchasing goods from the Uniform Shop. http://www.flexischools.com.au/ Uniform Shop Hours: Monday : 8.00 am – 10.00 am Tuesday : 7.30 am – 9.30 am Wednesday : 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm Thursday : 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm Janet O’Neill Uniform Shop Convenor Football Academy News Term 1 offers a number of exciting events for the Football Academy. On Monday the 29th of February and 14th March (primary) we have the first Rounds of Vikings Futsal for boys and girls. Stretton State College is taking 5 Senior Boys teams 2 Junior Boys’ teams and 2 Senior Girls teams. Good luck to all of the players competing. Football training: Primary Football Academy: Tuesday morning 7:30am8:45am (Gowan oval) Primary Academy feeder program: Thursday morning 7:30am – 8:45am (Gowan oval). Secondary Football Academy: Monday afternoon 3:00pm – 4:00pm (Gowan oval) every second session for athletes will be football specific strength and conditioning sessions in GY04. 9 Secondary Feeder program: Monday first break (Gowan oval) Regards, Georgia Chapman Football Director Met West Representative Congratulations to the following students who were successful in making Met West Softball Kaijah Waller Thompson – 19 Years Girls Softball Ryschan Thompson – 19 Years Boys Softball Sheldon Waller – 19 Years Boys Softball Illaweena Sports News Kristen Jansen HOD – HPE Swimming Carnival 2016 Our annual swimming carnival is the first of our three major carnivals each year. This year, the carnival was held on the 8th of February at Hibiscus Leisure Complex. Barakula was tipped to win yet another carnival boasting a string of swimming carnival wins (2013, 2014 and 2015) as well as having some outstanding swimmers in the house! Karawatha was however, out to spoil the party… Karawatha and Barakula fought it out all day, with the lead changing multiple times. Kawaratha ended up being triumphant, winning the first interhouse competition of the year. Swimming Age Champions Gowan Sports News Congratulations to our team of 10-12 years swimmers who competed in the Sunnybank District Swimming carnival on Tuesday 9th February. Special congratulations to the following students: Kelsey Beetham 1st place in 100m Breaststroke, 50m Breaststroke, 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle & 50m Butterfly. 2nd place in 100m Butterfly 3rd place in 100m Backstroke & 50m Backstroke Joshua Beetham Emma O'Brien 12 Years Kode Lawrence 12 Years Ella Kenneally Potts 13 Years 3rd place in 50m Backstroke Kode Lawrence 3rd place 100m Freestyle Josh Frommolt 13 Years Kyle Wildemast 13 Years Kathy Luong 14 Years Ashton Lamont 14 Years Alex Dean 15 Years Lleyton Revie 15 Year Harlin Casey 15 Years Juanita Witehira 16 Years Jonathan Friend 16 Years Megan Cole 17 Years Kian McGrath 17 Years 4. Kode Lawrence Omer Yildiz Open 5. Tricia Wang Megan Campbell Open 6. Nikita Frommolt Stretton State College is also proud to announce that the following students have qualified for the Sunnybank District Swimming Team: 1. Kelsey Beetham 2. Emma O’Brien 3. Joshua Beetham 7. Jessica Pollard 8. Felicity Pollard 10 Term 1 2016 – Important Sporting Events to Remember: WEEK 4: Tuesday 16th & Thursday 18th February Football (soccer) District Trials boys and girls WEEK 4: Wednesday 17th February – Basketball District Trials boys and girls WEEK 5: Monday 22nd February – Basketball District Trials continues boys and girls WEEK 5: Tuesday 23rd & Thursday 25th February – AFL District Trials WEEK 5: Friday 26th February – Gala Day 1 WEEK 6: Monday 29th Feb & Thursday 3rd March – Rugby League District Trials WEEK 6: Tuesday 1st and Friday 4th March – Netball District Trials WEEK 7: Monday 7h March – Touch Football girls District Trials WEEK 7: Wednesday 9th March – Touch Football boys District Trials WEEK 8: Monday 14th March – Touch Football girls District Trials continue WEEK 8: Wednesday 16th March – Touch Football boys District Trials continue WEEK 9: Thursday 24th March – Stretton State College Cross Country DISTRICT TRIALS • District teams are for 12 years and under (Years 5, 6 & 7). • Only 4 students can be selected to represent Stretton State College to trial for a district team • Students must nominate by adding their name to the district sport they would like to trial for in the district book located in Ms Hutson’s office next to the Gowan Hall. This MUST be done at least 2 weeks prior to the trial date. • Students can nominate for more than one sport. • It is imperative that students who nominate to trial have experience in that sport e.g. plays at club, district, state or national level. • Students must have their own equipment to take to the trials e.g. Shin pads, mouth guards etc. Bianca Hutson Gowan HPE Teacher & Sports Co-ordinator 11