newsletter-2015-04-21 - Albany Hills State School

Albany Hills State School
Strength through Knowledge
Tuesday 21 April 2015
Edition 11
What’s on
April
22, 23, 29, 30 Year 4
Excursions
22 Regional Netball Trials
23 District Girls Touch
Trials
24 ANZAC Assembly
27 District Cross Country
28 Regional Hockey Trials
28 Whole School Assembly
30 District Boys Touch
Trials
May
1 Gala Day
5 Senior Assembly
6 Junior Assembly
22 Gala Day
June
5 Gala Day
Reminders
Front Gate
Closed
8:30am - 9:00am
and
2:50pm - 3:15pm
Back Gate
Open 7:30am
Closed 3:20pm
Closed weekends and
school holidays
Uniform Shop
Tues 2.30 – 3.30pm
Wed 8am – 9.30am
Thurs 8am – 9.30am
Fri 8am – 8.30am
2:30 – 3:30pm
Money Collection
Mon - Fri
Place in window box
outside school office.
Office Hours
Mon-Fri
8:00am – 3:00pm
A message from Mr Rod Mason...
Dear Parents and Caregivers
A Warm Welcome to Term 2
The first task Beth, Steve and I undertook on
Monday was to visit all 31 classrooms at the
beginning of the day. We were greeted by the
smiling faces of students, staff and parents, all
obviously refreshed by the break and ready to
take on the exciting challenges of the next ten
weeks.
Many thanks to parents who managed to get their
children to school on time for the start of
instruction at 8:30. Every class was engaged
(especially the Preps who were particularly
excited and ready for a chat about their holidays),
thanks to the staff who also deserve recognition
for their efforts to prepare well for the new term.
There are numerous school community events
scheduled for the term, beginning with ANZAC
ceremonies at the end of this week. Sessions for
prospective 2016 Preps are scheduled for next
week as are Under8s Morning. The best way to
keep up with events is to access the school
website.
Priorities for this term are focussed on the
implementation of the Mathematics program.
Consistent teaching of Maths concepts using a
variety of teaching and learning approaches will
be planned and practised by teachers throughout
the term. A Maths session consists of Mental
Maths, introduction and practice of New
Concepts and concludes with Reasoning and
Problem Solving. Careful assessment by
teachers provides for high standards and
individualised attention where needed.
New faces around the school
Dianne Carpenter has taken on the role of BSM,
replacing Carol for the next couple of terms. Please
pop in and say hello if you get the chance. Kirstie Itel
returns to year 2 replacing Anita Roberts who will still
be seen in the library and is also leading the
development of the school Science program.
.
Changes to facilities
Visitors to the library will have seen the creation of
the ‘Professional Learning Area’ at one end of the
room. This will be used for staff meetings and during
planning sessions, providing a comfortable
environment in which to work and interact.
The furnishings were provided in a joint project
between the P & C and the school. Enhancement of
our teaching skills through professional development
and collegiate engagement is proven to be a
significant factor in high performing schools. Thanks
to the P & C for their support for this.
P & C Meeting next Tuesday evening – all
welcome.
Some items I will raise for discussion include:

Explicit Teaching – what does it look like?

Continued development of the facilities and
environment project

Formation of the School Council
o Vote on the Draft Constitution –
copy available in the office and on
the website
o Steve Wiedman (Deputy Principal)
has agreed to be the Returning
Officer for the elections to be held
on 26 May (nominations due 12
May).
Rod Mason
Principal
Lest we forget
Keong Road
PO Box 378
Albany Creek Qld 4035
Albany Creek Qld 4035
The Herald: herald@albahillss.eq.edu.au
Phone: 07 3264 0777
Fax: 07 3264 0700
Student Absence: 07 3264 0760
Email: admin@albahillss.eq.edu.au
Website: www.albahillss.eq.edu.au
studentabsences@albahillss.eq.edu.au
From the Deputies……
NED Award
Congratulations to our very
worthy recipient of the NED
award for April.
the second has details on how
School Councils are formed and
operate. An information package
for prospective nominees will be
available soon.
- Steve
NAPLAN
National Assessment Program
- Literacy and Numeracy
(NAPLAN) equating study
School Council
Elections
This term will see elections held
for positions on our School
Council. The process will
involve the adoption of a
constitution at both staff and
P&C meetings. These will be
held on 28 April. The draft
constitution is available from the
school office or on the school
website (documents section).
Nominations for two parents and
two staff (one teaching and one
non-teaching) will be called with
nominations closing on 12 May.
The election will take place at
special meetings (one for
parents and one for staff) on 26
May. These meetings will be
held in the school. As the
appointed Returning Officer, I
will be overseeing the election
process.
These two websites provide
additional information:
http://education.qld.gov.au/scho
ols/independent-publicschools/resources/ipsprospectus.pdf
http://education.qld.gov.au/scho
ols/about/school-councilhandbook.html
The first is an overview of
Independent Public Schools, and
As you may be aware, NAPLAN
tests are administered to Year 3,
5, 7 and 9 students in May each
year. You may not be aware that
each year a sample of students
in these same year levels, from
across Australia, are also
required to sit the NAPLAN
Equating Study.
Equating is a process carried out
to enable the results of tests
completed year to year to be
reported on the same
assessment scales. For
NAPLAN, a representative
national sample of students is
selected annually to participate
in this additional equating phase
or equating study so that
NAPLAN test results can be
compared over time.
The Australian Curriculum,
Assessment and Reporting
Authority (ACARA) manages the
NAPLAN Equating Study, and
the assessment contractor is the
Australian Council for
Educational Research (ACER).
ACER is responsible for all
aspects of the administration of
the equating tests.
This year, Albany Hills State
School has been selected to
be part of the Equating Study
in the area of Numeracy only.
25 students from Year 3 and 27
students from Year 5 have been
selected. This will involve the
classes 3BC and 5JS
respectively. The NAPLAN
Equating Project Team at ACER
has selected the classes at
random, to ensure a range of
student abilities in the test
sample. If students are absent
from those classes on the testing
day, students may be selected
from other Year 3 and 5 classes
to take their place.
These students will complete a
paper-based assessment,
similar to a regular NAPLAN
test, on Thursday 30 April.
If you have any questions please
do not hesitate to contact me at
swied3@eq.edu.au , or your
child’s class teacher.
2015 NAPLAN TESTS
In Week 4 of this term, students
in Years 3 and 5 will sit the
annual NAPLAN (National
Assessment Program – Literacy
and Numeracy) tests.
The dates for the tests are as
follows:
Tuesday 12
Language
May
conventions
(spelling,
grammar and
punctuation)
and Writing
tests
Wednesday
Reading test
13 May
Thursday 14
May
Numeracy test
It is important that Year 3 and 5
students are present on these
dates so that they are able to sit
the tests under the same
conditions as their classmates.
Friday 15 May is set aside as a
‘catch up’ day for the tests,
however, this will usually be
done under the supervision of a
teaching staff member in the
administration building. We
strongly advise that you ensure
your child is present on the set
dates to participate in the tests
with their classmates.
This week, parents of students in
Years 3 and 5 will receive a
brochure entitled “NAPLAN:
2015 Information for Parents”.
More information can be
obtained from your child’s class
teacher or at www.nap.edu.au
If you have any questions or
concerns around exemptions,
withdrawals or special
considerations, please do not
hesitate to contact your child’s
teacher, or me at
swied3@eq.edu.au
Uniform Excellence
Thanks, Parents
Curriculum Corner
We would like to thank the
parents of Albany Hills State
School for their efforts ensuring
their children are in correct
uniform each day. This was very
noticeable on our recent visits to
classrooms. We are very proud
of our students and their high
standards.
A reminder that students in
Years 4 – 6 will need to wear
their black shoes and navy
socks to school on Gala Days. If
they have special shoes for their
sports they are to change just
prior to the game.
We would like to thank all
parents and carers for attending
the parent-teacher interviews
held at the end of term one.
These interviews provided an
important opportunity to discuss
children’s progress and to build
positive relationships between
home and school.
Our school will continue its
learning focus on proportional
reasoning throughout Term 2 as
part of our commitment to
improving the learning outcomes
of the students. The purpose of
the column this week is to
outline what you can do as
parents to contribute to this
learning focus because the role
you play in your child’s learning
is critical.
Prep Enrolments
2016
If you are planning to enrol your
child in prep for 2016, please
contact our school office to
receive your enrolment forms.
Students born between 1 July
2010 and 30 June 2011 are
eligible for Prep in 2016.
Important information sessions
for parents will be held in May.
Parents may choose:
Monday 4 May 9.00am 10.30am or
Tuesday 5 May 6.30pm 7.30pm.
Future students and their
families are also invited to join
us for Under Eights’ Morning on
Monday 18 May.
Thank You
Thank you to the parents and
community members who
attended Albany Creek’s
Longest Dinner recently. It was
a great fundraiser and we thank
you for the support shown for
chaplaincy at Albany Hills and
our local schools.
Assembly Changes
There will be just one assembly
this week, the ANZAC Assembly
on Friday. Next Tuesday 28
April will be a Whole School
Assembly. Our regular Senior
and Junior Assemblies resume
on 5 and 6 May.
Stay Informed!
There are at least four easy
ways to stay informed about
what’s going on at Albany Hills.
Website:
www.albahillss.eq.edu.au
Smile!
Twitter: @AlbanyHillsSS
School photos will be taken on
27 and 28 May. Our students
always look outstanding in
photos with formal school
uniforms including plain black
shoes, navy socks, school
coloured hair accessories and
adherence to jewellery rules.
Payment envelopes with
information will be sent home
soon.
QSchools app:
download and
make Albany Hills
a favourite
Facebook:
Albany Hills State
School Parents page (managed
by parents)
Kind regards
Steve Wiedman
Beth Henderson
Deputy Principals
Proportional reasoning in its
simplest description can be
thought of as a constant
relationship, for example when
we go shopping, the “price per
unit” on the price tags outlines
the best buy for that product
range. That idea of “best buy”
uses proportional reasoning as
its basis. Some other
conversational ideas you can
explore with your child are the
following:
 Cooking – altering a recipe
based on one ingredient and
adjusting the rest so the
recipe will work, such as a
recipe requiring two eggs but
you only have one. This
means that the whole recipe
needs to be halved to keep
the ingredients in the correct
proportion.
 Travel – if your child walks or
rides their bike to school, the
distance travelled is always
the same. The speed at
which the child walks or rides
alters the time it will take to
arrive at the destination. You
can include the km/h that the
child travelled if your student
is in the later primary years.
 Enlarging or reducing
pictures on the computer –
there are simple discussions
that you can have with your
child by experimenting with
what happens when you
enlarge a photo by dragging
the corner of the photo and
then dragging one of the
sides – dragging the corner
keeps the image in proportion
whereas dragging one side
distorts the image and all
proportion is lost.
If you would like some other
ideas for proportional
discussions with your child
please feel free to email me at
cjmei0@eq.edu.au
Christie Meiklejohn
Head of Curriculum
Anzac Day Assembly
The school will be holding a
whole school assembly to
commemorate ANZAC Day this
Friday 24 April. The assembly
will commence promptly at 2 pm
in the auditorium. There will be
representatives from the
Australian Defence Force and a
retired service person from the
Kedron/Wavell RSL involved in
the assembly. Mrs Ormiston has
selected children to sing at the
assembly. There will be two
representatives from each class
laying a wreath. Two senior ADF
children will be representing the
Defence families in the school.
This is an important date in our
school’s calendar as we have a
large number of Australian
Defence Families at the school.
Everyone is welcome so please
come along and help us educate
our children on the importance of
ANZAC Day. Help us remember
on ANZAC Day.
Karen O’Connor
lots of hands it only takes about
1 hour to set up the auditorium
Host Families Needed
Any parents that would like to be
involved by volunteering their
time for this special event please
contact the school office on 3264
0777 or email
kocon48@eq.edu.au to Mrs
Karen O’Connor our Defence
School Transition Aide. Any time
you can spare would be greatly
appreciated.
17 students and 4 adults will be
visiting us from our sister-school
in Japan from July 25 until
August 9 for two weeks. They
were so generous in hosting
AHSS students in Japan last
year, it’s now our turn to show
them our hospitality and
introduce them to Australian
culture. Students will be billeted
individually. They will come to
school each day with your
child/children and participate in a
variety of classes and
excursions. As a homestay
family, it would be good if you
could organise sight-seeing or
an interesting activity for the
middle weekend. Unfortunately,
there will be no financial
assistance for host families
nonetheless the experience can
be quite rewarding for the
children from both cultures. If
you are interested in becoming a
host family please contact me.
Anzac Day Badges
ANZAC Day badges will be on
sale outside the tuckshop on
Wednesday 22 April, Thursday
23 April and Friday 24 April. The
school captains will be selling
badges from 8.15am until 8.45
each of these mornings.
There is a choice of a badge
for 50 cents or a sticker for
only 20 cents.
Remember to wear your badges
or stickers to the special ANZAC
Day assembly on Friday 24 April
2015.
Karen O’Connor
Defence School Transition Aide
Staff Car Park
A reminder that the staff car park
is not a drop off zone for
students. This is becoming a
frequent practice for some
parents and presents a potential
safety risk for students and staff.
If you are dropping your child off
in the morning, please do so at
the designated two minute zone
at the front of the school.
Two Minute Zone
Helpers needed
We are looking for volunteers
that could spare some time on
the morning of the ANZAC Day
assembly (Friday 24 April) from
9.10am to help set up the
auditorium ready for the
assembly in the afternoon. With
A reminder to drivers that if you
are not ready to leave this zone
within two minutes, you will need
to leave and come back later.
This will allow the traffic to flow
and for children to be collected
by their parents. Police
frequently patrol this area.
Thank you
Nicki Newmarch
nnewm21@eq.edu.au
Cleaners Wanted
We are seeking expressions of
interest to go on our casual relief
cleaners list. The hours are
5.00am - 8.30am and 2.30pm 6.00pm. If anyone is interested
or you know of anyone who may
be interested please call on
3264 0777 or call into the office.
P&C News
Tuckshop Roster
27 April – 1 May
Louise
Monday
Cobie
Sue St
Tuesday
Sue Sc
Order now:
http://www.entbook.com.au/2215
7v4 If you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to contact
Melissa Dunning
0447 711 139
Fete News
Wednesday
Nicky A
Thursday
Friday
Jenny
Nettie
Bianca
Cassie
Fete Newsletter
We can email you the Fete
Newsletters straight into your
inbox so you don’t miss out on
all the latest updates, activities,
competitions and information.
Subscribe by emailing us at
albanyhillsfete2015@gmail.com
Fete Committee
Bring Week
This week’s item is pasta spirals.
Please drop them into us at the
tuckshop.
Entertainment Books
The new 2015 | 2016
Entertainment Books are coming
soon! A book will be sent home
with each family for you to check
out, on 30 April 2015.
Order your new 2015|2016
Entertainment Membership
today to receive up to $195 in
Early Bird Offers!
Choose from the traditional
Entertainment Book or the NEW
Entertainment Digital
Membership, which puts the
value of the Book into your
iPhone or Android smartphone!
Each membership has hundreds
of 50% off and 2-for-1 offers for
restaurants, cafés, attractions,
hotels, shopping, groceries and
travel and contain over 2,000
offers that you can use
whenever you like until 1 June
2016. PLUS Albany Hills P & C
retains 20% of the price of every
Membership sold which goes
towards our fundraising!
Community News
Bushcare
Bushcare at McConachie Street,
Albany Creek May 10. All
welcome. For details contact
janet@themangoman.com.au
Movie in the Park
Apex Albany Creek 2 May 6pm
Jacaranda Park, Albany Creek.
Cheeseburgers,
hot
chips,
popcorn, drinks and chocolates
will be available for purchase.