2024 - Term 1, Week 6 Newsletter

School Calendar

Parent Teacher Interviews

At the end of this term, our classroom teachers will be offering parent teacher interviews to all families. Interviews will take place from the 18^th – 21^st March. While it is only early in the year, the interviews are an excellent opportunity to learn more about how our children have started the 2024 school year. The interviews will give you an insight into your child’s strengths and future areas to focus on for improvement throughout the year.

At Buderim Mountain State School, we use an online booking system for parent interviews (Schoolzine) which will be open for bookings from 7:30 am on the 11th March to 3:00 pm on the 15th March.

To book your interview time, click on the link below to open the browser.  You will be required to enter your email address (this email needs to be the email that you have provided to the school and is the email that your newsletter/school communication is emailed to). You will be asked to set up a password, and once your password is verified, you will be able to select your child's teachers and book relevant interview times.

Please look out for an invitation from your child’s teacher and we look forward to your attendance.

The link for booking an interview is below:

Prep Enrolments

Please be aware that Prep enrolments for 2025 open on Monday the 15^th April.  Students born between 1^st July 2019 and 30^th June 2020 are eligible to enrol in Prep for the 2025 school year.  Early enrolment assists us with planning for the 2025 school year. If you are aware of any families who have children of this age, please let them know when our enrolment process is open.  Mr Readshaw will be holding his Prep Tours each Monday morning from Monday 22April at 9:30 until October 2024.  All parents with a child beginning Prep in 2025 are invited to book in for a school tour by contacting our school office in person or by calling 5477 2777.  

Free Dress Day

At BMSS we are fortunate to have the Story Dogs program visit students to assist with their reading skills throughout the year. Our Student Leaders support this each year by holding a free dress day and donating the funds raised to support the continued implementation of the Story Dogs program. We will be holding our free dress day on Thursday 21^st  March. Students are asked to wear clothing to represent their culture, or the colour orange to support Harmony Day.  Children are also asked to make a gold coin donation.

Whooping Cough - Pertussis

Please find attached to today’s newsletter, important information from Sunshine Coast Public Health Unit and North Coast Region, to raise awareness for parents and carers of the growing cases of pertussis (‘whooping cough’) across the region.

STEM

Our very dedicated STEM teacher, Mr J. has opened his doors to the Year 5 and 6 students at Buderim Mountain State School to take part in Robotics lessons. Lessons occur before school on a Wednesday and second lunch on Wednesday and  Thursday.  

During the first week at Robotics Club, the students had fun following instructions to build a SPIKE robot. They were shown how to program their robot to move around the room while avoiding objects. Then students learnt to program the sensors on the bots so that they stopped when they came in contact with the colour white.  

In upcoming lessons students will have the opportunity to compete against each other in a Sumo wrestling contest.   

Walk to School Wednesday

“Onya Buderim Mountain State School kids!” Constable Lachlan

During the first walk-to-school for 2024, some of our students found a lost credit card which they gave to Constable Lachlan, who with Buderim Lions, was escorting the group to school. Due to some savvy policework, Lachlan was quickly able to identify the credit card’s owner who lost it last Sunday at Alexandra Headlands, about seven kilometers away. So great work BMSS kids and Constable Lachlan and many thanks to the school’s and Queensland Police’s on-going support for the Buderim Lions Walk-to-School Wednesday program”.

Student Mobile Phones and Smart Watches

This year the State Government announced a state wide initiative called “Away for the Day”.  With this initiative, students are to keep mobile phones switched off and not on them during the school day.  All of our year 5 and 6 classrooms have safes, where students are to place their phone when arriving at school.  Students in lower year levels are still to hand their mobile phone to the school office staff upon arriving at school.  All students can collect their phone from the safe or office when school finishes at 3pm.  Wearable devices, such as smart watches must also be switched to School Mode so phone calls, text messages and other notifications cannot be sent or received during the school day. 

A reminder also to parents that should you need to send an important message to your child during the school day, it should be done via the school office.  A big thank you to all parents and carers for ensuring Smart Watches are set to ‘school mode’.

Buderim Badges and Awards

Cumulative Awards

At Buderim Mountain State School, we have a Cumulative Awards system which continues throughout each student’s time with us.  These awards are presented on each year level’s parade.

1. Achievement Awards are presented each week on parade to students in each class for a range of significant achievements, based on our three school expectations of; Be a Learner; Be Safe and Be Respectful, or PERKS. Teachers choose these awards based on classroom achievement.
2. 3 Achievement Awards = 1 Principal’s Award Students are asked to submit their 3 achievement awards (they don’t have to all be received in 1 year) into the box outside the Health Room and they will then be presented with a Principal’s Award on parade. Students will continue receiving achievement awards throughout their years. Awards should be submitted by the Wednesday in the week prior to the Principal Award presentation (i.e. by the Wednesday in Week 4 if the awards are being presented in Week 5).
3. 3 Principal’s Awards = 1 Banner Students are asked to submit their 3 Principal’s Awards into the box outside the Health Room and they will then be presented with a Buderim Banner on parade.
4. 2 Banners = 1 Medallion Students are asked to submit their 2 banners into the box outside the Health Room and they will then be presented with a medallion on parade.

Academic and Work Effort Badges

As well as our cumulative awards scheme at Buderim, we also present Academic and Work Effort badges (sewn on) to students for the following categories after each reporting semester:

Academic:

Years 1 to 4 - 3 ‘A’ achievement ratings on report cards, in the academic subjects, each semester.  Academic subjects are English, Mathematics, Science and HASS.

Years 5 to 6 -  4 ‘A’ achievement ratings on report cards, in the academic subjects, each semester.  Academic subjects are English, Mathematics, Science, HASS and Japanese.

Work Effort:

Students need to receive a Very High (Years 1-2) or Excellent (Years 3-6) Effort rating for all but two subjects reported on within the report card, for the semester, with the remaining two subjects at a Sound or High (Years 1-2) or Satisfactory or Very Good (Years 3 – 6) rating.

In our Classrooms

Prep LW:    What we liked doing/learning in the first 5 weeks of Prep

Quinn – I liked reading and learning the songs for our letters, like “Mummy on the moon” and “ants on apples”. 

Ashmeet – I liked doing different activities.

Ava B – I liked doing all of the craft activities, especially Queenie the bantam.

Isaac Ca – I liked learning the alphabet and doing the whole song.

Isaac Ch – I liked doing Science activities.

Florence – I liked number Spingo.

Ava D – I liked painting our letters of the week.

Georgia – I liked drawing my letters every day.

Penny – I liked learning about all of the letters.

Haewon – I liked learning the rules and being nice to people.

Litza – I liked doing drawings and colouring in.

Charlotte – I liked doing group work with my mum and playing bingo.

Henry – I liked learning all about numbers.

Mia – I liked going to the school library.

Maya – I liked making cards and craft.

Jango – I liked reading and my favourite books are about Franklin the turtle.

Oscar – I liked doing art and craft activities for the letters every day.

Leo – I liked learning about rusty robot, r, r, r.

Arlo – I liked painting and doing craft activities.

Jason – I liked all of the Science things.

Year 1:   In English we have been retelling stories.  We have been learning to use capital letters at the beginning of a sentence and full stops at the end of sentences so that our writing makes sense, and our letters don’t run away off the page.  I really love creating the stories because it helps me remember what I have read.  Blanka A. 

Year 2:      In Science, we have learnt about life cycles. We have been watching our caterpillars as they turn into green chrysalises. All the caterpillars have now turned into pupas. We also have mealworms. Some of our mealworms are in containers, ready to turn into the pupa stage. We have been watching nature and we have seen some amazing things and animals. Nature is beautiful and so are the animals! By Jess and Anna 

Year 3RK:    We have had a busy five weeks of Year 3.  So far, we have had fun learning about each other during our daily special news events.  During morning session each day, we learn a new Auslan sign language sign.  This is a great way to communicate with each other and maybe one day, we may be able to communicate with someone who uses Auslan. Our class teddy and rabbits, ‘Carrots’ who is orange, and ‘Beans’ who is green, have been very loved each day.

 ‘Super Student’ status in our classroom is well sought after as well.  If you achieve ‘Super Student’ status you have a selection of fun activities to celebrate this.  Some of these activities are:- wear a silly hat, use gel pens for the day, read the class a story, iPad time or use our pink fluffy blanket on your chair.

In English we have been learning how to write persuasively.  We are currently trying to persuade Ms K as to why a certain animal would make a fantastic pet.  We can’t wait to continue reading our class novel, ‘Matty Forever’.  It is about two friends.  We eagerly look forward to this time as we get a chance to lie down and switch off the lights while Ms K reads us a chapter.

In Maths, we have been working with numbers up to 1000 and some of us are working with numbers up to 10 000.  We have also been exploring how to read and work with mapping.  We hope to play the game Battleships soon as this helps with learning about co-ordinates.

Ms K is so proud of our achievements this term as we can all now successfully operate laptops which was a new skill for us this year. We have also had several online practise NAPLAN lessons, ready for NAPLAN in week 8.

In Science with Mrs Burrough, we have been learning about heat molecules, heat sources, and how heat energy moves.

FUN FACT: Did you know that molecules in hot water move very fast, but in cold water molecules move so much slower?

In HASS, also with Mrs Burrough, we have been learning about different types of communities and if we are contributing or participating in our own community. We learnt about Greek communities and the types of food they eat.  We even tasted haloumi which some of us really didn’t enjoy due to the taste or texture.  It was squeaky in our mouth!

FUN FACT: Did you know that the Greek community in Brisbane celebrates an annual festival called Paniyiri?  This festival has been going for 48 years.

In our busy day we also look forward to several brain breaks and mindfulness exercises.  We are just beginning to try a 5-minute guided meditation so we have some calm in our day.  We can’t wait to see what the rest of the term brings in 3RK with Ms K and Mrs Burrough.

Written by AJ, Taylor and Ms Kopittke

Year 4KP:    In science we have been learning about sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks.  We have been learning about the types of soils, sand, clay and loam.  We have also been learning about what weathering and erosion are and what makes weathering.  My favourite thing we have looked at is weathering, because we did lots of activities to show how rocks break apart.  I liked rubbing the sandpaper on the rocks and shaking the sugar cubes with rocks.  My second favourite was learning where specific rocks came from.  

By Summer

Year 5SV:  In English we are reading Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda. We are learning to describe a character and to give the reader an image of it. Deltora Quest is a fantasy novel. Our assessment is to write a new chapter of the book in a different setting. In Mathematics we are learning to convert fractions into decimals. We are also going over the different types of fractions which are proper fractions, improper fractions and mixed fractions. In Science we are learning about animal adaptations. Adaptations are things that animals have to survive in their particular environment. Some adaptations are physical like claws or teeth to defend themselves.

Year 6AJ:     Throughout the last five weeks, 6AJ has been very busy! Firstly, we have been putting together our English assessment Power Point presentation. We have learnt about many different language features, and how we can use them to persuade a specific target audience to travel to the destination we are promoting. During Math, we are learning how to work out equivalent fractions and place them on a number line. In Science we have done three different experiments in the Science Lab, including melting, solidification and solubility. We recorded our observations on our laptops after investigating each experiment. During HASS we have been learning about Australia’s Federation and the people who helped make it happen. We have learnt that Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy and how different documents helped build our constitution. We have also been researching Henry Parkes, the man who played one of the most significant roles in Australia’s federation.

By Rachel R

Famous Author Visits 4DJ

On Friday 23^rd February, the famous writer, Dr Sarah Pye, visited 4DJ to say hello and share her children’s books – the Wildlife Wong series.  She talked about her books, how she writes them and about her friendship with Mr Wong, the amazing ecologist who runs a Sun Bear sanctuary in Borneo. 

4DJ students had read several of Dr Sarah’s books already and asked excellent questions about orangutans, sun bears and about how you write  a book of your own.  Dr Sarah explained all the important steps in writing a book, and how her next book is about endangered animals of Queensland.  There are several copies of each of her books in our school library for all students to borrow.  The series is recommended for readers aged 8-12 years.

                  sarahpye.com

School Sport

Nambour District Swimming Trials

On Friday 23 February 15 students from Years 4-6 participated in the Nambour District Swimming Trials at the Sunshine Coast Grammar Swimming complex. All students who represented Buderim Mountain State School are to be congratulated for their great attitude and incredible efforts, especially in hot conditions. These students were:

Year 4: Chanel D and Duncan R

Year 5: Fergus A, Hudson O, Jemima L, Fynn C, Ruby F and Hannah F

Year 6: Beau B, Scarlett D, Isobel A, Flossie S, Will O, Ellie K and Mia F

Many great times were swum and many swimmers were successful in placing at least 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd in their races. Thanks also to all the parents who came along to support the swimmers and to Scarlett’s mum, Kristen, who generously volunteered to time keep.

Swimmers who were successful in qualifying for the Nambour District Team to compete at the Sunshine Coast Regional Trials on Wednesday 6 March are: Chanel D, Fergus A, Beau B, Scarlett D, Hudson O, Flossie S, Mia F and Ellie K.

All the best at the next stage.

Mrs McCormack and Mr Hawes

Queensland Aquathlon Championships

Congratulations to Year 6 student Beau who proudly represented BMSS and the Sunshine Coast Region at the Queensland School Sport Aquathlon Championships in Hervey Bay on February 10th. 

The race consisted of a 1km run, 200m swim, 1km run. 

Beau placed 25th out of 97 in the U12 boys age group. 

School Sport Represtatives:

Congratulations to the following students who have been selected in district sport teams:

Touch Football - Will O, Mia F

Basketball - Charlotte S, Jemma G,  George R, Lachie A, Tate A, Hartley M

AFL - George R, Oliver F, Will O, Xavier S, Cohen McC.

Cross Country

On Friday 22 March our whole school cross country will be held.  On this day classes will be walked to the oval to run their race.  The times from the cross country will be used to select a team of U10, U11 and U12 students to represent our school at the Nambour District Trials on May 3.

For children in years 4, 5 and 6 both competitive and non-competitive races will be held.  Students must compete in the competitive race to be considered for the school representative team.  Any Year 4 student, born in 2014, who is able to run 2km in 9 minutes or under and would like to trial for the school representative team, needs to run in the competitive event.

 All ribbons will be handed out on parade, not on the day.  As the weather continues to be warm, students are reminded to wear their school hat, put on sunscreen, bring a full water bottle and wear suitable running attire.

Attached are the maps for each age group's course.  Students will be familiarizing themselves with the course during their PE lessons.  In the coming days, all families will receive an email with more details regarding the day’s program.

PERKS

The PERKS focus for Lesson 2 this term is Brain Science – Thinking, Emotional and Survival Brain.

Students from Prep to Year 6 will be introduced to the work of neuroscientist Paul MacLean who developed a concept known as the Triune Brain.  

The concept provides a simple way of describing how three major parts of a person’s brain - the ‘thinking’ brain (Prefrontal Cortex), the ‘emotional’ brain (Limbic System) and the ‘survival’ brain (Brain Stem) work together.

Maclean believed that when these three parts of the brain work together, we tend to be happy and in control.  However, when these three parts of the brain do not work together, we can lose control of our thoughts and feelings, which can influence our actions.

Students will discuss what the thinking brain, emotional brain and survival brain are responsible for, and what our behaviour might look like when they are using these parts of their brain.  Students will also explore strategies for calming their brains in times of stress.

We encourage you to have a conversation with your child about the three parts of the brain and how to ensure that these parts work together to keep ourselves calm, safe and happy.  You can also find a video on the three brains on our school website, or via the link below. 

Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN

This year all of our Year 3 and 5 students will be participating in NAPLAN online for the 5th year.  Over the past few years, the feedback from students is that most prefer this format.  Year 3 still undertake their writing test as a paper test, but all other tests are online.  This year the testing will occur between Wednesday 13^th and Thursday 14^th March (Friday 15^th March is a catch-up day).  Students complete testing in writing, reading, conventions of language and numeracy. All participating students will receive a summary of their results later in the school year. Please see attached an information brochure for parents regarding NAPLAN.

Keeping our Students Safe

To assist with keeping all of our students safe, we would like to remind everyone our playground equipment is not permitted for use before or after school. The equipment requires a teacher on duty to supervise all children for safe play. To further assist in keeping our students safe, we would like to remind all people entering and leaving our school grounds to kindly close the gate behind them, and to use the crossings around our school when moving across roads. We appreciate your support with following school procedures and to ensure our children are safe.

GRIP Student Leader Conference

On Thursday the 22nd of February, all of the student leaders participated in a captivating conference about Leadership. The key things we learnt were how to be a leader who thinks about others first, how to get others onboard with a new idea, the three L’s (Left out by others, Look up to you and like-minded), and the four H’s (Hear others’ opinions, Help with the little things, Happiness and Humility). The conference went for the whole school day and we had two lunchbreaks.  We had ten-minute breaks called ‘Loud Noises’ where we played fun games, and we had a couple of volunteers go up to the stage, to try to hunt out specific items from the crowd. This was just one of the many enjoyable games we participated in.

At the beginning, we were all given a booklet that had different activities and quizzes for us to do, to help us to remember what we had learnt throughout the day. It included sentences for us to finish and different questions for us to answer, to test our understanding. It was a great opportunity for us to get to know and interact with leaders from other schools, ask any questions about leadership and also to get to know each other as the Buderim Mountain 2024 leadership group. We thank the organisers of this event for creating such an engaging and informative presentation.

A message from Chappy

Generous Donations

I would like to firstly do a  big shout out for all of our amazing sponsors who go above and beyond to support the Chaplaincy Program at Buderim. It is exciting to know we can work together to achieve more for our school community. Recently we had a special shirt made for me to wear, highlighting our sponsors and I wear it with pride. Many thanks also go to the recent donations of vouchers from the Lions Club and Uniting Church whose support will allow me to address families in need within our school. It is such a blessing to know we live in such a caring community.

Breakfast Club Activities 

Every Tuesday we have Brekkie Club and it is much more than toast and a drink. It’s also an opportunity to create, make friends, play Gaga Ball or connect with other students before school from 8am till the bell. For some it is a place where they can grow in their confidence and serve others, collect plates and help with clean up. For some it is working alongside younger students and helping them with an art piece. We have music playing and a great start to the day, creating a joyful happy environment. The Rotary club provide volunteers to help in the kitchen and we love having their support. 

 Social and Emotional Support

The preps are learning about kindness and have met Kiki the kindness Koala. If you are at parade, you may have heard a song called Thankful. https://youtu.be/YeSdQmO51Ps?si=HRjNfLUqY2HyP-UR

It’s worth having a listen as it sits alongside all of our values as a school that we work on. We can always learn more in this area about ways to better appreciate what we have been given. With many new students and families still arriving it is a very busy space getting to know all the many names and helping others to feel like they belong.  

Parenting Support

There are many opportunities for extra support should you feel overwhelmed. Eg Parent Talk and Chat Club every even week at the library at 8.45-9.30. This is informal and a great way to be encouraged during your parenting journey.

‘ Ideally resilience is strengthened through small repeated wins with a few losses in between, rather than a string of losses with an occasional win.’

Heartfelt thanks to the amazing team of parents from our school who assisted in the Kitchen cook up on Saturday morning. The meals are such a great resource for people going through a difficult time. We love what this means to those who need it most. They happen once a term so keep a look out for the next time this happens.

Easter Hat Parades

An exciting event at this time of year is the Easter hat parade for our junior year levels, which will be held in the Prep Playground. Parents and caregivers are asked to assist with organizing an Easter hat, which students will wear to this event, on the last day of term (Thursday 28 March). Parents and caregivers are welcome to attend with details including:

• 9am      Prep
• 10am    Year 1

School Photos

School photos will be held on Thursday 7th March. Order forms have all been sent home with students.  All students will need to be in full school uniform (not sporting house uniforms) on this day.  MSP request all photo orders be made online using the shoot key provided on the envelope your child received.  Sibling photos need to be ordered online, and will be held from 7:30am on the morning of the 7^th March.  All families with a surname starting with A-L please arrive outside the Library at 7:30am, and all families with a surname from M-Z please arrive at 8:00am.  Should you require a new envelope, please phone MSP on 07 3865 4291.

Buderim Community ANZAC Day Service

While this is not until after the school holidays, it does come up in the second week of Term 2. An invitation has been extended to the staff and students at Buderim Mountain SS to participate in the 2024 ANZAC Day ceremony and march. 

Students are encouraged to participate in the march and the service.  The march will leave Woolworths at 8:30am on Thursday the 25^th April. Students are asked to be at the long car park aisle closest to Woolworths by 8:15am and be wearing full school uniform including school hat. The students are most welcome to wear their relatives’ service medals. The correct protocol in this case is for the medals to be worn on the right side of the chest.

The ANZAC Day Service, following the march, will be held in the pine forest at Buderim Mountain State School from 9:00am.

Parents are asked to please pick up their children from the school oval at the conclusion of the march. Students will be seated in year levels to assist with collection. The Student Councilors will be handing out participation certificates at the end of the parade.

Curriculum Corner

Year Level Planning Meetings

We are heading into our year level planning days towards the end of this term in preparation for the Term 2 curriculum delivery. Teachers from each year level will spend a full day unpacking the curriculum requirements and the summative assessment tasks. We will discuss and brainstorm ways to aim for the ‘A’ and ‘B’ descriptors in the assessment tasks.

Analysing our students’ academic data is also an important step in planning. We need to know our learners and ensure we are catering for all learning needs. This process allows our teachers to differentiate their lesson planning to cater for all learning levels within their classrooms.

The year level planning days at the end of each term (to prepare for the following term) involve all teachers from each year level unpacking the curriculum. The planning days are vital in ensuring continuity across all classes in each year level. They give our students the best possible access to the Australian Curriculum, while also differentiating curriculum and teaching strategies based on each student’s academic needs.

Semester 1 Academic Reporting

Please ensure the office has your latest email addresses in the database. These addresses are linked to the emailing of academic report cards, which will be sent to parents Friday Week 1, Term 3.

Specialist Learning Areas

The Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework outlines the minimum reporting requirements for learning areas/subjects. Reminder: Please note the academic reporting process for HPE, Music, Performing Arts (Dance & Drama) and Technologies on the Yearly Curriculum Overview.

Learning in these specialist areas occurs more frequently than assessment and reporting. For example, in Technologies, students will experience learning in design and digital technologies even if they are not being assessed that semester or year. We have ensured all curriculum elements are being covered as per the requirements from the Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework. Refer to the Year Level Overviews for more information.

Frequently asked questions:

Does my child still learn those subjects/learning areas even if not assessed and reported on?

• Yes – they are still learning in those areas, but we are assessing and reporting at least the minimum requirements and, in some cases, more often.

(As per the Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework - CARF)

Why has BMSS made this change in 2024?

• Our specialist teachers were finding it very difficult to teach all of the required curriculum thoroughly and then assess in time for reporting. Therefore, we analysed the CARF for reporting requirements and decided by making this change, the specialist teachers would have more time to teach the students the content more thoroughly and then assess. This new way gives your child a better chance to perform at their best rather than rushing to get through curriculum, assessing and then reporting.

Our Yearly Curriculum Overviews are located on the website.

https://buderimmountainss.eq.edu.au/curriculum/teaching-and-learning

Kristie O’Keefe

(Head of Curriculum)

Library Lounge

Thank you to everyone who ordered books from Book Club this term. The library received $1000 in rewards to purchase new books for our students.

Book Fair will be Week 3 Term 2.  It will be open for students and parents to purchase books from  1^st to 3^rd May. More information will come closer to the time. Book Fair will replace the normal online Book Club in Term 2.

Book Fair Theme is “Arctic Adventure – Snow Much to Read!”.

LIBRARY RULES

                        Listen to your teacher/library team

                        Inquire (ask) if you need help

                        Be respectful of others

                        Read and talk quietly

                        Always walk 

                        Return books to their correct place

                        Your manners are appreciated

QParents

Our school has been using QParents in recent years for all year levels. All new families should have received an email inviting you to register for QParents.  If you have not received this email, please check your spam or junk box, and if you cannot find the email, please contact the school office so we can assist.  In order to register for QParents, you will require the regular 100 points of ID.  Attached to this newsletter is an outline of the types of ID accepted. QParents is a simple way to pay for any school excursions or fees without having to send money or paperwork back to the school. Parents can also gain an update on their child’s attendance and submit absence information. Finally, parents can update personal details automatically and students’ past report cards can be accessed via QParents. If you have not received an invitation, please advise us immediately.

Dog Owners

Recently, we have had enquiries from members of our school community in relation to bringing dogs onto the school grounds. While the State Government doesn’t allow dogs on school premises at any time, we try to work in with the Buderim community and ask all families and community members to assist with the following guidelines.

Buderim Mountain State School, including the oval, is not a designated off-leash dog park.  No dogs are allowed on the premises:

• Between 7:30 am and 4:00 pm school days
• When the school oval is being used by someone paying to hire the oval before 7:30am and after 4:00pm
• When students from Buderim Mountain State School Outside School Hours Care are using the oval or playgrounds before 7:30am and after 4:00pm

We ask dog owners to please clean up after your dog and remove all dog droppings from the school site (do not leave in school bins).

Parades

Parades will continue each week at the following times with parents welcome to attend:

• Tuesday         Prep & Year 1   2:20pm
• Wednesday       Year 2 & 3      2:20pm
• Thursday        Year 4          2:20pm
• Friday          Year 5 & 6      2:20pm

Parades include the presentation of weekly awards, messages and occasional performances.

Principal’s certificates, banners and medallions are usually presented twice per term. Any awards that are submitted by the Wednesday in the week prior to the dates shown below will be presented on these parades:

Week 5                     20 February to 23 February

Week 10                   26 March to 28 March    (Yr 5 and 6 will have Principal awards on Friday 22 March, as                                              Friday 29 March is a public holiday)

Absence Text Messaging System

All Queensland public schools are required to implement a text messaging system to follow up on unexplained absences. Effectively, if a child has not arrived at school and a parent has not informed the school, it is a requirement for the school, to send a text message requesting a reason for the absence on a daily basis.

We ask that parents assist by ensuring all absences are explained on a daily basis. From time to time, we predict that we may make some errors with texts and ask for your support as we fulfil this process. An example might be that a child is at a music camp and the staff member marking the roll may not have recalled this and the child is marked as an unexplained absence. It would be appreciated if parents can still respond by text to let us know. While we will aim to not have any errors, with over 1100 students at our school, this may occur occasionally.

The following options are currently in place to contact the school regarding absences with QParents being the preferred option. To avoid unexplained absences, please report the absence before 8:00 am.

• QParents: https://qparents.qld.edu.au/   This is our preferred method to report reasons for absences to the school.
• Student Absentee Call Line (5477 2760)

Emails and Notes: We are aware that absences can be reported via emails and notes, but we encourage parents to use QParents. Emails and notes can be processed, but are often delivered at varying times or double-handled by teachers and other staff. This may cause a time-lag in accurate roll marking. Thank you for your assistance with this.

From the Office

Upcoming events and payment dates

Please make sure that you have paid the amounts in full by the due dates. Payment for excursions can be made via:

• QParents
• BPoint
• Payment window- open Wednesday 8:00am-9:30am

QParents Frequently Asked Questions

How much do I owe?

• QParents enables you to view invoices as well as details of paid invoices. Click the ‘To Pay’ checkbox next to any invoice to make a payment.
• Note: If you are viewing the payment screen within the combined student view (accessed through the Payments tile on your home screen), click on the student name which will navigate you to the individual student profile where you can make a payment.
• Watch this video for an overview of the payments screen and making online payments in QParents.

If I pay an invoice does that mean my child can attend the event?

• You will also need to give your ‘consent’ (permission) for your child to attend. In the past, we have sent out permission letters however we now use QParents to gain your consent. It is important that you provide consent (your permission for your child to attend the event) as well as pay for the invoice.
  
  

I notice QParents has ‘Consent Management’. What is this?

• Consent Management is a new feature in QParents. It enables you to provide consent (permission) for events/excursions. This is a great feature as it removes the paperwork previously required for every school event your child would attend (please note, you still need to pay for the event as well as give your consent- two part process).

2024 SRS

The Student Resource Scheme (SRS) includes curriculum resources that are not funded by the department (such as text books, equipment for students' personal use and items used by the student in the classroom). The SRS provides parents with a convenient and cost-effective alternative to individually sourcing curriculum resources and educational programs (i.e. Mathletics, Mathseeds, Reading Eggs).

The scheme ensures that students have the resources required for them to engage with the curriculum for their education, and saves parents time and money in sourcing the prescribed materials elsewhere. Savings are gained through the school’s bulk purchasing practices and hiring arrangements. The scheme is not used to raise funds for other purposes, and revenue collected through the scheme is applied only to the resources and operation of the scheme.

The scheme’s operation, resource inclusions and participation fees were approved by the school’s P&C Association at the meeting held on 10 October 2023.

Resource Inclusions

• All resources included in the SRS are detailed in the attached SRS Resource list. This list is also available on the school’s website. This is a comprehensive list of all resources included in the scheme and their associated costs
• All invoicing for the 2024 SRS has been issued via QParents

2024 Facilities Hire

State schools are important community assets. The department recognises the valuable role that schools and school infrastructure play in the life of local communities. A school’s priority function is delivering educational programs during the school day. However, outside of school hours schools can be used to facilitate and promote the use of their facilities by members of the local community.

Buderim Mountain State School invites members of the local community to complete an application for 2024 Hire Agreements. The following areas will be offered for hire:

• Library courtyard
• Main oval
• Pool (please see further details below)
• Tennis courts (or also known as the netball courts)

At this stage, the new hall will not be offered for hire until Semester 2 (further details will be supplied via the school newsletter). To ensure you are kept up to date with hiring opportunities, please register to receive the school newsletter via email.

How do I go about applying to hire school facilities?

1. Review the 2024 Hire fees/charges schedule (see below)
2. Complete an Expression of Interest
3. Attach all supporting documentation requested in the Expression of Interest (including

   Community User Risk Assessment)  

4. The principal (and/or delegate) will consider all applications (please make sure you complete all required sections as this forms part of the considerations) and successful hirers will be notified via email

Pool hire

The department's hire agreements differ a little for pools. Pool hire agreements are over a three year period (the start date and the end date must not exceed three years after the commencement date) and require a tender process.  If you are interested in hiring the pool, a Request to Quote will need to be completed and emailed to info@buderimmountainss.eq.edu.au

If you have any other questions, please phone 5477 2777.

BMSS P & C News

EVENTS AND SPECIAL DATES

NEW SCHOOL HALL OPENING PLANNING COMMITTEE

Our new $8.5 million school hall is well underway and on track for completion by May 2024. You can trust we will be celebrating the opening in a grand way! To be part of the planning committee for our School Hall Opening event in 2024, please email secretary@bmsspandc.org

P&C MEETING & 2024 AGM 

We'd love for you to join us for our next P&C Meeting and 2024 AGM. Help us plan events and initiatives, discuss important decisions and developments at BMSS, and enjoy each other’s company over refreshments. All welcome!

• When: Tuesday 5 March from 5:30pm
• Where: BMSS School Library
• RSVP: secretary@bmsspandc.org

We hope to see you there.

UNIFORM SHOP NEWS AND OPENING HOURS 

Donation Day

Thank-you for your generous Donations on our Uniform Donation Day on 9^th Feb! We had a terrific response. Keep an eye on our preloved racks in the coming weeks. Remember preloved uniforms in good, clean condition are always accepted as donations. This helps us support our school community and we are grateful for your assistance.

Stock Updates

Medium crushable hats are now back in stock, and we have recently received a new delivery of hair accessories. Our new supplier, School Ponytails, also offer online ordering with a larger variety of options tailored to our school colours, and will contribute 20% of each purchase to our P&C. Search for our school on www.schoolponytails.com.au.

Winter Stock – it may seem unimaginable given the hot weather this term, but Easter is rapidly approaching and with this time of year comes cooler mornings. We currently have all sizes of jackets and tights in stock, along with a selection of long pants. Consider getting in early and beating the rush while stock is available.

Volunteer Opportunities

• If you sew, and would like to help turn uniform fabric into scrunchies, or mend preloved garments, please reach out! No amount of help is too small. Thank-you to one of our volunteers, for creating some wonderful hair accessories we have in store and for helping extend the life of our uniforms.
• Help sorting donations for sale – please email uniform@bmsspandc.org if you have some time on a Monday morning after drop-off to help sort donations.

BANKSIA CAFE NEWS

Recruiting Now! Casual Assistant Wanted

The Banksia Café are looking for a new team member to assist in preparing and serving meals and snacks to BMSS staff and students. With a highly supportive environment and no experience necessary, this could be the ideal job to fit around your child’s school hours and extra-curricular commitments. For more details and to express your interest, please contact Fiona at: tuckshop@bmsspandc.org

OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL HOURS CARE (OSHC)

OSHC Autumn 2024 Vacation Program - Out Now!

We are excited to welcome bookings for the Buderim OSHC Autumn Vacation Care program these coming Easter school holidays. We are confident the Vacation Care program will be a great opportunity for your children to make new friends and explore new experiences in a friendly and supportive environment. 

Check out the program to see the fantastic array of activities, incursions and excursions in store, including a colour run, petting zoo, inflatables, ninja jungle, excavation, a visit to White Ridge farm and more!

Here’s what you need to know about the program and how to get your kids into the action:

Bookings & Enrolments: To create bookings, please do so via the Xplor Home app.
Cancellations & Absences: 1 week's notice is required for the cancellation of days (without charge).
Food & Drink: The service will provide a light morning tea and afternoon tea, but children are required to bring a packed lunch (preferably nut free due to allergies within the service).
Clothing: Children are required to wear sun safe clothing; no singlets and midriff tops to be worn. Children are also to wear enclosed shoes while at the service and on excursions.
Finances and Childcare Subsidy (CCS): All financial information (including statements) is accessed via the Xplor Home app.
Excursions: If your child is booked on an excursion day, they must attend the excursion as we do not offer an alternative program at the service.

For more information, or to access programs, forms and links, just head to: www.buderimoshc.org or email: oshc@bmsspandc.org.

Volunteer Opportunities

BMSS P & C Socials

Follow Us on Socials

Stay up-to-date and make sure you follow us on social media.  Our accounts always have lots of great information.

Access our website and socials using the links below: