2024 - Term 3, Week 2 Newsletter

Calendar

Welcome to Term 3

Welcome back to Term 3 and a big welcome to all of our new families for Term 3 – we have had many new enrolments from interstate, overseas and the local area. We hope you enjoy your time with us at Buderim Mountain State School. We have another big term ahead - this term is 10 weeks in length and finishes on Friday 13 September.

Staff Farewells

At the end of last term, we said farewell to two of our wonderful staff members:

• Mrs Sue Cuthbertson has moved to Brisbane and has taken up a teaching position at New Farm State School. Mrs Cuthbertson joined Buderim Mountain State School in 2013 and apart from teaching in Bamaga for two years during this time, has taught a range of year levels as well as the Aspire program at our school. A big thank you must go to Mrs Cuthbertson for her amazing contribution to Buderim Mountain State School and we wish her all the best in Brisbane.
• Mr Ken Bishop has been our groundsman at Buderim Mountain State School since the end of 1998 and over the last 25 years, has worked tirelessly to make sure our school is well maintained for our students. Mr Bishop was ‘jack of all trades’ and assisted with many improvements to our school over this time. Mr Bishop is now enjoying retirement and we wish him all the best for a well deserved extended break!

2025 Prep Enrolments

Please be aware that this term we are continuing to take Prep enrolments for 2025 and we thank families who have submitted enrolment forms already. Early enrolment assists us with planning for the 2025 school year. If you are aware of any families who would like further information on our Prep program, Mr Readshaw will be taking Prep enrolment tours most Mondays from 9:30am throughout Term 3 – please book through the school office. 

2025 Classes

At the start of next term, we will begin the process of developing class lists for 2025. This process is always predicted for the beginning of the school year and confirmed on the eighth day of the new school year. At Buderim Mountain State School, we have a very detailed process, which takes place over a number of weeks to create classes. This includes use of a software program to assist with the creation of classes based on gender, academics and appropriate learning partners.

If parents have any specific requests regarding their child’s placement for 2025, please send an email to our administration staff by Friday 13 September to info@buderimmountainss.eq.edu.au. Please be aware of the following:

• Parents are not able to request a specific teacher for their child.
• Please do not submit any requests for your child to be placed with another child, as all children will do this at school, by choosing up to 5 learning partners they would like to be in a class with – we do guarantee that they will be placed with at least 1 of the learning partners they have requested.
• Generally, the request needs to identify characteristics or concerns relating to your child which you feel need to be taken into consideration in regards to class placement.
• Students will be informed of their provisional 2025 class in the final week of the school year (Wednesday 11 December) via an email to parents.
• While all requests are given due consideration, please be aware that it is not always possible to guarantee these requests.
• We are unable to consider any requests submitted after the due date (end of Term 3).

Staffing Update:

Please be aware that the following staff will be replaced while they are on leave in the coming weeks:

Report Cards and Parent Teacher Interviews

Congratulations to all students who have worked to their full potential this semester. All parents and carers were emailed a copy of your child’s report cards last week - Friday 12 July. This report card included a summary of each student’s achievement levels across all learning areas as well as students’ ratings for their effort in each learning area. Students also received a result for their overall behavior as well as a general comment.  If you have not received your child’s report card, please check you junk folder, and if you still have not received it, please let the school office know.

Please also be aware that parent teacher interviews will be offered next week (22-26 July). Individual teachers determine the times of their availability during that week and once again, we have used the SchoolZine online booking system for parents to book interviews. Classroom teachers have sent out invitations to all parents to make their appointment via the online system. Should you have any issues with booking online, please contact your child’s teacher.

Sports News

Athletics Carnival:

Congratulations to all of our Year 4-6 students for your efforts at last term’s athletics carnival. It was terrific to see so many students participating throughout the course of the day. A special mention must go to the following age champions:

2014     James R and Ava B

2013     Henry R and Mia F

2012      Will O and Beau B and Xanthe W

Well done to the Iterra house who were the overall winners on the day with Cheropin in 2^nd place, Yuamala in 3^rd place and Walla in 4^th place. Congratulations also to Walla who were the Toohey’s Cup Relay winners.

From this carnival students will be selected to participate at the Nambour District Athletics Trial on the Friday 16 August.  Also, on Thursday 15 August students will be competing in a 1500m event at the Sunshine Coast University. We wish them all the best.

A big thank you to Mr Hawes for organising the day and the student leaders and staff who assisted. Thank you to all of our parents and carers who were able to attend and support our students. The students appreciate your encouragement on the day. It was a great day.

The following students have been selected in our school Athletics team to participate at the Nambour District Athletics on August 16, at Sunshine Coast University.

Chanel D, Enaara T, Kylah D, Ava B, Indiana H, James R, Oscar S, Patrick A, Tannyn M, Eldyn A, Scarlett A, Isobel A, Jemma G, Lucy T, Mia F, Isla McL, Lucas S, Harrison B, Alexander S, Henry R, Aimi P, Xanthe W, Scarlett D, Annabelle S, Ally M, Charlotte S, Will O, Xavier S, Zane G, Beau B, Flossie S, Isaac C, Phoebe F, Rachel R, Maggie L, Noah C, Ethan H, Harley O, Oban S, Hudson O’C, Isla J, Neiva R, Isla W, William J, Duncan O, Thomas D, Heidi L, Oban S, Duncan O, Phoebe F, Amelia-Leah D, Chelsea P, Hayley O

Sports Representatives:

Congratulations to all students who participated in the many different trials this term.  

QUEENSLAND STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Congratulations to Year 6 student Will O for competing in three Queensland State sporting Championships last term. 

Will was selected as a member of the Sunshine Coast team in AFL, Touch Football and Rugby League. 

AFL - Will O and Xavier S were both part of the team that placed 3^rd in QLD at the State Championships held on May 30-June 2 in Maroochydore. Well done boys!

Touch Football - Will O travelled north to Rockhampton on June 6-9. The Sunshine Coast team placed equal 2nd, however placed 4^th overall on a count back. 

Rugby League - Will O and Mr Allen (Year 6 teacher) travelled to the Gold Coast on June 20-25. Mr Allen was the Sunshine Coast Regional team Rugby League coach, and he has also been selected as the Queensland team coach to attend the Australian Championships in the A.C.T. later this term. Congratulations to both Will O and Mr Allen!

Australia Zoo Excursion - Year 4

Our trip to Australia Zoo was really fun. We were in groups of 6 or 7. We each had an adult to look after us and take us around to the different places. We first had an hour to explore, and our group went to see the echidna,  giant tortoise, koala, iguana, alligator, and komodo dragon. Then we had a big talk with one of the Zookeeper’s about carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. We looked at three animals. Then we talked about the extinction of animals. After that we had around two hours to explore the Zoo. The kangaroos were so CUTE!!! They were really soft. In Africa we saw  tigers,  meercats, elephants,  rhinos,  giraffes, cheetahs and zebras. Then we had some lunch in the shade where there were statues of a dinosaur and a rhino. Then we started our wander back for Bindi’s Island.  On the way to the top of the treehouse there was a cage with fat snakes in them. There was one hiding in the leaves. When we got to the top everyone yelled out "Cooee" because that is what Aboriginal people did to communicate with people a long way away. I went straight back down because I was scared of heights. Then we went to the croc show and after that we drove home on the bus.  We had a great day!   by Milla

First Lego League - Asia Pacific Open Championships 2024

Finally, after many months of preparation it was time for the Circuit Crew to make their way to Sydney (Macquarie University) to take part in the Asia Pacific Open Championships. The team all made their own way down south, with some taking the opportunity to take in the many of sights of Sydney beforehand, with some (including Mr. J, Ms. Croxton and Ms. O’Keefe) even managing a visit to the world’s largest Lego store located in the Pitt Street Mall.

Thursday morning started with team registration before boarding the buses and heading up the highway to the Australian Reptile Park. It was fair to say that the international students were quite intrigued by the many animals that were on display throughout the park. After returning back to the university, the students quickly set up their pit area (many hands make light work) before taking part in a cultural night where the students experienced:

• food tasting and dancing with teams from South Africa
• dancing with teams from Germany
• playing an agility game with a team from New Zealand
• playing games with the team from Taiwan
• food tasting and dancing with the team from Honduras

Friday and Saturday were set aside for both the ‘Robot Games’ part of the event and the ‘Innovation Project’ presentation. A high level of persistence and resilience was required during the robot runs as our robot (‘Arty’) didn’t quite complete all the missions that we had previously managed to achieve in practice. This led the team  putting all of their energy into the team presentation, which they nailed yet again with their youthful enthusiasm and desire to share their project, ‘Audio Spotlight’.

The event concluded with a ‘Team Alliance Challenge’ where we were paired with another team, which was ‘Astrogate’ from Italy. The teams had to work together on Saturday afternoon on a new mission which they tackled wholeheartedly on Sunday morning. The event concluded with the handing out of trophies – with all winners, worthy of their accolades across the different categories.

This whole experience has been amazing from the first event at Woombye back in October, through to Gladstone in November before finishing up in Sydney. On behalf of the team, we need to thank all of the ‘experts’ we reached out to throughout our journey. They assisted the students with their app idea. We also need to thank Ange Eisenmenger and Amanda and Ruby Ballinger for helping with our robot coding across all the events. A big thank you needs to go out to Ms. Croxton and Ms. O’Keefe for helping out throughout the whole adventure as well.

Finally, thank you to all the parents who have supported us as a team. As you can see in the photo our team is much bigger than just the nine students and teachers. A special shout out to Mr. Jenkins who made a trip down on the Friday to catch up with the students and check out the event himself. His time and effort were certainly appreciated by one and all.

So, what is next? Well, the new Lego for this season will arrive in the mail in early August and we are off again with the theme being ocean related – ‘The Deep’. A new team of students will start their journey very soon, so stay tuned.

Thanks for all of your support.

Mr. J - on behalf of the Buderim Circuit Crew

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Robo Rave 2024

Over the course of the weekend 40 students attended Robo Rave at UniSC Arena. The weekend started with the Cheetahs, Racers, Road Runners, Lightning and Amazing Trio tackling the ‘A-Maze-ing’ challenge which required all teams to code their robot along a track consisting of a number of different turns. All five teams made it to the knockout stage which was an impressive achievement by one and all.

An early start was required on Sunday to allow Brick Brain, Robo Robots, R.I.P., Raging Robot, Buderim Destiny, Coca Cola Can 2.0 and the Brick Battlers to prime themselves for a day of Lego Sumo battles. The day consisted of a number of preliminary battles with results collated and an algorithm used to rank the teams with the top 16 moving through to the knockout stage. Both the Raging Robot and Brick Battlers teams made it through. Unfortunately both were knocked out in the round of 16, however it was a super effort to get that far by both teams.

Overall, Ms. O’Keefe and myself were impressed by the way the students conducted themselves and pushed themselves to achieve their best across both days. All the students should be proud of their achievements.

This brings to a close Robotics Club for Years 5 and 6 students. Year 4 students will begin in Week 3.

Thanks

Mr. J

Elev8 Leadership Day

In Week 10 of Term 2, all of Year 5 had Elev8. It was a day of sportsmanship, fun and leadership. We made teams of 6-7 and worked together for the entire day in team activities. The prize for first place was wired headphones for each person, so every team was eager to compete. There were 4 different teams in our class, The Toasted Marshmallows, Fire Frenzy, the Green Anacondas and the Bursting Blueberries. There were many activities to do as a team, but the most popular one was Japanese Blindfolds. One team member would crawl around blindfolded, with his or her teammates directing them, to find objects and score points. Other activities were toxic waste, memory match, penalty shootout, tire rolling, and others, too. We had lots of fun, and there was a raffle afterwards to win prize. We got a ticket when we showed leadership qualities. Some of the prizes were basketballs, rugby balls, and other sporting equipment. The day was extremely fun and the winning team was a team from our class, Fire Frenzy! We went home tired and happy with how our day had gone. Elev8 was a super fun day!

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Prep News:

Under 8's Morning:

On Friday the 24^th May, our Prep children enjoyed a lovely Under 8’s morning in the Prep playground. We were joined by some fantastic guests including Juiced Up Groms, paramedics in their ambulance and the Firefighters.

Milford Lodge and Little Village kindergarten children were our special guests! They enjoyed getting their faces painted, making fairy bread and participating in lots of fun activities alongside our BMSS prep students. 

We were so fortunate to have many parent volunteers who helped supervise the students as they explored! A wonderful morning was had by all!

100 Days of Prep:

In week 1 Prep students dressed like they were 100 years old to celebrate their first 100 days of learning in Prep. It was so incredible to see how much effort everyone went into dressing up as very cute old people. We had lots of walking sticks, glasses, moustaches, wigs and pearl necklaces. The students looked amazing! We are so proud of how much all students have learnt! We celebrated by creating 100 fruit loop necklaces, 100 gum ball machines, writing sentences about what we would look like when we are 100, craft activities and lots of paperchain fun! Students were asked what they have learnt over the last 100 days.

“I have learnt to read and be kind”

“I have learnt to write and sound out words”

“I have learnt how to make friends”

“I have learnt how to read at school”

“I have learnt how to write my name”

“I have learnt how to build, count and read”

Ukulele Donation

I received a call from long time Buderim community friend Ken O’Flaherty recently wishing to donate some unused brand new ukulele’s to the Buderim Mountain Music Department. I was literally just about to order some new ones for the music room so you can imagine how happy I was to receive these. It was wonderful to meet Ken and I accepted these instruments on our school's behalf with much gratitude. Students will definitely put these instruments to good use straight away. Ken also mentioned he is very excited about our new school hall and has his tickets booked for the Buderim Gala night on August 3^rd. Huge thanks Ken!

Pete Jackson – Music Teacher

Fanfare Regional Final

Huge Congratulations to the Buderim Mountain Senior Concert Band for their outstanding performance at the Fanfare Regional Finals at Venue 114.

The band delivered another beautiful performance and looked incredible on stage. One of the comments from the adjudicators highlighted “Overall, this was a very fine and rhythmically secure, well-blended performance today.”

All senior musicians should be immensely proud of how they represented Buderim and their remarkable musical achievements this term.

Margot Payne

NAIDOC Week Celebrations

Week 10 Tuesday, we got the privilege to experience many Aboriginal traditions like dances, music, and learn many things about their culture! One of these traditions included a very special smoking ceremony. This consisted of digeridoo playing from Lyndon, who was one of our visitors, and Robbie, who was another one of our visitors, creating a fire from natural resources. After this, we split off into groups, and actually got to see our new hall for the first time! In the first rotation, we got shown many hunting tools, such as boomerangs, spears, and shields. We also got to learn about the natural resources that the Gubbi Gubbi people used to create these. They talked about the multiple seasons they have. In their tribes, there would be indications of what the upcoming season would be, for example, when the waters around Old Women Island would become black, it would indicate that there were many fish present for hunting at that time. In rotation 2, we got to hear some hunting calls through the digeridoo, to attract different animals. After this, Lyndon and Jackie showed us some traditional dances and explained the meaning behind each move. We then got to do the dances ourselves, which was great fun! This was such an amazing experience for all students, and we are so grateful for the visitors who came to BMSS to pass on traditional first nation stories. By Maddie Hand Ayla D

The NAIDOC Week activities were so factual and interesting.  It was great and interesting to learn about the land we live on, and how Indigenous people lived on it when they were kids too. The dances we learned had such good stories behind them, and the presenters were able to play the didgeridoo so fluently.  We learnt so much information about the childhood of young indigenous people.  Our favourite activity was the traditional smoking ceremony which started our day of celebration.  We are enormously thankful they could spend so much time, and share their stories with us.    Ainsley G and Liana S.

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Year 2 Under 8's Morning

On 18^th June our Year 2 students enjoyed a spectacular Under 8's Day filled with an array of exciting activities. The event was a fantastic opportunity for our young learners to explore their creativity, develop new skills, and most importantly, have lots of fun!

One of the highlights of the morning was the bubble blowing, where the students created and chased bubbles of all sizes. The smiles and laughter were infectious! They also participated in rock painting, where they let their imaginations run wild, turning ordinary stones into colourful masterpieces.

Arts and crafts stations were set up, offering a variety of materials for the children to make their own unique creations. From paper crafts to beading, the students displayed impressive creativity and concentration. Dancing and skipping were also big hits, with energetic music setting the scene for movement and exercise.

Playdoh and lego stations allowed the children to mould and shape their own imaginative figures, fostering both creativity and fine motor skills.

The sports and obstacle courses added an element of physical challenge and teamwork, encouraging the students to push their limits and cheer on their classmates.

None of this would have been possible without the incredible support of our parent volunteers, who dedicated their time and energy to ensure the day ran smoothly. Their assistance at each activity and their enthusiastic participation were greatly appreciated by both students and staff.

A special thank you goes out to local businesses for their generous donation of resources, which contributed to the success of the day.

Under 8's Day was a memorable experience for our Year 2 students, filled with fun, laughter, and learning. We look forward to many more such events in the future, as we continue to foster a love of learning and creativity in our young students.

Thank you to everyone who made this day possible!

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In our Classrooms:

What I love about Prep CF:

What we love about Prep CF

Nate – I love learning about all the letters.

Flynn – I love how we are all kind to each other.

Paige – I love playing in the playground.

Stella – I love learning how to write. I love writing.

Guy – I love playing GaGa ball.

Ella – I love playing with everyone in Prep CF

Layken – I loved making our 100 day gumball.

Jade – Playing Soccer with my friends.

Aurelia – Being a helper and I like to help my friends.

Sophie – I love playing everyday.

Mackenzie – I love learning to write. I like writing.

Kai – I love being a handy helper.

Romy – If people are hurt, I like helping them feel better.

Finn – I had fun making my 100 day gumball machine.

Violet – Being a vet. I like playing.

Julia – Doing free play.

Sebastien – I loved making my gumball machine for 100 days.

Frank – I love coming to school everyday.

Cora – Playing with my friends.

Lotus – I like being with my friends and helping anyone in prep CF.

Henry – I like playing and learning with my class.

1/2 AH

In English in term 2, we learnt to identify and analyse two characters’ appearances, thoughts, actions and qualities.  We picked our favourite character out of the two and compared the similarities and differences between them.  We identified and explained how authors use language to describe characters.  We had to edit our work to check spelling, punctuation and upgrade words and sentences.  We wrote 4 or 5 neat paragraphs using high quality words about our favourite character.  My favourite character from this unit was Macca from Macca the Alpacca.  by Baxter S. 

2 MS

We are learning to identify different animals in English. We started learning about koalas and we might even get to choose our own animal to learn about.  by Agnes

We are learning about facts from different animals. A fun fact about koalas is they are marsupials!   by Evie

In Aspire English we are learning about Australian animals and the facts about what they do.  by Millie

We are learning about different animal facts about what they eat and what they do so when we see them, we will know what to do and also for some fun. I love English!  by Isla D.

We have been learning about koalas. Today we labelled, drew and wrote facts about those beautiful koalas. Baby koalas have many predators including dogs, dingoes and snakes.   by Emilio

3 HM

In our class, we have been learning about writing procedures and reading Charlotte’s Web for English.  It was such a good book that we have decided to make a display of it in our classroom.  By Jessica

In our class, we have been doing art activities based on nature.  This is because in Science we are learning about living things.  My favourite thing in nature is leaf bugs. By Christian

In our class we have been doing some really fun art activities all based on nature.  We have been learning to do water colour paintings and leaf bugs.  It was so amazing and fun.  I really like being in 3HM.  By Violet

4 KP

This term will be very exciting and the new hall has just opened up. We are reading and analysing a quest novel called Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda. We are going to see how Rowan, the main character, changes and develops throughout the story. In Hass we are investigating and exploring the continents of the world such as South America and Africa and we’ll learn about their location, environment, vegetation and animals. For Science we will investigate materials, to make a package that has a good protective barrier to protect an egg from cracking, when we drop it from a considerable height from the veranda. We are looking forward to Term 3!!!

By Imogen, Anna, Sammie and Milla.

5 AS

In Science, we described the key features of our solar system including planets and stars. We also have been learning about scientific developments that have affected people’s lives and the people that have contributed to our knowledge of the solar system. We really enjoyed learning about the differences between the planets, the importance of orbiting weather satellites and that the International Space Station orbits the Earth at approximately 28 000 km per hour. My favourite astronaut is the strong, dedicated and inspiring Katherine Bennell-Pegg.

 By Charlotte and Neave

In English, we have been learning about the media, in particular, a feature article that persuades an audience. At the beginning of the term, we read a fantastic feature article about the “Cane Toad,” which expanded our vocabulary. It taught us how an author can manipulate an audience through the use of emotive language and images. I really enjoyed making my feature article!

By Imogen

In HASS, we really enjoyed researching countries in the world. This was an enjoyable task learning about different cultures, landforms, landmarks and the climates. I’m really looking forward to holidaying on the Amalfi Coast and eating pizza there sometime in the future.

By Oscar A

In STEM, we have been flying and coding drones. We even did a demonstration flight on the map of Noosa with our groups. The other activity in STEM, was creating an idea for a drone business; we used Looka to create a logo and made a shop in Minecraft. The demonstration flight was so much fun. I enjoyed creating the logo and really loved creating our shop in Minecraft.

By Imogen and Olivia

In Maths, we have been learning about multiplication and division strategies. We prefer the area model for multiplication, but Mr Spencer encouraged us to know more than one strategy, as it helps us double check our answer. We enjoyed playing games and completing tasks on Mangahigh and XtraMath.

By Lila and Audrey

In Japanese, we have been learning about  personal identity:

• Name
• Greetings
• Age
• Grade
• My Birthday
• Where I live
• My hobbies
• What I/family members like/dislike/love/hate
• My nationality
• My family (how many, who is in my family)

Culturally, we looked at the three native scripts of Japanese, as well as some Japanese history and geography.

Japanese has been very challenging, but it is awesome to learn another language.

By Max M

Our PE lessons are exceedingly fun, as we learnt how to do several different athletic events. These included high jump, long jump, shot put, discus, and relay races. We played this game with a weird name called Tchoukball. This game is similar to European handball, but there are some slight differences. The main difference is that the ‘goals’ are framed sprung nets rather than actual goals. This provided a fun and thrilling experience. Overall, sports and games bring me so much joy and make PE lessons something I always look forward to. As a result, I always wake up with a beaming smile on Tuesday mornings!

By Max Z

5/6 AS

This term we have been learning lots of new things in a variety of different units within our subjects. To begin this term, we had the school Cross Country carnival, where the student leaders helped to set up the course and guide the younger years through their run. In L.O.T.E (Japanese) this term we did an assignment where we had to focus on our hiragana reading. In P.E. class we have been learning a new game called Tchoukball, and as part of our program we also had to participate in 100 and 200 meter sprints for the upcoming athletics carnival. We have also been doing music and dance with Mr Jackson and Mrs McConnell. In music we have been learning to play chords on the ukulele. In dance we have been learning a dance to present at the new school hall opening. We are doing our dance to the song 'Coming Home' by Sheppard. During English we have been composing short stories in either first or third person. In HASS lessons we’ve been learning about all the different groups of people who now make up modern Australia, and how they experience life as an Australian citizen. We have also been learning about rights for different groups of people. We learnt that children have lots of rights! In Science we have been studying meteorology and natural disasters. In maths we have been practicing lots of different algorithms and equations. In art we have been creating a variety of colourful masterpieces! Year 6 has also had some school camp meetings to prepare for the upcoming year 6 camp!

by Scarlett, Lilly and Flossie from Class 5/6S

ICAS Assessments

Buderim Mountain State School will be participating in the ICAS competitions again this year. The competitions will be available to students from Year 3-Year 6 in all subjects – Digital Technologies, Writing, English, Science, Spelling Bee and Mathematics. All tests will be held between Week 5-Week 10 in Term 3. At Buderim Mountain State School, all tests are held in the mornings, before school.

Year 5 and 6 students will use their own laptops. Please ensure they are fully charged for each test.

Year 3 and 4 students will use school laptops.

If you have any queries, please contact Jo Macan  at  Jmaca47@eq.edu.au

• Digital Technologies                 6 August at 7:45 am in STEM room
• Writing                                            8 August at 7:45 in STEM room
• English                                            13 August at 7:30 in STEM room
• Science                                            20 August at 7:15 in STEM room
• Spelling Bee                                  22 August at 7:30 in STEM room
• Mathematics                               27 August at 7:15 am in STEM room

Year 6 Camp

On the Wednesday morning before we took off to camp, we all gathered in the new hall. When each individual arrived, we had to put our bags in our class line, then tick our name on the class roll. If you had medication you had to drop it off to Mr. Statham, then put it in a plastic bag. After a little bit of playtime outside, the teachers gathered the kids in the hall. Each kid had to sit next to their bag, then we waited for the teachers to let us go to the bathroom, have a drink and then board the bus. The bus ride was about an hour long. We had to wait for the ferry so we could get our way across the Noosa River.

When we arrived, we all assembled at the barbeque area as the teachers and camp instructors told us some rules and our cabin buddies. After we figured out our cabin buddies, we all made our way to collect our bags and set up our cabins. Then we all gathered at the barbeque area to form our classes and make our way to the dining hall for lunch. We were pretty well fed, and all the food was delicious. We were served a mix of foods that ranged between nachos, meatballs, butter chicken, tacos and chicken caesar wraps. For breakfast we got served a mix between hot and cold foods that included pancakes, cereal, bacon, eggs, and toast. For desserts we got served pavlova and apple crumble. Each meal the camp instructors chose one table group to do serving and one to do dishwashing.

The activities that we got to participate in included bouldering, archery/archery tag, boogie boarding, canoeing, team development, and mountain biking. All the activities were very enjoyable. For bouldering we first had to watch a safety video, then we were allowed to start climbing. In archery we practiced aiming and shooting at the bullseye. In archery tag we got to shoot soft arrows at each other. In boogie boarding and canoeing the water was very cold and we got to play games. For team development we practiced our skills in working together and learning how to communicate with each other. During mountain biking we got to ride through the bush. For the night activities we did laser tag, night walks and 60 second challenges. All of them were equally as fun!

When it was time to leave, we all packed our bags and made sure that our rooms were nice and clean. After lunch we all got into the bus and got ready to leave. When we got back to school around 2:10. We were all very tired, but had a great time.  Thank you to all the teachers for taking us on camp, we had the best time!

-Scarlett. D, Maya. M and Lilly. R

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Year 3 Botanical Gardens Excursion

Last term in week 9 all of the Year 3 students visited the Maroochy Botanical Gardens.  On Tuesday, 3RK and 3JC visited the gardens together.  Our teachers, Robyn and Dan from the Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre helped guide us through the gardens.

Throughout the day we investigated a lot of different things.  We investigated bush tucker, such as, quandongs, palm trees and macadamia trees with nuts on them.  One activity the whole class enjoyed was when we sat in the peaceful outdoor classroom where we sketched our surroundings.  In the outdoor classroom we enjoyed listening to the birds and the wind in the trees.

Something funny that happened to Ms K our teacher, was when she was wearing her Iced VoVo earrings which looked delicious enough that you could eat, a butcher bird thought they were yummy as it swooped at her trying to eat her earrings.  The butcher bird was also watching us with its beady eyes while we were eating our lunch.

We were fortunate to have a volunteer named Gary who was working in the garden that day and he pointed out the native bee hive.  He also told us an interesting fact that native bees do not sting you and they still produce honey.

We saw sculptures and mosaics of whip birds whilst on our walk of the ‘Whip Bird Walk’.

All Year 3 students worked on a booklet during the excursion. Robyn and Dan asked us how to navigate to different locations using the map in our booklet.

Our favourite part was EVERYTHING!!

We strongly encourage you to visit the Maroochy Botanical Gardens in your free time.

Written by Emere, Aylee and 3RK

Year 5 Cosmodome Incursion

On Wednesday the 22^nd of May, we had the Cosmodome incursion. The Cosmodome is an inflatable dome that when inside you can see images and videos of space projected onto the walls. It felt like we were in space because we were laying down watching images of space fly by. The man in the dome gave us a tour of our solar system. He taught us about space, satellites and the planets orbiting the sun. It felt so real, like we were in space exploring our solar system. It was so much fun and we learnt a lot. 5SV and 5MT

The Twits Incursion

In Week 10, Term 2 the whole school went to watch The Twits play in the brand new hall. There were three actors. The main characters were Mr and Mrs Twit. The play was hilarious! It was all about Mr and Mrs Twit (who are disgusting) and the pranks they pull on each other. They acted out most of the book. In one part, Mr Twit jumped off the stage and walked around the audience yelling at them. Typical Mr Twit! The actors were great, especially in the role of the monkeys and the Roly-Poly bird. They used a ladder behind the set to make it look like the Roly-Poly bird was up a tree. They used lots of props that had more than one purpose. The actors had sound effects and were perfectly in time with them. Overall it was a great show!  By Alby McD and Harry W  from 5IL

New School Hall

At the end of last term, we were very fortunate to have our new hall handed over for our school use. The hall has been a magnificent asset to our whole school with parades, incursions, rehearsals and more held in the hall in such a short time. This week, we held a practice parade with the whole school and managed to fit all 1130 students into the hall with plenty of room to spare.

We are very fortunate to have this facility, which was predominantly funded by the Queensland Government. Our P&C and school budget have also contributed an additional $1.6 million to enhance the hall with air conditioning, a commercial kitchen, sound/lighting/AV equipment, dividing net and additional acoustic paneling.

All families have the opportunity to attend our hall opening concerts to showcase our incredible facility. While the event is free, we do ask families to prebook so that we know how many attendees we will have. Please book by Wednesday 24 July at https://www.bmsspandc.org/hallopening

PERKS

Our upcoming PERKS lesson will focus on Friendship.

Mrs Brennan will use a book called “Friendship is like a See Saw” written by local author and psychologist Shona Innes.

This book explores the “ups and downs” that occur in friendships and the tricky moments that can arise. We will talk about how to keep our friendship see saw balanced.

Students will explore the following:

• What makes a good friend?
• Making and Keeping friends
• My very best friend will always be me – when we are a good friend to ourselves, we are able to be a good friend to others and keep the see saw balanced.
• Social skills that balance the friendship see saw
• Behaviours that tip the friendship see saw
• What to do when the friendship see saw is tipped

Teachers will refer to our Friendship See Saw poster below in conversations with students.

Shona Innes has written a series of books called BIG HUG BOOKS. They will be available for borrowing from our school library.

Readers Cup

On Tuesday 11 June, Alex, Yanai, Daisy, Millie and Talei competed with 29 schools across the Sunshine Coast in the Years 5 and 6 Readers Cup Competition.

Readers Cup is a competition where five students read 5 books and compete against teams from many different schools from the region. There were 5 rounds, with questions relating to each book. Teams had 30 seconds to answer each question (each worth 2 points).

The books we read were My Brother Ben, The Way of Dog, Runt, We Run Tomorrow and a graphic novel called Ghost Book. As a team, we decided each of us would be an expert on one book, take notes and then read the other books.

We placed 5^th out of 30 schools and scored 40.5 points. The team that won scored 43.5 points. There were only 3 points difference between us and first place.

We all had an amazing time and we would recommend Year 5 students to participate in Readers Cup next year.

It was an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Thank you

Readers Cup Team

A message from Chappy

A professor gave a balloon to every student, who had to inflate it, write their name on it and throw it in the hallway. The professor then mixed all the balloons. The students were given 5 minutes to find their own balloon. Despite a hectic search, no one found their balloon. At that point, the professor told the students to take the first balloon that they found and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Within 5 minutes, everyone had their own balloon. The professor said to the students, “These balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. But if we care about other people's happiness, we'll find ours too.” #alwaysbekind

We are celebrating Chappy week and trying in different ways to let others know that Kindness Matters. On Tuesday 23 July at 9:00am, we are having a morning tea to raise money and showcase Chaplaincy at BMSS. I would love you to come along if you are able. We are sending off our goodies, that our school community have donated to Ronald McDonald House and it’s been great to see the items brought in. Every little gift matters and we can’t know the impact any act of Kindness does for a person. I am encouraging Student Leaders to organise activities for other year levels to promote inclusiveness and kindness. It will be a great week next week, with so many activities.  If you would love to participate in any of these opportunities please reach out to me. I would love your support.

School Opinion Survey

The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted in Term 3 and will close on 16 August 2024. All families, school staff and students in target year levels (5 & 6) will be invited to participate. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what our school does well, and how we can improve.

An invitation to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey will be emailed to one parent/caregiver per family in the week by the 22 July.  The invitation will be sent from the Department of Education, not the school, and it will have the subject line School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2024.  Check your junk email folders if you can’t find it.  The survey can be completed as soon as the invitation is received and will take approximately 5 minutes using a computer, tablet or smart phone.

Road Safety

A reminder to all students to remember to use the supervised crossings or to cross at lights when leaving the school grounds.   Students have been reminded to cross at lights when the traffic lights are Red, and the walk symbol is green. Thank you for keeping our students safe by using designated crossings.

Curriculum Corner

Our journey so far in relation to the Australian Curriculum's new English Version 9 (V9) reading and spelling:

Our school has been working closely with the Department of Education North Coast Regional Office and the Sunshine Coast Head of Curriculum Cluster Team to ensure our school is on track with covering the new curriculum.

The Department of Education’s timelines for V9 curriculum implementation advice is that we have until 2027 to implement all learning areas.

However, we started planning for reading and spelling V9 English in 2022 to ensure we have enough time to upskill staff and embed the best practices into our classrooms by the end of 2027.

We have a consistent systemic synthetics phonics program (which also links with decodable reading) via the Firefly Sound Waves Program. It has been updated to align to the Australian Curriculum V9.

This consistent and explicit approach is used Prep to Year 6. It includes explicit instruction relating to spelling but links in with decoding for reading given it is focused on the phoneme-grapheme connections.

The program also links into vocabulary building and writing. Teachers are using this daily in classrooms via the online teaching sequences and resources for their literacy blocks. Sound Waves is linked with decoding as per the new curriculum.

Since 2022, we have also been using the consistent daily approach to phonemic awareness via Michael Heggerty’s program in Prep to Year 2. This also links in with the V9 English curriculum and supports the reading and decoding process. The program has been well researched, and it is endorsed by the Queensland Association of State School Principals (QASSP). This program is also used for students requiring support in the older year levels.

Our early years teachers are using decodable texts as part of their explicit teaching for reading (daily in class). We are still using predictable texts for home readers, and we are working on how decodable texts can be used for both in class and for home reading. Luckily, many of the words in predictable texts can be decoded based on what students have learnt in class with Sound Waves and the explicit instruction for reading/decoding.

However, there will be other vocabulary in these texts which our students may not have seen (especially in Prep and Year 1). This has the potential to assist with vocabulary building given the home readers are effective when read with a parent or carer (building vocabulary and discussing what is read for comprehension).

Our Yearly Curriculum Overviews are located on the website.

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

Kristie O’Keefe

(Head of Curriculum)

School Uniform

Thank you to all families who ensure students are in full school uniform each day. As the weather is continuing to get cooler this term, it is important that all students continue to wear the correct Buderim Mountain State School winter uniform. We are fortunate to have excellent support from our parents in ensuring students are in full school uniform each day. Thank you for continuing this and only wearing the following winter uniform to school:

• Unisex jackets – bottle green and maroon double fleece with embroidered logo
• Unisex pullovers – bottle green and maroon double fleece with embroidered logo
• Long bottle green tracksuit or cargo pants, or bottle green tights under skorts
• Additional winter items must be plain bottle green or maroon in colour (including jumpers)

The current Buderim Mountain State School Uniform can be found in the below link:

Library Lounge

Term 3 Book Club

All students would have received their copies of Issue 5 Book Club. See the offer on the back of the catalogue to get up to 3 free books. All orders must be submitted online through LOOP by Friday 26^th July. Our library receives rewards from all orders to spend on purchasing new books for the library.

At Buderim Mountain State School, students and staff will be celebrating Book Week from Monday 19th August to Friday 23rd August 2024.  This year’s theme for Book Week is: ‘Reading is Magic.’ 

The library will showcase the 2024 Shortlisted books and students will have the opportunity to participate in art and storytelling activities in the library related to the shortlisted books.

Dress-up Parade

All students can come dressed as their favourite book character Thursday 22nd August; however, Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 will be the only year levels that will be having a Book Week parade, from 9:30am in the school hall.

General Procedures

Signing in and out:

Thank you to all families for ensuring that students are signed in and out of the Health Room at the front of the school if students are late to school or are departing early from school. This ensures all students are accounted for at all times.

Forgotten Lunch:

Thank you also to all families for ensuring students attend school with their lunch in their bag or their tuckshop ordered. Any students who have forgotten their lunch should go to the school office for assistance.

Playgrounds:

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.

Keeping students safe before school:

While we do find our students are well behaved before school and we do have many staff at school at this time, staff members are busy preparing for our students’ daily education. We do encourage students to not arrive at school prior to 8:30am unless supervised by a parent or the Before School Care program staff. Our wonderful P&C provides a fully supervised Before School Care program from 6am, for any family who may need to drop their child at school before 8:30. Our staff also provide some supervision at our Elizabeth Street pick up zone each afternoon to assist with collecting students.  We do understand the complexity for parents outside school hours with work commitments, which is why our P&C provides a Before & After School Hours Care program. Further details can be found at https://www.buderimoshc.org/

Parades

Parades will continue each week, in our new school hall, 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                       6 - 9 August

Week 10                   10 - 13 September  

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

BMSS P & C News

ALL NEW: COMMUNITY DIRECTORY

We are incredibly proud to announce an ALL-NEW Community Directory service, launching on the BMSS P&C website this term! Exclusively for BMSS families and community members, this go-to resource will list all the local businesses and products you want and need to do business with. Facilitating trusted business and customer relationships, your business listing on the webpage will be only $20 for the remainder of the 2024 calendar year. Learn more and apply for a listing at: www.bmsspandc.org/communitydirectory

BUDERIM GALA PLATINUM SPONSOR: Thank you, Century 21 Grant Smith Property

We are incredibly proud to announce C21 Grant Smith Property is Platinum sponsor of the Buderim Gala. Anyone who knows Grant Smith knows this partnership is incredibly fitting; Grant was born and raised in Buderim, starting his education in year 1 at Buderim Mountain State School. Grant says that Buderim Mountain State School has always held a place in his heart, so it is truly special that he can now help launch the largest infrastructure the school has seen since 1875. Sponsoring the Buderim Gala is a legacy for Grant as a past student; he can now give back to the school and contribute to its future history. In Grant’s own words “It is humbling to know that we are part of something special that has been added to the community to utilise for many years to come.”

For Grant and the Century 21 team, it’s all about people, relationships, and the community. Whether you know him as Grant Smith Property Agent, Auctioneer extraordinaire or simply “G”, you’ll know what an absolute honour and privilege it is to have this renowned agent and admirable man sponsor the Buderim Gala. To Grant Smith and the Century 21 team, we say a heartfelt THANK YOU, from our Buderim hearts to yours. This historical event truly could not happen without your generosity and support.

CHAPPY MORNING TEA

With a long-standing and highly valued chaplaincy role at BMSS, upcoming Chappy Week is the perfect opportunity to celebrate our much-loved "Chappy" and to support her work within our school community!

Buderim Mountain State School is fortunate to have Alexia Hoffman as our school chaplain nine days per fortnight. Chappy Alexia, as she is more commonly known, offers pastoral care and support to students and their families. She also acts as a role model, friend and gives a listening ear to students who seek her advice.

Chappy Alexia coordinates lunchtime activities, facilitates our Breakfast club, connects community members and students in our student mentor program, and teaches social-emotional lessons in a classroom setting. She also joins us at a huge range of events, including sporting events, special lessons, excursions, camps and on walk-to-school Wednesdays, just to name a few!

Hear stories from Chappy about her work within our school community and enjoy morning tea this coming Chappy Week 2024 to help raise funds to support chaplaincy at BMSS.

👉 When: Tuesday 23rd July from 9am
👉 Where: New BMSS school hall
👉 Cost: $10
👉 Purchase tickets at: www.bmsspandc.org/chappyweek

Can't make it to the morning tea but still want to support Chappy and her role at our school? Head to www.bmsspandc.org/chappyweek and make a donation for as little as $5. Because every little bit helps, and - as Chappy would say! - kindness matters 💛

TRIVIA NIGHT

By popular request, the infamous BMSS Trivia Night returns in 2024! Get ready for a fun night full of fabulous food, games, trivia, drinks and fabulous people from the BMSS school community.

This special event will be raising money for Chappy's fund. This includes programs, resources, and initiatives that directly support the welfare and well-being of BMSS students, families and teachers.

In 2024, the event takes on an Olympics theme, so you can really get creative and global in your costumes and dress!

👉🏼 When: Saturday 31 August 2024
👉🏼 Where: In our fabulous new school hall.
👉🏼 Theme: 'The Olympics'
👉🏼 What: Tables of ten people will battle it out for Olympics oriented and general trivia, as well as prizes for the best dressed and more!
👉🏼 Price: $60 for an individual ticket or $550 per table of ten
👉🏼 Food: Our new Banksia Cafe will cater food for the evening. Your ticket includes your choice of a meal        from a set menu.
👉🏼 Drinks: A bar will be running for all alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks.

Loads of prizes and raffles are up for grabs! All teachers, parents, family and friends are welcome. Be prepared to dress up, use all that tidbit info in your brain and have some fun!!!

To purchase your ticket, go to: www.bmsspandc.org/trivianight

Tickets limited - secure your seat now!

FATHER’S DAY STALL

Save the date! The renowned and absolutely epic BMSS Father’s Day stall is scheduled for Thursday 29 August 2024.

Held in our new school hall, the stall is going to be BIGGER and BETTER than ever!

We already have an amazing catalogue of items growing (get a sneak peek at items so far at: www.bmsspandc.org/fathersday). But if you have a great idea of an item to stock, have a special request or have a business with a product that would be suitable to sell at the stall, please get in touch! Just email Margie at: marketing@bmsspandc.org

Buderim dads are sure in for a treat this year!

PARENT CHAT CLUB

We are proud to support Chappy Alexia and Guidance Officer Deb Price in the revamped Parent Chat group, meeting every Wednesday morning from 8:45am-9:30am at the Bankisa Café. Visit our website for more information and week to week topics of discussion. Just go to: www.bmsspandc.org/parentchat.

SCHOOL HALL OPENING EVENT

Secure your seat at the official school opening of the new hall on 31 July and 1 August 2024! Learn more and grab your ticket at: www.bmsspandc.org/hallopening

FREE PARENT EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR AND WORKSHOP WITH JUSTIN COULSON

The P&C is proud to announce a FREE seminar from renowned educator Justin Coulson. Justin is a Relationship and Wellbeing expert, Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author, the Number 1 Rated Parenting Speaker, Co-host of Channel Nine’s Parental Guidance program, Host of the Number 1 Parenting Podcast in Australia, and a proud Father of 6 Children.

Justin’s seminar at BMSS will offer practical and evidence based tools parents can implement straight away to positively influence your child’s wellbeing and relationships. Justin says parents will leave with a real ability to re-imagine their journey as mums and dads in a positive and constructive way!

The seminar is scheduled for 9 September 2024. Learn more and reserve your seat at: www.bmsspandc.org/parentseminar.

Event enquiries: Email Margie at marketing@bmsspandc.org

UNIFORM SHOP NEWS

Additional Senior Shirts 

We still have some 2024 Senior shirts available, and the price has been reduced! Grab a spare Senior Shirt for your year 6 student to get them through the remainder of the year. Size 8 to Size 20 available. Purchase via Flexischools or instore.

BANKSIA CAFE NEWS

BARISTA COFFEE NOW AVAILABLE AT BANKSIA CAFÉ

We are delighted to announce that barista made coffee is now available every weekday of the school term from 6:30am at Bankisa Café! Made from premium fresh Kai Coffee beans, you’ll be able to order quality lattes, cappuccinos and more, accompanied by a variety of specialty teas from Silva Spoon and freshly baked goods and snacks. View the full coffee menu on our website at: https://www.bmsspandc.org/banksia-cafe

BANKSIA CAFE TERM 3 SPECIALS MENU

We are incredibly fortunate to have a 5 star health rated cafe on the school premises serving staff and students DAILY, led by an experienced and fully qualified chef! In term 3, we are also delighted that the Banksia Cafe will now be operating from its sparkling new facilities in the school hall, set beneath the majestic pine trees.

It’s a unique service not many schools get to enjoy to such a high standard, at such affordable prices, and so consistently throughout the school week.

On top of a huge menu featuring a wide array of snacks, meals, sandwiches, drinks and frozen treats, the Banksia Cafe also provides sushi every Wednesday AND a Chef’s Special dish every Thursday and Friday. Amazing!

The Term 3 Specials menu is out now - take a look to plan your child’s delicious treats for the term ahead. From Wraps to Pies, Focaccia, Pasta, Sliders, Curry, Sushi Bowls and Noodle Salads, we cover the globe in cuisines and all your tastebuds in sensation!

Check out the menu now at: www.bmsspandc.org/baksia-cafe.

BANKSIA CAFÉ EKKA SHOW DAY SPECIAL MENU

Let's celebrate Ekka Show Day with some special menu items and treats from Banksia Cafe. Orders due 12th August via Flexischools.

OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL HOURS CARE (OSHC)

Semester 2 Enrolments Open + New Enrolment App

The Buderim Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC) has a new App called OWNA for families enrolling their child for care, and for current enrolled families to manage bookings. Learn more and enrol your child for semester 2 of 2024 by visiting the enrolments page at: https://www.buderimoshc.org/

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: