Address: Don Street, Wowan, Qld, 4702

Phone: 07) 4937 1133

Fax: 07) 4937 1003

School’s website -

https://wowanss.eq.edu.au/Pages/

default.aspx

Email:

the.principal@wowanss.eq.edu.au

Office Hours:

Tues, Wed, Thurs 8.30am – 2.30pm

Dates to Note:

17 May – Do it for Dolly Day

19 May – Working Bee

20 May –Athletics Carnival

26 May – Year 3-6 Excursion to

Pilbeam Theatre

27 May – Grandparents’ Day

1 June – Biloela Eisteddfod

2 June – P&C Meeting 5.30pm

4 June – Small Schools Athletics

10 June – Science excursion

11 June – PUBLIC HOLIDAY

21 June – Photo Day

SCHOOL LEADERS

Mackenzie, Maggie,

Thomas

Dee House - Thomas

Don House - Mackenzie

Student Councillors:

Year 6 - Mackenzie

Year 5 - Madelyne

Year 4 - Gracie

Year 3 - Georgie

Year 2 - John

Environmental and

Sustainability Leaders:

Maggie & Nate

FROM THE PRINCIPAL Term 2 Week 4 13 May 2021 Dear Families, It has already been a very busy start to the term with Student Leader Induction Assembly, ANZAC commemoration, Beef Week, NAPLAN testing and two public holidays. The term continues to be a busy one and you will have received notices for the events below. If you have not received your note (or it has been misplaced) please email us so a replacement can be forwarded on. Please also note the return by date on the notes to ensure that we have enough staff and buses to supervise and cater for the students. Notes and permissions sent home:

• Years 3-6 only. The Midnight Gang excursion to Pilbeam Rockhmpton

• All years. Grandparents day invitation

• Prep year only. Information on the AEDC

• All years. Biloela Eisteddfod

• All years. Circus Science excursion to Jambin SS

A note for Small Schools Athletics at Prospect Creek is yet to go home. Please see details further on in this newsletter for Wowan Sports Day. Permission for this event is not required. WOWAN ATHLETICS CARNIVAL The school’s athletics carnival will be held on Thursday 20th May. The small schools’ athletics carnival will be held at Prospect Creek State School on Friday 4th June. Discus finals for Wowan will be held on the day with Mr Ray running it. Results for Discus will be used in determining points and the age champions at the Small Schools Athletics Carnival and no discus events will be held at the Small Schools Carnival at Prospect Creek due to safety concerns. Mr Ray will be running and recording results for discus at all the small schools individually to ensure that the measuring and rulings remain the same for all students. Wowan’s Athletics Carnival on Thursday 20 May, will commence at 8.30am sharp on the oval with a student briefing and house marches. We will then run the 800mtr races. A copy of the program will be available on the day in the marques. Please note that this is a school event and all students are expected to be at school. Parents, families and community members are welcome to attend, however it is essential that you sign in. A sign in book will be available at the Marshalls/ Recording tent. BYO water bottles, hat and chair. P&C will be running a Meal Deal tuckshop – forms were sent home this week. Please return your forms so that catering needs can be worked out. P&C are also looking for homebakers. Please contact Jo Raine.

Student Council will be selling snack bags of chips, Freddo frogs and lolly bags during the eating breaks. Items range from 50c to $2.00. Student Council are fundraising for gardening equipment.

A working bee will be held on Wednesday 19th May to touch up any lines, rake/week the long jump pit, put up marques and bunting and a general tidy up. We need your assistance with the working bee to help make our sports

carnival run smoothly, safely and on time for ALL students. Contact Adam Raine for further details. GRANDPARENTS DAY

On Thursday 27th May from 8.30am to 10.30am we are holding a special morning for our grandparents. All grandparents are invited to come along to school for the morning, see our classrooms and technology used to learn at school, and assist our students in completing their Humanities and Social Sciences assessment ‘Going Back In Time”. Morning tea will be served for our grandparents. An invitation for Grandparents has been sent home with students and emailed

to families. SCHOOL UNIFORMS Upon enrolling at Wowan State School all families are made aware of the Uniform Policy of the school. Included in the policy is the colour of socks, shoes, jumpers and tracksuit pants. We understand that at times jumpers are misplaced, or shoes are wet, but we do expect that students come to school in the correct uniform unless there are exceptional circumstances. With the weather getting colder, we are seeing all types and colours of jumpers and tracksuit pants, and multi-coloured shoes which are not part of the uniform. Your assistance is requested in ensuring that your child is wearing the correct uniform to school each and every day. We also request that you check and NAME all clothing – especially jumpers as these are removed during the day and we have no way of knowing who to send them home with if they are not named. Extract from school prospectus:

“The every day and sports uniform is a royal blue and yellow polo shirt.

The boys can wear royal blue shorts and the girls can wear royal blue skirts/ skorts / or shorts. White socks and black shoes. Plain coloured sneakers may be worn on sports/PE days.

The formal uniform to be worn on assembly day and other special events or formal excursions is a blue and yellow check button up shirt with royal blue shorts or skort. White socks and black shoes.

During winter a royal blue pullover or royal blue zip up cardigan may be worn. Royal blue tracksuit pants may also be worn.”

COVID Thankyou to our families for keeping your unwell children home and allowing them time to recover before returning to school. These actions help to keep all our other students and staff safe and healthy and your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Currently we are operating under “COVID Normal” restrictions. This means that parents are now able to enter the school grounds, however they must remain socially distanced (1.5mtrs) from other adults and staff not living in the same household. We also request that parents do not enter classrooms at present. Students who are unwell should continue to remain at home to recover. While your child may ‘just have a cold’ if this is passed onto a staff member or other student the consequences could be devastating should they contract COVID while their immune system is already compromised. Families of students who come to school unwell will be phoned to collect their child. Unwell children will be isolated in the office until collected. We thank you for your continued assistance with keeping all our students and staff safe and healthy.

MEET OUR STAFF – Miss Jo

My partner Scotty and I have been together for 20 years and between us we have 6 children and 15 grandchildren with 2 more due this year.

We moved to Queensland in 2010 after I had finished a 2-year traineeship to become a laboratory technician. We worked on different mine sites until 2015. We bought our farm at Wowan in 2014 and both of us worked away from home for some time after that.

I applied for the teacher aide position in 2015 and started working at the school in October. I have been based in the Prep-2 room for 3 years and been lucky enough to watch children grow and develop. In the last 6 six I have worked in all grades doing speech and intervention. I love my job and hopefully I can make a difference in the lives of all the children I work with.

Jo Broekman Teacher-Aide ASSEMBLY Assemblies are held at 8.40am each Friday morning. Student of the week awards, celebrations and other important

information is presented to the students on assembly. Students should wear their formal school shirt on Friday for

assembly. Parents are more than welcome to join us for assembly; however, we ask you to please socially distance

and to sign in the visitors’ book located outside the administration office upon arrival.

COMMUNICATION

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child at school please do not hesitate to contact your child’s

teacher in the first instance. Communication is preferred by email or by phoning the school office on: 4937 1133.

Emails will be followed up as necessary on a school day and as soon as staff are able to get to them. Please do not

use email in an emergency.

If you have an emergency, please phone the office and one of our staff will assist you.

P&C NEWS

The next P&C meeting will be held on Wednesday 2 June at 5.30pm in the school library. Come and contribute to

the discussion about upcoming events and spending and initiatives at the school.

STUDENT CELEBRATIONS

Week 3 Attitude of the week – Commitment Peter, Maggie

Week 4 Attitude of the week – Curiosity

Georgia, Harrison

Student of the Week weeks 3 and 4 Claire, Peyton Ava, Madelyne, Jakoah

REMINDER

Just a reminder to please let the school know by phoning our office on 4937 1133 if there is a change to your

child’s usual travel home routine. Please DO NOT EMAIL as our staff are often on class and will not receive the

email until it is too late

Please be aware that the buses and afterschool singing lessons are separate to the school.

DATES TO NOTE AND AMENDMENTS

17 MAY Do it for Dolly – Wear Blue to School 20 May Wowan Athletics Carnival 26 May The Midnight Gang – Excursion Years 3-6 27 May Grandparents’ Morning at Wowan 1 June Biloela Eisteddfod – All Students 2 June P&C Meeting – School library. 5.30pm 4 June Small Schools Athletics – Prospect Creek 9 June Incursion – My Friends and I. All Students 10 June Circus Science – Jambin State School. All students 11 June ROCKHAMPTON SHOW – Public Holiday 21 June Photo Day 25 June End of Term 12 July Term 3 Commences 24 July Picnic Under the Stars – Community Event 5pm – Amendment to Date

LUNCH TIME ACTIVITIES This term teachers continue to give up their own lunchtimes to offer lunchtime activities in addition to usual outside

play for students.

Monday – Garden Club. Bring some old clothes to school to garden in (not essential), gum boots (also not essential),

your hat (essential) and water bottle

Wednesday – students can enjoy dancing with Miss Kane in the library

Friday – students can do drawing with Ms MacKellar in the Chrysanthemum room

Students don’t need to sign up, they can just come along and join in the fun ☺

PLAYGROUP

Playgroup occurs each Friday morning at 9am in the covered area in front of our library. Playgroup is for

parents/grandparents and children from birth to school age. Our talented kindy teacher Miss Trish plans and

facilitates the playgroup sessions. Playgroup provides an avenue for parents or grandparents to interact with their

child during play in a supported environment.

What is the purpose of a playgroup?

Research shows attending playgroups benefit both children and their parents. The regular groups support children's

social development, ease the transition to school, and improve overall health, while also providing social and health

support to parents, knowledge sharing, and learning opportunities.

Come along to our PLAYGROUP. Bring a hat, water bottle and snack and join in the fun.

If families are interested in participating in the Interschool Netball Carnival, please let me know via email:

amack168@eq.edu.au so we can nominate a team or get together with another small school to put a team

together.

Amanda MacKellar

What Matters? writing competition extended!

Entries now open until Friday 21 May

Enter now!

We are extending What Matters? writing competition entries by a week, to Friday, 21 May after consulting with valued school partners and What Matters? writing competition participants. After a disrupted 2020, and a busy first and second term, you and your students deserve more time to take part in this nationally significant writing competition! So please encourage your students from Years 5 to 12 to take part, it’s such a great opportunity to get them to articulate what they care about and why! The What Matters? writing competition is open to young Australian students, and there are great prizes on offer, including an overall prize of $1000 for one clever student. All our entrants receive a signed Certificate of Participation, while runners up and category winners will be invited to meet our team, and War on Waste’s Craig Reucassel, in an awards ceremony later this year, which will also link them up with like-minded writers! But best of all, all our entries are read and professionally marked and the What Matters? writing competition has been carefully crafted to work within the curriculum. For free and fun class resources to start the What Matters? conversation in your classroom, visit here. It’s easy to enter online from home or school, so please share this outstanding opportunity for students to tell us what they care about in their own words.

Discover more about the competition