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Kay Bradley
Introducing the Kookie Team
You may have noticed our mascot Kookie, out and about recently. This is due to the hard work of our newly established Yr 6 ‘Kookie Team’: Giammarco, Parker and Jaxon.
The team meet every week to choose if Kookie will appear at a special event or if Kookie will visit a play area or a classroom. The team ‘support’ Kookie’s appearance, take a photo and draft a piece for the newsletter.
Thanks to the team, Kookie is once again, becoming a favourite New Farm Team Member for all our students, especially our younger students.
NAPLAN - Year 3 and 5
Due to a great deal of behind the scenes work, our NAPLAN testing has begun smoothly. Many of our students have enjoyed the slight change to routine and the online feature of these tests have motivated others. One year 3 student hopped out of the car this morning at ‘drop off zone’ with “I’m really excited about NAPLAN today!”
Arriving on Time
Our reception staff consistently spend the first 20 minutes of every day signing in ‘late students’. If your child arrives late to school, they are missing a vital part of the day. The first 15 minutes of the day is spent settling the class, setting expectations and starting learning. When a student arrives late, it means they are ‘out of step’ with the other students which can be unsettling for them and the others in the class. In family life, there are of course some days when getting to school on time is harder than others, but we appreciate your efforts in ensuring your child/children are here between 8.30 a.m. and 8.45 a.m.
Parents please note that school finishes at 3.00 p.m. and early arrivals can be distracting for students. If you are wanting to wait for your child on school grounds, please arrive no earlier than 2.55 p.m. Jabiru will begin their program from 3.00 p.m. for enrolled students only. Playgrounds will also remain closed before and afterschool.
Judy Loudon
Ms Loudon recently visited the Qld Academy for Science Maths and Technology (QASMT) at Toowong as part of the Brisbane City Cluster Gifted Education Mentor Network. It was a great opportunity to see the work of this state school facility. After the meeting, QASMT sent an invitation for schools to participate in a QVSA STEM Scholars Program for year 4 and 5 gifted and talented students. Mr Fenton is organising access for 10 students to participate in this after school program. It’s an exciting opportunity.
Kelvin Grove State College has commenced its High Achievers Program for year 5 and 6 students. For 6 Wednesday afternoons, 14 students from years 5 and 6 are attending a range of programs including maths, science, drama and art. Their first afternoon was last Wednesday 5th May and the group needs to be congratulated for their responsible, respectful, safe and learning behaviour during this program. This group proudly represents our school.
NAPLAN supports will be provided for students with disabilities this week. These supports align with what the students receive as part of their personalised learning adjustments.
We have 2 Occupational Therapy Students from the Australian Catholic University, visiting as part of their community engagement course requirements. Lily McLauglin will be here on Mondays and Madeleine Harries will be here on Fridays for most of the term. Welcome Lily and Maddi to our beautiful school. We look forward to showing you how we operate our Autism Friendly Schools and Inclusion Pillar Systems.
Ms Loudon has been approved as one of the workshop presenters at this year’s Queensland Association of Special Education Leaders (QASEL) State Conference at the Brisbane Hilton in June. She will be proudly presenting, with other school staff, the multi-tiered systems of support being used across the school and aligned with pillars of curriculum, well being and innovation. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the outstanding work our school is doing in this space.
Sandy Chambers
Prep Vision Screening Program
The State Government is offering a prep-aged vision screening program to all primary schools in Queensland under the Primary School Nurse Health Readiness Program. This will involve a registered nurse screening the vision of children in their first year of formal schooling. Early identification of vision problems can result in better school achievement and health outcomes which lead to more productive and healthier lives in the future.
There is no cost for your child to participate in this prep screening service. You will, however, be required to return a parent consent form. The online parent consent form link can be found here. https://visionscreening.health.qld.gov.au/ParentalConsent/0812aDfW.
Only one parent/guardian needs to fill the consent form in per child. This consent form link will close on Saturday, 5 June 2021.
This is a strict timeline and any forms completed after this date may result in the student being ineligible to participate in the program. Screening will commence at New Farm State School on Tuesday 13th July, Term 3, Week 1.
This service is only a screening test and is only available for prep students. If you have other concerns regarding the vision of your child or other children in a different year level, please have them assessed by an optometrist.
Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions or concerns regarding this vision screening program.
As we enter into the cooler months of the year, where colds and flu symptoms become more prominent, we wish to remind you of procedures to follow regarding your child and their health.
Our schools operate under ‘COVID normal’ conditions, and parents and carers are welcome on state school sites.
Adults should limit gathering at drop-off and pick-up time, in the car park, outside classrooms and at the school gate. Please do not visit a school if you are sick. Anyone who is showing signs of illness or feeling unwell must stay at home, contact their doctor or call 13HEALTH (13 43 25 84) and get tested . Each school is different and has their own plans in place for the return to school this year.
Check your school’s newsletters to stay informed about the arrangements in place at your school.
What if my child is unwell?
Any child who is showing signs of illness such as COVID-19 symptoms, or feeling unwell, must stay at home and get tested .
If a child is showing signs of illness at school, the school will contact the parent or carer to collect the child immediately.
| Class | Student Name | Reason |
| Prep B | Jocelyn | Fabulous running last week at our fun run Jocelyn. You're fast! |
| Prep E | Hartley | For displaying tenacity and determination during the Fun Run last Friday. What a star Hartley! |
| Prep P | Austin | For putting lots of effort into your daily writing. Well done Austin! |
| 1D | Amatola | For always having an enthusiastic attitude towards learning. |
| 1H | Coco-Rose | For working hard to learn sounds during Read Write Inc |
| 1MS | Ivan | For always taking pride in his work |
| 1S | Haoxuan | For always being a focussed class member. |
| 2F | Eloise | For working hard to improve your handwriting, great effort Eloise! |
| 2M | Mika | For a much improved effort when writing. Well done. |
| 2R | Zoe | For writing and sharing entertaining stories during independent writing time |
| 2S | Isla | For getting involved in class discussions! |
| 3D | Marley | For being a positive class member and always contributing to discussions. We love having you in 3D Marley! |
| 3T | Lachlan | For a much improved effort when writing. Well done. |
| 3/4A | Tom | For always being a positive and inventive member of the team. |
| 4C | Chilli | For being a focussed, independent learner. |
| 5B | James | For having a growth mindset when completing assessment items. Well done, James! |
| 5H | Oliver | For his incredible effort during persuasive writing. |
Scholastic Book Fair 2021
Purchasing starts this Friday 14th May from 8:15am in the school library!
The book fair will be open every day from: 8:15am
- 8:45am and 3:00 - 3:30pm.
The book fair closes on Thursday 20th May at 9:00am.
What can we buy?
Current Fiction and Non-Fiction books, activity books, journals, posters and stationery.
When can students go?
This Thursday and Friday all students will peruse items for sale with their class at the Book Fair and be given a wish list to add their favourite items.
How can we buy books and other items for sale?
Students can purchase from the Book Fair using cash, and we encourage parents and carers to make a payment online at https://parentpayments.scholastic.com.au/BookFairs.
For online payments:
- This is a total payment of all items purchased.
- Write the receipt number on the back of the wish list and highlight
the items purchased. - Send the wish list with the receipt number to school with your child. They will collect their items from the book fair.
NFSS gets a commission from every purchase – we can’t wait to purchase more books for our library with these funds!
Can adults visit?
Adults will be required to check in using the Check in QLD app and there will be limited numbers allowed due to space requirements.
Raffle
For every item purchased students will receive a raffle ticket to win cash to spend at the book fair. The raffle will be drawn at the end of the book fair on Thursday 20th May.
Assistance
If there is anyone who would like to help set up, selling in the morning or afternoon that would be fabulous! Please email Angela alamb105@eq.edu.au.
Premiers Reading Challenge 2021
All New Farm State School students are encouraged to join in the 2021 Premier’s Reading Challenge! The reading period for the 2021 Premier's Reading Challenge commenced on Monday 10 May.
What to do:
Record how many books your child has read on the individual reader record form and return to Mrs Lamb in the Library by 27 August. Every student who completes the challenge will receive a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier!
To complete the challenge:
- Prep to Year 2 must read or experience at least 20 books,
- Years 3 and 4 must read at least 20 books, and
- Years 5 to 9 must read at least 15 books.
Experiencing books can include shared reading, listening to stories, or reading picture books. The aim for the 2021 challenge is to engage more students to read than ever before and develop a love of reading for life!
Students are encouraged to select a range of fiction and non-fiction books suited to their reading ability. While there is no compulsory reading list for the challenge, book lists are available to help students, teachers, parents and guardians select appropriate reading material.
You can play a big part in your children’s future by encouraging them to be part of this positive initiative. I look forward to seeing as many of our students as possible take part in the 2021 Premier’s Reading Challenge.
For more information about the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please visit: https://readingchallenge.education.qld.gov.au/
Happy Reading and Learning!
Mrs Lamb
Dear Parents,
We have been notified of a few mistakes with spelling and data representation on school photos. As such, they are currently being reprinted and will be available from Monday, 24 May. The photos will be distributed to your child to bring home on that day. If you have any questions please email admin@newfarmss.eq.edu.au
P&C News: We are meeting tomorrow evening, from 6.00pm in the Flexible Learning Space next to the School Library or via Zoom. Contact secretary@nfsspandc.com.au for your Zoom link and keep updated with our news Here
School Watch
The School Watch program encourages everyone to look out for and report any after-hours crime in our schools.
Empty schools can become targets for unlawful entry, arson, stealing, graffiti and property damage, especially during school holiday periods. This comes at a cost to the whole community and not just the financial cost of repairs.
The School Watch program is a partnership between the Department of Education and Protective Services Group, Queensland Police Service, providing a way for members of the community to report anything they see that is suspicious, even if it seems minor.
On average, more than 700 calls are made to School Watch every year, helping to keep our schools safe.
Look, Listen, Report. Call School Watch on 13 17 88.
If you see a crime in progress, call Triple Zero (000).
