IMPORTANT NOTICES

What if my child is unwell?

Any child who is showing signs of illness or feeling unwell, should stay at home.

If a child is showing signs of illness at school, the school will contact the parent or carer to collect the child.

Kay Bradley

Group Chats

Over the past few years, we have become involved in behaviour issues that have begun and/or been exacerbated from student group chats taking place on devices, at home.  These chats although not occurring at school can have negative impacts on the learning at school.

In recent years, some of the transcripts that distressed parents have provided have included:

• exclusion where children are ‘invited’ or ‘thrown out’ of class groups.
• bullying; name calling, memes, racist or sexist comments.
• bystander behaviour, when a student is being repeatedly targeted, but others ‘say’ nothing.
• promiscuous language and misogynistic content.

I am aware that many students tell parents that they will be excluded socially if they do not join ‘the chat’.  I am also aware that many parents do not like the chats and/or are not aware of the content.

Our advice is and has always been that all our students are too young for this type of online interaction. They are still developing socially and mistakes made on devices can have long lasting implications.

Suggestions

If you feel that your child must be on a group chat, then frequently review the content.  Knowing that adults are ‘watching’ can often curtail inappropriate content. Be watchful for chats that are shut down and reopened under a new name.

Limit the number of friends your child is allowed to chat with, to close friends who they see on the weekends and are welcome in your home.

Help you child stay out of the chats by managing contacts and messaging.  This will stop your child from being added back into groups. By carefully managing settings, you can control who your child communicates with and reduce their exposure to group messaging. Regularly review and update these settings as needed to ensure your child’s online interactions remain safe and appropriate.

Finally, remember that many of New Farm parents feel the same as you and ‘everyone else’s parents are fine with it’ may not be true.

Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Contacts and Messaging on Apple Devices:

1. Set Up Screen Time:

• • Open the Settings app on your device or your child’s iPad.
  • Tap Screen Time.
  • If you haven’t already, tap Turn On Screen Time, then tap Continue.
  • Choose This is My Child’s iPad.

2. Create a Screen Time Passcode:

• Tap Use Screen Time Passcode, then enter a passcode. Re-enter the passcode to confirm. This passcode should be known only to you.

3. Set Up Communication Limits:

• • In Screen Time, tap Communication Limits.
  • You will see options for During Screen Time and During Downtime.
  • Set both to Contacts Only to ensure your child can only communicate with people in their contacts.

4. Manage Your Child’s Contacts:

• • Under Communication Limits, enable Manage [Child's Name] Contacts.
  • This allows you to control who can be added or removed from your child’s contact list.
  • Make sure Allow Contact Editing is turned off to prevent your child from adding or editing contacts without your approval.

5. Prevent Group Messaging:

• • Unfortunately, there is no direct setting to block group messages specifically. However, by managing contacts and keeping a limited and approved contact list, you can significantly reduce the chances of your child being added to unwanted group messages.

6. Restrict Messaging Apps:

• • Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
  • Turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
  • Under Content Restrictions, ensure that apps are rated appropriately for your child’s age group select Australia 15+

7. Additional Content & Privacy Restrictions:

• • Navigate to Content & Privacy Restrictions > iTunes & App Store Purchases.
  • Set Installing Apps to Don’t Allow to prevent new messaging apps from being downloaded.
  • In Content Restrictions, set appropriate content limits for apps, web content, and more.
    Under Game Centre, restrict multiplayer games, adding friends, and other interactive features.

Resources

To support you in managing your child's online activity, we recommend the following resources from the Australian eSafety Commissioner:

• eSafety Parents
• Online Safety Basics

Drop Off/Pick Up Zone

Just a reminder that u-turning from our Pick up/Drop off Zone and turning right is prohibited.  Traffic police have informed us they will be monitoring this zone.

Melinda Norman

Kookie’s Playgroup

Kookie’s Playgroup is now well underway. We enjoy arts and craft activities and fun in the playground together.

Do you know anyone who has a child starting Prep next year? Kookie’s Playgroup runs on Tuesdays, 9:15-10:15am in weeks 3-8 of Term 3 and 4 only. Dates are as follows for Term 3:

• Tuesday 6^th August
• Tuesday 13^th August
• Tuesday 20^th August
• Tuesday 27^th August

The Premier’s Reading Challenge continues! The Premier’s Reading Challenge is an annual state-wide initiative for Queensland state and non-state schools and home-educated students from Prep to Year 9, as well as children (aged up to 5 years) enrolled in an early childhood centre. The Premier’s Reading Challenge aims to improve literacy and encourage children to read for pleasure and learning. 

Read 15 or 20 books, depending on your year level, to complete the challenge. If you require another reading log, please see the office to collect one. Submit all reading logs to your classroom teacher, or the office by 23^rd August 2024.

City Collective Moderation

On Tuesday 23^rd July our teachers met with other teachers across 8 different schools in the Metro Brisbane region. The purpose of these meetings was to moderate teacher planning to ensure student’s work is graded consistently across the region. It was a productive session and teachers really enjoyed the opportunity to network across schools and share effective teaching and learning practices.

Year 1 Nudgee Beach Excursion

On the 22^nd and 23^rd of July our Year 1 students visited Nudgee Beach. They explored the mangroves and investigated life at the beach.

Year 4 First Contact Excursion

On the 19^th of July our year 4 students visited Moreton Bay Environmental Centre and had a wonderful time participating in various activities that deepened their knowledge of First Nation Australia

Book Week

Book Week is held 19^th August – 23^rd August this year with the theme, ‘Reading is Magic’. We will be holding our Book Week Parade in the hall on Friday 23^rd August. We encourage everyone to dress up as their favourite book character and there will be a variety of activities held in the library during breaktimes to celebrate.

Students were very busy celebrating NAIDOC last week. As well as a display and activities in the Library, students decorated the netball court with chalk drawings, and the oval came alive with our NAIDOC Natural Art. On Assembly, Ms Andrews informed us of this year’s NAIDOC focus before the whole school made it loud and clear by joining John Farnham’s iconic song “You’re the  Voice”. This song became the official anthem to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and was featured in Yes campaign ads from the Uluru dialogue. Many thanks to Ms Davis for teaching our students the song, Ms Andrews for organising NAIDOC Week and Mrs Maslen for setting up the Library display, and the art activities.

CITY DISTRICT TRACK AND FIELD TRIALS

Well done to the NFSS competitors! We hope everyone saw the updates on Dojo, because our students did so well!

Everyone in the relay teams did a great job and though some missed out on getting into the District team, there were some who achieved that.

Congratulations to the following students who will go on to compete for the District at the Met North Regional championships:

• Josh – Long Jump 1^st
• Theo – Shot Put 2^nd, Discus 4^th
• Harrison – Tetrathlon (Multi discipline event) 3^rd
• Dhaanraajveer – Shot Put 4^th    
• Elizabeth – Long Jump 1^st  
• Mischa – High Jump 4^th

PE Teacher,

Kent Rainbow

Senior concert band:

The 31 year 5 and 6 concert band students performed last term at the statewide fanfare music festival receiving a silver award for their performance. After arriving at KGSC,  warming up, performing and listening to other school bands they received a well deserved silver award for their performance before catching a bus back to school.

Junior band workshop:

All year 4 band students have been invited (check your emails for registration and other details) to a "beginner band blitz" in August. This 1 day workshop finishes with a concert of music prepared during the day by the 120 piece concert band made up of year 4 beginner band students from 6 different state schools.

Happy music making,

Mr Colin McIntyre.

Our enrolments for 2025 have now opened, be sure to submit your expression of interest now!

If your child/ren have a medical condition requiring regular or emergency administration of medication, please make sure you have supplied school with the following:

1. All medications must be in the original container and have clear chemist labels with the students name
2. Any allergy/asthma/anaphylaxis plans must be completed and signed by a GP
3. All parents must also complete a consent to administer form that aligns with the GP directed plan - there must be a form completed for each medication

IF YOUR CHILD/REN SELF ADMINISTER THEIR MEDICATION THIS NEEDS TO BE CLEARLY DISPLAYED IN BOTH THE LETTER FROM THE DOCTOR AND IN THE ACTION PLAN

Parents are also required to provide a letter detailing their consent for their child/ren to administer their own medication.

Parents are welcome to drop medication to the Admin Office between 9am – 3pm daily.

Students are not permitted to transport their own medication. An adult must attend and provide medication and complete any require consents.

For all emergency medication, once it has been received and recorded by administration, all medication (e.g. asthma medication, anaphylaxis medication) will be put into a labelled box and stored in the administration building First Aid Room.

If your child/ren’s medical status changes (e.g. asthma action plan no longer relevant, allergy severity decreased etc) please let the school know via email through firstaid@newfarmss.eq.edu.au so that we may update our systems.