Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Welcome
Welcome to this edition of our newsletter and the beginning of Term Two. This term is going to be a busy one. As Covid19 restrictions continue to change and we come closer to the return of normality, many of the events and opportunities our students enjoy are returning. This term will see the return of the state-wide Fanfare competition for our instrumental music program and we have two gala days for sport as well as our school cross country and Sports days. Year 6 will go to Camp and we will celebrate Under 8’s Week and NAIDOC Week. We also have school photos in the mix and several school-based year level events.
With so much happening, it is important that our community stay up to date with newsletters and newsflashes. A calendar is published with this newsletter and provides dates for major events. Information on upcoming activities involving our students is also released via newsflashes and emailed to either specific groups, year levels or the school population as a whole. Our Banksia Beach State School Facebook page provides accurate and timely information on both planned events and unfolding news and is the only official site to do so. Sector specific news is shared on our fortnightly parades (P-1, 2-3, 4-6) and teachers publish news from their class and year level on Seesaw, our online platform. If you feel you have missed information on an upcoming event or wish to enquire about an activity, please contact your class teacher or the office. If we are unable to answer directly, we will pass the query onto the relevant organiser.
This week we also held our first P&C meeting with our 2022 committee. The meeting was highly productive with many plans in place for supporting our students through events and fundraisers scheduled for the rest of this year. One priority for the 2022 committee is to ensure that as many parents and community members have access to the P&C as possible. It is important that we have a substantial number of people attend meetings so our school community is fully represented. To cater for this, meetings will be offered at various times and online participation is being explored. Attendance also gives you a voice in decisions about projects the P&C undertakes and provides you with the opportunity to actively leave a legacy for your own and future students.
COVID19
As we start Term 2, living with Covid-19 in our community continues to evolve. It is still important to keep students at home if they are unwell. More information about students and close contacts will be available shortly. Staff and volunteers still must be double vaccinated; however, parents can be unvaccinated and be onsite and attend events such as weekly parades etc. Any changes to restrictions or social distancing protocols will be communicated to our community as soon as possible.
Facilities
Our major works programs are due for completion by the end of this term and classes will be relocated to the room they will remain in until the end of this year. The completion of our construction project will also mean the installation of a purpose built music block that will provide better acoustics for classroom music lessons, choir and our instrumental music program.
Curriculum
As the second term for 2022 commences, students and teachers are preparing for a rigorous term of teaching, learning, assessment and reporting. While long weekends provide an opportunity for perhaps a quick holiday and time to spend with family, their frequency at this time of year decreases our face to face teaching time significantly. Please be mindful of this when planning trips away and limit holidays to those days gazetted as weekends and public holidays where possible. At present, students will be discussing their assessment pieces and what they are learning about over the coming weeks. Moving forward, the students will be able to articulate where they are at and why, what they need to do to make the next step in their learning and where they can source assistance if required. NAPLAN will occur for years 3 and 5 in weeks 4 and 5 and class assessments will commence largely towards the end of this term. Students day to day achievements and improvement will be celebrated on online platforms and with visits to the office to showcase their distance travelled.
ANZAC Day
On Monday, 25th April, our Bribie Island community acknowledged the service and sacrifice of those who have served in the armed forces. Banksia Beach State School was represented by staff and student leaders at both the dawn service and the morning community march and service. On Friday 22nd April, we conducted our school ANZAC ceremony which was attended by several politicians, members of the RSL and special guests. All visitors commented on the exemplary behaviour of our students and the degree of respect we hold for the event. Special mention needs to go to our buglers, drum corps and ceremony band as well as Isaac Lawrence for his stirring and heartfelt speech and Adriana-Rose Lo Tam for providing the beautiful vocals for the hymns and national anthems. The Bribie Island RSL and associated groups are a significant support for our school and it is an honour and a privilege to be able to contribute to the commemoration of this event. Thank you to Mr and Mrs Ruberry for their organisation of year level groups prior to the parade, teachers for your time in assisting the students during the march and students and families for your careful and respectful participation.
I wish everyone an exciting and engaging Term Two.
Heidi Haydon
Principal