Issue 12 Friday 4 August 2023

Date Reminder

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Principal Sonya Wilson

Dear Parents and  Carers,

At this mid point in the school year it is timely that we reflect on how we as a school are progressing against our Annual Improvement Plan (AIP). The AIP was shared at the beginning of the year and can be found on the school’s website. This reflection process has been undertaken with staff  at the commencement of this term.

Carbrook State School’s AIP described the areas of improvement as Academic Achievement, Student Engagement and Student Wellbeing.

Strategy 1 – commitment to continuous improvement for staff and student learning, within an inclusive model.

At Carbrook State School we utilise year level Professional Learning Teams. These teams meet fortnightly for the purpose of intentional collaboration to plan and review student learning in Mathematics for Years 1-6 and English for Prep, under the direction of Deputy Principal Liz Cook. During these meetings teachers document the learning intentions for students and how students will demonstrate their understanding via success criteria. Through these meetings teachers have viewed and strengthened the three levels of planning, improved how effectively they communicate their learning intentions and are in the process of collaboratively establishing Learning Walls with students as a constant reference point to support their learning. One of the ways we as a school monitor these improvement strategies is via Learning Walks. Members of the Admin Team visit classrooms to seek feedback from students on the five questions below. Results of these questions are collated and shared with staff and subsequently inform future teacher professional development.

- What are you learning and why?

- How are you doing?

- How do you know?

- How can you improve?

- Where can you go to for help?

Other measures of progress also include whole school A-E academic achievement and school opinion survey data.

Strategy 2 – Strengthen Behaviour Supports

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) is well established at Carbrook State School as was acknowledged in the Whole School Review earlier this year. As a school we continue to seek to strengthen our Tier 1 universal practices and this is led by our PBL Coach Hayley Pattison and PBL Team. Hayley and the PBL Team do this by continuing to utilise the major and minor data gathered by teachers to design and deliver PBL focus lessons to address the identified needs and reflect on practices. Some students we know require additional supports, these are classified as Tier 2 (10-15 % of the school population) and Tier 3  (2-5% of the school population). As a school we design and utilise commercial programs to deliver explicit lessons to these groups of students via our Inclusion Teachers and Guidance Officer. Some of the programs include Anger Management, Super Flex and Zones of Regulation.

Professional development for all staff in the area of behaviour management is ongoing and this year it has focused on the Essential Skills for Classroom Management. Feedback from staff has been extremely positive and so these professional learning opportunities will continue.

Engaging the school and parent community in order to build a deeper understanding of the PBL processes and a shared language has been undertaken through newsletter articles, assemblies and Facebook posts. Anecdotal evidence has been gathered through informal conversations and I am pleased to report the number of parents familiar with our High 5 strategy is to be celebrated. This will continue to be a focus for the duration of the school year. Effectiveness of our PBL processes are measured through staff and student surveys throughout the year.

Strategy 3: Wellbeing - Engagement with the Personal and Social Capability and Relationship Education. 

We have provided staff with professional development to better understand the Personal and Social Capability continuum within the Australian Curriculum and to use this to inform social skills lessons. The Inclusion Teachers and Guidance Officer utilise standards within the Personal and Social continuum to identify where individual students’ social and emotional behaviours require development and the next steps for students.

Supporting a successful transition to Prep will continue as we strengthen connections with Early Childhood Education Centres in the local area. This initiative is supported by Sarah Turgeon, who leads the Prep Transition Program. Sarah regularly visits our local Child Care centres and organises visits for our prospective students through Prep Open Mornings. Feedback gathered via our newly enrolled 2023 parents has informed how we can continue to strengthen this program in the future as well as celebrate our successes.

Maximising learning for every student begins with engaging every student in their learning environment, which is underpinned by high quality curriculum and teaching, coupled with a strong focus on holistic approaches to student and staff wellbeing. With this in mind, we continue to focus on high quality curriculum and teaching and differentiate for individual student needs as we strive for every student in every classroom to achieve their potential.

Kind regards

Sonya Wilson

Deputy Principal Liz Cook

Over the last fortnight, the leadership team and class teachers have spent time analysing our NAPLAN data for 2023. Overall, our students in both Years 3 and 5 have produced pleasing results to indicate the positive impact of teaching and learning at Carbrook State School.

Below is a summary of the highlights to be celebrated for our students:

Celebrations

• Both Year 3 and Year 5 students demonstrated a strength in the areas of Reading and Writing.
• Year 5 students performed better than the state average for NAPLAN, with at least 20% or more of students receiving Strong or Exceeding proficiency in all four areas tested.
• 3 % of Year 5 students received Exceeding proficiency for Reading, 11.6% higher than the State average.
• The percentage of Year 3 students who received Strong proficiency across all four areas tested, was either similar or above the state average.

The data has also shown the areas of development to strengthen. I have worked with the classroom teachers to identify these areas and possible focus groups of students who may benefit from either continued or further support/extension of literacy and numeracy to enhance their engagement in the curriculum demands.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our Year 3 and 5 students for their efforts.

Kind regards,

Liz Cook

Deputy Principal Jane Tuckett

School Opinion Surveys

Thank you to all of those who have already completed the Parent/Caregiver Survey. If you have not had a chance to complete the survey yet, please note that the online surveys will remain open until Friday, 18 August 2023. This is your opportunity to provide feedback about what our school does well and how we can improve.

To have your say, check your email for an invitation from the Department of Education titled School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2023. 

Can’t find your invitation?  If your family has more than one parent/caregiver, check that they haven’t received the invitation and/or check your junk email folder.

iHub

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, Mrs Allsop and myself (Mrs McKenzie) attended a 2-day Professional learning workshop with the Positive Partnerships association.  Our neurodivergent learners, more specifically, students on the Autism Spectrum, were at the forefront of the learning intentions for the workshop. We explored how best we as educators, together with families, can support these learners and variety of learning styles they present with.

For those who aren’t aware of some of the key attributes of a person on the Autism Spectrum, it is worthy to note that:

• Autism can be more complex than the diagnostic criteria might imply
• Autism is a lifelong developmental condition in which individuals experience difficulties with social and communication skills
• Behavioural features that characterise Autism often present before school age
• The signs of Autism can vary in nature and severity across the lifespan of an individual
• Autism is often, but not always accompanied by mental and physical health difficulties, although it always encompasses strengths of the individual

During this workshop, we engaged with 20 other Primary and Secondary schools across the South Coast region to share, compare and obtain ideas for supporting students on the Autism spectrum and those that also present with similar characteristics of a neurodivergent learner. Many good news stories and resources were shared with colleagues and opportunities for further study and learning was provided by the team at Positive Partnerships.

The main takeaway for Mrs Allsop and myself was the need for and value of student voice. At Carbrook, our Inclusion model ensures consistency of practice and support of students and their families are at the forefront of our planning, delivery and feedback to students across cohort teams. Moving forward, encouraging student voice is a goal for the teachers at Carbrook and the iHub team. Any behaviour can be learned – it is often an instinct ingrained in us that can be out of our control. However, for neurodivergent learners, emotions can be too intense or extreme to accurately process information and choose how to respond (Goodall, 2021). Therefore, allowing for and teaching our students how to become more connected to their internal body signals, enables our students to more accurately notice such emotions and feelings and therefore, choose a more effective way to respond.

We endeavour to continue our learning journey as educators to support all our learners here at Carbrook and encourage our families to access the free resources, webinars and face-to-face workshops that the Positive Partnerships association have on offer. Please refer to the flyer below and register your interest for the next Parent/Carer workshop in Currumbin in mid-August.

HPE Melissa Dillon

Swimming news – Year 1, 3 and 5

As part of our Health and Physical Education program Carbrook State School organises a Learn to Swim program for all students in Year One, Three and Five.  This important program aims to familiarise children with the water and introduce them to swimming skills suited to their level.  This program will be conducted in Week 10 of this term with the swim instructors at YMCA Victoria Point. The program focuses on building confidence in the water, developing and maintaining swimming strokes and teaching safety around water.

Students will be attending swimming lessons every school day from Monday 11 September through to Friday 15 September.  Each lesson runs for approximately 45 minutes. At the beginning of the program students will be organised into small groups.  These groups will be determined by the student ability from beginner to advanced swimmers.  Each group will have a designated qualified swim instructor at all times. All students participating in this program will be travelling by bus between Carbrook State School and the YMCA pool.

Families will be invoiced next week. Please do not pay until you receive an invoice. 

Surf awareness – Prep, Year 2, 4 and 6

As part of our Health and Physical Education program Carbrook State School organises a water safety program for all students in Prep, Year Two, Year Four and Year Six.  All students are provided with the opportunity to engage in appropriate surf and beach safety provided by Surf Life Saving Queensland.  The beach safety program will be conducted in Week 10 of this term by Surf Lifesaving instructors.  It will be held on the Raby Bay foreshore and beach area.

The Beach Safe practical session combines dry and water based activities designed to be fun, interactive and a great way to educate children/adults on the important aspects of sun, surf and beach safety, whilst increasing their skills and confidence in the water and on the beach. Important safety information is integrated into activities such as swim survival, rescues, board paddling and beach games. 

Students will attend a full day program on one day between Monday 11 September and Thursday 14 September.  Students will attend the excursion with their class and teachers and will be organised into small groups for the activities.

All students participating in this program are required to travel by bus, which will shuttle each group between Carbrook State School and the Raby Bay foreshore.

Families will be invoiced next week. Please do not pay until you receive an invoice. 

Prep 2024 Information

I would like to introduce myself; my name is Sarah Turgeon and I am the Prep Transition Coordinator. I have the pleasure of visiting our local kindergarten centres and meeting the kindergarten children.  If your child is coming to Prep in 2024, they will be receiving their acceptance letter soon. You will also be invited to attend an interview in week 8 or 9, with your child. We can’t wait to meet you both! We have some wonderful opportunities happening for our Pre-Prep students.

• Wednesday 2 August- Pre-Prep open morning from 9:30am to 10:30am. The children will read a story and engage in fun hands-on activities. 
• Wednesday 9 August- School tour at 9:30am
• Saturday 19 August- Open Morning from 9:30am – 11:00am. During this time, we will conduct a school tour and have morning tea. The children will have the opportunity to do an obstacle course and engage in activities in our prep classrooms.
• Wednesday 23 August- Kindergarten and Prep blanket read at 10am. This will occur on the grass area, in front of the prep buildings. The children will have the opportunity to listen to quality picture books read by teachers.

Regards

Sarah Turgeon

First Nation Committee Erica Witt

The Carbrook State School First Nations Committee acknowledge and pay respect to the Gugugan of the Yugambeh language region as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which Carbrook State School is built and where learning takes place. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging and recognise their continuing connection to Country and ways of learning over thousands of years.

Jingeri and welcome to the first post by Carbrook State School’s First Nations Committee (FNC).  The FNC is committed to respectfully acknowledging, fostering, and maintaining meaningful relationships. Our vision is to build community capacity for recognition and understanding of the special place and culture of Indigenous Peoples as first Australians. We aim to achieve this by integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, history, and culture throughout Carbrook State School’s ways of working and learning framework.

Since our inaugural meeting in February, Committee members have begun laying the foundations for reconciliation.  Our first successful step was identifying and acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land upon which our school is built.  The Gugugan (ğoo-ğoo-ğun) are the Logan clan from the lower Logan River valley. The name is derived from ‘gunam’ meaning Black Possum and ‘gan/gin’ meaning people.  The Gugugan (Black Possum People) spoke a dialect of the Yugambeh language. Now that we have established the custodians of the land, the FNC will endeavour to build strong communal ties with respective elders and extended community.

Next, we focused our attention on National Sorry Day and worked towards the celebration of NAIDOC week, the 2023 theme of which was ‘For Our Elders’.  While NAIDOC week fell over the recent holidays, the FNC wanted to make sure that as a school we acknowledged this important event.  Aboriginal Elders are the keepers of traditional knowledge, they strengthen ties within their community through story and song, and work towards building positive relationships through shared wisdom. To pay our respects to Indigenous Elders, we decided to participate in the sharing of traditional dreamtime stories.  Dreamtime stories pass on spiritual insight and essential life lessons.  In addition to preserving the history and culture of particular clans, the stories teach members of the community about the importance of building healthy social relationships. It therefore seemed fitting that we honour this tradition by selecting a traditional tale to share with others.

In week one, classes read and orally shared with another class an Aboriginal tale. Many of the classes also created artwork in honour of their chosen story.  Some students made puppets to assist in the retelling, others used drama to reinforce the moral of the story.  In week two, the celebration of NAIDOC week was capped off by a day of Indigenous games presented by Dusty Wilson from Dreamtime Games, a descendant of the Kooma and Murrawari people.  Students, and some very eager teachers, were introduced to games such as Buroinjin, Kalkadoon Kee’an, and Gorri (just to name a few). There were plenty of laughs and celebratory cheers as students actively participated whilst learning about the history behind the games.  A big thumbs up to Dusty for a fantastic, fun-filled day!

Moving forward, the FNC remains committed to building cultural awareness. We have our sights set on developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) for Carbrook State School. A RAP provides a blueprint for achieving our vision of reconciliation.  It will ensure that our sincere endeavours are purposeful and measurable.  As we work towards this goal, the FNC welcomes community interest. If you would like further information or wish to contribute and/or participate in FNC initiatives, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the Committee.

Until our next update – Jingeri!

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Library News

You are Invited to Carbrook State School’s Book Fair 2023

Do you want the best new children’s books? The latest new release graphic novels? How about some cool stationery to add to your collection? Or a fresh new poster to hang in your room? Well, you’re in luck!  Book Fair is returning to Carbrook State School in Term 3 for a limited time only. But, make sure you get in quick, before all the popular titles sell out!

What is Book Fair?

Book Fair is like a having our very own bookstore right here at Carbrook State School. Book Fair gives you the opportunity to explore the shelves for a huge range of newly released books and bestsellers.

Parents, once your child has found their new favourite book, you can simply pay for it online and your child can collect the book from the Book Fair with their online receipt. Of course, cash and Eftpos will also be available.

When can I buy these amazing new bestsellers?

Book Fair will be open for limited times only. Check out the opening times to avoid disappointment. The best time to come with your child to Book Fair will be during Celebration of Learning on Wednesday 30 ^ August, 5 – 7 pm.

We can’t wait to see you all at the Book Fair as every purchase made supports our school to buy new release titles for our library.  

The Library Team

Children Book Council of Australia

Once again Carbrook State School will be giving their students lots of opportunities to be involved in Children Book Council of Australia's  Book Week. 

The READ, GROW, INSPIRE garden is in full bloom with many students recommending different books for other students to read.  

We have purchased 19 fiction and non fiction shortlisted books. All students will have the opportunity to vote for CARBROOK STATE SCHOOL’S Book of the Year.

‘Design your own Pillowcase’ will be running again this term, where students can enter a READ, GROW, INSPIRE Pillowcase and three designs will be chosen to be made into a pillowcase that they will get to keep. 

Blanket reading during Book Week will be enjoyed by students and staff at first and second break.

Most importantly, during Book Week on Wednesday 23 August we will hold our famous Book Week Dress Up Parade where students and staff are encouraged to dress up as their favourite book character. Time to get those costumes ready everyone. 

As you can see it is shaping up to be a busy but fun term for Book Week here at Carbrook. 

Celebration of Learning

Celebration of Learning

This year, Carbrook State School will host our 2023 Celebration of Learning evening on Wednesday 30 August 2023. We will open the classrooms to showcase student learning in various areas of the curriculum including the ARTs, Science, Technology, English and Mathematics. Classrooms will be open from 5pm to 6:30pm. Families will be welcome to visit classrooms and view at leisure the great learning that has occurred in each class/year level. All children are to be accompanied by an adult at all times. We look forward to celebrating the achievements of our Carbrook kids with you all.

Prep LM Lara McDonald

P&C

Next Meeting Tuesday 8 August 2023

at 4pm in the Administration Block.

Community Notices