Dear Parents and Caregivers

This week is Book Week!  It is a special week in which reading and literacy is celebrated across our school.  Special library events, a costume parade and a special

performance by the Meerkats collectively combine to highlight the importance of books, reading and literacy with our students.

Our Book Week costume parade is scheduled for 9.00am on Wednesday. Sergeant Ken and Mrs Taylor are our guest judges. Prizes have been kindly donated by Helping Hands.  Unfortunately we are unable to host parents, but we will make sure to post lots of pictures on our school Facebook page. 

The Meerkats will follow up with a special performance based upon shortlisted books for all students on Thursday. 

Prep Interviews

Interviews for incoming Prep students for 2021 are being held  this week.   Thank you to the many new families (and existing families) who have booked an interview. Please contact the school office as soon as possible if an interview time is still to be organised. The interviews are being conducted by our Prep teachers in the Prep classrooms.  Please bring your Prep student to the interview and ensure that all enrolment requirements are fulfilled by checking with the school office.

Planning for 2021

Planning for staffing and classes occurs during Term 4. To assist with accuracy in planning, could I ask at this stage:-

1. Prep Enrolments – Could these be finalised as soon as possible by delivering the enrolment forms and birth certificates to the school office. An enrolment for Prep cannot be confirmed until all the required documentation has been submitted.

2. Leaving Dayboro State School (excluding Year 6) – if any of our families are aware that they are moving from the area or the school, could this be communicated to the school office as soon as possible.

This information assists us greatly with estimating teacher and class numbers for the new year and your assistance would be much appreciated. 

Class Formations for 2021

In Term 4 we commence planning for our 2021 class groupings.  The starting point of this preparation is an invitation to parents to provide important student or educational information for consideration. Requests for individual teachers cannot be considered as staffing will not be finalised for some time and some teachers may be moving to different year levels. Please note that while the issues that impact on the educational needs of the student are a high consideration, our ability to fulfil requests may be limited by staffing allocation, class size numbers and the small number of year level cohorts.  Please email any considerations to principal@dayboross.eq.edu.au  by Friday 6 November.

Term 4 end date has changed

The Department of Education has announced that Term 4 will finish on Wednesday 9 December.  This will mean some changes to the final week of our school calendar, including Year 6 Graduation occurring on Monday 7 December and Break Up Party Day and Final Assembly on Tuesday 8 December. An updated school holiday and term dates calendar is available from https://education.qld.gov.au/about-us/calendar/term-dates

Student Leaders for 2021

Our new school leaders will be selected in Term 4. The process will take place throughout the term and will culminate with the announcement of the new leaders at the final school assembly on Tuesday 8 December. School Leaders will be inducted at a special ceremony by the State Member for Pine Rivers in February 2021.  Discussions with students regarding the roles and responsibilities of a school leader will commence next Monday 26 October.

The key dates for the selection process are :-

Monday 2 November- Nominations due for all leadership positions

Thursday 19 November- School Captain nominee speeches and ballot

Monday 23 November- Sports Captain nominee ballot

Thursday 26 November – School Captain interview process

Detailed information and nomination forms will be provided to interested students on 26 October.

Day for Daniel

The Day for Daniel will be recognised on Friday 30 October, however our traditional walk through town has been cancelled. Students will be invited to wear red and a gold coin donation will be requested to go towards the Daniel Morcombe Foundation’s development of child safety curriculum materials.

Free Dress Day- Wednesday  4 November

The next Student Council free dress day will be held on Wednesday 4 November.  The theme is “Wear your Favourite Sports Team Colours”.  The charity recipient will be announced soon.  Gold Coin Donation. 

Garry Drummond

Principal

Dear Families and Friends

World Teachers’ Day

On Friday 30^th October we recognise and celebrate the important work our teachers do here at Dayboro State School. We are very fortunate to have a hard working, caring and supportive team of professionals who strive every day to provide a quality education for our students. Every day they are making a difference and we thank you teachers, for your dedication and the positive impact you deliver.

PREP ORIENTATION MORNING

This term we are holding our Prep 2021 Orientation morning for students only so they can visit our school and learn more about our Prep classrooms.  While we will not be able to have parents for this morning, they are still welcome to drop their Kindy children at the Prep gate at 9:30am where they will be greeted by our teachers and leave them until the pick-up time at 11am. Some children will be coming with their Kindy/ Childcare Provider. If you are not sure please ring the office and check for more details. Please note the Monday sessions have been cancelled. It will only be the Tuesday morning, Orientation Morning.

Now that the days are starting to get warmer please remember that it is an expectation that all children wear hats during play times and PE lessons. The rule is “No Hat, no Play!”

Children that do not wear hats are expected to be in the CSA areas during break times.

BOOKLISTS 2021

Kookaburra Educational Resources will be supplying our Student Packs for the 2021 School Year.  Please note all orders take place through Kookaburra and can be ordered online or through emailing forms and payment details to Kookaburra. Booklists are also on the Kookaburra Website. Please note that our school and office staff do not handle any Booklist requests and any enquiries should be made directly to Kookaburra Educational Resources.

Swimming for P-2 starts this week. Please remember to pack swimming caps.

Thank you from Mrs Ryan

Our Vision: “To inspire students to reach their full potential in a safe, caring and educationally challenging environment.”

Composite Classes

Composite classes have been a necessity at Dayboro State School for a long time.  There is sometimes apprehension by parents about their child going into a composite class. We would like to reassure parents that although negative perceptions about composite classes exist, research shows students can thrive in multi-age classrooms.

What is a composite class you might ask? Composite classrooms, in which children from two or more year levels are combined within one class, have become common in many schools around the world. They define classes in which students of varying ages, abilities, or interests might be grouped together. Extensive research shows it makes no difference to performance whether students are in a straight or a multi-age class. Furthermore, it is the teacher and their relationship with the students that plays a key role and is significant in the development of students.
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Despite favourable research regarding student cognitive and social growth in composite classrooms, negative perceptions persist, particularly among parents. Many fear their children will have fewer friendships; that younger children will be overlooked or that older children will not be sufficiently challenged; that children with learning difficulties will suffer more anxiety; or that the curriculum for each year level will be inadequately covered. According to experts, education is about more than academic achievement and age is not an accurate predictor of a child's development. Wide-ranging student abilities exist in children of the same age, and not just in composite classes.  Multiple studies conclude it makes no difference to performance whether students are in a straight or a multi-age class. Experts agree the most important factor in determining how well a student does is the quality of the teacher.​

Here are some key benefits of composite classes:

• Older students provide a model of appropriate behaviour for the younger students – this also means less behavioural problems in the classroom because younger students integrate quickly into established class routines as modelled by the older students.
• Younger students are able to seek help from a wider range of people rather than relying on the teacher to help them all the time.
• Changing the focus of learning from achieving a certain ‘rating’ to individual personal best alters the nature of the learning experience to lead children to value learning and the learning process.
• Links across curriculum areas by teachers ensure all students are engaging in the mandated curriculum for their year level
• Students develop a greater respect for individual differences across the board.

At Dayboro State School, combining students in this way is an appropriate solution that not only allows us to ensure more consistent class sizes, but also enables us to address gender balance issues within each class and maximise school and teacher funding and resources. All classes at Dayboro feature a ‘differentiated’ curriculum anyway: one that caters to all children as individuals, according to their needs. From Prep to Year 6 students are grouped within their classes, based on our extensive assessment schedule, in accordance to their needs. This is particularly evident in our Literacy and Numeracy blocks. All of our groupings are fluid allowing students to work in a group that best suits their learning needs. Teachers manage workloads for a range of ages and abilities in any given class, not just composite classes. There will always be a mix of ages and abilities whether it is a straight or composite class.  

The nature of a teacher and their relationship with his or her students dictates the impact they will have on them. At Dayboro, we see this as our priority and from this our class structures are determined. We have extremely dedicated teachers who foster positive relationships with our students and we are confident this in turn will develop good learners. Developing positive relationships between a teacher and student is the fundamental aspect of quality teaching and student learning.

Linda Smith

Head of Department (Curriculum)

Invoices Due:

Students have been invoiced for the following activities:

Payment Methods & How to Pay

Dayboro State School accepts and encourages the below payment methods:

• Qkr! by Masterpass.

This is a new payment option to our school, and we have been very excited to introduce to our parents! It is very simple and easy to use, just follow the steps of the below image.

Qkr! is used by many high schools, including our feeder high schools, so it is a great opportunity to begin using it.

• BPOINT

You can use BPOINT in two different ways:

1. Clicking on the link on the invoice, which will take you directly to the BPOINT page.
2. Payment by phone using credit/debit card via BPOINT: 1300 631 073

• In Person

You can still opt to pay in person. Please note, we encourage using EFTPOS over the use of Cash, particularly in this current climate. If you are choosing to use cash, please ensure it is the correct amount as our office does not hold cash on site for change.

If students are paying by cash, they are to bring it directly to the office and wait for a receipt – we no longer have the option for students to leave money in an envelope. At no time should a student give any money to classroom teachers for excursions, teachers will redirect them to the office to pay.

Kind regards,

Kylie McIntosh
Acting Business Manager

It’s Book Week!

This week is Book Week and we have many activities planned to throughout the week to help us celebrate children’s literature.  We have a variety of craft, reading, and technology-based tasks available for students in the Library.  On Wednesday at first break we are hosting a very special Author’s Chair session where students who won the school writing competition last term will give a live reading of their winning stories.

Our annual Book Week character costume parade is scheduled for October 21^st at 9.00 a.m.  Prizes for students in P-2 and Years 3-6 have generously been donated by the local Sheriff’s Fund.

The CBCA has created a special colouring-in page for interested students.  Completed colouring pages will be displayed in the Library.

Meerkats Performance

 

To help celebrate Book Week this year we have once again booked Meerkat Productions to entertain students from Prep – Year 6 with a dramatic performance of two of the books that have been nominated to receive awards during Book Week.  Performances are scheduled for Thursday the 22^nd of October. 

Students in Years 3 – 6 will watch a dramatic performance of “The Little Wave” from 12.15 p.m. and students in Prep – Year 2 will enjoy a retelling of the story of a dog call “Three” from 1.50 p.m.  Performances are being held later in the day this year to accommodate swimming lessons for the junior school.  Admission is $10 per student. 

 

Book Fair Thanks

Prize ordering has now closed with all received orders finalised and submitted to the School Fun Run organisation for processing. It can take several weeks for prizes to be packaged and delivered so please be patient. For students who raised funds but did not submit a prize request, a prize will be ordered on their behalf. We will keep you updated. Any questions can be directed to president@dayboropandc.org.au

Book Lists Details on how to order student packs or download booklists have now been sent home. Orders placed with Kookaburra by the 10^th December will be delivered by 20^th January so don’t delay. 

Tuckshop Mrs Taylor, our tuckshop convenor, is taking a few days off later this month but rest assured, the tuckshop will continue as usual due to our many wonderful volunteers! We’re even throwing in a Special Tuckshop Day to heat things up! A Dads Day at Tuckshop on the 30^th October will see the BBQ fired up for a sizzling feast! Orders are due by 9am Friday 23^rd October via Flexischools or paper bags. Please see the paper menu sent home for the correct food availability across both breaks.

Uniforms It’s not too early to order uniforms ready for the new year! Orders are still being accepted via email or being dropped at the school office. Payments can be made in cash, credit card or direct deposit with orders being processed each Wednesday. Uniform Pricelist and Order Form

Next P&C Meeting will be at 6:30pm, 9 November by MS Teams. If you would like to join us, please email Mia at Secretary@dayboropandc.org.au

Thanks

Mareeta

President