Office Tartan Times R - McDowall State School · 2020-06-05 · Friday (Sports) House shirt or red...
Transcript of Office Tartan Times R - McDowall State School · 2020-06-05 · Friday (Sports) House shirt or red...
Tartan Times McDowall State School An Independent Public School since 2013
Achieving better outcomes for all students
School Administration (Office)
Open Mon to Fri, 8.00am – 4.00pm
Payment days: Tue & Thur: 8am – 11am
Recess Times
Prep – Year 2: 10.30am – 11.10am
12.45pm – 1.25pm
Years 3 – 6: 11.00am – 11.40am
1.15pm – 1.55pm
School Assemblies
Mon: 8:55 – 9:30am (Years 3–6)
Wed: 8.30 – 9:00am (Prep–Yr 2)
Tartan Tuckerbox (Tuckshop)
Monday: 1st break only
Open Tuesday to Friday
Flexischools orders avail. Mon-Fri
To volunteer: click here
Uniform Shop
Open Mon & Thu, 7.45am to 9.30am
Standard Uniform (Mon – Thu)
Tartan or red polo shirt
Bottle green pants shorts / skorts
Bottle green socks & black shoes (Tartan)
White socks & black shoes (red polo shirt)
Red bucket (for Prep Year) or Bottle green reversible broad-brimmed hat
Winter: bottle green jacket, jumper and track pants
Friday (Sports)
House shirt or red polo shirt if playing inter-school sports
Bottle green pants shorts / skorts
White socks
School hat
EDITION: 5 June 2020
N E
W S
L E
T T
E R
Office 3872 5333
Absence 3872 5366
Tuckshop 3872 5304
Fax 3872 5300
Email [email protected]
Website www.mcdowallss.eq.edu.au
Please direct ALL OSH enquiries to the following
number - 3353 5755
2 Principal’s Post
4 Year 5 News
4 Defence News
5 Library News
5 Music News
Music In The Square!
Tartan Times 5 June – 2020 Page 2
Principal’s Post
School Council Meeting
The McDowall State School Council will meet
on Monday, 8th June, 2020 from 7pm-8pm in
the School Administration Staffroom. Each
member will sit at their own small desk
suitably distant from other members.
It was noted during the School Council
Meeting on 9th March, 2020 that both
Education Act and EQ Policy changes are
occurring with view that the School Council assumes an
increasing strategic oversight of various school policy
statements. The existing Responsible Behaviour Plan for
Students is due to be phased out at the end of 2020. All State
Schools are to draft a new Student Code of Conduct with
School Council to authorise and P&C Association to be used as
the consultative forum. Policy inclusions will require discussion
and a clear established position on a number of issues.
The School Council decided that the following questions are to
be discussed on Monday, 8th June, 2020.
Should students be permitted to bring mobile phones
into McDowall State School?
Should students be permitted to wear on-line capable
wrist watches at McDowall State School?
How should such matters be monitored, enforced
and/or intervention occur should a breach exist?
Which Year Levels should be permitted to engage within
the BYOD Initiative? (Currently Years 5-6)
School Council Minutes are publicly available from
www.mcdowallss.eq.edu.au
Parents & Citizens Association Meeting
The McDowall State School Parents’ & Citizens’ Association will
reconvene on Monday, 22nd June, 2020 from 7pm in K Block
(OSHC) or via Zoom. Attending parents will be suitably seated
apart from one another during the meeting. The current P&C
Association Executive have continued to productively maintain
Association business interests and operations during recent
months. They have indicated that they will make themselves
available to membership for endorsement to continue in their
duties through until February, 2021. Should members agree,
this needs to be validated during an Annual General Meeting.
As P&C Association activities recommence, there is a list of
volunteer positions that need to be filled for 2020. Please give
this your due consideration. Following the formality of an
Annual General Meeting, a General Meeting will follow from
8pm. It is anticipated that all reports for the period February-
June will be electronically issued prior to the meeting so that
time will efficiently focus on questions and decision-making.
All P&C Association memberships will lapse at the Annual
General Meeting. Parents are requested to complete a P&C
Association Membership 2020 Form and either leave it at
School Administration, at McDowall OSHC or send it to:
[email protected] . A P&C Association
Membership 2020 Form may be downloaded from the P&C
Association website. Once the Annual General Meeting has
been held, parents are required to attend a P&C Association
General Meeting to have their application for membership
accepted. P&C Association Membership 2020 Forms must be
fully completed on both sides.
During an Annual General Meeting, all roles within the
McDowall SS P&C Association are declared vacant and are
made available for nominations. Parents interested in filling
any P&C Association role for 2020 are welcome to contact a
current P&C Association Executive Member or speak with the
Principal.
Due to COVID-19 and physical distancing requirements,
attendance through Zoom is strongly encouraged. A link to the
on-line meeting will be distributed to all P&C Association
Membership 2020 applicants.
Executive Roles
President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Non-Executive Roles
WH&S Co-Ordinator, Tartan Network Co-ordinator, Fundraising
Co-ordinator #, Community Event Co-ordinator #,
Communications Co-ordinator #, Traffic & Safe ST Co-
ordinator, School Banking Co-ordinator, Book Club Co-
ordinator, Grants Co-ordinator #.
# indicates a role for which no nominations have been
received to date.
B. T. Fogarty
Principal.
School Uniform Standards
The McDowall State School Student
Dress Code is well known by parents
and students. The full code is
available from the school website. A
summary is located fortnightly on the
front page of the Tartan Times.
Parents are expected to ensure that
their child has the correct school
uniform to wear to school daily. The
majority of McDowall State School
students do so. Shoes and jackets
tend to be the greatest non-
compliance issue. The word ‘uniform’ means having the one or
same appearance. School pride, personal pride, self-respect,
collective belonging and pride in upholding school standards
are all inherent within the daily wearing of the school uniform.
The McDowall State School student uniform not only highlights
that student as attending this school but it reflects the
aspirations that parents have for their child’s future. The
wearing of the correct green JACKET / JUMPER (during Winter)
and BLACK SHOES is a daily requirement of wearing school
uniform, unless sports shoes are required for a special event.
Most students daily wear black sports shoes. (Refer
photograph)
Tartan Times 5 June – 2020 Page 3
COVID-19 School Access Restrictions Remain In Place
COVID-19 restrictions remain in
place at McDowall State School.
School-based procedures align
with Department of Education
Term 2, 2020 Operating
Guidelines as effective from 25th
May, 2020. Over time, the
Queensland Government is
gradually relaxing some societal
restrictions. Our focus remains on the delivery of a quality,
effective primary education to all our students within a safe,
virus / flu-free environment. Current adult access restrictions
ensure that as best that we may, neither staff nor students are
coming into regular or sustained contact with a broad array of
adults not directly associated with school operations and
immediate family. Physical distancing applies for staff and
adults. School gates continue to be monitored. Personal
distancing is taught and encouraged from all students. Both
staff and students are expected to remain at home should flu-
like symptoms become evident.
McDowall State School Access
Main (Rode Rd) School Gate is used by independent
P-6 student access; and adult visitors accessing only
School Administration. Adult access to Teaching Blocks
and associated areas remains prohibited.
Metro Street (pedestrian) Gate will open for:
P-6 students between 7.50am-8.20am.
P-6 students between 2.40pm-3.10pm.
This gate is also used by students for access to Keona
Road via the walkway.
Kiss-and-Ride Facility is used by:
P-2 students between 7.50am-8.15am.
Yrs 3-6 students between 8.15am-8.45am.
Kiss-and-Ride Facility is used by:
P-2 students between 2.35pm-2.55pm.
Yrs 3-6 students between 3.05pm-3.30pm.
Kiss-and-Ride Facility (Parking) is used by parents &
adult visitors accessing only School Administration.
Adult access to Teaching Blocks and associated areas
remains prohibited.
P-2 students are now capable of independent walking from the
Kiss-and-Ride Facility to their before school waiting area.
Student leaders may continue to provide support should it be
required. P-2 students will be walked to the Kiss-and-Ride
Facility arriving by 2.40pm.
Kiss and Ride Facility seating is for students. This is a staff
supervised area.
It is expected that P-6 students will independently daily access
and depart the school.
Please do not enter the McDowall State School through the Staff Car Park. The School Oval Gate is currently closed. McDowall Out-of-School Hours Care
McDowall Out-of-School Hours Care is available both before
school and from 2.30pm. Childcare staff collect Preparatory
Year students from their classroom areas. From class
dismissal, Years 1-6 are expected to promptly attend K Block
(OSHC) for programme sign-in.
Parental access to Out-of-School Hours Care is through the
Kiss-and-Ride Facility and along the Central Covered Area
Walkway. Access is only permitted before /after school
operations. Adult access to Teaching Blocks and associated
areas remains prohibited.
Cross-Timetable Sibling Pick-Up 2.30pm-3pm Those few parents supervising P-2 children while awaiting Yrs 3-6 siblings must not enter the school building and associated facilities areas. They may though, wait under the two large covered areas beside the School Tennis Courts Area at the school oval edge. Please do not wait in the Kiss-and-Ride Facility. These P-2 students will arrive with their peers attending the Kiss-and-Ride Facility. Between 2.30pm-3pm these children are under the direct care and supervision of their parents. They are not permitted on school embankments nor away from the immediate direction and influence of their parent. Being within school grounds, parents, visitors and children must always comply with staff direction should it be provided.
Preparatory Year Pick-Up 2.40pm
It is strongly recommended that as many students as
possible, use the Kiss-and-Ride Facility. We seek to
reduce the number of vehicles requiring to be parked in the
Metro / Goldwyn / Mayer Street Circuit. PA1-2 Block and
Covered Area is temporarily closed for reroofing and gutter
replacement works.
Preparatory Year parents only, may enter the Metro
Street (pedestrian) Gate between 2.40pm-3pm to wait
on the bitumen between the boom gate and positioned
coloured markers. Preparatory Year students w ill be
walked from classroom areas to stand in their designated
‘Emergency Assembly Area’. Should they identify their parent,
the student will be dismissed to walk through the coloured
markers. It is expected that parent and child will then
immediately depart the school grounds, freeing up car parking
space on local streets.
Sick / Ill Students
It is essential that you keep your child home from school if
they are unwell. In accordance with Queensland Health
Directions parents or carers of any child showing signs of
illness will be asked to collect them immediately from the
school. The sick / ill student (or student displaying flu-like
symptoms) will be immediately empathetically isolated and
cared for away from their peers. The parent will be called to
collect their child with recommendation to take their child to a
GP or phone 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) if concerned.
Did You Know? The distance from the Kiss-and-Ride Facility to the McDowall OSHC door is 3m shorter than if you walked from the Metro Street Gate.
Tartan Times 5 June – 2020 Page 4
Principal’s Gallery
Year 5 News
Persuasive Unit Introductions: Advantages or
Disadvantages of Learning at Home
Why We should Work From School by Matthew
With a withered face, the young, exhausted boy stared out the
tinted window, wishing that he was at his massive school,
waiting to start a wonderful day. When you’re at school you
are always learning with your peers. You always have a break
to clear your mind and you can always ask the teacher
questions. Don’t you think school is better than learning at
home, wait, not home - jail?
Why We Shouldn’t Learn From Home by Chloris
The sun was shining luminously in the clear sky and the
elegant birds with colourful feathers fluttered around.
Longingly, the devastated children trying to work out tricky
questions, gazed at the teachers as they sauntered peacefully
whilst chatting with each other on the grassy school oval. They
played their instruments magnificently and laughed happily.
Wouldn’t you want to be able to talk with your friends, get help
on complicated problems and play beautifully with your
orchestra?
Disadvantages of Learning at Home by Zoey
Parents rushing to go to work, kids not knowing what to do, all
the stress of home schooling. There is some advantages of
home schooling like eating whenever you want and wearing
whatever you want but there is way more disadvantages.
Some people like home schooling but think about it. Wouldn’t
you want to see your friends, wouldn’t you struggle without a
teacher and wouldn’t you miss fun activities like PE and
dance???
Advantages of Learning from Home by Amy
The soothing sounds of the symphony of birds surrounds my
brilliant white desk and dusky pink chair - my home learning
space. There’s no mad panic here in the mornings, tumbling
out of bed, tousled hair and flannel pyjamas and email my
teacher the morning roll call. With parents who are working
from home, the house is a lot calmer, breakfast eaten at a
steady pace while I’m able to complete my maths work for the
day, dreaming about using my PE time to practise back flips on
the trampoline. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy this everyday?
Defence News
Welcome back to all McDowall
State School students! My name
is Mrs Brodie Osborn and I have
recently been posted as the new
Defence School Mentor. I have
been busy getting to know the school and students. I will
continue to touch base with all Defence students and
families in the coming weeks. At this stage I will be attending
McDowall SS on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9am
to 2:30pm. If you have any queries or concerns, please feel
free to ring the school and ask for me within these hours or
email me any time at [email protected].
If you have a budding author at home then DCO Brisbane is
hosting an exciting Short-Story Writing Competition! This is
open to all Defence families in Brisbane, both adults and
children alike and has some great prizes. Please see the link
below for more information and if your child would like any
assistance I'd be happy to help at school. Looking forward to
seeing what inspiring stories everyone comes up with! https://
www.eventbrite.com.au/e/an-adf-families-event-short-story-
writing-competition-brisbane-tickets-104922566220
An ADF families event: Short-story writing competition,
Brisbane Tickets, from 13/05/2020 at 8:00am | Eventbrite.
NOTE: This competition is only open to current serving or ex-
serving Australian Defence Force members and their families.
ADF families in the Brisbane, Amberley and Darling Downs
regions, past and present, are invited to enter our ‘Short story
writing competition’. We’re asking you to share your story of
what it means to be a Defence family, partner, parent,
grandparent or ex-serving ...
www.eventbrite.com.au
CONTACT: Mrs Brodie Osborn, Defence School Mentor
w/c 8th June 3F3 Please enjoy a snapshot of art-
work featured from 1J6
w/c 15th June 3E1 w/c 22nd June 4G2 w/c 13th July 6C4
Tartan Times 5 June – 2020 Page 5
School Library News
The School Library is OPEN for borrowing! It has been
wonderful greeting all our students in the School Library.
National Simultaneous Story Time
McDowall State School went all out
on Wednesday 27th May to read
Chicken Divas by Lucinda Gifford as
part of National Simultaneous Story
Time. Our Year 6 Student Leaders
read the story to many in the junior
school. Teachers engaged with the
digital resources provided,
including Emma (the Yellow
Wiggle) and Denise Scott reading
the text with their inimitable
charm. The story features Whitney
and Britney, poultry who transform
into cabaret divas by night. It was
noted that we have our own brood
of budding divas here at school.
There were craft groups in the Library and classrooms and all
in all, there were feathers flying on campus! Someone even
reported seeing a Deputy donning a feather boa to join the
fun. Check out the accompanying photos and see if you can
spot the DP in feathers. We continue to grasp every
opportunity to celebrate reading at McDowall State School and
we used the National Simultaneous Story Time to bring our
school community together with just over 900 students joining
in the reading fun.
Book Club
Book Club brochures were sent home this week and orders are
due by Friday, 12th June 2020. All Book Orders are completed
online via LOOP. Thank you again for supporting our McDowall
State School readers.
CONTACT: Mrs Arlene Smethurst, Leading Literacy Coach
Music News
Due to the ongoing restrictions associated with the Covid-19
virus McDowall State School Instrumental Music Programme of
Excellence is unable to present the scheduled Celebration
Concert for Semester 1. But do not fear, if our community
cannot come to McDowall State School to see our students
perform then our very talented music students will come to
you!
Over the next few weeks, small group ensembles are
scheduled to perform in the Remembrance Square for their
fellow students. These lunch time performances are part of a
concert series called ‘Music in the Square’. Performances will
be video recorded. Each week an email will be sent out to our
school community with a link to the video recordings. This way
you can view the McDowall State School’s Instrumental Music
Immersion Programme of Excellence, ‘Music in the Square’
concert series from the comfort of your own home!
Please keep an eye out for the email which will clearly set out
the steps for accessing these videos.
CONTACT: Ms Vanessa Crowhurst, Head of Curriculum