Newsletter 2022 Term 1 Week 1

From the Principal's Desk

Welcome back to school and another year at Amamoor! I would like to start off our first Newsletter by welcoming all of our new students and families to our lovely school. Secondly, I would like to extend my gratitude to our community for their resilience and patience, while dealing with all of the interruptions to the start of school this year due to the ongoing impacts of Covid-19.

Swimming has commenced today, with the majority of students arriving at school with their togs, towels, rashies and goggles in their bags. Please remember to check your child has the correct equipment with them each Friday as they participate in this important developmental part of the curriculum.

Homework Centre has also commenced for the year. If you would like to make use of this facility, please drop your form off to the office to register your child's place. Spare forms are also available at the office. Our Centre is open every afternoon, at no cost to parents, and provides supervised time for homework, a healthy snack and play!

Miss Lisa Rose has taken some time off this term and as such, I would like to welcome Mrs Nadine Giocotto (Miss G) to Amamoor as our Music teacher. Also, Megan Tombs joins our cleaning staff for the term, helping out while Amanda is on leave.

Instrumental Music will commence at Amamoor this term, with quite a few students in Years 4, 5 and 6 taking up the opportunity to learn an instrument. Lessons will be happening every Monday, with only a minimal cost to parents.

Our Year 6 leadership camp is scheduled to be held in Week 9 at the Barambah Environmental Education Centre. This three-day camp will focus around leadership skills and development, with students also learning how to navigate with both compass and GPS courses. The camp also forms part of the process for our aspirant school leaders, with speeches and written responses also required.

School photos are scheduled to be held on Wednesday, 30 March. At this stage, I do not have any information regarding the impact of Covid_19 on this event, but will ensure any impacts are promulgated quickly to the community. Unfortunately, school parades and parent/teacher interviews are not able to be held at this stage.

It has been lovely to see all students turning up to school in full school uniform and looking proud. I thank parents and carers for supporting us in this endeavour. Our behaviour focus for the first two weeks of school is around speaking respectfully to everyone and using manners. While a few reminders are required, we are fortunate to have so many lovely students at our school.

Our absolute priority at Amamoor State School is the safety and well-being of our students and staff at all times. With Covid-19 still active, please ensure that if your child is displaying any symptoms, that you do not bring them to school - stay home, isolate and get tested. If your child becomes unwell at school, we will ensure they are isolated and will phone you immediately. We will also provide you with a rapid antigen test (RAT) for you to test your child at home. Please advise us of the results immediately.

I sent an email and text out today to advise that we have had a positive case in our community. While I understand the potential for 'shock,' please rest assured that the infected person was not at school at the time, but showed respect and phoned to let us know that each member of the family was now isolating at home, with no child being sent to school while infected. Please remember that we continue to clean the school daily and strictly adhere to Queensland Health regulations at all times. 

I look forward to a fantastic year at Amamoor and look forward to working with each of you.

Tony Benzie

P & C News

Welcome to our new families and welcome back to our families who are continuing their educational journey at Amamoor. Fingers crossed that this year won’t be as crazy as the last couple have been. I hope everyone enjoyed their summer holidays and may have even caught up with family and friends from across the border.

As the school year kicks off, the P&C year is drawing to a close with the AGM just around the corner in March. All committee positions will be vacated, and a new committee will be voted in. If you would be interested in knowing what the positions entail, please feel free to get in touch.

This year looks to be another year where the staff have organized amazing opportunities for the students. That being said there are fund raising activities already being planned to help fund these opportunities. Please look at the table below at what fundraisers have already been planned so far this year and think about if you are able to volunteer some time to help. If you have any fund raising or activity ideas, please pass them along by either contacting me in person (I’m at the school every morning), by phone or email, contacting one of the other committee members or by jotting it down in the P&C folder that is found up in the office.

Wednesday was our first P&C meeting for the year, and it was great to see some fresh faces. There is a survey coming out on the P&C Facebook page regarding preferred meeting day and time. If you are unable to get to the meetings but would still like to be updated on what is happening you are able to get the minutes from the meetings emailed to you by just becoming a member, forms can be found up in the P&C folder or just ask at the office.

P&C Committee

      President                                                 Vice President                                              Secretary

Rachael Howard                                            Diane Cleary                                                  Vacant

   0409833500                                                  0468494029

     Treasurer                                           Uniform Co-Ordinator                        Tuckshop Co-Ordinator

Shirley Robson                                       Caitlin Harch (Chappy)                                George Cottom

0427631651                                                  0415822599                                               0423565133

 2022 Fundraiser Plan

Chappy's Corner

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to school for 2022! I hope everyone had a fantastic break and are refreshed ready for the school year. I am so happy to see everyone’s lovely faces, and it has been so nice to meet all our wonderful new families. I am so excited for what 2022 holds and for all the exciting things that are planned for our school.

My role here at school is to provide social, emotional, educational, and spiritual support to students, staff and families. This means that if you or your child is struggling, especially in the current climate, that you can call the school to make an appointment to see me, or let the school know that you would like your child to see me. I love chatting with people and getting to know them, so if you see me around the school, please come and say hi and have a chat. Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you need me for anything, or would like to have a chat.

I hope you have a great week,

Chappy Caitlin

Library News

2/3 Class

Welcome back to 2022. I hope that everyone had a lovely holiday and that you are feeling refreshed and ready for the year ahead.

This year our class is working in a different way to past years. Please take time to read the curriculum statements that were sent home on Wednesday, as this will outline the various changes.

As we look to commence swimming this week, please be advised that the children are usually quite hungry after their swim, so maybe an extra bit of food in their lunchboxes might be an idea. We leave school after 1^st break, so please send towels and swimming gear along in a bag. It is not advisable to have the children dressed for swimming right from the start of the day.

Please ensure the blue homework/home reading folders are returned to school each day through the library. Also, kindly check them on a regular basis, as all notes and other correspondence from school are packed into these blue bags.

Until next time, Sarah

Prep/1 Class

Back to School 2022 - COVID UPDATE

BACK TO SCHOOL - We welcome back all students on site from 7 February. If your child is sick or feeling unwell, please keep them at home. Students can receive priority access to rapid antigen tests (RATs) at Queensland Health testing clinics if they are showing symptoms. Visit a testing clinic near you.

In addition to the COVID safe measures currently in our school, the following will also be in place from 7 February to 4 March 2022:

• all students in Years 3 to 6 will be provided with masks and strongly encouraged to wear them when physical distancing is not possible

• limiting visitors on site, with exceptions for parents and carers of students experiencing vulnerability and of students attending Prep or Year 1

• excursions, assemblies and large gatherings have been suspended

• limits have been placed on external contractors, face-to-face staff meetings and professional development, and parent–teacher interviews

• priority access to RATs for staff and students at Queensland Health testing clinics who have symptoms

• RATs available at school for students and staff who develop symptoms while on site.

We will email parents and carers with further information as the situation develops.

To find out more about the Back to school plan, visit https://qed.qld.gov.au/covid19