Newsletter 2022 Term 2 Week 2

Principal's Report

Term 2 has indeed started at an incredibly busy pace. Our school Anzac ceremony was held on Friday 22 April in our Undercover Area and it was lovely to see quite a few parents and visitors in attendance. Special thanks must be extended to Mr Geoff Taylor (Secretary) and Mr Rex Brenneke (Vice-President) from the Mary Valley RSL Sub-Branch for also coming out to participate at Amamoor. Well done to our school captains, vice-captains and leaders for running such a lovely service. 

This year, Amamoor State School was also able to participate in the Mary Valley Anzac Day service as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in time. Amamoor SS was very well represented at the service and our leaders spoke beautifully. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported this important occasion.

Tomorrow is also a busy day at Amamoor SS. We will be holding a Covid-19 vaccination hub in the Playgroup room between the hours of 10:30am and 12:30pm. This clinic will be run by Queensland Department of Health for the one day, providing a service to the greater Amamoor district. A letter was sent home with students this week with a link to register, while there is an information flyer later in the newsletter.

Saturday will also see the P&C organised family portrait day happening at Amamoor SS. With bookings being filled very quickly, the P&C are considering running another portrait opportunity later in the year. The session will run from lunch until approximately 4pm.

You will notice later in this edition that there is a section titled 'Visual Arts in Action.' Due to the ongoing health impacts of Covid-19 on staff, our Music specialist teacher will be unable to continue at Amamoor for the rest of this term. Ms Broome, our 4/5/6 teacher has enthusiastically agreed to provide a Visual Arts programme for the remainder of Term 2. Thank you Alex! Students have engaged in this programme very quickly and Ms Broome has provided a snapshot of some of the activities later in the newsletter. 

Miss Chloe Zatta, from the Waste Minimisation Centre at Gympie Regional Council, will be visiting our school next Friday to discuss recycling and what we can do the help reduce landfill. Chloe will be visiting each class and working with students. 

Just a reminder that Monday 2 May is a public holiday, as well as Friday 13 May. NAPLAN will be held this year in Weeks Four and Five  (10 May to 19 May) for students in Years 3 and 5. Enjoy your week and if you see anything suspicious happening on the school grounds out of hours, please phone SchoolWatch on 131788.

Tony Benzie

Prep / 1 News

2/3 Class News...

Japanese Language and Culture Learnings...

Japanese: 
The Year 4/5/6 class are continuing with their learning of descriptive words and sentences in Japanese. Students are also learning to read and write the hiragana writing script. Each lesson start and ends with traditional Japanese greetings, for example ‘sensei konnichi wa’ and includes bowing which is used to show respect in Japanese culture. 
Kind regards
Kate

Library News...

Visual Arts in Action

The P/1 Class have been exploring how art can be used to show feelings and emotions. We talked about our favourite colours and how they make us feel before creating a colourful monochrome art piece and drawing a self-portrait. The students will create another self-portrait at the end and compare them. I can’t wait to see how much they’ve developed. Look at them building those fine motor skills in the photos below with careful cutting and collaging. Everyone did a fantastic job! 

The 2/3 Class had an introduction to colour theory including mixing colours and colours that are analogous (closely related on the colour wheel, such as blue, blue-green and green). We are using our new knowledge to create a zoomed in artwork of a dragon’s eye in oil pastel. As we progress, we will combine analogous colours in our work together using baby oil to change the oil pastels to a semi-liquid state and blend the colours together with a smudging tool. The student work is already looking amazing. They followed directions to sketch out detailed and creative dragon eyes to great affect and they are excited to be using new tools and techniques for this project.  

The 4/5/6 Class looked into sculpture and how animals can be represented in sculpture as a symbol of human qualities, feelings and ideas. We created tinfoil cats, using alfoil for both the armature and to create the exterior details. This required some new techniques in construction, as well as patience, persistence and some lateral thinking to ensure their sculptures held together. The students were able to experience working through challenges to problem solve. These same techniques can be expanded to incorporate animals they select as symbolic and different mediums, including clay and recycled material construction. 

Chappy's Corner

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Term 2! I hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday with family and friends and that the Easter Bunny came to help you celebrate Easter. It has been wonderful to see everyone’s beautiful smiling faces as we have returned.

I hope that everyone was able to take time to remember the sacrifices made for all of us as we commemorated ANZAC day on Monday. This is such a significant day in our nations history, and it is important to remember all that has been done to provide us with a safe and secure place to live.

Date Claimer

On the 28^th of May, I will be holding a Trivia Night to raise money for Chaplaincy in the Mary Valley. Everyone is invited to attend, and it will be held at the Mary Valley Wesleyan Methodist Church. More information will be out next week.

I hope you have a great week,

Chappy Caitlin

Playgroup Chatter...

Welcome back to another busy term of playgroup. We have been making some special mother's day crafts this week. 

If you missed out, we have more to do next week!

A big welcome to our new friends who have joined us. We are looking forward to getting to know you more.

See you all on Tuesday.

Hanna

ANZAC Day

Amamoor State School held an Anzac Day service at school on Friday 22 April. Our school leaders did a wonderful job in running the ceremony and should be very proud of their efforts. Thank you to the Mary Valley RSL for attending the service, especially Mr Rex Brenneke (Vice President) and Mr Geoff Taylor (Secretary). 

Amamoor State School was also in attendance on the 25th of April at the Kandanga Service. Thank you to all of the staff, students and parents who attended and represented our school. Again, our leaders were on display and read beautifully. Below are a few photos that captured the events.

An Interview with Mrs Story

During our centenary celebrations last year, our school was kindly donated a Queensland Bottle Tree by a Roma nursery, which was arranged by Mrs Hughes. While the tree was officially planted on the day of our centenary, its plaque was not placed.

Coming to our aid, Mrs Story has organised with her husband to kindly donate a sandstone rock with the centenary plaque attached. The plaque now rests proudly in front of our centenary tree, near the school's flagpole. Thank you Mr and Mrs Story for your assistance. 

COVID-19 Update

As you may be aware, Queensland Health has updated the requirements for anyone who is deemed a close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19.

Please note, when determining whether someone is a close contact, schools and early childhood services are not considered a household, or household-like accommodation or care facility.

New requirements for close contacts

From 6pm on Thursday 28 April 2022, close contacts who do not have COVID-19 symptoms no longer need to quarantine.

Students who are close contacts must notify their school that they are a close contact

For 7 days after becoming a close contact, students over the age of 12 must wear a face mask while outside of their home, including at school, and when outdoors if unable to physically distance. Queensland Health also recommends that children under the age of 12 wear a face mask when it is safe to do so.

It is recommended that students undertake a rapid antigen test (RAT) on the first day they leave home, and every second day (e.g. days 2, 4, and 6) until they are no longer a close contact.

Close contacts who develop COVID-19 symptoms must not attend school and should isolate until their symptoms resolve.

Rapid antigen tests (RATs)

Schools are not providing RATs to staff or students who are close contacts. You will need to source and administer your own tests. However, our school is continuing to provide RATs to staff and students who develop COVID-19 symptoms while at school.

If you or your child tests positive to COVID-19

Queensland Health requirements for people who test positive to COVID-19 remain unchanged. You must follow the Queensland Health guidelines outlined in the first steps to take if you have COVID-19.

Face masks

As a gentle reminder, masks continue to be required in certain settings for anyone aged 12 years or older, such as when travelling on public transport. They are also recommended whenever you can't physically distance.

Anyone who chooses to wear a mask at school will be supported to do so.

I will continue to keep you informed of any changes to our response to COVID-19.

P&C News...

Welcome back, I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter break with family and friends and maybe they even had a visit from a special bunny. It was nice to see the kids having a great afternoon on the last day of term with the Easter Egg Hunt.

This term is shaping up to be another busy term.

This Saturday we have the talented Tracey Devereaux coming out to take photos. There are still a few spots available so if you’d like to secure one of these mini sessions for $20 just head to the Amamoor State School P&C Facebook page and click on the link. For your $20 you will receive a 15 min mini photo shoot as well as a 6x8 photographic print of your choice with the option to purchase more images from your session.

We also have our first Panini Pie Drive coming up for the year, the second being in term 4. Notes will be going out next week and orders are due back on Monday 23 May. Some delicious pies for the cooler weather that is starting to let us know that winter is coming.

As you might have heard we have an election coming up on the 21 May. This year you can vote at the school, and this gives us an opportunity to have a bake sale. A note will be sent out shortly to see who is able to provide some home baking and who is able to volunteer some time to sell it.

On the 26 May we have Mini Sports happening at Amamoor State School. P&C will be running the tuckshop for the day, and we will need some help with either some home baking or helping to prepare the individual lunch orders. This is a great opportunity to volunteer some time while still being able to watch your child’s sporting event. Notes will be coming out shortly for this event.

On another note, our school gardens are needing of a bit of TLC. There will be a list of gardens from around the school on the Tuckshop window blackboard. If you can provide some time to give one of these areas some TLC that would be very appreciated, just put a tick next to the area once you’re finished. Due to the restriction that is still in place for schools you must be vaccinated to volunteer your time on school grounds. If you would like to volunteer your time during school hours just sign in at the office or if outside of school hours is better for you, please notify either Tony or Rachael, so they are aware that there are people at the school.

We have other fundraisers in the works for throughout the year. The table below gives you an idea of some of the fundraisers that are planned or in the works.

The next P&C meeting will be held on Wednesday 11 May, at 3:30pm.

President                                        Vice President                               Secretary

        Rachael Howard                                    Neil Gurnett                              Teshian Smith

           0409833500                                         0410586749                                 0407933533

              Treasurer                                        Uniform                                          Tuckshop

           Shirley Robson                              Hanna Robinson

            0427631651                                      0401633752