Newsletter 20 June 2024

Principal's Report

Welcome to the last edition of the Term 2 newsletter!

We have had a jam-packed term and it has flown by. Our students have, once again, worked hard in all aspects of school life and are ready for the joys of a winter break. Our staff have also gone above and beyond and they too, deserve a relaxing break.

Last week we cheered on our students at the Interhouse Athletics Carnival. It was an event that saw sportsmanship, competitiveness and encouragement by all involved. Thank you to the parents for coming and supporting our students and to those who gave an extra hand at events and helping at the tuckshop. Thank you to Mr Nott for his organisation of the carnival and to the staff who made sure every job was covered and students were ready to go. The biggest thank you is to the students! Their efforts were commendable and their attitudes towards each other, whilst competitive, were always friendly and encouraging. Congratulations to Gwynne House on their victory.

During this term our students participated in a variety of interschool sporting events.  Congratulations to all who participated in netball and rugby league Broncos days and thank you to our staff for coaching the teams.  A special congratulations goes to our players in the Year 9/10 combined team who were the winners of the Broncos Rugby League Carnival.

This week our Year 10 students are participating in work experience. The feedback from the employers about our students has been glowing! A huge thank you to Mr Johnson and Mrs Frizzell for organising employers, the students and all that paperwork. Thank you to those in Allora and surrounds who have taken our students on this week.

This week we farewell Serena Fiechtner, our tuckshop convenor of many years. There is no way we can ever put into words the thanks we have for Serena and the service she has provided the staff and students. She is always willing to help and do the extras to provide great food and a great service. I am sure everyone will join me in wishing Serena all the best for the future.  The P&C held a recruitment process, and we welcome Karissa Thomas as the convenor from Term 3.   

On Friday, we will farewell long term staff member, Mr Brett Hay. Brett began teaching at Allora in 2004 and has taught across several subject areas including English, Humanities, HPE and most recently, he has taught Design and Technology (Manual Arts). On behalf of the many staff, students and families throughout the years I would like to thank Brett for his dedication to Allora P-10 State School and wish him all the best in the next chapter of his career journey. The HR Department is actively seeking a replacement for Brett through a state-wide recruitment process and we should have a new staff member to begin Term 3.

I wish you all a safe and warm winter break and look forward to seeing everyone when school resumes on Monday 8^th July.

Megan

Farewell Serena

Farewell Mr Hay

Calendar of Events

Position Vacant - School Crossing Supervisor

Student of the Week

Students were awarded certificates on assembly for demonstrating our school motto, “Always our Best”. Also, each week teachers nominate a student who has displayed our school values to go in the draw for a $5 tuckshop voucher (the golden ticket). Congratulations students!

Golden Ticket Winners

Sports Report

It has been a very busy term for sport at Allora P-10 State School. Listed below are sporting activities which students from our school have attended.

CROSS COUNTRY: Students competed in Cross Country at Central Downs, Southern Downs, Border District and Darling Downs levels.

RUGBY LEAGUE: Students participated at the Darling Downs Trials in 10-12 Years and in the Karyn Murphy Cup for Girls Rugby League. 

SOCCER: Allora P-10 State School was represented at the Darling Downs Soccer Trials for both boys and girls.

CLIFTON SHOOTING COMPETITION: For the third year in a row, Allora P-10 State School was represented at the Clifton Benchrest Shooting Competition with a team of 4 students attending.

CENTRAL DOWNS GALA DAYS: Our school once again hosted the annual Central Downs Gala Days in which students aged 8-12 years participated in the sports of Soccer, Rugby League and Netball.

PRIMARY BRONCOS COMPETITION: Allora P-10 State School sent players to Warwick to participate in the annual Broncos Competition in the sports of Soccer, Rugby League and Netball.

SECONDARY BRONCOS COMPETITION: This competition has been running for 27 years and Allora P-10 State School has been represented in the competition in Netball and Rugby League for every one of those years. Congratulations to the A Grade Rugby league team for combining with Killarney State School and Clifton State High School to win this competition for the first time since 2012.

WOMENS RUGBY LEAGUE STATE OF ORIGIN TRIP: Two busloads of students from our school were very fortunate to experience a trip to Suncorp Stadium for this highly entertaining match showcasing the talent of the best women Rugby League players in Australia.

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL: A major event held each year is our Interhouse Athletics Carnival with the houses of Gwynne and Deacon fighting out for overall supremacy. Gwynne this year took the honours on 1519 points with Deacon on 1107. Gwynne also won the War Cry Trophy. The following records were broken or equalled: 12Yrs Girls Triple Jump 7.62m Ella, Gwynne (equalled Alexandria Gilmore, Deacon, 2020) and 12Yrs Boys 400m by Lochlan, Gwynne, 1:10.11 (Hamish Gartery, Gwynne, 1:13.01, 2016). Congratulations!

Congratulations to students on their participation and sportsmanship at our carnival. Age Champions and Runners-Up and third-place Age Champions are as follows:  9Yrs Boys Archie, Dennis, Luke; Girls Anabel, Karlee, Billie; 10Yrs Boys Lloyd, Declan, Jesse; Girls Ellie, Allison, Ruby; 11Yrs Boys Lance, Ashton, William; Girls Graysen, Kyah, Chelsea; 12Yrs Boys Lochlan, Jackson, Christian; Girls Ella, Millie, Olivia; 13Yrs Boys Blake, Will, Milo; Girls Metice, Caitlyn, Rikaya; 14Yrs Boys Zavier, Nate, Luke; Girls Karleigh, Claire, Chaylah; 15/16 Boys Zac, Mason, Alex; Girls Teeah, Shakoba, Carly. Well done, students.

Thank you to all students and staff who contributed to the success of sport at Allora P-10 State School in Term 2.

UPCOMING SPORTS DATES FOR TERM 3

Week 2             Central Downs Athletics             Allora SS             Wednesday 17 & Friday 19 July – 5-12Yrs         

Week 3             Border District Athletics             Warwick SHS    Thursday 25 July - 13-16Yrs

Week 5             Warwick All Schools Athletics   Warwick            Wednesday 7 August - secondary students 12-16Yrs

Week 6             Southern Downs Athletics          Allora SS            Wednesday 14 August – 9-12Yrs  

Week 7             Darling Downs Athletics             Toowoomba      Tuesday 20 August – 10-12Yrs

Week 7             Darling Downs Athletics             Toowoomba      Thursday 22 August – 13-16Yrs Track Events 

Week 7             Darling Downs Athletics             Toowoomba      Friday 23 August – 13-16Yrs Field Events  

ROY NOTT

News from the Library

Thank you to all students who have borrowed from our school library this term.  Congratulations to the many students have received Reading Rockstar awards.

Just a reminder that ALL LIBRARY BOOKS are DUE BACK NOW.  School holidays are an excellent time to find books that are overdue.

During the holidays is also a time for students to log onto Sora, which is an online library system.  They can do this by entering their school log in details.  If they do not know this, please telephone the school office.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday.

LEA-ANN WEIER

Year 3 and Year 5 Visit Planetarium

Science and Engineering School Challenge

Recently, several Allora State School students competed in the Science and Engineering Challenge at the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba. Throughout the day, students built bridges, designed structures that can withstand weight and cyclones, organised electricity for a city whilst managing power outages, coded and decoded messages and designed planes that flew to specific tasks. Overall, of the eight teams competing over eight events, Allora finished eighth. However, it is most worthy to note that of the eight events the schools competed in each round, Allora only competed in four, meaning we only scored half the available points. When we doubled our score to make a handicap score, it was discovered we were up with the top of the field, if not the top…

Congratulations to all students on their efforts and behaviour over the day. You truly made the school proud!

Classroom News

Community News

Emerging Minds Families

 
Emerging Minds Families has released a new collection of resources aimed at building the understanding and confidence of parents, family members and other adults to support children’s mental health and wellbeing. 

This suite of online resources includes a new animation, fact sheets, videos and podcast about four key topics in children’s mental health: 

1. Understanding children’s mental health 
2. What shapes children’s mental health? 
3. Understanding children’s emotions and behaviour 
4. Five ways to support your children’s mental health 

 Scan the QR code to view the complete collection or visit https://qrco.de/bf3hf9

Like all Emerging Minds Families resources, these are free, evidence-informed, developed in collaboration with families and practitioners and include children’s voices. The resources are designed for easy navigation and reading online, and many can be downloaded and printed so you can share or use them with parents and families you work with. 

Subscribe to the Emerging Minds Families newsletter to receive updates as new resources about infant and child mental health and support for families are released. 

Mental Health First Aid and Training Courses - SDRC

Mental health affects how individuals think, feel and act and can change as you go through various stages in life and many factors can contribute. There are many types of mental health illnesses/conditions and the severity can vary in each individual. With the right support, mental health illnesses can be managed and improved to help individuals maintain a good mental health.

Council are again offering Standard, Youth, and Older persons Mental Health First Aid Training Courses throughout the 2024/25 financial year in both Warwick and Stanthorpe. Participants will be empowered with tools to act as mental health first aid responders for people who may be experiencing a mental health problem or mental health crisis, whilst the appropriate professional help is requested, or the crisis is resolved.

These courses will be run over 2 days, with morning tea and lunch provided. You will receive a certificate valid for 3 years, a Mental Health First Aid Manual and valuable knowledge to support your community.

Council’s own Mental Health First Aid accredited trainers, Michael Bell, Tiarnie Gilbert and Dani Kinnear will be facilitating these courses and encourage anyone who is interested in getting the accreditation, to book into one of the FREE courses through the Community Development team. To register please call 1300 697 372 or email commdev@sdrc.qld.gov.au with:

• what course (youth, standard or older person) and date you would like to attend,
• your name,
• email address and
• any dietary requirement.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Community Development team on
1300 697 372 or commdev@sdrc.qld.gov.au

Have your say on the Southern Downs Open Space, Sport & Recreation Master Plan

The survey is now open and closes at 5pm Friday 21 June 2024. The survey can be completed online at:

Sporting Club Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OSSR_SportingClubs  

Community Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OSSR_Community  

Youth Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OSSR_Youth

Raising Healthy Minds