School Link - 24 May 2023

Principal's Report

The Principal - Dr Shaun Kanowski

Our Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) met last Thursday 18 May for their General Meeting. The important issue of school volunteers was discussed at length, with several strategies being tabled for consideration. Our Tuckshop desperately needs more volunteers assisting to enable them to remain a viable service for our students – your children. Our Tuckshop currently runs on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30am-1:30pm. Even if school community members could volunteer one day per month to assist with orders, food preparation, serving students, and so forth, it would be a great help. I encourage as many parents / carers to attend our next P&C meeting scheduled for Thursday, 15 June, to ensure that you have a say over these and other important matters.

Last Friday, 19 May, the Hon David Littleproud (MP) visited our school to present our student leaders with their badges and certificates and to deliver an address at our annual Investiture Ceremony. Mr Littleproud commented on the obvious positive school culture, pride and sense of community our school embodies and how fortunate our students were to attend such a lovely, local, state-run school. Our student leaders, Tristan and Lincoln (School Captains) and Claire (Vice School-Captain and House Captain for Gwynne) responded to Mr Littleproud’s kind words of encouragement and made their pledge to serve our school community. We thank Mr Littleproud for making the time to visit our school during his extremely busy schedule.

This Friday, 26 May, we are hosting the Central Downs Gala Day for our primary-aged students (Years 3-6). Schools from across the Central Downs will converge on our school for a joyful day of rugby league, netball and football (or soccer in the old language). There will be a canteen on the oval and a coffee van where you can purchase food or drinks to warm you up and watch our students compete in this friendly meet. School community members are most welcome to attend – BYO folding chair, hats, warm clothing and $$$ for the canteen and coffee van. I look forward to seeing you here supporting your favourite Allora sports stars.

NB: Our own Interhouse Track and Field Carnival is looming – Thursday 15 and Friday 16 June. If you haven’t already, please mark these dates in your calendars / diaries, so you can be present to see all of the action. Our students and staff have been working hard with training / coaching leading up to this event, so our students are adequately prepared to do their best.

Have a great week and stay warm!      

Assessment Calendar

The Assessment Calendar for Years 7-10 students will be sent home as a separate email on Thursday 25 May.

Every Day Counts

“Every Day Counts” for every student. Under Queensland law, you must make sure your child of school age is enrolled and attends school all day, every school day unless they have a reasonable excuse. Illness, doing work experience, competing in a school sporting event or going on a school excursion are reasonable excuses for being absent from school. Avoid keeping your child away from school for birthdays, shopping, visiting family and friends, if they sleep in, looking after other children, minor check ups or care such as haircuts. Routine medical or other health appointments should be made either before or after school or during the school holidays.

You are reminded that it is a legal requirement to have all student absences explained (an explanation – not a message that “they are away today”).

Please use one of the following methods, recording the student’s name and reason for absence:

• SMS anytime to 0429 316 194 (preferred);
• reply to the SMS sent out each morning a student is absent;
• call student absence line 4666 7266; or
• phone the school office.

Class Dojo or emails are NOT to be used to advise of student absences. All unexplained absences are followed up with a formal letter which must be completed, signed and returned to the school. We would appreciate your help in having all student absences explained. Percentage of class attendance below:

Calendar of Events

Walk Safely to School Day

On Friday 19 May it was National Walk Safely to School Day. On Tuesday 16 May, Senior Constable Ben Ogden visited our P-2 classes to promote safe walking behaviours. Thank you Senior Constable Ogden.

Did you know, that until they are 10, children must always hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road? See more information at walk.com.au

QParents - Sign Up Now!

QParents External link is a secure, online portal that has been created by the Department of Education to provide parents of Queensland state school students with 24-hour access to their child's information. The portal allows you to securely access information about your child and communicate directly with your child's school.

Features of QParents

QParents provides secure, online access to student information such as:

• attendance details
• behaviour
• report cards and assessment dates
• upcoming events
• timetables
• invoices
• payment history
• student photo

Further information can be found by clicking on this link - https://alt-qed.qed.qld.gov.au/about-us/department-apps/qparents

School Crossing Supervisor - Relief Position

Chess News

On Friday 12 May, Allora P-10 State School hosted it's first ever Chess Tournament. What a day; what a location! 82 students attended from all across our region to make up the primary and secondary divisions. In the primary division, we had six local players and it was pleasing to note that every player scored at least two wins from their seven games. Two stand out performers were Milo and Christian, who each earnt 4.5 points, whilst a young man by the name of Lochlan took home a solid 5.5 points and won the primary division!

In the secondary competition, there were nine players from our school, with Lucas (four points) and Isaac (five points) the best performers. Past student Jack earnt 4.5 points, whilst another past student, Oscar won the competition with a perfect 7 points.

It was pleasing to see the past Allora students return to support the competition and spend a day at their old school. The behaviour and attitude of all students who attended on the day clearly demonstrated that the youth of today are respectful and considerate of others.

Moving forward with Chess - a new direction of competition planning is underway. Between Allora State School, Assumption College Warwick, St Joseph’s Stanthorpe and Warwick State High School. The aim is to have two competitions a year, rotating between the schools. With all four schools on board, working together to promote the game in the region, things can only go forward from here!

To all involved in Chess, thank you for your support!

BRAD JOHNSON

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Year 7 in 2024 Transition Day

If you are interested in enrolling at Allora P-10 SS in 2024 in Year 7, please come along on:

• Thursday 22 June from 9am – 3pm
  (followed by a Parent Information afternoon from 3 – 4pm)

Students will participate in transition activities to give them a snapshot of what you can expect at our school as a Year 7 student.

Enquiries: Linda Sharman-Bowman lshar3@eq.edu.au phone 07 4666 7222

Tuckshop - Gala Day Menu

PLEASE NOTE: Tuckshop will be held on the oval this Friday 26 May, due to the Central Downs Gala Day. There will be NO PRE-ORDERING of food, with food only available from the Canteen between the ovals. A coffee van will also operate on this day. A menu for the Gala Day is below.

Tuckshop Roster

HELP!! As you can see from the roster below, we are very, very short on volunteers. Please consider donating some time to help out at the tuckshop.

We thank those who already volunteer their time at Tuckshop. Without this wonderful support, we would struggle to run. If there are any problems or you are unable to attend on your rostered day, please let Serena know with an SMS or phone call before school. Thank you.

Student of the Week

The following students are awarded certificates for demonstrating our school motto, “Always our Best”. Congratulations students!

Sports Report

Darling Downs Cross Country

Congratulations to Allira who ran in the Darling Downs Cross Country last week in Toowoomba. With showers of rain, it made for a cold and miserable day, however Allira ran hard and competed well. Congratulations on your efforts.

Broncos Gala Day

A number of secondary students travelled to Goondiwindi for the first Broncos Gala Day last Thursday. There were a number of wins for our Allora teams in Rugby League and Netball. Players are to be congratulated on their effort and behaviour. The results from Day One will be combined with the results from Day Two to decide who plays in the finals. Day Two will be held next Wednesday 31 May in Warwick.  Best wishes for Day Two.

Central Downs Gala Day

The first Central Downs Gala Day will be held here on Friday. This carnival has students from the Clifton Cluster schools and Allora schools in attendance to play soccer, netball or rugby league. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to participate and learn about their chosen sport. Staff and students from Years 3 – 6 will be involved. The tuckshop will operate from the school oval on Friday.

Athletics

Our Interhouse Athletics Carnival will be held in Week 9 on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 June. Athletics training will continue this week at lunch breaks.

Wear It Yellow Day

On Thursday 1 June, everyone in the Allora P-10 State School community are invited to wear something yellow (such as a t-shirt, shorts, socks, ribbon, hat)  for “Wear It Yellow Day” to support awareness of First Nations literacy.  More information at:  https://wearityellow.org.au/

A Note from the Library

I would like to sincerely thank parents, staff and students who supported our Fair. It has enabled our school Library to obtain more books.  This is the only Fair for the year, with the next one being in May 2024.  Our next big event is in August when we will celebrate Book Week.  This will involve a dress up day but more details will be available closer to the time.

More students are receiving their Pick in the Box as the weeks are going by.  This is a free book to keep forever.  Students must remember their library books each week, along with a library bag.

All students from Prep to Year 9 have been enrolled in the annual Premier’s Reading Challenge.  The idea is for primary students to read at least 20 books, and secondary students 15, before August 25 with those who meet this criteria receiving a Certificate of Participation in November.

Have a wonderful week.

LEA-ANN WEIER

Year 6 Science and Engineering Challenge Day

This week, the Year 6 class embarked on an exciting excursion to participate in the Science and Engineering Challenge Day. The event was organized by the University of Newcastle and was hosted by the University of Southern Queensland. The Science and Engineering Challenge Day provided an opportunity for students to experience hands-on learning in the fields of science and engineering. It also encouraged students to develop their interest in these subjects and highlight careers in STEM-related fields. The activities included a range of tasks such as building a Mars rover, connecting a town to a power grid, building an earthquake-resistant structure, and sending messages through fibre optics. The students demonstrated impressive teamwork and cooperation skills as they worked in groups to complete the tasks.

Teachers and organisers were impressed not only by the students' technical abilities but also by their impeccable behaviour throughout the day. They are being commended for their efforts and the way they represented their school with pride. The success of the excursion was due in part to the assistance of the SCOPE Club of Allora, who generously helped fund the transport costs for the students. Their support was a significant factor in making the day such a success. Overall, the event was a huge success and an invaluable learning experience for the students.

Dental Van Here Soon

COVID Green Light

Footy Tipping Summary

1^st Angela Maguire 63, 2^nd Robyn Miles 62, =3^rd Rachael Heritage and James Turner 57, 5^th Lee Harrison 54. Please ensure that you have paid your entry fee of $55 by the end of the week. Winners of the $25 prizes for most tips correct in weeks 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 are: Nathan Eckersley, Robyn Miles x 2, Sparksman and Kelk. Thankyou for participating in the competition. C’mon Parra!

BRAD JOHNSON