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STONEHENGE

STATE SCHOOL

Newsletter

STRONG AND PROUD Easter School Holidays Issue

STONEHENGE STATE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Easter School Holidays Issue

UPCOMING EVENTS

TERM 2 COMMENCES

Monday 20 April 2020

ANZAC DAY (all events cancelled)

Saturday 25 April 2020

LABOUR DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Monday 4 May 2020

HOME-BASED LEARNING ENDS - TBC

Friday 22 May 2020

TERM 2 CONCLUDES

Friday 26 June 2020

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

@stonehengestateschool

Principal’s Addressby Corey Kempthorne

G’day,

Thanks for taking the time to read the Stonehenge State School Newsletter.

Firstly, welcome to Term 2 and congratulations on a fabulous Term 1! Please refer to page 3 for a sippet of some of the many highlights we experienced in Term 1.

Easter Holidays

I hope that all our families had a lovely Easter holiday break and were able to enjoy the time with your family.

Over the holidays Leslie and I were able to spend some quality time together, eating far too many Easter eggs, enjoying the wonderful outback sunsets and relaxing in preparation of a fabulous Term 2 ahead of us!

I would like to wish Jacob a very Happy Birthday for April 6th, hope you had a great day mate.

Newsletter Update

We hope that you enjoy the new look to our school newsletter. With the need to foster and increase communication methods we felt it was time for an update. You will also notice an increase in our social media presence on Facebook as a means of communicating across a variety of platforms.

COVID-19 Update

I hope all families are doing well at home as the directions from government around social distancing continually increase. As of Monday 13 April the government has announced that QLD school students will learn from home for the first five weeks of Term 2, with schools only open for children of essential workers. The move to the home-based learning model starts on Monday, 20 April and will be in place until at least Friday, 22 May.

My team and I used the student free days within the last week of Term 1 and time throughout the holidays to allow us to plan and prepare for remote learning. This collective and exhaustive effort provides with me confidence in our ability to continue to facilitate effective learning opportunities for our students.

More information regarding our remote learning strategy will be outlined on page 2. Student specific information will be supplied via direct correspondence to families.

Thank you to students, parents, families, staff and community for your ongoing support in this time of uncertainty.

Anzac Day

Anzac Day is going to look a little different this year as we adapt to social distancing rules. Please read about how your family can commemorate our fallen heroes this Anzac Day on page 4.

The small and remote outback school making a BIG difference!


Home-Based Learning – Term 2

Timeframe

You will have no doubt heard this through the media but I can officially advise that the Queensland Government has decided that state school students will move to a home-based learning model from 20 April 2020 until at least 22 May 2020.

During this period, all students who are able to be supervised and learn from home are to stay home, except for vulnerable students, children of essential workers and students in designated Indigenous communities. Schools must provide on-site supervision for these children while they participate in the learning activities that have been set by their regular classroom teachers.

Curriculum

In week 10 of term 1 and throughout the holidays, Stonehenge State School staff worked exceptionally hard to plan, develop and print materials in preparation for remote learning in term 2 – this work will now be implemented. As mandated, the learning materials will include those for English, Mathematics, Science, HASS, Spelling, Handwriting, Reading and Kindergarten and will be delivered on a weekly basis throughout the first five weeks of term 2. We understand that internet reliability can be troublesome at times (we are certainly not immune to internet problems here at school) and so the materials are primarily paper-based.

Each learning area has a weekly overview that provides a brief outline of the learning journey. Behind each overview is a lesson plan that outlines the learning objectives and provides a range of activities to achieve these objectives. On occasion, there are some computer based (online) activities that we’d like students to complete however these do not require any special app downloads, just an internet browsing platform such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, etc.

Any requirement of this will be outlined in the weekly overview. All passwords for online learning platforms will be available at the start of each week’s learning package. We will also provide a hard-copy and digital-copy of a ‘URL link’ sheet that outlines all of the links to online learning materials for each learning area. This will allow parents and students to click on the link rather than type it in or try to search for the material.

Timetable & AccessTo help keep students on track, I will be preparing a timetable that provides a guideline for when each subject area should be completed and for how long.

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Due to some restrictions placed on the Department of Education internet, we are unable to use programs such as Zoom, etc. however are provided with a free subscription to Skype. We will use this platform for online, ‘face-to-face’ teaching and where this is unavailable, will dial-in via telephone.

Learning Feedback & Delivery

In each week’s learning package, there is a feedback sheet that allows parents to provide some comments on student performance in each learning area. We do not expect you to make extensive notes however would encourage you to let us know if students require additional support or extension. This sheet should stay in the learning package.

Before the end of each week, the following week’s work will be delivered -parents/students should not commence the following week’s work early. All required resources will be delivered with the learning packages in a storage container. These will also be updated weekly to ensure that parents/students will have all of the required materials.

Reassurance

Like many schools, we are very new to the concept of remote learning. While we have spent a lot of time thinking about how to approach term 2, there are likely to be some adaptations to improve our practice. We ask that you are patient with us during this time and understand that despite the circumstances, we will continue to consider your child’s learning as our highest priority

I would like to reassure parents that there is no expectation that your home needs to be run as a classroom. Everything that we are putting in place is a guide to help you through these different circumstances. What does matter is the health and well-being of yourself and your children; that you are involved in engaging and fun activities other than the school curriculum. Make time for cooking, playing games, doing jigsaws, reading and lots of imaginative free play as well as physical exercise. Ensure that you continue social connections with friends and relatives.

If you are feeling overwhelmed and would like to discuss anything at all, please feel free to contact me.

Corey KempthornePrincipal

Clean Hands Save Lives

Wash your hands regularly and for at least 20 seconds. Use soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitiser to stop the spread of germs that might be lurking on your hands.

Message from Annastacia

Palaszczuk MP

Queensland school students will learn at home for the first five weeks of Term 2, with schools only open for the children of essential workers.

The move to the home-based learning model starts on Monday, 20 April and will be in place until at least Friday, 22 May.

All students who can learn from home are to stay at home.

School staff, unless they are vulnerable due to medical conditions, will continue to teach from the classroom to ensure continuity of learning for students.

Children of essential workers and vulnerable children can continue to attend school.

This is another very difficult decision, but it is the right one for Queensland while we continue to slow the spread of COVID-19.



Term 1 Highlights

School Bus

The school bus has been a fantastic addition to our school by providing 6 of our students with transport to and from school.

Stonehenge Superstars

What a term it has been. Welcoming 7 new students has no doubt been the highlight of the term. We are so thankful to have such supportive families within our school community.

Kindy Commenced

For the first time Stonehenge State School offers Kindy and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome Summer, Jacob and Olivia!

Kim Fredericks Visit

On Monday 10 February, we had Central Queensland Regional Director, Kim Fredericks visit. We were very proud to show her our school.

Harry’s Final Year

We recognise this is Harry’s final year with us at Stonehenge State School. We are so proud of his growth and achievements and endeavour to make this his best year yet!

Mr K’s Surprise Birthday

The students planned a heart-warming surprise birthday party for Mr K on Tuesday 17 March 2020. Thank you to the parents for the yummy party food.

Jundah Swim Camp

We spent 3 days of week 1 with students from Jundah and Windorah State schools for swimming and lifesaving lessons. It was an awesome way to ease everyone into the new school year, catch up and get to know all the new faces!

Barcoo Swimming Carnival

Stonehenge Superstars showed us their amazing sportsmanship cheering on their fellow classmates and trying their hardest. Well done on the fantastic effect Stonehenge! Big congratulations to James for receiving age champion!



Anzac Day 2020

Anzac Day

ANZAC Day, 25 April, is one of Australia’s most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as 'ANZACs', and the pride they took in that name endures to this day.

Show your Anzac Spirit

Anzac Day is going to look a little different this year as we adapt to social distancing rules. Given the significant concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 all commemoration services across the state have been cancelled. Instead, Australians are asked to unite and recognise past and current armed services personnel through personal experiences within their homes.

There are a number of ways you can commemorate our fallen heroes.

1. Light up with a candle at dawn within your home to commemorate all those who have served and scarified for this nation.

2. Tune into live services and virtual commemorative services.

3. Reach out to a mate who might be alone. Many people are alone during this time of isolation. It is an opportunity to invoke the ANZAC value of mateship and check to see how a mate is doing.

ANZAC DAY ACTIVITIES

Included within this email newsletter are three ANZAC Day Activities that can be used to decorate your home as a way to honour the traditions of ANZAC Day.

Activities

1. Make Your Own Poppy to Wear

2. ANZAC Day Wreath

3. ANZAC Biscuits Recipe

Don’t forget to take a photo of your artwork and how your family commemorated ANZAC Day together to share with us.

Send us Photos!

We will miss seeing your faces every day at school! So we encourage you to regularly send us photos of you completing your school work and enjoying life.

Please send them through to:0436 606 [email protected]

Have any Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the team at Stonehenge State School.

(07) 4658 [email protected]


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