Dear Parent/Caregiver,

It appears that thankfully the Aura Community and the school were generally spared from the effects of Tropical Cyclone Alfred last week. My thanks to parents for their understanding of the school closures. Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted on the Gold Coast and Northern NSW. A reminder that if you have been impacted in any way that the school has support services and policies in place – reach out - we are here to help.

Phone Policy Reminder

As we move further into the school year, I would like to remind parents and students of our “Phones Away for the Day” approach. During school hours, students are asked to keep their phones safely put away so they can focus on learning, building friendships, and being fully present when at school. Students should not have phones out at school. They should be kept in their bags out of sight.

This helps reduce distractions and ensures students get the most out of their time at school. Please discuss this policy with your child. Together we can make this year a positive and productive one without the interference of Tik Tok and other social media influences on our children.

NAPLAN Testing

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national proficiency standards. NAPLAN will commence on 12 March 2025, in Term 1. Visit nap.edu.au for more information.

NAPLAN testing commences this week for students in years 3 and 5 from this Wednesday to Friday with limited makeup days available for students who are absent on these days. Parents are reminded to please ensure that their child is at school by 8.40am on these days to ensure that they are fully prepared for these tests.

Last year the school showed positive progress on these tests and I am looking forward to sharing our results again with parents later in the year.

International Women’s Day

The female school captains and school admin reps were fortunate to attend the Baringa SSC International Women’s Day (IWD) assembly last week. This day celebrates the progress made and recognises the work yet to come to achieve gender equality. This year’s theme is a call to action to March Forward for a gender equal future.

 To find out more about IWD, visit https://education.qld.gov.au/about-us/events-awards/events/international-womens-day  

Thanks to Matt and the team at Baringa High for inviting us to be a part of this important day.

Attendance

Attendance reminder communications were distributed last week to parents whose children’s attendance was sitting below 85%.

Reminder to all parents that regular attendance is really important for all students to achieve their potential. This includes ensuring the children arrive at school prior to 8.45am each morning ready to learn. The school’s attendance focus will be maintained into Term 2 so please ensure that if you have any concerns with your child’s engagement with school that you report these concerns directly to your child’s Deputy Principal or myself so that we can be proactive in this space.

Baringa Elite Minds Academy

Last week we saw the first of our BEMA Days take place at Baringa SSC as a part of our excellence and extension program the school for identified students in year 5 and 6. The first of these days had a heavy focus on STEM, robotics and digital technologies and the kids had a wonderful day exploring the high school, working together to solve problems and coding mini robots to perform certain tasks. My thanks to Matt and Fiona at Baringa SSC for supporting our attendance at the high school and providing the resources both human and physical to make the day such a great success. Feedback from the students who attended was very positive with lots of fun and learning.

The focus for the BEMA in term 2 will be science. Looking forward to seeing which students will be invited to attend this day.

Year 6 Camp

The term certainly is flying by now and it is not long until the Year 6 students and staff attend the Year 6 camp at Mapleton. We wish all year 6 students participating a fun and safe camp. Lots of great memories and new friendships to be made, I am sure. My thanks to the Yr 6 teaching team for giving up their personal time to support the camps success.

Enjoy Week 7.

Mick