News

Tweed Heads South Public School - Project Update

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 10:15:41 AEDT

Welcome to big school

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 11:21:11 AEDT

Coronavirus - Department of Education statement

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 19:02:55 AEDT

The department is working with the Ministry of Health to monitor and respond to the unfolding international novel coronavirus situation.

Get up-to-date information about the department's response to novel coronavirus.

#Ready2020 – a great year starts here

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 13:22:33 AEDT

Starting school is a big moment in a child’s life. Here’s how to make the most of it.

We can’t wait for you to join us for a great year – the first step towards a lifelong love of learning.

Visit the department’s primary school resources for hints, tips and checklists to make a great start to the new school year, whether your child is starting Kindergarten or Year 6.

You’ll find:

Getting ready for primary school booklet – everything you need to be #Ready2020
Daisy’s First Day – the story of Daisy the koala’s first adventure at Kindergarten
advice from teachers – they’ve been through this before.

Video – #Ready2020: First day of Kindy

Duration – 1:00

Staying healthy into the new school year

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 16:41:35 AEDT

Immunisation is a simple, safe and effective way to protect your family from harmful diseases this holiday season and into 2020. Visit your doctor for general health and vaccination advice.

Immunisation not only protects you and your family but also others in your community, by reducing the spread of preventable diseases.

Children starting school in 2020 must have up-to-date immunisations to enrol.

These vaccinations help protect children from highly infectious and severe diseases including whooping cough and measles.

Travel health

If you’re travelling overseas during the school holidays, you may need vaccinations or medication – both for general health protection and for region-specific diseases.

If you’re travelling to the Northern Hemisphere, you may even need a flu shot.

Find out more about staying healthy while travelling.

Walk Down Memory Lane

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 13:57:24 AEDT

Last Friday (15 November) the Tweed Heads South Community “Walked Down Memory Lane”.

The event was extremely successful with many visitors including past students and staff. Some of the original class members including captains from the very opening of the school were present. The display of memorabilia made up of formal and informal photos, news clipping and of course the original school bell was poured over, with laughter and tears of fond memories.

Thanks to Robyn and everyone who helped with the organisation of this important event. Thanks to our wonderful P&C who provided a barbeque for all our visiting guest.

Please visit our "Walk Down Memory Lane" Gallery Album for more photos.

NSW schools respond to bushfires

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 17:09:42 AEDT

Many schools are responding to the catastrophic fire rating that is affecting communities across the state this week.

We are continuously updating the School safety page with a list of government and non-government schools, as well as TAFE NSW campuses that are currently non-operational.

While some schools are temporarily non-operational due to localised fires, many others in high-risk areas are non-operational as a precautionary measure.

Schools in some areas are being used as emergency evacuation centres at the direction of the Rural Fire Service.

For schools that are currently operational, school pickups and dropoffs will continue as usual. If your school is currently non-operational, it will likely remain so tomorrow.

Large scale distressing events affect our school communities in many ways. Headspace’s mental health support resource (PDF 100.52KB) is available to help students, teachers and school staff respond to the bushfires.

Visit the School safety page for updates. The department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts will also provide updates during this period.

Kindergarten Enrolments

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 13:12:25 AEDT

Have you enrolled your child for 2020?

* Quality teaching programs
* Innovative teaching
* Confident learners

Every child....
known, valued & cared for.

If you haven't enrolled your child for 2020, pick up an enrolment form from the office or download one from the school website.

School Dance Concert

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 12:48:43 AEDT

Students have been learning their class dances with Footsteps Dance Company.

Walk Down Memory Lane

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 12:57:46 AEDT

Walk Down Memory Lane

An upgrade is being planned for Tweed Heads South Public School. The project will provide state of the art learning spaces and core facilities. The original buildings at Tweed Heads South Public School (1958) will soon make way for this new, fresh and modern school.

The school will remain open during the construction phase and will continue to provide quality education programs.

You are warmly invited to join us in celebration of the original school.

When Friday 15 November 2019

Welcome Cup of tea 3:30pm

Open Classrooms 3:45pm - 4:30pm

Presentation 4:30pm - 4:45pm

Sausage Sizzle 4:45pm

RSVP Friday 8 November 2019

School: 07 5524 3408 or Robyn: 0412 458 083 (after hours)
Email: tweedhdest-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

The school is also taking prepaid orders for copies of the Tweed Heads South Public School
50^th Anniversary book which is displayed on the attached page. Books are available at a cost of $25.00 and must be pre ordered and paid for by Tuesday 5 November 2019. Please do not hesitate to call if you have any further enquiries.

Tweed Heads South Superstars

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 14:29:43 AEDT

Our students in this video are now up on the big screen at Tweed City.

Preschool Enrolments

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 14:53:42 AEDT

Preschool focuses on play-based activities and lays the foundation for future learning. Preschool provides an educational program for children in the year before starting school that supports the development of early language, literacy, numeracy and social skills.

There are limited spaces for 2020 Preschool. If you are wanting to enrol your child please pick up an enrolment form from the office, download one by clicking here or phone 07 5524 3408 for more information. Preschool fees are as little as $1 or maximum $10 a day.

Grab a ticket to Schools Spectacular 2019

Tue, 22 Oct 2019 15:59:44 AEDT

Will you be joining us at Schools Spectacular 2019? Tickets are on sale now. Experience our live show featuring a cast of thousands of public school students from across metropolitan, rural and remote regions of NSW.

Students from different ages, cultures and backgrounds will share the spotlight as they dance, play and sing for you. Choose from one of our four massive performances at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday 22 November and Saturday 23 November.

This year's events will feature:

more than 380 schools
5,500 performers
a 3000-strong choir
2,300 dancers
an 80-piece symphony orchestra
a world-class stage band.

Group bookings

Need to make a group booking for over 10 people? Complete the Schools Preview Order Form 2019 (PDF 110KB) to attend the discounted 11am Friday matinee. The Friday matinee is discounted for school students and accompanying teachers.

If you’d like to grab a spot at one of the other three remaining shows complete the Group Booking Form 2019 (PDF 110KB).

Tickets for you and your family and friends

Save you and your family a spot online or by phone on 132 849.

Video – Schools Spectacular 2019

Duration: 0:26

We Love Science

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 14:41:18 AEST

We love Science!!!
Term 3 has proven to be a very exciting time of year for Kindergarten students. This term our literacy focus has been on fairy tales and to coincide with this theme we have engaged in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) challenges. The following photos are a snippet of some of our challenges. They include:-
Making a parachute for Jack so that he can get safely to ground if anything should ever happen to the beanstalk.
Making a gondola for the Gingerbread Man so that he can get across the river without having to hitch a ride with the cunning fox.
Designing and building a bridge for the 3 Billy Goats Gruff to get to the green grass on the other side of the river.
For each challenge the students are limited to what resources they can use and their designs must meet certain standards. For example, when designing and making a ball gown for Cinderella from newspaper and masking tape, the designs had to withstand 20 star jumps.

Have your say on before and after school care

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 13:37:09 AEST

We want to better understand your needs for before and after school care in NSW.

Have your say today on before and after school care.

Fill out the survey by Service NSW to share your specific care needs and to register interest to stay informed of new developments.

Your input will provide insights into where there are gaps in service availability and help us to deliver extra places where they are needed.

You can also contact the team responsible for rolling out the before and after school care commitment at BASCreform@det.nsw.edu.au.

Book yourself in for Reading Hour

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 11:23:43 AEST

This Australian Reading Hour, encourage your child to discover or rekindle their love of a good book. Take the time to learn, escape and relax on Thursday 19 September and read for one hour.

Get involved at home

Join in at home and read your child a bedtime story. Studies show that reading a bedtime story six days a week can give kids almost a year’s head start when they begin school. Reading has also been shown to develop empathy, promote critical thinking and help children find a sense of self.

Join in from the classroom

Bestselling children’s author and illustrator Matt Stanton will broadcast live to primary school children across the country from the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday 17 September. We invite schools to register for the livestream of this free event.

Stanton’s author talk is among more than 140 events happening across the country involving more than 50 authors.

Take the Book Swap Challenge

We all have favourite books that we come back to again and again.

To help celebrate Reading Hour take our Book Swap Challenge. We want students, teachers, staff and parents to try reading something new on the day. To get involved, simply pair up with someone and swap your favourite books.

Take a photo and tag it with #ReadingHour so we can see how you got involved.

Video – #ReadingHour authors talk about their favourite place to read

Duration: 0:38

Looking for a good spot to open a book? We asked authors Benjamin Law, Morris Gleitzman, Jacqueline Harvey and Mick Elliott about their favourite place to read.

How to be smart and safe on social media

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 11:43:37 AEST

Use our new Digital Citizenship toolkit to empower your child to understand how their online behaviour affects themselves and others.

You and your child can find information on:

how to ‘be positive’ by understanding online behaviour and its effect
'be smart’ by thinking critically and being digitally aware
'be safe’ by protecting your security, privacy and wellbeing.

A toolkit to empower you and your child

You can find articles and videos to equip and empower your child to minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities in our digital future.

We’ve partnered with leading researchers to produce a curated toolkit – aligned to the curriculum – which teachers and you can share with the young people in your lives.

Guide your child through important concepts such as:

managing privacy settings in social media
collaborating online
avoiding scams and hoaxes
understanding the law when it comes to online speech
Internet banking, shopping online and much more.

Keep your child safe and happy online

Visit and bookmark the Digital Citizenship website. We’ll continue to add articles and resources to ensure the best possible tools are available to help you guide your child to be positive, smart and safe online.

Tell Them From Me Survey

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 10:55:08 AEST

Education Week – Every student, every voice

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 14:07:46 AEST

We are celebrating our students and their powerful voices this Education Week Monday 5 August to Friday 9 August. Every year Education Week celebrates the achievements of public schools, our students and the value of public education.

This year, the theme is Every student, every voice.

Join us for #EdWeek19 as we celebrate our students and their power to shape the world.

Video – #EdWeek19 – Every student, every voice

Duration: 0:34

Creative and Active Kids vouchers now available

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 11:38:36 AEST

Creative kids can now put a $100 voucher towards extra-curricular creative activities outside of school.

Together with Active Kids, this program aims to encourage more NSW children to participate in a range of extra-curricular activities such as coding, languages, circus, performing arts and visual arts.

Parents can apply for one $100 voucher for each child enrolled in school on the Creative Kids website and use it towards the cost of registration, participation or tuition. You just redeem the voucher with a registered provider in your area when making your payment.

This is a great opportunity for your child to become involved in a range of activities that will build on their education, growth and development.

Service NSW is working with industry bodies to deliver the program.

For more information, contact Service NSW on 137 788 or creativekids@service.nsw.gov.au.

The Game Changer Challenge is back

Fri, 31 May 2019 12:24:20 AEST

It’s not too late to become a Game Changer with applications for the Education Week challenge due by 7 June.

The Game Changer Challenge brings 16 teams from public schools across NSW – eight from primary and eight from secondary – to Sydney during Education Week in August for a three-day, intensive design-thinking workshop.

The Game Changer workshops, which start on Tuesday 6 August, includes teacher training in the use of design thinking as a teaching methodology and its application for school planning.

It also includes a team competition where schools will work under the guidance of experts from industry and academia to develop a solution to this year’s critical question: How might we humanise technology?

Department of Education Secretary Mark Scott has encouraged students and teachers to get behind the event as it highlights the critical thinking students will need to develop to succeed in the future.

“The Game Changer Challenge is an exciting initiative that helps educate and inform our students and teachers on how to integrate the problem-solving methodology of design thinking into the classroom,” Mr Scott says.

“It embraces the 21^st century skills our students will need to thrive in a globalised world such as collaboration, creative thinking and communication.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students at all levels to be involved in discussing and addressing a real-world issue that will affect their future lives. I encourage every school to get involved.”

The challenge is designed to make strong learning and teaching connections to the NSW syllabus specifically in the area of developing general capabilities such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication and problem-solving.

The challenge also provides teachers with an opportunity to gain exposure to the design thinking process and includes teacher resources to introduce this creative problem-solving methodology into the classroom.

Finalists will be selected based on a 60-second video that showcases your team’s vision around the question of humanising technology.

For more information email edweek@det.nsw.edu.au or visit the Game Changer Challenge page.

Your NAPLAN questions answered

Thu, 09 May 2019 15:15:23 AEST

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The tests assess the foundational skills in reading, writing, spelling and numeracy that are essential for every child to progress through school and life.

This year NAPLAN takes place between 14 and 16 May for paper tests and between 14 and 24 May for schools participating in NAPLAN Online.

NAPLAN data is used to help monitor student progress over time against a national measure and to identify areas of strength and improvement. It is used in combination with other school assessments to guide and support student learning.

Watch students ask an expert the tough questions about NAPLAN.

Video – Kids ask the hard questions

Duration – 3:45

Apply now for My Community Project funding

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 15:10:26 AEST

Do you have a great idea to improve your area?

My Community Project is a new NSW Government funding program that is all about local ideas, local projects and local decisions.

You can apply now for grants from $20,000 - $200,000 for projects that will make a difference to your community. Projects could include new playground equipment, sports facilities, paths or ramps to improve access, public art or a community service.

The local community can vote for their favourite projects in July and successful projects will be announced in September.

Project applications close 15 May 2019.

Apply for My Community Project funding

Bring back memories, not measles

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 15:18:43 AEST

With school holidays just around the corner, it’s time to visit your doctor to check that you and your family are fully protected against measles, before you travel overseas.

Measles is a serious, highly contagious, viral illness that is easily spread through the air when an infectious person coughs, sneezes or breathes. If you and your family are not fully vaccinated, or have never been vaccinated, you are at risk of contracting measles.

Not sure if you’re fully protected?

In Australia, the measles vaccine (MMR) consists of 2 doses. If you’re not sure whether you’ve had 2 doses of the measles vaccine, visit your doctor. It’s safe to receive another dose.

Children born in Australia

If your children were born in Australia, they may have received the measles vaccine at 12 months old and the second dose at 18 months, in accordance with the National Immunisation Program.
If you have a baby under 12 months old, consult your doctor about getting their measles vaccination.

Adults born in Australia

Born before 1966 – you were most likely exposed to measles as a child and are generally considered to be immune. If in doubt, ask your GP.
Born between 1966 and 1994 – you may not have received 2 doses. Talk to your doctor about the free vaccine if you’re unsure.
Born after 1994 – the National Immunisation Program offers 2 doses, and you can check your vaccination status using the Australian Immunisation Register.

For more information about the measles vaccination, visit NSW Health or consult your local doctor.

Library News

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 13:02:52 AEDT

Lots of great things are happening in our library this year! The library has had a bit of a rearrange and I have an obsession with Harry Potter. Our library has sprouted a whomping willow and some owls have flown in trying to deliver some very important letters from Hogwarts. The kids are loving the new decorations and I have been given many suggestions from them for more things to add. If you are visiting the school come in and have a look around.

5 road safety tips for parents and carers

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 13:23:52 AEDT

Now that students are back to school after a break it’s a good time to chat with your child about safe behaviours when you walk or commute to school.

Here are our top tips to help our students make a safe trip:

1. Be alert and aware

Take note of the dangers you come across on your walk and bring them to your child’s attention. Point out dangers, such as vehicles coming out of driveways. Talk to your child about being alert in a road environment.

2. Hold hands

When on the footpath, at a crossing or in a car park always hold your child's hand. It is advised to do this up to the age of at least 8 years old and closely supervise until at least the age of 10.

3. Choose a safe crossing

Lead by example and choose a safe place to cross the road. Explain why it is the safest place to cross.

4. Set a good example

Your child watches everything you do, so if you cross at the crossing they will too. It is also important to share these messages with other carers who may walk with your child to school.

5. Stop, Look, Listen, Think every time you cross the road

Discuss this important road safety message. STOP! one step back from the kerb. LOOK! continuously both ways. LISTEN! for the sounds of approaching traffic. THINK! whether it is safe to cross.

Practise makes perfect

The more supervised practice your child can get the better, so why not make Term 1 the start of a new routine to walk with your child to school more often.

Older children may be ready to make the journey to school independently. Before they take this step, observe if they are road safe and reinforce the road safety messages.

For more information, check out the department’s pedestrian safety advice for students, parents and carers.

Welcome back 2019

Fri, 01 Feb 2019 11:02:20 AEDT

Congratulations to our student leaders for 2019.

21st Century and Collaborative Education furniture

Fri, 01 Feb 2019 12:22:48 AEDT

After a very successful implementation of the 21st Century and Collaborative Education furniture at the beginning of Term 4 in the Year 5 and 6 classrooms the school has extended this into Years 3 and 4. This has involved the careful process of identifying school targets of providing our students with the most relevant and engaging curriculum through the use of the latest teaching technologies and furniture. This is not only important in engaging our students but preparing them for life and careers well into the 21st Century. Both Year 3 and 4 classrooms have been equipped with this furniture as well as providing access to a lap top for every student in Year 3 and 4. This furniture is not just about making our classrooms look and feel more modern but more importantly provide students with learning spaces that promote communication, collaboration and creativity. The classrooms will host open classroom sessions in the coming weeks for you to come in and see the implementation of the 21st Century Classrooms.

Back to school

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 15:00:04 AEDT

The first day of Kindergarten and the return to school in the new year are busy times for your child – and for the entire family. To help you make the most of this time and enjoy the experience, we’ve compiled some useful tips and checklists. We want every student to be known, valued and cared for in our schools.

Our film #FirstDay2019 captures the excitement – and the nerves – of the rite of passage that is the first day of Kindergarten.

Video – Back to School 2019: First Day at Kindy

Duration – 1:00

Communciation

Sun, 16 Dec 2018 18:44:48 AEDT

Communication between our school community is an important part of Tweed Heads South Public School.

We will no longer be using SchoolStream to communicate. Schoolzine will be replacing SchoolStream.

Our main communication methods will be the following:

Schoolzine: Don’t forget to sign up for Schoolzine. This is a free app for smartphones. Receive instant alerts and access all notes, newsletters, notices reminders and events from school. Go to your App Store (iPhone/iPad) or Google Play (Android) and download the Schoolzine App.

Facebook: In the search bar type in Tweed Heads South Public School.

Website: Google Tweed Heads South Public School or www.tweedhdest-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

SMS messages: We will be starting to send SMS messages. Please make sure you have updated your mobile phone number with the front office.

Newsletters: Our school newsletter is emailed to you every fortnight on a Wednesday. Please make sure your email address is updated at the school office.

If you have any questions please contact the school 07 5524 3408.

Parenting at the speed of light - So what is FORTNITE?

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 14:34:49 AEDT

FORTNITE is a game that has gone viral, skyrocketing in popularity across the world in a few short months. A survival action game for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Mac it is a shoot them up strategy game which looks like a combination of Minecraft and Call of Duty but more cartoony. The addictive aspect of it is the fact that the kids are playing in groups and on teams which requires them to use strategy and, most importantly, to communicate with each other in real-time. This is probably the only redeeming quality of the game.

Fortnite is drawing comparisons to the movie Hunger Games. Life after "The Storm," an apocalyptic event in which 98 percent of the world's population simply vanished only to be replaced by hordes of zombie-like monsters. After stumbling onto and taking command of an abandoned high-tech shelter facility, it's up to the gamer to take charge of a group of brave heroes as they fight back against The Storm. The gamer is required to guide these heroes to gather precious resources, rescue survivors, and build a refuge from the armies of the zombies. Along the way, it is the gamers aim to discover the source of The Storm and save all humanity in the process.

There is also a free to play multiplayer mode “Battle Royale”. This version pits up to 100 players against each other in individual battles or teams to determine the last player standing. The game itself does not feature any profanity. However, younger players could be exposed to offensive language from random strangers in voice, or on-screen text chat.

The game is highly addictive and has an M classification. We would suggest that it is ok for 13+. The game is a combination of fun and creepy, with a light-hearted cartoon based humour that's as much fun to watch as it is to play. The violence is persistent but very cartoony so not as bad as some and we would much rather see your child playing Fortnite than Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto. It is highly addictive for kids and adults so make sure you put some play time boundaries in place.

Gaming used to be a solo activity, but it has now become a social activity amongst kids (and adults) breaking down barriers and connecting kids from different communities. This is only ok as long as you know that your children are very aware of online stranger danger and feel comfortable telling you if someone asks them something that is inappropriate.

Our tips

· Find out how to block and report before they start using the game. In case you need it.

· Make sure they know never to respond if they get asked something inappropriate, or if they are asked for any personal information such as where they live, age, etc.

· We always recommend parents take time out of their busy day and sit and play games with their kids before they allow them to play them on their own.

· Keep smart devices and gaming consoles out of the bedroom. Keep them in the family room.

· Consider saying “don’t do this” and offer a “do this” alternative.

2019 school budget allocations

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 16:24:49 AEDT

Like all NSW public schools, this week we will receive a School Budget Allocation Report with our funding for 2019. The report will help us manage our total budget delivered through the Resource Allocation Model (RAM).

The RAM supports schools through needs-based funding to ensure a fair, efficient and transparent allocation of funds. Our school has the flexibility to make local decisions based on the specific needs of our students.

We will use our 2019 funding to support students and improve educational outcomes. The school executive will continue to work with the school community as we implement the school plan using this needs-based funding.

Learn more about the 2019 RAM funding.

Tweed Heads South Public School Upgrade

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 20:06:08 AEST

An upgrade is being planned for Tweed Heads south Public School. We expect the project will provide new teaching spaces and upgrade core facilities.

For more information, questions or to make a comment please email schoolinfrastructure@det.nsw.edu.au

2019 Kindergarten and Preschool Enrolments

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 19:45:44 AEST

Tweed Heads South Public School are now taking enrolments for 2019. If you have a child that would like to attend our school or preschool next year or you know of any children of neighbours, family or friends attending next year, please contact the office to arrange the necessary paperwork. To download an enrolment form click on the following links:

Kindergarten Enrolment Form

Preschool Enrolment Form

Who’s that trip trapping over my bridge?

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 18:53:40 AEST

Preschool are enjoying reading and learning about traditional fairy tales and this week we read The Three Billy Goats Gruff. A bridge was created over our preschool riverbed and we made some masks so that we could recreate the story and act out the characters. Each child took turns to be one of the characters to perform and thoroughly enjoyed being part of the performance. They learnt about characters, changing their voice to “be” the character, taking turns as well as the sequencing of a story. We will continue to read a variety of fairy tales this term and look forward to performing them in preschool.

To see more photos of the preschool children have a look in the Image Gallery 'Who's that trip trapping over my bridge?'

Book Week Parade 2018

Tue, 21 Aug 2018 18:49:19 AEST

Please join our students at the Book Week Parade this Friday 24 August at 9:15am.

Number talks

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:14 AEST

During Term 1 and continuing in to Term 2, 1-2A has been engaging in a new concept in maths called "Number Talks". With Mrs Kerr's assistance, we have been learning the different ways of how we can represent a number. We are learning about all the different ways we can show a number in a ten frame, what it looks like in tally marks, whether it is odd or even, what it looks like on a domino and how it could look in the environment. e.g. if discussing the number 4 the students could say that a horse has 4 legs. The number talks are helping the students think flexibly about numbers, which can help them with addition and subtraction, and multiplication and division. We had a chance to create a poster about the number 5 and the students thought of many interesting and creative ways to display 5.

Red Cross Memory Lane outing

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:26 AEST

A group of students from Stage 3 walked to the Tweed Heads South Community Centre to attend the Red Cross's Memory Lane Morning Tea. While they were there they had the pleasure of chatting and interviewing older members of the community. The notes the students took will be used to compile the stories of our older citizens by the Red Cross.

Students from 5-6H were asked to record the most interesting things they found out.

Kiara Cox – I talked to a man called Bob about his past, he was 83 years old. I found out that school was different to what it is now. He said that they didn't have cars or buses to get to school and that his wife had to ride a horse to school.

Eliza – I spoke with John and Shelia. They were both in their 80's so it was fun talking to them. John fell and was in hospital for 9 months when he was 6. Shelia liked roast dinners.

Lachlan – I talked with Yvonne about her past. She told me about lots of things that influenced her childhood. She told me that she had nine, yes nine, brothers and sisters – and I thought having two was hard!

Yvonne explained that her earliest memory was when she was a baby sitting on the floor staring up at the tap with the water running, "It looked like the water was running onto the bench, not into the sink," she recalled.

I asked her how she would like to be remembered, and she said, "I would like to be remembered as a good person who never gave up."

Tyler – I had a really nice time speaking with the older people. I spoke with a lady who lived on a farm when she was growing up. She said that she saw a snake in the tree and remembered her dad telling her she was special.

Aurelie – I talked with Kristie about her past. I found out that she was turning 88 this year. She had grown up in Melbourne with her cousins. Kristie's special message to me was: To always keep your shoulders straight, have courage, always believe in yourself and do what you can to finish what you started.

Mariah – I met a lady named Marie. She was really nice and she told me about her past. Unfortunately, she was in a really bad car accident when she was 26. Now she is 74.

Tyrone – We had a really nice visit and heard lots of nice and interesting stories. I spoke to a lovely man and two lovely ladies. One of the ladies was from Durban, South Africa, the same place as where my mum and dad were born and raised. One of them was 85 and went to a bush school.

Liam – I spoke with Kathryn and she wants to be remembered as a nice, kind lady and that's how I'm going to remember her. Her favourite song was "Happy go lucky" sung by her husband. Her advice was to "keep your brain healthy and always try."

Theya – At the Red Cross Memorial morning tea, I spoke with Pam. Pam was born in Adelaide and her husband's name is John. Pam had girl twins and another daughter. Pam had two brothers, but sadly one has past. Pam is 72 years old – that's older than my nan. I had a fun time and am pleased that the Red Cross invited us to listen to the stories of these older community members.

Lest We Forget!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:05 AEST

What a privilege it was to be invited to participate and show case the outstanding talents at the 2018 ANZAC service held at Jack Evans Boat Harbour, April 25 2018. Our school choir lead the National Anthems of both Australia and New Zealand. The students sung so beautifully and we have received such amazing feedback about our grand performance from the local community. I would like too personally thank all the students and parents who came along and participated! Congratulations students on your great achievement. I am very proud of your efforts. Take a look at our choir at the Anzac March https://youtu.be/BAPZFu9ZCoQ

Story Dog Day

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:36 AEST

This year Tweed Heads South will be celebrating the efforts of the wonderful volunteers from Story Dogs. Each week students from 1-2A and 1-2C receive a visit from two very cute and fluffy dogs and their owners. The students get the opportunity to read a story. The pups are great listeners!
This year Tweed Heads South will be running a fundraiser to support the great organisation!

When: Friday 18th May
What: Wear as much orange as you can!

Bring: Gold coin donation

Life Education

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:06 AEST

Students will be visiting the Life Education Van from Monday 21 May to 28 May. Life Education is a not for profit community-based organisation that delivers quality messages about health and safety. The cost per child is $5 and covers the visit to Life Education, a student workbook and a sticker. Payments need to be paid at the front office by 9am Monday 21 May.

District Cross Country - Volunteers needed

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:49 AEST

On Friday the 25th of May Tweed Heads South Public School is convening the canteen for the District Cross Country at Bilambil Jets Rugby League Football Club (this is the Jets Senior Club).

We are looking for volunteers to help with food preparation, serving of food and cash handling.

If you can help out on the day, please write your name down on the volunteer's form located at the office and the canteen.

On Monday 14 May at 2pm there will be a District Cross Country meeting in the Family room. This meeting will be instead of the P&C meeting that had been scheduled.

Saving the world from PLASTIC!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:27 AEST

5-6H have taken up the gauntlet to save the world from plastic!

We have been investigating the effects plastic has on animals, the environment and the future.

Some interesting facts students have found out are:

Did you know that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is bigger than NSW?
Did you know that in 1 square kilometre of ocean, there is over 13 000 pieces of plastic?
It takes 1 000 years for plastic to decompose.
It only takes one year for rubbish to travel from Adelaide to New Zealand.
The ocean has become the biggest dump in the world.
10 million single-use plastic bags are used each day in Australia.
We throw out enough plastic to circle the world four times each year.
80% of the plastic in the ocean is from plastic bags.
Birds are being found with over 250 pieces of plastic in their stomachs. This is the equivalent to a human having three 2 litre milk bottles in their stomach.
3.5 million pieces of plastic wash into the ocean each day from Australia.
Plastic kills animals – they eat it or get tangled in it.

We have commenced a waste audit at the school. We will be proposing some recommendations and strategies that the school can implement to reduce the amount of plastic and rubbish we are sending to landfill.

School Hats

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:28 AEST

Tweed Heads South Public School has a 'No Hat, No Play' strategy in place to support our Sun Safe Policy.

With the warm weather, we need to focus on students wearing hats in the playground. Teachers are vigilant when students are in the sun due to the damage to the skin from sun exposure. Please remind your child to bring their school hat to school and wear it before school, at recess, lunchtime and during Sport and PDHPE.

Hats are regularly misplaced in our school and the best way to ensure your child

has their hat for all play opportunities is to check that their name is clearly and darkly written on their hat (the names fade quickly) and that your child has a regular spot where they store their hat (in their bag, tote tray, etc…). School hats are available from our school office on Mondays and Tuesdays and the canteen on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at a cost of $14 each. Hats can also be purchased at Lowes Tweed City.

Transition to High School Evening Year 7 - 2019

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:43 AEST

Tweed River High School have organised a special information evening "Transition to High School Evening in our SEC on Monday 19 February at 6.00pm for Parents of Year 7, 2019.

A sausage sizzle and school tour will commence from 6pm to showcase the extensive range of opportunities available at our school. This will be an evening of fun and group work for Year 6 students led by our student leaders. Parents will participate in workshops with Tweed River High School staff and P&C members.

Year 6 students will receive a note on Friday 16 February. You can also view the note by clicking on the link below or by clicking on the note tab at the top of this web page.

Transition to High School (docx 122 KB)

2018 Student Leaders

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:32 AEST

Tweed Heads South Public School 2018 School Leaders have been helping Miss Ingrid with assembly preparations and presenting items for each Monday morning 8.30am and Friday afternoon 3pm assemblies. Thankyou for being wonderful leaders. All parents/carers and families are welcome.

PRESCHOOL go camping!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:21 AEST

Preschool Go Camping

There was a great deal of excitement arriving at preschool to all the tents being setup for a big day of camping. We started the day enjoying breakfast at the school breakfast club and then went back to preschool to set up our tents with sleeping bags, torches, pillows and camp chairs. We collected sticks for our "camp fires" and toasted marshmallows. Our canteen lunch orders arrived and we enjoyed ice blocks from the canteen as it was a very hot day. We made damper to eat with butter and golden syrup, it was delicious. We had a lot of fun camping!

'DAY FOR DANIEL'

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:48 AEST

On Friday 27 October, students participated in Australia's biggest child safety lesson. This formed part of a historical moment in Australia, where over 1000 schools participated in the awareness of what is safety, your body belongs to you (public and private body parts) Recognise body clues, React when you don't feel safe, and Report to adults who can help. Students participated with enthusiasm and were keen to participate in the discussions.

During the week, classes were preparing for the big event, engaging in lessons about people they could speak to like their safety helpers, which included adults both male and female, and people who live both at home and outside of their home. The students then created a safety bank of people using a hand to represent these. Some of these people included: Mum, Dad, Carer, Grandparent, Uncle, Teacher, Principal, Friend of Mum or Dad and the Police. Students also discussed the three criteria that they may go through when they do not feel safe such as recognising your body cues of feeling unsafe, reacting and what to do next, and reporting to trusted adults as soon as possible. All classes reported this to be a highly successful, engaging and important lesson.

As you can see form the photo, many families supported awareness day by wearing red in support of the Daniel Morcombe foundation.

Learning about Narratives

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:02 AEST

The students in Stage 2 are learning about writing narratives. Students in 3-4 F have been learning about how descriptive language can help the reader to paint a picture of a character in their minds. Mrs Moores read a text called ‘Flagretia the Queen of Fire' but she would not show the students the illustrations. The students task was to listen to the story and then to draw what they had visualised Flagretia would look like. Here are the illustrations the students created. Next week students will start to plan and write their own narratives.

Scripture Lesson with Griffith University Students

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:30 AEST

Today students were enlightened with a special scripture lesson and performance by Griffith Christian students from Griffith University and members of the Tweed Presbyterian Church.

We enjoyed performances and dancing along to a message that the greatest TREASURE in the world was – PEACE with GOD. We also learned that the treasure is not about keeping it, but more about sharing it with others.

Our school leaders Jessica and Leo thanked our guests for such a wonderful scripture message and we especially loved the pirate theme, that we don't keep this treasure, but to share it. PEACE everyone!

NOT ONLY TASTY

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:14 AEST

A lesson so sweet you could almost taste it.

This week 1/2C used M&M's to further explore the numeracy concept of data. The students put on their detective hats and were delighted when their impromptu treasure hunt throughout the classroom resulted in finding a very sweet, multi coloured treat.

The students were able to convert their data from a numerical total, to a tallied total, and finally into a graphed visual representation.

At the completion of the lesson students had solidified their foundational knowledge of the topic, and can confidently tally and graph a numerical total.

Angles and Lines

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:42 AEST

Stage 2 have also been learning about different types of angles and lines. 3-4R made artworks that have many obtuse, acute and right angles. Our artworks also have parallel and perpendicular lines. Last Friday we sang a song that helped us to remember the different types of angles and presented our artworks at the Celebration Assembly.

Melting Moments

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:09 AEST

In 3-4M we have been studying a unit in Science called ‘Melting moments'. So far we have been able to link our science with literacy in the classroom. We have been exploring how solids and liquids are influenced by temperature, student's experience the way items from their everyday lives can change. We have been using hands-on investigations such as heating cordial, chocolate and oil on the stove to investigate their characteristics. While at home the students explored this with some common materials from home. Sophie was lucky enough to explore the change of sugar when it goes in your mouth, from a solid to a liquid. Nia was able to change the consistency of Coke from a liquid to almost a solid when she learnt how to make slushies in class. We can't wait to explore the rest of this unit!

Student Leadership Development

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:36 AEST

Student Leadership Development

Student Voice is a key component of our school culture here at Tweed Heads South PS. One avenue that provided a voice to students is our Student Leadership team.

All Year 5 students will participate in the Leadership @ School and Beyond Program during Term 4. The program will be conducted by Stage 3 teachers and the Assistant Principal and Principal. The program will address the following items:

What is Leadership?
Where do we see leaders?
What do leaders do?
What does leadership mean?

The Behaviours & Qualities of a Leader

What are the qualities and behaviours of a leader?
Why would people want to be led by you?
Who do you think are good examples of effective leaders?
What does doing the right thing mean? How does this apply here at school?
When might you be called upon to take a stand for what's right?
How do we encourage other people to act and behave in a particular way?

Developing the Leader's role at school

What is the purpose of your position as a student leader?
What do you think are the things you will be required to do as a student leader?

Selection of student leaders is a process. Following expression of interest, interviews and executive reviews are conducted to select Student Leaders. Suitability includes showing the ability to make decisions for themselves (without peer pressure), demonstrates exemplary behaviour – acts with integrity, respect, fairness and safety, have shown a willingness to be involved in extracurricular activities, displays initiative, works well as a team member, possess strong communication skills and proudly wears school uniform.

The panel will meet on Monday 27 November 2017 and interview the students expressing interest in submitting an application for a school student leader role in 2018. The panel will consist of the Principal, Assistant Principal, Stage 3 Staff Representative, current 2017 School Captains and a P&C Parent Representative (this P&C parent will not be the parent of any of the applying students).

Eight (8) students will be selected to represent our school as student leaders in 2018 (any combination of students e.g. 4 boys, 4 girls or 1 girl, 7 boys) based on these interviews and applications. The student body (Years 2 – 5 and staff) will vote for elected school captains from the pool of eight (8) selected leaders following their speeches at assembly on Friday 1 December 2017. This will be a secret ballot style vote with ‘first past the post' students elected as school captains.

Students and their families will be notified of either being successful or unsuccessful in receiving a student leadership placement for 2018 before the Presentation Day (Friday, 8 December 2017) in writing. Official announcement of the student leaders will be made at this year's Presentation Day. An Induction Ceremony will be held in early 2018 for the student leadership team which will also include House Captains.

Keeping Parents in the LOOP - Ordering Book Club online

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:02 AEST

Here is the link to Book Club LOOP (Linked Online Ordering Payment) instructions that parents can use to access online payments: www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP_How_to_Order_and_Pay

Enrolments for 2018 - Preschool, Kindergarten and beyond!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:49 AEST

Tweed Heads South Public School are now taking enrolments for 2018

If your child will be attending our school next year or you know of any children of neighbours, family or friends attending next year, please contact the office on 07 5524 3408 to arrange the necessary paperwork. Orientation sessions have commenced. Don't let your child miss out!

STORY DOGS visit Tweed Heads South Public School

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:35 AEST

Story Dogs

Each Thursday, 1-2A and 1-2C get a visit from a few furry friends, Mango and Lilly. Mango and Lily are a part of the organisation, Story Dogs who have played a huge role in our school over the past years.

From each class, three students each week go to visit Mango and Lilly with their owners Margaret and Gaye to read several stories in our school library. The students walk the dogs to the library. Mango and Lilly patiently listen to the students read and return them safely back to class. They are great listeners! We love having a whole class visit just before lunch from the story dogs.

"When children read to a dog, the outcomes are amazing! It's non-judgmental, children's focus improves, literacy skills increase and confidence soars" - Story Dogs Website

Twilight Fete Friday 20 October 2017

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:44 AEST

Escape to Everywhere at the Book Week Parade!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:49 AEST

Student and staff Escape To Everywhere at

2017 Book Week Parade

The annual Book Week Parade was a magnificent day for the Tweed Heads South PS and especially in the life of the student as we celebrated Book Week. Book Week was established by the Children's Book Council of Australia in 1945 with the aim of engaging the community with literature for young children. Each year, schools and public libraries across Australia spend a week celebrating books, and Australian authors and illustrators.

This year, the theme for Book Week was Escape To Everywhere. Student and staff came dressed as their favourite book character or well known (and loved) character from the latest book to old time classics.

In the lead up to Book Week, each class had the opportunity to read various book as part of our literacy teaching and DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time. It was very evident the students were completely engaged with their stories and Book Week theme for this year.

The parade held on Friday 25 August, was a wonderful experience for all. It was made even more special with our Preschool students joining in on the parade celebrating their love of reading and good book (and the fun of dressing up).

The range of costumes and colour made the parade look even more spectacular. There were heroic heroes and vile villains, pretty princesses and honourable heroines, shy school kids and terrible teachers, amazing animals and mythical beasts, characters of future and past, funny and serious, cute and cool, and a whole lot of fun! The students had a terrific time marching around the school hall and really appreciated the older students taking an active interest in the event.

The parade was expertly led by Captain Haddock (aka Mr Taylor) from the classic TinTin series, accompanied by a band of creative and fun-loving staff. In support of Captain Haddock was Alice from Wonderland and Juliet from Shakespeare (Mrs Madden and Mrs Haim), Miss Trunchbowl and Matilda from Matilda (Mrs Hunt & Ms Brett), Greg Heffley from Diary of a Whimpy Kid (Mr Russo), Thelma the Unicorn, the Evil Queen and the Gruffalo (Mrs French, Mrs Davis, Mrs Stanford), double trouble with Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Cat In the Hat (Ms Anderson and Ms Castles), Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood from the fairy tales (Mrs Campbell and Mrs Ryan), Harry Potter from Hogwarts and Tikki Tikki Tembo from A well in China (Mrs Moores and Ms Lymbery) and the Footy Legend from Brewarrina (Mr Nicholls).

Following the parade students and families had the opportunity to read a story together, highlighting the importance and value of having young children read from such an early age and continuing to read through the preteen years and into adulthood. One can always ESCAPE TO EVERYWHERE with the gift of reading a good book.

The year's Book Week Parade was another outstanding day in the life of the Tweed Heads South Public School.

Keep on reading,

Mr Taylor

Tell Them From Me Parent & Student Surveys

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:40 AEST

**The Tell Them From Me student feedback survey**

We are delighted that this term, our school, like many other public schools in the state, will participate in a Department of Education initiative: the Tell Them From Me student feedback survey. The survey aims to help improve student learning outcomes and measures factors that are known to affect academic achievement and other student outcomes. The focus of the NSW-wide survey is on student wellbeing, engagement and effective teaching practices.

You may remember that our students also participated in a Tell Them From Me student survey in Term 1 this year. Asking students to complete the survey twice in one year allows us to identify trends in student responses as well as track engagement and motivation across the school year.

More information about the survey is available at: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/information-for-parents

The survey is a great opportunity for our students to provide us with valuable and quick feedback on what they think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. Schools in Australia and around the world have used the Tell Them From Me survey to help improve how they do things at school.

We want to assure you that the survey is confidential. The survey is conducted online and will typically take less than 30 minutes to complete. It will be administered during school hours between 21 August and 13 October. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary.

A consent form and FAQs for parents/carers about the survey has been sent home with students.

**The Partners in Learning parent feedback survey**

Also this Term, our school will be participating in the Partners in Learning parent survey, another part of the Tell Them From Me suite of surveys (student, teacher and parent surveys) on student engagement. The survey asks parents and carers questions about different factors that are known to impact on student wellbeing and engagement.

Running this survey will help our school understand parents' and carers' perspectives on their child's experience at school. These include: communication between parents/carers and staff, activities and practices at home and parent/carer views on the school's support of learning and behaviour. This valuable feedback will help our school make practical improvements.

The survey is conducted entirely online at home or on public computers. The survey will typically take 15 minutes or less to complete and is completely confidential. The parent survey will be conducted between 11 September and 13 October. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary, however, your responses are very much appreciated.

Access to the survey can be found by clicking the below link or entering the URL address into your browser: https://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/thspsparentsurvey2017

More information about the survey is available at: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/information-for-parents

CAREERS MARKET DAY 2017

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:46 AEST

Tweed Heads South Public School would like to thank the following stallholders for your participation in our highly successful Careers Market Day for 2017. This has been our 6^th year running and with your support over 500 students have been inspired to ‘DREAM BIG' Thankyou

(Please see photos in the Gallery section of the website)

Artist - Ryan Bowles Graphic Design

Bunnings Tweed Heads South

Envision Optical

Epic Skate Rink

Fire Brigade - Tweed Heads

Global Care

Industry Dance

Jesse McInnes - Lifestyle Coach

Marine Rescue Point Danger

McDonalds - Tweed Heads South

Police NSW

Australian Federal Police

MSP Photography

Queensland Health (Pathology QLD)

Rainbow Bay Real Estate

Surf Life Saving

Aquatic Skateboards

Twin Towns Swim Club

Talent Management - Ben Byrne

Titans

Tweed Coast Catering

Tweed Shire Council - Waste Management

Tweed River High School

Tweed Regional Art Gallery

Southern Cross University

11th Hour Coffee

BOOKCANEER Book Fair - where books are the treasure!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:44 AEST

The Scholastic Book Fair will be at our school Monday 15 May to Friday 19 May 2017.

Our new Book Fair theme for Terms 2, 2017 is BOOKCANEER Book Fair (pdf 5091 KB): Where books are the treasure! This season's Book Fair will be an exciting celebration full of fun activities and hundreds of books kids want to read.

The Book Fair is a fantastic opportunity for you to purchase quality books you can share with your child and add to their book collection at home. Attached is an invitation with examples of some of the books that will be available for sale.

Students will have a chance to have a look at the Book Fair during their library time, and will be able to purchase books at certain times before school, during breaks and after school.

If you have some time to help us plan or conduct our next Book Fair, please contact the office by Thursday 11 May 2017.

Fun FRIENDS parent/carer morning tea!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:52 AEST

Fun FRIENDS Parent/Carer Information Morning Tea

As a part of our continuing education around student wellbeing and social skills development, K to 2 class teachers will be using the Fun FRIENDS Program with students starting this term. Working with NSW Health, our K to 2 teachers have become trained facilitators of Fun FRIENDS,

Mr Taylor and Camille Smith (Got It!, Senior Clinician NSW Health) will be hosting a parent/carer information session about Fun FRIENDS. This will be a relaxed and informative time together.

WHEN: Friday 12 May 2017 at 9:15am - 10:00am

WHERE: School Library

COST: FREE

OTHER: Tea/Coffee and morning tea will be provided

The Fun FRIENDS Program was developed by Dr Paula Barrett to help guide the social and emotional development of children aged 4 to 7 by using fun, play-based group activities. Fun FRIENDS teaches skills that will nurture a child's development and resilience during these crucial early years, giving them the ability to excel and smoothly transition into school life.

Please RSVP to the office by Wednesday 10 May as soon as possible to secure your place. For more information please contact Mr Taylor via the office on 07 5524 3408.

ANZAC Day 2017

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:43 AEST

ANZAC Day goes beyond the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It is the day on which we remember all Australians who served and died in war and on operational service. The spirit of ANZAC, with its qualities of courage, mateship and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity.

Tweed Heads South Public School has a proud tradition of joining other schools in the district and ex-servicemen and women who march on ANZAC Day leaving from Jack Evans Boat Harbour, Tweed Heads on Tuesday 25 April 2017 at 9:45am.

Our school also held an ANZAC service in the school hall on Monday 24 April with parents, families and community members invited to attend this special occasion.

Thank you - GOT IT!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:40 AEST

Getting On Track In Time (Got It!)

We would like to thank all of the parents and carers who took the time to complete and return the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire that was distributed to all Kindergarten-Year 2 students earlier this term. The results of the questionnaires have helped identify children who would benefit from being included in the Getting On Track In Time (Got It!) targeted group, running in our school next term.

By completing the questionnaire, you have also helped us gain a better understanding of the needs of the children and their families at Tweed Heads South Public School.

Those families selected for involvement in the group program have been contacted. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact Damien Taylor, Assistant Principal on 07 5524 3408.

Schoolyard Safari

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:29 AEST

As part of our science unit, Schoolyard Safari, 1-2A have been learning about the different animals and bugs we can find in the environment. We brainstormed and predicted what we might find in our schoolyard and then we ventured out into the playground to explore different areas that we thought different animals might be. We recorded what we had found and discussed why we would find these animals in these areas. Each group compared their findings. We found ants, lady birds, beetles and spiders. Over the term we will be exploring a range of different bugs more closely including, worms, snails and ants.

School Closure Friday 31 March 2017

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:28 AEST

School Closure: Friday 31 March 2017

As you may be aware, there is currently an emergency situation in our community involving the severe weather warning issued by the Bureau of Meteorology http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/forecasts/tweedheads.shtml

To ensure the safety of staff and students, a decision has been made that our school including the preschool and OOSH (before/after school care) will not be operating on Friday 31 March 2017.

There will be no staff on site tomorrow. Please ensure that you put supervision arrangements in place for your child tomorrow.

The school will recommence operations on Monday 3 March 2017 unless other advice is issued.

Updates will be sent via the phone app School Stream and Schoolzine and a post will be put on our Facebook page and our school website.

Stay safe!

Weather Warning - School is Open

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:46 AEST

WEATHER WARNING - School is open.

If absent today, reason as "Weather Warning" is suitable. If you need to collect your child early today, please contact the office and come in to sign them out - "Weather Warning" will be the reason used. We will continue updates via SCHOOL STREAM, FACEBOOK and WEBSITE.

Stay safe!

Official Bureau of Meteorology weather updates:

http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/forecasts/tweedheads.shtml

Got It!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:53 AEST

Getting on Track in Time – Got It!

Got It! is a new program supported by the NSW Ministry of Health, and the NSW Department of Education. Tweed Heads South Public School has the opportunity to participate in this exciting new program in Terms 1 & 2 in 2017.

Got It! aims to provide support and assistance to children and their families, while working alongside the school community to help children get the most out of the opportunities available to them. Challenging and disruptive behaviour often causes difficulties in many areas of a child's life and can be stressful for them, their family, friends and community.

All K-2 children will be offered social and emotional learning activities delivered by their class teacher. Some children will also be invited to participate in an additional small group component of Got It! facilitated by local NSW Health professionals.

The Got It! team is looking forward to working at Tweed Heads South Public School, and would like to thank the whole school community for your commitment to improving the wellbeing of children and families.

So then, what is the Got It! Program?

The Got It! team is based within the school environment for two terms and has two components of service delivery:

a universal program and
a small group program

Small Group Program

The small group program is run by mental health clinicians and is a unique package consisting of multi-group, attachment based interventions for children and their parent/carer. This supports parenting practices and strengthens family units to improve social skills, emotional resilience and self-esteem in children. The small group runs weekly for a school term within school hours.

Universal Program

The universal program is delivered by teachers within the school and is offered to all children in K-2. The universal program addresses similar topics to the small group and aims to improve emotional recognition, social and friendship skills and develop problem solving and coping strategies. The Got It! Clinicians train the teachers to deliver the evidence based program in the classroom setting.

First term: The first term that Got It! is within the school is the ‘set up' phase. This involves a process of assessing all children in Kindergarten, year 1 and 2 and short listing to determine the small group participants. During this phase, teaching staff are also provided with professional learning by the Got It! team so they can facilitate the universal program.

Second term: The second term is the ‘intervention' phase. This involves the implementation of the universal program and the small group program.

Welcome to 2017!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:46 AEST

Welcome to 2017 and the start of a new school year!

Already it is shaping up as a wonderful year! Nearly 20 additional children have joined our Vibrant, Caring and Successful school community this year. Additionally, we are eagerly preparing for our Kindergarten boys and girls who will start class this Thursday after completing their Best Start Assessment. We are excited to welcome those families with children attending our excellent preschool in both the Blue Whale and Red Turtle sessions.

Digital Newsletter
Our school's newsletter will be going digital. This will be a great improvement with a new layout which allows room for more photos and videos of your children. To ensure you don't miss this opportunity we need you to provide us with your email address. Email you details (as listed below) to the front office as soon as possible.

Email:

tweedhdest-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Child's Name: ________________________
Child's Class: ________________________
Parents Name: ________________________
Email Address: ________________________

92.5 GOLD FM Back To School Breakfast at Tweed Heads South Public School

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:41 AEST

Imagine waking up and getting ready for school knowing that Bridge & Spida were at your school waiting for you to arrive.

Bridge & Spida are coming back to school here at Tweed Heads South Public School on Thursday, 24 November, bringing with them a big breakfast, giveaways and a whole load of fun!

In 2014, Give Me 5 for Kids celbrated 20 years of fundraising to support children's wards throughut hospitals across regional Australia.

Throughout its 20 years, Give Me 5 for Kids has raised more than $12 million for over 40 children's hospital wards across the country; all of which began in the 1990s as a simple coin drive. This year, SCA is more dedicated than ever to ensure it continues to give regional Australians the opportunity to contribute to this heartfelt campaign, and make a difference to the hospitals that care for children.

All proceeds from the day will go to "Give Me 5 for Kids".

‘That Sugar Film Competition’

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:40 AEST

We received an exciting email on Friday from the team at ‘Sugar Squad'. They were pleased to inform our school that our video entry into ‘That Sugar Film Competition' called ‘The Sugar King Song' has been selected as one of the six finalist videos. Judges said that they had tough decisions to make as they reduced the entries down to just six. The officials also said that we should be very proud of our efforts. We are!

Furthermore, the finalists were announced publicly at 5pm on Friday, 21 October. Our entry is now available for the world to see! Entries have also been posted on ‘That Sugar Song Film' Facebook site with over 240,000 followers! The team congratulated us on such a great job and stated that the winners will be announced at the end of the month. Stage 2 students are very excited and all students and teachers at our wonderful school are hoping that we can be placed. To watch our finalist video visit www.thatsugarfilm.com/school-competition

Our Top Preschool!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:16 AEST

On a recent visit, journalist Aisling visited our wonderful preschool to see the great work being done and grab a photo of our happy little preschoolers to show in the Tweed Daily News.

Check out the link to the article as we are very pround of our preschool and the outstanding efforts for the staff, students and parents who are involved.

Tweed Daily link

Tweed South Public Pre-school tops list for education and care quality

TWEED South Public Pre-school has exceeded the national quality standards set out by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority.

Tweed South Public Pre-school assistant principal Damien Taylor said the staff and school community were proud of the hard work put into achieving the result.

Family Fun Day - Saturday 29 Oct, 2016

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:51 AEST

We are desperately need volunteers for our FAMILY FUN DAY (and Election BBQ) this Saturday 29 October, 3pm - 7pm.

If you can help out for an hour or so with the BBQ & CAKE Stall, or with ticket sales for the rides or balloon man please contact the school on 0755243408 and let us know the time slots you're available.

Rosters also on display at the canteen and office.

Family Fun Day (pdf 1911 KB)

TELL THEM FROM ME - parent & student surveys

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:39 AEST

The Tell Them From Me student feedback survey

This term, our school, like many other public schools in the state, will participate in a Department of Education initiative: the Tell Them From Me student feedback survey. The survey aims to help improve student learning outcomes and measures factors that are known to affect academic achievement and other student outcomes. The focus of the NSW-wide survey is on student wellbeing, engagement and effective teaching practices.

We want to assure you that the survey is confidential. The survey is conducted online and will typically take less than 30 minutes to complete. It will be administered during school hours between 22 August and 21 October. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary.

A consent form and FAQs for parents/carers about the survey is being sent home with students. If you do not want your child or children to participate, please return the form to school by Tuesday 18 October 2016. Copies of the form and FAQs are available from the website below.

The Partners in Learning parent feedback survey

This Term, our school will be participating in the Partners in Learning parent survey, another part of the Tell Them From Me suite of surveys (student, teacher and parent surveys) on student engagement. The survey asks parents and carers questions about different factors that are known to impact on student wellbeing and engagement.

The survey is conducted entirely online at home or on public computers. The survey will typically take 15 minutes or less to complete and is completely confidential. The parent survey will be conducted between 22 August and 21 October. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary, however, your responses are very much appreciated. You can access the survey via the following link: https://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/thsps2016

The school computer lab will also be available between 8:30 – 9:15am each morning this week for you to access to complete this survey. Contact the office if you have any questions regarding this, as an executive staff member will be able to assist.

More information about the survey is available at: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/information-for-parents

Beg my pardon, WE HAVE THE BEST GARDEN!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:44 AEST

Tweed Heads South Public School students enjoy gardening during our breaks, we attend the garden and plant Herbs, Vegetables and Flowers. We water and weed every day and when harvest time arrives students will pick and create dishes in our Brekki Club kitchen to share recipes and create master dishes so we can learn how to grow produce and eat healthy.

In September 2016 the THSPS Garden Club Gnomes entered the Banora Point Gardening Club competition where the judges visited our school garden and commented on how awesome the garden was looking and in particular they liked our hay bales that supported the strawberry patch which was all donated by Greg from Banora Point Garden Club.

On Tuesday 11^th October we had such a lovely surprise from Greg as he announced that we were the winners in our area and we were awarded a trophy and certificate congratulating us on a garden that we should be proud of and all our hard work has shown all students how much fun it is to create your own garden and to live a healthy lifestyle.

We would like to thank all the members of Banora Point Gardening Club for their valuable advice and lovely donations to help inspire us to keep gardening.

Luka & Waimarama - Year 6 Garden Gnomes

Surf Life Saving 2016

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:37 AEST

Surf Awareness and Beach Safety Program

Students from Years 3-6 attended a Surf Awareness and Beach Safety Program held at Coolangatta Beach on behalf of the Queensland Surf Life Saving Association.

The beach workshops covered:

The role of lifesavers and life guards
Surf conditions - waves and rip currents
Basic first aid and CPR
Practical water and safety skills in the surf
Basic rescue techniques

Did you know that a Lifesaver wears red and yellow and is a volunteer worker and a Lifeguard wears white and blue at the beach and is a paid worker? Last Tuesday and Wednesday, students from Tweed Heads South Public school learnt about the ways to be safe at the beach, where to go to if they are in trouble at the beach and also what the lifesavers and life guards do at the beach to keep us safe.

Scott from Queensland Surf Life Saving Association talks students through different signs used at the beach and their meanings, demonstrated a safe rescue and talked about the importance of swimming between the flags and not swimming at night.

To fit with the theme of the day, the canteen had some awesome healthy red and yellow food and the students raised money to help support the surf life savers, as their job (as volunteers) is such an important role in the community.

Some valuable lessons learnt!

Excellence Assembly 2016

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:50 AEST

NORTH COAST ATHLETICS

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:12 AEST

Congratulations to the three students from Tweed Heads South Public School who represented the Far North Coast for Athletics at Coffs Harbour. Bayden finished 6th in his heat in the Senior Boys 200m sprint, Lacey finished 7th place in the Junior Girls discus, and Shane came 1st in the 11 Years Boys Discus. Shane will go on to compete in Sydney in October as part of the North Coast Athletics Team in the State Athletics Competition at Olympic Park. We wish him the best of luck and well done to these athletes who represented the school again, for your dedication and sportsmanship on the day.

PUBLIC SPEAKING 2016

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:25 AEST

Boy, can she Talk!

Last Wednesday, 7 September our representatives from each stage travelled to Murwillumbah Public School for the Tweed District Public Speaking competition. Tj represented Stage 1 with her speech about ‘Myself'. She did a wonderful job and made us very proud. Lachlan spoke for Stage 2 with his ‘A-Maze-In' speech and made it through to the finals, which is a very big achievement. And Kirra-Lea? Well, Kirra-Lea exemplified our school motto ‘Vibrant Caring Successful' by winning the competition with her fabulous speech ‘For the longest time'. Congratulations, you all worked very hard to be outstanding public speakers.

Little Horticulturists

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:08 AEST

Preschool have been enjoying reading fairy tales and Jack and the beanstalk was a huge favourite!

We decided to grow our own beans and see how tall they would grow. We created a castle in the clouds and discussed the cycle of beans growing. We talked about germination, roots, seedlings and what the beans need to grow. We are now growing our own beans and observing the roots and measuring how high our beans are growing.

Kade began growing beans in his hothouse at home as well and today has brought in one he grew at home to plant in our vegetable gardens here at preschool along with some of the bean plants we have grown here!

Our gardens are growing beautifully and we have some beautiful flowers growing now and this week we will be harvesting the kale and making some delicious kale chips. We are looking forward to it!

Preschool children enjoy the experience of planting the seeds and nurturing the gardens and then being able to eat the produce such as the beans and peas, mint and we are really hoping to be able to eat some blueberries! Children are learning to take care of their environment and also responsibility through watering the gardens and weeding them as well learning about the lifecycles of seeds and the benefits for birds, bees and butterflies when we grow the flowers.

YOU CAN DO IT PROGRAM

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:51 AEST

You Can Do It!

In the last 5 weeks we have talked about ways of thinking that help students to be successful and happy at school. We have looked at persistence, resilience, getting along, organisation and confidence. We are now looking at the 5 ways of thinking that stop students being happy and successful. They are (feeling very down, worry, procrastination, not paying attention and anger)

This week we look at feeling very worried. This means that you worry a lot about whether other people like you. You can also feel anxious about your school work or other achievements and you can spend a lot of time worrying about mistakes or having to do things perfectly.

Negative ways of thinking that lead to feeling very worried include:

• Needing to be perfect-thinking that I have to be successful in everything I do, I can't stand it if I am not.

• Needing approval- thinking that I must always have people approve of what I do.

• I can't be bothered-thinking that life should always be fun and exciting and that I can't stand it when things are frustrating, boring or uncomfortable.

Things you can do to help your child:

Try challenging these negative ways of thinking. Build your child's confidence and discuss the fact that it's OK to make mistakes, we can learn from them and we do not have to be perfect we just have to give it our best try. Show your child how to use positive self- talk to remind themselves to stay calm, encourage them to keep trying and tell them that it's OK to take risks. Have a little saying your child can say to themselves to stop themselves from getting too worried. eg: I can do it, it's going to be OK or I can handle this.

Show your child that they are more likely to be successful than fail when they are organised and persist. Discuss with your child the fact that in order to be successful in the future, you sometimes have to do things that are not easy or fun in the present.

Olympic Fever!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:15 AEST

The students of 3-4R have been learning about ‘The Olympics' in HSIE and have had the fortunate opportunity of being able to watch the games live! Students have been cheering on their favourite athletes, creating Olympic artworks and have been researching and learning about the different sports in the Olympics, athletes and countries that participate. Students are learning how to use Microsoft PowerPoint and Publisher to create a presentation and poster about the Olympics.

3-4R have taken part in an exciting inquiry topic ‘Package it better' in science. The students have been investigating different materials and are developing an understanding of its properties. The students have been working very hard together and have used team building, communication and construction skills to create a triangular structure from cardboard.

The students have been working on their public speaking speeches this term. Congratulations to all students who presented their speeches. It was very difficult to choose our final six students as our finalists to present their speeches to the school. Congratulations to our winners, in particular Lachlan who was selected to present his speech at Murwillumbah High School and our runner up Jaydah.

Out with the old, in with the new!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:17 AEST

To complement the new school uniforms introduced at Tweed Heads South Public School this year, the Sports Committee, P & C, Canteen and Executive have been working together to organise custom new sports uniforms for Tweed Heads South Public School, which will be worn for different sports when representing the school as part of a team or individual event.

These new sets include two sets of rugby league uniforms with matching black socks, sports shirts and matching shorts for athletics, soccer, softball and cricket. The new singlets will be used for AFL, basketball and netball.

Now, our students will look as good as they play and compete!!

A huge thank you to the P&C and the Canteen for your generous donation towards these items!

The students modelling the new uniforms are those athletes who attended the Zone Athletics Carnival (minus Kiannah and Tashahn who were unavailable for the photo) last Wednesday at Byron Bay. They all represented the school with pride, dedication and demonstrated good sportsmanship the entire day.

Well done to these students:

Shane who came 2^nd place in the 11 years Boys Discus,
Samuel who came 2^nd in the AWD 100m and 200m, 1^st in the AWD 800m and Long Jump, 3^rd place in AWD Discus and Shot Put,
Bayden who placed 3^rd in the 12-13 Years Boys 200m sprint,
Lacey who placed 1^st in the 8-10 Years Girls Discus,
Kiannah who placed 5^th in the 11 years Girls Shot Put and Discus,
Bianca who jumped a massive 1.27m in the 12-13 Years Girls High Jump, and
Tashahn who jumped 8^th place in the 11 years Boys High Jump.

Well done to these athletes who have been training each break showing their dedication and commitment to the sport. Bayden, Lacey, Samuel and Shane will represent the Far North Coast Zone at the International Sports Stadium, Coffs Harbour on Friday, 2 September.

Farewell Miss Toop

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:51 AEST

Tweed Heads South Public School would like to wish Ms Toop all the best in her new permanent teaching position at Ocean Shores Public School. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. You will be certainly missed by everyone at Tweed Heads South Public School.

Petite Pablo Picassos

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:18 AEST

The students in 3-4N are really enjoying their art sessions with Mr Nicholls and did an excellent job in colouring in portraits that emulate the work of Pablo Picasso.

Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain, in 1881. He became one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century. Picasso is still well respected for his work today. His masterpieces are on display around the world as originals and prints. They are often seen in schools, universities and art galleries.

Visual Arts teachers from all over the world enjoy sharing their knowledge of Picasso's techniques with the students. Developing the students' artistic skills will ensure that they are provided with an opportunity to be creative and original with their artwork. This is how artists begin their journey to becoming recognised for their paintings and drawings. After two sessions of preparation Mr Nicholls gave the students in 3-4N the opportunity to attempt and complete their own original portraits using Picasso's techniques.

The students used curved and straight lines of varying thicknesses to draw an outline of their portrait. They chose their pastel colours carefully and shaded their backgrounds to blend in with their portraits. The quality of work from the class shows that the students prepared well and were very creative.

Songwriting Stars

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:32 AEST

Singing together is fun, but writing your own songs and singing together is even more fun - and rewarding!

The Australian Children's Music Foundation would like to congratulate Tweed South PS on our achievement in the 2015 National Songwriting Competition. We are extremely proud of the result and to have been selected by the highly esteemed panel of judges whose job was made even more difficult because of the high standard of the entries that were received.

The song "Jingern-Jingiwalah" was written in Bundjalung by year one and two at Tweed Heads South PS with the assistance of Mr Dave Nicholls and Ms Kelly Castles. It has won the songwriting award - 1st prize in the K-2 category for the composition. Congratulations to all involved. The information and link to their song is below. A tremendous achievement.

Click here to find and listen to "Jingern-Jingiwalah": http://acmf.com.au/national-songwriting-competition-winner/

Jarjums Ngunya

Jarjums ngunya

Jingern jingiwalah - Hello, how are you

Gunngalair ngaygulla gulla - Listen, I am here

Jarjums ngunya Jarjums ngunya

Ngulliboo muggi - All of us are strong

Ngaygulla gunjull - Yeah, I am beautiful

Jarjums ngunya - Jarjums ngunya

Ngulliboo gooyumgun - All of us are stars

Ngulliboo woolar - All of us can share

Jarjums ngunya

Ngnboo

Running Champions

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:27 AEST

Zone Cross Country Update:

Last Friday saw three students from Tweed Heads South compete for a place in the Zone Cross Country Team. Jyungarah, Lacey and Mathew had to run their given distances at the new course at Byron Bay Parklands, home of Splendour in the Grass venue.

They all ran under terrible weather conditions; it was raining and cold the entire day, coupled with the massive hill and rough terrain to contend with. They all ran a fantastic race, with Jyungarah coming in 35th place, Lacey 9th and Mathew 12th place. Well done to these students as they represented the School and the Tweed district with pride.

Ahoy there me hearties!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:42 AEST

Last Friday K-1C enjoyed a wonderful day of pirate themed activities. Firstly, most of us dressed the part by coming to school in various types of pirate clothing. We were of course very sad to see that our teacher Mrs Campbell had been made to walk the plank and was replaced for the day by a scary looking Captain Campbell.

However, Captain Campbell allowed us to play ‘Pop up Pirate' as one of our literacy activities, we made treasure maps, we spoke about our news in pirate language, we constantly let out random

‘aarghs' throughout the day, and for maths we were blindfolded and played a game of pin the patch on the pirate which was won by Kohan.

We were also very pleased to have raised so much gold – especially by Elijah who brought in his money box (with permission from his mum) and put the whole lot into our loot bag. This money goes to helping less fortunate children who are sick with cancer.

We had fun with Captain Campbell but we were glad to see that Mrs Campbell was back and still healthy on Tuesday. Thank you Captain Campbell for the treasure chest full of loot you left for us.

Solar System and the position of planets

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:31 AEST

5/6T and 5/6M have been learning about the solar system and the position of planets. This was a hands on lesson creating a smaller scale of our solar system. Using balls and smaller round objects we could gain a sense of understanding the distance of each planet from the sun and from each other.

Hopscotch to go!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:57 AEST

Hopscotch to go!

Students in 5-6T have had fun learning how to code with the app ‘Hopscotch'. This award winning, educational app teaches you how to code to learn the fundamentals of programming. You can make your own games and publish them sharing your creations so anyone with an iPhone or iPad can play them.
Students made games like Angry Birds, pixel art, Geometry Dash, Flappy Bird and crazy things with emoji. Mrs Smith and Ms Toop demonstrated how the app works on the iPad and then students explored by themselves with help via tutorials.
In participating in these computer science learning activities 5-6T students are ‘creating' technology expressing themselves and enhance problem solving skills. Over the next 10 years programming will be one of the fastest growing occupations and programmers will be able to demand high salaries!

Moon Phases

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:09 AEST

The phases of the Moon depend on its position in relation to the Sun and Earth. As the Moon makes its way around the Earth, we see the bright parts of the Moon's surface at different angles. These are called "phases" of the Moon.

There are 8 Moon phases; New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter and Waning Crescent. 5-6M will be presenting their Moon Phases learning at assembly.

5-6M have been using one of the Primary Connections Science kits to investigate ‘Earths Place in Space. We have been using the kit to firstly understand the relationship between the Earth, Moon and Sun. We found out that the Earth, which is the third planet from the Sun, takes 24 hours to rotate or spin around. This is what causes day and night. As the Earth rotates, it also revolves around the Sun.

The Earth's path around the Sun is called it's orbit. It takes the Earth one year, or 365 1/4 days, to completely orbit the Sun. As the Earth orbits the Sun, the Moon orbits the Earth. The Moon's orbit lasts 27 1/2 days, but because the Earth keeps moving, it takes the Moon two extra days, 29 1/2, to come back to the same place in our sky. Sometimes during their orbits, the Moon and the Earth form a line with the Sun. When this happens, an eclipse occurs.

There are two kinds of eclipse - lunar and solar. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth moves between the Sun and the moon, blocking part of the Sun's light from reaching the moon. During a lunar eclipse, you will see the Earth's shadow on the moon. In a solar eclipse, the moon moves between the Earth and the Sun. When this happens, part of the Sun's light is blocked. The sky slowly gets dark as the moon moves in front of the Sun. When the moon and Sun are in a perfect line, it is called a total eclipse.

Coding with 'Bee-Bot'

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:47 AEST

‘Bee-Bot' is on the move...

We would like to introduce you to K-1W class robot called Bee Bot. He has made an appearance in our class over the past two weeks in our literacy and math small group rotations.

The children have been coding bee-bot (using the direction keys to program Bee Bot's journey) so that he can find his way to specific letters on his alphabet mat, to find a particular 2D shape on the shape grid and to find specific places on an island treasure map. The children have really enjoyed incorporating this
technology into their literacy and math learning.

Do the kids start back today?

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:46 AEST

Do the kids start back today? Yes!!

Wednesday, 27 April - All classes (Blue Whales Preschoolers and Kindergarten to Year 6) return.

Red Turtles return Thursday, 28 April.

Welcome back to Term 2!

Jump Rope for Heart visit 2016

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:57 AEST

Jump Rope for Heart

After Friday's assembly Katie from Jump Rope for Heart visited our school and talked to us about heart disease and how to keep fit and healthy by doing at least 1 hour exercise per day and eating the right foods and drink water.

Katie taught us a variety of games and skills including Single Jump, Double Over, Cross Over, Pretzel and with a partner you can do figure 8, Cat and Mouse, Double Dutch and Face to Face. After the talk and demonstrations we went outside to practise the skills with skipping ropes donated to us by the Jump Rope for Heart Foundation.

If you volunteer to participate in the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser day and donate money towards Jump Rope for Heart you can receive different prizes and by donating you can help people in need with heart disease and also help Australia's best scientists and doctors come together to make little machines to help people with heart disease.

Students from Tweed Heads South Public School have been skipping every day during 2^nd break to keep fit and healthy, we have made our own games up including Teddy Bear, 123, Alphabet song, Alphabet Jump and Pepper, everyone is welcome to join in.

5/6 students with their new learnt skills will go out during breaks and teach our younger students these skills and tricks so we can all join in and help Jump Rope for Heart. With our parents/carers permission we will be practising at school then holding a ‘Jump Off' towards the end of term. So let's keep fit and enjoy the new skills that we have learnt.

By Nicholas, Jorja and Kirra-Lea

School Buildings gets a much need facelift

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:28 AEST

School Building Work commenced on Thursday, 7 April. Our school library will have a replacement roof installed. During the autumn vacation Block C will be repainted. Both projects, although separate jobs, are scheduled for completion by the end of the vacation. There is a chance the painting may still be underway on at least one face the building during the first week back in Term 2.

During this work a safety fence will be erected to provide a safe perimeter around the work area. Part of this fence will pass between the library and Block C (Year 3-4 class block) and also through the preschool playground.

Access to the preschool, will still be available through the usual entry point from the car park but the gate into the school playground adjacent to the library will not be available. The rear gates to the school playground (near the whale and turtle sculptures will also be available for your use).

Staff will make adjustments to the outdoor program to accommodate these works. There is NO access to the area enclosed by the fence. We are looking forward to the refurbished library roof and the painting of Block C to give a whole new fresh modern appearance. Please contact Mr Reeson if you have any concerns in relation to this matter

Hop, Hop Hooray!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:57 AEST

1-2C were absolutely full of smiles and cheers last week at our Tweed Heads South Easter Hat Parade. Many students put in a huge effort to create unique Easter hat and join in on the fun of the event. After a number of wonderful weeks of learning, Mr. E. Bunny paid a well-deserved visit to the school library leaving each class member of 1-2C with a basket full of scrumptious eggs! He must have been very impressed!

Over the past few weeks, 1-2C have commenced engaging in ‘Must-do' and ‘Can-do' literacy stations. These stations allow the students to have a choice in the activities they participate in each day. Each week, ten literacy activities are carefully selected to suit the learning needs of the class.

The students must complete the six ‘must-do' stations before they can engage in the four ‘cando' activities. The stations have been a real hit with the class. "I love getting to the can-do stations as fast as I can so I can do the fun activities" said Nicholas.

It has been an eventful Term 1 for 1-2C. I look forward to continuing the wonderful learning throughout Term 2.

Let's Stick Together

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:06 AEST

Borrowing the words from a Bryan Ferry song, our class have been involved in the study of magnets and magnetic forces.

We have studied the strength of a variety of magnets using a number of tests involving paper clips and learned how magnetic forces operate.

During our research sessions we have found out a number of interesting facts. Jacob found out that magnets will attract objects made from iron. nickel or cobalt. Koby found that a coiled wire can be used to make an electromagnet. Braxon found out that the Earth acts like a great big magnet. Jaida told us that magnets have two ends or poles, North and South.

We also researched some of the uses of magnets, such as in hard disk drives, MRI machines and electric motors. Some very valuable uses. Mr Foran reminded us not to put the force to evil use like Magneto or Dart Vader – may the magnetic force be with you 3-4F !

Return to school dates

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:27 AEST

School resumes in 2016...

2016 Term 1 start dates

Year 1 to 6 on Thursday 28 January
Kinder commence Tuesday, 2 February
Blue Whale Preschool commence Tuesday, 2 February
Red Turtle Preschool commence Thursday, 4 February
Teachers return to work Wednesday, 27 January

Standing Out in NEW Uniform

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:34 AEST

The appearance of the new school uniform including the printed shirts and tunic is really turning some heads!

Families are reminded the 15% voucher sent home may be utilised with sales that Lowes hold from time to time.

This week we expect to take delivery of school hats which are being purchased for families with the generous support of the P&C Association and Lowes. Hats will be fitted for each child and their name written on the hats.

Families may choose to either use the new grey hat immediately or continue to use the maroon hat until it is worn out or the start of the new school year. The choice is yours. Please note the school expects all students to wear the full school uniform every day they attend school and this includes the correct school hat. Baseball cap style hats are not acceptable as they do not provide adequate sun safety. Students not wearing the correct school hat are not permitted to play in the sun or use the fixed equipment.

Like us on FACEBOOK

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:06 AEST

Did you know Tweed Heads South Public School now has an official FACEBOOK page?

If you're a FACEBOOK user, why not jump online and like our page and keep up-to-date with events and happenings around the school. it is an extension of our Tweed Heads South Public School community. Please read our Rules of Engagement before joining our Facebook community.

Tweed Heads South Public School is vibrant, caring and successful. We provide a dynamic, happy and safe educational environment where all children learn and develop as individuals.

Please observe a few simple Rules of Engagement:

1. Keep all comments respectful with no swearing or personal criticisms. Inappropriate content will be removed.

2. Please be aware of others' privacy. Don't post images or private or identifying details (including surnames) of children or adults without their permission.

3. We will try to respond to your questions as soon as possible, between 9am and 5pm on school days. If you have an emergency please contact the school on 07 5524 3408.

https://www.facebook.com/Tweed-Heads-South-Public-School-191485334206221/

Anyone for Tennis

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:43 AEST

Students from 2-3F have embraced the Breakpoint tennis coaching sessions with enthusiasm. From the start of the coaching students have improved their hand-eye coordination and racquet control. Ivan "Raffa Nadal" is the most enthusiastic and encourages others to perform at their best. Some others to excel would have to be Shaqkarian and Shakaya aka " Venus and Serena". Kayden is showing the benefits of his lunchtime hitouts with Mr Foran and he says that everyone should give tennis a go. " Come On !"

2-3F have continued their experiments on heat transfer in science and found out that heat can be transferred in three ways, conduction, convection and radiation. We tried different materials to find out which were good and poor conductors of heat. Koby thinks Mr Taylor shouls buy some lab coats for the school so that we can look like real scientists..

2-3F are embarking on some lessons in photography. Students are using their XOs, iPads and school cameras to take interesting photos and also go through the editing process. The photo with this article was taken by Kayden.

2-3F Science is the go !

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:29 AEST

We have started this term involved in a science unit entitled ‘Heating Up'. It looks at changes in temperature and how those changes occur. We have already found out that changes in temperature can occur through electrical, mechanical and chemical means. When we rubbed our hands together to make them warm, Braxon gave us the word ‘friction' to describe this event. We watched a video and learned how penguins move in a continuous huddle, taking turns in the middle to keep warm. We also learned that the black colouring on their backs helps to keep them warm. Ivan remarked that penguins also have a layer of fat called blubber that helps keep warmth in. Noah called it ‘insulation'.

Last week we walked to the library as part of our unit on ‘Workers In The Community'. The visit to the library and the PCYC was to witness people who work in the community and the jobs that they do. At the library we listened to stories, played some bingo games and built the city of Canberra using lego. Braxon built a ‘generator' in the hope of returning to retrieve his lucky charm. At the PCYC we were able to see all of the facilities that are available to use. Our legs were a bit tired when we returned.

5-6T are Perfecting Poetry!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:40 AEST

Posing in front of our ‘Poetry Wall of Fame' are aspiring poets Taj, Satira, Shayden, Caitlin and

Mia. ‘To be, or not to be – what is poetry?' (A twist on the Shakespearean quote from Hamlet).

Students from 5-6T have been studying various forms of poetry and poetic devices. They have

discovered that poetry can be both silly and funny, as in limericks or effective in expressing feelings

and messages, such as Japanese Haiku. Some poems rhyme, some do not.

Limmerick (Mia)

There once was a boy called Tim

Who ate a big, fat dim sim

He choked on the feast

Got ate by a beast

And that was the end of him!

Acrostic (Satira)

Bad people bully

Upbeat is the word you should hear

Loving is better than bullying

Laughing at people is worse

You can help to stop bullying

Haiku (Shayden)

Pollution is bad

It will hurt our animals

We have to stop now

Cinquain (Taj)

Beach

Hot, fun

Swimming, games, surfing

Water, waves, sun baking

Ocean

Cinquain (Caitlin)

Friends

Stick together

Love, laughter, loyalty

Break ups, make ups

BFFS

Tech & Teaching in the Library

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:39 AEST

All of the classes have undertaken new projects this term that they will work on during library and
class time. We will be following the Information Skills Process, with a final presentation towards
the end of the term. We are very excited to be using our iPads as a learning tool for these
projects. Every stage group will be covering a different topic that fits in with their classroom
learning.

5-6B and 5-6T: Asian Explorer Showcase.
This unit aims to provide an understanding of connections Australia has with Asia. We will
develop an awareness that Asia is our nearest neighbour and that it is important we have an
understanding of their cultural similarities and differences.

3-4C and 4-5S: Inventors and Scientists.
These classes are exploring how inventors work and follow a process to suit a particular need or
demand. They will also be looking at the number of Australian inventors who have contributed
innovative inventions to the world.

1-2C, 1-2N and 2-3F: Workers in the community.
This unit provides opportunities for students to explore the different roles and responsibilities of
people with whom they interact in their family, school and community. It focuses on how these
roles and responsibilities connect to meet our needs and wants.

KC and K-1M: Reading and creating eBooks
KC and K-1M have the opportunity to explore a variety of technologies when reading and creating
texts. They will learn how to navigate and read eBooks, and will then have a chance to write and
publish their own eBook to share with their family.

Preschool are Super Scientists

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:19 AEST

We have been planting and studying seeds and their growth and have now moved on to carrying out experiments and we are very excited.

Our first experiment was called the "Colour Symphony". We used milk, added some drops of food colouring. Before we added the dishliquid we predicted what might happen. Kelsi said "it would make a rainbow" Isaac predicted it will change colour and Luke said the dish liquid would clean it. We added the dishliquid in anticipation. The result was amazing!

Blake said it was like a disco, Hunter was amazed by the changing colours and Darcy found a dinosaur picture as the colours swirled around and around.

This term we are looking forward to carrying out many experiments, investigating reactions and predicting what will happen.

Excellence Assembly Term 3

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:50 AEST

Last term we conducted our school excellence assembly. The theme for this term was our school's mission of being vibrant, caring and successful. Students were presented with certificates to recognise their excellence in academic, social and physical pursuits throughout Term 3. The students were rewarded with a games tabloid that included yo-yos, balloon popping, bubble blowing, AFL, horse brushing and handball. This was followed by a selection of fruits as a healthy treat. Congratulations to all students who received an Certificate of Excellence for Term 3.

The excellence assembly presentation can be viewed as a low resolution video by clicking on the following video link.

Brisbane Explorer Tour - Stage 3

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:45 AEST

Extremely Exciting Explorer Tour!

On Tuesday of Week 6, 43 excited Stage 3 students departed Tweed Heads South PS on a bus for the Brisbane Explorer Tour. Four days and three nights in the city with an action packed itinerary.

Highlights were many including:

Meeting the Governor Of Queensland at ‘Fernbank'
A night movie and popcorn session in Southbank
Cruising up Brisbane River on the Rivercat
viewing the city in lights
A ‘mock' parliament role play in the Green Room of Parliament House
Fun, interactive science activities at the Sciencentre and the Queensland Museum
Solving murder mysteries in the Police Museum

Comments from 5-6T students:

Jaxon – ‘ I liked it when we went to see Fantastic Four. I had a large drink all to myself. We went to the Sciencentre and there were so many interactive things there. I give it an 8 out of 10.'

Mia – ‘My favourite thing was the Rivercat Cruise because we were just relaxing and looking at the view. Best camp ever! 13 out of 10.'

Shayden – ‘I think this was the best camp I have ever been to. I give it a 15 out of 10! My favourite part was the croissants and hotdogs for breakfast and I loved the Sciencentre.'

Wila – ‘The Planetarium was cool. I liked going to Southbank because we got to do what we wanted.'

Friday afternoon we returned back to school, weary but happy full of fond memories with classmates and teachers.

Thanks must be given to Mr Taylor, Mr Bush & Ms Toop

What's that in the sky.....

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:47 AEST

What's that in the sky….is it a bird? Is it a plane? Yes, it is all these things because it's a cloud!

What are clouds?
A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air.

How are clouds formed?
All air contains water, but near the ground it is usually in the form of an invisible gas called water vapour. When warm air rises, it expands and cools. Cool air can't hold as much water vapour as warm air, so some of the vapour condenses into tiny pieces of dust that are floating in the air and forms a tiny droplet around each dust particle. When billions of these droplets come together they become a visible cloud.

Over the past few weeks, K-1M have been investigating the weather, in particular, clouds. As we observed cloud movement in the sky, we discovered the cloud shapes looked like different things including dinosaurs, dragons, faces, turtles and fish! We soon realised how quickly the clouds change shape as well due to the wind.

Our outside lesson allowed us to draw and learn about thermometers- the tool that measures the temperature. We were able to show the correct end of the thermometer for a hot or cold day, and discuss the different types of clothing and activities you might engage in on these types of days. Sienna suggested surfing at the beach on a very hot day wearing swimmers, sunscreen and a hat. Aden talked about the importance of keeping warm in places that had very cold temperatures like the snow, indicating mittens or gloves, very warm clothing and a beanie would be appropriate clothing to wear in this type of weather, especially if you were making snowmen!

Careers Market Day 2015

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:46 AEST

Come to our Careers Market Day on Tuesday 28 July 2015 at Tweed Heads South Public School

These are truly the days of miracles and wonder for our children. We can support our children to follow their dreams when we have the knowledge that supports them. Come along to the Careers Market Day and see our children truly be excited by the possibilities open to them in their future.

Research has shown that children need to start investigating the opportunities available to them as early as possible. The information may influence their future education decisions in actively seeking a variety of career choices. If your child was to go to university, would they be the first in your family to do so? How exciting is that idea and how scary. It can be done if only we knew how.

As a parent what you say to your child at home makes a big difference to their attitude at school. When you get enthusiastic about their learning and their possibilities then they will rise to the occasion. What subjects do they like best at school? What are some career opportunities that would suit their interests? So many new jobs are being created now. Come along to our Careers Market Day to find out more.

So your child likes ART, what are the job possibilities?

Make up artist
Web designer
Photographer
Toy maker
Sign writer
Interior decorator
Teacher art/music
Costume designer
Graphic artist
Landscape architect
Hairdressing
Stage Designer
Fashion Designer
Animator

So your child likes BIOLOGY, what are the job possibilities?

Acupuncturist
Ambulance officer
Dentist
Animal attendant
Fitness instructor
Laboratory assistant
Forensic scientist
Marine scientist
Naturopath
Nutritionist
Optometrist
Pathologist

So your child likes Animals and the Environment, what are the job possibilities?

Animal attendant
Saddler
Bull dozer operator
Beekeeper
Dairy worker
Farmer
Forest worker
Miner
Flower grower
Gardener
Horse manager
Park Ranger
Meat worker
Nursery worker
Park ranger

So your child likes COMPUTERS, what are the job possibilities?

Bank Officer
Cashier
Sound technician
Accountant
Graphic Designer
Receptionist
Data Entry Operator
IT Technician
Website Designer
Animator
Clerk

What's happening in KC?

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:48 AEST

What's happening in KC?

KC thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the NAIDOC activities at Tweed Heads South Public School. Unfortunately I couldn't be there due to sickness but from all reports from the children it sounds like it was a successful and exciting day. The children enthusiastically recounted the day with stories of how they made boomerangs and animal masks, engaged in aboriginal dance and enjoyed delicious damper and golden syrup.

We have also begun our speeches as part of the Public Speaking Competition at our school. The students began by viewing other children's speeches on YouTube and brainstorming topics they could talk about. They then chose a topic they are interested in and drew pictures to represent the different things that they can talk about under their chosen topic. I am very pleased with the quality of work that KC students are achieving with their speeches. We may have some vibrant future leaders of Australia! Week 1 of next term we will be practicing saying our speech in front of our class mates.

This week we are also engaging in Child Protection activities and discussions. We will be talking about our bodies and reinforcing the ‘No, Go, Tell' message. As a lead up to the holidays we will also be looking at ‘Stranger Danger' and having discussions and role plays around this theme. I encourage parents and carers to talk to their children about what we are learning to consolidate this important knowledge.

Mrs Campbell

Artistic brushing up of 1-2C

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:44 AEST

1-2C has been extremely lucky this term to have a parent helper. Ms Katie Hotko came in to complete some fantastic art work with the class. Ms Hotko has demonstrated to the children some great skills in how to use different colours to blend and create art masterpieces! During this visit from Ms Hotko, the students completed a portrait of an owl sitting on a branch. They have learnt about colour wheels and why certain colours, when blended, go brown. Many students from 1-2C have shown future artist skills!

Brushing our teeth has been a topic 1-2C has enjoyed talking about. We were lucky enough to receive a great set of toothbrushes, videos and posters to help us learn about personal hygiene. Firstly, we talked about the correct way to brush our teeth. The students then demonstrated to Miss Castles how they brush their teeth. To finish off, the students completed a writing task on the topic, explaining the importance of personal hygiene.

1-2C are looking forward to engaging in some great new topics in Term 3, and sharing some ‘super cool' (as Jarrah says), new art experiences with Ms Hotko. A big thank you to all the staff, students, parents and teachers for a fabulous Term!

Brilliant Book Fair - a BIG success!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:45 AEST

The Book Fair at our school was a great success!

The students enjoyed visiting the fair and bringing their parents to see the variety of books for sale. Our goal was to sell $1000 of books which would give us some great books for the library. We managed to sell over $1500 of books, which means LOTS of new books for the library. The students are very excited and can't wait for their new books to hit the shelves ready for borrowing.

Well done also to our colouring competition winners who won $6 book vouchers!

Preschool: Samantha and Taliah
Early Stage 1: Anmol and Indiana
Stage 1: Sophie and Jaxon
Stage 2: Ronan and Madison
Stage 3: Caitlin and Jake

All the colouring competition entries will be displayed in the library for the next few weeks. Thank you to all the families who came in to support the Book Fair,

Mrs Smith

The students in 1-2N were very excited leading up to visiting the ‘Book Fair' display in the Library. They had been looking forward to purchasing some of the books from the display, written by authors such as Libby Gleeson and Aaron Blabey. Mrs Smith guided and supervised the children around the display and they were given the opportunity to write down the names of the books they bought during the week. Thank you to Mrs Smith for organising such a wonderful event. The students also really appreciate the time and effort that you put into the ‘Book Fair' and the ‘Colouring-in Competition'.

~ Mr Nicholls and 1-2N

KC are busy little BEES!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:59 AEST

This term KC students have used a minibeasts theme to write stories and information facts. Already we have written stories and facts about spiders and bees and this week we will be writing about lady beetles.

We have also worked on crafts using the minibeasts theme and have employed a variety of paper craft skills such as folding, twisting, weaving and cutting out to create spiders in webs and flying buzzy bees.

We have been very fortunate to have Kiarah's mum Georgie come into our classroom on Wednesday afternoons to help us with our arts and crafts. Without her help our minibeast creations would take up so much learning time and so Georgie is a very valued helper to KC.

This term we have also begun our Science – Primary Connections unit ‘What's it made of?' We will be looking at how things around us are made of different materials. Materials that we now take for granted such as CDs, self-adhesive notes and floppy silicone ovenware are the products of imagination and exploratory science. We will be imagining what new materials will be part of our future world and who knows, maybe one of our clever KC students will be a pioneer of some amazing new material of the future that we'll wonder how we ever did without.

5/6B Super Scientists

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:34 AEST

5-6B Super Scientists

Students in 5-6B have been very fortunate to have Mr Luke Wells, a student from Southern Cross University in his final year of study completing his fourth year practicum with us.

Mr. Wells has been very eager to get involved with all aspects of school life, especially teaching our Science unit called Essential Energy.

Last Week students were investigating the use of water movement in streams and rivers, harnessing the movement energy by designing a waterwheel.

Students followed a procedural text in the construction of a waterwheel and adapting their design so the energy of the moving water transferred to the waterwheel, turning the wheel, and lifting a small weight.

Students took turn as each group trialled their design, after a few attempts groups' quickly predicted if their waterwheel would be successful. This week we will redesign our waterwheels to make them more efficient.

Mr Bush and Mr Wells

District Cross Country

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:49 AEST

Tweed District Cross Country

Last Friday our courageous long distance runners competed at the District Cross Country in perfect conditions at Kingscliff.

The 8 and 9 year olds got us off to a great start with Gianna showing the South Tweed Spirit and great determination. She was tripped at the beginning of the race and wasted no time in catching up to the pack and putting in a strong performance.

Tashahn, Tanaya and Mathew placed 6^th, 7^th and 6^th respectively to gain selection in the District Team and will be competing at the Zone carnival later this term at Murwillumbah.

Other strong performers included Madison, Chantal, Jyungarah, Nakeisha, Jasmin and Matthew.

The highlight of the day came in the dying minutes of the carnival. In the 12 Year Old Boys Race, Jake was joined by an army of Gold and Maroon uniforms as he crossed the line in emphatic fashion. It was fantastic to see all of our runners support each other and put in 100%.

THSPS can be extremely proud of the competitors we sent on Friday. Their attitude, behaviour and effort were outstanding.

A huge thanks to Fiona Brooks who remembered to take the ribbons and medallions and also to all of our parents who provided transport. Leonie, Cass, Crystal, Jo, Don, Wendy, Kim, Fiona, Bec, Gina, Brett and Robyn Sauer.

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Project

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:34 AEST

5/6T joins Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program

In 837 schools Australia-wide, around 100,000 children are enthusiastically getting their hands dirty and learning how to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, seasonal food as part of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. Stephanie Alexander AO is regarded as one of Australia's great food educators.

Tweed Heads South PS has recently joined this exciting program!

5/6T, alongside 3/4C are the lucky classes that have been selected to pilot this initiative. Students have been extremely busy planting a variety of herbs and veggies in anticipation of cooking tasty food in the ‘brekkie' room. Menus are planned around the fresh, seasonal produce growing in the garden. Our veggie beds currently have zucchinis, snow peas, eggplant, capsicum, carrots, tomatoes, squash, lettuces, cucumbers and kale alongside a variety of tasty herbs including parsley, coriander, chives and Vietnamese mint.

The fundamental philosophy that underpins pleasurable food education is that by setting good examples and engaging children's curiosity, as well as their energy and their taste buds, we can provide positive and memorable food experiences that will form the basis of positive lifelong eating habits.

Miss Toop and Mr Chalmers have been provided with comprehensive training and resources to deliver the Kitchen Garden Program at our school. They are currently seeking volunteers to assist in running both the garden and kitchen classes.

Please help us ensure this potential ‘life changing' program is successful by volunteering time to tend to the garden and/or provide assistance in the ‘brekkie' room for small group cooking sessions to commence in Weeks 5 and 6 of this term.

Minibeasts in the Preschool!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:09 AEST

In preschool we have been investigating the word ‘Metamorphosis'. We observed tadpoles turning into frogs and learnt that when a tadpole transforms into a frog, this is called metamorphosis. We kept a record of the different changes the tadpoles went through and were excited to release the frogs into our garden!

Last week Mrs Williams read the story "The Hungry Caterpillar" and was so proud of us when we called out during the story "The caterpillar is doing metamorphosis!" This showed that we were transferring our new knowledge of the word metamorphosis into a new situation.

We have discovered many creatures in our preschool garden including butterflies, caterpillars, frogs, ants, praying mantis, grass hoppers and witchety grubs! The interest in these creatures is very high so we are launching a new learning project on mini beasts. We have made a list of the creatures we would like to learn more about and will be starting with ants. Mrs French has bought in an ant farm which we are very excited to set up. Stay tuned to find out all the amazing things we learn about the animals we find in our preschool garden.

All about Me

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:42 AEST

KC students have made a fantastic start to their education. They are already learning to read and write letters correctly and they have had many discussions and activities on our study unit 'Me'. Students are talking about what makes them special and how they are different and similar in their looks, likes, families and the things they do outside of school. This photo shows some of our lovely students from KC with their self portraits. They used lead pencil drawings published with black permanent marker, then they added colour using oil pastels and finished using acrylic and water paints.

Animals in ANZAC by 2-3F

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:42 AEST

2-3F have researched the role of animals during conflicts in preparation for ANZAC Day 2015. The students found photographs using their XO and laptop computers and wrote a sentence about each photograph. The technical team of Connor and Koby then produced the slides for the power point. That just left Mr Foran with the job of timing the presentation and adding music. Click on the following link to view a very creative piece by the students of 2-3F.

Animals in Warfare (pptx 7175 KB)

Welcome Back to Term 2, 2015!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:46 AEST

Just a quick reminder that school starts back this week after our Easter break. Students resume lessons on Tuesday 21 April, 2015. Can't wait to see you all back ready for another great term of learning!

2-F Review Computer Programs

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:32 AEST

The very technology savvy students in 2-3F have been using and reviewing computer software that they use in the classroom. The students also conducted a survey as part of their mathematics learning and found that the most popular program was Reading Eggs with 12 votes. The other programs reviewed were Mathletics, Sumdog and Cool Maths Games.

I have been using ABC Reading Egss on my XO computer. I like Reading Eggs the best because you can have your own lives and there are two more games in the program. Reading Eggs is fun and cool. Shar

I like Reading Eggs because there's so many things to do on it and you can even have your own house. You can play to win eggs and use the eggs to buy things like pets and clothes. Noah

I love playing Reading Eggs because you have a mall and you can make your own character and have an apartment. You can also go to Quiz Coast. Gianna

I have been using Sumdog on my XO computer. I like Sumdog the best because it is easy to learn for kids. There are different games you can choose from. There are lots of different maths games which is challenging. The best game is Diner Defence. Ivan

I like Cool Maths games and have recently been playing a hot dog game called Papa's Hot Doggery on my XO computer. I like it because it has lots of different games that use maths. In Papa's game you can win money to build your own store. I can't wait to get on my XO computer right now. Connor

School Open and ready for Learning!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:28 AEST

Schools back in action!

After a very wet weekend here on the Tweed Coast, Tweed Heads South Public School is back open and operational. Staff and students are back at school and ready for learning!

The Tweed Region has school closed in light of the servere weather warnings issued to ensure the safety of all our student, staff and school community. We even had the SES deliver and place some sangbags to ensure our lower level classrooms were safe from any potential water levels rising.

The SES crew were having a documentary made about the great work they do and our school will appear on television later in the year - so stay tuned!

A creative Rose at Tweed Heads South!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:42 AEST

Greetings and welcome to another school year! My name is Ms Deisha Rose, and I am so excited to become a part of the dynamic teaching staff here at Tweed Heads South Public School. Rather than having just one class of fabulous students here, my role is to nurture and expand all students as they make their way through a stimulating and creative Performing Arts journey that spans the entire school year. Throughout this time, we will focus on exploring and experimenting with music, dance and drama so that your children will be able to express themselves freely and expansively in a safe, fun and supportive environment. Exciting times ahead!

To give you a snapshot into the coming year, I've prepared a hot list of important information:

In Term One, our focus will be on Music. Your children will learn to sing, move and appreciate music. They will also become budding instrumentalists as they experiment with the beat, rhythm, pitch and tone of different pieces of music. Apologies in advance for when your child comes home singing a song which gets eternally stuck in your head... story of my life J
In Terms Two and Three, we will focus on Drama and Dance respectively. I anticipate bringing these art forms together in the final term as we work towards a school-wide performance showcase. Watch this space!
Who loves to sing? We do! For those interested, we will be holding auditions for our school choir shortly. I will send notes home to all parents/caregivers. If your child likes to sing (even in the shower!), please encourage them to come along and try out.
Rocking Recorders. A little later this term, students in Years 2 and 3 will be bringing home a note about our new recorder program. Recorders are a fantastic foundation for future instrumentalists, as they enable children to learn to read music, identify melodies and, of course, play a vast range of music. Be prepared to hear "Hot Cross Buns" played repeatedly on your child's recorder in the coming weeks. You will love it!

That's about it for the small details. Our journey has started off with a bang (literally!), as students have been using percussion instruments and other sound sources to create a musical landscape within our classroom. The students enjoyed themselves greatly. Let the fun continue!

For your information, I am here Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays each week. So if you see me, please feel free to come and say hi - I would love to share your child's performing arts journey with you.

Ms Deisha Rose

Super Start for 4-5S

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:37 AEST

Great start to the year in 4/5S. Last week in the classroom we got to know each other, students did this by completing a student scavenger hunt. 4/5S went and checked out the new play equipment and talked about safe play. Students thoroughly enjoyed the equipment and showed that they can play on it safely. 4/5S have set the classroom expectations so we can all have a safe and fun learning environment. We have three new students to the school in our classroom and they are finding their feet nicely.

Throughout this term we will be focusing on State and National parks in HSIE and life cycles in science. Students will be exploring State and National parks through researching why we have parks, why we need to protect them and what lives within them. During the term 4/5S will be getting tadpole eggs for the classroom so the students can document the life cycle of a frog.

Regards, Ms Sulivan

Exploring under the sea with K-1W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:50 AEST

Students in K-1W have been learning more about the creatures that live ‘under the sea'. Each day during independent writing, the students listen to information texts which inform them of details about different types of sea creatures. Each student then is to write about what they have learnt; such as how they find food, protect themselves and ‘move'. We have learnt so many new and interesting facts about sea creatures. DID YOU KNOW; the seahorse is the only living animal that the father carries and delivers babies? I bet Mr Ware is glad!

Did you know that crabs have ten legs AND walk sideways instead of forwards? They use their back legs to assist with swimming AND remove their shells when their soft body grows too large for it! THEN, they grow a new one!

The box jellyfish has clumps of eyes on four sides of its bell, up to 15 tentacles and they can grow up to 3m long; that's taller than Franklyn and Eliana combined in length!

We have made our own aquariums, which we included seaweed which the fish eat and use to hide amongst for protection. Many fish have a skeleton, scales and fins; which they use to swim in a straight line through the water. Students in K-1W have also learnt that many fish have a skeleton, scales covering their body and gills, which they use to breathe through. Some fish have poisonous tentacles that they use to paralyse their enemy to protect themselves and ensure their survival.

This week we started to practice publishing our wonderful stories on our XO's, even Mrs Madden was very surprised at the high quality editing and proof reading skills students demonstrated in Kindy and year 1 so far, a credit to Mrs Wares excellent ICT teaching!

Images K-1W (pdf 302 KB)

SPRING into 1/2W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:33 AEST

Spring into 1/2W

1/2W has been learning about seasons. We have discussed how many months are in each season and how wheather changes during each of the seasons. After doing some maths activities around days, months and years we enjoyed making 3D flowers which were then put together to create a large mural.

In English we learnt how to write Haiku poetry.Most often, haiku poems are about seasons or nature, we wrote about spring.

Spring is really here.

Flowers growing all around.

Sunshine is so nice.

By Noah

Spring is in the air.

Insects are buzzing around.

Baby birds hatching.

By Rihanna

Snakes are starting to come

Playing in the grass all day.

Sunshine fills the air.

By Paitence

Off to a biting start in K-1W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:14 AEST

K-1W are already hooked on the new topic for the term – "The Sea." So far we have brainstormed our ideas of creatures we would find in the sea, studied dolphins and whales and written some fabulous pieces using this new knowledge, and created our own interpretations of the sea in art using collage techniques. The students cannot wait to learn about sharks, but the thought of that leaves Mrs Ware feeling a little bit nervous and "crabby!"

What’s been happening in K-1W?

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:47 AEST

K-1W have been learning about our local environment and Australian animals this term.

We have enjoyed studying some of the Australian animals we can find in our local environment and writing about them, and are very eager to keep the school grounds litter free after learning about the effect it can have on birds and sea life. We also collected various recycable materials to create our very own creature! We can't wait to visit Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary later in the term to see all the Australian animals in real life. We may even get to feed some kangaroos or birds and pat a koala or even a snake!

5/6 Savvy Stockbrokers!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:35 AEST

5/6T – Savvy Stockbrokers!

Students from 5/6T have donned business hats to play the stockmarket game. Joining schools Australia wide, trading has officially opened for The Australian Stock Exchange Schools Market Game. The class has been placed into ‘syndicates' with names such as ‘Money Spinners'. Each syndicate has received $50,000 of ‘virtual' money that they invest over a 10 week period, in companies listed on the ASX. The prices students buy and sell at are the same prices as they would get in the live market so this is as close to real life share trading as you can get!

Students are learning about how to investing in the share market, the economy and world events, how to research companies, the importance of wise investment decisions, teamwork and have the potential to win prizes based on the growth of their $50,000.

XO's have been used in class to research and keep up with the daily stock exchange, listen to expert tips, analyse share performance, create ASX ‘watchlists' and actual trading.

As part of Financial Literacy it is important for students to know how to manage money, build wealth and make good financial decisions. Learning more about investing is beneficial for their future. 5/6T students get to play this fun, engaging game without risking real money.

For some share market tips make an appointment with Neil or Dale from 5/6T!

1/2 W News

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:26 AEST

This term students have been fortunate with an extra teacher in the classroom. We have Miss Peta Jeffree a pre service teacher from the University of New England. Miss Jeffree has been teaching the children all aspects of the curriculum. In Literacy the students have been learning to write recounts, so far they have written recounts on Careers Market Day, the Tissue Princess visit, Oz-Tag and below are some examples of our Book Week Parade.

On Thursday the whole school went to the Book Parade in the hall.

First we lined up and walked to the hall. Then we sat down and we watched the other classes parade. We paraded too. Then we went to our classroom to read some books. After that we went down to the basketball area and we had a picnic.

I felt very overjoyed. By Noah

On Thursday it was Book Parade in our school hall.

First we watched the other classes' parade and then our class got to stand up to go around in front of the school. Next we sat down to watch the other classes. Then we all went up to the classroom and I got to read to my dad. Finally we had a picnic lunch.

I felt happy. By Daman

On Thursday the whole school went to the hall for a Book Parade.

First the other classes went around the hall and paraded and then our class had a go. Next we told Mr Taylor what book character we were. Then we left the hall and went back up stairs and read books to our Mums and Dads. Finally we went down to the basketball court and had a picnic.

It was such a fantastic day! By Gianna

You will notice when entering the school foyer our artistic display which is also influenced by our Literacy. Students have been learning to make their art works in similar ways to book illustrator's using water colours, collage and the techniques of distortion, exaggeration, change in colour and scale. We hope you like our display as much as we did making it with Mrs Lawrence.

XO's with 4-5F, what's the verdict?

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:11 AEST

4/5F have been experimenting with their new XO computers, but what are their opinions and thoughts about the XOs?

My Green Machine, also known as the XO computer, is really cool! You can do lots of AWESOME things on it like playing games, messaging friends, drawing, typing, animal videos, touch screen and so much more!

"You can take lots of selfies, upload them to your work and you can even make movies. I like my Green Machine XO computer, it changes everything, I love it!" Satira

"The XO Green Machine is fun, awesome and makes school so much better! It has a lot of things to do and enjoy." Brody

"The Green Machine has everything so we no longer need books. We don't have to write we can just use our XOs! It also has an art program to teach us art!" Bianca

"I love all the games and educational activities, being able to chat to our friends and watch animals playing!" Luka

"At first I didn't really like the Green Machine (XO) until Mr Taylor fixed it and now I think it's so awesome." Jasmin

"The XO computer is a cool green colour. The activities are awesome and my favourite game is Tux Paint." Jorja

Spelling Masters of Tweed Heads South

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:18 AEST

I-M-M-E-A-S-U-R-A-B-L-E tension at Tweed Heads South Premier's Spelling Bee

With words such as F-L-A-G-R-A-N-T, L-E-G-I-S-L-A-T-I-O-N, I-M-M-E-A-S-U-R-A-B-L-E and M-A-L-E-V-O-L-E-N-T it was a nail biting spelling battle royale` on Friday 29 August at Tweed Heads South Public School for the in school finals of the Premier's Spelling Bee.

Ben, Brody, Jake, Shane, Satira, Lachlan, Madison and Aurelie were our junior finalists from years 3 & 4 and Shayden, Caleb, Bella, Kaylah, Taj, Noah and William from years 5 & 6 successfully out spelled their individual classes to then compete against each other to become Tweed Heads South PS Spelling Masters!

When asked about the secret to being a good speller, all of our master Spellers agreed that reading books and practicing in the car, at home, in the shower (and in the toilet) made the difference. Spellers also mentioned that writing out the words and looking in the dictionary also helped.The official word list supplier is Macquarie Dictionary.

Shayden, Caleb, Ben and Brody will be representing Tweed Heads South PS at the Regional Finals Premier's Spelling Bee to be held right here at school on Tuesday 16 September. Junior competition runs from 9.30am-11.30am and the senior competition runs from 12.30pm-2.30pm. All parents and guests are welcome to come and support our students.

The boys will be in competition with the best spellers from other schools in the North Coast Region. They all will be battling it out for a place in the State Finals to be held on Wednesday 5 November at the Eugene Goossens Hall, ABC Centre, Sydney.This will also be broadcast on ABC Local Radio. The competition is organised by The Arts Unit of the NSW Department of Education & Communities.

Well done to all the students.

S-P-E-L-L W-E-L-L

Damien Taylor

Premier's Spelling Bee Coordinator

Assistant Principal

Les Peterkin Portrait Prize Paintings

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:05 AEST

Imagine living in the world 500 years from now. The place has changed, the polar ice caps have melted and the human population have adapted to living in this new environment.

This is what students from across the school have all been wondering as they prepare their portraits for the annual Les Peterkin Portrait Prize.

Students have worked extremely hard on capturing an image of what faces might look like in the future. Students have been asked the question; do they think our facial features have changed? Do we still have hair, two eyes, a mouth, nose and ears?

Students interpreted these questions in many creative and colourful ways, just take a look at their portraits.

Many thanks to the class teachers, support staff and Mrs Lawrence for helping with this year's entries.

5/6B are XO Excited

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:38 AEST

You would have thought it was Christmas Day as Stage 3 students received their XO computers last Friday. It was a very exciting time with all students having a smile that stretched from ear to ear as they unpacked their very own computer.

No sooner had they unpacked them, students had navigated their way around the operating system and started investigating and sharing all the functions that they had found. Students were eager to start the following week using their XO computers in Literacy and Numeracy sessions and even in their lunch breaks.

5/6B has also been learning about Antarctica, the weather, and in English they have been exploring texts which have had the themes of survival, sustainability and the environment.

One text we have looked at closely is the picture book, Flood by Jackie French which is based on the 2011 Queensland.

Learning with 3/4D

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:03 AEST

This term in 3/4D we have enjoyed learning about Magnets. We have worked effectively together to complete experiments testing different objects to see if they are magnetic or not! We have learned lots of facts which we have shared on our information posters. We are very proud of our hard work and the way we worked successfully together.

In Art we have been learning about Pop Art by the famous American artist Andy Warhol. We have recreated his work by creating our own designs.

3-4D

XO Computers in K-1W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:49 AEST

K-1W have not been able to contain their excitement over the past couple of weeks with the introduction of the XO computers into the classroom. They have been exploring them with enthusiasm, and even teaching Mrs Ware and Mrs Stanford a few things! So far we have used them to publish some stories, take photos of our school environment (and some selfies - a few girls had to teach Mr Reeson what they were!), sight word practise in reading groups, making it speak to us and watching videos of Australian animals. We are looking forward to browsing on the internet, sending emails, using them for mathematics activities and drawing pictures of the Australian animals we are learning about. We can't wait until the other classes have theirs so we can start sharing our work with them!

Antarctica ALIVE for 5/6T and 5/6B!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:43 AEST

On Thursday 5/6T & 5/6B joined 12 other schools state-wide for a LIVE Video Conference to Casey Station, Antarctica. We spoke to Station Leader Ally and staff Dan and ‘Stew'. They were standing outside freezing as it was -26 degrees Celsius!

In winter they have 18 staff with important jobs including plumbers, electricians, computer technicians, weather experts, diesel mechanics and of course a doctor and chef to look after the staff. In summer the team expands to 100 members with scientists and other specialists.

Some interesting facts about Antarctica:

Antarctica is 2 hours behind our time (Eastern Standards Time)
In summer they have daylight for 24 hours, in winter sometimes 1 to 2 hours daily
Temperatures are ALWAYS negative. The warmest temp in summer is -8.2 degrees C
Winds can blow up to 200 km an hour- at times staff have to stay indoors for days
Staff observe seals, birds, penguins, whales and monitor the science projects
Planes and boats can only bring in ‘supplies' from October to February
When not working staff enjoy skiing, mini olympics, snowboarding, golfing, quad biking
No country owns Antarctica – 50 countries have signed a treaty to agree it is a national reserve that is to be protected for peaceful services and science investigation only. Waste is not to be left behind and no mining is to take place in Antarctica.

We were the first people they had spoken to in ages!

5/6T Natural at NAIDOC ART!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:41 AEST

5/6T have been busy enjoying NAIDOC Art activities under the watchful eye of the talented Mrs Lawrence.

The NAIDOC theme for 2014 is 'Serving Country - Centenary and Beyond'. The students colourful and creative artwork is currently displayed in the school hall. Come and see it for yourself!

NAIDOC Preparation

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:09 AEST

K-1W are starting NAIDOC celebrations early by creating some Aboriginal inspired artworks. During our HSIE unit Meeting Needs, the children have been looking at their own needs and wants, as well as the needs and wants of other living things. They looked at Australian animals, and how their needs are similar and different to their own needs. The Aboriginal artwork was inspired by the Australian animal the kangaroo, and the children used the technique of Dot Painting to create their masterpieces! You will be able to enjoy our creations displayed around the hall during NAIDOC week!

Learning is fun in K-1W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:45 AEST

K-1W love learning using a hands on approach!

Students are engaged daily in hands on activities during literacy and numeracy sessions that support their learning in the weekly focus. At the conclusion of lessons, reflection time takes place where students share their learning and new knowledge, and explain their reasons to answers. When the students are manipulating and touching things, combined with talking and listening, multiple areas of the brain are being activated and students are more likely to retain information. Students are more focused and are constructing their own meaning by learning through using many senses. K-1W work really hard during all activities, and see it as playing "games" rather than learning!

Great job K-1W, keep up the hard (and fun!) work!

Jaxon - "It is fun playing games."

Eliana - "I like playing with the toys and learning."

Ariella - "I like writing on the whiteboards."

Franklyn - "I like maths. It is fun."

Jayanarra - "I like shake, rattle and drop and writing friends of 10 on the whiteboards."

Celebrating Mother's Day

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:47 AEST

1-2W along with all Stage1 and Kindergarten students enjoyed a morning tea with mothers on Thursday, 8 May to say thank you to all our fabulous Mums. We enjoyed showing off our school work and sharing delicious treats.

During the week students had been busy writing stories about why they love their Mother. Some popular responses being: She gives me hugs and kisses, she got me a dog and she helps me when I get hurt.

They also made a Mother's Day cards and a bookmark with lots of care and love. We hope you liked them and had a happy Mother's day.

5-6T go ‘dotty’ with African Pointillism

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:36 AEST

5-6T has been busy in art with Mrs Lawrence learning about the ‘Pointillism' technique. Pointillism is a method of painting producing luminous effects by using separate small dots which merge in the eye when viewed from a distance.This is because the dots play a trick on your eyes and this is called ‘optical mixing.' Different colour dots blend together to create new colours .The original artists who used dots felt that optical mixing made their pictures look brighter. They also look like they shimmer.

5/6T's artwork is an example of ‘African Pointillism' painting using interesting shapes, patterns and vivid mixed colours completed with pointillism dot patterns.

After much patience painting dots and thinking carefully about the blend of colours, students were delighted with their completed art work full of amazing colours and creative patterns. Look out for their colourful creations displayed around the school. View them from a distance and then close up to discover the dots!

5/6B Think Globally

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:38 AEST

5/6B is Globally Connected

Students in 5/6B are looking at issues that exist globally, and how this impacts us here in Australia. Many issues are being discussed including Human Rights, Foreign Aid, War and Peace as these are just some of the themes students have discussed in a number of our lessons so far.

In English we are studying a number of visual, narrative, information texts, as well as biographies. One particular moment in History which is relevant to our unit of study has been the Bombing of Hiroshima in World War Two. Students have been looking at the events leading up to this disaster and reflecting on the accounts of survivors and getting a sense of trying to imagine the power and devastation which occurred in Hiroshima.

Students in 5/6B have been reading as a class, the novel Sedako and The Thousand Paper Cranes Based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki, who lived in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing by the United States.

After being diagnosed with leukemia from the radiation, Sadako spent her time in a nursing home folding origamipaper cranesin hope of making a thousand of them. She was inspired to do so by the Japanese legend that one who created a thousand origami craneswould be cured by the gods. Her wish was simply to live. However, she managed to fold only 644 cranes before she became too weak to fold anymore, and died on 25 October 1955. Her friends and family helped finish her dream by folding the rest of the cranes, which were buried with Sadako.

After her death, Sadako's friends and schoolmates published a collection of letters in order to raise funds to build a memorial to her and all of the children who had died from the effects of the atomic bomb. In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also called the Genbaku Dome, and installed in the Hiroshima Peace Park.

At the foot of the statue is a plaque that reads: "This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth." Every year on ObonDay, which is a holiday in Japan to remember the departed spirits of one's ancestors, thousands of people leave paper cranes near the statue.

Let’s Launch into Life!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:05 AEST

Let's Launch into Life!

Recently, ten lucky Year 6 students and their parents/caregivers from Tweed Heads South PS were invited to attend the ‘Launch into Life' Day hosted by Griffith University. This careers event, run by University teachers and students, provided participants with a great opportunity to learn about study and work options for their future via a range of exciting hands-on activities.

After an entertaining welcome session in the lecture theatre student mentors, Ashley and Ed guided the THS students around the campus to the various activities.

The first activity was Drama. As a group students had to mime the career ‘landscaping' , creating a garden scene with watering cans, plants and gardeners. From here they played ball games in the gym with the Logan Red Back Football team, learning that there are many sporting opportunities at university. Our team beat the other schools!

Next was the Health Department. Activities included listening to ‘Frank' the mannequin's heart beat with stethoscopes, monitoring baby mannequins, analysing artificial body parts and being aspired by enthusiastic teachers talking about the various medical courses on offer.

The Science Show in the lecture theatre was a highlight as experiments with gas and dry ice caused explosions, big bubbles and mysterious mist on the carpet.

At the conclusion of the day students provided answers to a quiz via individual electronic monitors that instantly displayed results on the Interactive Whiteboard in the lecture theatre. That was cool!

Brooklyn, Jimmy, Ella, Tyrone, Lilly, Rubin, Hayley, Chloe, Cameron and Kaylah were inspired by their Griffith University visit and were excited to discover that you can even live on campus. So there's no excuse for being late for lectures!

Happy Easter from K-1W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:53 AEST

Happy Easter from K-1W

K-1W have been busy preparing for Easter this week. We have been singing lots of Easter songs; such as Little Barry Billy and Australians All Love Hot Cross Buns, as well as creating Easter baskets, crowns and bunny masks. During art lessons, the children decorated Easter eggs and made a giant Easter Bunny with the help of Mrs Lawrence. We have enjoyed the festivities so far, and are all very excited to see the beautiful Easter Hats on Friday – Mrs Ware even has something special planned!! We all hope you have a wonderful Easter break and hopefully the Easter Bunny is good to you!

Harmony Day 2014

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:56 AEST

Harmony Day 2014

On Friday 21^stMarch, Tweed Heads South Public School celebrated Harmony Day in style. Many of the children dressed in Mufti for the occasion, choosing to wear either international dress or orange, the theme colour for Harmony Day. The whole school, as well as many parents, joined together for the beautiful weather and enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grass and the canteen sold many delicious orange treats for the day. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Harmony Day celebrations. $224 was raised for stencilling on the playground.

1/2 W Super Compound Sentences !

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:26 AEST

Read our fabulous compound sentences, we're very proud ! click here 12 W week 9 (docx 3717 KB)

Out of this world art.

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:16 AEST

Out of this world!

Students in 5/6B have been learning about the planets and the Solar System this term, and this has inspired them to get creative and design some art work that is out of the world!

Students have created artworks using perspective in a space scene with rockets, planets and stars. They have also designed exploding stars using line and shape whilst exploring the use of colour, and in an artwork inspired by alien landscapes students have let their imagination run wild with bold colours, shapes and patterns creating amazing imaginary scenes.

5/6T are in the RAP with Preschool

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:35 AEST

Every Friday students from 5/6T participate in the Reading Aloud to Preschoolers (RAP) program. They meet the Red Turtle Group in the school library and take on the responsible role of Library Buddies, on a one-to-one basis. During term one the focus is ‘The Front Cover', covering aspects of: title of the book, author, illustrator and the blurb.

Strong attachments have already been forged between the buddy pairs as the Year 5/6 students orientate their buddy around the library, teach them the library expectations of behaviour, enthusiastically read selected stories to them and assist them in borrowing appropriate books.

Benefits of this worthwhile program include providing the Year 5/6 students with an opportunity to: become positive role models and peer teachers; build relationships with future kindergarten students; assist preschool children in their transition to big school and foster a love of reading and learning in a younger student.

The little Red Turtles eagerly squeal with delight each Friday when reunited with their Big Buddy and love their ‘special' shared story time. These preschoolers can't wait until they can read like the big kids and are increasingly gaining confidence about starting big school in the coming years.

Miss Toop

5/6T Classroom Teacher

Literature and Art in K-1W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:06 AEST

Students of K-1W have been exposed to a wide variety of quality literature and are enjoying expressing their love of books through Visual Arts. At the beginning of term, students explored the story The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle. They loved the story so much that they wanted to make their own mixed-up chameleons. We all found the creations to be very hilarious!! On Wednesdays, K-1W are priviledged enough to participate in Visual Arts lessons with the very talented Mrs Lawrence. She has been re-reading stories read in the classroom to integrate Literacy Sessions with the children's Visual Arts lessons. Another favourite story of ours is Smarty Pants. Mrs Lawrence and the children all worked together to make some new pants for Mr Smarty Pants. Some other beautiful creations from K-1W include our Sunflowers; which were inspired by the famous artist Van Gogh, and art about familes; which are integrated into our PDHPE Unit of Interpersonal Relationships. Fantastic work K-1W!!

Science with Tweed River High School

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:30 AEST

Exploring Space

Last Wednesday students from Years 5 and 6 were extremely fortunate to participate in an afternoon Science lesson with Mr Rigby from TRHS. Students were put into groups and given the challenge of naming the planets in the Solar System and putting them in order of distance from the sun. The groups were also given a jar of different sized seeds to compare the size of the planets in relation to each other. After much stimulating conversation about the structure of the planets, teams ventured outside to step out a scaled down version of the solar system comparing the distance each planet is from the sun. Students could look back at the scaled down sun and get a feel for just how far away the distant planets really are in our solar system.

Thank you Mr Rigby

Visual Art 5/6C

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:45 AEST

Visual Art 5/6C - Students have been discovering the qualities of pattern, texture, colour, surface and construction of tapestry using wool. Congratulations - some beautiful pieces of art. Thankyou to the talented Mrs.Lawrence and Mrs.Salmon for their tuition and patience!

5/6C

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:40 AEST

5/6C are currently studying a science unit on 'electricity'. The students have been invesitigating how electrical circuits work using the science equipment we have at school. The weather co-operated with our unit and provided a live display of lightning just in time for a discussion about electricity in nature! Over the next few weeks, we will be researching alternative sources of energy.

Les Peterkin Portrait Competition

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:03 AEST

On Sunday the 20^thOctober the Les Peterkin Portrait Exhibition was officially opened. Students, Teachers and families from our school were at the official opening ready to view the art works and congratulate the prize winners. The competition received over 3000 entries and Tweed Heads South Public school was well represented in the exhibition with Joe Poloie receiving the Friends Encouragement Award and having his work framed and on display in the gallery. We also had seven other students have their work on display in the folder section. This is a great achievement for all our prize winners as only 38 artworks were chosen for the wall and only 200 for the folder section.

Congratulations to Jorja, Bodhi, Theodore, Bianca, Lara, Lachlan, Mimmi and Joe.

The Sounds of K-1W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:41 AEST

K-1W have been listening carefully this term by exploring Sound in Science. They have enjoyed learning about how sound is made and experimenting with various instruments to find all the different sounds they can produce, as well as participating in numerous sound experiments. Students have also created their own instruments using recycled materials, which integrates into the HSIE unit with Miss Collier. Mrs Ware has been very impressed with the enthusiasm and creativity during the unit, but is looking forward to a quieter Term 4! Keep it up!

Time for TEN in K-1W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:42 AEST

TEN (Targeted Early Numeracy) is an intervention program that supports learning numeracy in the early years. The program sets clear expectations against the Mathematics K–6 syllabus on what children should be able to do in addition and subtraction by the end of each school year. The aim of TEN is short, focussed, frequent numeracy sessions, typically 10 minute blocks. The activities are strategically targeted, focussing on addition and subtraction where student progress is monitored. The students in K-1W have loved their TEN time, and have enjoyed all the new "games" they have been learning and playing. The students have developed their skills in addition and subtraction and watching their quick progress has been a highlight for Mrs Ware.

Happy Halloween from 1-2M!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:54 AEST

It was 'Halloween Mufti Day' at Tweed Heads South Public School on Thursday 31 October. 1-2M dressed up in a variety of scary characters including vampires, witches and monsters.

1-2M enjoyed a variety of Halloween activities in the lead up to 'Trick or Treating' on Thursday afternoon. The students were extremely engaged wth the fun Literacy, Numeracy and ICT sessions at school. These included in Reading groups, listening to and reading 'scary' stories on an ipad, 'The Legend of Spookly, The Square Pumpkin' and 'The Little Witch".

In Writing groups the students wrote about 'What's in this witches brew?' including revolting ingredients such as cats tails and frogs legs. Then they had to write sentences about what would happen to you, if you drank this potion...

In the computer room students logged onto Studyladder to complete some interactive Literacy and Numeracy tasks.

1-2M had fabulous fun at the school disco run by the SRC. Maria and Elijah both won first prize for the scariest, homemade costume. They danced to 'The Monster Mash', 'Ghostbusters' and other scary songs.

In the afternoon the class discussed the rules of 'Trick or Treating', how to do it safely, (always with an older sibling or parent) and to brush their teeth thoroughly if eating lollies before bed!

Happy Halloween from 1-2M

3/4MG enjoy science

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:32 AEST

In science 3/4MG have been learning about air pressure. We talked about how air pressure makes ball and bicycle pumps work and some musical instruments rely on air pressure to make a sound. Working in small groups,we designed balloon rockets that could travel up to five metres along a line. The students experimented by changing the line from wool to fishing line and discovered the distance the balloon travelled varied due to friction. By doing these experiments the students could see how the rocket gained its propulsive force as the compressed air rushed out the neck of the balloon. After the experiments the groups compared their results and thought about how a balloon rocket works like a space rocket except that a balloon rocket's energy is stored in the stretched rubber and there is compressed air in the balloon instead of chemical fuel.

Freestyle South Tweed Style

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:52 AEST

Tweed Heads South Public School students have taken part in the new School Swimming and Water Safety Program (SSWSP) over the past fortnight at the Tweed South Indoor Pool.

The innovative program, funded by the Department of Education and Communities, targets struggling swimmers in a 2 week intensive program that sees students being instructed by accredited trainers on a daily basis.

284 people drowned in Australia in 2011/1012, many of these drowings were children aged between 0-15. These statistics do not sit well with our school and the SSWSP presented an excellent opportunity to educate our students on water safety and equip them with the skills to survive in aquatic environments.

The group of 46 students were assessed on Day 1 of the program and grouped according to their swimming ability. Students enjoyed practising a range of challenges in their groups, working towards the ultimate goal of being able to swim 50 metres and survive in the water for extended periods of time. "The program's structure closely follows the programs we implement in the classroom on a daily basis. Students are assessed and then placed in groups so that their individual needs can be catered for." explained Sandy O'Farrell, a supervising teacher.

Moosa, a Tweed Heads South Public School student, is a fine example of how the program is changing students' lives. On Day 1, Moosa stood terrified at the edge of a pool and would not enter a waist high pool. By Day 3, Moosa was swimming unassisted with his peers in the adult pool.

Jacob is another success story of the program, making huge gains throughout the first week. While he could swim short distances and stay afloat at the beginning of the program, Jacob was swimming laps of the pool, both freestyle and backstroke by Week 2. "I love coming down to the pool every day for swimming training, I am one of my group's leaders." said Jacob after Week 1 of the program.

"The intensive format is by far the most effective form of swimming training that a child can have, particularly for those that are in the early phases of learning to swim." said Ellen Sherwood, the Learn To Swim Coordinator at South Tweed Swimming Pool. "The children make such huge gains when they come every day over a two week period."

"It's so rewarding to see students progressing at both ends of the swimming spectrum. We've got total non-swimmers who were terrified of ankle-deep water now swimming confidently and we've got students who avoided the pool at all costs who are now excited to swim and can't wait to conquer deeper water." said Mr Chalmers the program coordinator.

4/5T's Art of the Land

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:34 AEST

Earlier this term, 4/5T produced some of the finest art of the year with Mrs Lawrence. The project was inspired by Joan Chambers' Art of the Land which showcases Australia's natural and built wonders from the bush to the beach.

Students based their art around our pristine waterways and some of our National Icons. Uluru, The Sydney Harbour Bridge and our world famous beaches were among the favourites.

Oil pastels were used on black art paper which achieved excellent contrast and colour combinations. A series of rivers were designed and coloured. Students then filled the gaps with their choice of Australian Icons.

The art pieces complimented 4/5T's HSIE work for the term in which students studied a different country every week.

Students began the term with the greatest country of them all, Australia, before researching countries from all continents. The HSIE unit culminated in Week 10 with students selecting a country and learning about its culture, geography and interesting facts.

Mr Chalmers loves walking into the room every morning to a bright display of Australian Art. The pieces also serve as a constant reminder for our children that they are lucky to live in the finest country on the planet.

Stage 1 Space Virtual Excursion.

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:34 AEST

Houston, we have a problem!

After a few technical problems 1/2M and 1/2B were able to talk to the Houston Space Centre in Houston Texas as part of our Transport Unit in HSIE. We were initially going to have a virtual excursion to learn about rockets; however Houston had a few technical issues so we were then given the opportunity to have a discussion and ask questions with an expert from the Space Centre named Chris who is the son of astronaut Robert Cobana. We were promised a relaunch of our Rockets Virtual Excursion presentation in the near future.

Students were extremely excited to ask questions including;

What it is like to be an astronaut?

How big are rockets?

How long it takes to travel to the moon?

Space facts:

Astronauts eat ‘freeze dried' food such as ‘teriyaki chicken and rice' in space. They have to inject water into the food with a needle to make it look and taste normal again. They also eat M & Ms called ‘candy coated chocolates'!

Rockets are equipped with special ‘bucket' seats to enable the astronauts to lie back whilst waiting to be launched and be safe enough to hold them in for blast off.

The temperature in space varies from 200 degrees Celsius to 250 degrees below Celsius so the astronauts have to wear special suits to protect them and to help them breathe in space.

The distance from Earth to the Moon is 300,000 kms! It takes 3 days to travel to the moon from earth.

The NASA rockets are as tall as one soccer goal to another (in length).

The rockets use the equivalent fuel of 3 large lakes of water for one trip!

Rockets are heavy. They weigh several hundreds of thousands of pounds.

It was 44 years ago that man first landed on the moon.

We are very excited to once again take another journey into space next term.

Miss Toop and Mr Bush

Costa Georgiadis (Host of Gardening Australia) was at Tweed Heads South Public School!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:47 AEST

Costa and his crew, Greg James (Farmers Choice), David Gourlay (SOILife) and ? (female name will be in sign in book) visited our school this week on Monday morning. Costa was larger than life, full of positive energy as he grilled the Garden Gnomes asking inquisitive and pertinent questions about their current gardening practises.

WATCH one, DO one, TEACH one!

Costa was impressed with the Garden Gnome leaders talking about mentoring younger volunteers at school during garden sessions. In his own words you ‘ watch what to do, do one yourself and then teach someone else.'

‘Happy worms, Happy compost'!

‘Worms are like us', Costa said as they live in houses, separating the eating area (upstairs)from the sleeping quarters (middle level) and we need to ensure their house is moist, watered and provide ‘home delivery' mashed up fruit and veg scraps before placing inside the ‘kitchen'. The liquid (worm wee) that collects in the base (bathroom) can be poured onto plants every couple of weeks. It's a totally organic fertilizer that can be used to feed every plant in the garden.

Making a compost pileis like making a giant layercake! We need to provide just the right balance of brown (carbon) and green(nitrogen) layers, mix it well, water it, and give it time to ‘cook'.

David from SOILife kindly offered to donate some much needed top soil to enhance the progress of our garden.

‘We need to be at our next school 5 minutes ago'!

The Garden Gnomes were busy taking notes both mentally and scribbling on paper, ‘hanging' off Costa's wise words. Alas, the time went far too quickly before Costa had to move onto his next school. He asked us to keep in touch by emailing photos of our progress with the worms and compost.

We thanked Costa for his expert advice and for fitting us into his tight schedule whilst in the Tweed region.

Miss Toop & Garden Gnomes: Rubin, Neil, Dale, Ella, April & Jayden

1-2M say 'Yes Please' to exotic fruits!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:30 AEST

1-2 M say ‘Yes Please' to Exotic Fruits!

This week 1-2M have been celebrating Fruit and Veg month of September with a daily ‘taster' of exotic and unusual fruits.

Students sampled bright red, juicy blood oranges packed with vitamin C; crunchy green nashi pears that are a cross between an apple and a pear; pomegranates with fleshy seeds that are one of the oldest fruits known and considered a ‘superfood' high in antioxidants; sweet and tangy tamarillos, the tree tomato rich in iron and mangosteens, the most exotic, tropical fruit in Asia.

After tasting the fruity delights the students then wrote about their favourite one using adjectives to describe how they looked, how they felt, how they smelt and how they tasted. YUMMY!

Then it was time to munch into some raw vegetables, 12 in total! Students sampled carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, beetroot, beans, snow peas, cherry tomatoes, avocados, red cabbage, radishes and red capsicum.

1-2M say.......Don't forget it's ‘2 fruit, 5 veg' a day.

Public Speaking awards

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:25 AEST

On Thursday 5th September, twenty three schools participated in the Far North Coast Public Speaking Awards held at Banora Point. There were three adjudicators and a timekeeper who judged and awarded points to the students in regards to expression, gestures, voice quality and keeping within the time limit allocated to each stage.

Tweed Heads South Public School had students participate in all 3 main events. Stage 1 ( years 1-2) had Lachlan do a 1 minute speech about Australia Zoo. In stage 2 (years 3-4) Kirra-Lea did a 2 minute speech about being short. In stage 3 (years 5-6) Kimberely did a 3 minute speech entitled Unknown.

All the students picked up awards for their hard work. Lachlan received first place. Kirra-Lea received the encouragement award and Kimberely won the highly commended award. Each student showed courage and determination as they presented their speech to around 150 students, parents and teachers. Congratulations to these students, we are very proud of you and you should be very proud of yourselves for such a great effort.

Teamwork, friendship, managing anger and bullying.

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:39 AEST

These are some of the things 3/4MG have been learning about this term. Working as a team can be fun and lots of things can be achieved, however, everyone needs to treat each other with respect. We discussed what respect is and how putdowns do not show respect and hurt people. Putdowns include talking behind someones back, laughing at someone, making mean gestures, imitating someones way of talking or walking, calling someone mean names, picking on something the person is sensitivwe about, making remarks about their family or friends and criticizing a persons clothing or home. We have a no putdowns rule in our classroom.

Friendship is an important aspect of everyones life and we looked at what friends do together and how to make friends with others. Giving people compliments, playing fairly, sharing, helping each other and having fun together are some of the things good friends do.

Everyone gets angry sometimes, even with their friends. We looked at good ways to deal with your anger such as walking away from the situation and giving yourself thinking time, doing some exercise, telling someone else how you feel, breathing deeply and counting to ten, telling yourself to stop and relaxing and tensing your muscles. Once the anger has passed it is then time to deal with the situation calmly and rationally.

Things that make you angry could include bullying. We made posters to let other students know what to do if they find themselves being bullied. Some of the ideas included telling the bully to stop, tell them you don't like it and go and get an adult to help you. Don't react violently towards a bully, fighting back can make it worse. If you see someone else being bullied speak up for them. Ask the bully to stop. Comfort the person being bullied and offer them your friendship.

We also looked at Kids Helpline on www.kidshelp.com.au It is a counselling service available throughout Australia. Kids can call the number 1800 55 1800 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They can call no matter how big or small they may feel their problem is. It is available to deal with some of lifes most serious challenges right through to young people just wanting support on how to deal with a school yard incident or a family situation.

5/6C news

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:39 AEST

5/6C

During term 3, class 5/6C have been learning the art of tapestry under the expert guidance of the talented Mrs. Lawrence. The students are currently in the process of designing and creating individual pieces.

After a couple of hip hop dance lessons with the ‘Solid Mob', William attended a hip hop evening at the local community centre and won a hat and t-shirt! Well done William!

1/2B Animal Habitats

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:26 AEST

1/2B have been busy designing and constructing animal habitat dioramas as a project from a unit of work titled Growing Up. In Science we have discussed the things we need to survive and how animals adapt to their surroundings. Students were able to choose any animal from a range of habitats including Coral Reefs, African Grasslands, and the Australian Bush. Students used cardboard cut outs and learnt to construct the diorama to a achieve a 3D look.

5/6 F Art

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:35 AEST

5/6 F have been exploring artwork that is inspired by John Coburn's tapestry designs He designed two curtains for the Sydney Opera House.5/6F Art Designs (pptx 7277 KB)

Story Dogs in K-1W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:35 AEST

Story Dogs is a program where children can read to a dog in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. It is a volunteer program and K-1W have been very lucky this year to have Gaye and Mango (the beautiful Labrador) visit the classroom each Friday. The children love reading to Mango and it has improved their confidence in reading. Mango gets very excited on Friday morning when Gaye puts her coat on, knowing she is headed into K-1W to see the children. She enjoys the stories the children read and loves the rewards she receives when the children have finished reading. She is smothered with cuddles before she leaves, and is very gentle and loving towards the children. Thank you Gaye and Mango!!

Preschool Palaeontologists

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:23 AEST

In Term 2 we are investigating Dinosaurs. This topic has been of great interest to the preschoolers and this term we are launching into our project about this topic. One of the questions children asked were "How do you find dinosaur bones?" So this week were were all palaeontologists and excavated dinosaur bones from the ground. We worked in pairs to assemble the dinosaur bones to make a dinosaur skeleton and named the new dinosaur we discovered!

Dinosaur Egg Excursion

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:48 AEST

We concluded our dinosaur project with an excursion. In the last week of Term 2, Preschool Blue went on a walking excursion to Tweed City Shopping Centre and paid a visit to the National Geographic shop. All the children purchased a dinosaur egg. When we returned to preschool we had a dinosaur themed lunch with dino pasta and lava juice! During the school holidays we will be hatching our dinosaur eggs with our families, observing the dinosaur life cycle and recording what happens. We can't wait to come back to school in Term 3 so we can share with our friends what happened to our dinosaur egg!

Preschool Book Week

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:19 AEST

We launched book week at preschool by reading the story "The Gobbledygook is eating a Book". The children were then invited to create their own illustrations of a Gobbledygook that is "tearing the pages and eating a book!" We have also been investigating some traditional stories during literacy time and a favourite play experience has been to act out "Jack and the Beanstalk" on our class 'magic beanstalk'. We decided to plant our own beanstalks and have planted some climbing bean seeds in the garden under our te-pee frame. We are hoping to create an outdoor beanstalk castle to play in. We have also planted some bean seeds in cups that we can take home to plant in our gardens and when they are fully grown, we are hoping to pick some beans that our families can cook for dinner. Growing seeds has become a real interest for the children this term, so we will be completing a project on 'Growing Seeds'. We concluded bookweek on Wednesday by coming dressed as our favourite book character. We invited our families into preschool to play some literacy games with us, to watch our book character parade and we also performed "The Baa Baa Rap" for our familes on the outdoor stage in our garden.

Marvellous Careers Market Day!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:08 AEST

Recently, Tweed Heads South Public School hosted our highly successful 2013 Careers Market Day Expo. Over 400 students from local schools in Tweed Heads, Carool, Terranora, Bilambil and Banora Point (Centaur) participated.

The event started with inspirational talks regarding possible career pathways given by: Allison Lonsdale from Connect; Owen Metimeti – Nortec Youth Connections; Kylie Jones – Kingscliff TAFE; Mandy Kilotat – Southern Cross University; Deb Page- Thomas – Careers Advisor Tweed River High with school based trainees Cassidy-Ray and Harry and Mitch Armour from Centrelink. The session in the hall finished off with a surprise visit from the Federal Police acting out a scene on stage with the clever ‘sniffer dogs' detecting ‘something suspicious' from suitcases.

Then it was fun for all in the ‘Try a Trade'. We had representatives from Tweed Heads Ambulance & St John Ambulance; Australian Federal Police; NSW Police; Aboriginal Police Liaison Officer (Bec Couch); Tweed Heads Fire Brigade; Commonwealth Bank Tweed Heads South; Volunteers Friends of The Pound; ‘Our Vet'; Bullinah Aboriginal Health Services; Tweed District Dental; Envision Optical; ‘Surf Girls Morgan & Michelle' from Pacific & Coolangatta Surf Clubs; Tweed Shire Council; The Titans; Forged Fitness Gym; TRAC Bubbles Swim School; MSP Photography; Tweed Library; Woolworths Cabarita; TAFE Kingscliff Construction; Tweed River High School – Agriculture, Marine Studies & Robotics; Bunnings Warehouse ; Laptops2go and our very own Amy Mudge with Cake Decorating.

Geoff Provest, our local National Party State Member for Tweed Heads popped in to say hello and said he was very impressed with the event itself and the enthusiastic commitment from the local business community providing valuable real life career experiences for the students.

A special thanks must be given to all the staff at Tweed Heads South for ‘pitching in' as they always do and to the P & C for their ongoing tireless efforts.

Parents and students, thank you for coming along, actively participating in the activities and showing great appreciation to our volunteer stallholders.

Congratulations to Mrs Gould and Samuel (1-2M) for winning the lucky door prize, a family pass to visit Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

A special ‘big' thanks from myself to everyone involved in this amazing event. Miss Ingrid you really do rock! Bring on the Tweed Heads South Career Expo for 2014....BIGGER AND BETTER!

Merryl Toop

Careers Market Day Coordinator

1/2B Family Portraits

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:27 AEST

1/2B Family Portraits

Our class has been busy completing their entries for the Les Peterkin Portrait Competition. The theme this year is Family Portraits, which students in 1/2B have demonstrated outstanding success and skill by completing a great selection of wonderful art works using oil pastel.

National Heritage sites in Australia

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:10 AEST

3/4MG have been learning about Australia. It is a very special country with some amazing National Heritage sites. We studied the Gwondana Rainforests, part of which includes Mt Warning and Springbrook National Park, Uluru, Kakadu National Park, Fraser Island and the Great Barrier Reef. These places are unique and must be protected so they can be passed on to the next generation.

We read stories and watched videos about the Great Barrier Reef. We discovered that the reef is so large it can be seen from outer space. It is home to over 1500 different types of fish species, 134 species of sharks and stingrays, is a feeding ground for endangered species such as the turtles and dugongs and is an important breeding area for humpback whales. We drew pictures about the Great Barrier Reef and discussed ways to protect this wonderful country of ours.

Careers Market Day Tues 6th August

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:46 AEST

Students at Tweed Heads South are dreaming big!

The highly successful Careers Market Day is on again at Tweed Heads South Public School on Tuesday 6th August (Term 3, Week 3) from 9-12 noon. Photos from the 2012 event can be viewed in Gallery.

Once again students and their parents/caregivers will have a unique opportunity to meet representatives from local organisations, businesses, TAFE and universities providing pathways for future directions.

This event has been an outstanding event in recent years and is now running in its third year at our school. With increased growth our school will host over 30 stallholders and provide more than 300 students from 6 local schools access to hand on, interactive and engaging information sessions and the ability to ask questions of people in varying careers and professions.

The excitement begins at 9am in the school hall with representation from career advisors, TAFE, universities and employment agencies. Talks will be followed by an informal question/answer session.

From 10-12 noon students will actively engage in 'hands on' activities, 'Try a Trade' as they visit each stallholder.

The school canteen will be open for drinks and snacks and the P&C will be running a $2 sausage sizzle. You can even indulge in a decent coffee from the Zarraffas Coffee Cart and feel good about it as profits from the day will go to the RSPCA charity!

Our annual Careers Market Day event provides students and parents with access and information to help them understand the relevance of their schooling experience. It serves as a dual purpose as it also develops meaningful partnerships with parents, the local community and schools.

So come along for a morning of fun and you just might learn something new!

For further information contact Merryl Toop (Careers Market Day Coordinator) at school.

NAIDOC WEEK 2013

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:09 AEST

Celebrating NAIDOC Week

At Tweed Heads South Public School Celebrating NAIDOC Week began with Preschool students entertaining the school with a dance routine called the Wombat Wobble and continued throughout the week in the forms of artwork, storytelling and dance.

Our NAIDOC Week assembly had our whole school gather with special guests including Aunty Kath Lena, Aunty Bukki, Jackie McDonald a life member of the AECG and the President of the AECG Deb Johnson.

Parents, community members, teachers and students were all entertained by our very own dance group, student presentations and the presentation of our weekly assembly awards.

In continuing the celebrations students had the chance to participate in a variety of activities throughout the morning including, listening to traditional stories from elders, learning traditional games and songs and making artworks inspired by traditional art.

The school was also entertained by traditional dancer Dennis Walker and one of the local dance groups who explained and demonstrated some traditional dances which the students were all eager to learn.

NAIDOC WEEK ARTWORK

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:10 AEST

Students from Stage1,2 and 3 have celebrated NAIDOC Week creating beautiful artworks inspired from traditional artworks. Students have used colour, line and pattern to create artworks that represent different aspects of the land.

1-2M Love Literature Activities!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:27 AEST

1-2M Love Literacy Activities!
This week 1-2M has had lots of fun learning about procedural texts. They have been involved in engaging activities by following procedures to make pirate hats and how to tie up their shoelaces. 1-2M has learnt that procedural texts are instructions that tell you firstly what you need and then provide step by step instructions to complete the task. Jyungarah said "I can tie my own shoelaces now!"

Today 1-2M played the game 'Silent Ball' then wrote their own procedural instructions for how to play it. Next they will make up a game, write the procedure and teach the game to the class.

Maddy said "This is so much fun. Can we do this everyday?"

Merryl Toop 1-2M Teacher

Fast start to Term 2 for K-1W

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:51 AEST

On Friday the 10th May, all the children from Tweed Heads South PS competed in the schools Cross Country. K-1W had been training very hard in the weeks leading up to the Cross Country and were very competitive on the day!

Well done to all the children for competing in the race and cheering on your houses. You should be very pleased of your efforts on the day. A big congratulations to Charlie and Jesse who came 1st and 2nd in the 6 years boys, and Yuddaki who came 3rd in the 7 years boys, and to everyone for finishing the long race! Mrs Ware is very proud!

Easter Art

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:49 AEST

Students in 1/2M and 1/2B were busy helping the Easter Bunny by creating these colourful art works

for the Easter Hat Parade. The students used many bright colours and created patterns on their Easter eggs.

We hope you enjoy our video.

Great Work 1/2M and 1/2B.

1/2M Play games in class!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:28 AEST

1-2M have been busy in the classroom playing lots of hands-on and interactive whiteboard games in their Literacy and Numeracy groups. They have been having so much fun that they really do not realise they are learning at the same time. Working in small groups enables the students to develop strong team skills including, taking turns, playing fairly, encouraging each other to do well and accepting that you can't always win. Keep up the great work 1-2M!

Miss Toop

Science Crazy @ Tweed South

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:29 AEST

As well as a healthy lifestyle unit, 4/5T have been spending their afternoon sessions exploring Science.

To begin with, students were divided into large groups and given a range of challenges that required them to work as a team. Students learnt the importance of respectful communication, encouragement and getting along with others in order to achieve their team goals.

In weeks three and four 4/5T saved the school from a ‘potentially deadly' nuclear catastrophe. Working in groups of 8, students had to responsibly dispose of a radioactive nuclear rod that had somehow found its way into the school grounds. Students could not go within a bordered off area and had to use a series of fishing line and rubber bands to dispose of the toxic waste.

In weeks five and six, students had to save their team mates from a deserted island. They were stranded with Tom Hanks (Castaway) and found a raft in the form of a library table. They had to float the raft on 8 balloons and get all team members aboard to save themselves and their team mates.

After learning a range of important cooperative learning skills, 4/5T are now set for a series of investigative Science lessons. They will be working in teams of 3, taking on the jobs of director, manager and speaker to learn about a range of scientific concepts. Week 7 saw the launch of our balloon powered rockets with every team of 3 successfully working as a team and achieving their goals. Keep it up 4/5T.

Mr Chalmers

K-1W Healthy Lifestyles

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:58 AEST

This term K-1W have been learning about all the different ways we can keep our bodies healthy through songs, art, science experiments, fruit tasting and participating in PE with Miss Humes.

The children have enjoyed all the activities - especially the song we have been learning - Spaghetti Bolognaise. We were lucky enough to have Ronalda - the fantastic aide we have working in our classroom - make some spaghetti bolognaise for us all to enjoy. It was delicious and healthy and I could tell that all the children loved it by the silence and the mess on their faces afterwards!!!

In week 7, we visited the Breakky club and sampled lots of different fruits and vegetables. I was very pleased to see all the children trying and enjoying some new things - such as dragon fruit. Well done!

We have also been speaking about drinking lots of water to help keep our bodies healthy and hydrated, so we conducted a science experiment using celery, blue water and a cup. The purpose of this experiment was to show that like us, plants need water to survive. We found that the celery turned blue from the food colouring after drinking the water!

Some of the beautiful artwork we have created.

Great effort K-1W! Keep enjoying your healthy lifestyles!!!

Mrs Ware

1/2M Our Quirky Selves Portraits

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:28 AEST

1/2M students designed a ‘mini-me' version of how they perceived they looked. They had to take in to consideration the colouring of their skin and hair and place the eyes, ears and lips in proportion to their faces. Using crayons, the ‘mini-me' was completed with clothing in their favourite colours. 1/2M thoroughly enjoyed this creative art activity as all ‘mini-me's' are smiling!

Miss Toop

Where the Wild Things are. 1/2B

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:49 AEST

1/2B have been working with the text Where the Wild Things are in writing. We have been writing character descriptions and learning about nouns, verbs and adjectives.

We have made our own scenes of where the Wild Things live.

We hope you like them.

Mr Bush 1/2B

Hat or no hat ! Persuasive writing from 5/6F

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:56 AEST

Studies show that if you wear a sunsafe hat your chances of getting skin cancer are cut by 45%. Also school hats are always protective against the sun. You should wear a school hat because they're usually a bit plain and so that others won't want to steal them like good hats. When the school decides to go on an excursion you might get lost because strangers will stand out in a crowd of uniformed children. Lachlan

Surely an extremely intelligent person like yourself would figure out that school hats are not necessary. There are many points I can tell you but I prefer to keep it 'short and sweet.' The first reason is that they cost too much and people take them out and lose them so parents end up buying so many hats. Head lice is a huge problem and hats just make it many times worse. So if we eliminate the school hats lice must go away. Dainton

I believe that children should wear school hats so you don't get sunburn or skin cancer. They also protect your ears and your face. Also, some children wear caps and get sunburnt and then they realise that they should have worn a proper sun-safe hat.

Firstly, if you get sunburnt it will hurt a lot and if you keep on playing in the sun then you can get skin cancer. School hats protect your face and your ears from getting damaged.

Secondly, if you wear caps it may only protect your face but it won't protect your ears which is bad. So if children wear coloured hats and think they're all cool, they won't be the smart ones because the smart people won't get sunburnt because they wear school hats.

Thirdly, if you're going on an excursion, your teachers will see you and keep you safe. Also, if you're in the rain you won't get wet as much but if you don't wear a hat then you will get soaked straight away. Kayla

I belive that we should wear school hats, because too many children are getting sunburnt. So, please wear school hats.

If you don't wear school hats you will get sunburnt and if you get sunburnt, well that will be very painful. I should know! I got sunburnt, it's not cool! Jimmy

To whoever is reading or listening, we should all wear school hats because of a number of reasons.

Firstly, if you get a sunburn, your chances are 45% of getting melanoma(skin cancer).

Secondly, wearing a school hat show's that you care about your school's uniform.

Finally, even if it is not sunny you must still wear a school hat because your chances of getting burnt on a non sunny day are just as high as that on a sunny day.

From my point of view, I think we should all wear school hats. Ella

Tweed Learning Community Game Design Project

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:44 AEST

Students from the Tweed Learning Community (TLC) have successfully completed a computer game design project involving Stages 2, 3 and 4 students from Tweed Heads South Public School, Tweed Heads Public School, Carool Public School, Banora Point Public School and Tweed River High School.

A presentation evening attended by the School Education Director, Mrs Darlene Arkinstall, and a large gathering of school staff and parent and community members was recently held at Tweed Heads South Public School in order to celebrate and recognise the achievements of the students involved in this year's outstanding project.

The students demonstrated extensive skills and creativity via their participation in 4 whole day workshops at Kingscliff TAFE. The project involved using Kodu, a 3D gaming design software, and required participants to design their own computer game, learning to use basic programming commands to build their environments and manipulate their characters.

The students were fortunate enough to have ICT Specialist Cathie Howe from MAC ICT visit and run a beginning game design workshop to get them started. Cathie helped students to design their game and discussed with them how to think about the core mechanics of a game, and understand the components of good game design, whilst always keeping in mind how to make their game fun!

Students' imaginations ran wild creating a narrative around their game and programming different types of games including role player, racing and first person perspective. They designed many different obstacles and challenges within their games, and as participants' skill levels increased, so too did the complexity of their games. Students were actively engaged and worked collaboratively with each other throughout the project, and gave feedback to their peers to help them fine tune their game and maximise the all-important fun level.

In the final phase of the project students had the opportunity to sell their game to a sample target audience using presentation tools like Prezi and Animoto. They had fun capturing pictures of their game using screenshots to build upon the narrative or backstory to their product. The presentation evening showcased the amazing work completed by these students, leaving parents, teachers and siblings in awe of their hard work and dedication to the project.

Mr David Bush

Project Coordinator

1-2M’s Mighty Magical Show Was Marvellous!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:29 AEST

1-2M was extremely excited about performing in a class act at the School Talent Quest. After much brainstorming we decided on a circus theme with lots of colour, activity and of course mystical magic! The class members broke up into groups of hula-hoop dancers, jugglers, clowns and musicians.

We were kept busy rehearsing in the week leading up to the talent quest with a last minute reminder from Miss Toop to remind our mums and dads to come along for support.

On Wednesday morning we quickly changed into brightly coloured clothes ensuring props were in order, including hula hoops, juggling balls, funny hats and the magic tricks.

When the talent quest began we had to sit patiently as we were act 16!

However, the circus music finally started – our call, WE WERE ON!

Firstly, the hula hoop dancers cart wheeled onto the stage gracefully picked up their hoops and showed the audience their clever range of movements, then skipped backwards through the hoops to the side of the stage. Our jugglers came running in juggling all the way, round in circles, to each other and retreated to the back of the stage. Next the clowns bounced in falling over, dropping their silly hats, playing funny tricks on each other and smiling as they shuffled sideways. The final performers were our magicians. Their polished tricks included the floating wand, a rabbit being pulled out of a hat and a disappearing ball that reappeared mysteriously somewhere else!

The audience cheered and clapped loudly as we bowed and skipped off the stage but to our surprise and pride we won the ‘Best Class Item'. The judges' feedback report included comments: ‘wonderful colour, coordination, tricks and skills; use of props was expertly handled; I loved the continuation of movement in the background; a very professional performance.'

Back on stage we received our award and produced HUGE smiles for all the cameras!

Written by a VERY proud Miss Toop (1-2M Classroom Teacher)

5/6P Hits the Dojo

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:40 AEST

Class 5/6 P has been working very hard this week to earn points in the Class Dojo. Class dojo is a piece of internet software that tracks the great things that go on in the classroom. Students who are on task, helping others, working hard, participating, or persevering in their school work can earn point for themselves, or the class as a whole.

We've had all sorts of rewards for this good behaviour including OzTag time, Choosing classroom activities, and time on Mr. Lloyd's iPad. These rewards are coming fast and furious, as are the points. This morning, a smaller 5/6P class (19 people) earned over 80 points in the first 2 hours of school.

Students are able to log onto their individual account to personalise their avatar, view their achievements and monitor their points. Mr Lloyd, and interested parents, are also able to look at their student's record to see how they're doing day to day.

With only a few weeks of school left, there will be plenty of opportunities for students to earn more points and earn more and more rewards.

3/4O Record Achievement

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:33 AEST

3-4O Record Achievement

In what is thought to be a record, six students from 3-4O received an assembly award on the same day.

Kaleb - Shining Star, for academic work and dedication to learning.

Jade - Reaching for the Stars, Jade is really trying hard to improve her work.

Chloe - The Arts, for persistence in her presentation of work and skill in craft activities.

Tyrone - HSIE ,showing great awareness of the world around him by being interested in Current Affairs.

Jasmin - Music, Jasmin shows great skill and enjoyment in moving to music.

Jarius - Sportsmanship, for excellent sportsmanship and passing skills during playground touch football.

We are very proud of our efforts

Congratulations 3-4O

Mrs Hammond

Tweed Heads South Shines Brightly At The Tweed River Lantern Festival

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:43 AEST

Last Saturday night students from 2/3H and other classes joined together to participate in the Tweed River Lantern Parade at Jack Evans Boat Harbour. After building and decorating their lanterns at a special workshop on Thursday morning students were able to proudly show off their hard work to a large crowd of children, parents, teachers and community members. Tweed Heads South students shone brightly on the night, representing our school's creativity, fun and community spirit.

It was great to see so many parents and teachers attend the event. Many parents accompanied our students and some walked before us, carrying a large feature lantern of their own. A big thank you to Fiona Brooks for her help at the workshop and also to all the parents who supported our school at the Parade. We are blessed to have such committed and enthusiastic parents at our school.

Finally, congratulations to all our wonderful students who carried themselves with pride and were magnificent ambassadors for our school.

Keep Shining Brightly Tweed Heads South!

Miss Humes

K1/S Retro, Racing Rockets

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:59 AEST

K1/S students have been racing to complete their retro rocket as part of a toys unit in science and visual arts.

Students cut out their rockets, coloured them in retro colours and blasted them into outer space, which they made using oil pastel and an ink wash.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Blast off!

Watch out for their colourful creations in the sky tonight.

YEAR 4 CAMP

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:51 AEST

We drove to Pottsville Bicentennial Park on Thursday, 8th November at 9.30am. Everyone was very excited. We were lucky to have parents who were willing to transport children to the camp. Once at camp we set up our tents and had lunch. After lunch we had some free time to practice our performance for the talent show that night or play football, tennis or basketball.

Sascha from the Tweed Shire Education Office came to visit us at 2pm. She told us about the animals in the area and took us for a bushwalk pointing out the animal tracks and the bat colony along the way. When we eventually got back to camp we had afternoon tea and went to Pottsville Beach for sand modelling and a paddle in the shallow water. That night we had lots of very entertaining acts to watch and a night time torch walk.

We slept in tents that night and rose early in the morning. Friday was very busy. We walked to Hastings Point and visited the Marine Museum where we were shown lots of interesting specimens alive and preserved that live in the ocean. Rhett gave us a talk about how animals depend on each other to survive. After the marine museum we had a picnic lunch and went on a rocky shore walk, exploring the rock pools for sea life. We found lots of interesting creatures including starfish and sea cucumbers.

After walking back to camp our parent helpers drove us back to school. We were all very tired after such an exciting adventure. Thank you Mr Matica, Mrs Collett and Mrs Sheriiff for giving up your time to make sure the students had a great camp.

A special thank you must also go to Rosalind and Darren Smart, Yvette Mackenzie, Lee-ann Salmon, Amy Mudge, Lavina Duroux, Anthony Lacrosse and Jenny Puckeridge and her husband. These parents helped to drive students to the camp, helped cook meals, set up tents and drove the students back to school.

Santa Claus is coming to Preschool!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:27 AEST

We are getting very excited because Christmas is nearly here! We drew our own Santa portraits. We started by gluing a red triangle at the top of our page to make Santa's hat. Then we used black texta to draw our Santa. We added some colour with red edicoldye. We think they look fantastic! The portraits are on display in our classroom and we have also put them in the photo gallery so that everyone can admire our artistic talents!

5/6C Victorian Houses

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:40 AEST

Students in 5/6C have recently completed their watercolour paintings depicting rows of Victorian style houses reminiscent of street scenes in San Francisco. Students drew their house designs after studying the architecture and detail of this style of home and used watercolours to bring their homes to life using many different colour combinations and patterns. Looking at the paintings you could imagine you were taking a walk in the streets of San Francisco passing rows of elegant homes and gardens.

A visit from Tweed Mayor Councillor Barry Longland

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:42 AEST

On 29th October, 2012, we were honoured to have Tweed Mayor Councillor Barry Longland visit 4/5G. He spoke about his role as mayor and the responsibilities that come with such a position. He told us he had just come from a youth forum and explained some of the exciting ideas he had discussed.

The development of Arkinstall Park sounded interesting and he explained that sometimes it is difficult to reach a compromise between various parties. By taking the time to visit us he demonstrated how much he values visiting schools and listening to the opinions of students.

By answering a range of the student's questions Mr Longland provided valuable information which relates to the students current unit of study on democracy and the Australia Government. The students of 4/5G were priveleged to have a visit from such a valuable member of our community. Thank you Tweed Mayor Councillor Barry Longland.

In year 4/5G we have been trying to convince Miss Smith that one pet is better than another.

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:57 AEST

OR

WHAT MAKES A BETTER PET?

Dale McGregor

4/5G

Miss Smith

Tweed Heads South Primary School

Dear Miss Smith,

I strongly believe birds are better pets than fish.

Firstly, birds can be trained to speak . if someone comes through the door you don't see your bird will call out to you, but fish do absolutely nothing.

Secondly, birds are easy to feed. Just put a stick of seed where they sleep and they will eat it.

Lastly, birds can be used for messaging. Tie a message to there legs and tell them where to go. They will go there.

That is why I think birds are better pets than fish.

Yours sincerely

Dale McGregor

Kimberely Geeves

4/5G

Miss Smith

Tweed Heads South Primary School

Dear Miss Smith,

I know a fish makes a much better pet than a bird. You might think a better pet would be a bird because all fish do is swim around all day. Let me tell you something that will definitely change your mind.

Firstly, fish are cheaper, wait, they are much cheaper, a fish would cost around $5.00-$10.00 depending on what type you bought. A bird would be around $15.00-$20.00 depending on what type you chose.

Secondly, fish are easier to look after. Fish can live without food for two or three days. You can get an automatic food dispenser and you only give them a little sprinkle of food.

Lastly, fish are undoubtedly more quiet than birds. Fish actually don't make a sound at all. The fish tank makes a sound but that sound makes you go to sleep. A bird would squawk all night.

In conclusion I hope I have changed your mind with the wonderful reasons I have listed.

Yours sincerely,

Kimberely Geeves

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hayley Johnston

4/5G

Miss Smith

Tweed Heads South Primary School

Dear Miss Smith,

I strongly believe that a fish makes a better pet than a bird because they are quiet, calm and do not make a sound.

Firstly, in my opinion, fish are less noisy than a bird. At least you can sleep with a fish in the house, birds would probably chirp all night long.

Secondly fish are eaqsier to look after and feed. You only have to feed a fish once or twice a day and clean their tank out every two weeks.

Lastly, they are relaxing to look at and make you calm down. They make a perfec t pet for people of all ages.

In conclusion an intelligent person such as yourself would realise fish make better pets than birds.

Your sincerely,

Hayley Johnston

______________________________________________________________________________

Ella Smart

4/5G

Miss Smith

Tweed Heads South Primary School

Dear Miss Smith,

Is a bird a better pet than a fish? Well, I think so.

Firstly, a bird is good company, for example, you can play pirates. However, fish can't talk, sit on your shoulder and do fun things.

Secondly, birds are colourful, for example, feathers are more attractive than slimy scales.

If you choose a fish, I will know you didn't take my advice.

Yours sincerely,

Ella Smart

1/2M Soundwaves

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:31 AEST

1/2M has been studying sound in Science and looking at how we hear and how our ear works, how sound is made and how it travels. The guitar has inspired us to create an artwork that represents how sound works in a colourful and creative way. Students used oil pastel and applied a wash to the background and drew their own guitars, which were glued to the background. We added wavy lines to show how sound travels in waves.

David Bush

Meet some of the amazing students from 4/5G

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:08 AEST

My name is Rubin. I have two brothers and four sister. My favourite music at the moment is Gangnam Style. My favourite film is Dolphin Tale. My friends are Jimmy, Camerron, Ella, Tiger, William, Dale and Neil. If I won a lot of money I would travel all around the world. My best subject is mathematics. I feel nervous when I am on stage. My favourite drink is strawberry milkshake.

My name is Dylan. I have four brothers. My favourite food is lollies. In the future I would like to be a police officer. Something special aobut me is I am nice to people. I feel nervous when I am around girls. I wish I could be good at sport. Something new I would like to do this year is to make more friends. My favourite TV show is Fox 8. My favourite drink is lemon.

My name is Neil. I have four brothers and one sister. My favourite drink is Fanta. My favourite food is Hungry Jacks. My favourite place in the world is the Gold Coast. My favourite film is Avengers. My favourite music is Techno. I get angry when I am tired. In the future I would like to play for the Melbourne Storms. If I won lots of money I would buy a house and a Bogetti. My best subject is mathematics and my worst subject is literacy groups. When I am alone I like to play the playstation.

My name is Natasha I have one brother and two sisters. My favourite show is Home and Away and Big Brother. I like a friend who respects me. Something special about me is that I am the littlest kid in my family. What I like best at school is playing with my friends. I wish I could see my sister more. I feel proud when I try my hardest. I feel nervous when I have to go up on stage.

My name is Maddison. I have four brothers and two sisters. My favourite drink is red drink. My favourite food is noodles. At the moment my favourite music is Pink. I get angry when my brothers and sisters annoy me. In the future I would like to go around the world. I like to help people.

K1/S Lighthouses

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:59 AEST

Students in K1/S have been working extremely hard in visual arts completing an artwork inspired by the beauty of the sea. Their artworks depict the strength and power of the sea. Students glued a ship which sails on the rough seas with the safety of a lone lighthouse guiding ships in dangerous waters.

The students used acrylic paints, oil pastels and collage to create their work which have movement and illustrate the power of the sea; some ships look as if they may have gone too close to the rocks.

David Bush.

3/4O Abstract Landscapes

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:33 AEST

Students in 3/4O have been busily creating an abstract landscape using oil pastel and warm and cool colours. The designs are divided in three areas depicting grasslands, mountains and the sky. Students were imaginative in the way they designed their work around simple shapes and patterns to create a work which is visually stunning.

David Bush

Spring has Sprung!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:24 AEST

Welcome to Term 4.

Spring has certainly sprung at Preschool over the holidays! Our flower garden is in full bloom.

Cooper said, "My Nan has this one in her garden! It's a snap dragon!"

Our banana tree has its first bunch of delicious bananas.

We can't wait until they are ripe – YUM!

Many Preschool children have been talking about their holiday visits to the beach. We have been making sandcastles in the sandpit and exploring the ocean at our sea centre.

The Mighty 1-2Ms – The Show Must Go on!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:40 AEST

On Friday afternoon in Week 9, 1-2M performed in front of the whole school assembly in the hall. Students were very excited as they changed into their ‘favourite clothes' during 2^nd break, in preparation for the BIG EVENT!

As students entered the hall photos were displayed on the screen of 1-2M students involved in various activities including Reader's Theatre, skipping, computers, cooking amongst others.

Following a last minute hiccup with the internet deciding NOT to be friendly and therefore not allowing it to be possible to play the You Tube clips with music, Miss Toop and the fabulous percussion band led the class as they sang and danced their way through ‘Follow Me'. Next the 1-2M budding poets read a verse each from the class rhyming poem about different aspects of school. As they took turns to read, a Power Point presentation with photos of each child and ‘special words' about their individual attributes was displayed on the overhead projector screen.

The assembly closed with a catchy ‘Thank You' song sung in high spirit by the whole class.

Thank you for all the assistance given by staff and parents to make this event possible and for your attendance on the day. I am a very proud and lucky teacher.

Miss Toop

1-2M Teacher

1/2M Sunflowers

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:31 AEST

This is a tribute to Van Gogh's famous "Sunflowers" painting.

The students had to draw a line for the table, and then the outline of a jar above it. They had to then connect the flowers to the jar by drawing stems, and added leaves. The students then filled in the shapes with oil pastels and by colouring solidly the work looks like they had been painted in oils by Van Gogh himself.

Student Representative Council for THSPS

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:37 AEST

The newly formed SRC for our school consists of a boy and girl rep from each class. The SRC meets regularly on Tuesday afternoons to discuss any potential fundraising ideas and acts as ‘a voice' for the students. Congratulations to SRC leaders whom were voted in, at our last meeting: President – Jimmy; Chairperson-Noah; Treasurer-Lachlan; Secretary-Ethan.

Our first fundraiser, a mufti ‘Jeans For Jeans Day' raised over $158 in total. Thanks go to those that participated in this worthy cause.

Your class representatives have organised a ‘Suggestion Box' for your classroom. Please put your thinking caps on and place your written ideas into the box.

Lookout for our next exciting fundraising event!

SRC Coordinator

Miss Toop

On your mark... Get set... GO!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:15 AEST

An Olympic Event at THSPS.

Last week 2/3H invited 2T and 1/2M to compete in a "Measurement Olympics". Students from those classes competed in three sporting events and learnt a lot about mathematics at the same time!

The first event was the 100m sprint. Students used trundle wheels to measure the 100 metre distance, and then used timers to measure how fast each person ran. Year three became 'teachers' and helped the younger students use the measuring equipment. Good work Year 3!

The second event was long jump. Students had to use measuring tape and record each persons jump in metres and centimetres. Year 2 students really showed off their maths skills in this event. They also demonstrated excellent sportsmanship, applauding their friends after each jump.

The final event was shot-put. We used beanbags and threw these as far as we could. Students worked in pairs and used the metre ruler to measure the distance that each beanbag was thrown. Years 1, 2 and 3 all learnt valuable lessons such as measuring from the same point each time, measuring from the zero on the ruler and measuring in straight lines to get fair results.

Mr. Chalmers, Miss Toop and I were very impressed with students' enthusiasm, sportsmanship and willingness to learn new measurment techniques over the two day event.

A medal ceremony has been organised to recognise the acheivements of the following students:

Year 3 Sporting Champion: Shayden Year 3 Measurement Champion: Talisha

Year 2 Sporting Champion: Ryan Year 2 Measurement Champion: Tia

Year 1 Sporting Champion: Shane Year 1 Measurement Champion: Blithe

Congratulations and a big thankyou to everyone who had a go and helped out during our Olympic event!

Miss Humes

5/6C Australian Research Projects

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:39 AEST

Over the past 5 weeks 5/6C have been researching instrumental people from Australian history. Not only have they been discovering many things about our countrys past, they have also been exploring the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) within the classroom. Throughout this research project the students have aquired skills in Word Processing and PowerPoint Presentations. These are skills that these students will be using throughout highschool and into the future.

Great work 5/6C. Jada, Mary Gilmore (pptx 2475 KB)Malakai, Captain Cook (pptx 2697 KB)Taleisha, Jandamarra (pptx 402 KB) Dainton, Edmund Barton (pptx 454 KB)Lockie, Lachlan Macquarie (pptx 322 KB)

Book Week @ Taronga Zoo

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:44 AEST

On Monday, students from 1-2M, 2T & 2/3H enjoyed a ‘Virtual Excursion' at Taronga Zoo in Mr Lloyd's room. Renowned author, Aleesah Darlison and zoo keeper, Charlotte Hulme, introduced the audience to blue-tongue lizards, kangaroos, ‘Jack' the Ring-tailed possum, Tasmanian Devils, python snakes and ‘Stompy' the Green Tree Frog. There were students from several other NSW schools also participating.

Charlotte answered questions from students at each school including Joe, Blithe and Abdullah from THSPS. We learnt that python snakes are ‘carnivorous' (meat eaters) and prey on frogs and micro bats; ‘nocturnal' animals such as possums hunt at night (have great vision) and sleep during the day and that green tree frogs can jump 4 metres high!

Aleesah shared a fabulous story she had written when she was only 7 years old about a goanna she wanted to keep but her father said it had to live in the wild, in its ‘natural habitat'. Her story, ‘Warambi' (means bat), was based upon the nocturnal, Little Bent-wing Bats that live in coastal north-eastern NSW and eastern Australia, our very own location! In the story Warambi and her family were threatened by bulldozers destroying their natural habitat. Unfortunately this is a real situation as the conservation status of Little Bent Wings in NSW is listed as Vulnerable.

Students thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful experience and finished off humming to the catchy tune: ‘echolocation'. Check it out on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr-Y2Tt8gFE

Miss Toop

1-2M Teacher

5/6P Making Music

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:40 AEST

The students and I have been working on music from week 1 of the school year. We've watched Yoyo Ma play Bach, We've sung songs, we've played xylophones and smashed drums, and we've even started learning to read music. Though the opportunities to study music used to be somewhat haphazard, it is now a part of weekly routine, happening every Monday afternoon.

For the last 2 Music Mondays, the students of 5/6P have been working on creating an original song. Using Mr. Lloyd's laptop, guitars, microphones, and stacks of loops, the students have clapped, dragged, clicked and danced their way to what will almost certainly be a huge hit.

I'm so excited about what they've come up with, that I've put it up online as an .mp3 so that everyone they know can download and share it.

As Music Mondays continue there are plans to do more recording, singing, playing instruments, and I would love for every student to be able to read music (even just a little bit) before they head off to high school. With choir starting up, and the talent show just around the corner, you can expect great things from these budding musicians.

1-2 M creates ‘Magical moments with Reader’s Theatre’......

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:24 AEST

What is Reader's Theatre?

Reader's Theatre "introduces the element of drama into literacy learning and magically transforms the classroom into a stage. …….the reader is at centre stage, totally absorbed in reading. The reader is a star."

"Reader's Theatre is a highly motivational strategy that connects oral reading, literature, and drama in the classroom. It does not require costumes, make-up, props, stage sets, or memorization. Only a script is needed, from which students read-aloud. Using only their voices, facial expressions, and bodies, they interpret the emotions, beliefs, attitudes and motives of the characters. A narrator conveys the story's setting and action and provides the commentary necessary for transition between scenes."

"The element of drama enables students to realize that reading is an activity that permits experimentation – they can try reading words in different ways to produce different meanings. Using volume, pitch, stress and intonation, readers delve into the Reader's Theatre text, making printed words come alive and giving their characters life. As they practice their roles, readers are also given the opportunity to reflect on the text. (Carrick, 2000)

1-2 M did a magnificent job and had lots of fun with Reader's Theatre this week. In their literacy groups students rehearsed scripts from popular fairytales: The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Billy Goat Gruffs. After negotiating character roles with team members they then read through the scripts, organised stage positions, movements and appropriate voices. Luckily no-one suffered from stage fright or ‘broke a leg' for the final performance. Valuable feedback was provided by audience members after each presentation. Watch out world, 1-2M is out to impress!

Garden Club News

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:52 AEST

After much hard work from students in the Gardening Team at Tweed Heads South Public School, the flower garden has finally blossomed. Brilliant shades of yellow, purple, red and blue are brightening up our beautiful school garden. Flower varieties include tulips, lavender, marigolds and petunias.

Students volunteer their time throughout the week to plant, grow and pick a variety of vegetables, fruit and herbs available for staff, students and the community to purchase at the regular Thursday afternoon ‘Market Garden'.

Recently the gardening team have been busy potting herb gardens to sell at the P & C Father's Day stall. Our next exciting initiative is to establish a ‘Bush Tucker' garden under the guidance of local renowned expert Franc Krasna. If you have any bush tucker seeds, plants or advice you would like to share with the gardening club please contact Merryl Toop on (07) 5524 3408 or drop by Tweed Heads South Public School, 10 Heffron Street, Tweed Heads South.

Careers Market Day

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:46 AEST

Tweed Heads South Public School recently hosted their second ‘Dream Big' Careers Market Day at Tweed Heads South Public School. The event was a huge success and after many weeks of planning the event parents, teachers and students from Tweed Heads South Public and Tweed Heads Public Schools were inspired and entertained as they congregated in the school hall.

The day began with parents and students being able to listen to presentations from guest speakers giving students some inspirational messages and important information whilst reinforcing the message of the day to ‘dream big'.

Students were then able to participate in some hands on activities with over 20 ‘Try a Trade' stall holders providing engaging hands on activities including hairdressing, cake decorating and building. Students also talked with a variety of representatives from different services including the Fire Brigade, Police and even the Federal Police. Students were also able to find out what subjects they can do at High School with displays from Tweed River High Schools Robotics and Marine studies teachers'.

Students were engaged throughout the day, full of excitement, curiosity and eager to learn. What can I try next? What do I need to do to be you? Students engaged in conversation with representatives from many different careers giving students information and a taste of a variety of career paths for their future.

Students from preschool through to year six are now ready to ‘DREAM BIG'.

2/3H Pastel Portraits

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:32 AEST

2/3H made portraits using oil pastels and an ink wash.

Naidoc Week Art

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:10 AEST

Celebrating Naidoc Week.

Artwork from 5/6P and KC.

2T Portraits

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:32 AEST

Modigliani inspired portraits.

2T were inspired by the portraits of Modigliani to create their own portraits elongating their figures and creating some amazing artworks. The students used coloured paper and oil pastel to achieve their design, which was outstanding!

1-2 M think gymnastics is great!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:24 AEST

Our class went to the school hall for our first gymnastics session. We were very excited about this. We met Coach Cathy and she told us we needed to do some warm ups first. We lay down to do some stretching, such as star shapes, straight shapes like a pencil and rolling up like a ball.

We walked to each of the four stations and watched a demonstration of what we would be doing in our group rotations. Coach Cathy chose four leaders and we got into four groups.

The first station was forward pencil rolls. We had to roll down the wedge shaped mat like we did in the exercises.

The second station was doing cartwheels on a mat or bunny hops if the cartwheels were a bit hard. Most of us were able to do the cartwheels.

The third station was the bars. We had to hang on the bars and make shapes. They were stars, a tucked up shape, hanging straight like a pencil and then jumping off.

The last station was the mini trampoline. We had to jump off the trampoline as high as we could, make a star shape and then land on a pretend motorbike and hold the position for three seconds.

We completed four rotations and then Coach Cathy asked us to find our own space. We did some cool down stretching exercises, such as stretching our legs out in front and trying to touch our toes. Then we made butterflies with our heels and stretched some more.

Gymnastics is a lot of fun, good for your body and we are learning new skills. We can't wait for next Friday to do some more gymnastics!

1-2M class: Zahli, Breanna, Tanaya, Jayda, Morgon, Amber, Keira, Bella, Talitha, Maddy, Kiannah, Ocean, Kaylan, Blithe, Shane, Tashahn.

KC Minibeasts

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:00 AEST

At the end of Term 2 KC students learnt about Minibeasts. We listened to information about different minibeasts and viewed short videos about particular minibeasts. We then wrote many factual stories about spiders, ladybeetles, bees and butterflies - some of these stories we published and then used our published minibeast stories to decorate our classroom.

South Tweed has a whole lot of fun at Lake Ainsworth

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:32 AEST

Last term, 35 students from Stage 3 at Tweed Heads South Public School enjoyed a successful 5 day stay at Lake Ainsworth Sport and Recreation Camp. While attending the adventure packed camp, students enjoyed activities such as canoeing, kayaking, sailing, snorkelling, rock wall climbing and high ropes challenges. However the fun didn't stop there, students were also involved in an activity which required them to construct and paddle their own rafts!

While these activities are fun and interesting, the real challenge was helping prepare the dining room for each meal, and cleaning up afterwards after such exciting and tiring days.

The group leaders from Lake Ainsworth Sport and Recreation Camp were delighted with the good behaviour, consideration and excellent manners displayed by the South Tweed students. Teachers from another school visiting at the same time also praised the friendliness and cooperation of our boys and girls. Mrs Cloherty was very pleased to attend camp with such an enthusiastic and appreciative group of students.

Take Home Ted

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:38 AEST

2T has a special guest in their classroom who visits the home a different student every week. Take Home Ted is awarded to the Star of the week who is then allowed to take Ted and his journal home for an entire week. Students document their week with Ted in the journal, taking pictures and writing stories about the special times that they shared with Ted. Ted has been on some great adventures and had amazing times with Jorja on a farm, learning with Leevan, Mixed Martial Arting with Brody, swimming with Mia, shopping with Luka, soccer with Kovi, trampolining with Brock, footballing with Bayden, decorating cakes with Satira, Cooly Rocks On with Kayde and cooking Chinese with Susanna.

2T's Start of the Week last week was Susanna. She has been working consistently well all year and is a great friend to all. Susanna was awarded Star of the Week for her brilliant listening skills in Mathematics and also her positive attitude in the classroom and playground. Congratulations Susanna and all our past Stars of the Week this semester. Who will it be next and what will they do?

2/3H Hungry Hippos

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:32 AEST

2/3H Hungry Hippos

Click on the link above to check out our movie.

We used oil pastel to draw our Hippos in and out of the water. We used line to show areas that were above and below the water. We love our Hungry Hungry Hippos!

K 1/S Penguins

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:58 AEST

K 1/S Penguin Portraits

K 1/S created penguins on ice using a wash, oil pastels and pencil. They followed instructions to draw and colour their penguins in an icy blue background with each having their own cheeky personality.

Click on the link above - "K/1S Penguin Portraits."

1-2M's many tasks!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:28 AEST

1-2M have had an extremely busy week writing, working in the computer lab and attending a WilderQuest virtual excursion.

Firstly, they had to write sentences about their fantastic classroom.

Kiannah wrote: My classroom is fantastic because we get to play Rainforest Maths and it is fun. We learn and we are kind to each other.

Tanaya wrote: My classroom is fantastic because I like my friends and they help me in the class if I am stuck with my work. My teacher is the best teacher in the whole world. My best friends are Zahli and Honey because they play with me.

Syraih wrote: My classroom is fantastic because it is very colourful and I like to write every day. I like to read about animals.

'Email to me'

In the computer lab 1-2M have learnt to logon, read emails and send emails to their friends. We go there every Wednesday afternoon. If we have finished the tasks Miss Toop has sent to us via an email, we are allowed to play games to help us improve in literacy and numeracy. Our class LOVES this session as we are all learning so much!

'WilderQuest Virtual Excursion'

1-2M attended a virtual excursion with 2-3H and 2T in Mr Greenwood's room. There were 5 other schools in NSW participating online with THSPS. We learnt how to set up an account with the WilderQuest website and participated in some interactive, fun games learning all about animals. I know what we will be doing in our next computer lab session!

5/6C have been writing stories

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:45 AEST

THE WIZARD AND THE MISSINGT HAT

One day a wizard got out of bed and went to get dressed. His hat was missing. The wizard screamed. He had searched his whole house top to bottom, it was not there. He had to find it. If he didn't he would not be able to do any more spells. The next day he looked all over the town. It was not there so he started to cry. The wizard cried and cried all night long. When it became morning he went to a town where all the wizards go to do their spells. He searched top to bottom and turned the town upside down. The hat was not there. He went home. As he walked in the house he remembered that he had been to the library and had taken his hat off. He went back there and found it. He was so happy.

By Sarah

THE SPACE STATION

Once upon a time there were six boys who went to a space station. Their names were Nathaneal, Emmanuel, Lockie, Dainton, James and Marcus. They went to the space station to learn about rockets. They had to learn about rockets for their school project. Everybody in their class did poems, speeches, dioramas and paper mache models of rockets. They were the last ones to do their project. Their teacher, Mrs McDonald, said to the six boys that it was due on Friday, it was already Tuesday...

The six boys went to the space station and asked everybody they saw questions. Everybody they asked kept saying, "go away, we are busy!" They went into a rocket and started looking around and Emmanuel sat on the button which started the rocket. The rocket went up into space at the speed of light.

When the six boys went into space they went past Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus until they reached Neptune. Before they went outside to explore Neptune, James told everyone to put on a space suit. When the six boys got out of the rocket they stepped into zero gravity. They decided to play a few games like football, basketball and cricket.

The computer in the rocket said ten minutes before takeoff. Nathaneal, Emmanuel, Lockie, Dainton, James and Marcus started to get some souvenirs for home and school. Everyone got into the rocket and the computer started counting, '5.4.3,2,1, lift off.' They passed six planets until they reached Earth. They went home and started studying for the test and they all got an A+. They all celebrated.

By Malakai

Launch into Literacy

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:02 AEST

This week students have been focussing on commas in class.

Use a comma to add more information (dependant clause) about a noun or a noun phrase. Meaning should not be disrupted when you take out the dependant clause.

Example: The girl, with the dark glasses, walked down the street.

Example: Sahsa, the girl captain, sang to the entire assembly.

Use a comma to set off an interruption in the main thought of a sentence.

Example: Ella-Rose, of course, will bring her folding chairs.

Use a comma after a dependent clause that begins a sentence. (Never use a comma before a dependent clause at the end of a sentence.)

Example: If Mr. Greenwood complains, we'll invite him for a snack.

Example: We'll invite Mr. Greenwood for a snack if he complains.

Use a comma after a mild interjection, such as oh or well.

Example: Oh, the test was not that difficult.

Any students that circle the correct answers below and hand them to Miss Smith or their class teacher will receive a gold ticket.

Which sentence is has the correct punctuation?

Sam who, is only three had to stay with his Mum.
Sam, who is only three had to stay with his Mum.
Sam who is only three had, to stay with his Mum.
Sam, who is only three, had to stay with his Mum.

Check out these u-tube clips on commas. They are both very funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlZgEC0LfJ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdz10rTM2dU&feature=related

1-2 B making sandwiches!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:23 AEST

1-2 B have had great fun this week in literacy making sandwiches! The literacy focus has been on procedural texts, writing instructions on how to make something. This hands-on activity game them something yummy to write about. After listing the ingredients and utensils needed the class then wrote down each instruction step by step as a joint construction writing task with Miss Toop. At the end of the instructions they wrote 'Enjoy!' Students had a choice of either peanut butter or vegemite. When they had finished they could not wait to munch into their sandwiches. They all felt it was a fantastic way of learning how to write a procedure by actually doing the task first. Bon appetit 1-2B!

Going for Goals at 2/3K!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:52 AEST

This term we are all about goals at 2/3K! Achieving goals, kicking goals and setting new goals.

Many students have ACHIEVED individual and class GOALS. Year 3 completed the NAPLAN tests this week and have really shown what they can do. Meanwhile Year 2 have been working through a number of 'mini' tests. I am really proud of both years who have worked so hard to do their best and improve their literacy and numeracy skills.

Outside the classroom students have been KICKING GOALS on our playground. We enjoyed a great game of soccer with 3/40 on Tuesday and we have also been playing 'Steal the Ball' as a class during our sports time. In our sports program the focus is on great sportsmanship and students have been discussing who demonstrated this quality after every game. This has promoted a culture of friendship and positive feedback in our class.

Finally we are SETTING NEW GOALS in 2/3K. Students have been conferencing with me individually and setting goals for reading, writing, speaking and listening in the classroom. Everyone is really thinking hard about improving their learning which is great to see. Together we hope to achieve these goals by the end of term.

Keep going for goals 2/3K!

Miss Humes :)

Launch into Literacy

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:02 AEST

This week students have been focussing on commas in lists in class.

1. Use a comma after each item in a series of at least three items. (It has become acceptable to omit the comma before the conjunction in a series. However, it is important to remain consistent.)

Example: I still need to take a test, write an essay and check out a book.

2. Use commas after the street address and city in an address. (Do not use a comma after the state.)

Example: The address is 10 Heffron Street, Tweed Heads South, 2486.

3. Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives that equally modify the same noun. (If you aren't sure whether to use a comma to separate the adjectives or not, say the sentence with the word and in place of the comma. If it makes sense, then use the comma.)

Example: Jill was having problems with the unruly, disruptive children.

4. Use a comma to set off the abbreviation etc.

Example: I went to the store to get napkins, plates, cups, forks, etc.

Any students that circle the correct answers below and hand them to Miss Smith or their class teacher will receive a gold ticket.

A comma (,) has been left out of this sentence.

Show where the missing comma should go.

Mum bought fish eggs, cheese, tea and sugar all at the shops.

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

The boy spoke slowly, clearly and intelligently during the debate.
The boy spoke slowly clearly and intelligently during the debate.
The boy, spoke slowly, clearly and intelligently during the debate.
The boy spoke, slowly, clearly and intelligently, during the debate.

Check out this interactive website on commas in lists.

http://www.savethecomma.com/game/

2T On Fire!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:32 AEST

2T is absolutely on fire! Over the past fortnight, we have been focussing on the importance of organising our writing into paragraphs. Writing in paragraphs is an important skill that allows students to structure their writing so that it is coherent, organised and easily understood.

Students in 2T have written paragraphs about their holidays and also their sporting interests. Ben and Kirra-Lea were absolute standouts in what has been a very rewarding fortnight. Every student in the class is organising their writing so that each paragraph describes a different aspect of their holiday or favourite sport.

Kirra-Lea has documented some serious but hilarious recounts of her family holiday - Have you replaced that phone yet Kristy and Aaron? Meanwhile, Ben has been clinical in organising his paragraphs about his favourite sports. Ben loves football, touch football and basketball and wrote detailed paragraphs about all three.

Well done to all 2T students and we look forward to seeing a continued improvement in their writing this year.

Writing Up a Storm at Writers Workshop

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:49 AEST

Students at Tweed Heads South Public School have been attending a Writers Workshop every Monday and Tuesday morning since the beginning of Term 1 to help them think differently about writing. Mr Bush and Miss Smith have been extremely impressed with the progress these students have made in their learning.

After learning about the writing process students last week were involved in a planning session on developing their ideas when writing. Students worked in pairs to think of many ideas and ‘grabbers' for a variety of topics. Every 3 minutes students were faced with a new topic that they had to persuade either for or against thinking of as many arguments that they could in the time.

Some of the topics were quite tricky, but our marvellous students didn't let that stop them, they were up for the challenge. One of the topics that the students argued for was, "Famous sportspeople get paid too much money", some remarkably mature ideas were created like, sportspeople only play one game a week, sportspeople get to do what they love every day and sportspeople are so rich they should be donating to charities and local councils. Both Mr Bush and Miss Smith are tremendously proud of your achievements! Keep up the excellent work!

1-2B Class News

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:27 AEST

"Talk to Me" from 1-2B.

In Literacy this week the students in 1-2B have been literally talking their heads off! They have been having many conversations and writing these down as sentences using quotation marks for direct speech.

Miss Toop wrote: "I have a wonderful class" said Miss Toop.

Bella wrote: "I went to the shops" I said.

Kaylan wrote: I said to my mum "Can we go to my Nan's?"

Amber wrote: I said "The postie came to my house."

Blithe wrote: "It is a great day" I said.

Hollie wrote: Mum said "It is time to go to school."

Morgon wrote: "I love eating my vegies so much" said Morgon.

Tashahn wrote: My mum said "You can watch the footy on TV Tashahn."

'Balloon Buddies'

In Personal Development/Health/Physical Education this term, 1-2B has been studying 'Understanding Bullying'. We have discussed what friendly behaviour at school is and why we have a friendly class. Students drew various pictures of friendly attributes, rolled each one up and popped them into a balloon. After blowing up the balloon,sticking on feet, drawing a face and giving their 'Balloon Buddy' a name, they then discussed the friendly things they liked about their buddy with the class. Some students named their buddy after a special friend in the class. Friendly attributes included: saying nice things to me, playing with me, sharing with me, sharing and taking turns, helping me to do things. This was a fun activity to do. The students love their 'Balloon Buddies' and look forward to other interesting activities in this unit. Keep up the fantastic work and positive attitude 1-2B!

Launch into Literacy

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:50 AEST

This week students have been focussing on speech marks articles in class.

An opening quotation mark should appear at the beginning of each paragraph of the quoted text and a closing quotation mark at the end of the last only.

"Good morning, Miette," said Yvette.

For speech within speech:

"Neil said, ‘Good morning, Mitchell'," said Hayley.

Do not use quotation marks for paraphrased speech:

WRONG: Matthew said that "Everything was going extremely well."

RIGHT: Matthew said that everything was going extremely well.

Which sentence has the correct punctuation?

1. Dad said Time for bed.

2. "Dad said," Time for bed.

3. Dad said, "time for bed.

4. Dad said, "Time for Bed."

Check out this interactive website on speech marks

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/english/bgfl/dont_use_said/

Premier's Reading Challenge

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:18 AEST

The 2012 Premier's reading challenge is well underway at our school with students from KC,K1S,1/2B,2T and 2/3K participating in the challenge as a class and sharing the experience of listening and reading stories together. Students have been really engaged with the approach to the challenge and are excited to receive their collection of PRC books for the week.

It is not only a challenge for younger students but older students have the opportunity to participate as well by reading PRC books from the book-lists available in the library and then logging on to the website maintaining their own reading record.

https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html

Thanks to the staff and students participating this year.

Let's Launch into Literacy

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:06 AEST

This week students have been focussing on relative pronouns in class.

Pronouns are words like I, it, which, who, that, his, herself. They are used 'in place of' (Latin: pro) a noun or a noun phrase. To avoid repetition, we use a pronoun for the second and subsequent mentions of the same person or thing:

I saw the dog, I think it was chewing your shoe.

A pronoun can be used wherever a noun or a noun phrase can be used in a sentence:

As the subject of a verb:

The dog was barking. It was barking.

As the object of a verb:

I heard the fire alarm. Did you hear it?

As the object of a preposition:

I was thinking about a quick snack. I was thinking about that, too.

There are several different kinds of pronouns, with different functions:

Relative pronouns

"When I arrived at their house the big dog, which was called Rover, was barking loudly because it was lonely."

In our example sentence the pronoun which refers back to the noun phrase the big dog.

The main relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, which and that.

Their function is to link a relative clause to a preceding noun:

1. The man who had fixed the leak had left his spanner.

2. I enjoyed the film about scuba diving that we saw.

3. The boy who I saw earlier whose key has been lost ...

Any students that circle the correct answers below and hand them to Miss Smith will receive a gold ticket.

Which word correctly completes this sentence?

This is the girl ___________ laughter is very loud.

1. that's 2. who's 3.whose 4. which

Which word correctly completes this sentence?

The boy ____________ was camping next to us said hello.

1. who 2. what 3.which 4. why

Complete this website challenge and print it off to receive another GOLD TICKET!

http://www.connect2esl.com/main/activities/relativepronouns1.htm

KC Writing Samples

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:02 AEST

KC students have been engaged in lots of guided writing with the teacher. This means they have worked very closely with Mrs Campbell in groups of 3 or less students to learn various skils for writing a sentence. The students have used the whiteboards to practise guided writing.

This week KC students have begun to write independently and have greatly surprised their teacher with the quality of writing work that they have produced.

The following writing samples are based on a story that the students listened to about a class pet named Rex. The students had to write about what they would do with Rex if they had the opportunity to take him home .

Softball Gala Day

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:30 AEST

Wednesday was the Softball Gala Day, for all the schools in our region. For nearly 2 months, many of the students in Years 5 and 6 have been training in their lunch hours to make the teams that would represent our school. The very good news is that all of that hard work paid off.

Both the boys and girls beat their first round opponents and progressed to the next round. Unfortunately, despite valiant efforts in both games, we were unable to make it any further, though both teams played very well.

Everyone who was selected did an outstanding job representing the school both on and off the field, and should be very proud of all they accomplished. We were a few bounces away from playing all day, and you were up there with the best teams from our region. I think some of you might even be dusting off your gloves to try out for the regional representative teams, which is fantastic.

Mrs. Sheriff was instrumental in getting these teams together and making this day happen, and she deserves a great deal of credit. Mr Greenwood was also able to join us, and was a great help organising an excited boys team. A special thanks also goes to the parents who supported the teams, either through driving students to and from the ground or cheering for their team.

I personally loved spending my lunch hours getting out in the sunshine and working with these kids. I could not be happier with their attitude, achievement or effort today and I hope they had as much fun as I did.

- Mr. Lloyd

To view more photos, stop by the school office or have a look at the gallery.

Art comes to life at Tweed Heads South Public School.

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:43 AEST

A menagerie of exotic and commonly seen animals has been taking up residence in the art room. Students from all stages have been experimenting with colour, shape, form and design when working within the theme of animals in design. The most glamorous goldfish, playful parrots, blooming butterflies, serene seahorses, and daring dragonflies are just some of the intriguing and yet, most amazing creatures which have inspired our young artists this term.

Students have used collage; painting and drawing in their artwork using oil pastels, food dyes watercolours and using some clever tricks they have achieved some of the most amazing results.

This term's art projects have been a roaring success! Watch out for them around the school.

Preschoolers Investigate Light, Shadow and Colour

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:24 AEST

This term in preschool, we have undertaken a project "Light, Shadow and Colour". Questions the children had included: What makes a shadow? How can we make new colours? and How are rainbows made? Here are some of the play provisions we have undertaken so far to find the answers to our questions:

· Finding our shadow and observing it at different times of the day

· Making shadows using torches

· Shadow dancing

· Shadow puppet theatre

· Exploring the three primary colours (red, yellow and blue) and experimenting with mixing these colours to find new colours:

- Using torches with coloured cellophane to mix coloured light

- Mixing paint on the easel

- Mixing Coloured Water

- Eye dropper art with food colouring

- Cellophane collages

- Using our light table to mix the colours of transparent counters

- Shining torches through glasses of water to create rainbows

Where is the Green Sheep?

The children were given red, blue and yellow paddles and asked the question "Where is the Green Sheep?" They had to utilise their knowledge of mixing colours to find all the different coloured sheep. We had to look through the yellow and blue paddles at the same time to find the green sheep hiding!

What we have learnt:

· You need light to make shadows (either sun light or man-made light such as torches)

· If the light is on top, the shadow is small and if we move the light to the sides, the shadow grows!

· There are three special colours called "Primary Colours" and they are red, blue and yellow

· We can mix the primary colours to make new colours – Red + Blue = Purple, Red + Yellow = Orange and Blue + Yellow = Green

· We need a little bit of rain and a little bit of sun to make a rainbow. Rainbows are made when the sun shines through the water / raindrops.

Preschool joins in school Harmony Day Celebrations 2012

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:22 AEST

During the week leading up to Harmony Day, we used stories such as, Whoever You Are, Jungle Drums, Giraffe's Can't Dance and Dandelion to introduce the concept that everyone, in our country as well as all over the world are the same in all things that matter (hearts are the same, love is the same, hurts are the same etc.) We also discussed that we all have differences that make us special and we need to celebrate these, including different looks, cultures, homes, families (how boring life would be if we were all the same!) We also used the stories to talk about ‘caring for everyone', why we shouldn't tease / exclude someone just because they may be different from us and the importance of helping others.

During this term, we have had a special learning centre in our preschool room called "Children from Around the World." Children have been able to use the interactive world map to find out information about how children in other countries live, the special features of other countries and the different languages spoken around the world. The learning centre also includes ‘children from around the world' blocks and a space with resources depicting some features of our country, Australia and also the country of Africa.

Every morning during our welcome circle, the preschool have been singing ‘hello' to each other. This special song teachs us how to say Hello in 15 different languages! The Thursday – Friday preschool group attended their first ‘big school' assembly on Harmony Day (Friday the 16/3/2012) and put on a fantastic performance of the ‘Hello Song'. The children came dressed in orange and ordered a special lunch from the canteen's multicultural menu.

Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity

Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world

Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing

Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners

Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators

What's going on with Mr. Greenwood?

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:48 AEST

Welcome to the first installment of "What's going on?" This will give you a view inside Mr. Greenwood's Stage 3 classroom. We will endevour to keep you up to date with the classroom's news and hard work.

Today, we start with desert themed poetry that stage 3 have been working on as part of their English/HSIE unit called "Desert Centred." Here are some examples of the creative poems written by your students.

Breaded Dragon – Tim, Year 5

The black rough skinned reptilian creature,

Makes you say I wouldn't want to meet you.

It hides in a hole day by day,

Then comes out to hunt its prey.

The dragon is the colour of sand,

So don't go too close or it will bite your hand.

When threatened it will make a scary position,

Or make you jump in the car and start the ignition.

So watch out when your desert bound,

Because that's where the dragon can be found.

The Sandy Inland Mouse – Zac, Year 6

The Sandy Inland mouse,

Runs through his small dirty house.

While trying to get away from his predators chase,

But luckily they can't keep up with his pace.

The mouse is going to win the race,

Then he is going back to his place.

And when he does,

He's going to sleep with his Cous.

Shield Shrimp – Treyden, Year 6

The desert is so hot and dry,

But there is one animal that doesn't die.

It's the Shield Shrimp, it hatches and grows,

Repeatedly after rain not snow.

It feels no pain,

Across the desert's plain

The Wallaroo – Brenton, Year 6

The Wallaroo lives in and around rocks,

And doesn't wear any socks.

It rests under trees,

Where there are no bees.

It hops to a cave,

Where there is no shade.

The colour on its back,

Is like light black.

It has rough soles on its feet,

The Spinifex Hopping Mouse – Sasha, Year 6

The Spinifex hopping mouse

Lives in a very small dirt house.

He waits for the dead of night

To scurry and run before day's first light

It has big strong back legs

Much bigger than chicken eggs.

It listens with its long grey ears

But rarely takes notice of its peers.

It is nocturnal sleeping through the day,

Then goes out to find its floral prey.

The Insect Eating Bat – Chloe, year 6

The Insect Eating Bats are in the desert found,

Bats rely on hunting food by using their special sense of sound.

Bats utter high pitched squeaks,

A Bats face looks like beaks.

Their wings stretch out far and wide,

Watch them fly as they glide.

During the day when the bats go to bed,

Guess which way they hang their head.

Moles – Molly, Year 6

I think the mole is as big as a bowl,

Did you know it lives in a hole.

It is blind as a bat,

But it has no wings to go and flap.

The Marsupial Mole – Simone, Year 5

The long fat marsupial mole,

Lives in dry sandy hole.

Where the orange and brown mole is found,

He hides in the day under the ground.

He hides in the day,

And at night he comes out to play.

He eats yummy insects,

Found in the Spinifex.

Let's Launch into Literacy!

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:06 AEST

This week students have been focussing on possessive apostrophes in class.

To indicate the possessive

This is Collin's book.
This book is Ivan's.
The dog's dinner looks disgusting.
Diana was the people's princess.
tore up the men's shirts.
One should choose one's words carefully.
It is everyone's duty to protest.
It is no-one's responsibility.

Personal pronouns (words like I, you, he, she, it, we, they) indicate the possessive by becoming a whole new word. These new words are already possessive, so they don't need an apostrophe: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs. Note that none of them has an apostrophe.

The house is yours.
The dog broke its leg.
She said the book was hers.
They claimed it was theirs.
But really it was ours.

Check out this You Tube clip on apostrophes

How to Use Apostrophes

2/3K Using Technology in the Classroom

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:39 AEST

2/3K have been working hard at using technology in the classroom to maximise student learning. We have been using laptops for Literacy and Maths groups and using the Interactive Whiteboard for all sorts of subjects. Isaiah McGrady even showed us a YouTube video of him playing football for his news this week!

We are also trialing a new tool called Voicethread. Each student has their own picture and can comment on a topic posted by the teacher. Check out our Voicethread for this week where everyone had to add a Proper Noun to the conversation - http://voicethread.com/share/2827533/.

Clean Up Australia Day

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:47 AEST

Clean Up Australia Day

Tweed Heads South Public School is looking cleaner than ever after the entire school took part in the Clean Up Australia Campaign last Thursday. The effort of the staff and students was complimented by our hard working GA and P&C member Sally, who has the school playground looking immaculate!

There was an element of competition to the day with each class being allocated a specific area to clean. Each class was given an enormous bag to fill, with the heaviest bag winning 2 pairs of Limited Edition Clean Up Australia Day Gardening Gloves.

Miss Purkiss and Mrs O'Farrell employed cunning tactics and competed as though we were indeed playing for sheep stations! The pair had their classes primed, and were out cleaning their areas by 9:01am, before the other classes even had a chance. It was great to see that despite their competitiveness, they still showed excellent sportsmanship and cleaned only the area that was assigned to them.

In the end it was the quiet achievers 5/6C that stole the prize with a thorough cleaning of the OOSH and High School perimeter. Mrs Cloherty has a difficult job ahead of her choosing who to award the Limited Edition Gardening Gloves to.

The staff, students and school community were the real winners on the day, with a spotless school playground that we can all enjoy and be proud of. Let's work together to ensure that it stays that way for the remainder of the year. Thanks to all the staff and students involved, it was great to see you all working together in a great community initiative. Keep it up!

Tim Chalmers

Year 2 News

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:51 AEST

2T have started the year in fine style. In Literacy, we have kicked off the famous 'Chalmers Literacy Groups' with the kids working hard in small groups both independently and with teacher guidance. We have also learnt a variety of homophones with a particular focus on to/two/too. In grammar, students now know when to use the appropriate indefinate article (a/an) when writing sentences and speaking. I have never experienced a group of kids that are so eager to learn and better themselves in every aspect of school life! Keep it up 2T!

Stage 1 Science News

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:33 AEST

Students in Stage 1 are learning about living and non - living things. Plants are living things and students have been investigating how plants grow.

Stage 1 students have conducted an experiment to investigate how and why plants need nourishment to grow. Using their roots, flowers "drink" water up into their stems, leaves and flowers to make food. Eventually, the water evaporates from the plants, much like human sweat. This is called transpiration. Even cut flowers without roots can do this! More water is pulled up from below to fill the empty space left by transpiration.

By watching the journey of harmless food coloring through the stems of flowers and celery, we can see all the places water goes in a plant!

K/1/2 Visual Arts

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:58 AEST

Students reviewed the word "collage" and what it meant before beginning our class discussion about their new project, creating an Owl collage. They learned the word "nocturnal" and discussed why we might make our collages on a black paper background.

We proceeded to draw the outline of an owl and began filling in the area with torn paper to create the owl's body. After we completed that we added details including the eyes and beak and soon a parliament of owls, each with its own unique personality, came to roost in the Art room.

Students even added the moon and some stars using oil pastels and glitter to build atmosphere for their owl, perched on a branch in the moonlight.

The students, seeing their amazing creations, agreed that this activity was a HOOT!

Swimming Carnival 2012

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:38 AEST

Last Wednesday Tweed South kicked off the sporting year in true style. All students from Year 2-6 attended the School Swimming Carnival displaying exceptional commitment and outstanding behaviour. Jugerah, Burbi and Gwondo were well represented with a bright display of green, red and blue swimming attire flooding the Banora Point Pool.

The day started with a prime event, the 100m Freestyle. Evidently, the entire school were keen to get wet with children jumping off the blocks and totally disregarding the enormity of the event. Teachers were very impressed with the 'have a go' attitude of all kids and their enthusiasm to earn important points for their respective house teams.

The remainder of the day comprised of 50m and 25m races in Freestyle, Breaststroke, Backstroke and even Butterfly. There were some phenomenal individual performances. The Dixon sisters shone brightly, Kimberly showed her all-round swimming talent and Jade surprised herself to place highly in each of her events and lead her team to a relay victory.

The Shackley brothers impressed the crowd while Brenton and Bam Bam Simon were tough to beat in every race they entered. 'Gwondo Man' made a brief but stylish appearance with a belly-flop that whipped the crowd into a frenzy during the final relays.

The Year 2 and 3's had a ball in the Oasis Pool with Miss Purkiss and Mrs O'Farrell while the remainder of students enjoyed free time in the Olympic Pool.

A huge thank you to all the staff and parents that chipped in as usual to make the day a real success. Listen up at Friday's assembly for age champions and congratulations to Jugerah who won the carnival in a tight finish from Gwondo and Burbi.

Our New School Leaders

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:16 AEST

All students, from kindergarten through to year 6, at our School have had an excellent start to school this year! As a part of the Best Start Assessments, each kindergarten student has had the chance to sit down with their wonderful new teachers (Mrs Salmon and Mrs Campbell) for some individual time to get to know one another. Best Start is a fantastic opportunity, which gives the teacher time to discover the students learning styles before they even begin school.

We would also like to take the opportunity to introduce our new school captains and school leaders for 2012 to our community. These students have demonstrated excellent leadership and citizenship skills and have also proven to be excellent role models for the rest of the school. We are extremely lucky to have such a wonderful group of students at Tweed Heads South Primary School.

Preschool Dance up a Storm

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:21 AEST

During Term 4 Preschool children participated in the school Multicultural Day Assembly. Our country was ‘Mexico' and we worked with a buddy class, Year 2T, to perform ‘La Raspa' (the Mexican hat dance). Our Year 2 buddies helped us remember the steps for the dance and to paint our costumes. Our costumes were ponchos that we painted the colours of the Mexican flag (red, green and white) and we had ‘Sombreros' as props in our performance. Thank you to Mr King and Mrs Hammond who lent us an authentic Mexican Sombrero and Poncho as props for the day. As part of our other Multicultural Day activities we learnt that in Mexico you say ‘Hola' to say ‘Hello' and we cooked Nachos for our lunch. We really enjoyed watching all the other classes give wonderful presentations about lots of different countries from around the world.

Preschool would like to say a big ‘Thank You' to a wonderful local community retiree Max Blundell, who spent two days at the Preschool building furniture for us. We really appreciated you time and help!

Patchwork and Quilting

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:17 AEST

An expert quilter form Lennox Head, Chris Lee, volunteered to teach Year 5 and 6 the Art of Patchwork and Quilting by hand. The students looked forward to these special lessons each week and have been delighted with the beautiful bags that they have made.

Molly

Chris is a wonderful teacher of quilting. I'd like to keep quilting in the future.

Liam

Chris is a lovely person who taught me the peaceful activity of Quilting. If you are patient you will love the results.

Lakeisha

The lessons are great fun and have taught me so much about stitching. I hope to use these skills to make something bigger. Thanks Chris!

Shakiem

Chris chose wonderful coloured and patterned squares for quilting. It is very kind of Chris to finish sewing up our bags for us.

Joshua

We have had fun arranging and sewing plain and patterned materials to make small bags. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Chris, Mrs Black and Kelly for helping us. We had so much fun.

KC Eating Healthy Food

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:00 AEST

KC children eat healthy lunches every day. We eat fruit, veges, sandwiches and crackers, and drink lots of water. We can always do our best.

2T Learning Experiences

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:32 AEST

2T are learning to edit and improve their own writing using CUPS. After completing a writing task, students use CUPS as a check list to ensure that their writing is accurate and free of errors.

C stands for Capitals - children must ensure that they have used capital letters to begin sentences and for proper nouns such as Saturday, Jacob and Wet ‘n' Wild.

U stands for Understanding - children must check that their writing makes sense and they haven't forgotten words or added words that are not needed.

P stands for Punctuation - children check that they have included all necessary punctuation such as full stops, commas, question marks and exclamation marks.

S stands for Spelling - children circle the words that they found difficult to spell

Ruby and Izac of 2T using CUPS to edit their work

2T are also learning the place value of 3-digit numbers. Students gain an understanding of the value of each digit in a 3 digit number and can use this knowledge to add and subtract larger numbers more efficiently.

Jacob and Jade demonstrating the number 467 in maths

Preschool Garden News

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:21 AEST

Over the holidays our Preschool Gardens have flourished with the rain! We were exited to measure the sunflowers as being as tall as or taller than our heads! Dingle the scarecrow is being covered by the tomato, bean and pea vines and we have the first cherry tomatoes and strawberries growing in our strawberry and tomato patch. The first flowers have also begun appearing in our lavender garden. The worms in our worm farm have also been busy in the school break, producing lots of castings for us to use on our growing gardens!

4G Learning about Mining

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:27:34 AEST

As part of a unit on Being Australian, 4G have been investigating the resources that Australia mines. Students gained an understanding of the resources that our country has and the uses for them. 4G discussed the positives and negatives to mining and the uses for the various resources, such as uranium, gold, coal and oil. Students shared their own understandings and any personal connections to the mining industry. 4G were able to gain a greater awareness of the resources sector by utilising the internet to research what, and where some mining occurs. The class also was able to access current events in the media regarding the expansion of the Olympic Dam mine site and past stories on nuclear power. To gain a deeper understanding to the environmental factors and concerns to mining, students had to mine their own piece of fruit cake. Each cake contained various pieces of dried fruit to represent various resources and their value. In each cake they had sultanas- $10, raisins- $20, currants- $25, orange peel- $40 and cherries- $100. Students had to tally the results and determine their financial gain. At the conclusion to their mining the groups had to restore the environment as best they could. Groups were fined for their inability to repair the mining site and it was taken from their total. Well done 4G. This was a great learning experience.

School Bus Accident

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:28 AEST

4TH FEBRUARY, 2011.

We would like to thank all of those who came to the aid of the children on the bus that was involved in an accident on Friday afternoon 4th February. Thankyou to the person who brought bottled water for everyone and to those who brought blankets and Ice Packs and were there to assist children in getting off the bus safely.

Thankyou to the children who helped each other through this nervous time. It was good to learn that everyone was seated doing the right thing when the crash occurred.

Warren King, Principal.

News story

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:28:12 AEST

TERM DATES

School resumes for Years 1 - 6 on Monday 31st January and Kindergarten commences Thursday 3rd February 2011