Vaccination Requirements

The Department of Education has released an updated policy regarding the vaccination requirements for school visitors. Please be aware of the following requirements:

1. Any visitors (including parents) entering a school building for any purpose, will need to show proof of their vaccination status or proof of an exemption. One dose up until the 29^th November and then fully vaccinated from the 29^{th _November.}
2. Any visitors (including parents) attending school for an outdoor event, will need to show proof of their vaccination status or proof of an exemption. One dose up until the 29^th November and then fully vaccinated from the 29^{th _November.}
3. Vaccination status does not need to be provided for pick up or drop off in the outside school grounds.
4. Any visitor (including parents) who attend the school for work purposes, this includes voluntary work such as class helpers, NDIS providers etc. must provide a copy of their vaccination certificate which will be securely stored on a server only accessible by principal class and the business manager.

We appreciate that these are very challenging times. We are required to and will be following the above Department of Education and Department of Health regulations and policy and ask for your patience and support.

School Review

Work is well underway with our Pre-Review Self-Evaluation in preparation for our school review in Term 1 of 2022. As part of this process, our staff and teams have been collaborating and self-assessing our school progress over the past four years. We have reflected on what have been our highlights and areas we need to further develop. To assist us in making these judgements, staff have used a range of school data including NAPLAN, semesterly teacher judgements, student attendance data. the Students Attitudes to School Survey, the Parent Opinion Survey and the School Staff surveys which are completed annually.

As part of this process, we will be consulting with our students by asking a sample of our Year 4-6 students some questions about the school and school life that relate to them. We are also seeking parent feedback on a range of areas of school operations. This week, we will be posting a survey to families via Compass. We would appreciate if each family can take 10 minutes to complete the feedback survey which will give us valuable information on how our parent community view our school. Please watch out for this on Compass on Friday.

Farmers’ Market

Last Sunday, 931 visitors braved the cold weather to attend the Farmers’ Market. We had 52 stalls this month. It was fantastic to have some volunteers to help out. Thank you to Nick M, Shane C, Louise S, Megan K, Rebecca E, Mayumi W, Jon C, Anita P, Jody SC and Amy D for your assistance on the day. Thank you also to our student helpers Alana K, Charlotte S and Kye M.

Our last market for the year will be held on Sunday 12^th December. A Google form will be posted to Compass closer to time for volunteers.

Preschool Staff Resignations

After many years, Lyndelle Grey and Kristen Mazoletti, two wonderful educators at Bonbeach Preschool have made the decision to resign from their educating roles at Bonbeach Preschool; to very bravely explore new educating career paths.

Both Lyndelle and Kristen will finish out 2021 in their respective roles with the Seahorses, Rainbowfish and Dolphins.

We understand that many people are needing to reflect upon their individual work/life balance, especially during these unpredictable times. We are very proud of what Lyndelle and Kristen have achieved in their time with us at Bonbeach Preschool and wish them all the very best in their new early years’ adventures. 

5 ways to increase good feelings (and reduce a toxic atmosphere) in your family

                                                                                                                                                                                                        by Michael Grose

That doesn’t mean that such families are devoid of conflict or criticism, but that they are generally pleasant environments to be part of.

One way to increase good feelings in your family is to increase the number of compliments kids hear at home.

As a general rule, the ratio of compliments to criticism should be around five to one. That is, there should be five times more positive, affirming comments than negative comments.

In unhealthy families this ratio is often reversed. Five negative comments for every one positive comment makes for a pretty toxic environment.

How does your family rate on this scale?

If you think about where your family may be on this scale, be careful about how much weight you put on your children’s comments, especially to each other. Siblings can be unkind to each other, finding it hard to share a pleasant word, which can skew the positive to negative ratio a lot (and sometimes make family life quite awful for everyone).

However, this can change over time.

Here are five ideas to help you improve the compliments to criticism ratio in your family:

1. Increase the number of affirmations and compliments you make yourself.
2. Keep a check on your use of ‘good feeling killers’ (and self-esteem killers). Eradicate comments such as: “Typical boy!” “If I’ve told you once I’ve told you a 1,000 times, don’t…” “What a stupid thing to say to your brother/sister!”. Bite your tongue. If you find yourself thinking a criticism, keep it to yourself.
3. Make kids aware of their negative language.
4. Make it a habit to follow a negative with a positive.
5. Let the bad feelings out.

These, along with affectionate phrases and kind remarks, will start to skew the ratio a bit. Aim for a five to one ratio. Not only is this good modelling for your kids, but it will make family life more harmonious. Yep, five to one is your aim. If you can’t do that, then you can’t expect it of your kids.

Constant criticism harms self-esteem, not to mention family harmony. Use ‘I’ statements to let kids understand the impact their negative talk has on you and others. “When you talk so aggressively I feel quite scared about what you are going to do next.” It’s impossible for kids to disagree with ‘I’ statements.

When I was teaching I always tried to follow discipline of a student with a compliment or some positive feedback so that we could maintain a good relationship. Do the same in your family. Follow discipline, a rebuke or a negative comment with a positive act or comment. Then teach your kids to do the same!

Sometimes there can be such a build-up of ill will between siblings that you need find a way for them to let the bad feelings out. One way to do this is let one child vent to you about their sibling. Be warned that you may not like what you hear but a clearing of the air can work wonders to improve the family atmosphere.

Most of these suggestions start with you, the parent. Like everything in family life, whatever you want from your kids, you must take the lead and do first. Remember, five positives to one negative is your aim!

Regards

Ken & Lisa

BONBEACH PRIMARY SCHOOL- BTS PARENT PORTAL

REQUIREMENTS FOR 2022

2022 Requirements for Online Ordering through COS Parent Portal

The school has worked with an external company, COS to negotiate an extremely competitive price for the stationery packs. These will be delivered to the school directly and distributed to classrooms.

The   items   listed   on   the   following   page   have   been   selected   as   being   required   for  2022.    To    ensure    delivery    prior  to Term 1, 2022, please place your order by Friday 17^th December 2021.

Listed below are the easy steps for placing your online order available from Monday 1^st November 2021.

Ready to order?

For a fast, simple and secure way to place your order visit www.cos.net.au and follow these steps:

1. Click on Sign In button in menu task bar
2. Enter the Username: bonbeachps@cos.net.au & Password: Parents-22
3. Select the Year level required for 2022
4. Review product selection based on your requirements

-     Please note, items may have been marked as either mandatory or optional by your school

5. Add your Pack to the Cart
6. Enter your Child’s Details & Delivery Details
7. Enter in your credit card, Paypal or Pay4 details and submit

You will receive an order confirmation via email and can request to have your order tracking sent to you via mobile.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR ORDER

Delivery Guarantee -

- All orders placed before Friday 17^th December 2021 will be delivered to the school prior to Term 1, 2022 commencing.

- Orders after this date cannot be   guaranteed   to   arrive   on   time   and   may   be   delivered   to your   school a few weeks into the school term.

Please contact COS with any queries regarding the Parent Portal

 Telephone:  1300 614 133

Email:  parentportal@cos.net.au

Well what a year we have had!

No Fathers’ Day stall!

No Colour Run!

…BUT we are once again counting on the continued generosity of our school community and are having a Christmas raffle to be drawn at our end of year celebration.

AND…….there’s a rumour that Santa may put in an appearance!

As you are aware, all monies we raise are spent on our children and we are always very happy to accept any suggestions regarding same.

All donations for the raffle will be gratefully accepted and can be left at the office with our lovely ladies.

 Thanks again from your P&F.