Kentville State School—An Independent Public School since 2017 Newsletter 24/Term 3 Week 6 21 August 2020

Our School’s Expectations: Be Safe; Be A Learner; Be Responsible; and Be Respectful. Our School’s Motto: Dedication Brings Rewards

Dear Parents & Caregivers, Book Characters Congratulations to all of our students for getting engaged in our book character day, last Friday. It was a pleasure to see the effort and determina-tion that had gone into creating their costumes and parading them in front of the school. Prizes were awarded for: most creative design, most colourful costume and finally, the closest to their actual book character. Book Fair On behalf of Cindy and her team of helpers, a big thanks for totally supporting our annual Book Fair, as there was a lot of spending done this year. Thanks to: Cindy, April, Eliza and Stephenie for running the shop and to Cindy and Mrs Heath, for organising this very, important, annual event. Thanks to your contributions, our library will be provided with $500 worth of wonderful books. Student Code of Conduct My team and I are in the process of reviewing the new Student Code of Conduct (SCoC) which re-places the Responsible Behaviour Plan for Stu-dents. It will soon be circulated to parents for feedback, prior to being corrected and circulated as our SCoC for 2020 to 2023. The new SCoC includes things like: student well-being, positive behaviour for learning expecta-tions and teaching strategies, mobile phones, so-cial media, bullying, temporary removal of student property, school disciplinary absences and restric-tive practices. Enrolments for 2021 If you’re aware that your child/children won ’t be returning in 2021, please let us know at the Office, as I ’m currently considering staffing and resourcing for the two classrooms. To those who are leaving, thank you for your in-valuable time at Kentville, as it ’s been a pleasure teaching your child/children. The Gatton Star visits Kentville Last Friday, Ali from the Gatton Star came out to do a story on our newly renovated classroom. While she was here, she spoke to the senior class about how to create a great news story. She also interviewed students about Book Fair and what it meant to them. You can expect to see photos of our book characters and some of our senior stu-dents in a Gatton Star. Growth Mindset Quote of the Week “Love challenges, Be intrigued by mistakes,

Enjoy effort and keep on learning.” Carol Dweck

Have a great weekend.

Denny Taylor - Principal

From the Principal’s Desk

Calendar of Events

Student Free Day: Friday, 4th September (Week 8).

Please note that Tuckshop that week will be on

Thursday (orders home Monday, returned Wednesday).

Years 3 to 6 Camp: Wednesday, 18th to Friday, 20th November (Term 4, Week 7).

Chappy’s Corner

Kentville Kids... Calendar of Events Keeping friends and being a good friend, are very important to maintain a happy life. How do you maintain a relationship that lasts? it is important to spend quality time together and to continually work at keeping the communication lines open and clear from distractions. Saying you are too busy, doesn't really send a positive mes-sage to those who consider themselves to be your friend. While social media has its place, face to face conversations are far more meaningful. As you scroll through pages of friends on Facebook ‘alone’ it should be obvious that there is something intrinsically missing. Perhaps a hug, facial expres-sions, body language and spontaneity all come to mind. Throw in some thoughtful gestures, a fun surprise or two and you are off to a great start. Contact a friend you haven ’t seen for awhile and set a time to get together and have a heart to heart. Who knows, maybe sending letters via post will also make a comeback! Quotes ‘A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg, even though he knows you are slightly cracked’. B. Meltzen A sweet friend refreshes the soul. Proverbs 27:9 Because of friends, you laugh a litter harder, cry a little less, and smile a lot more. Finally... always keep your friends close - as they know too much!

Parent Tips TIMELESS NANA TIPS

According to Michael Grose

Do what’s right, not what is easy. This tip has almost religious overtones but it is very apt for today. Basically, this tip was about considering oth-ers when making choices, which can come at times at the expense of a child or a young person’s needs. In the current age of individual entitlement I see many young people making decisions that suit themselves at the ex-pense of their friends and family. One example of this is when a young person accepts an invitation to go to a friend’s house yet overlooks this when a better offer or invitation comes along. The right thing is to ignore the better offer but of course, that is not always easy to do. Get a good night sleep and things will be right in

the morning. This tried and true idea is a great success and mental health strategy. It’s ideal as many children and teenag-ers stew over their problems, working themselves into a lather rather than simply letting go. Accessing devices into the wee hours and never being able to “switch off” only exacerbates the issue. Also we currently live in a sleep deprived nation and overlook the benefits of sleep. With the high number of children currently experiencing anxiety and depression one great place to start is – a good night’s sleep.

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. This message of persistence is as valuable now as five or even ten decades ago. In an era of instant gratification the ability to push through a learning dip is important whether you’re learning a musical instrument, a foreign language or trying to come to grips with a new teacher. The world is at times unrecognisable from the days when my nana would make these saga suggestions, but these tips are timeless in their simplicity and relevant for kids today.

Calendar of Events

Kentville Kids...

If you would like your child to share some birthday cheer with

classmates, cupcakes are preferred.

Weekly Awards Junior Class: Braxton, Charlotte, Harry, Hayley O, Hayley W, Holly, Joyce, Laila, Lilly, Noah, Tenesha , Thomas

Senior Class: Jackson, Jessica, Kayla, Kiana, Khy, Letia, Liam, Mackenzie, Peter, Tom

Students of the Week

Khloe (P-3) - for consistently working creatively in art

Chloe (4-6) - for being a responsible learner in the classroom

Homework Activities Due to COVID-19 guidelines, i t i s im pera t i ve

that we remain vigilant around the health and well-

being of families, students and staff, therefore,

sending items home (books, paper etc.) is discour-

aged. Consequently, online homework is available

via: Mathletics, Reading Eggs, Education Perfect,

etc. These sites contain a multitude of literacy and

numeracy activities as well as fun-filled and relax-

ing activities—which still improves their digital lit-

eracy skills.

You’ve helped us pay for them, so please use them.