In this issue

Ecoman

In semester 1, the 10 Business and 11/ 12 Economics students took part in the ECOMAN program. Pitcher Partners Accountants, Auditors and Advisors Practice hosted our students in their impressive Queen Street office. Students attended a 3-day program during which they were trained on the ECOMAN simulation program. The program was originally developed by financial institutions to train Swedish finance graduates on financial management. The current program has been adjusted for Australian students and is co-hosted by the Queensland Private Enterprise Centre (QPEC) and Griffith Business School.

Students had a fantastic time adopting management roles and steering a company through changing economic conditions. The program presented a wonderful opportunity to learn about the commercial realities of owning and managing a business in a real world, hands on environment.

“ECOMAN gave us students a unique glance at the business world and showed us what it’s like being in an industry responding to changing economic conditions “ by Tieriney Holmes.

Mrs Odette Watson

Can you help with transport?

Do you live in Boronia Heights near Maclean Court? Are you available to help with transport for a year 7 female student? I am willing to contribute to the cost of fuel. Please call 0450 866 125 if you can help out.  Thank you.

Year 1

Welcome back to Term 3!

It is great to see everyone back at school. The children seemed to really enjoy their holiday break and it has been wonderful hearing all about their adventures.

We started off the term with an exciting visit from our local Firefighters. They spoke with the children about fire safety and correct emergency procedures for both at school and at home. The highlight was definitely having a turn of the fire hose one the truck. It was a wonderful morning.

We are looking forward to an exciting term, with many more learning adventures to come!

Mrs Clausen, Mrs Davis and Mrs Marsh

Year 6

Last term, Year 6 had been learning about many great new things, one including Australian History and the Suffrage Movement! Because of this, we decided to have a Colonial Day. On Colonial Day, we came dressed in colonial style clothes and participated in some colonial style activities. We made damper in the kitchen, tried some dot painting and had our photos taken.  We also had a protest in front of the whole primary school! It was great to see all students and teachers involved in dressing up and enjoying each part of the whole day. All students enjoyed their time experiencing Colonial Day!

Also last term, Year 6 had been learning about healthy lifestyles, in particular, sedentary and non-sedentary activities. To go with this, we decided to attend Planet Commando at Yatala, to encourage students to challenge themselves with non-sedentary activities. It was a great day had by all, and was great to see many students push themselves to achieve their best.

Mr Gowreah and Mr Holman

Miss Cook

Can you help with travel assistance?

I have three children, 2 high school and 1 primary needing pickup and drop off from Boronia Heights area two and three times a week.  Very willing to contribute for fuel and time.
Please contact Kaylene Spencer 0428 182 540 if you can help.

Thank you

11 Hillcrest Road, Park Ridge Q 4125
Email: admin@parklands.qld.edu.au

 /pccnews
 @parklandsnews

Please phone 3297 0577 during work hours or 0473 681 426 any other time.

Certificate IV Trainer/Assessor (TAE40116) Upgrade Qualification

Starlettes 6-12 years old Promotional Flyer

The Brisbane Roar

The Brisbane Roar are bringing their Roar Active Program to the following ever popular indoor locations. This is an ideal way to gain extra skills and game awareness while having FUN

BRISBANE INDOOR CLINICS

2nd 3rd 4th July- Brisbane City Indoor Sports Centre, Newmarket -9:00am – 12:00pm
2nd 3rd 4th July- Brisbane City Indoor Sports Centre, Coorparoo –  9:00am – 12:00pm
9th 10th 11th July- Morayfield Indoor Leisure Centre. Morayfield – 9am-12pm

Wonderful clinics for children to learn new skills while having FUN playing our beautiful game in a safe environment.

BRISBANE ROAR ACTIVE WORLD CUP DAYS

July 5th Caloundra Indoor Stadium 9am-12pm
July 12th Brisbane City Indoor Sports 9am-12pm

The World Cup day involves no coaching or drills just match play. We get the children into teams with their friends and they represent a country –
It’s a simple concept but all children just love game play – the 3 hours is pretty intensive with round robin group games and then finals resulting in multiple games with little time off the pitch.
We pump out of the music and let the players weave their magic and have FUN

To view and register these clinics please go to www.roaractive.com.au  and select Holiday Programs.

Tell your friends, places will be limited and we hope you can join us for some Football fun with our Brisbane Roar Coaching Team.

Young Sports

KEEP YOUR CHILD ACTIVE, HEALTHY & INTO SPORT!

MULTI-SPORT CLASSES

Calamvale

ATHLETICS
BASEBALL
BASKETBALL
CRICKET
GOLF
HOCKEY
RUGBY
SOCCER
TENNIS

Tuesdays – Lessons only $12 (3-6yrs) and $17 (7-10yrs).

Book a FREE TRIAL!
3376 3388
info@youngsports.com.au
www.youngsports.com.au

School Days only

School Fees

Are deducted from your bank account on the 17th unless received by the 10th of each month.

Please ensure funds are in your account one (1) business day before the 17th of the month.

Our Bank Account details are as follows:

BSB: 034115
Account Number: 169944

Please use your surname and initials as reference e.g. ‘J&C Smith’

Term Direct Debit Deduction Dates

• 17th February
• 17th April
• 17th July
• 17th September

Note: Direct Debits that reject from your account due to insufficient funds will incur a $10.00 fee and loss of discount. An additional late fee of $20 will apply to invoices outstanding at the end of the month.

Discounts Available

• Monthly 2%
• Term 5%
• Annual 8%

Subject to changes – please check the College Calendar on the College website for more detailed and up to date information on the above.

Work experience students this term

Certificate I Engineering (yr12 students)

Year 10 Trade Taster Students

Traineeships

Year 12 student, Ella, recently commenced a school-based traineeship at Harley Property Valuations. In conjuction with her senior school subjects, Ella will work one day per week and complete study units which will contribute to completion of Certificate III in Business Administration through the Professional Real Estate Registered Training Organisation. Congratulations on all your hard work Ella!

Alumni Student Graduates Police Academy

2014 Parklands Alumni recently graduated at the Queensland Police Academy.

She will commence her first year at Karana Downs Police Station. Congratulations, we are proud of you and wish you every success in your new career!

Resilience is the ability to bounce back, adjust easily, or recover quickly from disappointment or difficulties. Some children are naturally more resilient due to their temperaments while others need guidance to help them develop this trait! Building resilience is a continual process that is a normal part of a child’s development. It requires adults to be supportive and empathetic as children experience opportunities to learn and grow.  Here at Parklands we recognise that improving resiliency can enable students to respond more positively and adaptively within the school environment. From this recognition springs our Resilient ME+YOU+US program.

Resilient ME: a seven week after school program offered to Grade 4 to 6 students which focuses on the individual development of resiliency. Email jedwards@parklands.qld.edu.au for more details.

Resilient YOU: a Prep to Grade 6 classroom initiative which focuses on a topical friendship skill each week.

Resilient US: a night set aside during the Loving our Kids on Purpose course which focuses on equipping parents with the same language of resilience which students are hearing at school. You do not need to be attending the Loving our Kids on Purpose course to attend the Resilient US component. Email jcrawford@parklands.qld.edu.au for more details.

In addition we also offer our Learning for Life Prep to Grade 3 program, and Resilient Friends which is a once-off session focusing on improving social skills in a peer-related context.

Here’s some great articles on building resilience in your child:

https://psychcentral.com/lib/10-tips-for-raising-resilient-kids/

http://www.kidspot.com.au/school/secondary/peer-pressure/dr-justin-teaching-your-child-resilience/news-story/bdc3b60fc441542b73c592591d441fbb

Guitar/Drum Lessons

Reading Update

The team has been very busy with progressing the reading of the College throughout the last Semester with a number of projects now ready to go.

We are happy to announce that we will be starting a new homework reading program in Prep this Semester. We will be sending home these new readers on Monday, Week 2 of this term. These beautifully illustrated, fun, decodable readers will be a great way of engaging students in reading and consolidating their knowledge of synthetic phonics at home.

We are also thrilled to be introducing a brand new innovative reading program into Prep this semester and Year 1 next Year. The ILR program has been developed over the last three years by Hillcrest Christian College, in conjunction with the Mamone family. Appropriately named I Love Reading, the program is designed to equip children with the skills of reading so that they develop a love for reading to learn. Not only is it based on synthetic phonics but also provides students with a colour and number system to help them crack the code of reading.

The benefits of the program are

• Fast-paced delivery
• Allows children access to information quickly, to encourage the reading process.
• Children can learn at their own pace and layer of learning.
• Allows easy differentiation of learning to suit student needs
• Unique colour and number system
• Graphic differentiation of: Vowel, Phonetic, Sound Switch and Silent letter groups
• Can identify how every letter is pronounced
• Eliminates guesswork, the recall of letter rules and rule breakers
• Exposes early readers to all words without having to be proficient with all these ‘old school’ complexities
• Removes all rules of inconsistency
• Cross-cultural languages and dialects
• Visual signing system
• Hands on and engaging learning for every student.

We are very enthusiastic about introducing this to Prep and are looking forward to seeing great excitement and quick progression of reading.

Scholastic Book Club – THANK YOU

The College has been very excited with the enthusiasm that everyone has displayed towards the ordering of book club this year. We would like to take this opportunity to say a very big THANK YOU to all of the families that have ordered through Scholastic Book Club. The orders that have been made have contributed to the schools overall total and has allowed us to purchase books for the classroom libraries. At the end of last Term, we were able to put in an order for more than $700 worth of books.  We appreciate all of your support and look forward to sharing the rewards of this with our students.

We would also like to say a big THANK YOU to Mrs. Abbot who has been coordinating our Scholastic Book Club this year and also to Mrs. Kerr who has taken over from Mrs. Abbot whilst Mrs. Abbot is away on long service. You are both greatly appreciated for your dedication and passion for reading.

Mrs Daley
Director of Primary Studies

Welcome Back

I trust you’ve had a great holiday break and spent time doing the fun and relaxing things you like, with family and friends.

At the start of this Semester I wish you and the students everything of the best for the term that lies ahead.

Reports

All students should have received an ‘End of Semester Report’ in the post at the conclusion of last term. This report should confirm what your child’s teacher informed you of at the Profile Afternoon / Night, or has given you feedback throughout the term as to how your child has progressed.

On Wednesday 1st August we have our Primary P/T Interviews up in the Function Room, where you can book an interview ‘on line’ to discuss your child’s report with their class teacher. Be on the lookout for the Informative Letter with more information, booking times and procedures!

Uniforms

For the start of Term 3, could you please ensure ALL uniform items, lunch boxes and bags are clearly relabeled with your child’s name. Ensure that shoes are polished, hair is cut and the correct uniform items are worn – jumper with Academic Uniform and the tracksuit jacket with Sport Uniform. Please also check Yr 1-6 students are wearing predominantly WHITE sneakers / joggers with their sports uniform.

If unsure of any uniform requirements, please feel free to check the School Website (Online Store – Uniform Policy – Primary), the RTC staff or class teachers. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this regard.

Prep to Year 3 Athletics Day

A reminder that we have our Prep to Yr 3 (Under 9 yr. olds) Athletics Day Carnival up on the top sports oval on MONDAY 23^rd July.

A letter explaining the day’s process, procedures and program will be forthcoming!

We’re looking forward to seeing lots or parents and grandparents attending the lower Primary carnival and supporting the students as they give of their best!

Safety aspects in and around our school

An ongoing emphasis has been placed on ‘child safety’ from the beginning of the year whereby we’re continually reminding students to: walk on the concrete, stay under the verandahs or covered areas when raining and moving around the school, don’t push and shove and walk in single file up and down the stairs, play nicely and safely on the playgrounds and to have “KIND words and FRIENDLY action”. Can we ask that you please remind your child to do likewise when at school?

Parents, please be very careful and vigilant around the pedestrian crossing, when opening car doors in the car parks and to please stick to the 20 km/h speed limit when driving through the school? Can we please remind all parents and students that the safest and only place to cross the Rosia Rd car park should be at the pedestrian crossing and not just before the top exit gate, close to the Yr 6 classroom!

THANK YOU for your support in keeping our students safe!

Helping Children Bounce Back!

Life is a wonderful but sometimes bumpy journey. Everyone experiences setbacks, frustrations and hard times at different times in their lives. We can’t protect young people from the stress of all the possible setbacks in their life but we can teach them the coping skills that promote resilience. Recent research studies have suggested that today’s children may be less resilient than those of previous generations and more in need of opportunities to learn resilience skills.

The Personal Skills of RESILIENCE

There are many skills that we can teach students to provide them with a resilience ‘tool kit’ for coping with life and being successful. We can teach our children to be optimistic by, for example:

• Showing them how to find the positives (however small) in negative situations;
• Helping them to understand that negative situations in your life are temporary and that bad situations are specific and do not necessarily flow over into all aspects of your life.

Many children become unnecessarily distressed and fearful because they distort a situation or they have incorrect and unhelpful beliefs that make it less likely that they will attempt to solve a problem.

Examples of such thinking include:

• I must be perfect and never make any mistakes
• If something bad has happened to me once it will happen again
• Young people also need to learn skills for being confident as part of their ‘resilience tool kit’. These skills include: Knowing their own strengths and limitations and being prepared to work hard and not give up despite encountering obstacles; (parents don’t always look to solve their situations / fight their battles for them)
• Realise that not everyone will treat them kindly and nicely all the time; (parents to give examples of own situations and instances)
• Making good decisions and seeking advice from parents and teachers is wise so their decisions are more likely to be good ones; (parents offer good advice, not always solutions)
• Solving problems creatively or telling a teacher helps to solve the situation; (this is not ‘dobbing’, but allows staff to assist them by attending to matters)
• Knowing that mistakes are OK (parents to reinforce to students that mistakes are Ok)

It’s evident that young people with well-developed social skills are more likely to be resilient and to have a good support network of friends when needed. Key social skills can be taught and practiced in a range of classroom and playground situations. Skills for knowing triggers of anxiety or anger can be taught and finding the confidence to act courageously when necessary, are also an important part of a young person’s resilience ‘tool kit’.

Through many areas of the curriculum, teachers can encourage their students to develop and try to live by our values such as respect, cooperation and acceptance of differences. Parents can reinforce and role model these situations and ideas at home, thus offering the child every opportunity to see resilience in action.

Looking forward to a wonderful term of doing your child’s education together.

Mr Grant Jakins
Head of Primary

As we gear up for the second half of this year, I trust that your family is refreshed from the winter break and that students are excited to be returning to the College for Semester Two.  Report cards have been issued and are an excellent opportunity for students to reflect on their academic effort and performance in Semester One and set goals for the rest of the year.  This reflective practice is of great value here at Parklands; our staff also regularly reflect on their practice, ongoing as well as particularly during the recent student free week. Also during that week the secondary teaching staff collaborated on planning for the new senior system and spent time learning during professional development from Dr David Collins, who spoke on neuroscience-driven thinking on wellness.  This was key learning for our staff, building on our existing knowledge in this field and applying theory to the classroom.  Our teaching staff are looking forward to this next semester and to continuing working alongside your child as they thrive.

As I’ve reflected on our Secondary College during this break, I’ve considered what would best be highlighted in order to help each student thrive this semester.  The key areas I’d like us to focus on are existing features of Secondary, but which I am now bringing to the forefront:

• Kindness: this is such a low effort, high impact focal area – how easy is it to say something kind or make a small gesture to help or encourage someone else, and yet what a significant impact these moments can have.  Do you remember a time when someone did something kind and it had a big impact on you?  These gestures are an extension of our Parklands values, and thus we will be actively encouraging our students this semester to share this caring approach with others in order to continue to build our caring atmosphere here at Parklands.
• Worth: The worth focus has been in Secondary for quite a few years now and while it has changed format, it is still just as important.  We strongly desire each student to know they have great worth, just as they are.  God has created each one of us and has a unique purpose for us, and we each have a part to play in God’s Big Story.  As students travel through Parklands it is just as important to us that they gain a deep understanding of this as it is to do their best academically.
• Attendance and effort: For students to do their best academically, a great starting point is for them to be at school, learning directly in class.  For some students it may be an appropriate goal to reduce their absences and see that improvement on their report card.  While we happily provide online learning to make it easy for students to catch up, including those Senior students who miss school due to traineeships etc and students who attend sporting events, it is always preferable for students (where possible) to receive original instruction than to play catch up and I encourage families to enable consistent attendance as much as possible.
• Uniform: the age old focal point!  I’ve been thinking about why this is so important and my main reasons at the moment are to develop discipline, work and identity.  Discipline – this is a small way that students can develop self-control and discipline to comply with expectations and present well.  Work – the reality is that most workplaces have some form of expectation regarding wardrobe, whether it be a specific uniform or a standard of dress.  In Secondary our goal is to help students prepare for life after school, a large part of which is work life, and therefore complying with uniform expectations at school equips the student to comply with workplace expectations.  Identity – I am so proud to be a Parklands staff member and wear my uniform to education events with pride, ready to talk about my school with anyone I meet.  I would love for each Parklands student to feel similarly, to wear their uniform with an appropriate sense of pride at being a Parklands student, someone who embraces our Parklands values.

As we all embark on this next semester together, please be encouraged that there is plenty of support for students and their families – the classroom teacher, the Learning Enrichment team, the RTC team, and the Middle & Senior College Coordinators – so please let us know if we can be of any help.

Kind regards
Jess Grounds
Head of Secondary

God bless
Mr Johannes Solymosi