PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Dear Parents and Carers
Thank you to everyone who attended our special evening last week with Tim and Judy Sharp. I’m sure all left thinking what an amazing story of persistence and resilience and how incredibly successful Tim has become in spite of all the barriers in his life. I would like to thank our own Judy Howard for playing a significant role in organising this event.
As you might remember we also took advantage of the crowd to auction the magnificent artwork ‘Spirit of Migaloo’. This was donated very generously by Brendon Coghill and attracted a high degree of interest. It eventually sold for $650 which has gone to the P&C. Thank you to all those that placed a bid.
This week we have been undergoing a Financial Audit. This is a process all schools participate in every few years. The audit finished on Wednesday and some recommendations have been made. When the final report comes I will share with the school community the areas identified for improvement.
As we rapidly approach the end of Term, Teacher are now beginning the process of writing mid-year reports. This will be finalised over the next couple of weeks and hopefully be ready to send home during the last week of term. Please also note the upcoming round 2 of immunisations and the dental checks.
Regards
Andrew Thompson
P & C General Meeting
The next P & C Meeting will be on Monday 20th June 2016 at 7:00pm in the staffroom located in the Administration Building. All parent/carers are welcome to attend.
Earn-2-Learn
Our school is registered in the Victoria Point Shopping Centre's Annual Earn-2-Learn Competition. The competition starts on Monday 30th May and runs over four weeks concluding on Friday 24th June. We have a chance to win a $5,000 cash prize.
For every dollar spent at a retailer in Victoria Point Shopping Centre, shoppers earn one point to allocate to their nominated school. Shoppers also have the opportunity to earn bonus double points by shopping at any of the food retailers or promotion sponsor stores.
Thank you to all our parents in anticipation of their shopping initiative and loyal support!
Parent Support Activities 2016
MyTime Activities -
We have lots happening for parents in Term 2. Come along and take advantage of all these opportunities to gain valuable information, and meet and mingle with other parents from school.
Chuckle and Chat:
• all parents welcome;
• Meets every second Thursday in the odd week of term in the school admin building, from 9.00am-11.30 am
• Babysitter provided if required (please notify the office on 3488 6333 if you require a babysitter)
• Varied program of speakers and fun activities
Thursday, 9th June – NDIS – a must for every parent
If this is the only meeting you attend. Please come to one of these important information sessions re the NDIS as new information has become available. Understanding this information is vital to you obtaining the maximum funding available for your child when the NDIS rolls out in the Redlands area.
Thursday, 9th June– 9.30am-11.30 am
(Coffee will be available from 9.00am)
The same session will be repeated at night:
Thursday, 9th June - 6.00pm-8.30pm
Babysitting will be available if required (morning session only) – please advise the school office by Wednesday, 8th June. Phone 34886333
- Thursday, 23rd June – Morning Tea at Coconut Coffee House
Mother’s Dinner:
To be held on Wednesday 15th June - 6.30pm for 7.00pm- Venue to be advised. Please contact the office on 3488 6333 if you would like to attend.
Father’s Dinner:
To be held on Wednesday 21st June - 6.30pm for 7.00pm - Venue to be advised. Please contact the office on 3488 6333 if you would like to attend.
Engaging Adolescents:
Having trouble with your teenager? About to enter the teen years and not sure what to do? Centacare will present a 3 week course for the parents of older children starting next Tuesday 7th June from 9.30am-11.30am. The sessions will follow on 14th June and 21st June. Coffee will be available each week from 9.00am, with the session starting promptly at 9.30am. Babysitting is available if required, but must be advised to the school office by Monday by phoning 3488 6333 by 6th June. If you would like to attend this free course, please RSVP to the school office by Friday 3rd June.
Tuesday, June 7th, 14th and 21st. 9.30am -11.30am. 3 week course presented by Centacare for parents of teenagers.
Cheers - Judy
Curriculum Capers
At Redland District Special School, we have adopted the YuMi Deadly Maths (YDM) framework and pedagogy to teach Mathematics to our students. This framework and pedagogy was originally designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students but has been adapted to students from low socio economic backgrounds, migrant and refugee students, students at risk of disengaging from learning and, now, students with disabilities. We plan our Mathematics unit of work using the RAMR framework. RAMR stands for Reality, Abstraction, Mathematics & Reflection. In this framework, we begin with the students’ reality. We consider where we can see a mathematical concept in the students’ lives, what the students already know about this mathematical concept and then we introduce the mathematical concept using items/experiences from the students’ reality. In the abstraction phase we slowly move from activities using real, concrete objects towards abstract pictures and symbols (using the flow chart below as guide) as the students are ready.
During the Abstraction phase, students learn through:
Body Activities: Activities that use the students’ bodies to act out/demonstrate/experience the concept
Hand Activities: Hands on activities that allow students to manipulate objects to explore the concept
Mind Activities: Activities that allow students to create mental images/imagine/think about or write the concept
We have also identified school wide symbols and language that will be used in Mathematics. Finally, in the reflection phase students are assisted to reflect on the Mathematical concept, reverse the concept if applicable and generalise and apply the concept to the real world e.g. shopping.
Kind regards,
Anna Bamber (Head of Curriculum)
Healthy Mouth Day
Metro South Oral Health Services and Redlands Special School are holding a Healthy Mouth Day at the school on Tuesday 21st June and Wednesday22nd June 2016.
Students are invited to register for a FREE dental check, which includes:
· Oral health assessment (i.e. checking teeth and mouth for obvious signs of dental disease)
· Preventative care such as tooth cleaning, dental education and/or applying fluoride varnish
· Personalised take-home oral care packs (including a free toothbrush and toothpaste), and
· Information on accessing follow-up dental treatment.
To register to participate please complete the Registration Form and return to the school office no later than Thursday 16th June. (Spare copies available from the school office)
Awards
Congratulations to the following students who have recently received awards –
Week ending – 27th May
Ronan Cosgrove – for showing independence and initiative in the classroom
Marlie Dillon – for clever data collection (given on parade on 20th May)
Kaitlin Edwards – for excellent listening during Coffee Shop
Tiffany Tognola – for great work in Jolly Phonics
Tex Noakes – for predictable chart writing
Rashani Prasad – for using her voice during shared reading
Amber Johnson – for enjoying and co-operating in her senior community program
Nathan Burge – for great work on his transition books
Riley Hanrahan – for showing great communication skills throughout the day
Tyson Burns – for excellent work at packaging
Mikayla Barwick – for great efforts in reading
Forbes Kraft – for great participation in the class program and sharing toys with his friends
Week ending – 3rd June
Joshua Hamilton – for doing beautiful communication throughout the day and for counting to 8
Adam Belle Isle - for making great progress in mathematics and working independently in his number work
Mackenzie Coghill - for listening to instructions when cooking baked apples
William Boterhoek - for sharing during cooking lessons in the home economics room
Claire Henderson - for always willing to help her teachers and classmates
Taya Kuschert - for maintaining a positive attitude while having some health issues
Harry Rose - for fantastic encouraging and helping his classmates at Dream Cricket
Connor Kelly - for great effort and improvement in independent hand writing for AVP and diary writing
Will Solien - for wonderful communication
Owen Smyth – for awesome artwork with Dan – what a terrific toucan and a brilliant bus
Aidan Bates – for your commitment to being a marvellous musician...great singing at choir and music lessons