Whole School News

Book Fair

We are thrilled to announce that our Book Fair is open and the students are excited! This beloved event is a wonderful opportunity to spark your child’s love of reading and support our school at the same time.

Dates: Tuesday 12 August to Thursday 21 August

Location: School Library

Hours: 8.20am to 4.00pm

Every purchase helps our school earn rewards to buy new books and resources for our library.

Payment Options: Students can bring cash, or you can come with your child to the Fair. We will have card options available for purchases.

Thank you for supporting literacy and helping our students discover the joy of reading. We can not wait to see you at the Book Fair!

Book Week is nearly upon us...

Book Week Reminder: Book an Adventure!

Get ready for a week full of imagination, creativity and literary fun. Book Week is here on Monday and here is what is happening each day:

MakeDo Monday – Lunchtime Creativity Challenge

This Monday, we are diving into the world of imagination and engineering with MakeDo Monday! Grab a friend or friends and head to the library!

Your challenge: bring your favourite book to life by building an object or scene from it using cardboard and MakeDo tools. Use your creativity to build an object inspired by a book, think broomsticks, treasure chests, or magical creatures and robots! Let your imagination run wild!

Whether it is a magical castle from Harry Potter, a spaceship from The Wild Robot, or a jungle scene from The Lorax, grab some cardboard, sketch your idea and start building!

What you will need:

Cardboard (any size or shape!) We have some, but you might like to bring some in...
MakeDo tools (safe, kid-friendly tools for cutting and connecting)
Your book-inspired idea
A dash of creativity and teamwork!

Goals:

Think creatively
Work collaboratively
Explore storytelling through design

We cannot wait to see what you build. Let your imagination run wild and turn stories into structures for adventure!

Watch out for staff clues related to their dress up! They may be wearing one item of their costume. Place your guesses at the library.

Tuesday – Dress-Up Day Come dressed as your favorite book character and bring your story to life. Costumes can be simple or elaborate, just have fun with it!

Wednesday – Book Quiz in the Library Put your book smarts to the test! Join the quiz at lunchtime and compete for prizes. Teams or solo players welcome.

Golden Leaf Competition – Tuesday and Thursday  Golden leaves are hidden around the library. Find one and you could win a mystery prize! Watch for the clues in Daily Notices.

Friday – Design a Book Cover Create a cover for your favourite book or invent one for a story of your own. Materials provided, and standout designs will be displayed in the library!

Thank you to the awesome Library team. Thank you, Mrs Orzel and Mrs Cherry! We have enjoyed working together to make Book Week and Book Fair a great time for all!

Ms Elinor Couper | Head of Library Services / Teacher

The Arts

Our cast for the Possum Play is busy rehearsing with multi-disciplinary artist, Chloe Flockart, learning how to manipulate puppets to express emotion and movement!

P&F Events

Save the Date – Kingfisher Fair & Open Day!

We are excited to announce that this year’s Kingfisher Fair will be held on Sunday 14 September from 11.00am to 3.00pm and for the first time, we are combining it with an Open Day!

It promises to be a fantastic community event, so please mark your calendars.

P&F Tea House

Call out for baked treats and volunteers.

General Volunteers - can you help?

Hello everyone

Volunteer opportunities for "Kingfisher Fair & Open Day Volunteers" are now open.

Please click on the following web link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn't work) to go to the signup sheet:

volunteersignup.org/QYBCK

To sign up, just follow the instructions on the page. It only takes a few seconds to do.

If you have any queries, please email Community Engagement & Enrolments Manager, Mrs Julia Bairstow.

From the School Counsellor

Some wisdom and clear direction from Susan McLean (Cyber Safety Expert) as we flail and flounder in discerning fact from fiction in this beyond truth world.

And an expository article from Psychology Today which further investigates the impact of influencers.

Susan McLean: “It's critically important that parents and teachers ensure that children understand fact from fiction, true from not true, safe from dangerous. They also need to understand that getting medical advice from social media is dangerous I even say this on my feeds where adults ask an online community a medical question that requires an answer from a doctor not some randoms online. Help them understand that influencers are mostly paid dollars for their posts and advice. The advice around suntans is particularly concerning. Keep the lines of communication open and be aware of the content your child is consuming.”

For further details on Susan McLean and her work The Hidden Dangers Every Parent Should Know - Susan McLean

Likes and Lies: The Effects of Influencers on Teens: How social media is shaping teen identity.

Likes and Lies: The Effects of Influencers on Teens | Psychology Today Australia

Key points:

Teens are vulnerable to the lure of influencer culture, comparing themselves to unrealistic success.
A particularly harmful aspect of social media and influencers is gaslighting teens into feeling inadequate.
With support and boundary-setting, teens can regain control over their online experience and mental health.

MHFA News

teenMHFA with Year Eight students

What an engaging and curious cohort the Year Eight students are proving to be. They are developing their mental health literacy and honing help-seeking skills as we travel deeper into their teen MHFA’er training. The certificates are on their way from Melbourne as I write this and soon there will be another 75 trained and newly minted young people in this important work.

So far, we have defined what a mental health problem is, what the difference between a mental health problem and a crisis is, the dance going on between our thoughts/feelings/behaviours, that normalising help-seeking can smash stigma and that learning something new and useful can be fun.

How lucky am I to work with such incredible and compassionate young people?

Older Person Mental Health First Aid

Thursday 28 August and Friday 29 August

The Older Person Mental Health First Aid course teaches participants who work with, care for or support adults aged 65+ how to provide initial support to someone who may be experiencing a mental health problem or mental health crisis, until professional help is received or the crisis resolves.

Course participants learn about the signs and symptoms of common mental health problems in older adults, how to recognise and respond to an emerging or worsening mental health problem, and the treatments and supports available.

Using a practical, evidence-based action plan, course participants learn how to approach someone they are concerned about and initiate a conversation about those concerns. Participants also learn how to offer initial support and information and how to encourage the person to seek professional help or other supports.

Adults who complete the course become Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAiders), equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and skills to provide someone with mental health information and support when it matters most.

This course is recognised by Suicide Prevention Australia as a safe, high-quality and effective suicide prevention program. Learn more.

Please contact sheryl.moncur@gsg.wa.edu.au for further information.

Youth Mental Health First Aid will take place in Term Three, Week Ten, Wednesday 24 September to Thursday 25 September. See flier below.