Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community

This week we held our mid-semester Parent-Teacher interviews. These interviews were well attended across P - 12 and we would like to thank all of the parents and carers who took time out of their busy schedule to meet with our teachers to discuss the achievements and progress of their students. As a teaching team we enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to get to know more about the students in our classrooms and view these interviews as a chance to work together to best support your students to establish their learning goals.

As we are now heading into week 4, we would encourage all families to continue to support their students to keep their attendance rate high, continue with daily homework and review, and encourage reading each night as we re-establish routines for learning.

Next week Year 3, 5, 7 & 9 students will commence the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). These assessments will be conducted online. In preparation for NAPLAN we simply ask parents to reassure their child that NAPLAN is part of the school program, and by reminding them to simply do their best and draw on the skills and strategies that they learn across the curriculum every day. We wish all of our students the best with NAPLAN across the assessment period.

On Thursday we had a fantastic Careers Expo during which students across the Secondary school had the opportunity to interact with Universities, TAFE, Defence, WesTEC and local business and training organisations. Thank you to Mrs Hackman, Ms Bevis and all of the staff involved in this excellent event.

On Friday morning, we held our annual Woodcrest State College Mother’s Day Picnic. Although the weather was not favourable, we didn’t let this dampen the mood. A fabulous event was held in the Junior Hall, during which our fantastic FISAF performers took to the stage and performed some wonderful routines. We also enjoyed some lovely cupcakes courtesy of the P&C and School Canteen and once again our Hospitality students were on hand to provide us with delicious hot beverages. You might like to check out some of the fabulous photos on our Facebook page. We would like to wish all of our Woodcrest Mums a wonderful Mother’s Day this Sunday.

Regards, 
Kesley Oakes
Principal of Secondary School

Please find information below regarding our medication policy.
If you need to provide any current plans or medication to the school for your child, can you please do so, ASAP!

Administering medication at school
If you require staff to administer medication to your child at school, please see below requirements.

Please note, school staff will only administer medication that:

• has been prescribed by a qualified health practitioner (e.g. doctor, dentist)
• is in its original container
• has an attached pharmacy label.

For routine medication please complete and return the following forms ASAP:

• Consent to Administer Medication
• Administration of Medication at School

For emergency medication (i.e. asthma, anaphylaxis ,Panadol, creams) please complete and return if required;

• Consent to Administer Medication
• Plan if asthma or anaphylaxis completed and signed off by your child’s doctor.

N.B. If your child requires more than one medication, you will need to complete a form for each medication.

Requirements for students at risk of anaphylaxis
If your child is at risk of anaphylaxis, it is important for you to provide the school with your child’s emergency medication and their ASCIA Anaphylaxis Action Plan, completed by your doctor. This Anaphylaxis Action Plan provides the instructions for the school to administer your child’s medication in an emergency, which is specific to respond to their health condition. 

Requirements for students at risk of asthma
If your child has asthma and requires assistance to administer their medication, it is important for you to provide the school with your child’s emergency medication and their Asthma Action Plan, completed by your doctor. An Asthma Action Plan provides specific instructions for the school to administer your child’s medication. 

We recognise that some students are capable of managing their asthma without adult assistance. If you are confident that your child can confidently, competently and safely self-administer their asthma medication, let the school administration know. The school will record your decision and will not require your child’s Asthma Action Plan. Please note that if your child requires assistance in an asthma emergency, staff will provide Asthma First Aid.  

Providing medication to the school
Before you provide the school with your child’s medication, check the expiry date to ensure it is in-date and there is enough for the agreed time period. It is also a good idea to take a note of the expiry date so that you can replace the medication before it expires.

Please note, school staff will not administer medication that you can buy over-the-counter at chemists and supermarkets (e.g. paracetamol, eye drops, cough syrup) unless it has been prescribed by your child’s qualified health practitioner. For example, the school would administer paracetamol to a student only if it has been prescribed by their dentist to be taken for a short time after dental treatment.

School staff are bound by these regulations and we hope that all parents will acknowledge and cooperate with these rules.

It is safer for all students if you can provide medication to the school in person (rather than send medication with the student). If you can’t provide the medication in person, contact the school to determine the easiest and safest approach for the school to receive the medication.

If your child’s medication is no longer required to be kept at school, please collect all unused medication.

Working with the school to support your child’s asthma needs
For many students, asthma will be a lifelong health condition, so it is important for students as they become older and more capable, to recognise their signs and symptoms and be confident to administer their own medication independently when required.

If your child is not yet confident with this and you would like the school to administer asthma medication to your child, it would assist us if you could provide an Asthma Action Plan, completed and signed by your child’s doctor when you provide their prescribed medication to the school.

The school only needs your child’s Asthma Action Plan if staff are administering or helping your child to administer their asthma medication, or if their emergency response is complex.

Our school has staff trained to provide Asthma First Aid in an emergency to any student demonstrating signs and symptoms of serious asthma attack.

FORMS AND MEDICATION NEED TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE OFFICE AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE.

How do we negotiate an online world where information about any topic can be easily accessed without knowing if the information is reliable or factual? How do we protect ourselves and others from information which may be misleading or detrimental to ourselves or others?

These are only a couple of questions which may be in our minds (or not), when we are surfing the net. There are also the concerns of online security and safety, protecting ourselves from scammers and those who would try to cause us harm electronically. You or your children may have been targeted or affected by online bullying or harassment, or the many other forms of attack.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend an online refresher training course with the E-Safety Commission, and update my knowledge of how electronic sources of information can be used and sometimes abused by people. If you have concerns about the content of internet sites or apps that your child may be using, then information about these sites and Apps can be accessed via the E-Safety commission. If you would like to access this information, then you can use the link - https://www.esafety.gov.au/

The Australian Government is the first authority in the world to have legislated protections for online content in the world. The E-Safety Commission is working very closely with internet, Gaming and App service providers around the world to ensure everyone’s online safety, especially our young and vulnerable people.

I encourage everyone to visit the site and gather as much or as little information as they would like, and if you would like assistance to set up boundaries and protections for your home internet, then this site has information to help protect you as well. You can also sign up and attend online webinars on topics that are of concern, or download information and videos to help you protect your family.

Another event which is occurring in and around the community include Youth Alive, who are touring at the moment – details at https://www.youthaliveqld.com/

Chappy Steve