23 April 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

PBC invests substantial amounts of resources to assisting in the promotion of student social and emotional welfare. These resources are aimed at ensuring a safe, supportive educational environment which includes preventing and dealing with incidents of bullying. The school has funded

• Four Heads of Department – Student Welfare (Deans)
• Six Year Level Coordinators
• Four House Leaders
• Two Curriculum Writers
• Additional 0.5 Guidance Officer
• Stymie – online anonymous bullying reporting

In addition we provide access to

• Psychologist
• Drug and Alcohol Counselling

Whilst the school has provided a number of resources, to continue to improve the school culture, the students are critical to the process.

The Student Council have prepared a Bullying Awareness Campaign to launch the Term 2 CARE focus of social responsibility. It is being used throughout every class in the school as a conversation-starter, as inspiration and as an aspirational tool for students to put together their own community campaigns. The Captains turned this around in 5 days during Week 10 – from writing the script to editing - were passionate regarding the cause and impact they could have.

We will load this video to our Facebook page and website this week so you can see their fantastic efforts.

Regards

Chris Capra
Executive Principal

Senior School Update

Welcome back for Term 2. We hope you enjoyed a wonderful break and had the chance to join in with some of the local Commonwealth Games action. On the last day of term student’s interim report cards were emailed home. These reports indicate not only our students’ academic grades but also speak to their effort and behaviour. If you haven’t already we suggest that you sit down to talk to your young person about their report, including areas to celebrate and areas for growth.

In addition to these report cards we have the opportunity to give further feedback through Parent Teacher Interviews. These will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of Week 3 (1-3 May). The online booking system is now open. Go to the link under Quicklinks on our website home page.

A Note from the Dean of Students Year 10 & 11

Part of PBC’s decision to introduce the CARE program involved developing and strengthening the relational culture of our students. Throughout the year the students will be working on understanding the benefits of creating positive peer relationships, which are critical to forming high standards of behaviour, through skills which are transferable as they develop into adults in our local community. We would like to highlight the importance of these high standards of behaviour when visible in our local community. As our students make their way to and from school, they need to be mindful of the fact that they are representing PBC and influence our reputation. We receive numerous phone calls from members of our community throughout the school year to report student behaviours, and we would like to ensure these remain a positive experience for all involved. We encourage all students to wear their school uniform with pride and respect the values of what it means to be a PBC student.

Meningococcal Immunisations

PBC, in conjunction with the Gold Coast Public Health Service, has secured an opportunity for all Year 10 students to take advantage of a free vaccination against meningococcal ACWY. This service will take place on Tuesday 22 May 2018, for Year 10 students only. Gold Coast Health are sending out all of the information and consent forms regarding these vaccinations directly to PBC families. In the near future we believe that Gold Coast Health will provide us with some additional consent forms so we can assist in promoting the program. The registration is online so please check your emails (including junk folders) for this link to avoid missing out.

Kokoda Training

Students (and staff) are in serious training for the Kokoda challenge at the end of term. Over the holidays we conquered Mount Warning twice in 24 hours, the 2nd time to the sunrise. The students are like mountain goats climbing so fast to the top! We have also started run-walk training before school to ensure peak fitness for the big event. A massive thank you to Chris Patison for organising the walks and the training.

Year 12 Jerseys

They are here! The students look fantastic in them! Just a reminder that they should be worn over the school shirt not as a replacement to the school shirt. They are quite a warm garment and students can get hot if they can’t remove the jersey as the day heats up.

Middle School Update

Anzac Day Ceremony at PBC

Tuesday 24 April 2018

The commemoration of ANZAC Day is one of only two occasions during the school year when our entire school community comes together. All students will attend our PBC ANZAC Day Service at 9:00 am in the Senior Quad. Parents are welcome to attend.

Anzac Day Mid-Morning March

Wednesday 25 April 2018

Middle School students are invited to represent PBC in the march to the Currumbin RSL Morning Service. They should first register their intent at the Middle School Office. Students are required to wear full formal school uniform, with school hats and water bottles strongly advised. All students are to assemble at Winders Park at:10.40am for the 10:55am march and are not required to stay for the Service. Students who attend will have their names marked off and one hour credited to their Community Service.

NAPLAN 2018

As you would be aware, NAPLAN will be held this year between the 15-17 May, for students in Years 7 and 9. All students (except for those on individual learning programs) are being prepared for the NAPLAN tests, which will provide important information about your child’s learning and help teachers in their planning.

If you have a philosophical objection to NAPLAN, such as you believe your child may suffer excessive stress or other adverse effects to this testing, and believe it is in your child’s best interest not to participate, then you have the right as a parent to withdraw your child. Withdrawn students will be provided with a complete supervision program at PBC, to further develop their literacy and numeracy skills. Please contact the Middle School office (tel: 5525 9340) for a Withdrawal Form should you require one. This form must be completed and returned to the Middle School Office immediately by 27 April 2018.

If you require additional information regarding NAPLAN, please contact the Middle School Head of Department, Sharon Hillcoat on 5525 9333.

Parent Teacher Interviews

If you have not done so already, please take the time to sit with your child and discuss their interim report, emailed at the end of last term. Celebrate successes and where improvements are needed, set some specific, realistic and measurable goals. Should you require clarification or need to immediately discuss your child’s progress, remember that teachers welcome contact from parents; all teachers’ emails are listed under ‘contacts’ on the PBC website.

Parent Teacher Interview bookings are now open. The interviews are conducted over several afternoons and evenings, to provide as many opportunities as possible for you to meet with teachers. Guidance Officers and other support staff are also available on these evenings.

Students are most welcome to be part of the interviews; it can be very useful for them to ask their own questions and to receive direct feedback from teachers, with you present. Teachers are also hoping to learn more about the student, and will welcome information that will help them support each individual in their learning. We look forward to meeting with you.

House and CARE Update

Soccer Mega Games kept all of the students busy in the last week of Term. The Phoenicians were runaway winners in the senior competition with goals being slotted from all over the field. Competition between the Middle School students was much closer, with the Vikings, Spartans and Athenians all finishing equal on points. Shout out to the Phoenicians who had the highest participation in both the middle and senior school comps.

Our InterHouse Instagram competition page lit up over the holidays with posts of Upcycling Projects completed by students in Care class over the final few weeks of term. There were tote bags made from old tshirts, picture frames for timber off cuts, vertical gardens created from old pallets and bird feeders fashioned from old plastic bottles. All students and care teachers are to be commended on their efforts. We hope students continue the trend and remember the importance on reducing, reusing and recycling at home as well. Check out some of the great creations below. Congrats to our Upcycling Winners!!

1st Phoenicians (P3S)
2nd Athenians (A6S)
3rd Vikings (V3M)
4th Spartans (S5S)

The focus this term is on Social Intelligence with topics including Living Ethically, Bullying and Cyber Safety at the forefront. Our first House and Care project for the term is the ANZAC Biscuit Baking Day. Students from all Houses will be coming together, baking and packaging biscuits to be donated to the Currumbin RSL. Biscuits will be distributed to those attending the Dawn Service at Elephant rock on ANZAC Day. This initiative began last year and we are thrilled to make this an annual event, enabling students to connect with and support our local community.

House Leaders would like to congratulate the following classes who recorded the highest Term 1 attendance data in their House. Here at PBC we remind students that ‘everyday counts’ and encourage every student to be present and ready to learn. These classes are being rewarded with a celebratory lunch! Congratulations and keep up the hard work!

Athenians – A7M and A10S
Vikings – V13M and V9S
Spartans – S3M and S5S
Phoenicians – P10M and P6S

Our next Inter House Competition is a Maths Challenge – details will be released shortly!

Science Highlights

STEM Girl Power Camp

The STEM Girl Power Camp is an amazing opportunity for select Year 10 female students who show both leadership and excellence in science. Jaime Prior was successful in the application and selection process, being one of 56 girls across the state, with only two girls from the Gold Coast attending the camp. Jaime’s acceptance to be involved is a reflection of her leadership in the school, her participation in extra-curricular activities, along with her work ethic and academic achievement. In May, Jaime is also attending the STEM Girl Power Leadership Day held at Sea World and concluding at Griffith University. PBC is very proud of Jaime’s accomplishment in these exciting opportunities, and her role as one of six STEM ambassadors at the school. Below is Jaime’s reflection of her experience.

The STEM girl power camp was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will cherish for a long time to come. Not only did I learn a lot and have the ability to participate in activities that I would not normally be able to do in a high school lab, but I also met some amazing girls and built friendships with likeminded individuals. It gave me a chance to further my knowledge around the areas that I have enjoyment in, as well as hear from experts in their field. As it was during the World Science Festival, we were able to participate in events such as presentations by the Queensland museum; this allowed us to hear from a range of interesting people. In addition to this we attended SPARQ-ED, which is a program to encourage biological and biomedical education to students across Queensland. We got to use professional science facilities and equipment through experiments showing us how a professional lab will work outside of school. I am so thankful for all of the opportunities presented that have helped strengthen my love for STEM as well as allowed me to better myself as a student and an ambassador.

Jaime Pryor

PBC STEM Ambassador Conference

At the end of Term 1, the Senior and Middle school STEM Ambassadors, as well as Ms McGilvary, took a trip to Brisbane for the annual Griffith University STEM Ambassador Conference. This year was the fourth time that PBC has attended, but it was as fun as the first.

During this conference, we were honoured to listen to some representatives from Griffith University. They shared many helpful tips for success and leadership. We discussed current STEM opportunities and career paths within our community. We were also able to participate in fun activities that demonstrated leadership and group cooperation. The spaghetti and marshmallow challenge was an enjoyable experience for us all, along with some friendly competition with the other schools.

The final event of the day was a jaw dropping performance by Arthur Benjamin at the Brisbane Convention Centre. He showed us just how he flipped Maths into a fascinating show for us all to witness. Arthur was able to multiply five and even six-digit numbers in his head, within a matter of seconds. Now, that’s talent!

Overall, we all had a fantastic day and we cannot wait to pursue our plans for 2018 and 2019.

Lenismaria Ikenasio and Bayley d’Hotman de Villiers
Year 8 STEM Ambassadors

Gifted and Talented Discovery Program

Another success story is that we have just been informed that Year 9 student Aiden Eddywing has been successful in gaining a place in The University of Sydney’s 2018 Gifted and Talented Discovery Program. To be offered a place in the program, students had to sit a qualifying exam. Aiden’s results placed him in at the 98th percentile, an amazing result, and was therefore offered a place. The program will provide Aiden with the opportunity to engage with University teaching staff and current researchers, access first-class facilities and make friends with people who have a mutual interest in science. We will get Aiden to report back about his experiences after the program is held in July.

Creative Arts Excellence News

New Home for Arts

After a hectic move in Week 10 Term One, the Visual Arts Department is happily settled in their new home in C Block. The new block has three bight new rooms, a new staffroom and a gallery. Students will be able to find Mr Tanke in C5, Ms Kent in C6 and Miss Hall in C4. In other exciting Visual Arts news Year 11 OP and 10 Arts Excellence will be heading to GOMA Brisbane in the coming weeks to see two exciting exhibitions. First the students will see acclaimed Australian sculptor Patricia Piccinini and her Curious Affection exhibit and secondly students will see Creative Generations which is a showcase of student excellence in Visual Arts. We are sure that students will be inspired and enthralled by both.

Dance Workshop

Also in the last week of Term One Miss Swanborough accompanied four eager Year 9 Dance Excellence Students Michaela Schratzberger, Cleo Lewis, Alyssa Park and Kia Pope to Currumbin Primary School to deliver a Dance Workshop to all Year 5 classes. The workshop was a part of their implementation of the Arts Australian Curriculum and focused on the novel Deltora Quest. Participants were highly engaged and it was a huge success. An enriching and positive learning experience for all involved.

Commonwealth Games

18 of our Vocal and Drama students recently participated in the Youth Chorus of the dazzling Commonwealth Games closing ceremony. Students worked incredibly hard to learn not only vocal parts, but high energy choreography for the two hour show. Students dedicated 10 weeks to rehearsing for the event, and on the night were nothing but the best being in high spirits and energy.

Congratulations to all the students involved, and thank you to Mrs Davidson and Mrs Tasssone who gave up their time and holidays to provide the opportunity.

WA Music Workshop

Last Tuesday we were lucky to share music with 40 students from Mary MacKillop College which is a school all the way from regional Western Australia. They started the afternoon by performing for us – both their Jazz Ensemble and Vocal group. The rest of the afternoon was working with them in our ensembles with their students joining our Synergy Wind Ensemble, as well as the students from the Commonwealth Games vocal ensemble who shared some of the music (and choreography) from the show. To finish the afternoon we had afternoon tea which was catered by our hospitality students and teachers which gave us a chance to talk to the students and teachers before they had to leave. The students enjoyed sharing music, and getting to meet students from the other side of Australia!

The Voice Blinds

Another proud moment for PBC was when The Voice auditions aired on Channel 9. It was our 2016 graduate Sheldon Riley, who impressed all four judges and the crowd with his very emotional and inspiring performance. Moving onto the next round under the wing of Boy George, we look forward to seeing more of Sheldon perform. Congratulations Sheldon!

Drama news

Drama students are excited for the challenges in Term Two both in class and in extra-curricular experiences. Year 11 and 12 Drama and Drama Excellence students will travel to Brisbane to view “The Village” at La Boite Theatre next week. The performance compliments the curriculum in several units of work and offers a rich and rewarding theatrical experience to students. “The Village” showcases the cultural diversity of Australia and honours the courage, strength and determination of the women, men and children who have made this country their new home. “The Village” uses the verbatim stories of refugees and people seeking asylum to guide audiences on an experiential journey. The students will witness how ordinary people have found themselves in extraordinary situations and persevered to tell their life-changing stories. We look forward to sharing this engaging and educational experience with our Drama students.

Grease!

Lastly, we are now well under way with our PBC “Grease” Musical rehearsals. Tickets go on sale Monday 30 April and are available from Student Services, be sure to get in early as they will sell out fast! Tickets are: Adults $20, Students/Children $10, Free on the Knee for littlies.

Our Director Lisa Smith has been extending and refining our students and you are all in for a great show.

Maths News

Year 10

Year 10 students recently completed their first exam under the new senior school system. The latest from teachers and students is that they took it well and performed admirably and initial results reflect this. Term 2 will see a similar structure and students and parents are encouraged to continue their positive study habits or learn from their bad habits.

Year 11

Year 11 Maths B and A students currently have assignments they are completing, we would like to remind students about submission procedures:

• Drafts are compulsory and must be submitted to teachers either via email or hard copy. A copy of the draft will be kept and class feedback will be given.
• Students are to submit the assignments to their teacher before 9:00am on the due date to their teacher, via email or hard copy. Even if absent on the day.
• Extension applications need to go through the HOD 48hrs prior to the due date.
• Any late submissions due to absence or for other reasons that have not received an extension will receive a grade based on their draft submission.

Habits of successful maths students:

1. HOW OFTEN? – how often do you practise? It is widely known that practising 3 x 20 quality minutes per week is vastly more powerful than 1hr all at once. Regular practice is key, whatever it looks like.
2. KNOW YOURSELF – There is a difference between understanding and mastering (being able to answer questions on a test). It is important for a student to be aware of what is required for them to get to that mastering level. What are you doing?
3. SEEKING HELP – Seeking help when it is needed can come in many forms: friends, teachers, notes and tutors. Take the time to ask for help when you don’t understand.
4. DON’T LET IT GO – Many students walk out of a classroom without understanding what they have done in maths but don’t seek help at the next opportunity. They make it the problem of their future self, who is usually overwhelmed with everything else. The most successful students in maths are tenacious and don’t let that problem get passed them.

Grade 7-10

Being prepared for learning in Mathematics

The start of term is a timely reminder about the importance of being prepared to learn in every Math lesson. In Math preparedness is bringing a textbook and calculator to every lesson. If students have a BYOD and are finding that bringing their laptop and textbook is too cumbersome, a digital version of the textbook is available. Students can check if they have access to the digital version of the textbook by checking the sticker inside the front cover of their textbook. If the sticker looks like the image below they can access the digital textbook using the details provided. If not please direct your child to speak to their Math teacher or if they have any issues accessing the digital version.

A note about calculators. Students are expected to have their own scientific calculator for all Maths lessons. Casio is the preferred model (see image below) at PBC but any scientific calculator is acceptable. Students are not permitted to use their mobile phones as a calculator. Please make sure that your son or daughter is prepared for every Maths lesson by bringing a calculator to school every day. Thank you for your support with this.

Problem Solving using Polya

The Polya problem solving method gives students a process for attacking those difficult Math problems. The process involves:

• See – Understanding what the problem is asking
• PLAN – Making a plan to solve the problem
• Do – carrying out their plan
• CHECK – checking that their answer is reasonable and works

Please encourage your child to use these as guidelines if they are ‘stuck’ on their Maths homework.

Problem of the week

Term 2 is a big term for algebra and with that many students ask their teachers “when are we going to use this in real life?” While we all know algebra’s uses are endless and as adults we solve equations daily, here’s an example Mr. Zuckerberg put together for us that I used algebra yesterday to solve. What do you think?

Bianca Deague - MS HOD Maths/Science
Trent Hage - SS HOD Maths

General News

International Department

Homestay Families required:

The International Department is looking for Homestay families to host Taiwanese students from Lizen High School.

The Lizen Study Tour is arriving on 23 May and staying until 5 June 2018

This is a great opportunity for visiting students to experience the real Australian lifestyle by living with an Australian Host family. Homestay families have the opportunity to learn about another culture and build a friendship with the student.

Requirements:

• Homestay families will be required to host either 1 or 2 students (dual placements are preferred).
• Provide 3 meals a day plus snacks.
• Be able to drop off and pick up their Taiwanese student/s from school or travel to and from school with their own child.
• Homestay families will need to attend a 1 hour Orientation session prior to the Tour arriving and will be provided relevant information.
• Homestay families will be remunerated for hosting the student/s.
• Homestay families will need a Blue Card or can apply for one.

If you are interested in hosting students can you please contact Sue Jones at the International Dept on 5525 9394 or 0438 191 637. Or email Corinne Van Put at cvanp1@eq.edu.au by 30 April.

PBC LEO’S

PBC ANZAC Day Ceremony

Our Annual Anzac Day Ceremony will be held at the school on Tuesday morning, 24 April. All parents/caregivers are welcome to attend, please click this link to find your invitation.

Please RSVP your attendance to events@pbc-shs.eq.edu.au the number of people coming and stating PBC Anzac in the subject.

ANZAC Day Mid-Morning Service – Currumbin RSL Cenotaph

The Anzac Day Service on 25 April will be held at the Currumbin RSL Cenotaph. All PBC Students are invited to march at this Service. Attending this march will count towards student’s community service hours. Click the link for more information.

Please RSVP your attendance to events@pbc-shs.eq.edu.au the number of people coming and stating Anzac Day March in the subject.

Term 2 Bell Times

Reminder that Inter-School Sport will be taking place during Term 2 and bell times will be as per the student diary. Wednesday finish time is 2:30pm. School Buses will be as per normal and students waiting for buses will be supervised.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent interviews are held in Week 3 and PBC encourages parents/caregivers meet with your child's teachers to work together to get the best outcomes for them.

Along with reflecting on the recently completed term 1, it's also the time to set some goals for the new term and what actions will be needed to achieve them. We ask our teachers and our students to challenge themselves in this goal setting as it’s from discomfort and pushing ourselves that great growth will come.

The online booking system is now open. Go to the link under Quicklinks on our website home page.

Capstone Editing Textbook Grants – Year 12 Students

Attention Year 12 students planning to go on to university. The Capstone Editing Textbook Grant can be applied for all year. This grant will aid you with your uni textbook costs: $3,000 Capstone Editing Textbook Grant for Undergraduates.

The grant is aimed at first-year university students and is awarded on 1 February every year. Applications are open all year, thus most students apply in Year 12 so they can access the first $1,000 instalment for the first year of their tertiary studies. Applications can be made online here:

This grant is provided in the form of one $1,000 gift voucher per year for three years in the form of gift vouchers to the Co-op bookshop (or another bookshop chosen by the recipient).

As textbook prices continue to rise, many students are having to choose between buying textbooks and covering their daily living expenses. With the average cost of a textbook at Australian universities exceeding $100, and many courses requiring multiple textbooks, our Textbook Grant can seriously reduce the financial burden associated with the start of semester.

Billabong Mates Rates Discount

Our latest PBC Alliance Member Billabong has kindly donated a Mates Rates discount card to all PBC Students. This card allows you to grab as much gear as you want for 50% off! There is no limit you can use the code across each of the Billabong brand sites and is valid for one use on each site. These will be handed out this week to the students. Thanks Billabong!

PBC Alliance News

2018 Partners

Thank you to all the wonderful businesses that are 2018 PBC Alliance Partners! The support of these amazing businesses, for our students, is hugely appreciated. Please support those that support our students by checking out our Business Directory when choosing a service provider.

Business Directory

If you are looking for a product or service look no further than the PBC Alliance Business Directory. All the listings in this directory are supporters of our students so please support those that support PBC.

Would you like to advertise your business in the PBC Alliance Business Directory? Membership is just $25 which includes a business directory listing, invitations to all our events and inclusion on our newsletter database so you can be kept up to date with PBC Alliance news. Head to the link below to sign up!

Student Achievements

We encourage parents/caregivers to email your student’s excellent recent achievements to us. These achievements can be in The Arts, sporting, academic or community service. We would love to hear from you! Please email us at news@pbc-shs.eq.edu.au with details of your student’s achievement and include at least one photo, and/or any links to media articles that we can share via our Parent Newsletter, internal communications and Facebook.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Congratulations to Year 9 student Sunny Bower who has made the Queensland State Team in Level 9 Rhythmic Gymnastics to compete at the Australian National Championships in June this year. Sunny competed in the QLD Challenge 2 placing 5th overall and 3rd in her hoop routine. Sunny is currently on her way to Japan to compete at the 2018 OHK Cup. Sunny trains up to 17 hours per week at the Elite Rhythmic Gymnastics Club and is fully devoted to her sport. What a fantastic achievement Sunny!

Congratulations also to Year 9 student Tayla Miller who won a Gold medal competing in the Junior Group event at the Queensland Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge 1 competition on 11 March. The group received a Silver medal at the Challenge 2 event. Tayla trains long hours including all day Saturdays at Aspire Academy Club in Brisbane. The Aspire Junior Group will be representing Queensland in Melbourne at the 2018 National Gymnastics Championships inJune. Well done and good luck Tayla!

Commonwealth Games

A huge congratulations to Year 8 PBC Student Tom Thomson for being selected to carry the Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton. Tom then passed it onto Legendary Lifeguard Warren Young. Tom was selected based on his involvement in Bee Keeping, Community Garden, Disabled Surfing, Penny Farthing riding and Surf Lifesaving. What an incredible achievement Tom and an amazing memory you will keep forever.

Congratulations to Year 10 Student Bayley Jacobson who took part in the Youth Music Venture and performed at the Commonwealth Games. Click the link to see Channel 7 news footage of Bayley and her involvement.

Thank you from NZ Lawn Bowls Team

You will remember that our Visual Arts students recently donated their art to the Commonwealth Games Athletes Village. We received a lovely thank you from the New Zealand Lawn Bowls team who chose to take these lovely pieces home with them.

To everyone who donated pictures to us, we would like to say a very big thank you. These sorts of things just make our Village life here at the Commonwealth Games even more special.

Kindest wishes from

David, Peter, Ann, Mandy and Katelyn
NZ Lawn Bowls Black Jacks Team members

Australian Skateboarding League Nationals

Congratulations to Year 8 student Zane Hetherington who competed in the 2018 Australian Skateboarding League National final on the 9/10 March 2018. To qualify Zane first won the QLD title. At Nationals, he came 1st in the 12 and under division and was crowned the National Champion for his age! What a fantastic result!

News article The Australian Skateboarding League- National Final Results is at

SLSA Aussie Titles

Congratulations to Stirling Crawford who is currently competing at the SLSA AUSSIES in Scarborough. Stirling has competed in the U14 Beach Sprints and Flags and is now a 2 times bronze medalist at a National level. In Flags he placed 3rd to the WA & NSW State champions. What a fantastic effort Stirling! Congratulations also to PBC Student Harper Bourke who also competed and appears in the photos.

The Voice

We are very excited to follow The Voice journey of PBC Alumni Sheldon Riley and thought his blind audition was amazing. Wishing you the very best of luck Sheldon!

We are cheering for you!

The PBC Rugby Excellence Program – results!

Click the link to read a great article on the success of the PBC Rugby League Sport Ex program. Certainly one we are very proud of. Thank you to all staff and students as well as the PBC Alliance partners and members for also supporting this program.

Dates to Remember

BYOD News – Are you BYOD ready?

We are very happy to see the uptake of the BYOD program from students this year. Our curriculum is moving to a digital platform and a BYOD device is becoming a huge advantage for students.

If you have not yet gotten your student a device please be aware that PBC is a Windows Operating System based school, this means that your student needs to have a Windows based device (PC) to avoid any limitations that other operating systems, such as iOS (Mac), Android, Windows RT, Chromebook or Linux experience at PBC. In order to give your student the best experience with their device at school, make sure they have a PC/Windows device (not a Mac/iOS).

Please also note that iPads are not an acceptable device.

Please see our website for more details:

Administration

Cashier Window Operating Hours

Over the counter payments can only be accepted between 8:00am and 1:00pm on Monday to Friday. Alternatively, you can make payments via BPOINT from your invoice or statement or Direct Deposit.

For Internet banking please use the details below:

Resources and Activities Schedule

To assist parents with budgeting, detailed below are current fees and activities with due dates for payment (due to short timeframes some excursions may not be listed).

To make a credit card payment or to request bank details for direct bank transfer, please telephone the school, or visit our Student Services department between 8:00am and 1:00pm for all other payments.

SRS Fees

Thank you to all our parents/caregivers for their valued support. All SRS Fees are now overdue except for parents/caregivers who are on a payment plan or Centrepay.

Make payments the quick and easy way using BPOINT. Visit the link below, follow the prompts or phone BPOINT on 1300 631 073.

Parents/caregivers experiencing financial difficulty can email ParentSupport ParentSupport@pbc-shs.eq.edu.au.

Payment plan options are available including Centrepay -a service to families whereby periodic payments can be made to the school or Direct Debit via credit card (monthly). Paperwork is available from the Student Services Office to activate either of these plans.

QParents

The QParents application provides a convenient, and easy way for parents and legal guardians to interact with the school. Parents will have secure, online access to their child’s student information, anytime, anywhere, through a smartphone, tablet or computer.

Saver Plus

Saver Plus is a financial inclusion program with matched savings that benefits families and their children’s education. Please see link to flyer below.

Community Notices

Mobile Dental Clinic – Gold Coast Oral Health Service

The School Dental Van is currently at PBC and offering FREE dental treatment. We will be leaving the school on 25 June, so if you have not made an appointment yet please do so by calling 1300 300 850. If a parent is unable to attend, please get your child to collect a consent form from the van and bring it to their appointment.

Centacare Programs for Families

Triple P Parenting Program

When: 4 week program
Commencing on Tuesday 1 May 2018
Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm
Where: Centacare, 50 Fairway Drive, CLEAR ISLAND WATERS QLD 4226
Cost: $25

Centacare Children First Program!

Divorce and Separation Program for Children aged 7-11 years old

When: 5 weeks
Commencing Wednesday 2 May 2018
Time: 3:45pm-5:45pm
Where: Centacare, 50 Fairway Drive, CLEAR ISLAND WATERS QLD 4226
Cost: $40

The program includes a variety of creative activities to explore:

• Changes to our families
• Living in two homes
• Coping with feelings
• Communication skills
• Looking after ourselves
• Moving forward

For more information or to register please phone 5527 7211

Fortnightly Funny

Comics credit: Charles M Schultz - Peanuts

Welcome back!