Rainbow Beach State School
The school disco on June 21 was a huge success and the limbo competition was great fun, Riley shows how it’s done!
Danny Staneig – Principal
Sometimes, I think as educators, we get so caught up in the business of school that we forget that we create memories for our students, as they do for us.
One of my fondest memories occurred many years ago when I was teaching a 5/6 class at Rainbow Beach. One of the girls, Maddy, had gone to Dreamworld and brought me back a massive lolly-pop. It was the size of an adults face. I don’t really like lollies, but I really appreciated her thoughtfulness.
Little did I know, this colourful treat would become the best bartering tool I had ever had. I received offers of cleaning the whiteboard for a year, trading for various other food items, even washing my car.
Nothing really took my fancy until a group of boys, Justin, Paul, Sam and Cohen, all fun loving and energetic lads, started to go crabbing before and after school.
I pounced on the opportunity and negotiated the trade of one giant lolly-pop for two giant mud crabs. The very next morning, sitting outside my classroom door in an old hessian bag, were two beautiful mud crabs, and the trade was done!
To this day, I still believe it was the best deal I ever negotiated! I would see Cohen’s Dad down town and he would just shake his head at me and laugh. I am not sure if he ever forgave his son for trading two mud crabs for that lolly-pop.
As I have progressed into administration roles, I have had to deal with student attendance on a daily basis. I often reflect on these stories and think how important it is for kids to attend school every day. Not only for the educational purposes, but for their social and emotional development and for creating memories.
On June 21, our students braved the cold and enjoyed a fun pyjama themed disco. Many laughs were had and the kids showed off some great dance moves. The limbo competition was a highlight, as well as the teacher/parent ‘dance-off’, with Janine Lawler taking the win! Thanks must go to BJ, Cyndari Parton Nicole Lunney and all the volunteers who worked the tuckshop and supervised the kids – thank you!
In other news, our Prep/1 class conducted a fair test on bricks they made and the outcome was quite surprising. The sand brick was washed away by the rain and the clay brick dried up and cracked, despite all the rain. Amazingly, the grass brick held together and is still holding up. Maybe the three little pigs should use grass next time!
