Students compete in athletics and Eisteddfod

by Steve Bennett, Principal, Rainbow Beach State School

At the end of last term, we held our annual Athletics Carnival that showcased the sporting talents of our students. There were so many examples of athletic ability, but this was overshadowed by the remarkable displays of sportsmanship and good-natured, friendly competition.

Our Inter-house Carnival saw Fraser win the bragging rights for Athletics in 2021. Many of our students recorded times or distances that made them eligible to compete in the Small Schools Athletics Carnival.  This consisted of students from nine schools across the Gympie district.

We had 21 Rainbow Beach State School students in total travel to Albert Park at the beginning of this term, to compete in track and field events. I was very proud of their efforts and the way they represented our School and community. Many of our students placed in the finals and will now be nominated for the Gympie District Carnival in coming weeks.

This year the Rainbow Beach State School Choir is once again being expertly guided by Mrs Cherie Mason.  On August 5 the choir will travel to Gympie to compete in the Choral Eisteddfod.  We wish Mrs Mason and all of our students all the very best.

A big thank you to Mrs Mason who continues to foster a love of music in another generation of Rainbow Beach students. We are so lucky to have such great support of our school and our students within our community.

School Garden transformed!

Chappy Ronnie, Rainbow Beach State School 

Three multi award-winning, self-watering Vegepods arrived in the first week of Term 3, purchased with a Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant recently received by the school.

These raised garden beds use self-watering technology by using a wicking system that waters plants from below. The covers are made from a polyethylene knitted mesh which protects the veggies from pests, UV and high temperatures.

One of the Vegepods will be planted with the help of children attending the KindyLinQ program that happens on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the school library, and the remaining Vegepods will be used to grow leafy greens for the tuckshop.

The grant also provided funds for a native beehive to be supplied by Curra arborist Michael Miller that arrived at the school in late July.

Stingless native bees are great pollinators both in gardens and native bush, and their nests made of wax and resin are found in hollow tree trunks, branches, fallen logs or rock crevices.

Michael will install a log where the native bees have built a hive so that students can observe the hardworking bees as they go looking for flowering plants nearby.

Our garden beds have undergone a total transformation over the holidays thanks to the school’s groundsman Michael White. We now have nine above-ground beds that will be planted out with a wide variety of veggies for use in the tuckshop and cooking classes later in the year.

Each grade will have their own garden bed to plant out and tend over the next few months, teaching them skills that will last a lifetime.