111 of the brightest students from seven primary schools along the CapricornCoast met on Thursday to participate in a Gifted and Talented Day at EmuParkStateSchool. With a theme of “Facts through Fiction” the day’s various activities related to Fables or Fairy Tales. Students were able to pre-select three workshops from the thirteen different activities on offer. Small group sizes enabled the students to work closely with students from other schools. Workshops ranged from fish dissection to robot programming and bridge construction. All students completed metacognition sheets throughout the day which helped them reflect on their goals. A Fire and Rescue display highlighted to the students how imperative it is to have well thought out processes when working in emergency situations. 

The Gifted & Talented Day provided great opportunities for students to forge new friendships with like minded peers. It was organised by EmuParkStateSchool and funded by the Education Queensland Central Queensland Region with sponsorship from many local businesses. EmuParkStateSchool accepted the challenge of organising a Gifted and Talented Day as it reinforced their commitment to supporting and extending their own high academic students.

A  sea of red swept over Emu Park State School last Friday as students, staff,  parents and volunteers all donned red in recognition of Day for Daniel.  The day of awareness was a culmination of four weeks of   education surrounding “Child Safety Awareness”.  Mr McMurtrie spoke on parade about  tuning in to your inner voice and allowing it to guide you regarding your personal safety in situations.   Mr Mac told the students that if a situation feels wrong, it probably is wrong. Local police  officer  Senior Constable Doug King spoke to the children about identifying situations which may be unsafe and provided tactics which would then give them the best chance of avoiding danger. Manager of Bendigo Community Bank Denise Weisse  presented prizes to students who demonstrated the highest level of participation and insight in the unit of work on “Child Safety Awareness”. Congratulations to Cooper, Shianne, Ethan, Niko, Mariah, CJ, Billy, Joel, Kelly and Hazel. The day raised over $300 for the “Daniel Morcombe Foundation” which will further spread the message of child safety. Each child took home a red helium balloon which provided a prompt to encourage further discussions at home regarding personal safety.   Thank you to all the Parents and Grandparents who volunteered their time to ensure this important message was delivered to every child at our school.