17 February 2025

Acting Principal

Abi Hurdley

Dear Graceville Families and Friends,

We’re already into week 3, and it’s wonderful to see our students settling into their new routines and embracing learning with enthusiasm.  Our school is buzzing with activity from engaging classroom learning, to connections and friendships forming in the playground. As we continue to build strong foundations for the year ahead, thank you for your ongoing support in making 2025 a fantastic year at Graceville State School.

GRACEVILLE STATE SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLAN (2024 -2027)

Graceville State School’s Strategic priority focus areas are:

1. Innovative Teaching and Learning
2. Empowering and Nurturing Environment
3. Connected Community

This year we will have two priorities in our Annual Improvement Plan that will guide our work for each of these focus areas:

• Enhance and extend a whole school, inclusive approach to support student learning beginning in the classroom so that resources are most effectively used to lift student learning.
• Deepening personal empowerment and embedding a nurturing environment to maximise curiosity, positive engagement and success for all.

This year, our school is committed to several key strategies aimed at enhancing teaching and learning.  We are deepening our understanding of the Australian Curriculum (V9) to implement a conceptual curriculum and inquiry-based approach, encouraging critical thinking and curiosity in our students.  At Graceville State School, we embrace a conceptual curriculum, focusing on deep understanding and connections across subjects rather than isolated facts.  This approach fosters critical thinking and transferable skills, helping students develop a broader perspective on their learning.

This semester, our focus is Expression—how people share ideas, emotions, and perspectives.  Through inquiry and discussion, students will explore how communication shapes our world and strengthens our connections with others.  Each year level will investigate Expression through a guiding question:

Prep – How can we learn together?  Exploring curiosity, collaboration, and belonging.
Year 1 – What part do I play?  Understanding roles, responsibility, and community.
Year 2 – How can it change?  Investigating transformation in materials, people, and ideas.
Year 3 – How can diversity strengthen community?  Examining biodiversity and personal identity.
Year 4 – Dare to be different?  Embracing uniqueness, risk-taking, and self-expression.
Year 5 – How can telling our stories build connection?  Developing friendships through communication.
Year 6 – What do you stand for?  Exploring values, beliefs, and advocacy.

Through these inquiries, students will deepen their understanding of self-expression and its role in shaping the world around them.  A big congratulations to 6W for sharing their insightful definition of Expression, now proudly displayed on our school sign!

"Expression is the act of revealing one's true values, beliefs & feelings, helping us share our individuality & connect with others."

This thoughtful reflection perfectly captures the essence of our conceptual curriculum focus this semester.  Well, done, 6W, for demonstrating such a deep understanding of how expression shapes who we are and how we relate to the world around us!

SPOTLIGHT IN THE CLASSROOMS

This week, I had the pleasure of visiting a Year 5 class as they explored their five basic needs—Survival, Empowerment, Fun, Freedom, and Love & Belonging.  The students shared their insightful reflections on how these needs shape their choices and behaviours each day.  Using the metaphor of cups, they considered the size of each need in their lives, reflecting on which cups felt full and which needed topping up.  It was wonderful to hear their thoughtful discussions about how they can make positive choices to meet their needs in a balanced way.

I also shared my own reflections on my basic needs and the behaviours I choose to satisfy them.  The conversations were rich and engaging, and it was inspiring to see our students developing such a strong sense of self-awareness and responsibility for their well-being.

2025 LEADERSHIP INDUCTION CEREMONY  

This week, we proudly celebrated our Leadership Induction Ceremony, where we recognised and welcomed our 2025 student leaders.  It was a special occasion as students received their leadership badges, marking their commitment to serving and representing our school community.

Congratulations to our:
School Captains
Student Learning Ambassador Leaders
Community Leaders
Music Captains
House Captains
Year Level Leaders
Class Representatives for each of our 28 classes

A highlight of the ceremony was our Year 6 leaders officially welcoming our Prep students to Graceville State School.  This tradition connects our senior students, in their final year with us, to our youngest learners, just beginning their journey.  Every Prep student who walks through our gates is like a unique and special seed, and as they grow, they become part of the vibrant ecosystem that makes GSS so special.

To symbolise this journey, each Prep teacher and a student from every class were invited to the stage to receive a special plant for their classroom.  Just as these plants will be nurtured and watched grow, so too will we support and celebrate our newest school members as they bloom over the coming years.  Thank you goes to Councillor for Tennyson Ward, Ms Nicole Johnston for supporting GSS with the donation of the plants.

It was also wonderful to have our 2024 School Captains assist with the presentation of badges, reinforcing the importance of leadership, connection, and community at GSS.

Congratulations to all our new leaders—we look forward to a fantastic year ahead!

Abi Hurdley
Principal

Upcoming Events

Planned events are listed – we may have to postpone or cancel based on advice closer to the time.

Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

Naplan Years 3 & 5

The National Assessment Program is coming up later this term – 12^th to 24^th March.

NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national proficiency standards.

Students will participate in practice tests online during weeks 3 or 4, which is an opportunity to “practice” using an Ipad (Year 3) or desktop computer or laptop (Year 5) in the training environment, which gives them practice questions very much like the real testing.

Parents who have children who may require adjustments to complete the testing program can talk to class teachers. Once identified, class teachers will contact you to complete the necessary paperwork.

The Naplan tests are online, apart from the Year 3 writing task, which is on paper. More information will be sent out to families in the coming weeks.

If you have children in Years 3 & 5 please try to avoid any appointments/days off, etc during these times.

Deputy Principal

Liam Bray

Prep at Graceville State School

Our Prep students are at the beginning of an exciting educational journey, and we are committed to providing an environment where every child feels supported, valued, and ready to learn. Our Prep program is designed with age-appropriate learning experiences that foster curiosity, creativity, and a love for learning. At this stage, we focus on developing foundational skills in literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional growth, all while making sure the learning process is engaging and fun.

The classroom is a vibrant space where our young learners explore new ideas through play, hands-on activities, and interactive lessons. We incorporate storytelling, songs, games, and group activities that are designed to suit their developmental stage, helping them build confidence and social skills as they interact with peers and teachers.

Teachers also place a strong emphasis on creating a positive classroom culture where each child feels safe to express themselves and take risks in their learning. With a balance of structured activities and opportunities for free exploration, our Prep students are encouraged to ask questions, solve problems, and develop a strong sense of independence.

This year, our Prep teachers are implementing the Sounds-Write phonics program. This highly effective and evidence-based approach to teaching reading and spelling is designed to give students the essential skills they need to become confident, fluent readers and writers.

Sounds-Write is a systematic and structured phonics program that focuses on teaching students the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and letters (graphemes). By providing explicit instruction on how words are constructed, students learn not only to decode (read) but also to encode (spell) words with confidence.

We are excited to see the growth and progress of our students as they work through the Sounds-Write program. It’s an exciting step in our commitment to providing the best educational experience for all our learners, setting them up for success in literacy and beyond.

Below are a few pictures from our Prep classes over the past 3 weeks.

Music News

Naomi Lindh

We have had lots of students attending their music lessons over the last couple of weeks which has been great to see! Please make sure your child knows when their lesson is, or contact your child's teacher if you do not have a copy of the timetable. Email addresses for teachers are listed below. 

This week our choral and instrumental rehearsals started. If your child is in years 2 - 6, they are welcome to join one of our choirs and come to the rehearsal next week. There is a link below to the choir letter for your child's year level. There is also a link for the music SRS form which students need to complete if they are in their first year of the instrumental or choral program. If students have been in the choir/IM program and completed these in a previous year, they do not need to complete a new form.

Please make contact with your child's instrumental teacher if they are experiencing any difficulties settling into the IM program, so their teacher can support them and assist them with any challenges they are facing, or if this happens at any stage during the year. This can help to set them up for successful engagement in and enjoyment of the IM program, until they graduate Graceville at the end of year 6. 

Thank you for supporting your child's involvement in our music program!

Music Teacher Contact Details
Mr Alex Chin - Instrumental Music Teacher - Strings - Email: achin4@eq.edu.au
Mrs Naomi Lindh - Classroom Music Teacher/Choir Conductor - Email: nclos1@eq.edu.au
Mr Tom Stewart - Instrumental Music Teacher - Band Email: tstew97@eq.edu.au

Guidance Officer

Louissa Chalk

Dear parents and caregivers,

This week I have participated in several discussions around how parents/carers can help their children to build respectful relationships within their families and within their broader communities.

As a parent or carer, you play a primary role in teaching your child to treat others with

respect, and to help them set an expectation to be treated with respect. Children and

young people need the skills to build safe and healthy relationships with their family, friends, peers, work colleagues and others across all aspects of their lives.

I have attached some information provided by Education QLD that highlights the importance of the role that parents/carers play in teaching their children about respectful relationships.  Your role and responsibility in this area is incredibly important and cannot be overstated.

Providing this information is linked to our Graceville Core Priority: Connected Community.

Any of the information contained should be viewed considering your unique family context.

I hope you find it helpful.

Kind regards,
Louissa Chalk
Guidance Officer
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuckshop

Hope everyone is settling in well after the first few weeks of the term. We’re definitely back into routine in the tuckshop (ready to give you a break from the lunch-making whenever you need it!) and looking forward to bringing some new and delicious food to our students this year.

We are excited to be introducing a new sushi supplier for the tuckshop – Big Crunch Sushi!

We’ve received our first delivery and the new menu is now available in Qkr!.

Sushi ordering will work a differently this year: the Big Crunch products that are in stock can now be found in the Sushi category in the daily 1^st Break Menu in Qkr!. We no longer have a separate sushi menu and products do not need to be ordered in advance. The items on the menu are subject to what is in stock, however, so we apologise if a product you’re after is not always available. Please let us know your favourites, so we can adjust our supplies to match demand!

** Please also note: though pre-ordering is not required, the shelf life of products means we have to ask that sushi, rice paper rolls and noodle salads are only ordered within 3 days of the day of the date they are to be received. We may not be able to provide products ordered further in advance.

The current sushi menu is shown below, and we plan to trial some of the other Big Crunch products during the year, so keep an eye out!

Chicken, Avocado & Mayo Sushi Hand Roll                          $4.00
Teriyaki Beef Sushi Hand Roll                                              $4.00
Tofu & Veggie Sushi Hand Roll                                            $4.00
Tuna & Avocado Sushi Hand Roll                                         $4.00
Avocado Sushi Mini Rolls (8)                                                $6.00
Cucumber Sushi Mini Rolls (8) (vegan)                                 $6.00
Teriyaki Chicken Sushi Mini Rolls (8)                                    $6.00
Tuna Sushi Mini Rolls (8)                                                     $6.00
Thai Beef Rice Noodle Salad                                               $8.00
Vietnamese Chicken Rice Noodle Salad                               $9.00
Wasabi Salmon Rice Noodle Salad                                      $9.00

Year 1 frozen treats

Just a reminder for our new year 1 students, that they now collect frozen treats from the tuckshop counter after the eating period of first break with all the other big kids, rather than receiving them in their tuckshop bags as they did in Prep.

Tuckshop Ordering

Ordering for Tuckshop is all done through the online platform Qkr!, either using the web portal, or the Qkr! App on your mobile device. If you haven’t used it before, you need to create a new account and add the details for each of your children before you can make purchases. Please have a look at the how-to guides below for details. 

• Orders must be placed by 8am. Classes collect the tuckshop at 10:45am and take it to the class eating areas.
• To collect frozen treats, the students need to bring their tuckshop bag showing their order to the tuckshop counter during the play period of break after 11am, except for the Prep students who will receive frozen treats in their tuckshop bags.
• Year 1-6 students and staff can also purchase a range of snacks and drinks from the tuckshop counter with cash or card during the play period, 11:00 - 11:20am. 
• The Emergency Menu is available until 11:30am daily for cases of lost or forgotten lunches or other unforeseen circumstances.
• If your child is absent you can cancel your order before 8am using the Qkr! app. After that time please call us as soon as possible and we may still be able to cancel or postpone the order (we won’t necessarily have a chance to check emails during the morning).

* Also, please feel free to get in touch and let us know of any dietary allergies or sensitivities that your child might have.

Team Tuckshop
tuckshop@gracevillepandc.org.au
Ph. 37162777 (main school office and ask for the tuckshop)

Uniform Shop

Hi everyone, welcome to week 3! 

YEAR 6 SENIOR COMMEMORATIVE SHIRTS

All Year 6 students are being given the opportunity to purchase a Commemorative Shirt to celebrate their final year of Primary School. Shirts are screen printed with class lists on the back. 

Gold polos can be purchased for $30, House shirts (for House Captains only) for $35, Long Sleeve Gold Polos for $35 and Rugby shirts can also be purchased for $35. Existing Gold Polo and Rugby shirts that are in EXCELLENT condition can also be printed i.e. no holes, pulls or stains.

Please note that House shirts will not have class lists printed on them, only House Captain.

PRINTING COSTS: 
$12 per item for Gold polo. L/Sleeve Gold polo and Rugby shirt
$15 per item for 'House Captain' printing on House shirt

ORDERS MUST BE COMPLETED BY THE 28TH OF FEBRUARY 

PLEASE NOTE – Shirts are not able to be ordered or printed after the cut-off date.
Please purchase shirts and separate printing costs found under 'Uniform Services' through our online store.

OR make an appointment on a Tuesday or Thursday to pay in person.

Should you have any queries, please contact the Uniform Store which is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 8:15 or email uniformshop@gracevillepandc.org.au  

OPENING DAYS AND TIMES FOR TERM 1

We will remain appointment only as well as having the online store for easy ordering. The appointment days are Tuesday and Thursday of each week from 8:15am – 10:00am

LINK FOR BOOKING APPOINTMENTS

ONLINE STORE

The uniform shop has an online store, so if you already know your child’s sizes you can order and pay online and it will be passed on in the classroom.

PLEASE NOTE – When buying online please add your child’s FULL NAME and CLASS in the notes section.

The online store and appointment bookings can be made via the following link -

RETURNS/REFUNDS

Please be advised that refunds will only be given if you have your receipt which will be sent to you via email or text message. Items should be in perfect condition so should not have been worn or washed and any original tags should still be attached. You have 60 days for returns and refunds.

DONATIONS

We are always grateful for donations of 2^nd hand uniforms that are in freshly washed, in saleable condition with no tears or holes. We also ask that donations are our SCHOOL BRANDED ITEMS ONLY, so no items from any outside stores. Please do not leave donations at the uniform shop when it is closed. Thank you for your generosity and understanding.

Email address for school uniform store is
uniformshop@gracevillepandc.org.au

Thanks everyone! 
Michelle 

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

We (the L.C.C) are so excited to start the year off with our Inaugural Chappy Golf Day for 2025. Get your team together and give it your best shot watching Chappy in his “happy place” at Oxley Golf Club. Finishing off this fun afternoon with family Putt Putt. Please register by clicking the attached link: https://brushfire.com/sua/golfday/596449  this is a GSS local chaplaincy committee (LCC) event. All funds raised go directly to maintaining the chaplaincy service at GSS. This event is not affiliated with the P&C.

P&C News

COLOUR EXPLOSION RUN 4 FUN 

Thursday 27 March 2025, we will be raising funds to help finish our playground upgrade project and anything additional raised will contribute towards finalising our ongoing flexible furniture project! Remember to create a profile page at www.myprofilepage.au and share your profile to family & friends to receive online donations.

Mix and Match prizes or send the donations to one of the causes available – The Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Carbon Neutral, OzHarvest, The Smith Family and Dolly’s Dream.

Become a Fundraising Monstar and receive a Monty Handball by completing all your online virtual badges! Can you receive them all?

Don't forget ! our Quick Starter Pizza Party: Class who raises most funds by 11:59pm Sunday 16th February 2025.

FAIR 2025 

Our annual fair is a much loved school and community event which is run with the assistance of our wonderful GSS families. You may have heard via your children our deadline to secure providers is looming. If your family has capacity to be involved in the pre-planning of this event we would love for them to get in touch. Please email vp@gracevillepandc.com.au

TRIVIA NIGHT 

Date, details and most importantly our 2025 THEME will be revealed in the next newsletter so please start considering your table of 10 - Watch this space! 

GSS Tennis Court Hire

It’s so easy to play Tennis at Graceville State School! We encourage you to book a court, grab a racquet and have a hit with your family and friends.

When you book a court online, we'll send you a PIN to access the court/s you have booked.

Please note: Your booking PIN code will take 30 minutes to activate after you have made your booking online. Please book at least 30 minutes prior to the time you want to access the courts.

All funds raised for the tennis court hire go back to the Graceville P&C Association who, alongside the school help to both run and maintain our newly refurbished courts!

Containers for Change

Did you know you can contribute to our fundraising efforts by donating your recyclables?!

Next P&C meeting

Our next General P&C meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 19 February 2025 at 6.30pm in the Waratah Room and online. Join us - New members welcome!

Community Notices