21 March 2025

Acting Principal

Abi Hurdley

Dear Graceville Families and Friends,

As we reach the end of week 8 of the term, it's incredible to see how much progress our students have made so far! The energy and enthusiasm in the classrooms has been contagious, with exciting learning, activities, and events taking place across all year levels. As we approach the end of the term, let’s continue to celebrate our achievements and stay focused on finishing strong!

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.

At Graceville State School, we are committed to deepening our student’s personal empowerment and embedding a nurturing environment for all. This term we have been exploring Doug Fisher’s work on belonging and student engagement. Doug Fisher is an internationally recognised educator and researcher, known for his work in the fields of student engagement and belonging. He emphasises the importance of creating learning environments where all students feel valued and supported. Fisher's research highlights how a strong sense of belonging is crucial for students’ academic success and overall well-being. By focusing on strategies that foster positive relationships, inclusivity, and active participation, he advocates for practices that engage students more deeply in their education, ensuring they are not only present but motivated and invested in their learning journey.

Doug Fisher identifies 11 key dimensions of belonging:

• Welcomed – Students feel a warm and inclusive atmosphere from the moment they enter school.
• Invited – They are encouraged to participate in learning and school activities.
• Present – Attendance and engagement in learning are valued and supported.
• Known – Teachers and peers recognize students as individuals with unique strengths and interests.
• Accepted – Differences are embraced, and all students feel safe to be themselves.
• Involved – Opportunities are provided for active participation in school life.
• Heard – Student voices and perspectives are acknowledged and respected.
• Supported – They receive the guidance and encouragement needed to succeed.
• Befriended – Positive peer relationships help create a sense of connection.
• Needed – Students feel their contributions matter in the classroom and beyond.
• Loved – A caring and compassionate environment helps students thrive.

By focusing on these dimensions, we ensure that every child at our school feels valued, connected, and engaged in their learning journey.

SPOTLIGHT IN THE CLASSROOMS

This week, I had the pleasure of visiting one of our Year 4 classrooms to explore how students would like to feel welcomed each morning. They engaged in a whole-class discussion, sharing their ideas before creating signs to display in the classroom.

Some of their welcoming ideas included giving each other—and their teacher—a fist pump, telling a joke, sharing a dance move, offering a compliment, or simply waving hello.

Students also reflected on the importance of making others feel welcome and how it impacts their sense of belonging. Here are some of their thoughts:

• "I think our ideas are important because they make everyone feel welcomed in the morning and help us believe we all belong here." – Annabel P
• "I like that we can all be welcomed and feel a sense of belonging." – Remi F
• "When we walk through the door, we know we are part of the classroom, we feel comfortable, and we’re ready to collaborate with each other." – Charlotte U

It was inspiring to see students take ownership of creating a warm and inclusive environment!

COFFEE AND CONNECT SESSIONS: CONVERSATION WITH THE GSS LEADERSHIP TEAM

This week, we held our first Coffee and Connect session. If you couldn't make it, please find the attached information that was shared. Thank you to everyone who joined us—we appreciated your participation. We look forward to welcoming more of you at our next session in Term 2 on Friday, June 20, from 9:00 am.

As we approach the final weeks of the term, it’s wonderful to see the continued enthusiasm and dedication of our students, staff, and families. With just a few weeks to go, there is still plenty to look forward to, including upcoming events, learning celebrations, and the hard work that goes into finishing the term strong. Thank you for your ongoing support in making our school a vibrant and welcoming community. Wishing everyone a productive and positive Week 9!

Graceville State School Parent and Citizens Association

At our recent P&C Annual General Meeting, we were unable to fill the executive committee positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

If the P&C cannot elect at least two officers to serve on the Executive Committee, it will enter "caretaker mode." During this period, the school will temporarily oversee P&C business until a new executive committee is formed.

I am currently seeking guidance from the Department of Education and P&C Queensland regarding the next steps, and I will keep you updated as soon as I have more information.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our 2024–25 executive committee for their dedication and support over the past year.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this period.

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

Liam Bray

Colour Explosion Run

Our annual Colour Explosion Run will take place next Thursday 27 March. We can’t wait to see all the students participating in the event and seeing who the unlucky staff will be who get ‘SLIMED’ at the end of the day. A timetable of the event will be sent out to parents early next week. It is not too late for students to get sponsors, so please support our P&C and students as best you can. Thank you to the parents who have been organising this event.

Active School Travel

The Active School Travel Program would like to welcome all parents and children back to join in our Active Travel day. Active Travel days are designated days where we ask everyone to leave the car at home and walk, park and stride, bike, use public transport, car pool or scoot to school. Can’t leave the car at home? No problem. The program has designed Active Travel maps with designated Park and Stride locations around the school. These locations allow those who are unable to walk, or roll from home, a place to safely park and walk the rest of the way into school. Just parking a street or two away and walking makes a huge difference to the general traffic and congestion around the school and helps to prepare students for learning though the physical activity of walking. Of course, our environment will thank you too. These maps will be coming home soon. This is a great resource to help you identify possible walking and wheeling paths to get to school. Spare maps will be available from the Office.

Friday is now Graceville’s designated Footloose Friday Active Travel Day. It is the day we really encourage our students and families to actively travel to school. Although you can of course actively travel to school every day!

Music News

Naomi Lindh

"Did you know that playing a musical instrument engages practically every area of the brain at once, especially the visual, motor and auditory cortices of the brain?"

Dr Anita Collins 

Watch this clip below for further information about how amazing learning music and playing a musical instrument is for your brain!

Our year 4 students have been learning to play melodies on the glockenspiel this term and will be composing and notating short melodies for the glockenspiel next term, using pentatonic notes. I am sharing this Ted - Ed clip with our year 4 students to so they can learn about how playing a musical instrument engages their brain.

We have had a great week with all of our choral and instrumental rehearsals returning to their usual schedules. Thank you for ensuring your child arrives at their rehearsal on time with their IM equipment. Please contact your child's teacher if they are experiencing any issues with their instrument so they can support your child. Regular practice or particular pieces/scales/notes can provide challenges at times which our IM teachers can help with if they are aware. 

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

Tuckshop

Volunteers

A shout out to all our lovely tuckshop volunteers over the last few tumultuous weeks, we’ve very much appreciated all the helping hands!

We’ve set up a GSS Tuckshop Volunteers WhatsApp group for communications about volunteering in the tuckshop. Whether you’re already a regular volunteer, can help on the odd occasion, or are just interested in learning more about it, please join the group using the link below or QR code, to keep in touch and get all the info about the tuckshop volunteer schedule and how you can help:

We begin morning preparation in the tuckshop from 8am each day and students from each class come to collect lunches at the beginning of first break at 10:45am. At 11am the tuckshop counter is open for students to collect pre-ordered frozen treats and buy snacks over the counter (they always love to see you there!). Even if you just have 15mins after drop-off to bag a few pretzels or make a vegemite sandwich or two, all help is very welcome during the morning food prep.

If you can’t make it into the tuckshop during the morning, you might be able to help us out with donations of food or equipment – please get in touch to find out more.

Sushi

Apologies for the changes to the availability of sushi over the last few weeks as we have been working out the teething issues around switching suppliers. Sushi is now available for delivery on Wednesdays and must be pre-ordered by 11am Tuesdays.

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 all,

Welcome to Week 8

It's almost time to wrap up our first term...crazy!

OHSC VACATION CARE GREEN TEE

We will again offer to provide the Green Tee required for vacation care. The shirts are $13 and are by special order only, so please jump onto the online store to purchase or pop by the uniform shop on a Tuesday or Thursday to pay. The shirts will arrive and be sent to the classrooms in time for the school holidays.

The last day to order is the 25^th of MARCH.

Tap on the link to purchase -

SENIORS COMMEMORATIVE SHIRTS

The wheels are in motion for the shirts to be screen printed, but unfortunately there will be a slight delay due to our supplier and screen printer having to close because of the cyclone and flooding. I was hoping to have the shirts back by Week 10 but it’s now looking like early next term.

WINTER GEAR

As the mornings are becoming cooler, I have started to sell quite a few jackets over the past week. We have an extensive range of winter items to keep your children comfy cosy throughout the winter months.

Our range includes –

Polar Fleece Jacket - super soft and super warm, front zip style and pockets
Sports Jacket - lighter weight quick dry fabric, front zip style and pockets
Rugby Jersey - long-sleeved polo shirt style in a thicker jersey fabric
Long Sleeve Gold Polo - the same fabric as our short sleeve polos
Track Pants - fully lined, quick dry fabric with pockets, elastic/draw string waist and zip at the ankle
Leisure Pants - straight leg, thick stretch fabric with elasticised waist and zip pockets

We encourage you to wear our winter range and perhaps find a bargain on our second-hand racks that are currently well stocked. Don’t delay in browsing as they always sell fast!

OUT OF STOCK

Gold Polo - size 10
Blue House shirt - size 10
Red House shirt - size 8 and 10
Sports Socks - size 5-8 and 9-12

Please note these items have all been re-ordered and will be back very shortly. 

2^nd HAND STOCK

Why not look at our 2^nd hand rack. Items start at just $5 and are always marked at 50% off or less! Pop by the store on a Tuesday or Thursday morning for a look or send me an email with what you’re after so I can help.

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 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

This Friday is our Chappy Golf Day Fundraising event held at St Lucia Golf Links. The fliers are up around the school, and we would love to see you there. For those not participating in the Ambrose golf event, there will be Putt Putt tickets available for purchase. Food and drinks are available for purchase at the club and there will be an auction held for some cool items.

This event couldn't take place without some very generous and much appreciated support.

The word integrity can get overused, but it was only fitting that this fundraising event appealed to many sponsors and donators who are known for their integrity. It was almost poetic that the calibre of sponsors, donators and participants have come together to support this golf day. We hold our chaplain, John, in high regard, and it was easy to rally support for this event. These sponsors and donators are more than small local businesses. They are high performers in their industry and major contributors to the community.

It is not lost on us the extent of support given to this event, from the Honourable Peter Dutton, Senator Jacinta Price, our city's Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, the premiership winning Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast based Supreme Coffee Roasters, Queensland and Australian Rugby League legend Darren Lockyer, Reece Plumbing, Rheem, Gordon and Luxton Butchers, Indooroopilly Fruit, Drummond Golf, Oxley Golf Complex, the Osbourne Hotel, the Plough Inn, 4 Front Accountants, Brett's Express Building and Plumbing Suppliers, CFMG Financial, Bespoke Finishes, Brisbane Rendering, Deluxe Detail, One Projects Co, Hunter and Scout, to Jimmy Rod's Barbershop.

The Graceville State School Chaplaincy Committee thanks each of these supportive businesses and look forward to gathering year on year with you, in support of our Chappy and ultimately, our children.  

Graceville State School Local Chaplaincy Committee

Guidance Officer

Louissa Chalk

 Dear Parents & Caregivers,

This week I have attached some helpful information from beyou.edu.au to encourage discussion in your family and community around self-regulation. Providing reliable information to you is linked to our Graceville Core Priority: Inclusive and Connected Community.

What is Self-Regulation?

Self-regulation is learning about your own feelings and emotions, understanding how and why they happen, recognising them (and those of others), and developing effective ways of managing them. 

When children and young people learn to self-manage their emotions, they feel more confident, capable and in control. They have stronger relationships, are more able to pay attention, learn new things and can cope better with the normal stresses and disappointments of daily life.

It is one of the most important aspects of development for all of us to practice and master.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Kind regards,
Louissa Chalk

Guidance Officer
(Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday)

Trivia

Announcing the Graceville State School Television Trivia Night! 

Finally, all those years of "study" will pay off! For our new families to GSS, who may not be familiar with Trivia Night - it is one of our biggest fundraising events of the year and a lot of fun. As the only event for the adults, it’s a cracking night not to be missed! Your group will be asked to choose a theme (a TV show) and dress up and decorate your table accordingly. You can go all out, or keep it casual, but the best dressed and decorated table will win some great prizes (and bragging rights!). It is a great way to meet new people, have a fun night out and get involved in a kid free zone. If you’d like to attend but aren’t quite able to make the numbers to put a table together, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can help you out. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday 2nd April at 8pm so choose a team captain who will be prepared to jump on Qkr! quickly to secure your team table, as tickets are strictly limited. 

Funds raised from the trivia night will go towards our exciting new playground upgrade project, with any surplus put towards the ongoing flexible furniture project.  

Huge thanks to our major sponsor Ray White Sherwood. 

Carrie and Anna Trivia Convenors 2025

Tennis

EASTER SCHOOL HOLIDAY TENNIS COACHING CLINICS

Enrolments are now open for the Easter School Holiday Tennis Clinics as well as special discounted holiday private coaching sessions. 

Positions are available for all school students between the ages of 4-15 years but please note timings will differ depending upon your child's age and experience.  Children from all schools are invited to attend any clinic.

For further details or to enrol, please click this link https://tennisforkids.com.au/holiday-programs/programs/

School Plus