11 February 2016

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

We had some great news on Friday. Our Day 8 numbers allowed us to maintain 31 classes! We are very happy and can now start planning for the year ahead.

We held a Whole School Assembly last Thursday to explain two new awards (Curiouser and Curiouser and Random Acts of Kindness) to the children. Unfortunately we experienced every technical difficulty you could imagine during the assembly but managed through some quick thinking and improvisation to get the message across. It was lovely to see so many parents and friends at the assembly. We hope parents and friends will continue to come along and support the children. I look forward to handing out our first Curiouser and Curiouser award and Random Acts of Kindness awards next Thursday.

The teachers and I worked back late on Monday night to further progress our understanding of an element of Powerful Learning. This year our teachers will focus on improving the learning intentions and success criteria of our lessons. We will also refine our skills in connecting feedback (teacher to student, student to teacher and student to teacher) directly to the learning intention and success criteria of the of the lesson. From week 5, our Year 1-6 teachers will participate in learning 'Triads', observing each other teach and providing feedback on using learning intentions, success criteria and feedback in Active Comprehension Reading lessons.

The P&C meeting has been set for Wednesday 24 February. All parents are welcome to attend the P&C meeting. It is likely we will hold a Parent Information Session on Curiosity and Powerful Learning prior to the P&C meeting. Lock the date in your diary if you are interested! I will confirm the details exact details next week.

The school offers many services which have been supported by the P&C. School Banking is one service the school offers which requires parent volunteer support to continue operating. The P&C and school are looking for a willing volunteer/s to take on the student banking role. Please contact the P&C if you can help. If we are cannot find a volunteer, we will be unable to continue banking.

By the end of this week we will send home the Voluntary Contribution form for the year. This year the contributions will go towards resourcing to support Inquiry based teaching and learning as part of Curiosity and Powerful Learning. The teachers are trialling their first Inquiry units with classes this term. We have had great feedback so far from the children and teachers who are finding the use of Inquiry learning in History and Science much more engaging! We have organised for a world renowned expert on Inquiry learning to work with our teachers in May. The teachers have agreed to work on a Saturday so we can access this professional learning at a reduced cost. I hope you can support us in resourcing our Inquiry learning units by choosing to pay into the Voluntary Contribution Scheme this year. The costs are $60 a child or $115 for a family of two or more.

We would like to remind parents and carers, fees for excursions/incursions, camps, sport etc. must be paid by the due date this year. If a child has not paid, the child will not be able to attend. We gave a period of grace in the first few weeks to due to the short timeframes for payment. Now the term is well underway, all fees need to be paid by the due date for your child to participate. If you experience any financial difficulties in paying for excursions/camps by the due dates please contact the office and we will work out an arrangement so that your child does not miss out.

Finally, please remember the office closes at 3.30pm. All children need to be picked up as soon as possible after school. If you know you will be later than 3pm, please ring the office.

I hope you have a great week.

Newsletter Articles

From the Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Students in our Prep to year 2 classes have settled in to school routines and life for this year, these early days are busy and exhausting as new people are met, friends made and learning has begun. Please discuss any concerns with your class teacher and ask questions, I am also happy to speak with parents about any concerns as these spoken about and asked about early usually quickly get resolved and don’t become huge issues.

Mathletics for 2016

We will shortly commence the Mathletics program for this year. It is an online Mathematics program that is individually based and one that students can access at home as well as at school for all students in year 1 to year 6. The cost for Mathletics is $12 per student for the year and a letter of offer will be coming home very soon. Your class teacher can inform you more fully about Mathletics and how your class will be using the program this year. Each student will then receive their own personal log on and password to access the program for both at school and at home.

Junior Assemblies

Parents and care givers are all invited to join us for Junior Assemblies on every second Tuesday afternoon from 2.15 in the hall.

Below is the calendar for term 1 assemblies.

From the Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

Swimming has commenced for Years 1-3 this week. It is great to see the younger children getting benefit from our lovely cool pool as well as learning skills to be able to become competent swimmers. Years 4-6 started last week and they have their lessons with Mr Daunt.

Religious Instruction

Religious instruction (RI) is offered at the school and is conducted on Friday mornings. RI will commence this Friday 12th February. Religious Instruction will be in year level classrooms this year.

*Semester: 1 Years 1, 2 & 6
*Semester: 2 Years 3, 4 & 5

At Graceville we operate a Co-operative program which is for students who have a Christian religion nominated on enrolment. This program is authorized to operate in the school by the Principal. For more information please have a look at the ‘Connect’ website:

The Bahá’í faith group offer classes based on the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Baha’i Faith. The lessons are focused on the central principles of the Bahá’í Faith. To find out more about the Bahai Faith go to

If your child is Bahai faith, more information about when that is commencing will be forwarded to you.

Parents of child/ren participating in these programs will be advised about funds to cover the expense of materials used in RI. This will be sent in the form of Student Resource scheme payment.

Students are allocated to RI based on information provided by parents on the completed Application for Student Enrolment unless other written instructions have been provided to the school.

Note: This information remains operational unless the parent informs the school otherwise in writing.

Students who are not participating in RI will be provided with other instruction in a separate supervised location. Other instruction must relate to part of a subject area already covered in class and may include, but is not restricted to:

• personal research and/or assignments
• revision of class work such as creative writing or literacy and/or numeracy activities which could include online programs currently accessed by the students of that school (i.e. Mathletics, Reading Eggs)
• wider reading such as independent reading appropriate to the student

Parents will be advised of any changes to the RI and other instruction programs to ensure they are able to make an informed decision on their child’s participation.

University of New South Wales competitions

Every year our school participates in the UNSW competitions. These are open to Years 2-6. The competitions we participate in are:

• Digital Technologies 17 May Yrs. 3-6
• Science 31 May Yrs. 2-6
• Writing 14 June Yrs. 3-6
• Spelling 15 June Yrs. 2-6
• English 2 August Yrs. 2-6
• Mathematics 16 August Yrs. 2-6

Any students in Years 2 & 4 who want to apply for entry into the Enhancement classes for Years 3 & 5 for 2017 are required to sit the English, Maths and Science competitions to be eligible.

A letter will come home in the next couple of weeks to families wishing to enter their students in any or all of the competitions. All entries will need to be finalised by Friday 18th March. Payments for all competitions will be included in the Term 2 statement. Payment will be based on entries submitted at the end of Term 1 and are pre-paid, with no option of refunds or credits if your child is absent on the day. No entries will be taken after the Easter holidays.

Money Matters

Roberta Haryicki

Thank you for your payments of excursions to date.

Staff will be advised of any families with accounts in arrears from 2015 and prior.

Should this be your situation (as per posted letter) your child will not be included in any of 2016 activities until the account is paid in full.

All excursions and events require payment and a permission form to be returned by the due date or your child will not be permitted to attend.

Student Resource Schemes (SRS) for 2016 are:

• Prep Requirements ($60)
• Instrumental Music Programs – Instrument Hire ($100), Percussion Maintenance ($50), Music Participation ($30) & Choir ($30)
• Religious Education Program ($10)
• Mathletics On-line registration (Years 1 - 6)

All students involved in these programs must return a completed SRS form.

VOLUNTARY PARENT CONTRIBUTIONS

Your valuable contribution to this school’s Learning Targets are most welcomed.

$60 single student family and $115 for 2 or more in family.

Credit in Account: Credits from 2015 rolled over to this year can be applied to current invoices at the parent’s request.

Request for Refund form for an excursion paid and not attended is available from the front office. Prepaid ticketing excursions are non-refundable.

Payment of account days:

8am-3.15pm - Monday to Wednesday
8am-12pm - Thursday and Friday

BPoint is the preferred method of payment; Eftpos, Debit Cards: Visa/Mastercard, cheque or cash payments are accepted.

BPOINT User Information

For payment of multiple items on your statement/invoice, you will need to do a separate entry for each item, entering the invoice number and the corresponding payment amount for that item only e.g.

Separate Entries for each line must be done to ensure the payment is allocated to the correct Excursion/Resource Fee.

BPOINT payments must be processed in time to clear (usually 2-3 business days) before the Due Date for payment.

LIBRARY News

Melanie Hutchinson

This week, our library is getting into the Valentine’s Day spirit with many students going on a Blind date with a Book.

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover! So the library is trying to play matchmaker. Each blind date book has been wrapped in ‘oh so secretive’ brown paper and students won’t know the ‘identity’ of their blind book date until they get home. Will it be fiction or non-fiction? Funny, informative, an adventure or a mystery?

With each book is a 'Rate your Date' slip – students simply say what they liked (or didn’t like) about their book date (don’t worry you won't hurt our, or its, feelings!), then return it to the library along with the book.

We’re hoping this will be a great way for students to experience new authors and/or new genres. Some students will be out of their comfort zone and will hopefully read something they may not normally borrow from the library.

More importantly we hope students might find that right book that will make them fall in love with reading all over again!

Music News

Naomi Lindh

All of our instrumental music (IM) lessons are now underway and we are using a fixed timetable for all lessons (rather than rotating) which means students will all have the same time each week for their lesson, to avoid clashes with specialist lessons. Timetables were given out last week, but if your child is unsure of their time please send me an email and I will forward a copy of the timetable to you (nclos1@eq.edu.au). Ensembles are also an essential part of the IM program so all continuing students should ensure they are attending their rehearsal each week (listed below), and please note that beginner/junior ensemble rehearsals will begin next term.

Our choir rehearsals have started and we have welcomed many keen singers to rehearsals this week as well as new choir members. If your child did not attend last week but would like to join they are welcome to come to the rehearsal next week. The choir rehearsal schedule is listed below.

Please assist your child to be prepared for their lesson and rehearsal, particularly while they are getting used to a different routine. It is important that students bring their instrument, music and folder to rehearsals and arrive at the stated time. We appreciate your assistance and support with this process.

Music Rehearsals for 2016 (Please note that Junior Band will begin rehearsing on Thursday mornings at 7:30am in term 2 with Mr Alex Grodecki and Beginner/Junior Strings will also begin rehearsals next term during the lunch break on Thursdays with Mrs Prout)

Tuesday 7:45am Senior Choir - Ms Julie West - music room
Wednesday 7:45am Senior Strings - Mrs Ruth Prout - music room
Wednesday 3-4pm Senior Band - Mr Steve Stiller - music room
Thursday 7:45am Year 3 Choir - Mrs Naomi Lindh - music room
Friday 8:00am Year 2 Choir - Mrs Naomi Lindh - music room

All of our instrumental lessons will take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays this year.

We hope our students have enjoyed returning to or beginning music lessons and rehearsals this week.

Active School Travel

TACO TUESDAY!

(Travel Actively Coming-to-school On)

The Active School Travel Program would like to welcome all the new parents and children to the school and invite you to join in our Active Travel days. Active Travel days are designated days where we ask everyone to leave the car at home and walk, bike 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.

The program was introduced to the school in 2012 and Graceville was officially named an Active Travel School in 2013. In our first year of the program Graceville was awarded runner up for Active Travel School of the year, and a nominee for School of Excellence in 2014 and 2015. The program’s continued success depends on the support from the parents and teachers of the school. As a parent, you are the most influential person in your child's life. They form their behaviour based on the activities that you encourage them to participate in. Introducing lifestyle exercise, like walking and biking to school every day will contribute to your child’s daily activity and help form behaviours that will extend well into their adult years.

Tuesday is Graceville’s designated Active Travel Day (TACO Tuesday), as parents of new prep students, Active Travel will become part of your everyday routine and the program would like to invite you to get involved by volunteering to organise a walking school bus for your classroom. Walking school buses are an easy way to participate in the program, meet new people and help reduce traffic around the school. They work just like a carpool but without the car. Parents organise a meeting point, like at one of the Park and Stride locations, and take turns volunteering to walk their classroom to school on Active Travel Days.

As part of the program, your child will receive-

• Passport Book to be stamped on Active Travel Days (keep this in your child’s book bag, as the program offers surprise stamp days)
• Awards when they reach 6, 14, 24 and 36 stamps
• Active Travel Map, with designated Park and Stride locations around the school
• Education on how to safely travel to school
• Weekly and monthly classroom competitions

And here are just a few benefits of walking to school every day-

• Reduced traffic around the school
• Walking is one of the best exercises to build strong, healthy bones
• Helps reduce anxiety
• Improves sleep quality
• Improves cognitive performance at school

Our first Active Travel date for 2016 will be Tuesday 16th of February. You will find our very helpful student council at the stamping station near the school hall.

If you have a few spare hours a month to help us run this fantastic program we are looking for volunteers to join our Active Travel Committee. We meet once a term and plan one key event a term. Two parents currently run this committee with two staff members so we are in much need of additional support. Can you help? Please contact Jo Richards at sajrichards@iinet.net.au for more information. Alternatively please join us for our next meeting oat the Waratah room (see the newsletter for dates).

P & C News

Upcoming Events

• First P&C meeting for 2016 - Wednesday 24th February, 7.30pm
• The AGM (Annual General Meeting) - Wednesday 23rd March - 7.30pm
• P&C Welcome BBQ – 26th February 3pm under Q Block
• Trivia Night - 4th June – The Hall

P&C meeting - Wednesday 24th February 7.30pm

The first P&C meeting for the year will be held on Wednesday the 24th of February, in the Acacia Room, near the corner of Acacia and Oxley Roads.

This meeting will give the current P&C members a chance to be updated on all the events happening within our school and the greater Graceville community before our AGM in March.

As with all P&C's across the state, the AGM is an opportune time for those parents wanting to play a part in contributing towards the P&C by simply becoming a member. The P&C is formed by parents and volunteers within our school community who act on your behalf as the voice between the greater school community and the Qld Education department. It's imperative we keep working towards improving the great school we currently have as it would be a shame if this engagement was left to only a handful of people to carry the flag so to speak. If that was the case the funds we raise through activities/initiatives will stall as we won't meet membership numbers to approve expenditure etc.

We truly have a wonderful school and school community and it would be a shame if we couldn't all play a part, however small it may be, to maintain the momentum generated towards improving our time at Graceville SS.

All are welcome to attend.

P&C Annual General Meeting

Annual General Meeting - 23rd March - 7.30pm

Each year as part of our constitution the P&C is required to conduct an Annual General Meeting. This is when the current P&C Executive and its membership are dissolved and a new Executive elected.

All current members are required to renew their memberships by completing a new membership registration form for 2016. These forms will be available next week or you can pick one up and our next general meeting on the 24th Feb.

More information will be provided in the following weeks for you about how you can possibly play a part in supporting the P&C.

The School Directory

The School Directory is currently being compiled. A template of this year’s School Directory will be emailed to the Class Reps, who will then ask the parents or carers of class members to make changes to their details as appropriate.

The School Directory is a useful document for parents and carers to contact other class members for social catch-ups or playdates or coffee mornings. If you do not wish to be part of the directory, this is also an option. Your child’s name will just appear as a first name and surname initial with no details. Please see example below for a name with details and one without:

First Name - Surname - Phone no.

Lucy Ball 0800 456 788
Desi A -

We don’t publish email addresses in the school directory however we do use them for our class rep network so please fill in your full details on the class information sheet (available at class information sessions)

P&C Welcome BBQ

Each year we have new families join our wonderful school community and to be quite honest, it can be a little overwhelming to know who to reach out to and know who's who in the school. To help with this transition the P&C will be putting on a Welcome BBQ Sausage Sizzle at 3pm on the 26th Feb. This is a chance for you to meet your P&C Executive, some of our wonderful volunteers, and several members of our school community.

The BBQ will be under the new building close to the oval (Q Block) and we'll be serving the kids a sausage on bread, so please come along and say hello.

Volunteers

GSS has always prided itself on the support it receives from its parent body and the wider community. Many programs and activities that benefit our children would not be possible without the wonderful volunteer groups within GSS. So… decide which is for you and if at all possible join in with the many and varied areas within the school that need your help. Examples are: tuckshop, uniform shop, Contact Club, reading groups, Spellathon, Trivia Night, Parents Party, Sports Day, Active School Travel, School Banking and the Fete.

Of course the P&C is always looking for new members. If you are interested in being a part of this great school, please contact the P&C or speak to your classroom teacher to see how you can help. It’s our children who will benefit!!!!!

Tuckshop News

A huge thank you for the co-operation with getting online to order Tuckshop last Friday.

We had 109 online orders and only 20 counter or "paper bag" orders! This is a huge achievement when you consider we can have anywhere between 50-80 counter orders on a Friday. Well done. Keep up the wonderful work and we sincerely appreciate your continued support in this area.

Volunteers for Week Commencing Monday, 15 February

Mon 15/2. - Alex Morgan
Tues 16/2. - Kelley Steen and Fabri Kramer
Wed 17/2. - Sasha Griggs and Rebecca Sinfield
Thurs 18/2. - Kathy McPhie and Liz Sbeghen
Fri 19/2. - Donna Jones and Rowanne Wright and Lynn Griffiths and Monica Kim

Friday, 19 February.

Don't forget this date as it will the last day for counter or paper bag orders, apart from cases of genuine emergency. From Monday, 22 February we are going to be a totally online Tuckshop.

If you haven't already done so, to set yourself up, log onto:

and follow the instructions. It is super easy.

Graceville State School's registration ID is 25314963

Should you wish to use them you can use access the School24 User Guide and Registration Guide via the school website. The links below:

Of course if you are having any difficulties, please give either of us a shout or come and see us at the Tuckshop. We'll get you sorted.

Anne and Amanda
tuckshop.gss@gmail.com.au

Uniforms & Stationery

If you had not ordered your child's Stars Plus Textbook online through Brodies (all years except Prep and Year 1) you need to purchase it now through the uniform store. The books have been delivered directly to the school for all students and will be sent to the classroom when paid. An order form is attached.

If someone wants to buy 2 x size 10 100% cotton gold shirts, I have two available.

A form regarding the printing of Year 6 Commemorative Shirts has been sent to the classrooms. Check the school bag or alternatively, the documents are attached.

We sell swim bags, silicon and fabric caps, quick dry towels and a limited selection of goggles and short sleeve rashies (size 16 blue).

The last remaining school cookbooks are in stock $10 each.

Donations of 2nd hand uniforms are always appreciated, especially at this time of year. 2nd hand uniforms are available for sale all year round.

Order forms are available on the School website. If you email the order, the items will be sent to the classroom.

Email address for school uniform store is:

uniformstore@gracevilss.eq.edu.au

Community Sport Notices

Western Suburbs Cricket Club

The cricket season is upon us and we want new girls and boys involved. There is something for everyone.

Western Suburbs Cricket Club

Venue: Chelmer Oval, Oxley Rd, Chelmer
Time: 6:15pm-7:45pm Friday nights (8 weeks) – Come and Try for FREE on your first session
Ages: Boys & Girls aged 8-12yrs
Cost: $125 – inclusive of a Brisbane Heat give away pack
Register: Register at playcricket.com.au and search your postcode
Contact: John Butterworth on 0437 865 026 or johnb@qldcricket.com.au

Under 12's All Girls Soccer

If there are any 11 year old girls who would like to play in the under 12's all girls soccer team, please contact the Taringa Rovers Football Club. We are looking for a few more girls to join our team. Training has now started so it's the perfect time to join the team for this season. Please contact the Juniors co-ordinator on 0412 085 388 or email juniordoc@taringarovers.com

Community Notices

Queensland Academies Creative Industries Campus