15 April 2016

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

This is a very long term, 11 weeks! The term includes two public holidays, ANZAC Day on 25 April and Labour Day on 2 May. We are hoping to have a good turnout of Graceville State School students at the ANZAC Day march and ceremony again this year. If you would like your child to attend please make sure they wear school uniform, have a hat and water bottle. I will try and organise some more shade for our school this year. I will confirm start times and the meeting point in next week’s newsletter.

We are very excited as we continue our Curiosity and Powerful Learning work. This term teachers will continue to explore with Kath Murdoch’s model of an Inquiry Approach to Learning and continue to build consistently in the school in the use of Learning Intentions, Success Criteria and connecting feedback to data. We also have a professional development day for our teachers with Kath Murdoch on Saturday 25 May. It will be very exciting to learn with Kath!

We would greatly appreciate families making the school aware of student absences as early as possible on the day of the absence. The school will be starting a new process whereby we track unexplained absences of students. We hope to have an automated system to do this by next year.

I would like to remind parents that our Whole School Assemblies take place in even weeks on a Thursday. The first assembly will be held on 21 April. We would love to see you there!

I am off to Camp Good Enough on Thursday to spend some time with our Year 6 students. I enjoy school camps and am looking forward to seeing the children as they engage in their activities.

Finally, parents and friends are also welcome to attend our school based ANZAC ceremony. The ceremony will be held at 10.15am on Friday 22 April.

Have a great week.

Newsletter Articles

From the Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

ANZAC Day Service: Friday April 22

Our school ANZAC Day ceremony will take place at 10.15 in our school hall and families and friends are welcome to attend this special occasion.

Waiting List for Prep for 2017 is now open

The waiting list for 2017 is now open. Please let any interested people know that forms and information can be obtained from our school office. Families from within our catchment area we also invite you to obtain enrolment forms to begin the process when convenient after the start of term 2. For in catchment families a birth certificate and proof of residency in our catchment is required along with the completed enrolment form.

Date Claimer: Prep Information Evening - Wednesday July 27 at 7pm.

Graceville State School recognises as its prime obligation the provision of access to an appropriate educational service for students resident within this community as defined by its local catchment area.

Please visit the following link which details our school enrolment management plan and also provides a link to the catchment area for Graceville State School:

This site also outlines the process for placing your child’s name on our waiting list if you reside outside of our catchment area.

Below is the calendar for term 2 assemblies.

Study Tour Proposal – From Future Heir School in Taiwan to Graceville State School

Our school has again been approached by Education Queensland International to host a Study Tour of approx. 20 students from Taiwan at the beginning of August. Graceville has hosted a study tour from the same school last year and before that from ChingShin School during 2010. Our school made a return visit to Chingshin, Taiwan in September 2012. We would be looking to organise a possible tour of our own again to Taiwan in 2017.

All experiences have been wonderful for our staff and students as two very different cultures met and while our students had greater exposure to native Mandarin speakers the students from Taiwan were immersed in the English language daily here in Australia. I can certainly say that the trip to Taiwan was unforgettable for our 17 students who went and some have formed lasting friendships with their host families in Taiwan.

In order for Graceville to be able to host these students, we need to provide homestay accommodation. You may have more than one student if desired with most students preferring to stay with another student.

A homestay family must provide:

• A bed – own bedroom is desirable but not necessary
• All meals – send lunch each day, if your child has tuckshop, then provide homestay student with tuckshop also
• Travel to and from school

Each Saturday, the students will go on an all-day excursion so must also be dropped at school at 9:00am and picked up at approximately 5pm (this is negotiable if your family was to go away for the weekend).

We cannot undertake this study tour without the support of our school families. Students from Taiwan will be 10-12 years of age. School families with younger children can be a homestay family as all students will be assigned a school buddy as well. Could you please indicate on the form attached if you would be interested in hosting a student for this upcoming study tour. Please return the form to the admin office ASAP or email me at mhass10@eq.edu.au I will arrange an information session for all families who indicate interest to go through in detail what would be involved.

There are many benefits in participating in a study tour including:

• Our students get to experience other cultures
• Friendships are formed which last for many years
• Learning is enriched for all students
• Students enjoy sharing their daily lives with students from another country
• The school benefits financially.

If there are any questions that you may have about being a homestay family please email me or call the office to speak with me.

I look forward to hearing from interested families.

From the Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

Brisbane City Council is pleased to advise works on the Honour Avenue, Graceville Suburban Centre Improvement Project (SCIP) are progressing well and are anticipated to be completed mid-2016, weather permitting. For information regarding updates and car parking changes please refer to the following attachments.

Money Matters

Roberta Haryicki

Welcome to Term 2. Family statement distribution is aimed for the end of this week.

Your attention to your child’s permission form and payment returns will ensure your child’s attendance.

Please note: UNSW competitions have been added to your child’s account. These should be reflected on the statement.

Voluntary Parent Contributions

Still collecting your valuable contribution to this school’s learning journey.

$60 single student family and $115 for 2 or more in family. Please refer to the Principal’s letter and information sheet.

Credit in Account: All credits in family accounts may be used with current invoices at the parent’s request. BPoint payments over the invoiced amount will be added as a credit balance.

Request for Refund form for an excursion paid and not attended is available from the front office. Prepaid ticketing excursions and prepaid competition entries 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.

Sports News

Wayne Daunt

The school cross country will be held next Tuesday in the Graceville Memorial Park. The event is open to all children from our Prep classes through to the Year 6 students.

The children from Year 4 upwards (born 2006 and earlier) can choose to compete in a cross country event run over 2km (10 yrs.) or 3km (11 & 12 yrs.) or a fun run event (1km). The approximate times for each event are listed below. Please note these times are approximates only and are to be used only as a guide, events could be several minutes earlier or later depending on the organisation on the day.

SESSION 1

9.10am 12 yrs. Boys & Girls 3km Cross country
9.20am 11yrs Boys & Girls 3km Cross Country
9.35am 10yrs Boys & Girls 2km Cross Country
9.45am Year 4 Boys 1km Cross Country
9.55am Year 4 Girls 1km Cross Country
10.05am Yr 6 1km Fun Run Boys
10.15am Yr 6 1km Fun Run Girls
10.25am Yr 5 1km Fun Run Boys
10.30am Yr 5 1km Fun Run Girls

SESSION 2

1.30pm Yr 3 Boys 1km Cross Country
1.40pm Yr 3 Girls 1km Cross Country
2.00pm Yr 2 Boys 500m Cross Country
2.10pm Yr 2 Girls 500m Cross Country
2.15pm Yr 1 Boys 500m Cross Country
2.20pm Yr 1 Girls 500m Cross Country
2.25pm Prep Boys Cross Country
2.30pm Prep Girls Cross Country

Spellathon

Thanks to everyone who has already returned their Spellathon forms and money to the school office. Don’t worry if you haven’t had a chance to do it yet, there is still time! Please remember that to be eligible for prizes the sponsorship forms and all monies raised are due back to the school office by 3pm on Monday 18 April. Don’t be late as no extensions can be granted. If you cannot find your envelope or form please find a copy linked to this newsletter.

Don’t forget to come along to the Spellathon Presentation Assembly that will be held on Thursday 28 April at 2.15pm to see all the prizes awarded. There will be a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th prize awarded for each year level based on sponsorship collected. Also, all students who got all their words correct or completed all their skills correctly will be put into the draw for an exciting prize (two prizes for each year level). As well as these individual prizes, there will be whole class prizes. For each year level, every child in the class that raises the most money will receive a small prize. We thank everyone for supporting this year’s Spellathon. No matter how small a contribution your child makes it will be helping to make the 2016 Spellathon a great success.

Our sponsors for 2016 are Peter May and Brad Robson from Place Real Estate, Oxley Rd Discount Drug Store and Graceville Bike Company.

If you need help buying or selling your home, Peter & Brad from Place are the ones to help you. Please contact Peter on 0409543546 or Brad on 0414773437.

For all your pharmacy needs go to Oxley Road Discount Drug Store where you get more than just low prices. They are located right next to the Post Office.

To find Brisbane’s friendliest bike shop with expertise in road, racing, touring, commuter, mountain and kids’ bikes go to Graceville Bike Company on Honour Ave. Tele: 3379 7464.

We thank our sponsors for their support of our school and ask that you support them with your business.

If you have any queries please get in touch by emailing: gracevillespellathon@gmail.com

The Spellathon Committee

Proudly sponsored by:

Library News

Melanie Hutchinson

GSS READERS’ CUP 2016

On Thursday 24th March, 24 enthusiastic teams of Year 5 & 6 students participated in the GSS Readers’ Cup. Each team read five stories before the day and were quizzed on their knowledge of these books. They were also quizzed on their knowledge of books and reading in general.

At the end of four challenging rounds, INTELL COPS: Isla, Sachiko, Vienna, Sophia, Sophie, Arabella and Tara were the winners of the GSS READERS CUP trophy; with THE BOOK TROLLS team: Patrick, Lucy, Liam, Amy, Felicity, Yangyang coming in Second. Successfully coming Third by one point were THE GRIM READERS: Max, Hansa, Jo, Reuben, David, Joshua.

Congratulations to the INTELL COPS team who were gracious winners and will now have their team name engraved upon the Readers’ Cup trophy. Congratulations also to the other teams who participated in the spirit of the day and walked away with some fabulous prizes. It was just fantastic! A special thanks to Mrs Davey, Ms O’Brien, Mr Guthrie, Ms McKillop, Mrs Hickey and Mrs Ling for being our judges for the competition. We look forward to holding a Readers’ Cup again in 2017.

Scholastic Book Club

Issue 3 Book Club catalogues have been sent home this week. Orders will close after the ANZAC day holiday on Tuesday, 26 April.

Thank you for using our preferred payment option – LOOP – Linked Online Ordering and Payment available on www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP or download the LOOP Apple or Android app.

No Cash Orders Please – we are running a Cashless Book Club. There is a box in the library for paper orders with a cheque made to Scholastic Australia.

Call for help: Are there are any parents who would like to assist in sorting the books when they are sent to the school? It only takes a couple of hours twice a term and it is enormously fulfilling knowing the kids are going to love receiving their new books. Please get in contact with vanessa_neilsen@hotmail.com if you are keen to help.

Music News

Naomi Lindh

Welcome to the new term! We hope you all had an enjoyable break. This term our students in the Junior Band and Beginner/Junior Strings will be beginning their rehearsals. We hope they enjoy performing in an ensemble! Please assist your child to be organised for their lessons/rehearsals as we begin a new term. It is important that all students attend regularly for their own skill development as well as the ensemble/choir. If any students would like to join the choir this term they are welcome to attend the next rehearsal. Please contact your child's conductor if they are unable to attend a rehearsal or having any issues with their instrument.

Music Rehearsals Term 2

Tuesday 7:45am Senior Choir
Wednesday 7:45am Senior Strings
Wednesday 3-4pm Senior Band
Thursday 7:30am Junior Band - beginning in term 2, week 1 - with Mr Alex Grodecki (agrod3@eq.edu.au)
Thursday 7:45am Year 3 Choir - Warratah Room
Thursday 12:45pm Beginner/Junior Strings - beginning in term 2, week 1 - with Mrs Ruth Prout (rprou5@eq.edu.au)
Friday 8:00am Year 2 Choir - Mrs Naomi Lindh - music room

We look forward to seeing students at lessons and rehearsals this week!

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

Welcome back!

It has been exciting listening to students share some of their holiday tales and it sounds like many families made the most of the fine school holiday weather. It is wonderful to be back and getting stuck into what should be an awesome second term.

Year six camp kicks off the term for our senior students and we hope the year six teachers were well-rested over their time off. They may need lots of energy over the three days of camp. It will be a blast!

Despite nearing the middle of April, there have been very few signs of the cooler change. With the school cross country next Tuesday, we are hoping for a little respite from the 30+ days. Cross country is often an inspiring day to be involved in, with many excellent performances and some wonderful sportsmanship on display. If you can make it on the day, to cheer on our competitors, I encourage you to do so. I would like to extend a thank you to Mr Daunt, our PE teacher for making himself available to train students before school, twice a week, as preparation for this event. I would also like to acknowledge the great turnout on these mornings from some very enthusiastic students. Well done all!

Have a great week!

Active School Travel

TACO TUESDAY!

(Travel Actively Coming-to-school On)

Welcome back! We hope that you all had a safe and enjoyable school holiday. Remember to watch your speed when driving in the school zones and also to look at the signage (and observe the YELLOW LINES) around the school when using the drop off zones. By using the zones properly you are assisting in the flow of traffic around the school and also assisting our wonderful Lolly Pop Men to keep the crossing a safe place for the students and families that actively travel each day.

Two minute zones / parking

Please be conscious of the parking regulations, especially the 2-minute zones on both sides of our school. These zones only allow you to ‘sit’ in the queue for a maximum of 2 minutes. You are not permitted to get out of your car or leave your car. If you need to get out of your car please find a suitable parking spot away from the 2-minute zones. If you are a Prep parent then you are required to go to the classroom to pick up your child so you should not be using the 2-minute zones.

If your child/ren is not there ready you are obliged to leave, do the block & re-join the queue. You must be conscious of not queuing and blocking off traffic. On Acacia Avenue it is illegal to queue in the right hand lane & block the road for other motorists. I realise this only allows for a small number of cars, but it is a road rule for the safety of all motorists.

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, and these behaviours are likely to extend well into their adult years.

May the fourth be with you!!!!!

Our next event will be on Wednesday 4th May. Get dressed up as your favourite Star Wars character and walk to school. Those who took part in last years “may the fourth” walk will remember what fun it was and all the great costumes that the students (parents and teachers) wore on the day. We will have some designated meeting spots that morning so that you can walk in a group. More information regarding the time and locations will follow in the newsletter. There will be prizes for the best costumes on the day.

Here are just a few of last year’s fantastic costumes!

Additional Stamping Station

There is an additional stamping station located at the gate between after school care and the music block, so that those active travellers who enter from Park Road can get their passports stamped without having to come up to the quadrangle. Thank you to our students who do all the stamping on Tuesdays!

Did you know that the Graceville Bike Company proudly supports the GSS Active Travel Program? They are offering the following to the families of Graceville State School:

• 15% off all kids’ accessories (not including bikes)
• 5% off all kids’ bikes

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. Please contact Jo Richards at sajrichards@iinet.net.au for more information. Our next meeting will be on the 21st April 2016, at 10:45am in the Waratah Room.

P and C News

AGM

The Annual General meeting was held on the last Wednesday of Term 1. After 5 years as President, Derek Brown has taken a VP role and Chris Hansen is the new P&C President. A massive thank you to Derek for his outstanding contribution to the school over so many years. Executive members are as follows:

President – Chris Hansen
Vice-President – Derek Brown
Vice-President – Caroline Dunne
Secretary – Leanne Gordon
Treasurer – Kieran Olsen

All members of our school community are welcome to attend our next meeting Wednesday 4 May at 7.30pm in the Waratah Room (which is beside the staff room in the main reception block).

CLASS REPS

Thank you to our parents who have volunteered to be class reps this year. We are about to commence our P&C communication this year through our Class Reps Network. Please support your class rep as they assist in the work of the P&C. Everyone’s contribution is certainly very welcome.

FETE

The fete committee is looking for new members also a new Fete Convenor. After 11 years working with the fete Kathy Whitefield is leaving the school this year. Please consider how you would like to assist as many hands do make light work. Please email us if you can help.

TUCKSHOP

The tuckshop is run by the P&C and our excellent convenors are looking for help. Any mornings that you can spare, (even once or twice a term) would be very welcome. Please see/call Anne and Amanda in the tuckshop if you can help.

CONTACT CLUB

The contact club meets on a Wednesday morning once a month in the library after drop-off. New resources have to be covered before being placed in the library and the contact club is a service provided by the school community to assist. It also happens to be a great social couple of hours!

Next Contact Club is Wednesday 4 May.

SCHOOL BANKING

School banking has started again for 2016! Thanks to Julie for taking on the role as coordinator. Banking day is now MONDAY. If you have an hour or two to spare on a Monday morning, Julie would appreciate help in the hall.

School Banking

School Banking is every Monday

• Place your money into your yellow Banking Wallet, complete your deposit slip (leave student no. blank the 1st time) and place the wallet into the Grey Banking Satchel in the classroom on Monday morning.
• We will keep a record of your Deposits.
• Once 10 tokens have been recorded we will issue a reward coupon to redeem a reward. Reward cards will be issued at school in 2016.

• Branches do not have access to tokens or rewards.
• The School Banking program rewards individual saving. Minimum 5cent Deposit
• School Banking is processed by parent volunteer School Banking Coordinators. Please take the time to thank them for their efforts as this is a great fundraiser for our School.
• Happy Saving!

Trivia Night

2016 TRIVIA NIGHTIS COMING

AND THE COMMITTEE IS LOOKING FOR HELP!!

The Annual Graceville State School Trivia Night is coming up on June 4. This year, the committee is looking for helpers – especially someone/a couple of people to take charge of the bar. So, if you are someone who doesn’t necessarily like trivia (or feels they would not be able to contribute any useful knowledge on the night ) but might still like to be involved and have a great night – then contact Juanita Bennett (Trivia Night Chairperson) on 0488 649 090 or aajbennett1@bigpond.com for further information. More details on the theme of the night to follow so start thinking about getting your tables of 10 together and watch this space for further info…………..

School Banking

School banking recommenced on Mondays for Term 2. Due to increased interest, we have organised for a Bank Representative to attend our school to hold account opening mornings on Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd April. See link below

Well done to all banking students who have helped raise funds for our school, the total for this was $2633.87. These funds are well utilised for school projects.

Tuckshop News

Thank you so much for your co-operation in getting online for your tuckshop orders. We are already experiencing a drop in volunteer availabilities so continuing to use the online ordering system is essential to being able to get the students lunch orders completed and out on time.

If you are able to help and volunteer just a few hours of your time once a month, please contact us in the Tuckshop and we will happily get you on board. It’s a fun morning with friendly chat and a great result of making the students happy. Your children will love seeing you!

Please remember we are ONLINE ONLY for orders now; no counters orders unless it is a genuine emergency.

Thanks to our generous Tuckshop volunteers for all they do. If you see them, make sure you tell them how much you appreciate their kindness.

Volunteers for week commencing Monday 18th of April.

If you haven't already done so, to set yourself up on School24 log onto:

and follow the instructions. It is super easy. Graceville State School's registration ID is 25314963. Should you wish, you can access the School24 User Guide and Registration Guide via the school website and the links below:

Of course if you are having any difficulties, or you have any questions or feedback please give either of us a shout or come and see us at the Tuckshop.

See you at the Tuckshop

Anne and Amanda
tuckshop.gss@gmail.com

Uniforms & Stationery

Opening Hours: Monday, Tuesday and Friday 8.15am to 9.00am.

Your teacher should have advised you if you had not ordered your child's Stars Plus Textbook online through Brodies (all years except Prep and Year 1). You are now required to purchase it through the uniform store as soon as possible as this item was on your child's booklist. 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.

Year 6 Commemorative Shirts and "House Captain" shirts have been returned and distributed prior to holidays.

Size 6 in House Shirts are expected to be delivered in the next week or two. You can preorder a shirt by using the order form on the school website.

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

Donations of 2nd hand uniforms are always appreciated. Good stocks are available for sale now, including lots of jumpers.

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

School Plus

Awesome Fun for Everyone!

Wow!!! What a great vacation program we had. The children had so much fun visiting Lone Pine, seeing and patting the beautiful Koalas and exploring what else the Sanctuary had to offer. Our next adventure was to Frew Park where the children had fun playing on the giant slide and eating a BBQ lunch.

The exciting activities we had at the service was Graceville’s very own Survivor. The children had to navigate the GIANT inflatable obstacle course and compete in food challenges.

We also had a very educational holidays with Anthony coming to the service to teach us about Aboriginal culture and telling the children Dreamtime stories.

Laugh Out Loud – Learn through Play with School Plus!

We welcome new friends to join in the excitement. For further details please call the Service on 3278 2253 or email graceville@schoolplus.com.au or visit our website at www.schoolplus.com.au .

For new enrolments

Go to our website www.schoolplus.com.au New Families.

If you are an existing School Plus family and haven’t tried my Family Lounge, please contact School Plus Support Office on 07 3161 9904.

Once registered with my Family Lounge you can download the free App and be able to do the below 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Make casual Before and After School bookings (with instant confirmation)

• Advise of an absence for permanent and casual bookings
• Advise of a cancellation for permanent and casual bookings (Note all cancellations are defaulted to absent and School Plus applies the correct cancellation policy depending on the number of days and where incursions and excursions are non-cancellable.)
• Make all Vacation Care bookings (with instant confirmation

On my Family Lounge website, you can do the following:

• Make, change and cancel permanent bookings (not instant confirmation)
• Make, change and cancel casual bookings (with instant confirmation)
• Make all Vacation Care bookings (with instant confirmation)
• Change family details including people authorised to collect your child/ren, phone numbers etc
• Enrol an additional child

Speak Up Studio

Free Trial Speech and Drama & Musical Theatre Classes!

Speech and Drama:

Speak Up Studio is back at Graceville State School for term 2 this year! We are holding a free trial class on Monday 18th April for any students who would like to come along to trial a class! Speech and drama lessons allow students to build confidence and feel positive about speaking up! Throughout the term students develop skills in voice and movement, and confidence in reading and performing, while working on a range of fabulous poems and plays from a fun an exciting themed program:

• Chatterbees (prep - grade 2) Monday 3.00pm-3.40pm
• Chatterboxes (grade 3 - 6) Monday 3.40pm-4.40pm

Musical Theatre:

Speak Up Studio is very excited to announce we running our musical theatre programs at Graceville State School this term! And guess what Musical inspiration we will be taking for this term’s theme? That’s right, Matilda the Musical! Students will be learning the songs from the musical and developing some amazing musical theatre technique in singing, dancing and acting. Register for a free trial class:

• Graceville State School - Discobees (prep - grade 1) Monday 4.40pm-5.20pm
• Graceville State School - Discoboxes (grade 2 - 6) Monday 4.40pm-5.40pm

For more information or to register please visit the website below

Email: info@speakupstudio.com.au

Phone: (07) 3367 8572

Graceville State School Tennis Coaching Term 2

Before School, Lunch Time and After School Coaching will commence from Thursday 21st April 2016 (during the second week back after the holidays).

Enrolments close on Monday 18th April 2016. Spare enrolment forms are available from the School Office, they can also be downloaded from the School Newsletter. To ensure a place in class, forms must be returned by this date to the School Office. Do not return forms to the School Office after this date contact Jim Joyce directly on 0417 771022.

Special Offer – All new students in Grade 1 and 2 will receive a free tennis racquet when joining for the first time.

For further enquiries please contact Jim Joyce on 0417 771022

Community Notices

Lemons Lemons Lemons

Our Lovely Teacher Aide Mrs Simonson is looking for donations of lemons for her famous lemonade stall for the upcoming Sherwood State School Mother’s Day Fete in May. Happy to collect from you. Please call Caitlin on 0417 544 423

West Brisbane Region Asperger Support Meeting

Details for our April meeting are:

Date: April 28th
Time: 7pm - 9pm (Please arrive ready to start the meeting at 7pm)
Venue: St Matthew’s Church Hall (Cnr Oxley & Sherwood Rds. Sherwood)
Topic: “Coffee night” - no speaker this month. Come along and bring your questions or listen to the chat and join in if you would like.
Cost: Gold coin appreciated.

We look forward to seeing you.

Kind regards

Jane and Ruth
Jane Leonforte
ASA Group Coordinator
0448 909 863