12 August 2016

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

I hope you enjoyed the EKKA holiday and are supporting our athletes at the Rio Olympics!

I love watching the Olympics. I can’t help but get caught up in the action and often find myself tearing up as I watch the medal ceremonies. I am not sure if you have noticed but the hash tag for the Olympics is ‘One Team’. As a school we are trying to build our school teams using the One Team philosophy also. In fact, the company we have been working with, Think One Team International, was created by Graham Winter who was the Chief Psychologist for the Australian Olympic team for 12 years. Graham left the team before the London Olympics and therefore was not with them when the team was not as united at the London games. Interestingly, the team has now picked up with One Team Philosophy again and are united and functioning well as a team. We are gradually broadening our use of the One Team philosophy across the school. Our leadership steering team and School Improvement Teams (combination of school leaders and teachers) are enacting the Philosophy now. We are working together much more effectively and are building a strong culture! We have literally just started to broaden the use of the philosophy to encompass all teaching staff. Watch this space as we work as a teaching team to renew the school culture! It is hard but exciting work!

In a few weeks I will send home the form to allow parents to provide their considerations for class placements for 2017. Remember this is not to allow parents to select a teacher for their child but to provide any information which they believe will help to inform the best class placement to meet the needs of their child. Class teachers play a big role in the creation of classes, they know your children well and will advocate for each child in the class allocation process. You can add to their knowledge base by providing any further information for them to consider as part of the process. There will be a two week turn around for this information so we can start the class allocation process early next Term 4. Information will also be coming out in the last week of the term for Parents who expressed an interest in the Enhancement classes for 2017. This will only affect current Year 2 and Year 4 students.

Please encourage any ‘in catchment’ Prep students for 2017 to enrol as soon as possible. I am just starting the process for staffing for 2017 (which takes a few months) and need to know enrolment numbers for 2017 as soon as possible.

The study tour is going well. We are enjoying learning more about Taiwanese culture. We are considering a reciprocal visit to Taiwan in 2017. We will gauge the level of interest from families soon.

The Fete is fast approaching and it will be a fantastic fun day! We have many teachers in the dunking machine this year, including me! I hope you can make it on the day and enjoy the community spirit which is at its best at the fete!

Have great week and keeping cheering for our Aussie athletes in Rio!

Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

From the Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Study Tour 2016

Our visiting students continue to participate fully in the life of school at Graceville and this week one of the activities was to taste some Aussie delicacies. Thank you Mrs Barry for cooking us some tasty meat pies and all went down well except for Vegemite! I would also like to give a shout out to our homestay families who are doing an amazing job catering to our students evenings and at weekends.

Here are some shots from our food tasting activity.

Enrolling for Prep 2017

Now is the time to enrol your child for Prep next year. Please come to the main office and get the forms and information pack if you didn’t attend our information evening. I am now also planning interview times for new families to Graceville over the rest of this term. Times are available over the coming weeks of this term so come in and book at the office.

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 3 Junior assemblies.

QSchools App for Graceville – have you downloaded the app yet and marked Graceville SS as a favourite?

The QSchools app is a convenient way to receive up-to-the minute information from Queensland state schools. We have decided to trial the use of this app for parents and families to get up to the minute information about many facets of school life at Graceville. The App is free to download and you can then identify Graceville as your favourite school where you will find located contact details, news feed, calendar events, links to school newsletters, fete newsletters, information about the tuckshop and uniform shop etc. We will also use the app as a means of sending out important school messages, notifications of upcoming events and emergency alerts and important updates. To receive school notifications you must permit ‘push notifications’ to come through on the settings on your phone.

The QSchools flyer is attached

How do I download the QSchools app?

To download the app visit the application store for your device:

• iPhone/iPad
• Android
• Windows phone
• Windows PC

If you have any feedback around the use of the QSchool app or questions, please send me an email at mhass10@eq.edu.au

From the Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

2 Minute zone updates- First batch of name tags seen yesterday!

We have been handing out the order forms to drivers in the pick-up zones so that they can order a ‘Name tag’ to go on their visor. This will make the process of using the 2 minute zones much quicker as we will be able to call the names out for the students. We will also hand out a reminder ‘bookmark’ with the rules. This may also be useful to drivers in the pick-up zones who are not parents reading the newsletter. We often see Grandparents or other carers in this zone and communicating the messages to these people if difficult. I have attached the order form & the rules. If you require names tags please complete and return to the office.

Queensland Academies Brilliant Futures Program

The Queensland Academies Brilliant Futures Program is open to very highly capable students from Year 5 in 2016 who are seeking an assured pathway into the Queensland Academies campuses for commencement in Year 10. In Term 1 we ran an information session about this program. This is just a reminder that entries close soon for Year 5 students. See attached flyer.

University of New South Wales competitions – Last one!

Maths years 2-6 - 16 August

Camp Quality

The Camp Quality Education Program has been booked to perform their Puppet show on Tuesday 6th September. The program will focus on helping children and teachers to continue to provide a supportive school environment for children affected by cancer, whether they are living with cancer themselves or have a family member living with cancer.

The program consists of a live, educational performance focusing on cancer education, optimism, friendship and tolerance and a suite of educational resources for students and teachers.

Life Education

All year levels will participate in the Life Education Program starting on 31st August and running for the remainder of the term. All classes have a session in the Life Education Van which is an hour for lower grades and 1.5 hours for older ones.

I have attached the Parent brochure for your information. Permission slips have already been sent home and payment is required by 26th August.

Entries now open for Origin Energy's littleBIGidea competition

Calling all young inventors! Students in Years 3 to 8 are encouraged to apply for the 2016 littleBIGidea competition. All they need to do is submit an idea, no matter how big or small, on how to make the world a better place. Entries close 30 September. Find out more at the competition website.

Fanfare grand final concert tickets on sale

The time has come to celebrate 10 of the best performing school instrumental music ensembles in Queensland. Purchase your tickets to the primary and secondary grand final concerts and see what our state schools have to offer!

Congratulations to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award recipients

Congratulations to the 75 young Queenslanders who last week were awarded a Gold Award, the highest level of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. To join the growing number of state schools offering this prestigious program and engage students in very worthwhile endeavours, visit the Queensland Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award website.

OPSO Grandparents competition

Prep to Year 7 students are encouraged to submit artwork that shows the fun they have with their grandparents, as part of the Older People Speak Out (OPSO) Grandparents competition. Winners will receive a signed book by well-known children’s writer Jackie French. Entries close 7 October. For entry details, visit the OPSO website.

Money Matters

Roberta Harycki

Thank you for your payments to date, BPoint is being driven very well by you!

NB - BPoint instructions refer to attachment.

Please ensure your child’s Permission Proforma has been completed and returned intact to their classroom teacher. This form will allow staff to quickly identify parental permission before allowing your child to attend the activity.

Payments by the “Last day of Payment” is a must.

Voluntary Parent Contributions (VC)
Programs in developing Curiosity and Powerful Learning is underway. The “funds target has not yet met the mark” so if you wish to contribute, no matter how large or small – it would be most appreciated.

Principal’s letter and information sheet is available at the office.

Credit in Account: (e.g. -$10) Please inform staff as to how you wish your account credit is applied. Our financial system does not automatically match to other payments.

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

Payment of account days:

8am-3pm - 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

BOOK WEEK IS COMING!

This year we will be celebrating Book Week with a whole school DRESS UP DAY!

On FRIDAY 19TH AUGUST (end of Week 6) students, teachers and all members of staff are invited to come to school dressed as their FAVOURITE STORY BOOK CHARACTER.

This is a great time to celebrate books and reading so I really encourage everybody to actively promote this event. Please take the opportunity to talk to your students about their love of books and reading for enjoyment. Inspire and/or suggest what characters they may like to come dressed as.

This free dress day will also be in support of the fete, which takes place the following weekend.

The LOB-O-CHOC STALL has requested blocks of chocolates be donated in exchange for the Book Week Dress Up day. Therefore, please remind all students TO BRING ALONG A BLOCK OF CHOCOLATE FOR FETE DAY as well.

We will send out reminders and also distribute posters for your classrooms so everyone knows this free dress day is fast approaching! 6H will be organising the collection of the chocolate bars on the Friday morning.

So put your thinking caps on … what story book character will you come dressed as???

Music News

Naomi Lindh

The Year 2 and 3 choirs who have been singing as a combined choir will begin rehearsals together from this Friday in the music room. For this transition week, Year 3 Choir students are able to attend the rehearsal on Thursday morning (in the Waratah Room) or Friday morning at 7:45am in the music room. The following week we will have a full combined rehearsal to assist in preparations for the fete performance and 3 part singing and will continue to rehearse on Friday mornings together throughout the year. Thank you to families for supporting this change.

Fete – The Senior Band and all choir students will be performing - times as listed: 12 noon Senior Band, 12:25 Year 2/3 Choir, 12:35 Senior Choir
7/8 September Instrumental Music Workshop (cost $40 - all IM students involved) with a concert on 8 September at 2pm
16 November – evening concert 6pm - all choir and instrumental students will be performing
23 November – Grandparent’s Concert - all choir students and the Senior Strings

Please note - additional performance dates may be added to this during the semester.

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

It is wonderful to be back from conference, having had a fantastic few days re-connecting with chaplains from all over the state, and learning lots in some quality PD sessions. The highlight of the week had to be the opportunity to hear Steve Biddulph, author of “Raising Boys”, “The New Manhood” and “Raising Girls”, present a series focusing on child and adolescent developmental needs. Having read “Raising Boys” and gaining much from his studies and experience, I anticipated much engagement leading up to his presentations. I believe Steve’s presenting days are almost over as this was one of his last speaking engagements, but I would recommend his books to all parents as they are filled with precious gems about parent/child relationships and the changing dynamics different childhood stages prompt. One theme flowing through his presentations was the benefit of spending time with children, and in particular for Dad’s or father figures to be aware of how important they are in their child’s healthy emotional development. With society often shouting out a very different message, this can provide some challenges to parents. However, with challenges come opportunities, and what greater reason can there be for stepping up to a challenge or grasping hold of an opportunity than to give our children the best support we possibly can. I would be happy to chat with any parents wishing to know more about this, so feel free to contact me via the school office.

I expect over the next couple of weeks we will witness many inspiring moments as athletes push themselves to the limits in their quest for Olympic glory. I hope when the dust settles after the Olympic competition there will be some incredible positives coming from the Rio Games. There have been plenty of negatives leading up the Olympics, from Zika and health issues, to substandard construction and accommodation dramas. I imagine collapsing ramps and plummeting air conditioner units don’t help but I hope the sporting performances still overshadow the negatives. Perhaps life is a bit like that? The negatives get lots of press coverage in our minds and it can be tricky to notice the positives. Sure, we notice a gold medal moment, even in the middle of the drama, but often we miss other less golden moments that were still successes. I love watching families share the joy they feel in watching their loved one compete, regardless of winning a medal or not. I wonder if our world would be better if we were like that with our loved ones, and maybe even, with ourselves.

Have a fantastic week!

Active School Travel

TACO TUESDAY!
(Travel Actively Coming-to-school On)

Get your entries in…..Fete Competition ends next week!

The school fete committee has generously donated some prizes to Active Travel, which is great news for all those students out there who are active on TACO Tuesday! Active travel can be any of the following:

• Walking to school
• Park and stride – parking the car in the designate “park and stride” zones and walking a short distance to school
• Riding your bike or scooter to school
• Carpooling – arriving at school by car with some of your friends
• Public transport

Being dropped off at the front gate does NOT qualify as “active travel”.

Entries must be received by 19th August @ 3pm to go in the draw.

Who will the lucky ride band winners be???? Will your class have the most entries and win the free toss at the lob-o-choc????

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. Our next meeting will be on 13th Oct @ 10:45am in the Waratah Room. Please contact Jo Richards at sajrichards@iinet.net.au for more information.

P & C

FETE THIS TERM!

August is here and its Fete time! Thanks to all the parents who have mobilised to make sure preparations are underway for a fantastic day on Saturday 27th. Please work with your class reps, order your artwork and ride bands online and look out for fete updates via your take home kits and online.

NAPLAN

The results from NAPLAN are in and a fantastic congratulations is in order for our wonderful teachers, Principal and school leadership team. Great to see our school up there in the top schools in the State. Great news too that our literacy figures have improved, as that has been a focus over the last year, and something which the P&C was happy to invest $40,000 in last year.

FACEBOOK

The fete has an active Facebook page for updates in the lead-up to our big day. Please have a look and “like” “Graceville State School Fete” online to keep up to date. Another great page to join/like is the “Graceville State School by parents” on Facebook.

SAVE THE DATE – PARENTS DISCO

Put this date in your diary and get ready for some old school disco fun! Saturday 19 November. (See attached flyer)

ROAD SAFETY – 2 minute zones

New safety flags have arrived at the front gate for pickup. The flags signify the pickup zone of the first three cars where children can safely enter the vehicles. This is a strict two minute zone for pickup. Council have recently informed us that traffic officers will be present at the school in coming weeks to help assist in the operation of the two minute pickup zone. With correct use, the zone will work very efficiently and safely for all. Please stay tuned for further information and keep an eye on the Active School Travel section of the newsletter.

POOL ANNIVERSARY

Our school pool turns 50 this year and we are hoping to celebrate this with the Swimming Club in term 4. We are looking for any volunteers who would be interested in working on the celebration preparations. Please email pandc@gracevilss.eq.edu.au

BUILDING FUND

The P&C, like most other P&Cs, offers parents an opportunity to take part in a Tax Deductible Voluntary Contribution Scheme. If you wish to contribute to the P&C building work projects for the school, please contact the P&C Executive at the email below and we will send you the details. The building fund is going towards climate controlling the school, continuing to air condition the class rooms and the major project of fixing the ventilation of the hall.

NEXT MEETING

The next P&C meeting will be held the week of the fete, Wednesday 24 August at 7.30pm in the Waratah Room (which is beside the staff room in the main reception block). Everyone is very welcome.

Please feel free to contact the P&C executive via email: pandc@gracevilss.eq.edu.au

Fete Update

Online newsletter number 5 issues Friday, 12/8 via school email. We are only 2 weeks away. Get excited!!!

Top 5 Fete Reminders

1. Free Dress Day for Lob-O-Choc and Book Week Friday, 19/8. Come dressed as your favourite book character with a block of chocolate donation.
2. Raffle tickets, sold and unsold must be returned Monday, 15/8.
3. Books, Toys and Garage Sale Items - bring them in. Books and Toys (no soft toys) leave in the boxes at the office and all Garage Sale items can be left at the POD in the tuckshop carpark.
4. JAMS, JAMS, JAMS. Please deliver these to the tuckshop between 8am - 12noon, Monday - Friday. Delicious curds are wonderful too, but please don't deliver them until Wednesday, 24/8.
5. Ridebands and Art Show (Prep to Year 2 only) can be purchased via School24 until midnight 19/8. Don't forget to claim your $0.10 Fete Bag Discount and to allocate each child to a class otherwise Ridebands won't get sent home.

2 weeks to go, just 2 weeks!!!

The Fete Committee

Uniform and Stationery

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

Gold shirts in size 8 have sold out. New stock is expected to arrive by 19 August.

All sizes in Polar Fleece jumpers are in stock, as are tracksuit pants and bootleg leggings.

Donations of 2nd hand uniforms are always appreciated. Good stocks are available for sale now, including lots of dresses, jumpers and good shorts. Come in and grab a bargain.

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

Tuckshop News

Could you spare three and a half hours once in every four weeks to help in Tuckshop?

We really need more volunteers to help cover absences in our volunteer ranks. People get sick, kids get sick, and life double books us all quite often. We could really do with an experienced pool of "backup volunteers" to help take the load of our existing volunteer base. It can be a real struggle to get replacement volunteers at short notice.

If you can help, please come and see us as soon as you can.

Good numbers of orders each day this week with a record number again on Friday.

Volunteers next week are:

Come and see us if you have any questions regarding anything "tuckshop" or email us on tuckshop.gss@gmail.com

Ally, Amanda and Anne

School Plus

FETE FUN!

With the fete fast approaching we wanted to show everyone some of the fabulous items that School Plus has donated for the cent auction.

The Graceville School Plus team are looking forward to seeing you at Kidzone and the dunking machine with the Principal Ms Smith.

We hope to see you all there!

Multi Sport Classes

Community Notices

School Holiday Cricket Clinics

Boys and girls, aged 6 to 17, are welcome to attend Holiday Cricket Clinics conducted by Henschell Cricket Academy Pty Ltd.

These Clinics concentrate on skills and activities for the beginner to the representative player whilst having fun.

Where: Fig Tree Pocket State School, Cubberla Street, Fig Tree Pocket
When: Monday 19 September 2016 to Thursday 22 September 2016 inclusive (4 days)
Times: 8:30am to 12:00pm daily
Cost: $199.00 (Incl. GST) (family rates available)
Contact: email – henschellcricket@bigpond.com or phone – Brett Henschell 0458 026 224

West Brisbane Asperger Support Group

Our advertised speaker has needed to rain check this meeting.

Very generously, Lizzie has offered to step in and speak with our group.

Please see the details below for our next West Brisbane Asperger Support Group meeting:

Date: Thursday August 18
Time: 7pm - 9pm (Please arrive ready to start the meeting at 7pm)
Venue: St Matthew’s Church Hall (cnr. Sherwood & Oxley Rds. Sherwood)
Speaker: Lizzie Brown
Topic: “Being a young woman on the spectrum - anxiety and all that stuff."
Cost: Gold coin appreciated

From Lizzie:

Let's get one thing straight. I'm not a medical professional, or a parent, or a psychologist. What I am is a 21 year old with Aspergers, who had gained a great deal of knowledge over my life. This isn't about clinical matters, this is about you. Growing up with a term that is considered to be very broad in definition, and manifests itself in different shapes and sizes, can be a difficult journey. Every day, young (and even older) people with AS will likely face ignorance, stereotyping and sign posting, and of course - school yard bullying. When you suddenly have a label upon you, people may begin to see you and treat you differently. The diagnosis may turn your life upside down, and you may start to change the way you see yourself, especially if you are fed consistent negativity.

I'll be speaking and answering any questions you have about coping with things like school/Uni/TAFE, relationships, dealing with hard times that may come about with anxiety and depression, counteracting stereotypes, and the most important thing, learning the first steps of self-love and accepting yourself. I'll be talking about my journey openly and candidly as well, and how being on the spectrum has changed my perspective on life as I know it.

Young adults, teens, children, Let me be a friend to you and give you advice, let me be a mentor to you and a voice of peace in a world that can be a little turbulent for people like us. Parents, or teachers, I hope I can provide some more insight into your child’s/adolescents/grown-ups brain power, and let me be living proof that every child on the spectrum is different and are capable of whatever they wish to achieve.

It's okay to be different :) be the change you want to see in the world.

We look forward to seeing you.

Kind regards

Jane Leonforte
ASA Group Coordinator
0448 909 863

Craft Market and Car boot Sale

SUNDAY 21st AUGUST 2016
7:00am – 12noon
Corner Oxley Rd and Colwel St

Our wonderful markets features a wide range of arts and crafts, trash and treasure, plants, toys, books, clothes and much more.

Just like 60 garage sales in one great location.

BBQ, HOT & COLD drinks available.

FREE ENTRY for shoppers!

Info contact Narelle 0412 240 503