11 November 2016

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

It is amazing to think we only have one month of school left for the year!

By the end of this week, I hope to let the teachers know which year level they will be on next year. From next week, teachers will be making decisions about which classes children will be in for 2017. I have asked teachers to collect a list of names of friends from each child. The list will be used to help place children with a friend. It is important to note it can be any of the names on the list, not necessarily the first preference. It is very hard to put the classes together as there are so many things to take into consideration for each child.

Next Tuesday is our Prep Orientation morning. It will be nice to see the new children on their first official trip to school!

We are also hosting the annual Music Concert on Wednesday night. It usually a great night! I suggest bringing a fan along as it can get a little hot and stuffy in the hall at times.

Finally, I would like to congratulate our School Captains for 2017. We had a wonderful group of very talented students apply this year. I would like to congratulate the following students:

School Captains – Henry R and Alice B
Vice Captains – Leo L and Lucy H

Have a great weekend.

Newsletter Articles

From the Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Year 4-6 Swimming Carnival

Unfortunately the school will be unable to hold a swimming carnival for Year 1-3 classes as we do annually, this year we have major pool renovations to commence in the last week of school. Long term these renovations will be wonderful however the works will disturb the use of the pool in the last week of school and it is also such a busy time of the year with many school events.

We will however be holding the year 4-6 Carnival on Friday December 2. Mr Daunt will send out further details shortly.

Remembrance Day Commemoration – our school will be holding its annual service on Friday November 11, at 10.15 in our school hall. Poppies are on sale at our school entrances before school. All families and community members are invited to attend our school assembly.

Date Claimer: Prep Orientation visit – Tuesday November 15th

Letters about prep placements for 2017 have been posted containing details about classes and times for prep orientation.

Below is the calendar for Term 4 Junior assemblies – every second Tuesday commencing at 2.15pm.

From the Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

Christmas service

Every year we have a Christmas service which is run by our Religious Instruction volunteers. This year it will be on Friday 25th November in the hall. The service will start at 9.00am and finish by 9.30am. Any students who have participated in Religious Instruction this year in Years 1-6 will be going to the service. Class teachers will accompany them on that day. Students in Yrs 1-6 who do not participate in RI will stay in classrooms, as per the usual arrangements.

There will be no RI on Friday 2nd December due to the Yr 4-6 swimming carnival.

SMS Messaging Service

As communicated previously, Graceville is in the process of introducing a SMS Messaging service as a further means of communication with you. As of January 2017, all state schools in Queensland are required to have such a service. This initiative has been introduced to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your children. The service will communicate all unexplained absences every day. It will be your responsibility to let us know if your child is away on any particular day so we can reduce the unexplained absences to zero and ensure that all students are safe either at home or at school.

We have been collecting updated information from parents & guardians in respect to mobile numbers, so we can start the process of “Going live” with the SMS service. Once all this information is updated in Oneschool we will be ready to export all of the updated data into the messaging program ready to commence.

I suggest you make sure that you are calling the absences line (3716 2760) early in the morning if your child will be away. If you know in advance about an absence please let the class teacher know so they can record that information. Teachers will be marking their rolls by 9.15am in the mornings. All late students arriving after 9.00am need to be brought to the office, by their parent.

Once we commence the messaging process a generic SMS message will be sent to parents advising of your child’s absence and requesting an explanation. Our goal is for no unexplained absences. Just remember that it is for your children’s safety that this program is being introduced state wide.

2017 Book Lists

The 2017 Graceville State School Booklists are now available to order online. The booklists contain a list of required texts and workbooks and the necessary stationery needed for each individual year level.

Each year level has different requirements so to try and reduce some of the running around during the school holidays; the P&C has once again worked closely with our recommended supplier, Campion, to source the relevant items for Graceville State School students.

Whilst you aren’t required to purchase your books from Campion, the P&C receives a donation from Campion for Graceville families who order their goods through their store and references Graceville State School.

If your child has progressed through the years at Graceville and has accumulated a number of pencils, erasers, glue sticks or crayons etc., you can reuse these for next year if they are of a usable quality. It is up to you to decide which items you need to purchase or replace. Each year level has different text book and exercise book requirements, so these will usually need to be purchased. If you are unsure, please consult your teacher to discuss requirements.

The 2017 booklists for our school are now available on the Campion Education website (link below) please click on Order Now, select Queensland, then select your school, enter the following code WAW5 and follow the prompts.

Please remember that you are ordering for your children’s 2017 year level.

Please note that you must place your order on or before Friday 2nd of December to have your book pack(s) delivered to your nominated physical address during the week ending 13th of January 2017, or you can select the option to pick up your pre-paid book packs from the School Hall on Friday the 20th of January between 3pm and 6pm. With this option you will need to bring identification/proof of purchase. It is important to know that you will only be able to pick up your own children’s packs.

Campion is located at 314 Montague Road, West End and is open Monday - Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm.

In January 2017 Campion will also open on Saturday 14th, 21st and 28th January from 9:00am to 1:00pm

They will be closed from 2:00pm on Friday 23rd of December 2016, reopening at 9am on Tuesday 3rd of January 2017, and also closed Thursday 26th January 2017 (Australia Day Public Holiday).

Money Matters

Roberta Harycki

Thank you for your payments to date. Pink reminder statements will be sent home this week. Your attention to accounts in arrears would be much appreciated.

Please note: The Year 4 Xmas Show has been cancelled by the Theatre. Students who have paid their $19 will now have a credit in their account. This amount can be used as payment for other excursions, rolled over to use in 2017 family account or “Request for Refund” form can be completed.

Student Resource Schemes (SRS)

Early next week the SRS programs for 2017 will be distributed to students in Prep-Year 5. The expected date of return will be printed on the form. Your support here will avert the office chaos at the commencement of 2017 with student invoicing. Please return the completed form – do not send payment until 2017.

Credit in Account: (e.g. -$10) – This means your account has a credit of $10. Do not pay this amount but please let office staff know how you wish to use your credit by nominating which excursions are to be paid.

Sorry, our financial system does not automatically match to outstanding invoices.

Helpful hints for payment - BPoint instructions are attached; Also note, Permissions and Payments by the “Last day of Payment” is a must for your child’s inclusion.

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.

End of year scenario – If your family account is in credit and your child is not continuing at Graceville in 2017 with no other siblings to roll the credit over to next year, and then please complete a Request for Refund or donation to school funds if you wish.

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.

Music News

Naomi Lindh

Last week we sent out offers for the 2017 instrumental program. If your child received an offer we ask that you return it by the end of this week so we can make final placements for next year. There are students on the waiting list who would like to be considered if places are not accepted by students in this first round of offers.

Next Wednesday, 16th of November we have our annual evening concert which involves all of our choral and instrumental students. The concert begins at 6:00pm and will be conclude by 7:30pm at the latest. We request instrumental students to arrive by 5:30pm to tune their instrument and choir students by 5:50pm, all in full school uniform. It is essential that all students in the ensembles and choirs perform at the concert and we appreciate the support of families to ensure all of our music students attend. We also have the opportunity to thank and acknowledge our Year 6 students who are graduating this year for their involvement in the choral/instrumental program.

Wednesday 16th of November – evening concert 6pm in the school hall - all choir and instrumental students will be performing - full school uniform

Tuesday 22nd of November (please note date change) - Oxley Senior Citizens' Concert - Senior Choir and Senior Strings (during school day, bus to be paid for by instrumental/choral program); concert at Oxley Senior Citizens' Hall 10:30am

Wednesday 23rd of November – Grandparent’s Concert at10am - all choir students and the Senior Strings - notes/invitations for guests have been handed out to students - please contact me if you have not received these (nclos1@eq.edu.au)

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

This week has been extremely warm and students are being reminded to drink plenty of water and reapply sunscreen before heading out to play. This hot spell will possibly result in a thunderstorm or two, which may cool this down for a short while. It is a good week to remind students to make sure they have all they need for swimming lessons. I expect it is much more pleasant in the water than watching from the stands.

Our Year 5 and Year 6 students finish the interschool sport season this Friday, with several sides playing in grand finals. We wish all of our students competing on Friday the best of luck and trust that this season has been a successful one. Successful not only on the scoreboard but in a growing understanding of the game and skill development also.

On Friday, our school commemorates soldiers who have fallen in times of war and conflict as we gather together for our Remembrance Day ceremony. This ceremony is a special time on the Graceville State School calendar, where we stop and reflect on the sacrifices made by men and women so that we can live in peace and freedom. Every year, we are privileged to host a number of returned veterans and it is a very positive experience for our students to share this time with them. This time of quiet reflection does not glorify war or its horrors, but rather respects the ultimate sacrifice made by so many young men and women during times of terrible conflict. We honour those who have fallen in defence of their country and we admire the qualities they embraced. Qualities like bravery, mateship, courage and sacrifice. We are mindful that despite our freedom today, there are many places in the world, where peace and freedom are merely words. It is a time to contemplate how lucky we are and to consider what we can do to make peace and freedom a reality in other corners of the world.

May your week be a very special one!

Active School Travel

TACO TUESDAY!

(Travel Actively Coming-to-school on)

Driving near Schools

Despite presenting road safety education in the classroom, when children get out of school they are not thinking about cars. They want to have fun and their eagerness can often override their caution in traffic. The peripheral vision of a young child is a third narrower than the peripheral vision of an adult. Children are also physically smaller, so they have difficulty seeing vehicles and being seen by drivers, and are therefore more vulnerable to serious injury. Because of their size, and with the highly unpredictable nature of children, always slow down when driving around schools or risk a fine, demerit points, or worse – losing a child's life.

School zone speed limits (usually 40 km/h) are in force on school days during specified hours. School zone hours differ between schools, and motorists should read signs carefully when entering each zone.

Other tips to remember when driving around schools:

1. Be alert when driving past a stationary bus as children often dash out in front of and from behind buses to cross the road.
2. Never double park or park in 'no stopping' zones.
3. When you see a School Crossing Supervisor, obey their instructions. The supervisor will step onto the road and display the STOP sign. You must STOP and wait until the pedestrians have crossed the road and the supervisor has returned to the kerb before proceeding.
4. Don't park on pedestrian (zebra) crossings – it is also illegal to stop or park 20 metres before or 10 metres after a pedestrian crossing. It makes it difficult for children to cross, and for other motorists to see children.
5. Do not park in the no-stopping zones or use them as drop off areas. No Stopping means DO NOT STOP HERE for any reason unless obeying an official direction.
6. You can drop off or pick up passengers in a 'No Parking' or a 'Stop, Drop and Go' zone as long as the vehicle is not left unattended and you exit the zone within two minutes. If the school has a passenger set down area, use it. If not, park your car on the same side of the road as the school so your child doesn't have to cross the road. If you have to park on the other side of the road, escort your child across the road. Never call them to cross the road.

Visit for more information.

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.

P&C News

TECHNOLOGY

A meeting with staff and parents was held last Friday morning 4th of November to develop the technology plan. The plan is starting to take shape and will be further developed by the school and will be delivered to the next P&C meeting to discuss how we may go about funding and delivering. It is likely that a levy in the form of a voluntary contribution will be needed to stem the flow of the aging technology in our school and deliver on the technology plan. Please feel free to join the discussion. We are working on the premise that we want our children to have ready access to appropriate technology for their learning.

UNIFORM SHOP

This year marks an end of an era. Sue-Ellen Lockwood is hanging up her eftpos machine as her family's time with the school draws to a close. A great loss to the school and to the P&C and it is hard to replace such a tireless worker in our school community. We are continually looking for volunteers in the tuckshop, uniform shop and around the school. The P&C are also offering a third paid part-time position to join Anne and Amanda as a Uniform Shop /Tuckshop Convenor. This position will operate the uniform shop and to work with the tuckshop convenors. Any expressions of interest or for a position description, please email the P&C: pandc@gracevilss.eq.edu.au. Applications will close in 2 weeks - Friday 12pm 25th of November.

PARENTS DISCO - BOOK NOW!

Now is the time to book your tickets! Tickets are available for $20 on the School24 Tuckshop ordering system. If you require assistance please email us: 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 meeting is Wednesday 30th of November 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 via email: pandc@gracevilss.eq.edu.au

Parent Disco News

The end of the year is here and the Parent Disco is the perfect event to kick back and have some fun!

Ticket sales are closing soon so get your tickets ASAP through the Schools24 tuckshop ordering system.

If you don’t have a tuckshop account and would like to buy tickets, please email Melissa: lissaos@hotmail.com.

Uniform & Stationery

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

Prep selling day:

Tuesday 15th November 8.15am to 10.45am during Orientation morning.

Families already at Graceville State School are encouraged to come during normal uniform store hours for their Prep needs due to these selling days usually being a busier time than usual.

If you have a small child wanting a dress for next year smaller than the size 2 available, you will need to come in and specially order them asap.

NEW SKORTS ARE COMING BY MID NOVEMBER.

Pants built in under a skirt embroidered with GSS in gold on skirt.

Most of your swimming gear is available from the uniform store, including swim caps, bags and quick dry towels in your house colours and others.

All sizes in House Shirts (Cook, Kennedy and Flinders) are in stock.

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

Anne, Amanda and Ally

We received a wonderful surprise on Friday with the delivery of some beautiful words of thanks from the students. They had taken the time to write heart-warming thank you notes to all our wonderful tuckshop volunteers. If you get a chance, please drop in to read them. They are utterly charming. Thank you to those students for taking the time to express your thanks to our wonderful volunteers.

Another record last Friday and once again we were all exhausted afterwards. The week was all over the place in terms of order numbers. Here's how it looked...

Volunteers for week commencing Monday, 14/11

If you see them, make sure you thank them. Remember, it's your children they are working so hard to feed!

If you have any questions please come see us or drop us an email at: tuckshop.gss@gmail.com.

Scholastic Book Club

All children should soon receive the last Scholastic Book Club catalogue for the year. In this issue there are some lovely Christmas books, favourite collections that will make fabulous presents and plenty of books under $5. Orders will close on Friday 18th of November and the books will be distributed approximately two weeks later, just in time for holidays.

Thank you for using our preferred payment option – LOOP – Linked Online Ordering and Payment available via the link below or download the LOOP Apple or Android app.

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

Swimming News

Group lessons are on offer before and after school on weekdays. To enter group lessons students must be in Year One or older and able to swim 25 meters freestyle non-stop.

All other students may book a private one on one lesson after school on Fridays or Saturday mornings. Students in after school care may also join the program as staff can take the children to the pool and pick them up after their lesson.

Please direct all inquiries to Pete Geraghty via email: petegeraghty@hotmail.com or phone 0432407442

Chess Club

School Plus

Community Notices

Staverton Kindergarten

Staverton Kindergarten has places available for age appropriate children for 2017 (children born 1/7/12 to 30/6/13). Please call 3379 1511 or visit our website via the link below for further information.

Sherwood Community Festival

The Sherwood Community Festival is a free family event, sponsored by Brisbane City Council, which each year keeps getting bigger and better. This year it will be held on Friday, 11th November, from 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm. There will be a section dedicated to a huge variety of food stalls, plus other market stalls, rides and live entertainment!

Attractions include:

• Free rides for the children
• Petting farm
• Market and Food stalls
• Live entertainment including bands, choirs, dance troupes
• Nativity play – complete with live camels
• Raffle with some amazing prizes. Tickets are on sale outside Sherwood Woolworths on Saturday 22/10, Saturday 29/10 and Saturday 5/11, plus they can be purchased on the night from the information desk.

For more information, please log on to the event website via the link below.

Dunlop Park Swimming Pool

Free Events at Dunlop Park Swimming Pool during November.

Benarrawa Celebration Day

Sunday 20th of November from 4pm.

There will be pizza making so bring ingredients with you or a plate to share, Songlines choir group will perform, members of the gardening group and various other groups attached to Benarrawa will be there as well. It will be a great chance to reflect and share with locals.

79 Waratah Avenue Graceville

Sherwood District Meals on Wheels

Do you know someone who is having difficulty shopping for food or cooking?

Sherwood District Meals on Wheels is able to help. Our volunteers deliver meals to the suburbs of Chelmer, Graceville, Sherwood, Corinda and Oxley. Our $10.00 meal pack ($9 if eligible for government subsidy) includes soup, a main meal, juice and dessert. The meals are nutritionally prepared for us by our supplier Nutrifresh and are delivered daily by our friendly volunteers between 9 and 10 am. The meals can be delivered fresh or frozen allowing more flexibility for the clients. Special dietary needs can also be catered for.

Who is Eligible?

• People who are 65 or older
• People who are having difficulty preparing meals for themselves or shopping
• People who have a disability and their carers
• People recovering from hospitalisation or illness

Volunteers

Volunteering for Meals on Wheels is a satisfying experience as we enable people to maintain their independence by continuing to live in their own homes. We provide a friendly daily contact for people, many of whom may be isolated or frail. We welcome new volunteers to either do a delivery run to people in their homes one morning a month (starting around 8.45am and usually finishing shortly after 10am) or to help in our kitchen by packing the meals for delivery.

If you know someone who needs help with meals or you would like to volunteer, please contact Donna at Meals on Wheels on 33797715 or email: sherwoodmow@gmail.com. For more information visit our website via the link below.

Graceville Railway Station Upgrade

Work is continuing on the Graceville Railway Station upgrade. Use of heavy machinery, cranes and vehicles with bright flashing lights and reversing beepers, hand tools and light powered equipment, mobile lighting towers, powered saws and vehicle movements will be in use during the following times:

Sunday night to Thursday night each week in November:

• 13-17 November
• 20-24 November
• 27 November-1 December

(Overnight works, 6.30pm to 6.30am the next morning)

• 6am Saturday 26 to 6am Monday 28 November (continuous weekend works)

Corinda State High School – Art in Print Workshop

Corinda State High School is hosting a one day Art Workshop ‘Art in Print’ on Thursday, 1st of December. Open to Years 4-6 students; please refer to the information and registration form attached.

Musical Instruments For Sale

*Trumpet

Silver YAMAHA Trumpet – Purchased new two years ago. Excellent condition.

Recently checked by Brass Specialist.

Hard Case and Standard of Excellence Books 1 and 2 included.
Asking $500.
Contact Nadia Mob 0417753134

*Alton Saxophone

Jupiter JAS 769 Alton Saxophone with excellent custom fit “wheelie” case. $800 ono.

*Clarinet

Yamaha 250 Student Clarinet, including standard hard case. Professionally cleaned & serviced.

$300 ono.

Please contact Justin on 0448 989 441 or Averil on 0419 868 831

Cerebral Palsy Swim Club

Please see attached flyer regarding the Cerebral Palsy Swim Club being run by The University of Queensland.

If you know anybody that may be interesting in taking part please get in contact with Iain Dutia from the University as per the below contact details.

Iain Dutia, Physiotherapist and PhD Candidate at the University of Queensland

Email: i.dutia@uq.edu.au or Phone:0497 333 020

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: Week 1 – Monday 12th of December 2016 to Thursday 15th of December 2016 or Week 2 – Tuesday 3rd of January 2017 to Thursday 6th of January 2017

Times: 8:30am to 12:00pm daily
Cost: $199.00 (Incl. GST) per Clinic (family rates available)
Contact: email – henschellcricket@bigpond.com or phone – Brett Henschell 0458 026 224

AFS – Intercultural Programs Australia

Would you like to be a Host Family to an AFS exchange student arriving in February?

Are you ready to get an unforgettable experience, get to know another culture, make a lifetime friendship by adding a new member to your family from different country?

If your answer is YES, then log on to our website via the link below and get to know our amazing students arriving in February 2017.

We have students from a variety of different countries eagerly awaiting any kind of information regarding their future host families who will host them here in Australia for the length of their program, either 5 or 11 months. Please contact the Hosting Coordinator at the AFS National Office: on 1300 131 736.