4 May 2017

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

I hope you enjoyed the long weekend!

As you may remember from last week’s newsletter, Kath Murdoch, our Inquiry Mentor and expert, spent the day with us on Friday. We started the day with a whole school professional development at 7.30am, where the focus was, ‘What actually goes on in an Inquiry classroom?’ All teachers were then released to observe Kath model a lesson and take part in a reflective discussion with her about the lesson. It was a great opportunity for the whole staff! We are very early in our Inquiry journey and Kath commended our staff on their progress so far. Kath reminded us creating a consistent Inquiry approach, is at least a three to five year journey for schools. Kath also made it quite clear, as teachers, we need a rich ‘tool kit’ of teaching practices and strategies and be able to recognise what strategies are best for the children in that lesson for that particular learning intention. As teachers, we operate on a continuum from more traditional teaching and learning to very open and self-guided inquiry approaches. We are all at different places on the continuum and Kath encouraged us to ‘turn up the dial’ each year and gradually build our skills and dispositions in using an Inquiry Approach. This is very exciting and challenging work as, together as a staff, we work towards building our dispositions in using an Inquiry Approach. Don’t forget we are holding a parent information session, on our Inquiry Approach on the following date:

Week 4 (Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10) Inquiry and Learning Assets – Tuesday 9, 1.30-2.45pm OR Wednesday 10, 6 -7.30pm in the Waratah room

• This session will help you understand the schools Inquiry learning journey for teachers and students and introduce you to the Learning Assets (Thinker, Researcher, Communicator, Collaborator, Self-Manager). This the first time the school is offering this session.

We are also following on from this with Parent Information Sessions on Higher Order Questions on the following dates:

Week 6 (Tuesday 23 and 24) Framing Higher Order Questions – Tuesday 23, 1.30-2.45 OR Wednesday 24, 6-7.30pm

• This session will help you to understand the school focus on broadening teacher understanding of higher order questions and how to frame them in lessons to deepen student knowledge and understanding. This is the first time the school is offering this session.

Mother’s Day is fast approaching! Mother’s Day is on 14 May! On 12 May, we will have a special surprise for mums who drop their children at school that day. This is just a heads up in case you need to organise to head in to work later that day.

Finally, the Trivia Night and Fete are fast approaching. These are two great ways to get involved in the school, raise much needed funds and have some fun! Please consider having a table at the Trivia Night. It is always a good fun night! The Fete committee will be holding meetings from mid this term. Please consider how you can help out at the Fete! As they say, ‘many hands make light work!’

Have a great weekend,
Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

From the Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Date Claimers:

Next school Technology Community Committee meeting – Friday May 19 at 7:50am in the school library. All welcome.

Under 8’s Week is this term and our celebrations will include our annual ‘fun on the oval’ on Friday May 26, 8:45 – 10:45 for our prep to year 2 students. Parents are encouraged to attend. Please see flyer attached.

Waiting List for Prep for 2018 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. For in catchment families a birth certificate and proof of residency in our catchment is required along with the completed enrolment form.

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.

Date Claimer: Prep 2018 information evening – Wednesday July 26 at 7:00pm.

All welcome to attend.

Inbound Study Tour – From Minzu Elementary School in Taiwan to Graceville State School
Proposed dates for tour: July 18 – August 6, 2017

We still need more school families to volunteer to host a student.

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. Families who host a student will be funded $200 to assist in covering the costs in providing for a visiting student.

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.

Junior Assemblies

Parents and care givers are all invited to join us for Junior Assemblies which will be held every second Tuesday afternoon from 2.15 in the hall. These assemblies will be for all Prep to Year 2 classes. Year 2 students have the opportunity to develop their skills of public speaking by taking turns in leading these assemblies and classes also take part presenting items for us all. We also like to recognise Birthdays and present awards to students from across all classes.

Below is the calendar for term 2 assemblies.

From the Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

2017 International competitions

• Digital Technologies 23 May (Yr 3-6) 7.45 start
• Science 30 May (Yr 2-6) Yr 3-6 – 7.30 start/Yr 2 – school time
• Spelling 14 June (Yr 2-6) Yr 3-6 – 7.30 start
• Writing 13 June (Yr 3-6) Yr 3-6 – 7.45 start
• English 1 August (Yr 2-6) Yr 3-6 – 7.30 start/ Yr 2 school time
• Mathematics 15 August $8.00 (Yr 2-6) – 7.30 start/ Yr 2 school time

All competitions are non-refundable as they are pre-paid.

These competitions are valued by us and parents but they do take a considerable amount of time out of class, for often the same groups of children, so this year we will be conducting the competitions before school (except for Year 2). Running these comps at another time, eg. lunchtime, is not in the best interests of the students. This may mean that for that week your child may have to miss eg. Senior choir or an Instrumental practice, but it would only be very infrequently. We do have to run the tests on the day indicated above, unless children are sick or absent. If this occurs we try to make-up the tests in the day or 2 after, if possible. We will remind parents prior to each competition what time they need to arrive on each particular day.

NAPLAN testing – 9, 10 & 11 May

On Tuesday 9, Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 May, students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will take part in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy, or NAPLAN, as it is commonly known.

Skills that will be tested include: reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy.

These tests are done here at school and are considered just another part of the curriculum.

It is important for you and your child to know that NAPLAN is not a pass/fail test. It simply looks at what level students are achieving in literacy and numeracy against National Standards and compared with student peers throughout Australia.

NAPLAN cannot be studied for and students are not expected to do so. The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to let them know that it is just a routine part of their school program, and to urge them to do the best they can on the day.

All students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are expected to participate in NAPLAN testing. Please ensure that if you have a child in Years 3 or 5 that they are in attendance during that week in May. Please avoid booking holidays or appointments during those days. If you can’t avoid those days eg. specialist appointment, please try to make it in the afternoon. All testing will be completed by 12.45 on those days.

Later in the year we will send you an individual student NAPLAN report that you can use to view and monitor how your child is progressing.

More information is available on the NAP website.

If you have any concerns, please contact the class teacher or myself.

Money Matters

Anne Nixon

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 2017 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 Prep - 6) ($12)
• Origo Maths (years 3, 4 and 5) ($6)
• Reading Eggs (Prep only) $22.50
• Year 5 Digital Licence $11.00

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.

$100 per student.

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

Payment of account days:

8am-3.00pm - 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

Please ensure when paying via BPoint, that you log onto to the following website. You must put the entire website address as this has the biller code.

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. If this is not done, your child might not be able to attend the activity.

Music News

Naomi Lindh

Thank you to students and families for your understanding with the cancellation of Junior Choir last Friday morning. I attended the professional development session with our staff facilitated by Kath Murdoch. Junior Choir rehearsals will resume again on Friday 5 May. I am pleased to confirm we have rescheduled the Harmony Day performance for Thursday 11 May. The Junior Choir will also be performing at the NAIDOC Day assembly (date of 22 June TBC)

The Senior Choir students will be attending the biennial Sing Together Day at St Peters on Wednesday 14 June which will include an evening concert. Please note this date in your calendars for the concert. Further information will be provided to students about excursion during the term. The cost of $10 which is included on term accounts is to cover the music and we pay this directly to St Peters. The supply teachers for Julie and I to attend and supervise students as well as the bus to and from the venue will be covered by the instrumental music budget.

Our Junior/Beginner ensembles began their rehearsals this week and I'd like to thank Mr Kukulies and Mrs Prout for their efforts with organising and conducting them. Junior Band rehearsals will continue on Wednesday mornings in the music room at 7:30am. Students will need to purchase a folder from the uniform shop for their music. The Beginner/Junior Strings will rehearse each Wednesday at first break.

Music staff email contacts

Alex Grodecki - agrod3@eq.edu.au
James Kukulies - jkuku2@eq.edu.au
Ruth Prout - rprou5@eq.edu.au
Steve Stiller - sstil2@eq.edu.au
Julie West - jwest269@eq.edu.au

Thank you to our junior/beginner students for attending their first rehearsal this week. We hope you enjoyed your first ensemble experience.

Naomi Lindh
Music Teacher and IM Coordinator

Fete News

Fete sponsorship – we need YOUR help!

Every year, as the Fete preparations get under way, a dedicated team of parents work hard behind the scenes to negotiate sponsorship deals that support our school and local businesses. Sponsorship is a huge contributor to our fundraising and we really value the support, expertise and funds our sponsors provide each year.

This year, we will be expanding the opportunities for sponsorship and are really keen to hear from businesses large and small. If you run a business and would like to be involved in supporting the Fete, please get in touch with our Fete Sponsorship Coordinator – Simone Braithwaite on gss.fete.sponsorship@gmail.com or 0404 934 404. Simone is really keen to hear from parents who would like to donate cash, services or items to support our Fete.

We are also excited to announce a brand new sponsorship package: Naming Sponsor. Offers are now being accepted for the rights to use your business name in association with our Fete BBQ, Fete Bar and the Fete Fireworks. Applications close on May 12 and will be announced in our first Fete Newsletter on June 2. Please follow up with Simone if you would like further information about this exciting opportunity.

We also need the whole school community to help by supporting our sponsors when you are looking for goods and services – back the businesses that support you! Check out our list of sponsors from the 2016 Fete– use them and make sure you tell them how much we value their support. Every comment helps!

Lastly, do you have a Sparky in your life? For a number of years, the Fete has had amazing support from Glow Electrical, who have prepared, advised and managed the electricity supply on Fete day - but sadly all good things must come to an end. We are looking for an electrician to join our team, potentially as a major sponsor to assist us on Fete day. Maybe there are a few electricians’ who are parents at the school who would be willing to assist? To express interest or if you’d like more information please get in touch.

Active School Travel

Crossing at Oxley Road

How would you feel if your children tried to cross Oxley Road during peak hour traffic? Have you ever been a motorist and had to slam on your brakes to avoid a child crossing the road unexpectedly?

Children have been observed attempting to cross Oxley Road (particularly in the afternoons), stepping out between parked cars, to walk over to the Memorial Park side of the road! What is more frightening, waiting parents and caregivers are beckoning some of these children across! By encouraging this behavior we are then setting an expectation that even when parents / caregivers aren’t waiting at the other side of the road, that it is perfectly ok for them to attempt to cross alone.

In the last few months there have been some “close calls” and even times where the traffic has stopped on Oxley Road to let children cross. While the speed limit is at 40km ph during 2-4 pm, it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to picture the injuries that could be sustained by a child hit by an unsuspecting vehicle.

This behavior of crossing the road, and putting lives in danger is rather baffling given that we have a crossing on this section of road, and also a crossing over Waratah Road. These crossings are at traffic lights and give pedestrians a perfectly safe way of crossing over to waiting parents / caregivers.

We are all busy and most afternoons there is always somewhere to get to quickly, but for the sake of a few extra minutes out of your afternoon, isn’t it better to teach your children to cross at the crossing so that they can do so safely? As parents we have display behaviors that we want our children to practice.

BCC Traffic Inspectors

The Brisbane City Council (BCC) recently conducted a random visit to the schools pick up zones. Many parents / caregivers would have been advised that queuing in the zone is the incorrect thing to do. We have been advised that other visits will be made and fines will be issued to those who are ignoring signage, or parking on the yellow lines. As the weather is cooling down why not take the time to park a short distance away from school and park and stride. It is a great opportunity to chat to other parents, get some exercise in with your children and enjoy the beautiful autumn weather.

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. Parents run our committee with three staff members so we are in much need of additional support. The next meeting will be on 20th July @ 10:45am in the Waratah Room. Can you help? Please contact Jo Richards at sajrichards@iinet.net.au for more information.

Tuckshop News

Volunteers for the week commencing Monday, 8th May 2017 are -

A big thank you to all our volunteers! We couldn’t have tuckshop without you!

Tuckshop is operated as an online ordering system. If you need to open a Tuckshop account, please visit school24.net.au and use Graceville’s School Registration ID: 25314963 and follow the prompts. There is an information page and login guide on the Graceville State School website, under P&C and the Tuckshop, if you need any help.

If you have any questions or concerns, please see us at the Tuckshop or drop us an email at tuckshop.gss@gmail.com.

Uniform Shop

Fiona Fryer

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

All sizes in the polar fleece and blue rugby shirts are now in stock.

The Year 6 Commemorative shirts have been returned and distributed to the classrooms.

All House Shirts (Cook, Kennedy and Flinders) are available in size 4 and up.

Band folders are available for $15.

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

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

If you would like to volunteer in the uniform shop please send an email to the above address, if you have any questions please ask, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

The cooler mornings have now arrived and many children are wearing jumpers to school. This can lead to an influx of jumpers being misplaced as the day warms up. Please ensure jumpers are named so that they can be found in lost property or returned to the student if found around the school. This is a busy time of year for the wonderful volunteers who sort out lost property so a huge thank you is in order.

Later this term we will run the Chaplaincy Lapathon which is a fun, active event with the option for families to participate in the fundraising aspect by sponsoring student for the event. More details regarding the Lapathon will follow in the coming weeks.

Graceville State School were well represented this week at District Cross Country and our students performed strongly in a very competitive district. Those making it through to regionals will find the climbs at Limestone Park a challenge to overcome. Hill training and perhaps going out to see the course prior to the event could be of benefit.

Our year five and six students are returning from Interschool Sport of Friday afternoons with exciting stories of their endeavours. I am very proud of the Boys soccer teams, not only for the standard of play, but for the sportsmanship being displayed.

It has been a busy start to term 2 with Year 6 camp, Anzac Day ceremony, Cross Country, Interschool Sport and District Cross Country. I have also been fortunate to be successful for a 2 day chaplaincy position at another school. Once the starting date and allocation of days have been confirmed, I will advise the Graceville Community via the newsletter. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank an incredibly supportive school community for enabling a fulltime chaplaincy position for the best part of 10 years. That is very rare in Primary School chaplaincy and I look forward to continuing to support the Graceville State School Community in the future.

Have a wonderful week!

John Erichsen
(Chappy)

Trivia Night

Community News

Oxley State School Car Boot Sale

Oxley State School will be holding their first Car Boot Sale for 2017 on Sunday 7 May. Open from 7am to 12pm, the event will feature a variety of stall holders offering everything from bric-a-brac to handmade crafts, DVDs, toys and lots more, along with a jumping castle, face-painters and food and drink stalls. Visit their Facebook page.