20 July 2017

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

This week we welcome the students and teachers of Wenhua School from Taiwan. For the next three weeks the Taiwanese students will be engaged in either English immersion, in our Year 5 or 6 classes, or in specialised Australian culture lessons. Please make our guests feel welcome if you see them around the school!

I would like to congratulate Ms Amanda Nicholls and the students who participated in Creative Generation on the weekend. I attended the show on Friday night and it was fantastic. I was so proud to see our students performing. I was lucky enough to see the students backstage before the performance and get them all to sign my program. Who knows, I may have the autograph of a future famous person! I was also very proud to see past Graceville students, Araya Dath, Joshua Jones and Emma Whitefield taking on specialised roles in the show. They were amazing! I would like to thank the parents of the students who participated. Many parents helped out transporting or supervising students so they could take part in the event. Big thanks must go to Ms Nicholls for her ongoing enthusiasm and support for GGEN!

The 2018 Prep Information Night is being held on Wednesday 26 July from 7pm. If you have a child enrolling in Prep in 2018, we would love to see you on the night.

As the second half of the year is now underway, my attention will be turning to staffing for 2018. In the next few weeks you will receive a letter home asking if your child/children are intending to remain at Graceville for the 2018 school year. We use this information to help us predict the number of classes and therefore teachers we need to staff the school. Based on what we currently know, it is likely we will grow by a class next year. Please fill in and return the form by the due date.

Don’t forget, Friday is a Free Dress day for a gold coin donation. The money collected is donated to help support aspects of the Fete.

Have a great week,
Zoe

Newsletter Articles

From the Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Wenhua Study Tour: July 18 – August 6

We welcomed our Taiwanese study tour on Tuesday this week and the students are settling into Australian home and school life which are both very different. Our home and school buddies are doing a fantastic job at assisting our visiting students feel comfortable here at Graceville. Thank you to our homestay parents who also are making our visiting group feel welcome. At our welcome assembly on Tuesday our senior choir sang, I would like to thank those students and Ms West for their performance too.

Here is a photo of our visiting group from Tuesday.

Date Claimer:

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

All welcome to attend whether in catchment or on our waiting list.

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.

Calendar for Junior Assemblies for Term 3

From the Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

Religious Instruction Program Term 3 & 4

The RI program for Years 3, 4, 5 & 5/6E (Yr 6s) will commence next week (Week 2). All changes have now been made to the permissions and I have allocated students to classes & teachers, based on the information we have or parents have returned. Please be aware that I won’t be making any further changes to classes as this has a huge impact on the numbers of students in the groups, either doing the Co-operative program or the students not attending an RI program. If any families wish to make a change in their preference for their child this has to be done in writing and it will be taken into account prior to starting the Term 4 program. I am happy to re-adjust the classes & teachers ready for term 4, but there will not be any changes made during Term 3.

QParent Information

QParent will be starting shortly at our school. We will be sending home some information this week for parents. Be on the lookout for your email in the next couple of weeks offering the program to you.

Money Matters

Anne Nixon

Term 3 accounts were sent home at the end of last term. 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 below. 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 all of our students for returning to lessons and rehearsals. This week the Senior Choir sang at the special assembly to welcome our Taiwanese study tour guests. It is always lovely to be involved in school events and we would like to thank the Senior Choir and Ms Julie West for your performance!

The West Cent Music Camps will be held from 24-28 July. All of our instrumental music teachers attend this to support our participating students as well as many students from surrounding schools. This is also an excellent professional development experience for them working with other IM teachers and students and conducting the ensembles. Please note that all instrumental music lessons and rehearsals will be cancelled in week 3 of this term (24-28 July), however choir rehearsals will continue during this week.

Junior Choir rehearsals will resume this week, Friday 21 July, in the music room at 7:55am. We will be preparing for our upcoming performances.

The Junior Choir, Senior Choir and Senior Band will be performing at the school fete from 12 - 1pm. Our approximate performance times for the fete performances are:

12:00 Senior Band
12:25pm Junior Choir
12:35pm Senior Choir

All families and members of the school community are invited to attend the fete performances.

The instrumental music workshop will be held on Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 August. All students in the instrumental program will attend the workshop which involves our students alternating between working in small groups with guest tutors and full ensemble rehearsals. The workshop will culminate with a concert on Thursday 31 August at 2pm in the hall. The cost of the workshop is $40. Please note participation in the workshop and concert is a mandatory part of the instrumental music program. Our students thrive on the opportunity to work on their musicianship, rehearsal and performance skills with the tutors and the focused time playing over the 2 days. All members of the school community are warmly invited to the concert on Thursday 31 August at 2pm in the hall.

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
Naomi Lindh - nclos1@eq.edu.au

We look forward to our upcoming performances!

Naomi Lindh
Music Teacher and IM Coordinator

Library News

Melanie Hutchinson

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

Scholastic Book Club is up and running again this term, thanks to our fantastic volunteers. This term’s issue’s flyer (Issue 5) has been handed out to the classes – to order, just look over the flyer with your child, select the books you want and mark them on the order form on the back of the flyer.

Then ORDER ONLINE WITH THE CORRECT PAYMENT, by the closing date FRIDAY 28th JULY.

Preferred method of payment:

CREDIT CARD payments online, or through the LOOP APP [LOOP: Linked Online Ordering and Payment available through the link below or download the LOOP Apple or Android app]. The order forms do not need to be returned to school.

If paying by credit card on the phone or with a cheque made to Scholastic Australia, return the order form to the school library by Friday 28th July.

NO CASH ORDERS PLEASE – GRACEVILLE STATE SCHOOL IS RUNNING A CASHLESS BOOK CLUB.

CREATIVE GENERATION – State Schools Onstage 2017

What an incredible journey it has been for our Creative Generation students over the last few months. These students have worked tirelessly by attending weekly rehearsals at school and over many weekends and the holidays.

Students had an amazing opportunity of being taught choreography by a number of talented Choreographers. This year we worked closely with George Canham and Shaun Kohlman from ROCKIT Productions and Julie-Anne Byster who was the Dance Director for our dances. George is a Brisbane-based choreographer and dance instructor, working throughout Queensland with professional credits both on stage and on screen. Shaun is also a Brisbane-based performer, director, producer, vocal coach and writer who is currently engaged with Opera Queensland and Shake&Stir for the Queensland tour of FiZZ! Julie-Anne is the dance director and one of the Choreographers for the 2017 CGEN season and currently works as the Head of Department in Arts and Languages at Dakabin SHS.

The production itself was held in the Great Hall at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. It was amazing to watch as they rehearsed at the convention centre for the first time the day before the first show.

The logistics of setting up this production involved approximately 12 semi-trailers with more than 20 tonnes of equipment and that is just to set up the stage, lighting and audio visual structure. Then add to that the 700-voice choir, 65-piece symphony orchestra, The James Morrison Big Band, over 800 dancers and over 40 featured vocalists.

Creative Generation teaches students perseverance, self-discipline, goal setting, communication, team work, self-management and patience. Arts Education contributes to student self-esteem. It boosts creative thinking, originality and problem solving which are all valuable skills that our students can use in their futures.

We would like to thank the parents for driving to and from rehearsals, assisting with car-pooling and coping with the large amount of notes and messages that were sent out. We are very proud of all our students as they took to the stage and performed like seasoned professionals.

CGEN will be broadcasted on Chanel 10 October 14, 2017. Hope you can all tune in.

Fete News

Jam Stall

Thank you to those who have donated empty jars, we now have plenty. The jars are available for collection from outside the office. Please refer to the sterilizing and jam making information in the fete newsletter. If you need jars and there aren’t enough or the box is empty, please email me athappyhibberts@gmail.comand I will organise to drop some to you. You can deliver your relishes, jams and chutneys to the Tuckshop with details of the ingredients and class name on them.

THANK YOU!

Tuckshop News

Volunteers for the week commencing Monday, 24th of July 2017 are -

Thank you to all our volunteers!

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.

Size 4 track pants are back in stock.

Size 4 and 6 polar fleece jackets are out of stock but should be back in 2 weeks.

Size 10 track pants are out of stock but are on order and should be back in next week.

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 and can be emailed to the uniform shop at the below address, 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.

New volunteers would be greatly appreciated, it only requires you to be there from 8.15-9.00. If you think you could help out please send an email to the above address, if you have any questions please ask.

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

Last Friday’s Chaplaincy Lapathon, held in perfect weather, was a fantastic day. It was lovely to see parents and carers in attendance supporting the students as they churned out their laps. There were some very impressive lap numbers and I am keen to see which classes will be on top of each year level once the numbers are crunched. Well done to all our lap winners. Prizes will be given out at Week 4 assemblies, once all the envelopes are returned and sponsorship winners are identified. Thank you to everyone who helped make the day so successful. I would like to thank the student helpers who before school and at the end of the day assisted with set up and pull down. Lastly, I would to thank the students for their efforts on the day. I saw lots of smiling faces, so whether students ran as far as they could, jogged at a comfortable pace or walked and chatted with friends, most seemed to be having a good time.

Have a wonderful week!

John Erichsen
(Chappy)

Active School Travel

Fete Competition

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”.

In weeks 3-7 of Term 3 (25th July – 22nd August) you will have the opportunity to collect one entry each week when you have your active travel passport stamped at the designated stamping stations. All you need to do is fill out your entry form and put it into the entry box (either at the stamping station or the office). Entries must be received by 23rd August @ 3pm to go in the draw.

There will be one (1) ride band per year level to be given away. If you’re lucky enough to win and have already purchased your ride band, don’t worry we will organise a refund for you.

To win the free toss at the lob-o-choc get together with your class and get as many of your class mates to enter as possible. It’s simple, the class with the most entries will win!

Reminder of pick up procedures on Acacia Avenue

In July last year some changes were made to the pickup procedures at the drop off / pick up zone on Acacia Avenue. These changes were implemented due to safety concerns, and from suggestions from parents within the school community.

Summary of changes:

• Main entrance on Acacia Ave will be used for children waiting to be picked up (the gate closest to the admin block)
• Students will be seated in this area and listen to the supervisor on duty
• Students will exit from this gate to the first three waiting cars in the zone
• Smaller pedestrian gate will be used by parents and students not involved in the pickup zone (i.e. foot traffic only)
• Please try to avoid main gate access at peak time of 2:50pm. Often those parents who pick up at 3pm find the flow of traffic much better
• Signage will be displayed to indicate the “three car zone”. Cars are not to be parked in this area during pick up times.
• Order forms are available to order name tags for the car sun visors so that the supervisor can identify the children who are to be picked up

Remember that we encourage ACTIVE TRAVEL so why not take the ACTIVE CHALLENGE and try for a week (or a few days) to park your car in one of the designated “park-and-stride” areas, and walk to collect your children from school. You may be surprised to know that it doesn’t take too much longer out of your day - you get to spend time in the fresh air, catch up with other parents and help to reduce congestion around the school

• Speed - are you doing the correct speed? 40km p/h around schools during 7-9am and 2-4pm on school days.
• Parking – have you parked on a yellow line? Do you know this obstructs the view of other motorists and pedestrians? It is disappointing that EVERY day there are cars parked over yellow lines around our school at pick up times. When you next park at the school (especially on Park Road) take the time to check that you’re not parked over a yellow line…..you might be surprised! Set a good example and follow the rules – it doesn’t matter how busy you are….you are endangering the lives of others by doing the wrong thing.
• Mobile Phones – we all are guilty of being distracted by our mobile devices. While driving make sure you are not texting or looking at the screen. Use hands-free where possible. Better still, if you can turn off your phone or put it onto silent while doing the school pick up – drop off. This will save you any unnecessary distractions and help you to focus on the traffic and pedestrians around the school. Better still turn it off and talk to your passengers
• School Zones - Anyone using the school pick up and drop off zones needs to be aware of the times it can be used and how long you can be parked there. The two minute zone is just that…..you are not supposed to be parked there for more than two minutes! If your passenger is not there you should be moving on and going around the block. Alternatively, park your car in the “park and stride” zones and walk. The weather is so beautiful at this time of the year and it gives you an opportunity to have a conversation with your child about their day.
• Crossings - don’t park over the crossing as this makes it difficult for our crossing supervisors to see oncoming traffic.
• Signage - check the signage where you have parked or are sitting in your car. Are you parked appropriately?

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

P&C MORNING MEETING

This week we held our second morning meeting for 2017. We trialled the idea of a meeting straight after drop off to allow for parents who find it difficult to get away from home at night. Of course this does not suit everyone but is just an idea to open up the meetings to more people who may be interested in contributing to the school community. We had a special guest speaker join us. A parent of the school, former Fete Convenor and recently appointed Life Member of the P&C, Kathy Whitefield. Kathy spoke to us about volunteering, why we do it, the benefits and how we engage others. Kathy shared her many years of experience volunteering and seeking volunteers to make our fete the celebrated event that it is. Thanks Kathy, awesome meeting.

VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION

The school and the P&C have worked closely to identify and create a strategy to turn around the aging technology in our school. Rather than go down the very expensive route of a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy as many schools are forced to do, the P&C strongly supports a voluntary contribution of $100 per child which started this year. This voluntary contribution route only works if everyone contributes! Contributions are still below 50% of the children in the school. Contributions are voluntary and of course can be part payments. All funds are used for the technology budget of the school. Contributions can be made to the office at any time.

UNIFORM SHOP

We are looking for more volunteers in the uniform shop and also in the tuckshop. Any assistance would be very welcome. These businesses do rely on volunteer labour.

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.

REMAINING 2017 MEETING DATES

For your diaries:

Wednesday 23 August (if required – fete week)
Wednesday 11 October
Wednesday 29 November

CONTACT: pandc@gracevilss.eq.edu.au