6 October 2017

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

Welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed the holiday break!

Ms Hass, Mr Guthrie, the 22 students and I made it back safely from our Study Tour to Taiwan. What an amazing experience! Our students were incredible, such excellent role models for our community. The school and host families were extremely generous and our needs were catered for very well. I would like to thank Ms Hass for organising the trip and the children for being such wonderful students and travel buddies! Both Minzu and Wenhua schools are now hoping to visit Graceville next year. If we can find enough families for homestays, we will consider hosting an inbound Study Tour again next year.

The P&C meeting is being held next Wednesday night. Items on my report will be as follows:

• Sharing experiences from the Study Tour
• Discussing enrolment and some aspects of staffing for 2018
• Sharing information about contributions/resources schemes and booklists for 2018
• Explaining the school leadership process (student leaders) for 2018

The Preps are having Talk Like a Pirate Day next Thursday and I am hoping to have a surprise to share on the day. I will see if it pans out! Fingers Crossed!

Don’t forget Monday week 3 is a Pupil Free Day. Children do not come to school on the 16th October.

Have a great week,

Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

From the Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

After school use of the school grounds:

Just to remind and clarify after school procedures, parents please be aware that the school grounds are hired by SchoolPlus OSHC and at times other groups. All Graceville students need to be collected straight after school and if students are not collected at the back or front gates then students remain at the office after 3:10pm until collected by parents.

We ask that parents wishing their children under their supervision to play will need to move to the nearby park or other areas to continue any games as the hirers of school facilities after school need to use spaces such as the school oval and adventure playgrounds and school hall.

Thank you for your cooperation in this regard.

Date Claimer: Remembrance Day school assembly

All parents and community members are invited to attend our school assembly at the special time of 10:15 am on Friday November 10 in our school hall.

Poppies will soon be on sale at both gates before school leading up to November 10.

Getting Set for Prep at Graceville State School

If you are an in-catchment family and have a preppie for next year and haven’t lodged the enrolment forms please do so as soon as possible so that we can gather firm numbers for classes for next year.

Please see flyer attached for new events we are holding during term 4 this year to assist in preparing enrolled students and parents to commence at prep in 2018. These will be opportunities for pre-prep students to spend some time at school with their parents familiarising with our school and some practical information for parents on ways to assist their children have the most positive start at school. RSVP for each event is essential!

All families who put their name down for a meeting at our Information session have been met with. If you haven’t arranged this meeting and would like to discuss your child commencing in prep in 2018 please come into the office and make a time now.

Date Claimer: our prep orientation meetings will be held on Thursday November 23 when new families will be invited to come to a session at prep, meeting staff and learning more about starting prep at our school.

Special Prep Uniform selling times:

14th November: 3-6pm
23rd November: 8.15-11am (Orientation morning)
28th November: 8.15-11am
17th January: 3-6pm (tbc)

If you think your child will need a very small sized uniform then please come in sooner rather than later as these special orders take 4 – 6 weeks to come in. Our uniform shop is open every Monday, Tuesday and Friday 8:15 – 9:00am.

Minzu Study Tour – September 13 – 24

What a great experience we had in Taiwan! It was a very successful Study Tour with our students being welcomed into Minzu homes and families. Minzu is an art specialty school and so we were able to experience Chinese Calligraphy, mosaic making and fabric dying along with Dragon dancing to name a few of the activities we learnt about. I am sure our students have come home to appreciate many facets of home and school life in Australia as well as an increased awareness and appreciation of another culture very different to our own.

Eva 5W, wrote the following about her experience:

Taiwan was a great experience for me. I got to learn more about the culture and what they do for spare time. Their school was very different and they had lots of after school activities. I liked how they had naptime for 30 minutes that made me feel great. Their homes were small and didn’t have much space. I thought it was great that we got to explore a new country.

In Taiwan they learn English at a young age, so it was easy to talk to them. They also had lots of hot things, so it was hard to find cold things. Even the water was really hot!

And Rose 6O:

What I really enjoyed in Taiwan was my experiences. My favourite was the Traditional Arts Centre. I loved walking through and seeing the traditional arts that the Taiwanese people have created. Then we went outside to an old-fashioned street lined with shops. We first went to lunch and then we shopped in small groups. My group was talking about how we wanted to find a lolly shop. Then out came a young lady and she took us to the lolly shop filled with lollies! We bought a giant fairy floss twice the size of our heads for only 40 Taiwanese New Dollars which is only $2 Australian! If there are any more opportunities to go to Taiwan. TAKE IT. Taiwan to me has been a life changing experience.

Thanks girls for your contributions.

Here are some photos from our experience, hard to choose only some but we will have a slide show at a full school assembly to share the tour with the school.

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 4

From the Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

Swimming for Preps, Year 1 & 2 – term 4

Swimming has start for Prep, Year 1 & 2 will commence in Week 1 of Term 4. Permission letters and invoices have been sent to families. Swimming will run from Week 1-8 and the cost will be $68 for the whole term’s program. Last day for payment is this Friday 8th September. Permission forms also need to be sent back to the teachers by the end of this term.

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.

As per previous newsletters the Department has made a commitment that by the end of 2017 all of business units will no longer accept Credit Card details over the phone or in person if paying accounts outside of normal receipting hours. Departments will no longer be allowed to keep this information as previously required for Audit purposes.

To still provide this service to our clients, BPOINT IVR is a payment solution that enables business units and Schools to charge card payments via a bank hosted IVR phone service in real time achieving full Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliance.

This will be compulsory for all Schools. Once implemented, no credit card payments will be taken over the phone unless they are processed via BPOINT IVR (1300 631 073)

When contacting the 1300 number the caller will need their customer reference and invoice details which can be found on the student invoice.

We will be implementing BPOINT IVR from now.

In 2018 we will also no longer be able to provide our school bank details for those parents who choose to do internet banking.

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. This also may include excursions where transport has been arranged. These are also 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

Welcome back! The last term of the year is always busy for the music department as we prepare for our evening concert, finalise recruitment, then collect music and loaned instruments towards the end of the term. Our annual evening concert is scheduled for Wednesday 15 November at 6pm. All choirs and ensembles will perform at this concert and families and members of the school community are warmly invited to the concert. This is a formal concert and all students are requested to wear full school uniform.

Mrs Prout will be on sick leave for term 4. She was not replaced for the last two weeks of last term. We are able to confirm that Mrs Donna Jones will be replacing Mrs Prout this term, with lessons and rehearsals on their usual days/times. Please assist your child/ren to maintain their level of commitment to the program during this period of change, as we have a number of upcoming performances for our string students including the annual evening concert and (for Senior Strings) the Grandparents' Concert.

For the students who have expressed an interest in the instrumental music program for next year, please note that our instrumental teachers will make final decisions by mid term 4 and this will be communicated to families via a letter. It takes time to ensure all students who have expressed an interest in the program have met with the instrumental teachers and allow time for the IM teachers to liaise with any relevant staff (classroom/classroom music teachers etc) as part of the process.

Performance dates for term 4

15 November - 6pm - Annual Music Concert - all choirs and instrumental music students will perform at this concert - full school uniform

22 November - 10am Grandparents Concert - Junior Choir, Senior Choir and Senior Strings will perform for their grandparents/special guests then join us for a shared morning tea.

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

Welcome back to rehearsals and lessons this week!

Naomi Lindh
Music Teacher and IM Coordinator

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

Welcome back everyone as we launch into the final term of the year. This is a busy but exciting time of year with Interschool sport, swimming lessons, year 5 camp, music concerts, school disco, election of School, House and Music Captains, report cards, year 6 graduation and end of year break up. It promises to be an absolute blast so hold on and enjoy the ride.

We also welcome back our staff and students from their study tour and it will be very exciting to catch up with our travellers and hear their tales of overseas adventures. I am sure families were very glad to have everyone return home safe and sound.

Swimming lessons start this week, which while being a very exciting time for students as they develop their stroke technique and increase their understanding of being safe around water, it is also an opportunity for clothing and other gear to wander. Please ensure all items are clearly named as this makes reuniting lost gear and students much easier.

Have a fantastic start to Term 4!

John Erichsen
(Chappy)

Tuckshop News

Volunteers for the week commencing Monday, 9th of October 2017 are -

Thank you to all our volunteers. Sushi returns to the menu for Tuesday and Wednesday next week (as usual). Don’t forget that sushi orders close 12.00pm on Monday.

Tuckshop is operated as an online ordering system. 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 6 Skorts will be back in stock this Friday.

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

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

Band folders are available for $15.

Prep selling days are:

14th November 3-6pm
23rd November 8.15-11am
28th November 8.15-11am
17th January 3-6pm(TBC)

Families that are already at Graceville State School are encouraged to come during normal uniform store hours as the prep selling days are much busier than usual.

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.

Active School Travel

TACO TUESDAY!

(Travel Actively Coming-to-school On)

Mebourne Cup
Decorate your School Hats

On Tuesday 7th November we are please decorate your school hats on Melbourne Cup day, which also happens to be TACO Tuesday! There will be lots of great prizes to be won so get busy decorating! More information to follow!

New Signs – Park Road

Some of you would have noticed the new flashing school zone sign installed on Park Road as you returned to school this week. This is fantastic for the school community as it further highlights the speed limit around the school and makes drivers more aware of their speed during the designated times. If you wish to read more about the school zone signs please go to the link below.

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 is Thursday 12th Oct at 10:45am Please contact Jo Richards at sajrichards@iinet.net.au for more information.

P&C News

FETE

Our major fundraiser for the year was a fantastic success. Everyone’s hard work and effort translated into a profit of $82k. A fantastic amount of money which the P&C hopes to convert into adding another 60KW of solar panels. This investment will greatly improve the power bill of the school so that our school budget is used for teaching the kids, not paying utilities. We hope to go to market for quotes on this project and looking to install before the start of the 2018 school year. If you would like to help organize this project please contact the P&C.

A thank you to all families and staff of the school. The success of the Fete is due to the fact that everyone contributes. A special thanks to our sponsors, our fabulous key sponsors C&K Family Lawyers, Ray White Sherwood and Graceville Physiotherapy and our Platinum sponsors.

Finally thanks to Anne Canalese our Fete Convenor and her committee for their wonderful commitment to making the day happen so smoothly. Congratulations to you all.

NEW SHADE SAILS

These were installed on the oval over the school holiday and provide much needed shade just in time for the summer months. The shade sails (and trimming of surrounding trees to squeeze the structure in) is another great contribution by the P&C to improve the environment our kids have at school.

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.

Meeting next Wednesday!

REMAINING 2017 MEETING DATES

Wednesday 11 October
Wednesday 29 November

CONTACT: pandc@gracevilss.eq.edu.au

Graceville Lightning Swim Club

On your marks! Swimming club off and racing again

The hot weather is a sure sign that the swimming season is under way, including club nights at the school pool with the Graceville Lightning Swim Club.

The club held its first night of racing for the season last Friday night, but it is not too late to sign up and join the action. Children from Prep through to Year 6 swim each Friday night of the term, with racing starting at 6.15pm. There are events to suit all ages and abilities, ranging from 15m for the little ones through to 25m, 50m and the longer events in all strokes for older students. A barbecue and canteen is available.

While the swimming is important, the real focus of Graceville Lightning is to provide a fun social occasion allowing students and families to mingle and get to know each other while at the same time providing a healthy activity for the children.

If your family is interested in participating, visit the Graceville Lightning website via the link and go to the Online Registration section for more details. We hope to see you at club nights!

Community Notices

Western Suburbs District Cricket Club

Western Suburbs District Cricket Club is running two new junior cricket programs which are due to commence the 12th and 13th October at their grounds at Graceville Memorial Park.

Milo in2Cricket and T20 Blast are both super fun, safe, social and active programs for girls and boys aged 5 – 12.

Sherwood Community Festival

The Sherwood Community Festival is a free family event, sponsored by Brisbane City Council, which keeps getting bigger and better each year.

This year it will be on Friday, 10th November, from 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm.

There will be a section dedicated to a huge variety of food stalls, a pop-up library, plus all the other market stalls, rides and live entertainment!

To run alongside the festival, the Sherwood Uniting Church will be holding an art and craft exhibition called, ‘A Place Somewhere’. It is being held inside the church from Wednesday 8 November until Saturday 11 November and will be open during the festival.

Attractions include:

• free rides for the children
• a petting farm
• a pop-up library with storytelling for the children
• a mobile van with all the latest computer games
• market and food stalls
• live entertainment including bands, choirs, dance troupes
• a nativity play – complete with live camels
• a raffle with some amazing prizes. Tickets are on sale outside Sherwood Woolworths on 21/10, 28/10 and 4/11, plus they can be purchased on the night from the information desk.

We are really excited about the upcoming festival and look forward to welcoming our extended community to Sherwood once more for this year’s celebrations.

Australian Girls Choir Open Day

All school-aged girls are invited to come along to the AGC Open Day to find out more. The Open Day will be held on Sunday October 29 and gives girls the opportunity to join in a free class and attend an information session.

Ph. 1800 338 142 for more information or visit the link below.

West Brisbane Region Asperger Support Meeting

We are very much looking forward to hearing Jay speak at our next meeting.

Date: Thursday October 26th
Time: 7pm - 9pm (Please arrive ready to start the meeting at 7pm)
Venue: St Matthew’s Church Hall ( cnr. Oxley and Sherwood Rds. Sherwood)
Speakers: Jay Hobbs - http://au.specialisterne.com/
Topic: “Employment opportunities for people on the ASD spectrum"
Cost: $5 per person / couple

About The Speaker:

Jay Hobbs is the Assessment and Support Manager for Specialisterne and is based in Brisbane at the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC). Jay has worked with people on the autism spectrum and their families for over fifteen years in both Australia and the UK. Jay led the robotics social clubs research with the Autism CRC, has a Master of Professional Psychology and currently works under the supervision of Dr. Michelle Garnett and Prof. Tony Attwood. Jay has worked on large employment programs with corporate clients such as HP, SAP and SunPork Farms. Jay is passionate about working with people on the spectrum particularly in the areas of psychology, education and employment. Jay works with clients to design and deliver large employment and work readiness programs across Australia.

About The Company:

Specialisterne Australia - A Social Enterprise

Specialisterne (which translates from Danish as ‘The Specialists’) is an innovative social business concept originally founded in Denmark in 2004. Specialisterne is internationally recognised as the first and foremost example of how autistic adults can become effectively included in society and provide valuable, high quality services to their employers.Specialisterne works to enable jobs for autistic adults through social entrepreneurship, innovative employment models and a national change in mindset. We believe that it is not the autistic individual who needs to change, but rather the way the labour market is conducted.

Our key tenant is to shift the focus from ‘disability’ and instead focus on an individuals ‘specialist abilities’.

The global vision is to enable one million careers for people on the autism spectrum through social entrepreneurship, corporate sector engagement and a global change in mind-set. In Australia our portion of this pledge is 12, 000 careers by 2025.

This employment concept has been successfully implemented around the world in Denmark, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Spain, USA, and our global Specialisterne Foundation (links below).

We look forward to seeing you.