22 November 2018

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

Three weeks to go!

By the end of this week we will have our staffing for 2019 finalised. Teachers are in the process of creating classes for 2019 using the information provided by students, parents and their own professional judgement. We do our best to consider and accommodate the information provided however cannot make any guarantees. Children will find out which class they are in on 11 December and will have a ‘meet the teacher’ afternoon from 1.50m – 2.50pm on Wednesday 12 December.

From next week until the last Tuesday of school, we will be taking teachers off line for a full day to both acknowledge the growth of student learning through data analysis sessions and set up our new teaching teams for 2019. Although deep in finalising report cards for 2018, as a school we also turn our minds to next year and the areas we wish to improve in the school. In 2019, we will continue our Inquiry Learning Journey and start to work with our teachers to implement our approach to writing.

Our Year 6 students are getting itchy feet as the end of the year approaches. We have two big events in the last week of school, the Graduation night, which is an invitation only event and the Farewell Assembly, which all members of the school community are welcome to attend. The first half of the assembly focuses on the new leaders for 2019. We present the leader badges and wish our new leaders the best of luck in their new roles. The last half of the assembly sees us farewell our Year 6 students. It always brings a tear to my eye, a mixture of pride, happiness and of course sadness to see our students go! I suggest brining a hand held fan if coming along as it can be quite hot in the hall with close to 1000 bodies and of course some tissues!

I would like to say a huge thankyou to Mr Guthrie and Mr Osborne for hosting a men’s health morning gathering for boys and fathers from their classes. If you have seen them recently you will know they have been supporting ‘Movmeber’ to highlight men’s health. We are thankful for the positive feedback from the fathers who attended the morning at the cafe. I would like to say huge thankyou to Mr Guthrie and Mr Osborne on behalf of those who attended the morning! Above and beyond for showing such care and support for the future wellbeing of our boys!

Finally, Report Cards will be emailed home from Tuesday 11 December. Please make sure your email address is update with the office.

Have a great week,

Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Study Tour to Taiwan 2019

We now have 9 confirmed students to participate in the study tour and require at least 15 to move forward with planning. The cut off date to return the ‘Intention to Participate’ is Wednesday December 4 and following this a deposit of $200 will be required by December 12.

The study tour is open to students who will be in year 5 and 6 in 2019.

It would be up to families to decide on your own child’s readiness to participate in this very rewarding experience. If you have any question please send me an email mhass10@eq.edu.au

Prep Orientation 2019

Our prep orientation meetings will be on Thursday November 29 and you will have received a letter about prep class placement and time to come for orientation if you have a 2019 preppie.

Our current preps will have another venue for the morning drop off and return to usual class by lunch time as teachers are meeting our 2019 preppies. A letter will come home early next week about these arrangements.

Prep uniform selling days are:

29th November 8.00am - 12pm (Prep Orientation morning)
23rd January 3pm - 6pm

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.

We have our final junior assembly for the year on December 4, commencing at 2.15, all welcome to attend.

2019 Booklists

Ordering:

The booklists for your 2019 Back to School Book Packs are ready for you to place your order, please go to the website below, click on “Order here” and follow the prompts.

Enter our School login code 8PA4, choose the year level and make your selection, please remember to place your order before the ordering deadline of 30 November 2018 to avoid late order charges.

We recommend that you open an account as that will save you having to re-enter your details for other orders. For multiple children, we recommend that you place all your orders in one transaction, your packs will still be delivered with one pack per child.

If you do not have access to the Internet or if you wish to pay cash (cheques are not accepted), you are welcome to come go to the Campion Education Retail Store in Salisbury and place your order in person, there is plenty of car parking.

Delivery:

Your prepaid Book Packs will be delivered to your nominated physical address (home, work, relative or friends’ address) during the fortnight ending 25 January 2019.

Alternatively parents can choose to collect their book packs from the school, please ensure the School Collection box is ticked at the time of ordering.

Book packs must be collected from 9am to 12noon on Wednesday 23 January 2019 from the School Hall.

Money Matters

Anne Nixon

Thank you for your payments for excursions and resources to date.

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 2018 are:

• Prep Requirements ($70)
• Instrumental Music Programs – Instrument Hire ($100), Percussion Maintenance ($50), Music Participation ($80) & Choir ($30)
• Religious Education Program ($10)
• Mathletics On-line registration (Years 1 - 6) ($12)
• Origo Maths (years 3, 4 and 5) ($6)
• Year 4/5 maths levy ($17.50)
• ESmart Digital Licence Yr 5 ($10)

All students involved in these programs must return a completed SRS form.

VOLUNTARY PARENT CONTRIBUTIONS

Your valuable contribution to this school’s Learning Targets is most welcome.

$100 single student.

You can either pay the Voluntary Contribution in the office, or by direct deposit into the school bank account referencing the payment “VC” with your child’s name. Our bank account details are:

BSB: 064-111
Account Number: 00090051
Account Name: Graceville State School

Credit in Account: Credits from 2017 rolled over to this year can be applied to current invoices at the parent’s request.

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

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

Thank you to all of our music students and families for a fabulous concert last Wednesday night which all of our bands, choirs and orchestras performed at! It was a fabulous celebration and sharing of music, skills and enjoyment students have learnt this year. We greatly appreciate the support of our students and families during the year and acknowledge the effort it takes to ensure lessons and rehearsals are attended regularly. Our teachers and conductors were thanked with gifts organised by the music captains and we would like to thank our captains Emily R, Megan B and Zara M for their leadership and commitment throughout the year as well as all of the students in the choirs and ensembles.

If your child is in the Senior Band, Junior Band or Beginner/Junior Strings and currently have a school instrument on loan, they can be returned to the music room this week or by Wednesday next week.

The Junior Choir, Senior Choir and Senior Strings will perform at the Grandparents' Concert on Wednesday 28 November at 10am. Please note letters in links below with further information. Students should wear full school uniform and can add a touch of Christmas Eg. Christmas hat/headband. Our Senior Strings perform and also accompany the singing of shared Christmas Carols after the performances. We then have morning tea with our guests after the concert. We have requested all students participating bring a plate to share for the morning tea, leaving it in the kitchen next to the hall from 8:30am next Wednesday. If these are send in a container please ask your child to collect it at the end of the morning tea. The food will be out on platters with a mix of different foods for our students and guests. All participating students are invited to the morning tea whether they have a guest coming to the concert or not.

The final concert for the year will be the combined Junior and Senior Choirs will be singing at the Community Carols evening at the Chelmer Riverside Church on Saturday 1 December at 5:30pm, with choir students requested to arrive at 5:15pm. Students do not need to wear a school uniform, it is a free dress event and clothing/accessories with a Christmas theme is welcome. This will be an optional event for any students and families who are able to attend and they will schedule our combined choir (Junior and Senior Choir students singing together) at the beginning of the evening which starts at 5:30pm, so children and families can enjoy the evening afterwards. They are planning it to be an outdoor event with market stalls and a jumping castle. Please note date of this event, Saturday 1 December at 5:30pm, for any Senior or Junior Choir students and families who would like to attend and please note that parents/carers are expected to stay at the venue for the performance and supervision of children immediately before and after it.

Instrumental music rehearsals have now finished for the year, except the Senior Strings who will continue to rehearse until the Grandparents' Concert and this will be their last rehearsal day and performance. The Junior and Senior Choirs will finish rehearsals after week 8, so there will be no choir rehearsals in weeks 9 and 10 (from 3 December).

Some of you may be aware of the ABC program ‘Don’t Stop the Music’. Two episodes have been shown and there is another in the series. It is a great program for parents as well as students. If you have not seen any episodes yet you are able to view them on the ABC iview app.

*28 November - Grandparents' Concert - Junior Choir, Senior Choir and Senior Strings performing for their grandparents'/special guests - notes attached in links - full school uniform (can add a touch of Christmas)

* 1 December - Community Carols Evening at the Riverside Church in Chelmer 5:30pm - combined Junior and Senior Choir performance for any students and families who are able to attend (optional performance and parents/carers are to remain at the venue). This event is free dress with a Christmas theme (clothing/accessories) welcome.

Music teacher contact details...

Alex Grodecki - agrod3@eq.edu.au
Ruth Prout - rprou5@eq.edu.au
James Kukulies - jkuku2@eq.edu.au
Steve Stiller - sstil2@eq.edu.au
Julie West - jwest269@eq.edu.au
Naomi Lindh - nclos1@eq.edu.au

Thanks again to all of our music students and families for a fabulous concert last week!

Naomi Lindh
Music Teacher and IM Coordinator

Uniform Shop

Fiona Fryer

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

The last day to purchase uniforms this year will be Monday 10th December as the store will be closed for stocktake on Tuesday 11th December and Friday 14th December.

Thank you to those people who have offered to volunteer next year, your offer of help is greatly appreciated but we still need more people to cover the days.

The uniform store will be losing more its valuable long serving volunteers at the end of this year as their children are moving on to high school, so we really need more parents, guardians or grandparents to help out for next year or we won't be able to be open as often as we are. At the moment it would require you to be there from 8.15-9.00am on Monday, Tuesday or Friday each week, if we get more people willing to lend a hand then it wouldn't have to be every week. So, if you think you could spare some time on those mornings and help out I would really appreciate it, just send an email to the address below or come to the store and have a chat, hopefully see you soon :)

Prep selling days are:

29th November 8.00am - 12pm
23rd January 3pm - 6pm

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.

We are currently out of stock of large size hats until early December, sorry for the inconvenience.

We have new school colour bows in store now for $5 each.

Swimming lessons are up and running, you can purchase lycra and silicone swimming caps, bags and towels in various colours.

Interschool sport Representative shirts are in stock.

As of 1st July stores stopped providing free single use bags therefore the uniform store will no longer provide plastic bags so please make sure you bring your own if required.

Donations of 2nd hand uniforms are always appreciated, so please keep them coming but can you please make sure that all items are in a good, clean and saleable condition.

Please be advised that refunds will ONLY be given if you have the original receipt and items should not have been washed or worn.

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 via the teachers pigeon hole in the main office.

Email address for school uniform store is:

uniformstore@gracevilss.eq.edu.au

Tuckshop and Uniform shop Convenor - Casual Positions

The P&C are looking for two candidates to fill casual positions urgently before the end of the school year. The casual convenor position will be trained in both businesses. This position is to work with, and fill in on short notice with existing convenors. Expressions of interest and job descriptions are available by emailing the P&C on pandc@gracevilss.eq.edu.au

Tuckshop News

Tuckshop Roster for week ending 30th of November 2018

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS!

There are only two weeks of Tuckshop left for this year. Our final day of opening is Friday 7th of December. We are NOT open in the last week of school. As we near the end of the year, we will run our stocks down so your favourite food option may not be available. Please talk to your children to let them know and suggest the other choices available.

2019 TUCKSHOP ROSTER

We are currently putting together the Tuckshop Roster for next year and have some gaps we need to fill. Please send us an email at tuckshop.gss@gmail.com or drop a volunteer form into the P&C box in the school office to let us know when you can help. We need you to stay open five days a week!

Volunteering is only three hours once a month or term from 8.30am until 11.30am. You’ll meet new people, have a laugh while preparing the student lunches and help keep tuckshop prices reasonable. Many of our working parents who currently volunteer find coming in for a tuckshop shift refreshing and rewarding. It’s satisfying work with a happy outcome; the students love to collect their tuckshop class buckets and buy a treat at the tuckshop window. Just give it a try!

NOVEMBER NEWBIES!!

WOW!! We have added three new things to the menu this month! Have you tried one yet? Take a peek –

• a delicious Fruit Bun baked by our talented bretzel baking Mum. The bun is a great “green category” healthy snack option. Only 80 cents; find it in the snacks category on School24 or at the counter.

• Gingerbread People! Specially made for our “amber category” again by our talented Graceville baking Mum, they are delicious and a fun addition for Term 4! And only 80 cents, look for them in the snacks category on School24 or at the counter.

• New Wednesday Special! Pasta Salad! It contains pasta twirls, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and carrot with a tasty Tuckshop made dressing of olive oil, apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard - simply delicious! Still at our special price of $5. Add optional extras such as chicken, ham, tuna, pineapple or corn for an additional cost. Wednesdays only

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

Well done to all our music and choir students for the progress they have made this year. Listening to rehearsals for last week’s Music Concert, it was most evident that our students have travelled far since the start of the year. I would like to acknowledge the dedication of all our music teachers who patiently guide students into the world of music. Music is such a powerful medium. It invokes feelings and memories, significantly influencing our moods and even carrying us away to a different place and time. Our music students have started a wonderful and exciting journey and who knows where it could lead them. As Shakespeare wrote, “If music be the food of love, play on.”

With the Federal Government aligning a greater focus on bullying to their continued Funding of the National Schools Chaplaincy Funding, I thought it was opportunistic to share the little information we have been provided regarding this focus. Our understanding is that training and information will be aligned with the Office of the eSafety Commissioner and will complement the school’s existing work around bullying. On the eSafety Commission website there is plenty of information and resources for the community around the issue of bullying. For parents, there is the iParent menu which can be found on the link below -

Parents are encouraged to check this out to keep informed and empowered.

Our Interschool sport season drew to a close last Friday, with Grand Finals being played for Softball, Water Polo, Basketball and Touch Footy. Congratulations to all students for their efforts and improvement over the season. I hope you enjoyed the experience of playing competitive sport and learned a little more about yourself in the process. Thank you to teachers and parents for your work with the students at training to assist in the development of skills and strategies.

With only a few weeks of school remaining, the end of primary school is looming large for year six students. This is an exciting time for them but it can also be quite daunting, as thoughts of an unknown, unfamiliar future arrive. They are becoming aware that the big fish in the Graceville State School pond will soon be the little fish in somebody’s lake. Graduation practice has commenced and it promises to be a wonderful and moving evening, as parents and staff celebrate the learning and growing journey thus far. In a few short weeks, school life will be a vastly different beast. Our students are well prepared for this inevitable journey, where future learning can be constructed on a solid foundation, deeply grounded in engagement and curiosity. What High School will look like is just one aspect of the unknown for our year six students. These next weeks will be the final time where this group interact as this well-known and clearly understood cohort. The dynamics of friends heading to different high schools will add to the uncertainty of what awaits in 2019. New experiences can be a little scary, but they bring with them new opportunities and new adventures. I hope our Year six students can embrace this season of change and grasp all that high school life has to offer them.

Have a great week!

John Erichsen
(Chappy)

Active Travel

Melbourne Cup – Decorate your hat

A huge thank you to all the students who took the time to decorate their hats on Melbourne Cup Day 6th November. Cr Johnston kindly provided us all with muffins, fruit and juice which was a popular way to start the day.

The winners of the tuck shop vouchers and prizes are:

Ella 2M
Joe 2EH
Julianna 2C
Sophia Prep S
Daniel Prep F
Grace 3M
Grace 5H
Finn 5G
Georgia 5O
Amy 5G
Lilly 5G
Emma 3 M
Grace Prep K
Lucinda 2C

AST Scavenger Hunt

We received many entries for the AST Scavenger Hunt provided by Cr Johnston. It was a great opportunity to get out and about with friends and family to find all the answers. We will announce the winner very soon!

We need you!!!!!

We are very lucky to have the year 5 students involved in Active Travel this year and Mrs Hornstra who does an amazing job each week with organising the students to ensure that passports are stamped and the AST messages are delivered on assembly (and many other tasks too numerous to list). Without their support this program would not be the success that it is.

The Active School Travel committee is very “Active’ in our community. We have great support from Councillor Nicole Johnston and Michelene Doray , who is the Project Manager for AST in the BCC. Mrs Hornstra and Mrs McKeaten from the school and Paul Rueberry (Prep parent who has come on board this year) as well as myself. We would like to adopt the P&C model of having someone “Learning the role” from me this year. This person would attend our once or twice a term meetings and do the newsletter article each week as well as attend any school events, if possible. You would be very well supported in the committee if you were interested. We are always after fresh ideas. If you are interested in talking to me about this please email Jo at sajrichards@iinet.net.au

SCHOOL BANKING

Graceville SS’s school banking day is MONDAY and deposits can be made from 8:20 to 8:40 at the hall kitchen and then via the grey classroom pouches.

There will be no school banking Week 8, 26 November and Week 10, 10 December 2018 as we do not have volunteers available.

With only 1 week of school banking remaining in Week 9, if you want to redeem a reward before the end of the year please hand in the redemption flyer to the office by Monday 26 November as it has been taking a couple of weeks for the rewards to be sent to the school. The rewards redemption flyer can be downloaded from the Commbank website if you do not already have one.

Rewards currently available are:

• Twister Power Handball
• Sparkle Glitter Pens
• Glow Light
• Mighty Boom Handball
• Heat Reactor Pencils
• Slushie Maker Cup
• Zoom Flying Disc

Please remember to write your name and class on the rewards redemption flyer as recently we have received some blank ones and have been unable to order the rewards.

In 2019 School Banking at Graceville is looking for a new co-ordinator. If you interested in taking this on please either come visit us on a Monday morning at the hall kitchen or contact the office for more information. To date, we have had no interest in anyone taking over and without a new co-ordinator, there will be no school banking in 2019.

Happy Saving!

School Plus

As week 6 comes to an end, the children are filled with much excitement with our Vacation Care program now out!! Vacation Care chats about what days we are most looking forward to attending have definitely been one of the week’s highlights.

Aside from this great news, the children were just as excited with even more new home corner equipment that went out! Tea parties have been a hit with the new tea and food set along with the fruit and veg stall! The children tested their math and customer service skills with running their own shop. The fruit and veg prices were at a high with a piece of corn costing up to $300! The prices may be high but are worth it as it’s great fuel food for our soccer super stars in the making.

The boys are either playing soccer on the oval or ensuring their fitness levels are high, with carefully thought out training drills. Other highlights for the week were the sensory “Rice Treasure” and “Rope Fun” on the playground. That’s a wrap for week 6, we can’t wait to see what week 7 has to offer!