12 September 2019

Domain and email change

Please be aware that due to the upcoming domain name change our school website address is now:

This domain name will also affect email addresses so please ensure that the following email addresses are updated in your contact lists:

principal@gracevilless.eq.edu.au
admin@gracevilless.eq.edu.au
newsletter@gracevilless.eq.edu.au
pandc@gracevilless.eq.edu.au
bsm@gracevilless.eq.edu.au
prepyear@gracevilless.eq.edu.au

Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

One week to go!

We welcome you to join us at the P-3 Athletics Carnival next Wednesday. It is always a great day!

I would like to wish our Study Tour students and teachers the best of luck on their trip to Taiwan. The tour leaves next Wednesday night and runs until the middle weekend of the school holidays. I know the students will enjoy themselves!

Don’t forget Book Week Dress Up day is next Thursday. Students and staff can come dressed as their favourite book character. Encouraging your children to read and develop a love of books is a fantastic gift to give them for the future!

For your planning purposes for Term 4, don’t forget Monday 7 October is a Public Holiday and Monday 21 October is a Pupil Free Day.

Finally, all nominations for the Enhancement Classes are due Thursday 19 September by 3.30pm. No late nomination forms will be accepted so please manage your week and time to ensure you can hand the form into the office by the due date and time. Remember only those families who expressed an interest earlier in the year can nominate.

I hope you have a great week,

Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Outbound Study Tour

We are on countdown, 6 more sleeps until we take off for Taiwan! As a group we are meeting regularly and honing our performance skills in preparation for our Study Tour to Wenhau. The host school has designed an exciting program for us over the 10 days we will be there. I will post some photos of our activities in the newsletters after the holidays.

Prep-year 3 Sports Day – Wednesday September 18

PROGRAM

(Approximate times only)

LUNCH (1.15PM – 1.50PM)

ROTATIONAL ACTIVITIES (1.50PM – 2.45PM)

The children compete in their classes and participate in 10 different athletic activities for several minutes per activity. Each activity has a scoring system attached and we then announce the winning class at the end of the afternoon

Prep 2020

Term 4 will commence our Get Set for Prep series, so make sure you know the days and times of those three sessions. You are welcome to attend even if you are on our waiting list for prep in 2020. Next term is also when we will start to get an idea if we will have any prep spots for out-of-catchment places.

If you are a current school family or have an in catchment enrolment for prep next year please come into the office to collect enrolment forms and arrange for a meeting asap. This will enable us to get a good idea of numbers for classes and assist in our planning.

Date Claimers:

Get Set for Prep session 1: Tuesday October 22, 9 – 10:30am. Focus on Fine Motor Skills
Get Set for Prep session 2: Monday October 28, 9 – 10:30am. Introduction to Speech and Language Development by School Speech Language Pathologist
Get Set for Prep session 3: Tuesday November 12, 9 - 10:30am, Focus on Reading
Prep Orientation meetings: Thursday November 28
Prep uniform selling morning: Thursday November 28, 8:15 – 12:00 and Wednesday January 22nd 2020 3-6pm

Below is the calendar for Junior Assemblies in Term 3. Everyone welcome, we are on from 2.15pm on these Tuesdays in the hall.

Nationwide Reading Hour:

On Thursday September 19, all Australians are encouraged to pick up a book and read for one hour, on their own or with the children in their life.

The Morrison Government is providing $50,000 to support the 2019 Australian Reading Hour and help increase awareness of talented Australian authors and illustrators. "Australian Reading Hour is a great initiative which highlights the value of reading for both adults and children," Minister Fletcher said. "Literacy is one of the most important foundations and reading has tremendous benefits for children, such as building knowledge and improving concentration and memory. Reading has also been shown to reduce stress by 68% in adults, more than listening to music or going for a walk, and is an enjoyable pastime that promotes creativity."

For more information visit the Australian Reading Hour website:

Library News

QUEENSLAND CBCA READERS’ CUP 2019

Last week on Thursday 5 September, the 2019 STATE FINALS of the Queensland Readers’ Cup organised by the Children’s Book Council of Australia took place at St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane. Despite the very tough competition from 17 other schools, and the many challenging questions, Graceville State School achieved Top Ten status, coming in at NINTH position. This amazing team was made up of:

These students read and re-read five novels and on the day answered some really difficult questions about each of these books – 40 questions in total! The team studied hard for over eight weeks always working extremely well together. Each of these students had a heap of fun competing and I want to say a big thank you for the effort and commitment you have shown. To the families of the team also, your motivation and support is much appreciated.

CONGRATULATIONS TEAM!

BOOK WEEK DRESS UP DAY IS NEXT WEEK!!

On THURSDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER students are invited to come to school dressed as their FAVOURITE (or any) BOOK CHARACTER.

We are celebrating all things reading next week so get your costume ready! This is a fantastic way to celebrate books and reading, to encourage reading for enjoyment, particularly during the upcoming September holidays.

Holiday Borrowing will also be available for all students every day during Week 10 – children can loan an EXTRA LIBRARY BOOK for the September spring break. Bring your library bags!

BOOK WEEK DRAWING COMPETITION

The GSS BOOK WEEK DRAWING COMPETITION closes this Friday. Get your entries to the library asap - Please put your full name, class and the character details on the back of your artwork/submission.

Winners will be announced on BOOK WEEK DRESS UP DAY.

Music News

Naomi Lindh

This week and next week Mr Stiller is on long service leave. He has not been replaced during this time so there will be no percussion lessons or Senior Band for the remainder of this term. Rehearsals and lessons will resume in week 1 next term. We wish Mr Stiller an enjoyable and safe holiday in Europe!

Please contact your child's instrumental or choral conductor if they are not able to attend a rehearsal (email contacts are listed below) or if they are experiencing any issues with their lessons.

2019 Rehearsals Venue - Music Room

Monday 7:45am - 8:30am Senior Choir (year 4, 5 and 6 students) Ms West
Tuesday 7:30 - 8:30am - Junior Band - Mr Kukulies
Wednesday 7:45am - 8:30am - Junior Choir (year 2 and 3 students) Mrs Lindh
Wednesday 10:45am - 11:25am - Beginner/Junior Strings (starting in term 2 with junior string students only on 1 May, then beginner strings will join these rehearsals later in the term) - Mrs Prout
Wednesday 2:50pm - 4:00pm - Senior Band - Mr Stiller
Thursday 7:45am - 8:30am Senior Strings - Mrs Prout

Music teacher contact details...

Alex Grodecki - agrod3@eq.edu.au (at Graceville Thursdays)
Ruth Prout - rprou5@eq.edu.au (at Graceville Wednesdays and Thursdays)
James Kukulies - jkuku2@eq.edu.au (at Graceville Tuesdays)
Steve Stiller - sstil2@eq.edu.au (at Graceville Wednesdays)
Julie West - jwest269@eq.edu.au (at Graceville Monday/Tuesday)
Naomi Lindh - nclos1@eq.edu.au (at Graceville Wednesday/Thursday/Friday)

Important dates to note...

13 November - Annual Music Concert 6pm - all choral and instrumental music students will be performing at his concert
27 November - Grandparents' Concert - students in the Junior Choir, Senior Choir and Senior Strings will perform at this concert for their grandparents/special guests

Thank you for supporting our music program!

Naomi Lindh
Music Teacher and IM Coordinator (Wednesday - Friday)

Chappy’s Chat

With little more than one week to go, Term 3’s finish line is fast approaching. This term has been filled with awesome events, incredible celebrations and amazing learning opportunities. I hope you have gained much over the past 9 weeks. For some students, exciting adventure looms closer as final preparations for the Study Tour are made. I am sure the students and staff will have many marvellous experiences during their time away. I wonder what the highlight will be for each of them.

Our Junior Athletics Carnival takes place next Wednesday, September 18, and as the running track lines appear on the oval, student anticipation begins to grow. For those who are able to attend this sporting spectacular, you will be both inspired and entertained by the efforts of our younger students. This day is loads of fun and another opportunity for the spotlight to be upon our junior students. Come, join in the celebration and cheer on our young aspiring athletes.

With the prolonged dry weather and no sign of rain, much of Queensland and NSW are experiencing an early start to fire season. I hope families and friends are safe and out of harm’s way. Our thoughts are with those impacted by these terrible fires and those bravely fighting the fires to protect life and property. Mother Nature’s fury can be devastating and many will have to attempt to rebuild lives shattered by these infernos. Hopefully governments, support and care agencies can be swiftly mobilised to get help on the ground to those who need it most.

Thought for the week…

Active School Travel

Friday the 13th, to celebrate please decorate your scooter for our ‘Spooky Scooter’ morning. Counsellor Nicole Johnston will be at the school with fruit and muffins. There will be prizes for the best decorated scooter at 8:30 on the quadrangle. First prize is a movie voucher and runners up will receive vouchers that can be used at tuckshop.

Thanks
AST Committee

Tuckshop

Tuckshop Roster for week ending 20th of September 2019

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers.

Below, are the order numbers from last week. Yes, really!

We love that your kids love tuckshop and that you love the convenience of tuckshop 5 days a week. However, we can’t do this without you. Our volunteers are needing backup.

Could you help, even once per term? All training is provided. Please give it some thought and put your hand up to help in term 4. Email us at tuckshop.gss@mail.com

As you know, our sushi and rice paper roll supplier, Cilantro Fresh, is open once again! We had rice paper rolls and sushi for lunch last Wednesday, and they were delicious. Order now for next Wednesday.

Should you have any questions pertaining to anything Tuckshop related, please don’t hesitate to contact us at tuckshop.gss@gmail.com

Thanks.

Uniform Shop

Fiona Fryer

Opening Hours: Monday, Tuesday and Friday 8.15am - 9.00am

Prep Selling Days

Thursday November 28th 2019 8.15-11.30am
Wednesday January 22nd 2020 3-6pm

Stock Update

We have girls long pants in royal blue in stock for $30 and a lightweight microfibre jacket in royal blue and gold for $33. Size 6 microfibre jackets are now out of stock.

Size 8 Flinders shirts are out of stock until the beginning of term 4.

Size 8 dresses are out of stock until the end of the year.

School colour hair accessories are available, there are headbands, hair ties, bows and clips.

As of 1st July 2018, 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, please keep them coming in but can you please make sure that all items are washed and in a good 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

September Holiday Swim Clinics

A great way to get your children ready for the 4th term swim program is to join the holiday swim clinics being held at the school pool. All ability levels are catered for with learn to swim, stroke correction and squad classes on offer. The first clinic will be held from Monday 23rd of September to Friday 27th and the second clinic from Monday 30th of September to Friday 4th of October. You do not need to attend everyday of the clinic as long as you mention your availability when enrolling. If you are joining for the first time please call Pete to discuss your child's ability and needs. Children in holiday school care may also join the program as staff are able to bring students to the pool and pick them up after their lesson. If you have inquired about the clinics already and have not received a confirmation email from Pete Geraghty please send another email to make sure you are included in the schedule. My swim school is always looking for good teachers so if you know anyone interested in working at Graceville pool who is qualified or interested in becoming a certified swim teacher please put them in touch with me. Please direct all inquiries to Pete Geraghty via email [petegeraghty@hotmail.com] or phone 0432407442.

Term 4 Swim Program

Bookings are now being taken for the 4th term swim program. This will begin the first week after the holidays from Friday October 11th. All students will begin the term in the SAME ABILITY LEVEL as term 1 as a starting point. During the course of the term the coach may move students to different levels where appropriate.

To join the entry group class of Beginner Stroke Development (BSD), children must be in Year 1 or older and be able to swim 25m freestyle non stop. Any children not of this age or ability may enrol in private lessons on offer Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.

Spaces are limited, so to avoid disappointment, respond to this email asap with your preferred days and available times. Feel free to contact me via return email or phone if you have any questions (ph: 0432407442).

Beginner Stroke development will run Mon to Thurs from 3 pm until 3:30 pm. Advanced stroke development will run from 3:30 pm until 4 pm on the same days and this will be followed by Junior squad and squad from 4 pm. If you are new to my swim school YOU WILL NEED to call me directly to discuss your child's ability and needs.

A terms and conditions agreement will be given to all the new students at their first lesson. This needs to be signed and returned no later than the 2nd lesson. Those who have enrolled previously do not need to complete a new agreement as the terms and conditions are unchanged and it is an ongoing agreement whilst participating in my Graceville swim school. Please advise if you would like another copy of the T's and C's. Parents will be invoiced for the term once the program is settled.

Please send me ALL YOUR AVAILABLE DAYS and times and also days and times you are DEFINITELY NOT AVAILABLE. You will receive an email regarding your booking which will need to be confirmed by you before the commencement of the program.

See you at the pool.

Pete Geraghty

School Plus

Week 8 at School Plus was quite a busy week! We celebrated Educators Day, White Balloon Day and it was the last week of our Hip-Hop Incursion. The children created special cards and let the Educators know they were greatly appreciated. We celebrated our Educators with a small afternoon tea before the busy afternoon started! The children also enjoyed the last Hip Hop lesson and were sad it was all over! We are now on to looking for some more additional activities for the children.

The week’s highlight was definitely the special White Balloon Day Breakfast Fundraiser we held at Before School Care on Friday. The children really put their hearts and souls into raising funds, explaining to parents what the day was about and of course offering families tea, coffee and breakfast. The children were eager to stand at our front door and welcome families in, they become so invested that they then transitioned out the front door and created a special formation with flowers and signage. It was truly a beautiful experience to be a part of. A big thank you to our wonderful families for donating to a great cause!

Aside from all the business, the children also enjoyed a number of different activities, particularly the Sensory Rainbow Noodles! With two weeks left of the term, remember to book in for our amazing Vacation Care program to secure a spot!