8 October 2015

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

I hope you enjoyed the Spring holiday break! I had a nice, quiet holiday pottering around in our new house and doing a few jobs. As the children returned yesterday, we heard stories of wonderful family holidays filled with fun and exciting experiences. It was great to see so many children back at school safe, well and refreshed for the term ahead.

Term 4 is a very busy term. From around week 4, the pace of work and work load for staff picks up as we put the wheels in motion to finalise the year and begin planning for 2016.

This Friday, we will be sending home School Leader Nomination Forms to students in Year 5. Students wishing to nominate for a leadership position will have until the 16th of October at 3pm to return their forms. Late nominations will not be accepted.

This Friday, we will also be sending home Nomination Booklets to those students in Year 2 and 4 who expressed an interest earlier this year to be considered for a place in the Enhancement Classes. All children who expressed an Interest must have completed the UNSW English, Maths and Science tests and include the results of these as part of their nomination. Nomination Booklets must be returned to the office by 3.30pm on Tuesday 20 October. It is important to note that parents must return these nomination booklets and sign against their family name on the list held at the office. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, however, our aim is to ensure no forms are lost or misplaced and all parents are confident that their child's nomination form will be considered. It is the responsibility of parents to return the form on time. The office is open from 8am in the morning and closes at 4pm in the afternoon.

I would like to thank the Active School Travel team, led by Mrs Hornstra, for organising a great event on International Walk to School Day. It was great to see so many students 'bling their bags' and actively travel to school. I would also like to thank the parents and teachers who met students at various points around the community to enable them to actively travel in a safe and supported way.

Next Wednesday night, is the second last P&C meeting of the year. I will be sharing more information about the School Review that will occur in early to mid-November. Our review will be based on Curiosity and Powerful Learning. The outcome of the review will provide us with baseline information that we can use to assess our progress. Members of the school community will have an opportunity to have a say as part of that review. I will also be using the information collected from sections of the Parent Teacher Interview and Reporting surveys as part of this review process.

The school is heading into some exciting times by being part of the Curiosity and Powerful Learning Project. The school leadership team are still in a period of learning and the teaching team of the school will start to become involved from week 3 this term. I am in the process of organising a Parent Information Session for Curiosity and Powerful Learning. I hope to organise it for this term, however, being reliant on the presenter's availability, it may end up being early next year.

This week we held the official ceremony to adopt our new Adopt-a-Cop. One of our dads, Cameron Gardener, has offered to be our official Adopt-A-Cop. Cameron will work with the school to educate students and families about the role the police play in society. I will ask Cameron to share a bit about himself and how he sees the role, in an upcoming newsletter. We thank Cameron and the police for offering our school such a great opportunity.

Finally, please be aware that our staff will be unavailable next Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. Each year we offer all staff the opportunity to do First Aid, CPR and Anaphylactic training. Our training dates for this year fall next week. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, however, believe these are extremely important skills for our staff to have.

Don't forget Monday 19 October is a Pupil Free Day!

Have a great week,

Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

From the Acting Deputy Principal

Belinda Martin

Welcome back to all of the students in the lower school! It was great to see so many faces today looking refreshed and ready to start term 4! I hope you enjoyed your break - whether it was on a relaxing holiday or just catching up with friends and family.

Over the last few days I have shared many enthusiastic conversations with students who had enjoyed the amazing rugby union and league finals over the last few weekends. What an outstanding display of leadership, belief, teamwork and determination! It will be remembered by many as some of the greatest games we have ever seen and I am disappointed the season has come to an end.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in this role over the last couple of weeks. I have been able to experience many new, and at times challenging tasks, but have thoroughly enjoyed the Acting-Deputy role. I certainly have a deeper respect for all members of the Administration team as they complete their daily duties with professionalism and a constant positive attitude. Thank you Zoe, Lisa and Maree for giving me this opportunity; the team in the office for constantly answering my questions and guiding me in the right direction; and of course to the incredible teachers for their support and encouragement over this short period.

A big thanks must also go to the students who have always been eager to share their work, stories and laughter with me. I have really enjoyed the "interactive" assemblies and look forward to working with the children more in the future throughout the Curiosity and Powerful Learning project.

Have a great week and see you around the grounds!

Belinda Martin

Term 4 Junior Assembly Calendar

Week	Date	Class Item
1	October 6	1S and 1L
2	October 13
3	October 20	1R
4	October 27	Prep C
5	November 3	No assembly
6	November 10	Prep K
7	November 17	Prep R
8	November 24
9	December 1	Prep S
10	December 8	Prep T

From the Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

Safety warning for Parents – Asbestos in children's crayons

Children's Crayon Recall

The Australian Government has issued an alert regarding the sale of crayons within Australia that have been found to contain trace amounts of asbestos.

Trace amounts of asbestos have been detected in some brands of children's crayons that have been imported into Australia. The crayon products in which asbestos has been identified are as follows:

• Dora the Explorer Personalized 32 pack crayons
• Dora the Explorer Jumbo crayons
• Arti Crafti 16 piece crayons
• Peppa Pig 8 wax crayons
• Disney 'Frozen' Jumbo crayons
• Disney 'Mickey Mouse and Friends' crayons

Information regarding these products and what to do if you have purchased them can be found at

Term 4 Swimming

Prep to Year 2 will be doing swimming with Peter Geraghty and his coaches as part of a paid, intensive swimming program. Peter is employed by the school to provide this service to us. In the past we have found it very effective for our younger students, as the lessons are organised with several coaches working with small groups of students.

The Prep students will swim every Monday from next week - Week 2 to Week 9 – 7 weeks in total because of the 19th October Pupil Free Day. The cost will be $49 ($7 per week). For Years 1 & 2 students the cost will be $56 for 8 weeks of lessons – Weeks 2-9.

Enter the 2016 Premier's Anzac Prize to win a firsthand Anzac experience

Applications for the 2016 Premier's Anzac Prize are open until 30 October 2015. The successful applicants will travel to Gallipoli and the Western Front to experience the dawn service and visit other historic locations.

To enter, students are required to submit an application form along with a two to five minute multimedia presentation reflecting on how the Anzac tradition has shaped our nation and why it is important for future generations to keep the tradition alive.

Visit www.education.qld.gov.au/anzac-prize for more information.

Mental Health Week 2015

Mental Health Week 4 – 11 October 2015 and World Mental Health Day 10 October 2015 provides us all with an opportunity to reflect on mental wellbeing and focus on positive strategies that can be implemented.

The 2015 theme for Queensland Mental Health Week is "value mental health".

Our mental health refers to our state of mind and our ability to cope with the everyday things that are going on around us. Someone with 'good' mental health usually feels capable of dealing with the different everyday situations that they find themselves in.

Although mental illnesses are not always avoidable, there are some simple things that we can do all year round to look after our mental health:

• Exercise (it releases endorphins which can improve your mood)
• Surround yourself with supportive people
• Put aside some time every day to relax
• Do the things that you enjoy doing
• Stay in touch with your friends and family
• Take advantage of technology. ReachOut has several mobile apps that makes taking care of "you" easier.

What can I do now?

• Have a look at some ways to relax.
• Check in with a friend to see how they're doing.
• Remember that mental health is just as important as physical health.

Taken from the Reachout.com website

Money Matters

Roberta Haryicki

Thank you for your payments to date. The preferred method of payments by BPoint is certainly making it easier for parents and staff to administer. Voluntary Parent Contributions of $60 single student and $115 for two or more in the family is still very welcomed – It's not too late! Your valuable contributions go towards 2015 Learning Targets set by the School and P&C each year.

Credit in Account: These will 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 ticketing excursions are non-refundable.

Payment of account days:

8am-3.15pm - Monday to Wednesday
8am-12pm - Thursday and Friday

Eftpos, Debit Cards: Visa/Mastercard, cheque or cash payments are accepted.

Sport News

Wayne Daunt

TELSTRA KIDS GRANT

Great news! Telstra Kids grant.

We are delighted to announce our success in applying for a $1,200 grant from Telstra.

Telstra Kids funds the little things that can make a big difference to kids 'lives helping kids to play and learn. Our Telstra Kids grant will be used to purchase cross country flags and lunchtime play equipment.

Huge thanks to Paul Carpenter from Telstra, who is a parent within our school community for endorsing our application, which was kindly prepared for us by Mr Daunt.

We are very excited to share in the million dollars the Telstra Foundation provides each year to help kids across Australia to learn and play.

PREP – YEAR 3 SPORTS DAY

The Year 3 - prep school sports day will be held on Thursday October 15 on the school oval. All parents and family members are invited to attend and support their children on this day. A timetable for the day is listed below.

Please note that the prep and year 1 session is based on fun and participation with the children rotating around 10 different activities.

PROGRAM:

(Approximate times only)

9 – 10.30am Rotational Activities for Prep and Year 1 Students

10.45am LUNCH (Prep and year 1 won't return after lunch)

11.30-1.10pm YEAR 2 AND 3 EVENTS

Sprint races and relays

Yr. 2 Girls 60m sprint
Yr. 2 Boys 60m sprint
Yr. 3 Girls 60m sprint
Yr. 3 Boys 60m sprint

RELAYS

Year 2 Girls relay
Year 2 Boys relay
Year 3 Girls relay
Year 3 Boys relay

LUNCH (1.15PM – 1.50PM)

ROTATIONAL ACTIVITIES (1.50PM – 2.45PM)

The children compete in their classes and participate in 10-12 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

2.50pm THE END

Library News

Melanie Hutchinson

Welcome back one and all to Term 4. I hope everyone had an enjoyable break.

ANNUAL BOOK FAIR

Finally it's that time of year again - the school library is hosting its annual BOOK FAIR!!

In Week Four, from Wednesday 28th October – Wednesday 4th November, Book Fair will take place in the LIBRARY.

It will be huge for everyone – there will be lots of fabulous books from publishers all over the world, with exclusive titles and great-value books for every child's reading interest and level, so don't miss out! (Don't forget books make fantastic gifts - come in and get your Xmas shopping done early!) Remember, with every purchase you make the library earns a percentage to gain great books for our library and classrooms.

So, if you love bringing children and books together, help us celebrate reading with our students and the school community. Keep an eye out for the Book Fair Flyer which will be sent home shortly.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

Please be aware that we will not be running Book Club Issue 7 through the school due to the upcoming Book Fair. However, anyone who wishes to order from this brochure can view it and place orders online.

Music Notes

Naomi LINDH

We hope you had an enjoyable holiday! Term 4 is always busy for our choral and instrumental students, with a number of performances scheduled (listed below). Please note these important dates for your child/children and watch the Newsletter for any additional performance dates. We will also be conducting recruitment for students currently in year 2 and year 3 who may wish to join the instrumental music program next year. A note will be sent home with further information about the program for your careful consideration. It is important to note that there will be a recruitment process involving a number of considerations as well as limits on student numbers due to the allocation of instrumental music teachers to our school. Please complete the slip on the note when it is sent home and return it to the music department if you would like your child considered for the program. Students are not able to swap instruments once they have accepted a place in the program. Current students will remain in the instrumental program until the end of primary school.

Term 4 Performances

11 November - Annual Music Concert - 6pm in the hall - all choral and instrumental students
17 November - Oxley Senior Citizens Concert - Senior Choir and selected Senior Strings (during school day)
25 November - Grandparents' Concert - all choral students and selected Senior Strings
December - choral students are usually invited to perform in the Community Carols evening

Active School Travel

TACO TUESDAY!

(Travel Actively Coming-to-school On)

Welcome Back!

We hope that everyone had a fantastic break and that you're all refreshed and ready to take on Term 4!

Now that the weather is warming up, it is a perfect time to be active when travelling to school. There are many ways you can be active, while helping to reduce congestion around the school, and enjoying the benefits of exercise.

Walk – dust off those walking shoes and walk with your parents, friends or other students.
Ride – put on your helmet and go for a pedal on your bike.
Roll – get out your scooter or rollerblades…. and don't forget your helmet.
Park and Stride – Park the car away from the school in the designated park and stride areas (refer to the map outside the school office), and walk the rest of the way to school.
Car pool – if you can't walk, try and car pool and reduce the number of cars on the road and around the school. Remember to buckle up front and back.
Public transport – walk to the train station or bus stop then hop on board. This is another great way to reduce congestion around the school.

Remember…….
STOP LOOK LISTEN THINK!!!

Keep reading the newsletters for more information on the program and for special stamping days. If you are interested in learning more about the Active School Travel Program or have any questions or concerns about areas of safety around the school our next meeting is at 10:45am 22nd October in the Waratah Room. We are in need of some parents / caregivers to join our committee. If you can spare a few hours a month and want to get involved and be part of a fantastic program please contact Jo Richards at sajrichards@iinet.net.au

P & C NEWS

Upcoming Events

• Next scheduled P&C meeting - Wednesday 14th of October 7.30pm;
• Final meeting for 2015 - Wednesday 2nd of December 7.30pm;

Welcome back to school and Term 4! Time is flying by very fast, at least it seems that way. This term we see school camp happening for our year 5's, the school disco for all year levels, and the graduation of our year 6 students, just to name a few things. Swimming season has begun with some glorious weather, just in time for the school swimming programs and the kick-off tomorrow night for the Graceville Lightning Swim Club. If you aren't a member, why not join in the fun?

It's not too late to become involved in any of the P&C activities at school. We welcome volunteers in our Uniform shop, Tuckshop, Contact club, School banking, or just as a member on the P&C - come to our meetings. Perhaps you can contribute your time and efforts to the Spellathon or Fete next year, we are always interested in planning ahead! Remember, we cannot run our P&C services and fundraising without volunteers; it is a great way to meet people and the more help, the merrier. Did someone say merry? Do not mention Christmas yet!

We hope you have a great term, there are only 9 weeks of school left in 2015. Enjoy the term with your children putting in their best efforts for a great report card.

If you would like any further information, please contact the P&C for more information at email:

pandc@gracevilss.eq.edu.au or visit the school website at

Tennis Court Hire

With the tennis season fast approaching it's time to take advantage of our tennis courts for some social tennis.

Our hire rates are very competitive - $7.00 per hour daytime
$10.00 per hour night time

Please contact Brian on 0415 604 331 for bookings.

TUCKSHOP NEWS

Volunteers for Week Commencing Monday, 12-10-15

Monday, 12-10.
Tuesday,13-10. Kelly Steen and Rachel Rillie
Wednesday, 14-10. Alison O'Keefe and Kate McIntyre
Thursday, 15-10. Kathy McPhie and Leanne Gordan
Friday, 16-10. Marie Gjorgiosci, Bess Sellars, Anna Cottell, and Annie Madders

Sushi orders are open again for next week. Sushi can only be ordered from Wednesdays to Mondays with a Monday 12pm deadline. Please note there will be no sushi the week of the pupil free day (19th-22nd October)

See you in the Tuckshop.

Amanda and Anne
tuckshop.gss@gmail.com

School24 has just upgraded their website with promises of better access for all in the busy peak periods. If you have had trouble ordering in he past, why not give School24 another try? To start using School24 to order your children's tuckshop go to the link below to create an account.

Graceville's school ID is 25314963. Then follow the instructions. If you have any problems, please check out the school website for more information or email us at the tuckshop on the above email address.

SCHOOL BANKING

Sam Kennedy

This Term's Rewards

Volunteers are:

Monika Kim
Linda Vigara
Sonia Reis
Rachel Rillie

8am onwards in the Hall Canteen.

Sam Kennedy
Graceville School Banking Co-ordinator
Parent/Volunteer
gracevillessbanking@gmail.com
0431 447 372

UNIFORM AND STATIONERY STORE

Sue-Ellen Lockwood

All sizes of house shirts and Friday sports shirts are in stock.

I am still accepting orders for long sleeve swimming rashies and caps, etc. in house colours until this Friday. Samples are in store for trying on.

Swimming caps, towels, bags and goggles in stock all year round.

We have good 2nd hand jumpers, shirts (sports and gold), dresses and culottes in stock. 2nd hand items are always being received. 2nd hand stock sale - culottes, jumpers and long pants $8 each.

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.

School Plus

Over the holidays we have had an awesome time with lots of exciting activities, costumes and special surprises! We decorated our room with a giant parachute, fluoro paper chains, tissue paper stars and box chains. Every day we came in the Educators had surprised us with a newly decorated room for the theme we were having! It was very exciting to see what was happening each day.

In the first week of our holidays we had a onesie adventure where we decorated our room and even our Educators came dressed up! Our excursion to Inflatable World was a massive day full of pumped up action! We enjoyed the giant inflatable slides, bungee runs, Velcro walls and even an obstacle course. We had a big space all to ourselves, we loved challenging our friends and practicing our bungee run for the second week of the holidays. We had a super hero day on Wednesday 23rd, even Spiderman came to visit! We had many children arriving dressed up as their favourite super hero from The Avengers to Batman, Wonder Woman and the Incredibles. During the day we tested our super strength with super hero sprints, obstacle courses, created capes and costumes, and had plenty of photo opportunities with our magnificent Avengers and Ninja Turtle back drops! Minion Mayhem! We planned and ran our very own minion rush on the oval on Thursday and set a time trail to beat our own records. Our Coordinator Christine jumped in a box and became a Minion Robot Cookie, we went on a spy adventure, it was so much fun! We painted our very own ceramic minion pots that we could take home too. We held our first ever Fitness Frenzy that was a huge success, with 20 drink bottles as prizes! Our educator, Cyprian set up challenges and helped us make personal records for us to work on. At the request of our children and educators our Fitness Frenzy may be happening more regularly.

On Tuesday 29th we had an awesome day with a bungee run and Justice League jumping castle, we also had a sausage sizzle cooked by a lovely volunteer. We all loved the sausage sizzle and it was fun watching each other race on the bungee run. Wednesday we explored the Japanese culture and had some tasty rice and dumplings for morning tea! Educator Dan cooked a hokkien noodle and chicken stir fry for afternoon tea. We loved colouring in anime and manga as well as watching an episode of Pokémon! Educators Sinead, Dan and Tayla came dressed up, it was really cool to see Dan as Pikachu. On Thursday we had a visit from Green Thumbs who told us all about caring for plants and the environment, we planted our own tomato plant and took it home! The last day of the holiday was we had a School Of Rock day which many children referred to as the best day. The Educators were rock stars, we dressed up and had crazy hair. We made instruments and music, as well as learned to play guitar hero on the Wii. In the afternoon we had a huge surprise of a disco dance party in our senior area, we had an awesome disco light called a "storm bird" as well as glow sticks. We spent the afternoon rotating turns in the dance party and choosing songs.

During the holidays we had many parents calling in to add extra days for their children to attend, it was fantastic to hear the positive feedback on a successful vacation care period. We thank you for your constant support and praise and look forward to having a pumped up Summer Holiday program!

Thanks and Regards,

Krystelle Leonard
Administration Officer
School Plus

Community Notices

Swim Program

Swim lessons will commence this Saturday October 10th at the school pool. The Saturday program is dedicated to one on one private lessons. Learn to swim and Stroke Collection classes for both children and adults are on offer. Lessons may also be booked for anyone who wants specialized instruction regardless of ability. This is an eight week program.

Group lessons for both beginner and advanced stroke development as well as a combined junior and senior squad will be on offer this term before and after school. This is an ability based program and students must be in year 1 or older and be able to swim at least one lap of freestyle nonstop [25 meters] before they can participate in group lessons. If students are unable to swim 25 meters freestyle they may enrol in private lessons in the Friday afternoon or Saturday morning program. Also on Fridays a technical class will be offered at two ability levels. These classes will focus on starts, dives, turns and finishes. This class will rotate between the two levels each week [4 lessons per level]. A new mini squad for children in beginner stroke development class will also be introduced this term. This class will focus on fitness training.

Class sizes are capped, so to avoid disappointment please apply for your preferred class time as soon as possible. For a copy of the swim schedule for term 4 please e-mail Pete Geraghty.

Experienced swim teachers are always wanted. Please get in touch with Pete Geraghty if you are looking for work. He can be contacted by phone: 0432407442 or e-mail: petegeraghty@hotmail.com

Sherwood Arboretum - enjoy a Spring bird walk!

There is no better place to enjoy Spring than Sherwood Arboretum at 7am this Sunday 11 October.

This heritage-listed Arboretum, established in 1925, is a well-recognised bird-watching 'hot spot' thanks to its wetlands, protected islands and 15ha of stunning Australian native trees.

Your guide, Professor Hugh Possingham will introduce you to the wonderful variety of birds found in the Arboretum during this 90-minute walk ... to be followed by a relaxing morning tea by the river.

The bird walk starts from the Jolimont Street Sherwood car park. The cost of $5.00 per adult (students are free) supports the volunteer work of the Friends of Sherwood Arboretum Association. Please RSVP to info@sherwoodarboretum.com.au or call 07 3278 6525 by Saturday, 10 October.