30 July 2020

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

Thank you for your continued support as the term progresses.

Hopefully you received the updated guidelines that were sent on Saturday. As you can see we are proceeding slowly in easing restrictions.

You will have heard COVID-19 cases have been identified in QLD, some with links to schools. I have received a number of questions from parents over the past few days in relation to this situation. This situation reinforces the need for us all to follow the rules and regulations set by the Queensland Government and remain vigilant in our health and hygiene practices. It is important for us not to attend work or school if we are displaying any signs of being unwell. If we are unwell it is very important to get the COVID test. Our staff are not allowed to attend school if they are unwell and are required to get a COVID-19 test the first day they feel unwell. The staff member cannot return to the school site until cleared of COVID-19 and all symptoms of their known illness have passed. We ask our families to please do the same if children look or feel unwell and follow the advice of your medical professional.

We are grateful to our families for only entering the school grounds for specific purposes as outlined in the last update. It is also important to remember as part of the update, we are not yet allowing parents or visitors into classrooms. Don’t forget you can keep in communication with the class teacher via email or phone. If needed, an appointment time can be scheduled.

We would like to thank the families who use the Stop, Drop and Go Zones each day. We have been impressed to see that families are well organised at drop off and pick up and the children are showing how independent they are at entering and exiting their vehicles. We are still there to help as needed. Thankyou!

This week many of our outside school hours activity providers have started their activities again. Any business that hires the school needs to ensure they are implementing their COVID safe Industry Plan. To help our providers stay within their plan, we have been asked to remind parents that they can enter the school grounds to drop off a child at the door to the activity. You are then required to leave the school grounds and return in time for pick up at the end of the lesson. The school has a responsibility to ensure the plans are being implemented as agreed. If hirers are not able to work within the agreed plan, they will not be able to provide a service on the school site. On behalf of the providers, who are mostly small business owners, we ask you to help them by following the guidelines that are part of the COVID Safe Industry Plans.

At the P&C meeting last week, the P&C agreed to pursue a Fun/Colour/challenge type run. We currently have a group of volunteers working on a plan for the day. It is likely the event will be held in school time, in the last week of this term. The P&C are also still considering an Arts type event/show in Term 4 or early next year. We currently have four parents who have expressed an interested in helping out. If you are interested please email Zoe.

Finally, don’t forget that we have a Public Holiday on Friday 14 August and a Pupil Free Day on Friday 4 September.

Have a great week,
Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Prep Information for 2021

If you are interested in viewing information about prep please use this link and password to view a video about the prep program and steps to enrol and prepare for prep entry for next year (this is instead of our annual prep information evening):

Password is GSSPrepInfo

In catchment enrolments are being taken now and enrolment forms with our information pack can also be collected from our school office. We ask families to do this as soon as you can to enable us to plan for prep classes in 2021.

Preparing for Prep 2021

Some key dates have changed this year due to COVID-19.

Our Prep waiting list for 2021 for out of catchment is now open. The waiting list must be done in person at the school office.

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:

Prep interviews

Interviews for in-catchment families are now open for booking and interviews will start from Monday July 27, these will be done in person at school.

You will be able to use a home computer, a tablet or mobile phone to access the parent booking system. Depending on your configuration you will be required to enter an email or uniquely identifying value.

Please use the following URL to make a booking:

Prior to your interview you will need to complete the 2 school enrolment forms and also bring the completed prep profile to the interview with your child.

Term 4

Get Set for Prep proposed sessions

At this stage we will plan to proceed with face to face sessions although we will have to wait and see health and safety directives to come. Families must RSVP for these sessions either by email to Prepyear@gracevilless.eq.edu.au or phone the office as we will have a limited number of spaces for each session.

Session 1: Tuesday Oct 20 OR Friday Oct 23, 9 – 10:30am Focus on Fine Motor Skills
Sesion 2: Thursday Oct 29, 9 – 10:30 Introduction to Speech and Language Development with our School Speech Language Pathologist
Session 3: Tuesday Nov 10 OR Friday Nov 13, 9 – 10:30am Focus on Reading

Prep Orientation meetings: Thursday November 26

Meet the class session: Thursday December 3, 9 – 10am

Junior Assemblies in term 3

Despite not being able to hold our assemblies in the hall each fortnight we have still been coming together each fortnight online from classrooms to celebrate the achievements of our students with class awards and Gotcha certificates. I’m sure the children have been proudly bringing home their certificates to share with you. We have also been sharing class items as well, using the new technological skills we have gathered over the past few months.

Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

Just some information about upcoming events:

• Year 4, 5 & 6 classes will start Relationships Education sessions next Week 4 (from 4 August)Week 6 (18, 19 & 21 August- before school) ENTRIES CLOSED!Week 8 (1, 2 & 3 September - before school) ENTRIES CLOSED!excursion on Tuesday 25 August
• Religious Education classes for Years 3, 4 & 5 will commence this week - Friday 31 July
• Years 2-6 UNSW competitions (Science)
• Years 2-6 UNSW competitions (Maths)
• Year 5 students will be involved in the ‘Kokoda”
• School photos will be held in Week 1 of Term 4 – Thursday 8 October
• Year 5 camp will go ahead in Week 2 of Term 4, 14-16 October at Noosa North Shore

Music News

Naomi Lindh

This week we have resumed instrumental and choral rehearsals. Thank you to all of the students who have attended these rehearsals and their families for supporting their involvement in our music program! It was lovely to have students back together to make music. We will be learning and singing/playing music for enjoyment and skill building and developing a repertoire of music for future performances, once we are able to schedule them or organise for a way to share our music. We are currently following Education Queensland guidelines and physically distancing students during rehearsals as well as cleaning equipment and sanitising/washing hands. Thank you to our students for assisting their conductors with these protocols at rehearsals this week. We hope students have enjoyed returning to rehearsals and making music with their peers and conductors!

Students are welcome to join the Junior or Senior Choir if they were not a member earlier in the year. Any interested students can attend the next rehearsal (see information below).

If you have any questions for teachers/conductors, please note their email details below. It is important for students to wear warm clothes for the early morning rehearsals. If your child is sick and unable to attend a rehearsal, please send an email to their conductor.

Music Teacher Contact Details...

Mrs Ruth Prout - string teacher and conductor - Wednesdays and Thursdays - rprou5@eq.edu.au
Mr James Kukulies - band teacher and conductor - Thursdays and Fridays - jkuku2@eq.edu.au
Mrs Naomi Lindh - classroom music teacher and choir conductor - Mon - Fri - nclos1@eq.edu.au

Rehearsal days (rehearsals are all currently held in the school hall)

Tuesday 7:45am - Senior Choir (Year 4 - 6 students)
Wednesday 7:45am - Junior Choir (Year 2 - 3 students)
Wednesday first break - Junior/Beg Strings
Thursday 7:45am - Senior Strings
Thursday 2:50 - 4pm - Senior Band
Friday 7:45am - Junior Band

Thank you for supporting our music program!

Naomi Lindh
Music Teacher and Choral Conductor

Library News

Melanie Hutchinson

LIBRARY NEWS - WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING WORKSHOPS FOR KIDS

There are two Book Links workshops coming up for any students who are keen to participate in an ONLINE WORKSHOP FROM HOME VIA ZOOM. If anyone is interested, please see the information below:

BOOK LINKS YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP WITH BRIAN FALKNER

Are you aged between 8 and 13 and love to write? Then come on a journey of fun and discovery, learning how to create, develop and write awesome stories with Brian Falkner on Sunday 23 August, 2020 - 11:00 am - 12:30pm, $10 Book Links members, $15 non-members - Only one booking per family required

Brian loves telling stories, either in his bestselling books, or standing in front of an audience of students. He's the award-winning author of nineteen books for children and young adults, published in over twelve countries in seven different languages.

For the last ten years Brian has also been touring the world teaching and coaching students in creative writing. His energy and humour make his workshops a fun and rewarding experience for young writers and his sessions are in high demand.

Brian set up the Write Like an Author program running workshops in school holidays.

Book here to join this ZOOM Online workshop. Only one booking per family required.

BOOK LINKS YOUNG ILLUSTRATORS WORKSHOP WITH LUCIA MASCIULLO

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds with Lucia Masciullo - Illustration Workshop for children. Recommended for 8 - 13 years.

Do you have a wild imagination and love for strange creatures? Then this fun workshop is for you! Together with award winning illustrator Lucia Masciullo you are going to design your own creature.

Sunday 23 August - 1:00 -2:30pm. $10 Book Links members, $15 non-members.

Book here to join this ZOOM Online workshop. Only one booking per family required.

Lucia Masciullo is an award-winning children’s book from the Gold Coast. She has illustrated more than twenty books, among which the CBCA Honour Book and Prime Minister Award shortlisted Come Down, Cat! by Sonya Hartnett and the bestselling series Our Australian Girl.

Lucia likes to create whimsical characters and she works with traditional techniques, mixing watercolour, pencil, acrylic and collage.

She loves to share her passion for drawing and creating illustrations and she regularly presents talks and workshops to children and aspiring illustrators. Lucia is the tutor for the Draw Like an Artist program and has workshops coming up in the April school holidays at Southport.

Her last picture book is My Real Friend, by David Hunt, 2019. Website

Uniform Shop

Michelle Fanning

Hi all!

Welcome to week 3. I hope the kids are feeling a sense of normality back at school by now.

OPENING DAYS AND TIMES FOR TERM 3

Until we hear of further restrictions being lifted, we will remain appointment only as well as having the online store for easy ordering. The appointment days this term are to Tuesday and Thursday of each week from 8:45am – 9:45am.

When visiting the store, it’s important to enter and exit the school grounds via the Oxley Road gate near the tennis courts. The uniform store is located just to the left of the courts.

ONLINE STORE

The uniform shop now has an online store, so if you already know what your child needs you can order and pay online and it will be delivered to your child’s classroom.

The online store and appointment bookings can be made via the following link -

HOUSE SHIRTS

It's great to hear that team sports have started again in and around Graceville. Don’t forget that we stock our own sports House Shirts for our school teams of Cook (red), Flinders (blue) and Kennedy (green). If you’re not sure which team your child is in, please check at the office. They start in a childs size 2 up to an adults size 16 so all the children are welcome to wear them on their PE days and sporting events throughout the year. They are not to be worn however, on school excursions or photo day.

SPORTS REP SHIRTS

The Sports Rep shirts are only to be worn by Year 5 and 6 children for Friday Interschool sport. They start in a childs size 8 up to an adults size 16.

Both the House and Sports Rep shirts are $35 each and you can find them on our online store. Some sizes are getting low due to their popularity, so check them out soon to avoid disappointment.

DONATIONS

We are always grateful for donations of 2nd hand uniforms that are in clean, saleable condition. We also ask that donations are our SCHOOL BRANDED ITEMS ONLY, so no items from any outside stores. Thank you for your generosity and understanding.

• We will be cash free this term and only accept cards when purchasing.
• Please be advised that refunds will ONLY be given if you have the original receipt and items should not have been washed, worn and any tags should still be attached.

Email address for school uniform store is:

gracevillessuniform@gmail.com

Michelle

Tuckshop News

Hi Everyone

Here we are in week 3 – can you believe it? We have a new special and a couple of reminders this week.

When placing orders remember that cut off time is 8am. No orders can be placed in the system after that time. Also, if your child is sick and you ordered tuckshop the night before or early that morning – give us a quick call or drop us an email asap so we can cancel your order.

Any cancellations received after 9am will still be charged to your account as the order would have already been made.

A reminder that when you pop in to volunteer – you must enter and exit the tuckshop through the carpark. There are still restrictions on the amount of people allowed on the school grounds at any one time and we need to make sure we are adhering to protocol.

In exciting news…. Is someone having a birthday in your house?

We can now provide Ice Blocks plus a little surprise to your child’s class!

$10 for a Class Box of Jelly Joys
$20 for a Class Box of Quelch Fruit Sticks
$30 for a Class Box of Ice Monys

Ordering is easy – just log on to your School24 account and select the Birthday Ice Block category, select which ice blocks you’re after and we’ll take care of the rest!

N.B. A Class Box is reflective of how many children are in the class

We also have a new Monday special!! Fried rice is now on the menu. Gluten free and perfect for this cold weather. For only $4.50 you get 1 serve of Fried Rice and for and extra 10c you can add soy sauce and for 25c Sweet chilli sauce!

Lastly, if you haven’t noticed already when ordering …Chocolate Ice Monys are back!!

Don’t forget to pre-order your ice blocks as we are still a cashless tuckshop. This includes ice cream on a Friday.

We are open 5 days a week so take advantage of letting us make your lunches for you!

Thanks everyone – we look forward to seeing you at tuckshop soon.

Alex and Emma
Tuckshop Convenors 2020
E: tuckshop.gss@gmail.com

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

It was welcome rain that gave our area a good soaking last weekend so perhaps the discomfort of wet breaks last Friday wasn’t in vain. The students certainly miss the oval at break times when it is unavailable. I expect teachers miss the students running off some of that extra energy which can turn to restlessness in the classroom. No such inconveniences this week as the sun returns with a vengeance.

With the headlines filled with Covid cases in Queensland, some children will naturally be concerned about what this might look like in coming weeks. I imagine it isn’t just children who have a concern or two about this. It is so important now to be diligent in protecting ourselves from any possible outbreak or 2nd wave. Social distancing, hand washing, and staying home, apart from getting tested, if unwell is essential to protecting our families and loved ones. At school, we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our students and staff. We appreciate the wonderful support from parents and care-givers around our Covid procedures.

This year has been turned on its head and vastly different from what was expected when the school year commenced. Our students have adjusted very well to the changed school landscape. It is an especially tricky year for our Year 6 cohort, who would have had clear expectations of all the exciting opportunities 2020 would bring. Many of the highlight events have not taken place but still the year races by and the unknown that is High School looms ever closer. Hopefully, we can find some creative ways to add some extra excitement to the back half of the school year, for all students but especially for our Year 6’s.

Have an awesome week!

John Erichsen
Chappy

P&C News

Fun Run

As previously advised, it’s been decided the fete will not be going ahead this year. All is not lost though, and the P&C will be holding a fun run or colour run on a school day later this term. There will be some ice creams, drinks and food for sale and some other fun elements as part of the event. We are hoping to set a date very soon, so stay tuned.

Trivia Night – date claimer

We are hoping the parent’s trivia night can still go ahead and 7 November has been set as the date we are aiming for. Mark it on your calendar and keep an eye out for further details in future newsletters.

Arts Event

Many kids rediscovered their love for various forms of art, craft, design, music, dance etc. as they had more time at home in term 2. The school and the P&C would love to support this renewed interest with an arts event early in term 4. We need some parents to help organise this event and we’re calling on anyone with an interest in the arts, craft, media, design technology etc. who might be interested in helping. Please get in contact with Zoe at zsmit24@eq.edu.au to express your interest.

Uniform Shop

The uniform shop will be opening on Tuesday and Thursday mornings this term. If you wish to visit the uniform shop on these new days, you can make an appointment through the following link below.

If you are unable to visit the shop or you already know what your child needs, you can order and pay online through the following link below and it will be delivered to your child’s classroom.

Voluntary Contribution

Thank you to those families who have recently made a Voluntary Contribution. These funds are being immediately transferred to the school to purchase new devices.

Each year, the P&C collects payments made by families on behalf of the school. All funds raised are transferred directly to the school. This year, 75% of voluntary contributions will be used to replace the current ageing fleet of desktops, iPads and laptops at Graceville State School. Rather than implementing a Bring Your Own Device scheme, which requires families to purchase devices for each child, our school aims to provide the technology resources our children need to learn. This will result in much lower costs to individual families. The remaining 25% will be used to purchase learning resources to support the school’s focus on writing.

While 2020 has been a difficult year, our children’s needs for learning resources at school continue to grow.

The P&C will be unable to hold many of its regular fundraising activities this year. We are asking all families who can make a Voluntary Contribution to do so again this year.

The Voluntary Contribution scheme is again $100 per student. While this is much less than the cost of a laptop or iPad, we understand this amount is still not affordable for all families, particularly at this time, so we also encourage families to make whatever contribution they are comfortable with.

Payments can be made by electronic transfer to the P&C (see below for details) or via the Online Uniform Shop at the link below.

Account name: Graceville State School P&C Association
BSB: 064-111
Account number: 00900130
Ref: VC “Child’s name”

Containers for change

Did you know that Graceville State School P&C is registered with Containers for Change? You can drop off your bottles at any Containers for Change depot and quote our ID, and your funds will automatically be credited to the P&C. The closest Containers for Change depot is located at 78 Andrew Street, Rocklea and our ID is C10055214.

School Plus

Week 1 of Term 3 began with chat time at Before School Care which was all about the holiday antics and adventures the children went on during the two-week break. Many went camping, had sleepovers at friends and grandparents and watched movies at the cinemas! We jumped straight into the week and made Playdough, did Friendship Flower Craft and drew Funny Face Selfies, ate corn fritters on Wednesday to celebrate “Corn Fritter Day” and also celebrated “National Pyjama Day” on Friday, to end the week of fun. In between the children loved Hama Bead Craft, with many waiting patiently for a space at the table as well as many outdoor games of Cricket, Dodgeball and Dance Battles! We have also finally started our Senior Club and sent out permission forms! It’s not too late to enrol your child/ren to School Plus to join the fun!

Community Notices