4 February 2021

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

The school year seems to be off to a smooth start and I hope all of our children and families have settled into the school routine. It has been lovely seeing the smiling faces of our students and families back in the school again!

Near accident on Oxley Road – please only cross at the lights or pedestrian crossing!

A truck had to come to a quick stop on Oxley road yesterday afternoon to avoid a collision with children crossing the road parallel to the tennis courts. This near accident could have been avoid by the children crossing at the lights. It has been brought to our attention by users of Oxley road, that some children and families are crossing Oxley road near the tennis courts on a regular basis. Please use the lights or pedestrian crossing. This near accident could have been a tragedy for our community. We all love our children and need them to be safe and so please ensure your children understand that they can only cross at the lights or pedestrian crossing. We have also taken responsibility of communicating this issue by reinforcing the message with all children at school this week and making families aware via the newsletter and other forms of social media. We are also in the process of seeking advice from the council about ways to help avoid issues such as these in the future.

Thank you for social distancing while in the school grounds!

The staff and I are very grateful to everyone for respecting the need for social distancing when in the school. As you are aware, parents/carers are welcome inside classrooms and others spaces as long as we adhere to the maximum capacity of adults in the room. Teachers may start to invite parents to help in the classrooms soon. Due to COVID we will need to ensure all parents/carers who help in a classroom, sign in and out, so we have records for contact tracing if required.

Parent Information sessions

Over the next few weeks Year 1 to 6 class teachers will invite you to an information session to meet the teacher. Each class has made a decision about how they will host their meet the teacher sessions given the current COVID guidelines. Some teachers are organising sessions on Zoom and others are face-to-face in the hall where we can have up to 100 adults if socially distanced. A small number of teachers are using their classrooms and if this is the case, the teacher and those adults attending will need to wear masks as we cannot socially distance appropriately without masks in classrooms. Your teacher will send home information very soon about their method of choice for the Parent Information Session.

P&C meeting – a special presentation from staff will be part of the meeting to propose the future look of our classrooms

As you may be aware, a discussion started in the school last year about updating and refreshing our classroom spaces to ensure the furniture in particular is more suitable to meet the learning needs of the future. A group of nine staff, and an interior designer, have been inquiring together using research evidence and the voice of our staff and students, to better understand the needs of learning and working in the future. The group have also now considered the context of our school and have a proposal for how we can create more flexible learning spaces (within our existing infrastructure) through the use of more suitable furniture. We will be presenting our work so far and putting forward a proposal for the P&C to financially support a trial to update up to seven classrooms across the school into more flexible learning spaces though the use of more appropriate furniture. You are very welcome to come along and hear the presentation and proposal. We hope to put a motion to the P&C to support the trial in 2021. Only members of the P&C can vote. The meeting will be held on Wednesday 24 March from 7pm.

Student Council and extra curricula clubs/teams/groups for students starting up soon

The school has many ways children can participate in extra curricula activities at break times, before or after school. Across the course of this term, children will be offered opportunities to join activities, teams or groups which are of interest to them. A few groups that will get started by mid this term are Student Council, Active School Travel, The Green Team, Student Learning Ambassadors and our Acknowledgement of Country/Indigenous Culture inquiry group. The teachers who voluntarily facilitate these activities will make children aware of dates and times for a first meeting. Some groups require a small fee (depending on the activities) and if so you will receive a letter of explanation and an invoice.

Birthday celebrations

To start the year, the guideline remains in place that only individually wrapped, pre-packed foods, that have been made in a COVID safe kitchen, are to be shared to celebrate birthdays. In Summer, we suggest pre-packaged ice blocks. Please do not home bake and send it to school as we will not be able to share the food with the children. The Tuckshop has a great offer for class packs of ice blocks to help celebrate birthdays which can be viewed and purchased via the Qkr! App.

School Assemblies

The lower and upper school assemblies will resume face-to-face for students again this year. At this stage, parents can only attend if they receive an invitation. Invitations will include an RSVP so that the hall can be set up with the appropriate number of seats to ensure social distancing. Invitations will go to parents/carers in classes who are performing or for other special events where a child or group of children may be doing a special presentation. Whole school assemblies will be held internally via zoom while social distancing measures are still in place for indoor spaces.

A few final messages

Please make sure you read through the newsletter as our Business Services Manager has important information to share about payment of the Resource Scheme for 2021.

As you know the newsletter is fortnightly now and so the next newsletter will come out at the end of week 4.

We hope you enjoy the weeks ahead,

Zoe Smith
Principal Graceville State School

Newsletter Articles

Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

Swimming Term 1

We are starting swimming for Term 1 next week. Year 4 will be swimming on Tuesdays with Mr Daunt. Year 2s will be having lessons with Peter Geraghty and his coaches on Mondays.

Due to the continuing COVID guidelines that we need to follow, we need to continue our cleaning routines between classes. This process has meant that we have had to place restrictions on the number of classes who can access the pool facilities.

Hopefully, by Term 4 we might be able to have all classes back utilising the pool.

Religious Instruction

Religious Instruction will commence on Friday 12th February. This semester we will have Year 1, 2 and 6 (excluding the 5/6 class) participating in RI classes if parents have indicated that they wish them to be involved in the Co-operative program. If you have indicated that you don’t want your child to participate in RI the children are put into classes and are supervised and receive instruction from teachers on that year level. Further information and an opportunity to change your child’s Religion permission choice will be sent home this week on an email.

Business Manger

Anne Nixon

Student Resource Schemes (SRS) for 2021 are:

• Prep Requirements ($70)
• Reading Eggs ($26)
• Instrumental Music Programs – Instrument Hire ($100), Percussion Maintenance ($50), Music Participation ($90) & Choir ($45)
• Mathletics On-line registration (Years 1 - 6) ($14)
• Origo Maths (years Prep to 4) ($8)
• Year 4/5 maths levy ($19)
• ESmart Digital Licence Yr 5 ($11)

Student Resource scheme forms have been sent home this week to new students. All forms need to be returned to the office by Wednesday 10th February 2021.

Invoices for existing students will be generated from Friday 5th February 2021. If you have not seen any invoices by Friday 12th February 2021, please contact the office.

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.

Credit in Account: Credits from 2020 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

I hope all of our students and families had a relaxing holiday! This year we welcome Mr Alex Chin to our school as Mrs Ruth Prout is currently on LSL and will then be retiring. We hope she is enjoying her leave. During the first couple of weeks our IM teachers will be organising instruments and timetables while students are getting settled into their new classes and routines. All IM lessons will start in week 3 as well as the rehearsals for Senior Strings and Senior Band. Our IM teachers will let you know when the Beginner/Junior Strings and Junior Band rehearsals will start in term 2. Please see the schedule below with the rehearsal times. All members of the instrumental program should attend their rehearsals regularly as part of their commitment to the program and their ensemble. If your child is unwell or unable to make a rehearsal, please let their conductor know via email. Timetables for lessons will be sent to parents by IM teachers via email and given to students.

The choirs will begin rehearsals in week 4 of this term (15/16 February). If your child is in years 2 - 6 and interested in joining the choir, please see the attached note for further information. The slip can be brought to the first rehearsal they attend. Students who are new to the choir this year (and were not a member of the choir last year) will also need to complete an SRS form which will be handed out at the first rehearsal.

The rehearsal schedule for 2021 is below. These rehearsals will be held in the school hall.

Monday 7:45am - 8:30am - Junior Choir (students in years 2 and 3) (beginning in week 4 on 15 February)
Tuesday 7:45am - 8:30am - Senior Choir (interested students in years 4 - 6) (beginning in week 4 on 16 February)
Wednesday 7:45am - 8:30am - Junior and Beginner Strings (this will begin in term 2, date TBA)
Thursday 7:45am - 8:30am - Senior Strings (beginning in week 3 on 11 February)
Thursday 2:50pm - 4:00pm - Senior Band (beginning in week 3 on 11 February)
Friday 7:45am - 8:30am - Junior Band (this will begin in term 2, date TBA)

Music teacher contact details

Alex Chin - String teacher and conductor (Wednesdays and Thursdays) email: axchi4@eq.edu.au
James Kukulies - Band teacher and conductor (Thursdays and Fridays) email: jkuku2@eq.edu.au
Naomi Lindh - Classroom music teacher and choral conductor (Monday - Friday) email: nclos1@eq.edu.au

Uniform Shop

Michelle Fanning

Hi all, welcome back!

It’s been a very busy start to the year already. Can I just thank you all for making appointments for the open days and back to school. I really appreciate it! I hope the appointments worked for you too, not having long wait times standing in line on those hot days. We will continue with appointments this year as it seems to make life a little easier for everyone.

OPENING DAYS AND TIMES FOR TERM 1

We will remain APPOINTMENT ONLY as well as having the online store for easy ordering. The appointment days are Tuesday and Thursday each week from 8:15am – 10:15am

BOOKING APPOINTMENTS ONLINE

There is an option when booking online for new families joining us to make a 20 minute appointment to allow time for trying on uniforms etc. The usual 10 minute appointments will apply for current families who know what sizes and items they are after.

For any reason you cannot make your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible via the uniform store email or call the school office to leave a message.

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

To book an appointment click on the following link

ONLINE STORE

The uniform shop has an online store, so if you already know the sizes you're after you can order and pay online with ease. All uniform items can be found online except for 2nd hand garments. Items ordered online will be sent to your child’s classroom.

The online store can be found on the link below

POLO SHIRTS

We are currently out of stock of size 4 and 6 in the Gold polo shirts. I hope to have them back in stock by the end of the month.

SHORTS

The size 2 shorts are now back in stock, but get in fast as they always sell out quickly!

NEW ITEM

If you missed the announcement, a long sleeve gold polo shirt is now available. It looks exactly like the usual short sleeve gold polo...GSS printed on the collar, buttons at the neck, school emblem on the chest and now with a long sleeve. They will be an excellent addition to the current uniform as they can be worn all year round...sun smart in summer and extra warmth in the cooler months. The long sleeve polo is available in size 4 to 16 and retails for $35.

WINTER GEAR

I have just ordered more polar fleece jackets, sports jackets and rugby jerseys. If you would like to pre order, please come and see me at the store so you’re guaranteed the size you're after. I hope for these items to be available in store by mid/late

YEAR 6 COMMEMORATIVE SHIRTS

In the next week or two, notes will go out explaining the process on how to order the commemorative shirts. I know the Year 6’s are always very excited to receive these, so keep an eye out for the details.

DONATIONS

We are always grateful for donations of 2nd hand uniforms that are in a freshly washed, saleable condition. We also ask that any donations are SCHOOL BRANDED ITEMS ONLY, so no items from any outside stores.

If you were thinking of going through the wardrobes, please do! When donating, please either drop them in on a Tuesday or Thursday morning when the store is open, or you may leave them with the ladies in the office any other day. Please DO NOT leave bags at the uniform store if it is closed.

Thank you for your generosity and understanding.

• Please be advised that refunds will only be given if you have the original receipt. Items should not have been washed, worn and any tags must still be attached.
• We encourage customers to use their EFTPOS or credit cards when purchasing.

The email address for school uniform store is:

gracevillessuniform@gmail.com

Thanks everyone!
Michelle

Tuckshop News

WELCOME BACK TO 2021!!

We hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas and New Year break and you’re ready to get back into it!

A special welcome to our new Preps and parents, and any new families joining the school as well!

Housekeeping issues for the first newsletter of the year so read on to know what’s happening.

For new families to the school you will need to download the Qkr! App for iphone or android from your app store in order… to order! Instructions on how to do this are attached.

Returning families – you will need to access the app and update your children’s profiles for the new year before ordering.

Unfortunately, we’ve had some supply issues with Ice Monys. So, we now have Water Ice blocks for $1 each. These come in 4 flavours:

• Lemonade
• Lime
• Orange
• Raspberry

Ice Monys are still available for Birthday Boxes at this stage.

We are currently looking at a new supplier for our Baked goods so please be patient with us. If you can’t see something on the menu we will be replacing it asap.

Our Daily Specials for this term are as follows:

Monday – Fried Rice
Wednesday – Sushi – Remember this needs to be ordered by 12pm on Monday for Wednesday
Tuckshop using the separate Sushi Menu on Qkr!
Thursday – Beef Burgers and Chicken Burgers
Friday – Ice cream

N.B. Please note Prep parents that Ice cream CANNOT be ordered for preps as they are not able to collect from the tuckshop.

While we are very fortunate to have Tuckshop convenors to run the show we are still very reliant on volunteers to make orders and get them out to the classes on time.

We need YOU!! Volunteer from 8.30-11.30 Monday to Friday…..HOWEVER we will happily welcome you for 1, 2 or 3 hours whatever you can manage! It is a great way to meet other parents or catch up with your friends by rostering on together.

To sign up use this link :

or email us at tuckshop@gracevillepandc.org.au OR pop in, come have chat and we can pop you into a rostered day that works for you. One shift a term or once a month – it’s up to you!

Looking forward to seeing all our regular volunteers and meeting new ones.

See you at Tuckshop
Alex and Emma

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

Welcome to the 2021 school year! It was lovely to see so many excited faces this week as book packs and resources were unloaded and taken to classrooms. The start of the year is always an adventure with some transitioning swiftly and with ease, while others require a little more support to work through the change. Both of these realities are ok. Teachers, admin and support staff are very approachable and keen to partner with parents and care-givers, in assisting to make the start of the year as fluid a process as possible.

There is an air of expectation about 2021. It brings promise of a better year than its predecessor which is wonderful. That expectation is tempered slightly by the reality that things can change swiftly but we are well prepared to deliver a quality education experience no matter what this year brings.

For new families, unfamiliar with the chaplaincy role or how it is delivered here at Graceville State School, there is information on the school website. I am in my 15th year of chaplaincy at Graceville State School and feel it is an honour to serve the school community. I work under the guidance of the school’s leadership team and provide another person of support for those needing social and emotional support. The Chaplaincy Service at Graceville State School is delivered on Wednesday – Friday with a strong practical focus, in keeping with the school community’s needs, and expressed by supporting all aspects of the school community. My goal is to work closely with school leadership, the Parents and Citizen’s Executive and others in providing a safe, caring and respectful environment where our students can learn and grow. I look forward to connecting with you over the coming weeks and feel free to contact me via the school office if you wish to know more.

Have a wonderful week!

John Erichsen
(Chappy)

P&C News

Welcome back to continuing Graceville families and a warm hello from the P&C to those who have joined the Graceville State School community this year. We hope you enjoy your time at the school and there are many happy friendships made amongst both the kids and parents.

What does the P&C do?

The start of the school year is a great time to introduce ourselves to new families and remind existing families what we do. In general terms, our functions include:

• fostering general community interest in educational matters;
• facilitating closer co-operation between parents, staff and students;
• providing advice and recommendations to the Principal on issues and concerns in respect of students and the general operation and management of the School; and
• raising funds to provide financial or other resources or services for the benefit of students.

The P&C aims to run fewer, large community and fundraising events throughout the year. Time and experience have shown this is a more effective way to raise funds to support the school. During a normal year (which 2020 wasn't!) we organise a Spellathon, a very popular parent’s trivia night and the famous fete. Due to social distancing requirements last year, we couldn't run the trivia night and fete. Instead, we organised a fun event for the kids in the form of the Rainbow Ninja Challenge and also supported the school to provide an opportunity for the kids to showcase their artistic talents during an Arts Night.

Some more recent P&C projects include funding the hall revamp and air conditioning, installation of solar panels, purchase of laptops and iPad for classrooms, funding of the Wonder Garden and previously the Adventure Playground.

We also support parents by providing the tuckshop and uniform shop. All proceeds from these services and fundraising events, together with the voluntary contribution collected by the P&C and any funds donated to the building fund, go directly back into providing new or improved facilities and resources for the school.

Become a member

Joining the P&C is a great way to keep informed, to contribute to the quality education of our children and to make new friends. Your contribution can be as large or small as you can manage, but your ongoing support of the P&C is invaluable. Not only will you be supporting the school community, but you can also learn new skills and gain a clear understanding of how the school operates. This is a great opportunity to share in the school’s decision-making processes and help shape its future.

Contribute to your school community

These events and services cannot run without the help of volunteers and we are always looking for keen parents, grandparents and other relatives and carers to help where they can. Please have a look at the attached P&C volunteer brochure or get in contact with our President, Karen McNab on President@gracevillepandc.org.au if you are interested in helping.

P&C meetings

There are only six P&C meetings a year, held on a Wednesday evening in the Waratah Room above the school office. The next meeting will be at 7pm on Wednesday, 24 February where a proposal for new classroom furniture will be discussed. Please note that only P&C members will be able to vote on any decision about the furniture, but please come along and join in the discussion and learn about what is proposed.

The following meeting will be the Annual General Meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday, 24 March. All memberships will be open for renewal at this meeting and new members are also welcome to apply.

The meetings for the remainder of the year will be on the following dates:

Term 2

Wednesday 5 May (wk3)
Wednesday 9 June (wk8)

Term 3

Wednesday 21 July (wk2)
Fete mtg - Wednesday 25 August (wk7)

Term 4

Wednesday 13 October (wk2)
Wednesday 1 December (wk9)

We look forward to welcoming you in person at a P&C meeting or volunteering in the tuckshop or uniform shop soon. Also look out for further volunteering opportunities in the school newsletter or on our Facebook page at Graceville State School Parents or the school Instagram at graceville_state_school. We will also send requests for help out to our members so if you want to put your hand up for a specific job, a one-off project or a couple of hours helping out, joining as a member is the way to stay in the loop.

Parent reps

Each class is asked to nominate one parent or a team of parents to take on the role of parent class rep. Parent reps:

• provide a link between the P&C and parents in the class, to share information with all families in the class
• organise the class’s participation in P&C events
• organise social events for children and/or parents of the class outside of school
• support teacher in communicating with parents in the class (if requested)
• organise class gifts for teachers (e.g. for World Teachers’ Day and the end of the year.)

Please put yourself forward for this role if you enjoy bringing people together to build relationships and create amazing things as an active member of your community. It’s possible to break up the role between class parents to make it more manageable. It’s also always more fun working as part of a team. Please contact your teacher if you are interested.

Fete committee

We are looking for new fete/fundraising committee members this year. After not being able to have a fete last year, we need some keen hands and able minds to make it happen this year. We also have the opportunity to incorporate some of the lessons we learned through different fundraising events last year, particularly the joy and connections these events bring and the value of sharing this with the broader community who care about and support our school.

If you are keen to make the magic happen in 2021, please get in touch with President@gracevillepandc.org.au or look out for notifications for a fete/fundraising committee meeting.

P&C Communications

We are looking for someone to support P&C communications. This might include supporting communications for P&C events and also includes administration of the P&C Facebook page. If this is a contribution you can make to support the school (or you with a friend), please get in touch with President@gracevillepandc.org.au.

School Plus

It has been great to have all the children back after such an exciting and relaxing holiday. It has also been great to have all of our new Preps joining us in before and after school care as well. They are all smiles when they arrive to the service and can’t wait to play with their friends that they met during vacation care and their first week back at school.

In December Vacation Care it was amazing to finally get to meet our pen pals from, School PLUS Worongary and get to put faces to names. The children had a great time eating lunch with their newfound friends and getting to play at Flagstone Adventure Park with them.

During January Vacation care we had many fun activities that the children enjoyed, such as waterslide day, slime incursions, bowling, spa day and so many more. The children had a great time playing with the waffle blocks, connectables, on the adventure playground, gym mats and all the soccer and basketball balls.

During this week of school we are celebrating World Reading Day on Wednesday and are enjoying yummy afternoon tea snacks, such as sandwiches and ham and cheese slice. We can’t wait to continue the excitement throughout the term and see all the children back at school in 2021.

Swimming

Peter Geraghty

Bookings are now being taken for the Term 1 swimming program held after school. All students who have participated in the swim program will begin the term in the SAME ABILITY LEVEL as Term 4 unless told otherwise when re-joining the program this term. 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 2 or older and be able to swim 25m freestyle non stop bi-lateral breathing [Breathing both sides]. Any children not of this age or ability may enrol in private lessons on offer Friday afternoons. To help me make this schedule I need an hours time frame to work with. This program is from 3 pm til 5:20 pm on Fridays . It is impossible for me to give everyone a lesson straight after school so if you live nearby , maybe it is best to go home after school and return for the 4 pm til 5:20 pm timeframe. The best response I can receive is that you are available ANYTIME.

Spaces are limited, so to avoid disappointment, respond to this message asap with your preferred days for group lessons or your time frame of availability on Fridays. My email is petegeraghty@hotmail.com. I am unable to respond to email queries over the next week but am able to answer any question by phone (ph: 0432407442). Talk to me...DO NOT TEXT ME. Call me to discuss all if you have any questions.

The three group levels are Beginner Stroke development [BSD], followed by Advanced Stroke Development [ASD] and then Squad. The scheduled program may change due to over demand or lack of demand for any particular class.

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. Parents will be invoiced for the term once the program is settled.

Please send me ALL YOUR AVAILABLE DAYS and times to help me with the scheduling. You will receive an email regarding your booking which will need to be confirmed by you before you join the program. Please forward this information to any friends or family who would be interested in joining the program. High school students and adults may join the program. You do not have to attend Graceville State School to participate. Everyone is welcome.

I am always looking for swim teachers. If you know any qualified teachers or know anyone who would be interested in becoming a swim teacher please put them in touch with me.

See you at the pool.
Pete Geraghty
0432407442

Tennis

TENNIS HOT SHOTS –LIMITED PLACES STILL AVAILABLE FOR TERM 1!

Limited places are still available for term 1 tennis lessons.

ENROL ONLINE at the link below:

PRIVATE AND SEMI-PRIVATE LESSONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.

Should you have any questions please contact Tennis for Kids on info@tennisforkids.com.au or 0408 187 741.

ALL NEW CHILDREN ENROLLING IN TERM 4 WILL RECEIVE A FREE JUNIOR TENNIS RACQUET!

Go Sports Coaching Term 1

Learn the Skills of the game in a FUN!! Environment.

CRICKET : Grades 1-4 commencing Thursday 11th February
NETBALL : Grades 1-4 commencing Wednesday 10th February
SOCCER : Grades 1-4 commencing Wednesday 10th February

To Register go to the link below and click on Register Now.

Junior Engineers

Creative Dance Industries

Robotics

Welcome back to the start of 2021 Robotics Course!!

LEGO lovers will find exciting programs for this term…racing motorbike-bot, crane-bot, dog-bot, and many more robots that you can’t imagine. Let’s get hands on for a 9 lesson program so that you won’t miss out any fun bot construction and coding.

Here, students will team up to build, program and complete the challenges provided, from easy to difficult. Students will learn about a modern problem in science and engineering and developing solutions from the robots they build. We will be using LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Robotics kits and computer under William’s instruction, who is the GSS “lollipop man”, GSS Robotics Club experienced coach, founder of Piano & Robotics Studio, and also First LEGO League (FLL) judge.

Students who has experienced in Lego EV3 can join the intensive program, using Python language. This program helps students to learn and progress in to a higher level of intensive coding, which is also a preparation for robotics competition, example First Lego League (FLL).