29 April 2021

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,
It is hard to believe but we are two weeks into the new term already!

We are very thankful to the families who could join us at the ANZAC ceremony on the weekend. It was a lovely service and we were very proud to take part. As a school we had pre-recorded a service that could be viewed online by children at home (in the case of a lockdown) and so we used that as our service last Friday. Although we cannot share it with you, it was a lovely service which the children all watched in their classrooms at 10.15am last Friday. I would like to thank the teachers and students who took part in the service. I would especially like to thank Jules C for his beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace on the bagpipes, Isabel C for her interview with a returned serviceman.

As you may have heard, we are desperately trying to find volunteers to help with a major fundraiser for the year. We hoped to have our usual Fete however, this is not likely possible and so we are looking to do a similar scaled down event along the lines of a Fair. If we can get enough volunteers we would love to at least have the rides, food, some stalls, a bar and the fireworks. At this stage we don’t have enough volunteers to make that happen and so if you think you can help, please contact the P&C.

Mrs Hutchinson, our Teacher Librarian is holding the annual Readers Cup next Tuesday. This event had to be rescheduled as it was supposed to take place in the last week of Term 1. The Readers Cup is a great day and the children really enjoy it. I wish all teams the best of luck!

Our Year 6 students are looking forward to camp next week. We had to postpone camp in Term 1 due to the big rain event in Northern NSW and so fingers crossed for a smooth run up to camp next week!

The P&C meeting is being held in the Waratah room next Wednesday night (one of the rooms on the top level of the administration building). The meeting starts at 7.30pm and all parents/carers are welcome to attend.

Don’t forget we have another Public Holiday on Monday! School resumes on Tuesday 4th May where we hope you will be able to join us as we celebrate ‘May the 4th be with you’ as a free dress for Active School Travel!

Our school staff will be getting their Flu vaccination on Monday 10 May. The school pays for all staff who would like a Flu vaccination to ensure we are both looking after the health and wellbeing of our staff and doing our best to decrease the impact of the Flu season on the teaching and learning process.

If you have a child in Year 3 or 5, you will know the NAPLAN tests take place between 11th and 21st May. Our school will be transitioning to doing the tests online for the first time this year and so it will be interesting to see the impact of online assessment. To cater for the needs of the 200 children doing NAPLAN online, we will be required to reassign devices from across the school to help support implementation. All devices will be returned to the usual year levels in week 6.

As we won’t have a newsletter prior to Mother’s Day, we would like to wish all our mums a Happy Mother’s Day for 9th of May!

Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

Acting Deputy Principal

Belinda Martin

Easter Hat Parade

It was such a wonderful experience (not to mention a picture-perfect day) to see all of the creative Easter Hats last week. Thank you to everyone involved, including Mrs Payne, Chappy John & teachers for making this event shine!

ANZAC DAY 2021

What makes a strong community? This question was definitely answered on Sunday at the ANZAC march. We had a great number of Graceville families walk proudly through the streets, commemorating those who have and are also currently serving within our forces.

Waiting List for Prep 2021 – opened at the beginning of this term.

The waiting list for 2021 is now open. Please let any interested people know that forms and information can be obtained from our school office. Families from within our catchment area we also invite you to obtain enrolment forms to begin the process. For in catchment families a birth certificate and proof of residency in our catchment is required along with the completed enrolment form.

Graceville State School recognises as its prime obligation the provision of access to an appropriate educational service for students residing within this community as defined by its local catchment area.

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:

This site also outlines the process for placing your child’s name on our waiting list if you reside outside of our catchment area.

Date Claimer: Prep 2021 Information evening will be held in our school hall on Wednesday July 28th at 7pm. (dependent on COVID restrictions at the time)

Junior Assemblies

Parents and care givers of ONLY those hosting or performing a class item are invited to join us for Junior Assemblies which will be held every second Thursday afternoon from 2.15pm in the hall. These assemblies will be for all Prep to Year 2 classes. Year 2 students have the opportunity to develop their skills of public speaking by taking turns in leading these assemblies and classes also take part presenting items for us all. We also like to recognise Birthdays and present awards to students from across all classes.

Below is the calendar for term 2 assemblies and other important dates.

GREEN TEAM NEWS : Christie Goeldner

Green Team News

Hello families,

The Green Team would like to thank everyone for getting behind the team and donating to our ‘Wear Green to school’ free dress day. We are excited to be able to use this money to get our gardening project up and running. I would like to thank all the Green Team students for organising a very successful event, including their advertising, speech writing and helping with the collection of the donations. Such great leadership skills on display!

On May 21st, the Green Team are joining up with our like-minded Active School Travel Team and the local council to create an event- ‘Walk to School Clean Up’. Families will be given the opportunity to sign up to receive litter collection equipment for their walk to school on Friday the 21st of May. The equipment will be available for pick up the day before and then families can use it to clean up the streets as they leave the cars at home and walk to school. The council will be there to take away our rubbish and take away the litter collection equipment for another school to use. Cleaner streets, a healthy walk to school, reduced traffic and Active School travel stamps for all active travellers- what’s not to love about this?!! Keep an eye out for information heading home in how to sign up for the equipment.

The Green Team would like to acknowledge the work of the Preps. When collecting donations today, some eagle eye Green Teamers noticed that the Preps have separate bins for their recyclables and soft plastics. Our youngest learners are leading the way!

Did you know that our ICT technician, Tari, is also reducing Graceville’s footprint? She sends all of our out of service ICT hardware to Substation 33. It is an electronic waste recycling centre and social enterprise providing a workplace where volunteers and employees gain confidence and skills for the transition to sustainable employment. You can find out how you can recycle your electronic waste at:

And don’t forget- you can help out the Green Team raise funds through recycling your containers. Just use Graceville State School’s code: C10055214

Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

CGEN tickets on sale

Our state school students are back on stage and ready to entertain.

Showcasing some of Queensland’s best young performers, Creative Generation – State Schools Onstage 2021 (CGEN) is not to be missed.

Tickets are now on sale for shows at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday 15, Friday 16 and Saturday 17 July.

Facebook: Creative Generation – State Schools Onstage 2021 is back. Enjoy the outstanding performing arts talent within Queensland state schools, live on stage in July. Tickets are now on sale:

Naplan Weeks 4 & 5 – Years 3 & 5

I have attached the Naplan Test Schedule for Parents so you know what days and times your child will be involved in the testing.

Unless they are sick on that day, all students doing the tests need to be here every day. If you need to book an urgent appointment during Weeks 4 or 5, please do so at times when the child isn’t involved in testing.

It is important that your child has good sleep, a healthy breakfast and arrives at school by 8.30am on those mornings so they can have every opportunity to be ready to participate in this learning opportunity. The more ready the children feel, the less anxious they should also feel.

Remember it is a point in time test! We do what we can to make it seem like any other day for the students. A positive attitude and calm disposition about Naplan will strongly influence your child’s state of mind.

The actual Naplan tests will run over a 2-week period – 11-21 May.

For more information please have a look at the website:

University of New South Wales Assessments Years 2-6

This year we will again be offering the opportunity for students in Years 2-6 to participate in the UNSW Assessments in Maths & Science. The assessments are all online and we do them in Year level sessions in the library (computer lab) before school. Each assessment costs $17.00. They will run in Term 3 – Science (23 – 27 August), Maths (30 August – 3 September). Later in the term a form will come home for you to enter your child. Invoices will be produced and payment will need to be made by the end of this term before students are entered.

Music News

Naomi Lindh

Last week we shared a recording of the song "Can You Hear the Children Marching?" composed by Nathan Cahill, sung by the Senior Choir for our ANZAC service. The recording was also sent to families. The choir sang beautifully and we received some lovely feedback from the song. The Senior Choir has a performance scheduled for a Senior Assembly in week 4 (listed below) in the hall and 2 guests per child can attend this performance. Please ensure that your child continues to attend rehearsals regularly to prepare for this performance, which will be the first live performance for the Senior Choir this year.

This week the Junior Strings ensemble (which are students in their second year of learning a string instrument) started rehearsals. These will continue each Wednesday morning at 7:45am in the hall and all Junior Strings students need to attend them regularly.

If your child is sick and unable to attend a rehearsal, please email their conductor to let them know (email contacts are listed below).

Junior Choir rehearsals will resume again in week 4 due to the public holidays.

Thank you for supporting your child's involvement in the music program!

Term 2 Performance Schedule

Week 4 - Senior Choir - Senior Assembly, Wednesday 12 May, 2:15pm - two parents/adults per child are invited to attend

Week 6 - Senior Strings - Senior Assembly, Wednesday 26 May,

2:15pm - two parents/adults per child are invited to attend

Week 8 - Senior Band - Senior Assembly, Wednesday 9 June, 2:15pm - two parents/adults per child are invited to attend

Week 10 - Junior Choir - Junior Assembly, Thursday 24 June, 2:15pm - one parent/adult per child is invited to attend due to the size of the choir

Rehearsal schedule for 2021

Monday 7:45am - 8:30am - Junior Choir (students in years 2 and 3) - in the music room
Tuesday 7:45am - 8:30am - Senior Choir (interested students in years 4 - 6) - in the music room
Wednesday 7:45am - 8:30am - Junior Strings (this is for second year string students and it will begin in week 2 of term 2, 28 April) - in the hall
Thursday 7:45am - 8:30am - Senior Strings - in the hall
Thursday 2:50pm - 4:00pm - Senior Band - in the hall
Friday 7:45am - 8:30am - Junior Band (this will begin mid 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

Library News

Melanie Hutchinson

COMPETITION DAY: TUESDAY 4TH MAY

Students in Year 5 & 6 will still compete in the annual GSS Readers Cup Competition 2021 on Tuesday 4th May. They will be given the opportunity to test their knowledge of the books they have read over the last couple of months. Students will battle through SIX rounds of questions for their chance to win the GSS Readers Cup trophy and many other fantastic prizes. The Readers Cup preparation has challenged students to read widely, work collaboratively in a team and continue to develop their love of reading.

Costumes and themed table decorations are encouraged, and each team requires a poster with their Team Name for competition day.

For those students who are interested in representing the school at the Regional Readers’ Cup Competitions coming up this Term – the TRY-OUT question time will be held during the first break on Tuesday (day of the school competition). The students with the highest scores from this session will be invited to be entrants in our upcoming Regional Readers’ Cup competition.

Families are encouraged to ensure their children HAVE READ the required competition stories and have written practice questions.

We wish all the teams the best of luck for the day,

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB : TERM 2 - ISSUE 3 2021

Book Club is up and running again this term.

Simply select any books your child would like from the catalogue and order online with the correct payment, by the closing date. Issue 3 Book Club catalogues have been sent home this week. Orders will close in three weeks on FRIDAY 14 MAY.

Method of payment – CREDIT CARD payments online, or through the LOOP APP [LOOP : Linked Online Ordering and Payment available on the link below or download the LOOP Apple or Android app]. The order forms do not need to be returned to school. LOOP ordering will be open until Friday 14th May.

If paying by credit card on the phone or with a cheque made to Scholastic Australia, return the order form to the school library by Friday 14th May.

NO CASH ORDERS PLEASE – GRACEVILLE STATE SCHOOL IS RUNNING A CASHLESS BOOK CLUB.

Each order helps Graceville SS earn books and teaching resources/materials and equipment for our library and classrooms, however there is never any obligation to order.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

All Book Club items come with a full guarantee of satisfaction. If for any reason an item is found to be unsatisfactory, please return it to us within one month of purchase and a full refund will be arranged.

Uniform Shop

Michelle Fanning

Hi everyone!

Welcome back for Term 2!

It’s nice to be treated with 2 long weekends so soon after the school holidays, but this year seems to be flying by and winter is almost upon us.

WINTER STOCK

We have plenty of winter stock available, but don’t delay as it is selling fast! Remember we also have the long sleeve Gold Polos available which are a great option for winter.

ON ORDER

We are currently out of stock of size 6 and 10 Gold Polos. They will take approximately 4 weeks to arrive.

YEAR 6 COMMEMORATIVE SHIRTS

The shirts aren’t too far away! I'm expecting to hear by the end of next week and hoping they will arrive the following week. Fingers crossed!

OPENING DAYS AND TIMES FOR TERM 2

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

*Feel free to order online throughout the holidays and your orders will be packed as soon as we head back for Term 2. Just remember to ignore the “pick up" date as all online orders are only ever sent to the classroom.

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. Have a safe and happy Easter break!

Michelle

Tuckshop News

Hi Everyone and Welcome Back!

So wonderful to see everyone’s smiling faces after such an abrupt finish to last term. We hope you and your families had a restful and enjoyable holiday.

We are desperate for some helpers for the first couple of weeks of May so please sign up and lend a hand using the link below. If you have 1 hour or 3 to spare anything you can offer is a huge help to us. It’s really not as hard as you think and such a small part of the day.

SignUp.com:

NEW MENU ITEM NEW MENU ITEM NEW MENU ITEM NEW MENU ITEM

We have added 2 new menu items this term….Lasagna and Frubetto Fruit Slushies!

Lasagna is our new Tuesday Special - 220g single serve for only $5.00 and perfect for the colder days this term.

Replacing our Friday Special (Ice Cream) and available 5 days a week we are also introducing Frubetto Fruit Slushies for $2.50 a cup. They are 100% Fruit Juice so there is:

• No Added Sugar
• No Preservatives
• No Artificial Colourings or Flavours
• No Additives AND
• Gluten Free

With 3 flavours to choose from….

• Purple Lemonade
• Strawberry Banana
• Mango Passion

We think the kids will love them!

This Week’s Reminders

• Weekly Specials this term are
  o Monday – Fried Rice $4.50
  o Tuesday – Lasagne $5.00
  o Wednesday – Sushi (ordered on a Monday using the Sushi menu in Qkr!)
  o Thursday- Beef or Chicken Burger $5.00
• Birthday Iceblocks need to be ordered 24hours in advance so we have time to organize a balloon with the iceblocks. We would hate anyone to miss out as the kids just love seeing what Brendan from Fun Xtreme brings them. And we love seeing the joy on their faces!
• Orders close at 8am every morning. Please do not use the Oops I forgot menu if you miss cut off. This menu is only to be used for emergency situations i.e., where kids have dropped their lunches or discovered they have no lunch at break. The menu is only checked after we have spoken with a parent or the office and is not to be used for any other purpose.
• We are still not taking cash over the counter this term. Please order any treats through the QKR! App.

We look forward to seeing some new and regular faces this term so if you have any questions or concerns and you’d like to speak with us please email tuckshop@gracevillepandc.org.au or pop in for a quick chat we’d love to hear from you.

See you at Tuckshop!

Alex and Emma
Tuckshop Convenors 2021

P&C News

Spellathon Wrap

Thank you to everyone who has been involved in this year’s Spellathon – students, families, word sponsors, staff (especially Ms Nichols, Marian & Ally in the Office), and our wonderful and loyal sponsors – Superior Fruit, Place – Graceville and Graceville Village Discount Drug Store. We have had amazing support, learnt to spell a few words, and raised $19,250 in the process! Well done and thank you everyone.

We are also grateful to Lick Ice-cream Graceville and Astro Jump who have kindly assisted with our prizes. Our local community supports us. Please support our local businesses where you can.

Congratulations to all our prize winners – 1st, 2nd and 3rd from each year group and to the winning classes. Special mention must go the Prep and Year One classes who between them raised over $7,000 – fantastic effort. Our prize assemblies were held on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

P&C meeting

The next P&C meeting will be on Wednesday 5 May at 7:30pm in the Waratah Room above the office. All members of the school community are welcome to attend and hear about plans for exciting upcoming events.

SPRING FAIR
INFORMATION SESSION
8.45am FRIDAY 7 MAY 2021

The Graceville State School P&C Executive committee are calling for volunteers to form a fundraising committee to assist with the coordination of the 2021 Spring Fair proposed for Sat 28th August.

TELL ME MORE

Come along to one of two information sessions to hear more about the proposed Spring Fair and the ways in which you can get involved. Either prior to the P&C meeting at 6.30pm on WEDNESDAY 5th May OR 8.45am FRIDAY 7th May 2021 from in the Waratah Room (upstairs from the office).

As you may have heard from the kids, if we cannot form a Spring Fair committee by 5pm on Friday 7th May; we will most likely not go ahead with the Fair.

For more information or to SIGN UP NOW – please contact

Anita Armstrong vp@gracevillepandc.org.au or Karen McNab president@gracevillepandc.org.au

School Plus

Term 2 already!? Time really does fly when you’re having this much fun! We had a fantastic Easter break at Vacation Care, filled with lots of fun and games, including art experiences, excursions to the movies and roller skating, Inspector Gadget day and more!

We wanted to hit the ground running this term and continue with our fabulous science project. This week we made some fun fake snow! In week 2 we made some silly rubbery slime. We are going to continue our science fun each week, so look out for the next science experiment we do at OSHC.

Week 1, we programmed some fun activities for ANZAC Day. Many children made amazing murals out of chalk. We celebrated Pay it Forward Day! We spent the day paying it forward and doing nice things for others.

We are thrilled to get started on our Cooking Club this term on Thursdays and Fridays! The children will be making a lot of different tasty snacks and honing their cooking skills while they’re at it!

We are excited to be starting our homework club this term, where children will be able to quietly work on any homework, assignments or reading they need to do.

Join in on the fun and book now for Before and After School Care at School Plus Graceville!

Karina, Tiff, Oliver and the School Plus Graceville Team

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