25 March 2022

From the Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

One week to go until the Easter Holiday break!

A very kind offer from the Brisbane Bullets has been made to flood affected Graceville State School families. The Brisbane Bullets have offered some free tickets for the Brisbane Bullets V’s the Adelaide 36’s on Saturday 3 April at 3pm. The tickets have been offered in the hope of providing a free and fun night out for families who have experienced an impact from the floods. As this is meant to be a great fun night out, there is also an understanding that children who were flood affected may also like to bring along a friend or family who has supported them (from Graceville State School also) during this difficult time, to share the experience. We ask families who have been flood impacted and would like to take up the opportunity to email the school with their expression of interest by Tuesday 30 March. Please email admin@gracevilless.eq.edu.au Notification by Tuesday will give us time to prepare the tickets for you by the last day of the school term. It is not our job to police the tickets and so we trust that families who take up the offer do so in the spirit in which the tickets have been offered.

As the year progresses and overseas travel looks likely, we are seeing families book overseas holidays or trips to their home country to reconnect with family or friends. It is important to understand an absence from school for more than 10 school days requires an Exemption from Schooling. You will need to contact the office and request the Exemption from School document, complete, and submit it to the school for approval. We understand the need for families to connect and will support you through the exemption process. If possible, we suggest trying to tack a long trip onto an identified holiday to limit the time away from school. When a child is exempt from schooling, the school is not required to supply work for the child to do while they are away. We suggest children keep up reading each day, keep a written journal of their experiences, email the class to say hello from where ever they are in the world to keep in touch etc. Of course, as you would on any holiday, soak up the culture of the country you are in and enjoy the company and quality time with family and friends! There is so much to learn and so many great experiences associated with travelling!

We would like to congratulate Matisse R and Aya S, for volunteering their artistic talents to the Brisbane City Council to complete a public art installation near the PA Hospital. Their artwork, “All aboard the animal express!”, was recently featured in the Brisbane City Council Artforce newsletter. What a great artistic achievement and a wonderful example of generosity of spirit as volunteers!

Last week, the school started to have reported positive COVID cases. Please understand the number of actual positive cases in our school is still quite low compared to other schools at this stage. As you are aware, when a child is confirmed as a positive case, the school sends a letter home to the parents of that class. This helps parents of the class to understand the specific circumstances for their class. We only advise parents if a child themselves has tested positive to COVID. The school is not required to share information if a child is a close contact of a household member who has tested positive. It is important to note a child who is a close contact must isolate and not attend school until the isolation time period has been completed. Please feel confident the school is monitoring the number of cases in each class, year level and across the school. All state schools are also required to provide information about positive cases to the Department of Education each day to help with monitoring purposes and any further action that is required in a specific school. You will also notice we have sent home some general notices to help remind all families that COVID is in our community and to please help us manage the situation by not sending a child to school if displaying any symptoms of illness. Your vigilance helps to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID in the school. Of course, we maintain our ventilation practices and children and adults are welcome to wear masks at school.

We are excited that our Prep Easter Hat parade can go ahead next Tuesday morning. The Prep Easter Hat parade will be held outside so Prep families can come along. We do ask those in attendance to practice social distancing and where social distancing cannot be achieved you are welcome to wear a mask.

Teachers will be holding Parent Teacher Interviews in weeks 1-3. Class teachers will email parents/carers to make them aware of the dates and times they are available across week 1-3. We encourage all parents to take the opportunity to meet with the class teacher at this time.

Finally, please be prepared for the first three Mondays next term to be Pubic Holidays! The first day back in Term 2 is Tuesday 19 April.

I hope you can find time to rest, relax and have some fun over the upcoming holidays,

Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Easter Hat Parade

We will be holding our Easter Hat Parade next Tuesday at 9am on our school oval. We excitedly look forward to seeing the colours and shapes of the amazing Easter hats that come to school. The preppies will also be sharing a couple of Easter songs for us as well. This will be happening on the steps that lead out to the oval under Q block.

Waiting List for Prep for 2023 – opens first day of term 2 on Tuesday April 19

The waiting list for 2023 will open on Monday, 19th April. Please let any interested people know that forms and information can be obtained from our school office from that date which is the first day of term 2. Families from within our catchment area we also invite you to obtain enrolment forms to begin the process when convenient after the start of term 2. 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 resident 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.

School Sun Safety Policy

Parents are asked to apply sunscreen before school and all teachers will provide an opportunity for students to reapply sunscreen while at school using school provided sunscreen which is Ultra Protect Vitamin E 50+ brand.

If you do not wish for your child to use the school provided sunscreen please complete the ‘Non-consent’ form which is Appendix A of the attached policy.

Please take the time to read this policy and ask any questions at all about its contents.

Prep Vision Screening March 22 - 25

The vision screening visits have now concluded. If your child was absent from school and did not get their vision checked, you will receive information about Vision Screening Catch-Up Clinics that run throughout the year.

Business Manager

Anne Nixon

Student Resource Schemes (SRS) for 2022 are:

• Prep Requirements ($100)
• Reading Eggs (Prep & year 1) ($26)
• Instrumental Music Programs – Instrument Hire ($100), Percussion Maintenance ($50), Music Participation ($90) & Choir ($45)
• Mathletics On-line registration (Years 2, 3, 4 & 6) ($14)
• Mathseeds (Prep & year 1) $14
• Origo Maths (years Prep to 4) ($8)
• Year 5 maths levy ($10)
• ESmart Digital Licence Yr 5 ($11)
• Yr 1 to 6 requirements ($25)

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 2021 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

Thank you to the students who have joined one of our choirs and families for supporting their involvement in the choir. If your child would like to join but has not attended a rehearsal yet, they are welcome to come to our next rehearsal. Please see the note via a link below.

All of our instrumental rehearsals have started, except the Junior Band which will begin during term 2. Please ensure that your child is attending their rehearsal and IM lessons regularly with the appropriate equipment. If due to your family's current circumstances this is not possible, please let your child's teacher know so that they are aware.

Instrumental Music

This year our IM teachers will be at Graceville on the following days:

• Mr James Kukulies - band - Monday (all day) and Friday (morning/half day)
• Mr Alex Chin - strings - Wednesday (all Day) and Thursday (morning/half day)

Contact details are listed below for all of our music teachers.

As this is the last Newsletter before the holidays, we wish all of our families a relaxing Easter vacation. Rehearsals will start in week 1 of next term, including Senior Choir (on the first Tuesday morning).

The music rehearsal schedule for 2022

Monday 7:45am – Senior Band (in the school hall)
Tuesday 7:45am - Senior Choir (interested students in years 4 - 6 - in the music room)
Wednesday 7:45am - Junior Strings (in the school hall)
Thursday 7:45am – Senior Strings (in the school hall)
Friday 7:45am - Junior Choir (interested students in years 2 - 3 - in the music room)
Friday 7:45am – Junior Band (starting in term 2 in May - in the school hall)

Music Teacher Contact Details

Alex Chin - Instrumental Music Teacher - Strings - Email: achin4@eq.edu.au
James Kukulies - Instrumental Music Teacher - Band - Email: jkuku2@eq.edu.au
Naomi Lindh - Classroom Music Teacher/Choir Conductor - Email: nclos1@eq.edu.au

Chappy’s Chat

John Erichsen

As the Autumn holidays swiftly approach, it is exciting to hear some plans to get away and visit family members long unseen. For those who are travelling, please stay safe and enjoy the freedoms you have waited for. As the country starts to open up, after 2 years in isolation, I hope we no longer take for granted the opportunity for travel and seeing the amazing sights available to us. For those staying closer to home, enjoy the break from school morning routines and more time with loved ones. Fingers crossed next term will be far less disrupted than the start of the year. Whatever you are planning for the holiday break, please make the most of time spent with family and loved ones. We are so fortunate to live in a country blessed with many freedoms, so while our thoughts and prayers go out to those less fortunate, facing persecution, famine and war, let us also be mindful of making our relationships the most positive they can be.

Next Tuesday our Cross-Country representatives will be off campus, competing in the District Trials where they will test their speed and stamina against runners from all the schools in our district. The competition will be tough as competitors try and succeed in making the District team to compete at the Regional event next term. We wish our students the very best of luck and know they represent our school well.

In the mornings before school, it is wonderful to hear the sound of our music students practising their pieces. It is very exciting to think that our choir, band and strings ensembles will be able to perform in front of audiences, proudly supporting the budding maestros.

Have a fantastic final week of term and a great break!

John Erichsen
(Chappy)

Uniform Shop

Michelle Fanning

Hi all!
Welcome to week 9...almost done for our first term.
How time flies!!

GOLD POLO SHIRTS

They’re back!! Most sizes are in stock and are available in store or online.

Anyone who had pre ordered and paid for shirts should have been contacted by now and your orders have been sent to the classroom.

WINTER STOCK

We are well stocked with winter uniform at the moment so please feel free to make an appointment or order online. Fabric shortages are still an issue in Australia so please don’t hesitate to buy early in case of future delays.

LOW STOCK / OUT OF STOCK

We are running low on size 6 shorts and we’re out of stock of quite a few sizes in the House shirts.

I have re ordered all of the above so if there was an item you would like to pre order, please email me at the address below so I can pop your name in my order book.

DONATIONS

I have been so grateful to receive so many donations over the past weeks. It’s been really helpful considering some of our wonderful families are not too able to access their belongings from the floods, so thank you to those who have so generously given.

PLEASE NOTE... all 2nd hand uniforms are free of charge for flood affected families.

As a side note, could donations be given during opening hours only or handed in at the office if absolutely necessary. Please do not leave bags outside the uniform shop. Thank you.

DRESSES

Please note that due to fabric issues we now have limited stock in our dresses. We have now sold out of size 2’s and 4’s.

I will not be ordering any more in the near future so if you know you would like a dress, please don’t delay.

OPENING DAYS AND TIMES

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

For any reason you cannot make your appointment time, please cancel online asap so others don’t miss out. 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 has an online store, so if you already know what your child needs you can order and pay online and it will be passed on to their teacher.

PLEASE NOTE – When buying online please add your child’s FULL NAME and CLASS on the FIRST page. Thank you.

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

DONATIONS

We are always grateful for donations of 2nd hand uniforms that are in freshly washed, saleable condition with no tears or holes 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.

PAYMENT

We encourage you to use Eftpos or credit cards when purchasing.

REFUNDS

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:
uniformshop@gracevillepandc.org.au

Thanks everyone!

Michelle

Tuckshop News

Tuckshop News 2022

Here we are at the end of another bumpy term. We hope everyone has a restful break and we get back into term 2 with a smoother start!

Thank you to all our volunteers this term especially the people who answer our calls last minute on a Thursday and Friday when orders go through the roof! We would be lost without you!

Tuckshop will be open the first day back of term 2 on Tuesday 19th April.

We desperately need volunteers for next week. If you can manage a few hours, please jump onto Qkr! and add yourself to the volunteer roster. If our orders keep growing and we don’t have volunteers to help we may need to consider capping our order numbers! If you don’t want to see this happen, then please sign up and help out.

Plan for next term and jump on and Volunteer using the Volunteer Menu in the Qkr! App – we would love to see some new faces!

Any spare time you have would be greatly appreciated.

Menu News

Unfortunately, we are having some supply issues with a few of our products. Please be patient with us if one of your favourite items seems to go missing from the menu! We will try and have it back asap.

Reminders

Please be mindful that

• Cutoff time for ordering is 8am every morning
• Sushi orders must be in by 12pm Tuesday for Wednesday delivery (remember to order through the Sushi menu)
• If your child is sick please cancel the order before 8am on your app, if it is after that time please call us and we can help
• The Oops I forgot menu is not to be used for placing orders if you don’t make 8am cut off. We don’t always get the chance to check the menu in time before first break so your child might miss out. The menu is only to be used when life happens, and lunch gets left at home or unforeseen circumstances at school.
• We still aren’t taking cash at the Tuckshop so please order all food, snacks, drinks and ice blocks through the app.

As always, 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 2022

P&C News

What does the P&C do?

The P&C makes a significant contribution to Graceville State School each year by providing services such as the tuckshop and uniform shop, by raising funds and also encouraging in-kind support and volunteering of parents, carers and community members. This contributes greatly to a wonderful, cohesive and supportive school community.

The P&C’s services and financial contributions to the school are so important to ensure ongoing improvements to the school facilities and resources for the students above and beyond what is provided by the Department of Education. Recent P&C projects have included funding of new classroom furniture, the hall revamp and air conditioning, installation of solar panels, purchase of laptops and iPads for classrooms and the funding of the adventure playground.

P&C AGM

The P&C Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday 30 March 2022 in the Waratah Room and via Zoom. As it's the AGM, we would encourage anyone who can, to join us for the face-to-face meeting. All current and prospective new members are welcome to join.

Meeting ID: 693 5458 4809
Passcode: 985237

Each year the P&C re-elects members and executive at the AGM. We are still looking for people to take over the roles of President and Secretary in 2022. If we are unable to fill these roles, this may affect the P&C’s ability to provide services such as the tuckshop and uniform shop and the ability to raise funds. Please email Karen McNab at president@gracevillepandc.org.au or Vanessa Neilsen at secretary@gracevillepandc.org.au if you are interested in either of these roles. You would well supported by the continuing executive members and Karen and Vanessa are willing to provide support and advice. Attached is a nomination form for executive positions which can be returned to Vanessa before the meeting.

All current members will need to rejoin the P&C again for 2022. We would also love to welcome any new members who are interested in helping to make their children's years at Graceville State School the best years of their lives and work with a great group of parents and carers to make this happen. The application form is attached and can be returned to secretary@gracevillepandc.org.au

School Plus

This term has truly been a busy one! There has been so much happening and it seems we are already at the back end of the term! The past couple of weeks have not been easy for a lot of us, but we have been doing our best to stay positive and do what we can to keep up with the fun for our Graceville children.

Harmony Week is a big week in our calendar. It is a week where we can celebrate and learn about all our diverse backgrounds. Many families in our community speak different languages at home, enjoy different cuisines, and enjoy many other cultural differences. We believe that this should be celebrated! We spent Harmony Week talking about our cultures and our differences as well as playing games from different cultures such as “Gitta” and “Catch the Dragons Tail”. We also thought about what best represents our culture by decorating some ‘Harmony Hands’.

We’ve also been focusing on sustainability and looking after our community lately. February was the National Sustainability Festival month, and to celebrate we incorporated some fun recycling activities into our program, including make DIY Bottle Rockets and Recycled Bottle Hanging Plant Pots! We have also been taking some time to clean up our school grounds for Schools Clean up Day on the 4th of March.

We cannot believe that Easter Vacation Care is right around the corner. Our program for the two weeks is jam packed with fun! We will be taking a trip to the theatre to see ‘Alice – A Journey Through Wonderland’ and will also be off to ‘Inflatable World’ too! We also have lots of other fun home days including a ‘Rocket Ship Incursion’, ‘Recycling- Reverse Garbage Incursion’ and so much more! Please ensure you book in quickly as spaces are filling up fast. If you require any assistance booking in or have any questions about Vacation Care, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Tennis Hot Shots

TENNIS HOT SHOTS – ENROLMENTS NOW OPEN FOR TERM 2 2022!

Enrolments are now open for term 2 tennis coaching.

ENROL ONLINE at:

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 2 WILL RECEIVE A FREE JUNIOR TENNIS RACQUET!

Tennis For Kids is a FairPlay activity provider and therefore can accept Government FairPlay Vouchers:

EASTER SCHOOL HOLIDAY TENNIS COACHING CLINICS

MONDAY 4TH, TUESDAY 5TH, WEDNESDAY 6TH APRIL 2022

Easter School Holiday Tennis Clinics are now open for enrolments.

Positions are available for all school students aged between 4-12 years.

Enrolments can be done online:

RED BALL CLINIC - RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN 4-7 YEARS OF AGE
Red Ball students (4-7 years) will be at Graceville and Sherwood SS from 8.00-10.30am (2½ hours)

ORANGE & GREEN BALL CLINIC - RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN 7-12 YEARS OF AGE
Orange/Green Ball students (7-12 years) will be at Graceville and Sherwood SS from 8.00-11.00am (3 hours)

Coaching clinics are suitable for EVERYONE as children are divided into groups according to both age and ability. Each session includes plenty of coaching and games, with coaches ensuring regular breaks and snack time, especially for the littlies!

Holiday Clinic positions are limited - so please enrol early to avoid disappointment!!

For further details or to enrol, please click this link:

or contact Tennis For Kids at info@tennisforkids.com.au or on 0408 187 741