14 October 2022

Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

Two weeks down and 8 to go! The is term is flying!

I hope you were able to enjoy the Spring Holiday break. We have hit the ground running since we returned with many excursions, camps and events.

This week our Year 5 students attended camp. The focus of this camp is on leadership as we take the opportunity to observe the many potential school leader applicants who have nominated for 2023 leadership positions. Next week we start the short-listing process for 2023 School Captain, Student Learning Ambassador and Culture Ambassador positions. The school captain speeches will be held on Wednesday 2 November from 2pm.

In week 3, our Year 4 students will attend their first camp. It is an overnight camp, closer to home which helps to prepare our students for future longer-term camps.

In week 4, we have our Disco! Save the date for Wednesday 26 Oct. The P-2 disco has a Fantasy theme and the 3-6 disco has an 80s theme so children can start preparing their costumes. Tickets will be on sale very soon. Snacks, drinks and a BBQ will be available on the night.

The Book Fair officially opens on the night of the Disco. This gives a great chance to wander up to the library and purchase some books before your child’s disco. The Book Fair continues until mid-week 5.

The P&C meeting is next Wednesday the 19th and all parents/carers are welcome to attend at 7.30pm in the Waratah room. A zoom option is also available and the link is sent home early next week.

Finally, the school leader, sport and music photos will be held on Tuesday 25 October. Please save that date if your child is in any specific photo groups.

Have a great week,

Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Cybersafety

We enjoyed the presentation last week and thank Rob from the Department of Education's Cybersafety and Reputation Management team (CRM) coming and speaking to our parents. CRM advises, investigates and supports schools to manage online behaviours and digital reputation issues. I have included the presentation from the evening here for any parents who may not have been able to come along.

There are also booklets available in the office titled, ‘Cybersafety: Information for parents and carers – What do I need to be aware of?’ Please drop in and collect a booklet if you would like one, they are on the front counter.

You can also read more about the department’s cybersafety program and resources on their Facebook page:

Preparing for Prep 2023

Term 4

Get Set for Prep sessions

Families must RSVP for Get Set for Prep sessions using our online booking system on SOBS.

The link is:

Session 1: Tuesday Oct 18 OR Thursday Oct 20, 9 – 10:00am Focus on Fine Motor Skills
Session 2: Tuesday Nov 1, 9 – 10:00 Speech and Language Development
Session 3: Monday Nov 14 OR Wednesday Nov 16, 9 – 10:00am Focus on Reading

Prep Orientation meetings: Thursday November 24

Meet the class session: Thursday December 1, 9 – 10am

Term 4 Calendar for P-2 Assemblies

We commence our P-2 assemblies at 2:15, parents are welcome to attend.

Deputy Principal

Lisa McKeaten

Naplan 2023 Years 3 & 5

For families of students who will be in Years 3 & 5 in 2023, I wanted to let you know that your children will be participating in Naplan testing.

In 2023, dates are quite different to previous years. Schools will be participating in the testing in Term 1. Keep these dates free – 15 March to 27 March. If you are looking at booking holidays or appointments please avoid these times. There will also be practice sessions sometime early in Term 1. Teachers will let you know about theses when we organise times and days.

For more information about Naplan please visit the link below.

Tuesday 25th October – Sports and Music Photos

Students involved in representative sport and music ensembles as well as our School Leaders will have their photos taken on Tuesday 25th October during the day.

Music News

Naomi Lindh

We are looking forward to hosting our annual music concert in week 6 this term, on Wednesday 9 November, at 6:00pm. All of our choral and instrumental students will be performing at this concert and it will conclude by 7:30pm (at the latest). Previous concerts have often finished at around 7:15pm. Please lock this important date in your calendar if you have a student in the music program. Conductors will let student know what time they need to arrive to tune up. Choral students can arrive for the beginning of the concert at 6:00pm. Families are welcome to attend to listen to our music students perform!

Please let your child's conductor know if they are unable to attend a rehearsal. All choirs and ensembles are busy preparing for the concert, so we appreciate the continued attendance at rehearsals this term, unless your child is sick.

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

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

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

Library News

Melanie Hutchinson

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

ANNUAL BOOK FAIR

Soon it will be that time of year again when the school library hosts its annual BOOK FAIR!!

In Week Four, from Wednesday 26th October – Tuesday 2nd November, Book Fair will take place in the LIBRARY.

It will be huge for everyone – there will be lots of fabulous books with exclusive titles and great-value books for every child’s reading interest and level, so don’t miss out! (Don’t forget books make fantastic gifts - come in and get your Xmas shopping done early!). Help us celebrate reading with our students and the school community. Keep an eye out for the Book Fair Flyer which will be sent home shortly.

And this year our Family Event will coincide with the School Disco, so please drop in and have a shop while your children are dancing the night away!

We look forward to seeing you at the Book Fair!

Starts: Wednesday 26 October until Tuesday 2 November
Family Event: Wednesday 26 October from 5.00 – 7.30 pm (the night of the School Disco)
Open: Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday 8 – 9 am & 3 – 4 pm

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

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

Chappy Chat

John Erichsen

Welcome to Term 4! I trust the holiday break was a chance to refresh and enjoy a slightly different morning routine. Back into sorting school lunches and the morning drop offs, we can quickly forget the wonderful times experienced with the slower pace and greater choice holidays provide. The good news is that Term 4 will race by. It will be incredibly busy but filled with amazing opportunities for all of us to learn and grow. Friendships will be strengthened, new skills discovered and learning deepened over the next 10 weeks. Embrace the crazy and Term 4 will be a positive experience. Term 4 will be what it is. A fun-filled, fantastic voyage to the end of the school year. Hold on and enjoy the ride!

Next week, our Year 5 students head away on camp to Noosa North Shores for 3 days of engaging activities in a beautiful beach/bush setting. School camps are a brilliant opportunity for students to experience new challenges in a dramatically different environment, away from home and familiar places. From sleeping arrangements to meal times, camps allow students to showcase many leadership qualities. Those Year 5 students, vying for school leadership positions in 2023, are encouraged to display their leadership abilities at all times, including when on camp. With all the excitement of camp, sometimes those students living out the Learning Assets become very noticeable. Effective self-managers are needed on camp, to handle a variety of situations. Quality collaborators will be vital to achieve success in some activities. Strong communication skills are essential to get the most out of camp. Students who are able to think about or consider others often stand out during camp activities. The Year 5 camp is an important part of the school’s Leadership process.

This term will be exciting for our students with camps, swimming, sport and a school disco, all happening in the next few weeks. The Chaplaincy Service wishes to support the Year 6 teachers and the student council by running a BBQ on the night of the disco. All money raised at the BBQ will go to the student council. The Chaplaincy Service is excited to work alongside the Graceville State School community and this BBQ is a small way, for Chaplaincy to say thank you to the community for the generous support it receives.

Have an awesome week!

John Erichsen
(Chappy)

P&C News

Welcome back to term 4! This year is absolutely flying past, but we are looking forward to another jam-packed final term for this year.

We are excited to advise that on the back of the P&C Committee’s approval to investigate options for the much-needed improvements to the school tuckshop at the last P&C meeting, we have engaged “Food Strategy” to explore options for renovating and upgrading the space in tuckshop. We have had two visits now from Food Strategy who have drawn up plans for a possible layout change and retrofit out of the tuckshop that will improve functionality and increase storage space.

Next steps are to look at putting these ideas into a building plan and costing the project to finalise our options. Watch this space as we keep you updated on our progress.

GSS P&C Survey.

As advised at the end of term 3, the P&C sent out a survey to all members of our school community to give an opportunity to voice what is important to you in terms of projects, fundraising ventures, and allocation of funds. The survey officially closed on Wednesday 12th Oct 2022. The executive team will spend the next week analysing the feedback to present initial findings to the entire committee at the next P&C meeting. Findings from this survey will be used to develop a strategic plan for the direction of the P&C into next year and will be tabled for discussion and approval at the November P&C meeting.

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback. We greatly appreciate your insight.

Employment Opportunity – Tuckshop.

We are on the hunt for an additional team member to join the amazing Tuckshop crew! An official job advertisement will go out next week and more information will be provided on our Facebook page, but if you know anyone who might be interested, please feel free to get in contact with us (exec@gracevillepandc.org.au).

Next P&C meeting date

Please be advised that the next P&C meeting has been scheduled for 19th October 2022 at 7:30pm in the Waratah Room. You can also attend virtually via Zoom – details will be sent out next week. Please check our Facebook page for the link.

Everyone is welcome.

Uniform Shop

Michelle Fanning

Hi all!

Welcome to week 2 of term 4!

Can you believe we are heading into the home stretch of 2022?!

PLAN AHEAD FOR 2023

Families are already ordering and making appointments for fittings for 2023. If you can, buy as early as possible. Just one less thing to worry about when the silly season well and truly arrives.

APPOINTMENTS

Please be aware that this is the busiest time of the year for the uniform shop so appointments are absolutely necessary. I have 10 min appointments for current families/students or 20 min appointments for new families/students needing to try on uniforms etc. Appointments days are Tuesdays and Thursdays. These can be made by scrolling down to the ‘link for appointment’ section.

RETURNS/REFUNDS

Please be advised that refunds will only be given if you have your receipt which will be sent to you via email or text message. Items should be in perfect condition so should not have been worn or washed and any original tags should still be attached. You have 30 days for returns and refunds.

CASHLESS STORE

We are now a cashless store so will only be accepting payment by Eftpos card or credit card when purchasing at the store.

DRESSES

Please note we have very limited stock in our dresses. We now only have small quantities of sizes 8, 12, 14 and 16 left in stock. These will not be re stocked.

2nd HAND STOCK

Why not look at our 2nd hand rack. Items start at just $5 and are always marked at 50% off or less! Pop by the store on a Tuesday or Thursday morning for a look or send me an email with what you’re after so I can help.

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

LINK FOR BOOKING APPOINTMENTS

For any reason you cannot make your appointment time, please cancel online asap so others don’t miss out.

LOCATION

When visiting the store 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.

If you are a new family to the school please let me know so we can arrange a pick up time from the uniform shop. The school office prefer not to hold items there for pick up if at all possible.

PLEASE NOTE – When buying online via your pc or laptop, please add your child’s FULL NAME and CLASS in the notes section. If ordering via your mobile device, please add your child’s details beside yours. 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. Please do not leave donations at the uniform shop when it is closed. Thank you for your generosity and understanding.

Email address for school uniform store is:

uniformshop@gracevillepandc.org.au

Thanks everyone!

Michelle

Tuckshop News

Tuckshop News 2022

Welcome Back! Holidays seem to always go so fast don’t they and now here we are in term 4!

Term 4 is always the busiest term of the year – please if you can spare some time jump on and volunteer through the QKR! app under the Volunteer menu.

Short on time? Then maybe you could think about donating items to the Tuckshop…email us for some ideas or pop in for a chat.

Remember we love a drop in visit before and/or after reading groups to help out. You would be surprised just how much 10 minutes of your time can help us with the morning.

Just follow the steps below to sign up in QKR! Or pop in and we can put your name down for you.

We look forward to catching up with our regular volunteers and meeting some new ones this term!

Menu News

NEW MENU ITEM!!!

Due to supply issues and a rise in cost price we have had to take Apple Muffins off the menu but we have replaced them with Vanilla Cake Slice and Chocolate Cake slice!

Individually wrapped and only $2.00 a slice they are a great new addition to our Snacks menu.

Also, just a little reminder that when purchasing Fruity Ice shapes only 2 can be ordered at a time. We find that it takes a while for the kids to get through them, and they run out of time before the bell goes for end of break.

Reminders

Please be aware that Tuckshop will be closed for the last week of school (week 10).

The last day of Tuckshop for 2022 will be FRIDAY 2nd DECEMBER and all orders must be placed by MIDDAY THURSDAY 1st DECEMBER.

Remember:

• 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

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

School Plus

Reminders

Lost Property: We have a lot of lost property at OSHC that has been left behind following September holidays. We also have many school hats and jumpers that have been left in our lost property. If your child has lost something, please drop into the OSHC room during OSHC hours (6:30-8:30 am, 2:45-6:00 pm) to collect any belongings.

Christmas Closure Period: OSHC will be closed from the 24th of December to the 8th of January. The last day of December Vacation Care will be December 23rd.

Permission for Activities: If your child is enrolled at OSHC and attends additional activities (such as tennis, dance, Speak Up, etc), please ensure you have completed the required permission form.

Permanent Bookings: Remember that if your child/ren regularly attends the same days at OSHC, it is cheaper to make permanent bookings rather than casual.

Thank you!

September Vacation Care Recap

We had a huge fun-filled September Vacation Care here at OSHC. It may be one of the shorter Vacations, but we sure managed to pack a lot in!

We played mini golf, had a talent show, made slime, and even went rock climbing! We also had a visit from a video games truck which was very cool with disco lights and so many consoles and games. We got active with the El Barrio gym, a footy day and Chinese martial arts.

Vacation Care is such a great opportunity for the children to try new things, have loads of fun and spend quality time with their friends. For some of the children, rock climbing was initially a little intimidating and they were hesitant but in no time at all, they were facing their fears with the encouragement of staff and friends. Every single child got up and had a go, which was just fantastic to see. The children were so proud of themselves for scaling the walls and loved looking back over the photos to see just how far they’d gone. It was great to see the sense of accomplishment and how proud they were of their friends and themselves. OSHC is a great place for creating core memories and skill-building opportunities.

Now onto the fun, we’ve had here at OSHC these first few weeks back at OSHC in Term 4.

We celebrated World Animal Day here at OSHC in Week 1 of the term. We made some very cool paper chain pythons and paper plate peacocks. The children loved decorating their peacocks with sparkly paper and sequins. The children were very excited to discuss all their favourite animals in celebration of World Animal Day. We also talked about how important it is to look after our animals and their habitats. Many of the children have also been learning about this in school and were very excited to share their knowledge with their younger peers.

The children also became nature explorers and went to survey the wildlife here at OSHC. At first, they didn’t think there would be too much to see but were very surprised to find so many creatures to learn about. The children did Animal Fact Files for ants, beetles, several types of birds and even the dogs that were being walked past the school.

We also celebrated Space Week with some galaxy playdough and papier-mâche planets. Playdough is always popular here at OSHC, but our galaxy playdough was extra popular due to its cool colour and glitter. The children loved making planets, stars and even running competitions for who could make the biggest, best creation. They even judged the competition themselves, and the judging was very fair.

The children also worked for many days on a big project – the Papier-mâche planets. We first had to blow up our balloons to all different sizes and then decide which balloon would become which planet. There was much discussion about whether Pluto should be included due to it being a dwarf planet. Some children said they felt bad for Pluto and wanted to include it anyway.

The children also loved discussing their favourite planet, basing their decision on how ‘cool’ the planet was because of its colour, size or just a fact they knew about it. It was impressive to hear just how much they knew about the solar system and how interested they were in space exploration. The process of Papier-mâche was a lot of fun for the children, as they enjoyed how messy it was. We then had to wait for our planets to dry before we could paint them. The children are very excited to see the end product when we hang it up in our OSHC room.

Tennis

TENNIS HOT SHOTS – ENROLMENTS FOR TERM 4 NOW OPEN!

Enrolments are now open for term 4 tennis coaching.

ENROL ONLINE via 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!

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