28 October 2022

Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

It is hard to believe there are only 6 weeks of the school year left! There is so much still to do!

This Friday is World Teachers Day! On this day we celebrate our hard working, dedicated and caring teachers. Our teachers work tirelessly to care for and educate the children to give them the best chance of success. Happy World Teachers Day to all of our teachers!

Friday is also Day for Daniel. On this day we wear red to create awareness and show our support for child safety. Children can wear red to school on Friday.

I would like to thank the Year 4 teachers and students for a great Year 4 camp. Our teachers volunteer to attend camps and we are very grateful to them for providing a wonderful experience for the children.

If your child’s class won the Spell-a-thon prize, they will receive it very soon. The prize this year was a pool party and ice creams! We have organised the pool parties to take place on Friday 18 and 25 of November. Your teacher will make you aware of the date and time of the prize party in the coming weeks. You will be glad to know that the money raised through the Spell-a-thon has been spent on significantly updating the general borrowing collection (fiction and non-fiction) in the library, updating classroom readers and purchasing resources to help develop oral language in the early years. There is a lot of book covering still to do and Mrs Hutchinson will be very glad of any help you can provide. If you can cover some books, please pop in to see Mrs Hutchison at the library as she would love your help.

I would like to wish the short-listed nominees for School Captain the best of luck for their speeches next week. I am looking forward to hearing the speeches and learning more about each of the students.

We welcome you to join us at the Instrumental Music concert at 6pm on Wednesday 9 November. I enjoy this concert immensely each year as it really showcases the musical talents of students in the Instrumental music program.

On Monday 14 November, the school will celebrate World Kindness Day! This will be a free dress day and information will come home soon about the theme for the day.

Finally, don’t forget to pop into the Book Fair! Mrs Hutchinson has some great books and stationary on sale.

Have a great week,

Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

Preparing for Prep 2023

Term 4

Get Set for Prep sessions are underway!

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

The link is:

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

The GSS booklists have now been finalised and can now be ordered.

With the booklists you have several options:

*Order the booklists through Campions:

The Due date for orders is Wednesday 14th December.
You have the option of home delivery or pick up at school (except Prep packs)
Use the code to access the 2023 resource lists (8QM2) - Campion website

(bypass code)

*Another option is to purchase the items you need from somewhere else. There is no obligation to purchase from Campions. The P & C do get some commissions from Campions however. If you purchase from somewhere else please ensure you buy the correct quantities & brands as these are chosen by teachers for their quality and efficiency.

ICAS Maths

There is a delay in the ICAS Maths results it will be 3 weeks, we will get them out as soon as we receive them.

Music News

Naomi Lindh

Thank you to our committed students and families for ensuring regular attendance at rehearsals for our upcoming Annual Music Concert 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 approximately 7:15pm. It is important for our students to attend and prioritise this concert over other weekly activities which they may attend, as members of music groups are like any team and require all students to perform to be successful. This is also an exciting performance opportunity for our students and families, as we have not been able to hold our evening concerts for 3 years, due to COVID restrictions. 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. Students are requested to wear full school uniform for this concert. 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

Chappy Chat

John Erichsen

Thanks to everyone involved in organising and running a successful and extremely entertaining disco last night. It was fantastic to see so many dress up and make the most of the fun themes.

It is wonderful to be able to return events like this to the school calendar. The students have an absolute blast.

Tomorrow, Friday, is the Day for Daniel, where a sea of red will flood over our school, as we profile and promote keeping children safe. This day raises awareness and gives students greater understanding and some simple strategies around being safe around strangers. It is a great opportunity for parents and care givers to have a chat with their younglings about what wearing the red shirt is all about. A reminder for each of them to stay safe and know who the trusted adults are, who will help them if they are feeling uneasy. Please don’t miss this opportunity.

Last week was an awesome time on camp for our year 4’s, at QCCC Brookfield. It was a brilliant setting with great activities that wore many of the students out by the end of camp. This overnight camp is a vital part of preparing students for next year’s 2 night camp. We also realise that Covid has lessened the opportunity for some families to arrange sleepovers for their children, with lockdowns, restrictions, etc. The students were awesome and I hope there were many interesting camp stories retold over the weekend.

Have a phenomenal week!

Chappy
(John Erichsen)

P&C News

GSS P&C Survey.

At the P&C meeting held on 19th October, the P&C Executive presented the initial findings and results from the community engagement survey that was sent out at the end of term 3 and ran over the September school holidays.

Thank you again to everyone who took the time to provide feedback. We received a total of 138 responses, with generally very positive feedback on the fundraising events and the work that the P&C is doing. We have also received very useful comments on areas that can be improved upon, where fundraising amounts should be spent, and other events/functions that our school community would like to see.

A brief summary of the key results from the survey are as follows:

• Great response from already engaged families provided constructive feedback
• General positive support for continuing with Spring Fair & Trivia Night annually.
• Other fun & helpful fundraising / event options to be explored – focus on sports, arts & performance
• Identified priorities for spending – school facilities, laptops & equipment upgrades in classrooms, STEM programs, Tuckshop renovation
• Financial support of school resources for struggling families
• Support of the Green Team and other sustainability activities
• Greater transparency, strategic direction & increase accessibility to the P&C (minutes)
• GSS P&C Website would be beneficial for community engagement and communication.

The next step in this process is to meet with the school’s leadership and admin teams to discuss how the P&C can support improvements to the student's equipment and school facilities as well as what other events can be incorporated into 2023-2025 calendars. From there the aim is to incorporate the survey results & feedback into a draft Strategic Plan which will be tabled in the November meeting along with and initial calendar of events for 2023.

Grade 6 Legacy Gift.

In order to celebrate their time at GSS, each year the grade 6 students are asked to embark on an improvement project at the school as a part of a legacy gift they can leave behind when they move on to high school, for the benefit of future students. At the P&C Meeting held last week, we were thrilled to have 2 representatives from this year’s grade 6 cohort present a proposal for funding for their legacy project that they are wanting to leave as a departing gift to the school.

This year the grade 6 students have earmarked a renovation and upgrade of the ‘Sports Shed’ at the back of the school hall. Identified by the students as an area of improvement, the ‘Sports Shed’ in its current state is in desperate need of new equipment, storage upgrades, and a paintjob. Although a big undertaking, once completed this project will be an amazing gift for the school from the 2022 Grade 6 students. The P&C is delighted and honoured to be able to contribute $3,000 to help the grade 6 students fund this project, and we cannot wait to see the finished project later this term.

Congratulations to the grade 6 students for their hard work and enthusiasm and thank you to Callum and Murphy for coming along to the meeting last week to deliver a very detailed and well-presented proposal.

Swimming Lessons

As many in the school community might be already aware, there currently is a vacancy for the position of a swimming coach/instructor that can be take on the role of teaching swimming lessons during the school day for classes in terms 1 and 4 (and potentially utilising the pool facilities during out of school hours for a swimming school/squad program). The P&C are currently working with the school to look at options for re-engaging a learn to swim provider & are exploring the option of this being managed by the P&C, however we are in need of a volunteer coordinator/manager to help facilitate this program in order for this to be a viable option.

If anyone in our community has expertise or skills in this area, can you please contact us ( exec@gracevillepandc.org.au) . Our hope is to have something in place for the return to school in 2023 however with only 6 weeks left of this year we need to move quickly on this in order to the necessary work and approvals in place ready for next year.

Next P&C meeting date

Please be advised that the next P&C meeting has been scheduled for 30th November 2022 at 7:30pm in the Waratah Room. You can also attend virtually via Zoom – details will be sent out closer to the time. Everyone is welcome.

Uniform Shop

Michelle Fanning

Hi all!
Welcome to week 4

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.

OUT OF STOCK/LOW STOCK

We are currently out of stock of size 6 Gold Polos.

We are low in size 8 Gold Polos, size 4 and size 6 Shorts.

All of the above items will be restocked in the next 1-2 weeks.

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

Well, we are back into the swing of things for last term. To say it’s busy is an understatement!

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

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.

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

Menu News

New Menu Item!

We received some great feedback from the school survey with a couple of suggestions proposed for the menu.

As a result we will now offer SUSHI WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY! Orders need to be in by 11.30 Tuesday and Thursday respectively for next day delivery!

And LACTOSE FREE chocolate milk has now been added to the menu at $3 each. Given them a go this week!

Another suggestion was to offer yogurt on the menu.

Unfortunately, yogurt never proves to be popular whenever it is offered. We have tried different flavours of Greek yoghurt as well as individual cups of vanilla yoghurt. At the end of the day we cannot sell through enough of the product to make it a sustainable item.

Also, there was a request to bring back ice cream on a Friday. The decision was made to replace ice cream on a Friday with the individual portion cups as we could make it available every day of the week and also with a lack of volunteers and increased order numbers the man power to scoop and get out over 100 ice creams on a Friday is a difficult task! We understand that it was a favourite item but it too just isn’t sustainable.

We love receiving feedback and are more than happy chat with anyone that has concerns or suggestions about the menu – so please feel free to pop in for a chat or send us an email if you have any further questions.

Also, just a little reminder that when purchasing Fruity Ice shapes only 2 can be ordered at a time. We find that it takes awhile 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.

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

Fun at OSHC – Week 3 & 4

Here at OSHC we’ve been very busy. Last week was the National Bird Week and we celebrated with many fun activities. The children really enjoyed the big Aussie Bird Count, which they conducted in groups. They tracked the birds they had seen using the Aussie Bird Count app, and many were excited to go home and tell their parents so that they could do a bird count in their local area. There was a lot of conversation about the different birds around their own backyards, but also birds seen on day trips and holidays.

The children were very interested in the map on the Aussie Bird Count app, and it was interesting to hear them make observations about the locations the birds were found and what they knew of the area. The children made connections between habitats and different types of birds, what foods are available to birds in the area and what other animals live in that area that may be predators. It was great to see the children take such an interest in the natural world.

We also created some fantastic bird craft, like Papier-mâché style birds’ nest, glittery jewel-covered peacocks, and some bright, colourful birds.

We also had some rainy days this past week, but the children made the most of it building huge structures and fancy pizza shops with Waffle Blocks, getting active with totem tennis and volleyball, making lots of box creation craft and more.

We’ve also been busy celebrating Diwali with cultural games and activities. The children made some creative and colourful papercraft Rangoli designs. We had some help from our lovely community of parents who kindly shared their knowledge with us. It’s so wonderful to see children and parents so passionate about sharing their culture. It’s a great chance for children to teach each other, as we had many children sharing their favourite parts of Diwali but also other students sharing celebrations from their own cultures.

Oobleck was also a very popular activity this week. The children loved making a big mess with the oobleck and observing the way the changes from liquid to almost solid. It’s a fun experiment to try at home and requires corn-starch and water.

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.

Prep Parents

Just a reminder about our Prep Independence Project will be starting over the next few weeks. This project is to support our current Preps transition independently to and from before/after school care in preparation for Grade 1.

Stage 1 will begin next week (Week 4) and will run through weeks 4 and 5. This will include the educators walking at the back of the group of children and watching them walk themselves to the OSHC room to sign in.

Please remind your child what days they are attending. Please be rest assured that we do this transition yearly and work with the teachers and the school, we will ensure all children arrive safely. Children will be supervised, and rolls will be done, as per usual sign in process.

This has been emailed and is available in our Parent Area

It won't be until stage 3 (Weeks 9 & 10) when the Preps will be transitioning independently without a staff member collecting children from the classroom.

For those with children starting Prep next year:

You can begin your enrolments now. Please send us an email at graceville@schoolplus.com.au for more information.

Tennis

CHRISTMAS SCHOOL HOLIDAY TENNIS COACHING CLINICS

MONDAY 12TH, TUESDAY 13TH, WEDNESDAY 14TH DECEMBER 2022
WEDNESDAY 16TH, THURSDAY 17TH, FRIDAY 18th JANUARY 2023

School Holiday Tennis Clinics are now open for enrolments. Positions are available for all school students aged between 4-12 years.

CLINIC 1 – RED BALL STUDENTS (RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN 4-7 YEARS OF AGE)

• 8.00am - 10.30am at Graceville State School (Oxley Road, Graceville) & Sherwood State School (464 Oxley Road, Sherwood)

CLINIC 2 – ORANGE BALL STUDENTS (RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN 7-10 YEARS OF AGE)

• 8.00am - 11.00am at Graceville State School (Oxley Road, Graceville) & Sherwood State School (464 Oxley Road, Sherwood)

CLINIC 3 – GREEN BALL STUDENTS (RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN 10-12 YEARS OF AGE)

• 8.00am - 11.00am at Graceville State School (Oxley Road, Graceville) & Sherwood State School (464 Oxley Road, Sherwood)

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