9 December 2022

Principal

Zoe Smith

Hello,

We are finally in the last few days of what has been a very big year. As a community we showed once again we are strong and can we work together through both the challenging and good times. I am grateful that we will finish the year on a positive note. Thankyou!

As you may know, we have some teachers leaving us this year for a range of reasons including as part of the departments transfer process, ending contracts with the school, gap years, big holidays etc. We would like to thank those teachers for their dedication and service to the community and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavours. Good luck, Mr Guthrie, Ms Bailey, Mrs Brough, Mrs Ricketts, Mrs Caton, Mr Mathew, Ms Bacic, Ms Salmond, Ms Cooper and Ms Fichera.

As sad as it is to see some of our beloved teachers move on, we have some very excited new teachers starting with us in 2023. I would like to welcome, Mrs Choy, Mrs Williamson, Ms Hill, Mrs Woolford, Mrs Williamson, Mrs Gregory and Mr Walker to the school.

Thanks again for another great year.

See you on Monday 23 January, the first day of the 2023 school year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Zoe Smith

Newsletter Articles

Deputy Principal

Maree Hass

What a big year for our prep to year 2 students! So much growth and learning over the past year has happened.

Please enjoy the break coming up and I look forward to seeing those happy faces again as well as our new cohort of preps for 2023.

Happy Christmas, safe holidays and whenever you can, read, read, read with your child!

Regards,

Maree.

Music News

Naomi Lindh

All of our IM lessons and rehearsals will finish at the end of this week. Thank you to our instrumental students and families for their commitment to the program throughout this year and our teachers, Mr Kukulies and Mr Chin!

2023 IM Recruitment

The instrumental music teachers will be sending out first round offers for the IM program before the end of this year, to parents/carers of students who submitted an expression of interest last term.

We hope everyone has an enjoyable last few weeks of the term and a safe and relaxing Christmas holiday!

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

Uniform Shop

Michelle Fanning

Hi all

Welcome to week 10! Here we are... another year done!

THANK YOU

Although I work alone the majority of the school year there are many people who help silently behind the scenes to make the Uniform shop run smoothly.

Ally and Marian our wonderful ladies in the office, thank you both for your ongoing help and support... but thanks especially for the laughs. You have so much to do already but always find time to help whenever I ask.

Steve our Jack of all trades, thank you for your muscles when stock arrives, for constantly scaring me just to see me jump and make me laugh and for nothing ever being a problem. You’re the best!

Thank you to the P&C team for your support and encouragement year after year.

Also thank you so much to my amazing group of volunteers that help year after year. I'll be sad to see many of you go as your kids head off to high school. Thank you for giving your time and energy for so many years.

My biggest thank you is to all the parents, carers and children who make me smile every day. I enjoy my job so much thanks to your kindness and support.

BACK TO SCHOOL APPOINTMENTS

I will have two open days the week before school starts in 2023.

TUESDAY THE 17TH OF JANUARY 9AM – 2PM
THURSDAY THE 19TH OF JANUARY 9AM – 2PM

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. These can be made by scrolling down to the ‘link for appointment’ section.

STOCK LEVELS

I'm thrilled to report that we are fully stocked in all sizes for gold polos, shorts and skorts, our key uniform items.

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 60 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 FOR 2023

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

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY ORDERS MADE AFTER WEDNESDAY THE 6TH OF DECEMBER WILL NOT BE DELIVERED TO THE CLASSROOM UNTIL THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR COMMENCES

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

Thank you everyone for your support in 2022. Have a wonderful break and I'll see you all again next year. Merry Christmas and here’s cheers to a fantastic 2023!

Michelle

P&C SPELL-A-THON FUNDRAISER

NEW LIBRARY BOOKS & CLASSROOM LITERACY RESOURCES

A big THANK YOU goes out to our wonderful Graceville P&C and school community for the Spell-a-thon Fundraiser we held earlier in the year. It was a HUGE success and the library has now purchased many amazing picture books, chapter books and lots of non-fiction to support our teaching and learning, as well as for recreational reading.

That’s over 350 books to read, borrow and enjoy!!

We have also bought numerous new titles for our classroom literacy resources. These include Big Books, Social and Emotional resources and Conceptual Curriculum-related books.

Class sets of Year Level appropriate Atlases were also purchased for use across the Lower, Middle and Upper School.

We also increased our class/take home reader collections for Prep to Year 2, which is fantastic! These include Phonics/Decodable Readers, PM Readers, Sunshine Books, Talk about Texts, Key Links and Into Connectors Readers.

That’s over 1500 little books and readers to share!!

For the middle and upper school, we purchased several new novels to use in our Literature Circles and Author/Novel studies.

All these books and readers have been stamped with our special 'Donated by the P&C' stamp so they are easily identifiable in the library collection.

We also purchased book covering contact and soft plastic to ensure the books and readers have a longer shelf life.

These fantastic resources are a perfect addition to our school library collection and are greatly appreciated. They will be valued and utilised for many years to come. Thanks again to our wonderful school community.

School Plus

School Plus OSHC

What a busy time it’s been here at OSHC the past few of weeks, especially this week! Our Preps have been practicing independence, our Seniors had a farewell party and we’ve decorated the room for Christmas!

We’re getting ready for our December Vacation care program which will start December 12th and run right up to December 23rd. We’ll then be closed for a short break, then back again for more fun in the January program running from January 9th to 20th, 2023. We’ve got so much fun planned for Vacation Care with excursions to the planetarium and bowling alley, incursions with something for everyone from searching for crystals in the Discovery Dome, to discovering dinosaurs, getting up close and personal with ocean creatures and so much more! Be sure to check out our program as there is something for every child with themed days and activities.

What’s been happening at OSHC?

Christmas came to town on December 1st as we put on Christmas carols and got in the festive spirit! The children decorated the room and put up the Christmas tree while playing some fun festive games. The Christmas tree looked great decked out in tinsel, baubles, and lights, along with the tinsel lining almost every surface the kids could stick it to – even Squirtle the Turtle’s tank! We’ve also been keeping an eye out for a certain elf that might be hiding out. There was much laughter as the children took turns dressing as Santa and reading out the naughty and nice list.

The Senior Farewell Party was quite the party with loads of delicious party foods, Playstation, music, dancing and certificates to award the Seniors for their hard work. The Seniors have worked hard to get to the end of the year and here at OSHC have been working very hard by supporting our younger students and taking on extra responsibilities. The Seniors have really enjoyed the time they’ve spent working with our Preps at eating times to help serve them food, give them direction and comforting them when they’ve been missing parents. It’s great to see these bonds formed and it’s so important for our children of all ages to develop these friendships. Many of the Seniors have been here at OSHC for quite a long time, so they will definitely be missed by the other students and educators alike. We wish them well in this new journey to high school.

Craft Corner

We’re always busy creating here at OSHC and our little artists have been creating some masterpieces.

Some beautiful butterflies were made using donated wooden pegs. As you may remember from last newsletter, we had a large number of wooden pegs donated to us by a member of our GV community. We had turned these into some beautiful mermaids, this activity was so popular the children were asking to do it again. So, we took the wooden pegs and switched it up, this time making some amazing butterflies!

Tennis

TENNIS HOT SHOTS – ENROLMENTS NOW OPEN FOR TERM 1 2023!

Enrolments are now open for term 1 tennis coaching.

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 1 WILL RECEIVE A FREE JUNIOR TENNIS RACQUET!

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

CHRISTMAS SCHOOL HOLIDAY TENNIS COACHING CLINICS

MONDAY 12TH, TUESDAY 13TH, WEDNESDAY 14TH DECEMBER 2022
MONDAY 16TH, TUESDAY 17TH, WEDNESDAY 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 -

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

Community Notices

CHRISTMAS DONATIONS

The Salvation Army is again coordinating the collection of goods to create Christmas hampers and bring some Christmas cheer to those less fortunate in our community.

Drop off: Salvos Store Sherwood, 450 Sherwood Road Sherwood. Open every day 9am – 5pm (except Sundays).

Collecting non-perishable food and gift donations until COB Wednesday the 14th of December (see attached flyer for further details)

Alternatively, the KMART Wishing Tree is accepting gifts for adults and children and these don't have to be purchased at Kmart.

Any gift can be purchased and left unwrapped at their wishing trees.

Thank you for your generosity and support in advance.