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- QParents IS HERE! GET ON BOARD
- DATE CLAIMER
- FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL CRAIG CHARLES
- FROM THE ACTING DEPUTY PRINCIPAL ALICE HARVEY
- FROM THE ACTING HEAD OF DEPARTMENT - CURRICULUM - CARLA WILLIAMS
- FROM THE BUSINESS MANAGER
- FROM THE POSTIVE BEHAVIOUR FOR LEARNING COACH - LIZ OWENS
- FROM CHAPPY CORNER
- FROM THE HEAD OF INCLUSION - STACEY LLOYD
- UNIFORM SHOP AND TUCKSHOP
- FROM THE YMCA OSHC TEAM
- EXTRA SCHOOL/COMMUNITY NEWS
QParents current tally of active accounts -179
Our goal is 540 to be registered by end of Term 3
What an awesome effort everyone! We stil have 33 accounts that need to attach their child/ren to the app. All that is needed is the EQ ID number of your student which you can find on any invoice, or call the office to get the number.
WHY REGISTER WITH QPARENTS?
QParents allows parents to connect instantly with their child’s school to access and manage their child’s student information, including:
Access your child’s report cards.
Pay school invoices online and see what you have paid.
Notify your child’s absences and monitor attendance.
(You don't have to ring the office if your child is absent just use the app)
Edit your contact details to name a few.
We will be sending out invitations again from Monday to register for QParents.
PLEASE check your Junk mail for your invitation if you have not received.
Click here for instructions on how to register.
You can login to the QParents registration website here:
DATE CLAIMERS for Term 3 2021:
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25 August |
Book Week Dress Up - Old World, New World, Other World |
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3 Sept |
Pupil Free Day |
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Week 10 |
Student Parent Teacher Conference |
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17 Sept |
End of Term 3 |
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4 October |
Public Holiday |
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5 October (Tuesday) |
Term 4 starts |
Dear Parents/CarersThe past three weeks...
Have marked many changes in our school life. Firstly, the lockdown and over the past fortnight we have embraced new measures to deliver learning onsite. Prior to the lockdown I took a week of personal leave with the support of the leadership team and my thanks goes to all of them and to the leadership of Alice Harvey during that week. It is with great delight that I announce the arrival of a new family member, Emma Jane Charles, who was born on the 26th of July. Much like having a new child, our community continues to embrace the changes our state is operating with week to week.
COVID restrictions
As you may be aware we have an easing of restrictions, I sincerely thank all parents and community over the past weeks for your ongoing support and understanding.
Parents:
This means masks must be worn by all adults inside school buildings (unless they can stay 1.5 metres apart from other people) but may be removed outdoors, as long as they can keep 1.5 metres apart from other people. We will be accepting parents back on site to the front lawns and for Prep drop off and pick up times.
Drop off and Pick Up arrangements:
Thank you all for adhering to the advice, currently we will be slowly reducing the restrictions and ease back to our former arrangements;
- Prep drop off and pick up to return to normal from 8:30am onward and 2:30 pm onward respectively.
- Students may be onsite from 8:30am however, students arriving before this time will need to access OSHC by prior arrangement.
School Activities:
Assemblies and other large group activities including instrumental music groups, choirs, performances, extra curricula sporting activities, and dancing are permitted, adhering to COVID-19 health directions including wearing of masks.
Excursions:
The ongoing COVID restrictions have impacted some school activities. The easing of restrictions will see Interschool sport commence Friday August 27. Choir and Band will also recommence in the week ahead. Book week will continue next week with a school wide dress up being held on Wednesday August 25. The dress up will be held in class, and students will be engaging in classroom activities to celebrate the theme – ‘Old World, New World, Other Worlds.’
Currently, we will still persist with our incursions with COVID safe plans being considered for each context. The Year 1 incursion will commence this Tuesday and Year 4 Incursion Wednesday September 1. Student Led Conferences (Week 10) will also be adjusted to fit into the existing COVID requirements of these dates. Some restrictions have already been relaxed and we are now able to welcome back itinerant teachers, and instrumental music teachers who will be engaging in year level lessons again. We are thankful for the easing of restrictions and will keep you up to date with affordability, we may be able to make to see community and students engaged at Rochedale South.
Visitors and external providers
Visitors and external providers including providers of extracurricular activities will now be permitted on school sites.
Masks must be worn by all visitors and external providers inside school buildings (unless they can stay 1.5metres apart from other people) but may be removed outdoors, as long as they can keep 1.5 metres apart from other people.
Book Week
Next Wednesday 26 August we will be celebrating BOOK Week and I am particularly looking forward to seeing our students and staff dressing up in costumes reflecting this year’s theme - 'Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds'. All students are encouraged to dress up and will celebrate their themed dress in class as we ask them to reflect on their connection to the theme. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Walsh and Mrs Ronto, for organising our Book Week events and inspiring our staff and students with this year’s theme.
Staffing
I would like to thank Teacher Aide - Mrs Amy D’Castro for her contributions to our school community over the many years she has been with us. Mrs D’Castro is taking some leave to focus on her studies in Education. We wish her well in your academic endeavours. The school also welcomes Mrs Celina Ridsdale who will commence in her place.
Yours in Education
Craig Charles
Acting Principal
Dear Parents/Caregivers
ICAS – CHANGE OF DATES
This year we will be offering ICAS Assessments again online, which are designed to recognise and reward academic excellence. Due to COVID, the online sitting dates have been changed. For anyone still interested, you can book in still. Booking cut-off date is 19th September.
The assessments are based on the curricula for the relevant year. Students are asked to demonstrate a deeper, integrated, and thorough level of learning. The following tests below are what we are offering this year.
*Writing is only offered to Year 4 to 6 students.
*All tests will be conducted in the computer lab at 8:30 am sharp.
|
Subject |
Year levels |
Sitting Dates (all at 8:30am) |
Cost |
|
ICAS Writing |
Year 4- 6 |
7th October |
$17.50 (inc GST) |
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ICAS English |
Year 2- 6 |
14TH October |
$17.50 (inc GST) |
|
ICAS Mathematics |
Year 2- 6 |
21st October |
$17.50 (inc GST) |
|
ICAS Science |
Year 2- 6 |
28th October |
$21.45 (inc GST) |
The new system of payment is for parents to pay UNSW Global directly for ICAS. Our school does not accept any payments.
All payments are due before 19 September.
Parents: In order to pay, you need to log onto: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
Use the school code to purchase which tests you wish to purchase. School Code: FEI726
DATE CLAIMERS: Very Important
Things change very quickly due to COVID, as we have seen today with the easing of restrictions in this coming week. As we move into the week ahead I encourage you to stay informed via the SZ App.
Next week we are still holding Book Week Dress Up day on Wednesday 25 August. The theme is Old World; New World; Other World. We will not be holding a whole school assembly, however, year levels will be celebrating this day in various ways.
In Week 10, we are aiming to hold Student Led Conferences, however, how this looks at our school will be determined as soon as we receive a health directive. Please be patient with this, we are really hoping our students can present their learning journey and celebrate this with you.
Student Free Day – Friday 3 September
On 3September, all teachers and learning staff will be involved in a full day of professional learning and schools will be closed. If you need your child/ren cared for on this day the YMCA will be open all day on the Friday should you need this service.
Learning Walks
Learning Walks are a tool to support leaders and teacher leaders. They empower and enhance learning for all educators. The way students answer the questions gives us important data to plan our next steps in professional learning. This capturing of data gives us information about the trends and patterns across our school and parts of student and teacher learning that may need more support.
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Questions that we ask and examples of a student’s answers. |
What are you learning and why? |
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An example of our year one student answered, I am learning about procedures. I am learning this because procedures are important because they tell me how to do something. I may need to know about procedure so that I can cook.
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How are you going? |
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Good.
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How do you know? |
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Because I know that I need to write in steps. That was on my success criteria. I also am writing using verbs.
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What do you need to do to improve? |
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I am using the bump it up wall to compare what stage I am and how to improve. I need to use more descriptive words and remember to check my work at the end to upskill. |
Where do you go to for help? |
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I go to the learning wall and the bump it up wall. I also ask my learning partner and I also ask my teacher.
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LATE PAYMENTS for Activities, Camps, Excursions
Rochedale South SS has a strict NO LATE PAYMENT Policy for all school excursions, camps and activities. If payment is not received via cash or internet banking by the Due Date, your child/ren will be unable to participate. Exceptions will only be granted with the permission of the Principal.
Upcoming excursions/camps for Term 3 which require payment include:
|
Year/s |
Excursion/Camp |
Cost |
|
5 |
CAMP - 3rd Payment Due 2 September |
$90 |
|
P-6 |
SRS/CSRS – OVERDUE |
$100 |
|
4-6 |
Laptops - Overdue |
$240-$280 |
Alice Harvey
Acting Deputy Principal
Dear parents/carers,
Spotlight on READING
Learning to read is a significant milestone in any child’s life, and one that will bring many benefits over an entire lifetime. You play an important role in modelling reading behaviours and supporting your child’s reading efforts. You make a difference to how your child will discover the world of literacy and how they view themselves as a reader.
What can you do at home to support your child’s reading?
- Model reading. Let your child see you reading, read to yourself and read to your child – often.
- Different strokes for different folks. Read a variety of books to your child and encourage them to choose a variety. Does your child prefer fiction or non-fiction books?
- First drafts are rough. Writing supports reading and reading supports writing. Remember that drafts are not perfect and remind your child that writing involves several steps.
- Synonym banks. Create written synonym lists with your child for everyday words such as good, bad, big. Use the words in the lists as much as possible in your daily life.
- Join your local library. Find out where it is and what programs and activities they offer, and of course borrow books regularly! Librarians are full of ideas about which books your child might enjoy reading.
- Spot the patterns. Draw attention to any rhyming words (even if they are spelt differently), together make oral lists of as many rhyming words you can, write them, talk about the different patterns, for example, pear, bear, there, their.
- Break it up. Encourage your child to clap or tap out unfamiliar words, found in stories and books, into syllables, for example, ty / ran / no / sau / rus.
- Encourage your child to retell experiences and events in sequence. You can prompt them by asking, ‘What happened next?’ Do this after reading stories with them, allow them time to retell what happened and ask questions about the characters or the plot or the setting.
- Encourage and praise. Reading should be enjoyable for you and your child. Always encourage their attempts and praise their efforts.
- Write about it. Encourage your child to keep a reading journal to write their thoughts, ideas and questions about the books they are reading
The Queensland Premier’s Reading Challenge and Book Week are two special opportunities at our school this term for students to showcase their love and enthusiasm for reading.
The Premier's Reading Challenge is an annual statewide initiative for Queensland state and non-state schools and home-educated students from Prep to Year 9, as well as children (aged up to 5 years) enrolled in an early childhood centre. The Premier's Reading Challenge aims to improve literacy and encourage children to read for pleasure and learning. Click here to download your child’s reading order form:
https://rochsoutss.schoolzineplus.com/_file/media/859/individual_reader_record_form.pdf
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Key dates |
Activity |
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31 May |
Reading period commenced for Prep to Year 6 students |
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27 August |
Reading period ends. Student reading record forms submitted to schools |
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3 September |
All reading data must be finalised in the database |
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October |
Certificates of Achievement issued |
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1 to 12 November 2021 |
Premier's Reading Challenge celebration weeks |
Record how many books your child has read on the form and return to their teacher by 27 August. Every student who completes the challenge will receive a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier.
To complete the challenge:
- Prep to Year 2 must read or experience at least 20 books,
- Years 3 and 4 must read at least 20 books.
- Years 5 and 6 must read at least 15 books.
Experiencing books can include shared reading, listening to stories, or reading picture books. The aim for the 2021 challenge is to engage more students to read than ever before. For more information about the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please visit: https://readingchallenge.education.qld.gov.au/
Book Week is coming!
Each year since 1945 the Children’s Book Council of Australia has brought children and books together across Australia through Book Week. During this time, schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians create colourful displays, develop activities, run competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading.
Details for our 2021 Book Week are as follows:
| Theme: | Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds |
| Dates: | Term 3: August 21-27 |
| Dress Up Parade: | Wednesday 25 August |
Children are encouraged to come to school dressed as a favourite character from a book on Wednesday 25 August. Due to current restrictions we will be unable to host our Book Week Parade with parents on site, however we are exploring ways to make this day a special event for the children.
Carla Williams
Acting Head of Department-Curriculum
Update on Excursion Payments
As you are all aware the current restrictions placed upon us all has meant that some of our planned excursions have not been able to go ahead. A couple of upcoming ones are also still uncertain depending on what the next Covid update will bring. For the families that have already made payments, thank you, to those that are unsure what to do please know that your payment will remain as a credit on your child’s account should the excursion ultimately be cancelled. It can then be applied to any future invoice that may arise.
We are hopeful that we will be able to find alternate dates for those ones we have missed. We are also hoping we will still be able to run our swimming program in Term 4 so the payments could go towards that activity. If the excursions are cancelled and you are experiencing financial difficulty it may be possible to have the payment refunded to your bank account. Forms are available from the office to apply for a refund if required.
If you are have any difficulty making payments for any school expense please don't hesitate to contact me and we can organise a payment plan.
Wendy GrocottBusiness Manager
The PBL focus this fortnight is a timely reminder for all students and staff – Be Safe Hygiene Rules
Liz Owens
Positive Behaviour Coach
CHAPPY CHAT
You may be getting used to donning a mask as you venture out of your homes but this morning I forgot my mask and couldn’t do my usual session at the gym – I could have gone home to get it and returned but opted for a cup of tea and potter in my vege patch!
Have you ever wondered about the masks we wear that don’t cover our mouths…the metaphorical masks we hide behind. Maybe a mask of popularity, strength, or pride. I know I like to use my ‘confidence’ mask a lot and this often hides feelings of inadequacy or uncertainty. Kids can wear these types of masks too – like trying to seem they ‘don’t care’ when in fact their little hearts are breaking or they know they’ve disappointment someone they care about. The more we treat our kids, and each other, with respect and care, the less we will feel the need to hide our true selves. When a child, or adult, feels secure and loved they are more likely to be real – especially in trusted relationships. How can you help those you love feel more secure in your love of them this week?
WHAT’S ON…
Dads Group
Sadly our Dads v Kids sports afternoon was postponed due to the recent lockdown. Stay tuned for a new date!
COLOUR EXPLOSION FUN RUN
This is our CONNECT event for the term – an opportunity for families to come along and enjoy our colour obstacle course on 11 September from 2-4pm. This is also a FUNdraising event so bring the family for a BBQ, fairy floss, popcorn, snow cones and a jumping castle! Register your child online now to start fundraising (all children participating are expected to raise a minimum of $10). Parents register for free on the day! Create your fundraising profile here: myprofilepage.com.au
Thanks to the AMAZING students and families who have already helped raise over $2000! Our target is $7500 so don’t stop finding sponsors – keep up the great work!!
FATHER’S DAY STALL
The annual Father’s Day Stall will take place on 30-31 August as a joint venture with Chaplaincy and P and C. We have some fantastic raffles available on the stall this year – including a Merlo Coffee Pack valued at over $50, and a Family PLAY, TASTE, DISCOVER bundle for the Buderim Ginger Factory valued at $166. As well we will have the usual favourites including Dad/Grandad logo items, plus exciting new items (outdoor games, caps, leisure activity packs). Notes will be coming home next week.
Parents will also be able to help their child order gifts through Flexischools, which will be a backup in the case of another lockdown. Gifts ordered on Flexischool will be delivered to children's classes in time for Father's Day.
Click here to access the link to Support Us & Buy Now
Term 3 Chappy Activities at school
Triple P for Parents: Fridays 9-11am. Email Chappy for more info cassie.love@suchaplaincy.org.au
Lego/Games Club: Tuesday @ second break in the Chappy Room
Drumming Club: Thursday @ second break at the PAC
Eco Rangers: 2nd Thursday (even weeks) @ first break in the Chappy Room
Chappy Lounge: every Friday 8:15am Christian spiritual content program with parent consent
Blessings,
Cassie Love
School Chaplain
cassieL@chappy.org.au
We have had a busy time within Inclusive Education the past couple of weeks. We continue to explore and expand our vision for Inclusive Education at RSSS. We have completed a whole school review of support, ensuring that we have captured all students who have additional needs and require additional supports. It is an exciting time too, as the Inclusion team begin to support more students across our student cohort and connect more with our community, external specialists and our wonderful parents and carers. We will continue to make contact over the remainder of the term with parents of our students with additional needs.
Stacey Lloyd
Head of Inclusive Education
UNIFORM SHOP
Due to no parents allowed on school grounds except by appointment, the Uniform Shop front will remain closed. Our full range of stock is available to order online through FLEXISCHOOLS. Once you have placed your order it will be delivered to your child’s classroom. Please allow 2 days for this to happen and be aware we are not open on a Monday.
TUCKSHOP
Trading Hours 8:30 A.M. – 2:30 P.M.
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday (Closed MONDAY & TUESDAY).
Procedures for handling cash in tuckshop: We will be practising COVID Safe requirements and both myself and Alina (Deputy) have our COVID-19 Safe Online Course Certificates. Tuckshop window will be open at 8.40am. Children will come to the tuckshop window and hand in their orders in two ways:
- An already written bag.
- We will write their tuckshop order onto a bag. Bags are 10 cents.
Please send correct money or as close to if possible. If change is required, it will be given to student at time of ordering. Window will be open for both breaks for cash sales for ice blocks/snacks.
Please remember parents should not be accessing school grounds so students only at the counter window please. Flexischools is available for online ordering. It has been great to see many new families using Flexischools.
Cut off time for placing orders through Flexischools is 8.30am. If you have yet to set up an account with Flexischools, just visit their website www.flexischools.com.au or go through our SZapp - Tuckshop Orders tab.
Melissa Treacy
Tuckshop and Uniform Convenor
2021 Enrolments are now available online.
Would you like to enrol or have a tour please contact us.
M: 0437 332 970 P: 3841 6613
Important messages from your Coordinator
QR Code
Please ensure that you are signing yourself in when you arrive at our service. There are multiple codes located around the entrance of the hall for you convenience. If you have any issues signing in, please let one of us know and we will sign you in on your behalf.
Enrolments & Bookings
My Family Lounge booking app is now working for some users and not others. If you need to make or cancel a booking with us and the app is not working for you, please send us a text or email and we can make changes to your bookings on your behalf. We apologise for the annoyance and any inconvenience this issue has caused. We appreciate your understanding and patience while our IT team work to fix the issue.
The enrolment process is now exclusively online. Below you can find some details that will help with the new online process.
New parents or anyone who needs to register for use of QK Enrol or My Family Lounge can access registration through this website below:
https://www.ymcachildcare.com.au/rochedale-south.html
Existing parents can log onto this website below:
https://www.qkenhanced.com.au/webui/Account/Logon
Highlights
The YMCA Rochedale South OSHC Team
Ease the pressure of school costs with $500 in matched savings
Saver Plus is a ten month savings program that provides you with a free financial education course and matches your savings up to $500 for educational expenses.
What can you save for?
• Laptops, computers, or tablets
• School uniforms
• School textbooks and stationery
• Music classes or instruments
• Sporting classes or equipment
• Excursions and camps
Can you join?
To be eligible to join Saver Plus you must:
• Have a child in school, or you’re a TAFE/Uni/vocational student yourself
• Have a current Health Care card or Pensioner Concession card;
• Have some form of income (you or your partner) OR receive child support;