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SCHOOL PHOTO DAYS

Thursday 26 & Friday 27 May

Click here for the information you need to know about School Photo day from Little Images.

All photos to be ordered online directly through Little Images - www.myschooldays.com.au. Order ID - VW62Z.

DATE CLAIMERS for Term 2 2022:

28 April - Thursday	District Cross Country
2 May - Monday	Labour Day - Public Holiday
3 May - Tuesday	Chappy Subway Day
5 May - Thursday	Leadership Parade 9:30am
Tue 3 & Wed 4 May	Mother's Day Stall
10 - 20 May	Naplan
11 - 13 May	Year 6 Camp - Yandina
14 May	Chappy High Tea
18 May	Laptop Information Session Year 4 parents
23 -28 May	Chappy Week
26 & 27 May	SCHOOL PHOTOS - Formal uniform only
31 May - Tuesday	Fanfare for Strings at Cleveland District SHS
31 May - 1 June & 7 June	Prep Vision Testing (necessary to book online) information to come
15-16 Wed & Thur June	Sports Carnivals- Seniors on 15 June

Our vision: Creative, resilient, curious learners empowered to excel.

Jingeri families!

I would like to begin by thanking the school staff and leadership team for their excellent work kicking off the school term in my absence. Special thanks goes to Craig as Acting Principal for the previous two weeks.

To our parents and carers who were able to make themselves available for Parent/Teacher interviews- I am sure you will have come away with great confidence in the dedication of our expert teaching team to empower every single student to excel. The connection between school and home is a key factor for the ongoing confidence and success of our students and I thank our parent community for your ongoing commitment to your child/ren’s learning.

After a highly disrupted Term 1, we are looking forward to a deeper dive into our learning areas across this term. We continue to follow Queensland Health guidelines as they are updated and thank parents for their ongoing vigilance around the health and safety of our community.

Stacey Wood
Principal

'Empowered to Learn'

Dear Parents/Caregivers

Week one and two of Term Two started with momentum, and I’d like to thank our students, staff and community for supporting our school community in commemorating the 2022 ANZAC services. Especially I would like to commend our students who attended and performed at the Springwood Tri Services ANZAC service with our Vivo Voices, led by Mrs Joanne Cooper and supported by Mrs Sealey and Mrs Antonellie. This was also followed by the engaging evening of Parent Teacher interviews. Starting our term with community has seen our students settle into learning and into our next set of topics for Term Two.

The Student Council is in full flight with funding their next actions in supporting their community, students are buzzing from interschool sport successes and the school is coming together to celebrate student learning and achievement through our weekly assemblies. Although there are three broken weeks, it is now time to see routine become the calming force in our school life and student learning.

Part of the routine for teachers, parents and students is setting ourselves up for success each morning. This is usually done by having a familiar routine. In wanting to set the culture for our day we are asking parents to support students in setting up their day by seeing our students arrive between 8:30-9:00am each morning.

NAPLAN NAPLAN NAPLAN

And now that I have your attention, it might be a great time to remember that old saying ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’ because believe it or not, NAPLAN does too. This can be a testing time (pun intended) for you and your child because both of you want to show the world what your child can do but it’s also potentially stressful. So, grab the binoculars and scan the skies to get some ‘Bright Side’ practice, then check out this list of concerns often raised around this testing, along with a possible corresponding up-side:


My child does not perform well under timed test conditions	Isn’t it great they get lots of practice before they reach Year 12!
It’s not fair that the test paper format is different than any other assessments they do	At least with multiple choice the correct answer is somewhere on the page which might help them remember it when they see it
What happens if my child gets a really low result?	Nothing happens if my child gets a really low result. They’re still the same wonderful child
When the children compare results my child’s self-esteem might take a battering	This is when I can help them to learn to congratulate another person’s achievements and problem-solve for a better outcome for themselves
I think teachers spend too much time teaching to the test	So for sure my child will be more comfortable with the process and remember for next test
I think the teachers don’t spend enough time teaching to the test	So this means the whole school results will most accurately reflect the school’s needs which will provide data to the government upon which to base extra funding
This is a space for you to fill in your own concern…	This is a space for you to find your own silver lining…

Please remember that NAPLAN testing is a point-in-time snapshot rather than a commentary on your child’s whole school achievement. Take what you can from it, help your child take what they can from it, then put it away!

National Young Leaders Day

Last term three of the school captains; Isabella Saylor, Matthew Daley and Zoe de’Banks accompanied by myself and journeyed to the Brisbane convention centre along with over five hundred other young leaders to be inspired by some of the best Australia has to offer. The young leaders were challenged by her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young PSM who spoke of his trials and tribulations in navigating and leading our state through the pandemic. Her Excellency outlined the burden and power of leadership as well as the privilege to impact our communities for the better.

Our leaders were then challenged by Olympic flag barer and gold medallist Cate Campbell. Cate highlighted the heights of winning an Olympic gold medal and the challenges that she faced prior to her individual campaign in the 100m freestyle. Cate outlined the debilitating pain and muscular spasms that greeted Cate the evening before heats. She shared the method that helped her overcome this curveball and ultimately lead her to an Olympic medal.

Accept
Adapt
Act

Our leaders thought it was a worth while day with these lessons:

“When things are tough and you’ve reached your limit, you can always go further”

“Acknowledge your feelings, accept the situation, adapt your approach and ACT”

“We were inspired and challenged”

Community Connection

ATTENDANCE – EVERY DAY COUNTS

How important is it to be at school every day you are able? Every Day Counts is a state wide initiative that aims to assist in improving student attendance at school through a shared commitment by students, parents, caregivers, schools and the community.

To do this, Every Day Counts promotes four key messages:

all children should be enrolled at school and attend on every school day
schools should monitor, communicate and implement strategies to improve regular school attendance
truanting can place a student in unsafe situations and impact on their future employability and life choices
attendance at school is the responsibility of everyone in the community.

Here is a link to a common set of conversations that happen in our homes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etLaUa6cHxs&t=0s&list=PLgjv5epyrnQDLNMTmhLA6z-cssQylcsvN&index=2

Why is regular attendance at school important?

Regular school attendance will mean that your child gets a better chance at life. Your child will achieve better when they go to school all day, every school day:

they learn better
they make friends
they are happier
they have a brighter future.

If your child is reluctant to come to school, please contact the school immediately for assistance and support. The attached poster outlines the impact missing “just one day” or being “just a little bit late” can have over the duration of your child’s schooling.

<http://education.qld.gov.au/everydaycounts/docs/infographic-parents.pdf >

Yours in Education,

Craig Charles
Acting Principal

High Expectations of our students, our staff and our community…

Dear families

Setting healthy limits for screen time

The pull of screens is everywhere we turn. Teaching kids to choose quality screen time, over quantity, helps to create space for families to engage in happy, healthy time together. Screen time is really important to consider as this is directly linked to your child’s wellbeing. If you are having difficulties managing screen time at home, I would recommend you speak to your family and friends and consider talking to your classroom teacher if you feel it is affecting your child’s learning. Screen time can cause lack of sleep, irritability and often can limit healthy conversations at home that are key in building your child’s language development. Below are some guidelines on safe limits for using screens.

Kids aged 5-17 should have no more than two hours of screen time a day.
Kids aged 2-5 should have no more than one hour of unrestrained (as in not sitting still) screen time a day – less is better. Sedentary screen time is not recommended.
Children under 2 should have no screen time

I came across this excellent link that explains the importance of limiting screen time for your family.

https://www.healthier.qld.gov.au/healthy-families/screen-habits/screen-time/?msclkid=f4070d3ac61411ec9446c17b5d117b2c

Parent Teacher Interviews

On behalf of the leadership team, I would like to thank all our teachers and staff for conducting excellent interviews on Tuesday night. I would also like to thank our parent community for being so open and friendly. This approach sets up positive communication with your child’s teacher. I trust that you have walked away from these interviews learning more about your child’s academic, emotional and social development. This would have been a great opportunity to meet and get to know your child’s teachers and to help your child’s teachers understand more about your child.

If you have any concerns about your child’s social or academic development, you don’t have to wait for a formal parent-teacher interview to talk to your teacher. Send your teacher an email and ask if you can talk at a time that suits. Your child’s teacher will be happy to arrange a meeting with you to discuss any issues.

Our next formalised meetings are called Student Led Conferences, which are held in Term 3.

The teaching of Reading at RSSS

Our school is committed to the teaching of reading that is quality, evidence-based instruction. If you haven’t already, I suggest you read some articles about the Science of Reading. At Rochedale South, based on this research, we are implementing the Simple View of Reading. The Simple View of Reading is a formula demonstrating the widely accepted view that reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Research studies show that a student’s reading comprehension score can be predicted if decoding skills and language comprehension abilities are known. A couple of main changes to the way we teach reading include:

The use of decodable texts instead of predictable texts. We must teach students to decode expertly as early as possible. Predictable texts allow students to read easily, however, this isn’t the intention of long term learning. Predictable texts can make students guess, which isn’t ideal or memorise repetitive sentences. We need students to focus on “cracking the code” by understanding what sounds the letters make. This picture below is a good one, because it explains decodable texts are like real weights. You need to grunt and sweat and it’s hard work, but we make gains! The predictable texts are like polystyrene weights, they are easy and we can do them quickly, but they aren’t going to give us improvement.

We also have removed sight words from homework. Most sight words can be decoded. If we make students memorise 200 sight words this will be cognitive overload, and students will not have enough capacity to learn the most important, 26 letters that make 44 sounds. We have given students Heart Words for home which are important. A word like “was” needs to be recognised that the ‘A’ is not phonetically decoded as the usual sound. Hence why some words are to be learnt off by heart.

Taking your child out of school for an extended holiday/break

Just a reminder that an Exemption Application form is required to be filled out when a child cannot attend, or it would be unreasonable for them to attend, school for a period of more than 10 consecutive school days. We realise that now international borders have opened up, some of our families are wishing to go overseas. Part A is the section that parents/guardians complete and Part B is to be completed by Principals. Principals will make the decision on whether they grant leave or not. These forms can be collected from the office or found on our website. Importantly -Please return the form before your child is absent from school.

Alice Harvey
Deputy Principal Prep-2

Dear families

Inclusion

April has been a busy month with so much to appreciate, celebrate and commemorate.

April is Autism Awareness Month, which brings an opportunity to highlight the voice of children with autism, celebrate their strengths, and explore opportunities to further improve their educational achievements. Embracing difference is all about supporting and nurturing the child who is perceived as different. It’s about adjusting so each child can take their place in the community in a positive way, learning and engaging socially. It’s about enabling inclusion.

At Rochedale South State School, we engage with external services to improve our knowledge and understanding of Autism and to ensure we are accurately supporting our students. Autism Queensland have visited our school twice already this year and we also access many resources from the Autism Hub Queensland. These services provide support for teachers, parents, carers and students. The Autism Hub collaborated with students with autism from Queensland state high schools to listen, learn and highlight their voices.

The Student Voices project provides a valuable insight about the people, supports and experiences which have helped these students feel connected, valued and successful at school. We value student voice and would like to create our own invaluable resources, with our students creating our own Multimedia resources. Perhaps our first one might be about Autism. This is unknown as it will be student led however, if you would like your child to be involved in making a small multimodal video clip/piece about topics of interest then please contact Mrs CANNONS, Head of Inclusive Education. These resources will be shared with the school community.

Anzac Day- 25^th April, we remember the men and women in Australia who gave their lives in service to our nation. More than 102,000 Australians who sacrificed their lives in our country's name.

It is hard to know the exact number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service people because the Australian Defence Force did not record the cultural background of members until recently.
In the early 1900s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were not legally able to join the Army, so many hid their identity to sign up. Just as any person who was under the age of conscription, they hid their age or their identity so they could sign up and join the Army. It was discovered afterwards, that there were many soldiers under 16 or were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
More recently, many families, Community-members and organisations have been working to bring to light the stories, contributions and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service people, we now know that:

· A number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people served in the Boer War (1899-1902)

· Over 1000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people served in World War I (1914-1918) and around 70 fought at Gallipoli

· At least 3000 Aboriginal and 850 Torres Strait Islander people served in World War II (1939-1945)

· In both World Wars, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had the highest participation rates in the military as a proportion of their population in Australia

· Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have participated in all military conflicts since the World Wars, including in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan and in peacekeeping operations including in Somalia and East Timor

· In 2011 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.7% of the Australian Army

Start of April- Ramadan

Muslim students and their families will commence fasting and observing the month from the start of April. If your child is fasting for Ramadan, please feel free to talk to the school or child’s teacher so reasonable accommodations can be made during this time. We support ALL Students at Rochedale South State School.

May- Upcoming important dates to remember-

Sunday, 1 May – Ramadan ends, Sunday, 8 May – Hana Matsuri (Buddhism), Sunday, 15 May – International Day of Families, Thursday, 26 May – National Sorry Day

FREE WORKSHOP for parents

https://autismhub.education.qld.gov.au/professional-learning/workshops-calendar

Supporting Girls with Autism- 3^rd May, 12:00 – 12:30 pm. This webinar will discuss the research exploring the unique profile of girls with autism.

Supporting Transition to Prep- 5^th May, 10:00 – 10:30 am. This webinar will explore the evidence-based strategies for supporting young children with autism to prepare for commencing school.

Yours in Education

Brigette Cannons
Head of Inclusion

Dear Parents and Carers,

My name is Jennifer Bampton and I am the new Head of Department – Curriculum at Rochedale South SS. It was great to meet and greet many of you at Tuesday’s Parent Teacher interviews in the PAC.

NAPLAN

Year 3 and 5 will undertake the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in Weeks 4 and 5, 10^th May – 20^th May. Students in Year 3 and Year 5 have had an opportunity to participate in practice tests to get to know how the test will look and function.

It is essential that all Year 5 students have their laptops fully charged throughout the whole NAPLAN period. Year 3 students will sit the assessments in the computer lab. If students are absent on the day of a scheduled assessment, they will sit the missed assessment on their return to school.

Tailored testing

NAPLAN Online numeracy, reading and conventions of language are tailored or adaptive tests. Tailored testing provides a more engaging test for students and a more precise assessment of student performance. Students at each year level start with a similar set of questions. Depending on each student’s answers, the next set of questions may be easier or more difficult, giving students greater opportunity to demonstrate what they know. Learn more about tailored testing.

How can you help your child prepare for NAPLAN?

If they have a laptop, ensure it is full charged.
Many children enjoy the format of NAPLAN and working through the activities at their own pace. Remind your child that all they can do is give the best answer they can on the day.
The usual – exercise and movement each day and healthy meals. It is particularly important to eat a filling and nutritious breakfast on the days of NAPLAN to ensure students can be focused and settled.
NAPLAN assesses work covered through the Australian Curriculum. If you would like to familiarise your child with the types of questions and functions available on NAPLAN, parents and students can use the NAPLAN Public Demonstration site:

https://nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site

Life Education

Life Education programs focus on the key influences on a child’s health and wellbeing, including topics covering nutrition, cyber safety, alcohol, smoking, drugs, bullying, emotional health and relationships.

Invoices have been sent out for the Life Education program that will happen in Weeks 8 & 9. Please check your emails.

Parents have free access to the Life Education Hub: Life Education Hub

Kind regards,

Jennifer Bampton
Head of Department - Curriculum

District Cross Country

Congratulations to our Rochedale South students, Evie Smith, Joel Cruickshank and Johnathon Martin who represented our school at the Logan District Cross Country Carnival at Stolz Oval on Thursday 28^th April. From all reports, our students competed with excellent effort and commitment and did our school extremely proud. A big congratulations to Evie Smith who finished 9^th in the 12yr Girls event and now qualifies to represent Logan District at the next level, the Met East Regional Carnival. Well done to Joel Cruickshank who finished 25^th and to Johnathon Martin who both finished in respectable places. A special mention and big thank you to Mr Cruickshank and Mr Smith and other parent helpers who were there on the day and assisted our students in walking the course orientation, registering our runners prior, and marshalling them to their race. Thank you parents for your support.

Marcus Stilianos

HPE Teacher

CHAPPY CHAT

Come to our High Tea

Last year our High Tea sold out! Avoid the waiting list by booking now!

https://suqld.eventsair.com/rochedale-south-womens-high-tea-fundraiser/booknow

It would be a pleasure to serve you a curated afternoon tea of delicacies and enjoy your company as we fundraise the $10k gap in our funding this year.

14 May, 2pm @ 178 Springwood Rd, Springwood Church of Christ.

FYI other fundraisers still to come this year are the corporate dinner in July, colour run in August, and family portraits in term 4.

Blessings,

Cassie Love
School Chaplain: cassie.love@suchaplaincy.org.au

0434 789 465 (direct work line)

Dear Parents,

Easter Raffle

Thanks for everyone’s support of the Easter Raffle. We made $200 and the winners were.

1^st prize. Mr Charles

2^nd prize. Harnoor 5/6H

3^rd prize. Alysia 3W

Also thanks to the school community that helped raise money with the school fun run. Funds are going towards new appliances and tuckshop essentials.

Congratulations to Livia from Year 3 who raised the most money. $340 an excellent effort.

The top class with $693 goes to PK. A Pizza party is on your way soon.

Mother's Day Stall

Mother’s Day stall will be held on 3^rd and 4^th of May. Gift start from $1, to $10.

Goods for Mums, Grandma, Aunty and Nan are available.

There will be a Mother’s Day raffle and tickets will be available on the day. Please see the note sent home this week with the day your child will be going to purchase at the Stall.

Alina Orams on behalf of Sarah Haslam
P & C President

2022 Enrolments are now available online.

Would you like to enrol or have a tour please contact us.

M: 0437 332 970 P: 3841 6613

E: ars@ymcabrisbane.org

Important messages from your Coordinator

Lost Property

Are your kids missing water bottles, hats and jumpers? Chances are we got it. Our lost property treasure chest is bursting at the seams!

Enrolments & Bookings

The enrolment process is now exclusively online via QKEnrol, and bookings can be made via the My Family Lounge App. 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. 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

Choc-o-Block Full of Fun

Easter holidays are always so bright and cheerful and that stayed the vibe all throughout vacation care. Kicking the first week off with an action-packed day full of everything Avatar! However, the action did not stop there. We got silly clowning around for circus day and then we got busy stomping around for prehistoric day. Our visit to Southbank cinemas was a real treat! Popcorn in hand and a fantastic movie on the big screen was just what we all needed. The second week was undoubtable choc-o-block full of all the traditional fun Easter celebrations. Two week of non-stop fun, done right!

The YMCA Rochedale South OSHC Team

Kids_Connect_Program_2022_Flyer_Final.pdf

Kids_Connect_Program_2022_Flyer_Final _pdf 162.24 KB

Keng_Flyer_Cert_3_in_Individual_Support_May_2022.pdf

Keng_Flyer_Cert_3_in_Individual_Support_May_2022 _pdf 3.73 MB

Christian Religious Instruction(CRI) in 2022 at Rochedale South

“Hi” if I haven’t met you, my name is Kerri-Ann and I help co-ordinate the CRI program here at Rochedale South. I love the chance to stay connected after having my 3 kids go through this wonderful school. It is always so good to return and see familiar faces!

Due to Covid restrictions, and a shortage of CRI teachers at the moment, our teaching schedule has been adjusted. Each year level will participate in a one-hour class per fortnight, for one semester. The classes will be held on a Friday.

Semester	Year Groups having CRI	Fortnightly on Fridays
1 (Term 1&2)	Year 4, 5, 6	1 hour
2 (Term 3&4)	Year 1, 2, 3	1 hour

Our team value the opportunity to be involved in the Rochedale South community, and our aim is to be a blessing and to bring hope. We look forward to returning to classes across the whole school, one hour a fortnight, when possible.

If your child is currently not enrolled in CRI (this usually happens at the enrolment interview) and you would like them to attend CRI classes, please send a note into the office with their name and class asking for this to happen. E.g.: I give permission for my child Fred Jones 3A to join the CRI class. Signed: (parent/carer) Date: ___

If you belong to a local church and are interested in joining our teaching team, please contact me on mob.0409 893 685.

Much thanks and take care,

Kerri-Ann Caswell
RSSS Christian RI Co-Ordinator.