Official Opening of Calliope State High School and Roundtable with Minister for Education and the Arts

I had the pleasure to attend the opening of Calliope State High on Wednesday this week.  The students at our local high school were amazing.  Students were respectful and represented their school well.  The band played beautifully.  Hon John-Paul Langbroek, Minister for Education and the Arts officially opened the school, artefacts were placed in a time capsule, and the amazing Calliope Catering Crew provided morning tea. 

I then attended a Roundtable with fellow principals and Hon John-Paul Langbroek where he listened to each Principal’s celebrations of their school and allowed Principal’s to voice opportunities for improvement. The minister was chuffed to receive a complete set of our Calliope Collectables that were launched this week in our school as part of our Positive Behaviour for Learning Event.

Calliope Collectables

This week the PBL team launched the Calliope Collectables Event featuring our school mascot Smiley.  Term 4 is a busy time of the year and sometimes behaviour can slip. Students are excited about the collectables and busy demonstrating being Safe, Respectful and Responsible during our break times. More information is below in our newsletter.

Parent Survey

You will soon receive a quick survey in your email.  It is a quick survey.  We are consulting with community around two aspects of our school.  The first question is around our hours of operation.  Currently our school day runs from 9:15 am to 3:15 pm.  We have many students who participate in extra curricula activities in Gladstone after school who are required to leave school early on a weekly basis. (sporting practice, appointments, music). We are considering changing our hours of operation to 8:45 am to 2:45 pm.  This would enable families to participate in activities in Gladstone, without missing out on precious learning time.

The second question is about our swimming program.  Before any changes can be made to a swimming program in schools, community consultation is vital.  We are looking at extending our swimming program to include Term 1 for Year levels one through to six.  Term 4 would run as per normal.

For each question you will be able to select your preference of keeping these aspects as they are now or selecting the change.

There will also be a section to provide feedback. Please know we are in the consultation period and no changes will be made until 2026.  The Survey will close on Friday, 24 October.

If you need to update your email address information with the school please email our office so your child/s OneSchool file can be updated.  Please email - admin@calliopess.eq.edu.au

Swimming lessons at Calliope SS start in Week 3. Please ensure your child has returned their signed swimming permission note to their classroom teacher by this week.

In Week 2, QBuild will be conducting emergency works to reseal expansion joints in our pool. We are hoping that the works will be completed by Week 3, and it will have no impact to our swimming. If there is a delay this will be communicated to families.

For their swimming lessons, students will need-

• Togs and a swim shirt
• Swimming Cap (These can be purchased at Kmart, Big W, Sports Power, or our local pool)
• Towel
• Swimming bag

A couple of things to consider for swimming-

• Ensure all items of clothing (including underwear and socks) are clearly labelled with their name and class.
• If your child’s lesson is early in the day, I would recommend that students are dressed, ready for swimming PRIOR to arriving at school with their uniform worn over the top.
• Goggles are permitted but please ensure they fit correctly and are adjusted accordingly, and practise with your child putting them on.
• Practise independence with your child with dressing, undressing, and talk to them about the importance of neatly placing all their clothing items back in their bag to assist them in organising themselves and to limit lost belongings.
• If your child is anxious or not very confident in the water, talk to them about what will happen and their feelings and please let their teacher know if you think there is something we need to be aware of.

In the last week of Term 3, we held the Great Calliope Skip-Off for 2025.

The Great Calliope Skip-Off 2025 winners were:

First place- Nirvana

Second place- Roman

Third place- Addison

What an awesome effort by all!

It is clear that as a school we must do a better job of looking after our environment. There is no doubt that the flora and fauna at Calliope State School are negatively impacted.

For example, the large amount of litter in the gardens after just one morning absolutely shows that we must do better.

Everyone knows that litter must go in the bin, however, it often ends up on the ground or in the water (gully). As a result, this litter will absolutely end up in the waterways, or tragically be eaten by the fauna. Scientific evidence proves that even the tiniest pieces will kill!

People are impacting these precious animals by leaving their rubbish behind, for example, people must make the effort and put their rubbish in the bin, or their being lazy and not safe, respectful and responsible!

RotaKids 

Welcome back to Term 4! This term, RotaKids are starting off by organising two ‘Dress Up’ days. The first will be on Friday 31 October, World Teachers’ Day. To celebrate this day, we are inviting students to ‘Dress like a Teacher’ on this day. It may be their teacher, a favourite teacher, or just dress like a teacher. There is no donation needed on this day. 

The second day will be Wednesday 12 November. On this day we are recognising our GEM (Gratitude, Empathy and Mindful) qualities. Students can come dressed in red, green, orange or purple. This will be a gold coin donation towards our GEM garden being designed and built by our Year 6 Student Council. 

Extended Learning Day 

On Monday 13 October, Calliope State School is hosting an extended learning day for Year 5 students from the local area schools. This is part of a program developed by the Gladstone Cluster schools to provide a fun day of learning for selected students to extend them in a focus area. Calliope will be running a Marvellous Maths Day. We look forward to our visitors next week. 

Grandparent’s Morning

On Friday 24 October we are welcoming our grandparents to visit the school.

They will join in for parade, followed by some morning tea in the hall. They are then welcome to visit classrooms and have a picnic with their grandchildren at first break.

Hi Calliope Families! Below are a few reminders from the P&C.

Fun Run

There are a few people that have not selected their fun run prizes.  The final date was September 22nd.  However, it has been reopened until Friday morning at 9am.

Tuckshop Orders - Important Reminders 

• When using QKR to order, ensure you select your child's correct class, as lunches are delivered to the class listed on QKR
• Orders for the tuckshop close at 9 AM every day
• If your child is unwell, you can cancel their order on QKR App before 9 AM

Uniform Shop 

The uniform shop operates on Fridays before the parade. Orders placed via the QKR app can be collected during this time. For any inquiries regarding the uniform shop, please email uniformshop.calliopess@gmail.com. 

*Please Note:* EFTPOS is currently unavailable, so orders must be placed via the QKR app.

QParents  is a secure, online portal that is free for all Queensland state schools to use and provides parents with quick, easy access to their student information including:

• student and parent contact details
• attendance details
• report cards – all report cards (past & present) are available to view and upload
• assessment planners – uploaded each semester
• timetables
• invoices and payment history
• Online consent management

The student information displayed in QParents is surfacing information that is already recorded and managed in OneSchool. The benefits of using QParents for schools and parents include:

• a faster, more efficient way to communicate with parents regarding student information
• a secure, convenient and automated process for parents to pay school invoices
• significant time and effort savings for both your school and parent community
• an innovative online communication tool that’s free of charge for both schools and parents to use.

How do I register for QParents?

You will be sent an email inviting you to register for QParents. You will then be able to register via the secure QParents website: qparents.qld.edu.au using the unique invitation code contained in the email. You will require each child’s unique EQ ID and you must verify your identity by providing 100 points of identification. If you cannot verify your identity online, you should contact your child’s school for assistance. The school will review your registration and approve your account. You will then be able to access the QParents app.

Please note: if you have not received the Qparents invitation email, please send correspondence through to admin@calliopess.eq.edu.au with your full name, student/s full name & DOB to request your Qparents invitation.

What is a Nude Food Lunchbox?

A Nude Food lunchbox is one that eliminates disposable wrappers and single-use packaging, such as plastic, foil, or zip-lock bags. Instead, it focuses on packaging-free foods, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional packed lunches.

Why is it important?

The idea behind Nude Food has two primary goals:

• Encourage children to consume more whole, real foods while reducing reliance on processed snacks and packaged items.
• Reduce single-use packaging and minimize litter around schools.

Studies reveal that, on average, a single packed lunch generates three pieces of litter, contributing to a total of 30kg of waste per child every year. At Calliope State School, this translates to a staggering 16.8 metric tons of avoidable waste annually!

Introducing “Nude Food Wednesdays”

Calliope State School is proud to launch "Nude Food Wednesdays," an initiative to inspire students to bring rubbish-free lunches, free from plastic bags, paper bags, wrappings, or cling wrap. Not only does this promote sustainability, but it also encourages students to pack meals that nourish their bodies and support healthy brain function.

To motivate participation, every Wednesday we’ll hold a raffle! Teachers will give out raffle tickets to students who bring a "Nude Lunch," and these students will be entered to win a Nude Food Lunchbox Pack.

Top Tips for Packing Nude Food Lunchboxes:

• Find a Nude Food approach that suits your family’s routine.
• Keep things fresh and exciting with a variety of colourful foods.
• Start small! Replace one single-use item in your child’s lunchbox with a Nude Food alternative. Include foods you know they love, while gradually introducing new ones to try.
• Shop for foods with minimal packaging—fruit and vegetables are an excellent place to start. Seasonal produce often tastes better and is more affordable.
• Nude Food doesn’t require expensive lunchboxes or perfectly curated meals—simple and sustainable is the key.

Recipe Idea of the Week - A delicious recipe to try in your child’s lunchbox this week!