Welcome to Week Three of Term 4. We are continuing to seek a Chaplain for our school.  Please see advertisement attached to this newsletter and encourage anyone you might know who qualifies to apply. 

Next week we will be wearing red on Wednesday to recognise Day for Daniel Day and celebrate World Teachers’ Day on Friday.

2024 Planning

Planning for classes in 2024 begins early in Term 4.  Our first step finalise our anticipated enrolments for 2024.  If you know of families considering Calliope State School in 2024, please encourage them to contact Administration as soon as possible.  Any family who has a Prep student commencing in 2024 is encouraged to contact Administration now to ensure a smooth transition to school. If your family intends on leaving our school next year, could you please notify Administration so that this planning can be as accurate as possible. 

Dress Code

Each week I am highlighting a component of our school Dress Code.

This week the focus is on our school hat, not cap.

 World Teacher’s Day

Queensland celebrates World Teachers’ Day annually on the last Friday in October (27 October, 2023).  World Teachers’ Day is an opportunity to celebrate and thank  Queensland teachers for their important role in our communities and for the positive impact they have on the lives of students.  This year’s theme Teaching – where the future begins applauds the innovative and inspirational practices teachers use to help create better futures for their students. 

We are making a change to the comments used in our End of Semester Reporting on student report cards.

We will continue to report to parents using levels of achievement and effort.  We will also continue to provide parents with a comment about Behaviour and an Overall Comment.

We will however, not be providing comments for any of the Learning Areas, including English, Math and Science.

Parents and caregivers will be encouraged to attend Parent/Teacher Partnership Meetings held twice a year, where they will get further information about their child’s achievement, including areas of strength and improvement.  They will also be able to view their child’s work and assessment pieces. 

Parents and caregivers can contact teachers about their child’s progress at any time.  Teachers will also contact parents if there are concerns with student progress.

We will also continue to provide parents with Curriculum Classroom Newsletters which outline the curriculum that will be taught in each classroom.  These will be sent out at the start of each new term.

Grandparent’s Day

Grandparents Day is a chance for grandchildren, children and the community to thank grandparents for their love and support.

Celebrated annually in Queensland on the last Sunday in October, Grandparents Day recognises the significant contribution that grandparents make to their families and communities.

Grandparents Day | Seniors | Queensland Government (www.qld.gov.au)

At Calliope State School we will be celebrating Grandparent’s Day on Monday, 30 October.  Grandparent’s are invited to a fun morning with us.

9:10 – 9:30 School Choir

9:30 – 10:00 Morning Tea

10:00 – 11:00 Classroom Activities

11:00 – 11:30 Picnic Lunch on the lawn

Student Code of Conduct

Each week I focus on an aspect of Calliope’s Student Code of Conduct.  This week the focus is on Appropriate use of social media

Appropriate use of social media

The internet, mobile phones and social media provide wonderful opportunities for students to network and socialise online.  While these technologies provide positive platforms for sharing ideas, they also have the potential to cause pain and suffering to individuals, groups or even whole communities. 

 It’s important to remember that sometimes negative comments posted about the school community have a greater impact than expected.  This guide offers some information about how to use social media in relation to comments or posts about the school community.  Reputations of students, teachers, schools, principals and even parents can be permanently damaged – and in some cases, serious instances of inappropriate online behaviour are dealt with by police and the court system.

 Being aware of a few simple strategies can help keep the use of social media positive and constructive:

• before you post something online, ask yourself if the community or individual really need to know. Is it relevant, positive and helpful?;
• remember that what you post online is a direct reflection of who you are. People will potentially form lasting opinions of you based on what you post online;
• be a good role model. If things get heated online consider logging out and taking a few moments to relax and think.  Hasty, emotive responses could inflame situations unnecessarily;
• be mindful when commenting, try to keep general and avoid posting anything that could identify individuals;
• a few years ago parents may have discussed concerns or issues with their friends at the school gate. Today with the use of social media, online discussions between you and your close friends can very quickly be shared with a much wider audience, potentially far larger than intended;
• taking a few moments to think about the content you are about to post could save upset, embarrassment, and possible legal action;
• as a parent you have a role in supervising and regulating your child’s online activities at home and its impact on the reputation and privacy of others. Parents are their child’s first teachers – so they will learn online behaviours from you.

Some reminders of upcoming events from the calendar include -

Week 4 – State Education Week

24 October – Camp Quality visiting Calliope State School

25 October – Day for Daniel; wear Red

27 October – World Teacher’s Day

Week 5

30 October – Grandparent’s Picnic

3 November -Tuckshop Day

Celebrate Grandparents Day on Sunday 29 October

Grandparents Day is an opportunity for Queenslanders to say “thank you” to grandparents for their care and support and for sharing their knowledge, experience and traditions with younger generations.

A child’s interactions with their grandparent are often their first interactions with an older person. High quality relationships between grandparents and young people help to create and foster positive attitudes toward ageing and older people and combat ageism.

Celebrate and thank the grandparents in your life, in person or virtually by:

• downloading and sending a free e-card
• cooking or sharing a favourite meal
• reading a book or playing a game
• talking about your family history.

For more ideas about ways to celebrate the grandparents in your life, including free downloadable resources, visit qld.gov.au/grandparentsday

Grandparents can also be primary full-time carers for their grandchildren – safeguarding family connections. More information about support available for grandparent carers can be found here: at qld.gov.au/seniors/grandparenting