One of our priorities this year, in line departmental requirements, is ‘Every Student Included’. Over the coming weeks I am going to break down and share the departments requirements as outlined in the Inclusive Education Policy.

Below is the commitment as stated by the department and shared by all State schools across Queensland:

EVERY TEACHER EXCELLING 

Our other priority this year is ‘Every Teacher Excelling’. State schools are guided by the requirements outlined in the ‘State Schools Improvement Strategy: Every student succeeding’. The work that we are doing at Calliope State directly aligns to this strategy. We are working collaboratively to ensure that we have a collective, consistent understanding about what the strategy requires us to achieve:

Every student succeeding… means that every single child and student can access a world-class education.

Every student succeeding… means that our focus is on child and student needs.

Every student succeeding… means that we talk about success: success at learning and success also in terms of wellbeing.

The strategy supports individuals and teams to focus on the success of our children and students through:

• priorities, which provide direction for the ‘right’ work
• principles, which are shared ways of working
• measures, which inform monitoring and help identify potential areas for improvement
• focus areas, which locate strategic activity
• processes of the School Improvement Model, which support planning, monitoring, reviewing and communicating with stakeholders about student and school improvement.

STUDENT WELLBEING CENTRE

I am currently working with staff to repurpose the Student Wellbeing Centre and how it will be used in our school. This space will be a place where ALL students can go before school and during the breaks. It will be a safe, supported, calm space where the students can engage in a variety of activities throughout the break. It will also be an area where students can eat their lunch if they choose to.  More detail to come.

ROAD SAFETY

National Road Safety Week (NRSW) will be underway between the 16 – 23 May 2021. This year’s overall theme is ‘Pledge to Drive so others Survive’. Please show your support in getting the messages out there to your friends and family. Log on to roadsafetyweek.com.au for more information.

WALK TO SCHOOL DAY

This Friday, 14 May, we will be holding a Walk Safely to School walk. Staff will meet families on the walkway near the Bowls Club (across the road from Drakes) at 8.30am and walk together to the school. All families are welcome to join in.

NAPLAN

This week our Year 3 and Year 5 students are participating in NAPLAN.

NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgement about student progress.

Parents and carers support your child/ren by reassuring them that NAPLAN is just one part of their school program, and by reminding them on the day to simply do their best.

DAY FOR DOLLY

Last Friday Calliope State School took part in Do It For Dolly Day. Do It For Dolly Day is a nationwide day promoting inclusiveness and kindness.

Below I have included the link for the Parent Hub that provides a variety of resources to support in teaching children about online bullying. To help make your life a little easier, the Dolly’s Dream organisation have done the research for you and pulled together the most trusted information from around the internet about online safety and bullying. https://dollysdream.org.au/parent-hub

TOYS AND SPORTING EQUIPMENT

Students are not permitted to bring toys or sporting equipment to school. Bringing such items to school can lead to the items being lost or broken at school. They also interfere with the student’s ability to focus on learning during class time.  At both breaks the students are provided with sporting equipment to play their favourite games. Please ensure your child leaves all of their equipment at home that is not specifically going to be used for learning.

LUNCH BREAKS

Please remind you students that during breaks, they are able to take time out of play and eat if they need to. If they are unsure where to go to eat their lunch, encourage them to ask the teacher on duty or their classroom teacher before they go to lunch.

Regards

Coralie Ditchmen

Acting Principal