Principal's Piece
Bullying NO WAY!
This Friday, 20 March 2020, Calliope State School will be sending the message loudly and clearly that we do not accept bullying. We would like to encourage all students to wear ORANGE on Friday. No donations are required…it’s the message that matters!
Further information, including the definition of bullying, can be found on the “Bullying No Way!” website. https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/WhatIsBullying/DefinitionOfBullying
Extended Learning Program
On Monday Calliope State School hosted students from the Gladstone cluster of schools for a Mathematics Challenge. Mrs Kettle and Miss Williams were very impressed with the Calliope students who participated, along with the efforts of the visiting students.
Year 6 Harbour Tour
Our Year 6 students recently participated in a Harbour Tour sponsored by the Gladstone Ports Corporation. As a school we thank them for providing this amazing learning opportunity for our students. The feedback we received about the conduct and behaviour of our Year 6 students (and their teachers) was very impressive.
Additional Measures COVID-19
The current COVID-19 is an evolving situation with the information constantly changing. As a school, we will be following the advice issued to us by the Department of Education. The current advice is that schools are open and therefore students should be attending.
Whilst we are aware that a number of families have chosen to commence self-isolation, the advice from the Department of Education is that these are to be recorded on our absences as ‘unauthorised’. The exception to this, is where there is a medical certificate from a health practitioner supporting the requirement to self-isolate, or when the categories for self-isolation apply from the Australian Government. We acknowledge that families may make a wide range of decisions at these times and encourage you to maintain open lines of communication with the school.We are promoting extra hygiene practices as we work to support all students, staff, parents and visitors to our school.
- All parades for the rest of the term have been cancelled. Instead, we will be providing parade announcements and awards to students via a video message.
- We will be reviewing our term calendar and any non-essential events will be cancelled. The school disco for this Thursday has been cancelled. We will provide regular updates via the newsletter and school Facebook page of activity changes.
- Students have received instruction on handwashing and on Monday watched a video clip on this.
- Our additional PBL Lesson on Monday focussed on ‘Catch It, Kill It, Bin It’.
- We have increased hand washing facilities (with soap and paper towelling) at the school with more of these being installed around the school in common areas. All classrooms with sinks, have hand soap.
- Signage around handwashing procedures have been increased around the school and common areas.
- Before eating times and toileting students are being encouraged to wash their hands.
- Students are encouraged to minimise physical contact in their interactions.
- Our cleaners are increasing their cleaning schedules.
- Where appropriate, teachers are adjusting curriculum activities.
We do encourage students to bring their own sanitiser/wipes for their personal use. Students should also bring a water bottle.
Importantly, if your child is sick, do not send them to school and seek medical support where appropriate.
We will be sharing announcement via emails home, the newsletter and our Facebook page. Another important site to follow is Queensland Health https://www.health.qld.gov.au/
We have attached to this newsletter the ‘Time Out’ poster for generalised illness, for your information.
