Welcome to Week 10.  This week students participated in Cross Country and parents have participated in interviews to know where there students are in their learning at this stage of the year.

Annual Implementation Plan (AIP)

Our Priority for 2023 is “Calliope State School embraces Equity and Excellence for All”.  We have three strategies to achieve this.  Our second strategy is Curriculum Implementation. Our first action is Familiarise English and Maths version 9 of the Australian Curriculum.  Over the next four years all Queensland State Schools will be moving from our current 8.4 version of the Australian Curriculum to version 9.  This will ensure a smooth transition to the updated curriculum. This year we are in Phase 2 where we continue with familiarisation and commence planning.

Student Code of Conduct

Each week I will focus on an aspect of Calliope’s Student Code of Conduct.  This week the focus continues on a Whole School Approach to Discipline with reference to PBL expectations. A copy of Calliope State School’s Student Code of Conduct can be found in the following link.

student code of conduct.pdf (eq.edu.au)

Our staff are committed to delivering a high quality of education for every student, and believe all adults in the school, whether visiting or working, should meet the same Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) expectations in place for students, being Safe, Respectful and Responsible. Every classroom in our school uses the PBL Expectations Matrix, illustrated below, as a basis for developing their behaviour standards. Using this matrix, the class teacher works with all students to explain exactly what each of the expectations look, sound and feel like in their classroom. The completed matrix is on display in every classroom, used as the basis of teaching expectations throughout the year and revisited regularly to address any new or emerging issues. Teachers also access You Can Do It and Zones of Regulation as per our Student Learning and Wellbeing Framework for all students as required by their class’ individual needs.

Toys/Pokémon Cards

A reminder to all families that toys and personal items need to remain at home.  During the last couple of weeks these items have been brought into school by students.  Pokémon Cards are being brought to school and students are trading with other students.  Issues arise when student’s personal belongings are then broken or second thoughts about trading happens.  This often leads to escalation.     

Queensland Engagement and Wellbeing (QEW) Survey

Next term we our students from Year 4 - 6 will participate in the Queensland Engagement and Wellbeing (QEW) Survey. The Queensland Engagement and Wellbeing (QEW) Survey aims to collect information from Queensland state schools in a consistent and systematic way to gain a better understanding of the engagement and wellbeing of our students. It asks questions about many aspects of students' wellbeing, engagement and experience at school. Data from the survey will help schools monitor their school culture, school engagement and student wellbeing in line with the Student Learning and Wellbeing Framework and our Department’s Equity and Excellence: realising the potential of every student vision.

 

Safe Holidays

I would like to thank all our students, staff, families and community for a fantastic term of learning for everyone.  For the last two days Raelene, Naomi and myself have participated in learning how to teach reading in our contemporary times along with other leaders and educators across Central Queensland.  When leaving the school yesterday, a student asked me where I was going. When I replied, that I was going to the highschool to learn how to teach reading, she told me everyone knows how to do that and all I needed to do was ‘google it’.  It is these interactions with our students that make my day. Calliope State School is a great school.  I wish all our students, staff, families and community a restful, safe break and Happy Easter and look forward to another term of learning after the holidays.

In Science we have been learning about reversible and irreversible changes. Part of our learning involved the use of 3D goggles whereby the students could see first-hand how mining is an irreversible change to the environment. What is being removed cannot be converted back to its usual form.

The students have also started working on their multimodal advertisement, whereby they try to persuade their audience to attend their holiday destination. The work is looking amazing so far, can’t wait to see the end results.

PBL Focus

This week students are focusing on toilet routines. They will look at non-example and correct behaviours to have when going to the toilet during class and lunch time. They also watched Smiley following these expectations. When students leave the classroom to go to the toilet, this on average takes 10 mins out of their learning time and in some cases this could happen multiple times a session and/or day. Please remind your children to try and use the lunch time to attend the toilet. We as adults, understand that children need to be allowed to go the toilet but are trying to minimise the disruption to the students’ learning time as much as possible. If you would like a copy of the Toilet Expectations PowerPoint that the students will be engaging in to reinforce at home, please email jxran4@eq.edu.au.

Re-Design of Mascot

All students received a sheet this week to design a new mascot. The students can re-design Smiley or come up with a completely new mascot. This is not due back until the end of week 1 next term. If your child needs another sheet, please collect one from the office.

Whole Class Stamp Chart

Tiered Major Behaviour Data

The triangle graph has been used to indicate the percentage of students at Calliope State School who have repeated major incidents. These are categorised into Tier, 1, 2 and 3 – as previously explained in the newsletter. We are currently sitting at 93.7% of students in Tier 1. This is a great start to 2023.

Below I have represented the data in whole numbers to show that 93.7% of students is a lot of students – 528 students to be exact.

Congratulations to 3/4E who had an amazing attendance rate for Week 9. Their attendance rate was 99.09% for the Week!

Also, congratulations to the 7 classes which were at or above our school attendance target of 94% for Week 9.

Remember, every day you are away is a learning day lost.

P&C AGM - 

The P&C Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 18th April at 5.30pm in the Office. Everyone is welcome to attend.

All positions will be declared vacant. The positions available for election are:

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Treasurer

Being a part of the P&C Executive Committee gives you the opportunity to be involved in the school’s decision-making processes, helping to shape our school’s future.

The P&C is responsible for our school Tuckshop and Uniform Shop. It also supports the development of facilities and improvement of equipment in our school. We would love to see some new families get involved and help CSS to continue to be a great place to learn and to work.

Easter Donation -

Our amazing P&C raises funds to assist with bringing the price of camps and excursions down, as well as providing funding for many important projects and programs in our school. 

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Easter Holiday.

Cross Country RESULTS

On Monday we had our annual Cross Country. Well done to all the students who participated! It was awesome to see some very old records get smashed. Congratulations to Sienna, Brax and Aubrey who now hold the new records for Calliope SS Cross Country. Thank you for all the wonderful support from Calliope SS staff and our wonderful Helping Hands staff.

Big congratulations to Oxley house, who won this year!  

Calliope State School – Cross Country 2023  Results

As a school, we have a number of ways to communicate with our families.

1. School Newsletter – published weekly on Wednesday and emailed to families. It is published on QSchools App. A paper copy can be requested.
2. School Facebook Page – Calliope State School
3. P&C meetings –second Tuesday of the month at 5.30pm in the Administration building. Our P&C also have a Facebook page to communicate with our families.
4. QSchools – please see pictures with this post on how to download this app
5. Phone, letter or appointments
6. Parent / Teacher Conferences – twice a year or as requested by staff or parents
7. Class Newsletters – once a term, outlining important dates and curriculum information for the term

Communication is a two-way street, so please avail yourself of these array of opportunities to be engaged in your child’s learning journey and in our school community.

If your child requires staff to administer medication at school, we would just like to remind you of the requirements
associated with the administration of medications at school.

Please note, school staff will only administer medication that:

     • has been prescribed by a qualified health practitioner (e.g. doctor, dentist)

     • is in its original (most recent) container
     • has an attached pharmacy label
     • the pharmacy label instructions match the Medical form.
     • the parent/carer has completed Section 1 of the Administration of Medication at School Record Sheet
       (routine/short-term medication) – copies of these forms are in our office. Please see our friendly office staff.
     • the student has received a dose at home without ill effect prior to the school administering the medication.

N.B. If your child requires more than one medication, you will need to complete a form for each medication.

Please contact the school office if you wish to discuss your child’s requirements further.

Parents and caregivers must send children to school every school day under Queensland law unless there is an acceptable reason such as:

• Illness
• Competing in school events.

If your child is going to be absent from school, you must let the school know why the absence has occurred within two school days of their return. If possible, it is best to advise the school beforehand.

Avoid keeping your child away from school for reasons such as:

• Birthdays
• Shopping
• Visiting family and friends
• If they sleep in
• Looking after other children
• Minor check ups or care, such as hair cuts.

Routine medical or other health appointments should be made either before or after school or during the school holidays.

Establishing good routines around school can assist with regular school attendance. These include:

• Have a set time to go to bed
• Have a set time to get out of bed
• Have uniform and school bag ready the night before
• Have a set time for starting and finishing breakfast
• Set a time for daily homework activities
• Speak about school positively
• Send your child to school every school day including their birthday and the last day of term.

If you are experiencing difficulty in sending your child to school, contact the school for advice and support.