Welcome to Week 7 – Reconciliation Week and Calliope’s Sports Carnival Week. Students have been enjoying participating in activities at lunchtime to recognise 

Reconciliation Week. The week started well yesterday with our Prep Cohort enjoying their afternoon of sport.   Today our Year One and Year Two Carnival is scheduled with Year Three to Six having their carnival on Friday.  I know we will hear lots of cheering.  There will be no assembly on Friday, this week due to the Sport’s Carnival.

Student Code of Conduct

Each week I will focus on an aspect of Calliope’s Student Code of Conduct.  This week the focus is on Focused Teaching.

Approximately 15% of all students in any school or classroom may require additional support to meet behaviour expectations, even after being provided with differentiated and explicit teaching. These students may have difficulty meeting behavioural expectations in a particular period of the day or as part of a learning area/subject, and focused teaching is provided to help them achieve success.

Focused teaching involves revisiting key behavioural concepts and/or skills and using explicit and structured teaching strategies in particular aspects of a behaviour skill. Focused teaching provides students with more opportunities to practise skills and multiple opportunities to achieve the intended learning and expected behaviour.

Support staff, including teachers with specialist expertise in learning, language or development, work collaboratively with class teachers at Calliope State School to provide focused teaching. Focused teaching is aligned to the PBL Expectations Matrix, and student progress is monitored by the classroom teacher/s to identify those who:

• no longer require the additional support
• require ongoing focussed teaching
• require intensive teaching.

 Calliope State School has a range of Student Support Network staff in place to help arrange and deliver focused teaching to students who need more support to meet expectations.  In addition, the school invests in the following evidence-informed programs to address specific skill development for some students:

• Zones of Regulation
• You Can Do It!
• Functional Based Assessment.

Participating in online environments

At Calliope State School we take our responsibility to maintain the health and safety of our students and staff very seriously.  This responsibility includes issues related to online choices and behaviours.

 Participating in the online environment can be a positive experience, but there are also a broad range of concerns that may need to be considered, including online privacy and information protection, online etiquette, digital citizenship and knowing how to get help to deal with online issues.

 As you may be aware, comments posted online about people and organisations may impact permanently on their digital reputation. This includes teachers, other staff, students and the school. There can be very real negative consequences from online posts – relationships between school staff, students and parents can be permanently damaged.

 Facebook and other social networking sites are generally not private communities and, depending on an individual’s privacy and security settings, comments may be read by many people and remain online indefinitely. 

 If you or your child are posting information online about the school, staff or students, I ask that you consider the ramifications of these comments on the school and any individuals in the school community. As a rule of thumb:

• Public discussion is most effective when it is conducted in a polite and respectful manner;
• Before posting, it is important to consider whether those people you are posting about want information, including photos and comments regarding them and their children, posted on Facebook or on other sites. Perhaps ask the people involved in the post for permission before you publish something or tag someone online;
• Rather than airing complaints or grievances in a public forum like Facebook, come and talk to the school first about how to resolve your concerns;
• Remember that as a parent you have a responsibility to supervise and regulate your own children’s online activities at home and their impact on the reputation and privacy of others.

 For further information on managing cybersafety, please go to https://behaviour.education.qld.gov.au/resources-publications/Documents/cyberbullying-parents-caregivers-guide.pdf

 If you have any concerns and would like to discuss further I invite you to make an appointment with me.

Parent and Community Code of Conduct

Parents and other visitors to schools support safety by ensuring their communications and conduct at the school and school activities is respectful. 

Approaching other students in the school grounds to discuss concerns with them is not appropriate in any school.  Please refer to the Parent and Community Code of Conduct and request a meeting to discuss any concerns about your child’s education – allowing staff time to prepare and appreciating our time may be limited. 

Upcoming Events Calendar

 Some reminders of upcoming events from the calendar include –

Week 7 – Reconciliation Week

Week 7 – Sport’s Days

Week 9 – P&C Meeting

Week 9 – Zone Athletics

Week 10 – Under 8’s

Week 10 – NAIDOC Week Celebration

Prep B have had a great term, so far. Earlier in the term, they were honoured to have a work-experience student, Mathew, spend a week in class. During this time, students practised their gross-motor skills on the obstacle course Mathew set up and wrote about stories he read. Prep B worked on letters, beginning sounds and CVC words in groups, as well as stamping their names and words onto paper. They have shared stories about their pasts, and learnt about properties and materials in Science. Prep B is getting better at counting, sorting, shapes and measuring too! They have been VERY busy!

Congratulations to 3C who had an amazing attendance rate for Week 6. Their attendance rate was 96.19% for the Week! Remember, every day you are away is a learning day lost.

The PBL lesson focus this week is ‘Staying in my Learning Space’. Last week, students  were engaged in Calliope News where the students watched an example and a non-example of how to ask to go to leave the classroom. Across the school, students will look at why it is that we may leave our learning space, why it is important to let a teacherknow where you are going, how to ask permission to leave your learning space, what to do if a teacher gives reason to not leave the learning space at that moment and what are some learning strategies to help us stay in our learning spaces. and what strategies we can use to make sure this isgoing to happen. If you would like a copy of the lesson that we do at school to reinforce at home, please email jxran4@eq.edu.au.

PBL uses the Inquiry Cycle

Tiered Behaviour Data

We are currently sitting at 91.2% of students in Tier 1. As you can see from the triangle, usually Tier 1 sits at around 80%. PBL targets are 80% for all Queensland PBL schools. Below the Calliope State School behaviour data has been represented in whole numbers to show that 91.2% is 521 students in Tier 1.

Expression of Interest for PBL Parent  Representatives

We have decided to cancel the Parent Feedback and Information Sessions and instead we have a fantastic opportunity where we are looking for some PBL Parent Representatives. Position includes:

• Meeting with PBL Team Leader and PBL Coach
• Attendance and Engagement at PBL Meetings
• Gather feedback from parents to bring to PBL Meeting.
• Completion of Parent Mandatory Training

Please email jxran4@eq.edu.au to express your interest.

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all surviving the early arrival of winter! The students have certainly been taking advantage of the warm Milos on offer from the tuckshop before school! Last Thursday we even sold out! Thanks for all the support we’ve received for this very popular and yummy fundraiser. If you could please encourage your child/ren to use the rubbish bins for their empty Milo, cups this will keep our school grounds looking their best. Warm Milos will continue to be on sale 8:30-9.00am from the Tuckshop for $1.00 each. Please note they will not be on sale this Friday June 2^nd due to the Yr3-6 Athletics Carnival but back to normal days of Tuesday – Friday next week.

We will be having a Tuckshop tent at the Athletics Carnival on Friday, down near the action! Available items and prices have been posted on our Facebook page (don’t forget to Follow us)! Normal tuckshop will be available for Prep-2 students. If you have completed your Mandatory Training with the school, we would love to have you join us in the tent for any spare time you may have.

Did you know our P&C also has Officer roles that are taken on by members but are not executive positions? This year’s Fundraising Officer, Tenielle Wode, has shown undeniable dedication to supporting our school community. Tenielle was previously a P&C Executive member for 6 years! Her enormous efforts and achievements are felt throughout the whole school and greatly appreciated! In this new role Tenielle continues to support our school community by leading the fundraising working group, a wonderful team of parents and P&C members, to implement and facilitate fundraisers that help us invest in the school and our children’s learning.

If you have comments or ideas on anything from fundraiser ideas to opportunities for improvement, there are many constructive ways you can reach out to us; Facebook, email (pandc@calliopess@eq.edu.au), come along to a meeting (next one is Tuesday June 13^th at 5:30pm), or come lend a hand at any of our fundraisers and have a chat to us! We love engaging with the school community and we know there is a mountain of ideas out there and we would love to hear from you! We all have the same goal: supporting our children’s education! Many hands make light work and make it more fun!!

Warm regards,

Heidi, Geoff, Angela and Lisa.

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.

Calliope State School is celebrating Reconciliation Week from May 27 to June 3. Our classrooms will be doing activities to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.  We would love to involve our community, so if you have ideas or would like to be involved in our celebrations, please contact Naomi Hughes on nhugh56@eq.edu.au or phone the school office.

NAIDOC WEEK

Calliope State School stole the show again, with four teams attending the Gladstone Robotics Competition on Friday 19^th May.

The students were tasked with the mission to build and program autonomous robots to collect, sort and drop red, green and yellow materials into a conveyer system to sort the colours into three designated places, loosely based on the production process of alumina. The students were scored on the number of blocks that they collected and delivered to the correct place.

 The Scorpions had a challenge right from the beginning of the event, with a robot that didn’t make transit in one piece.  They acted swiftly and kept calm under pressure to rebuild their robot just before the competition started, recovering brilliantly as the runners up to the Points Champions!

Well done to the Scorpions, for their resilience and ingenuity.

The Tornadoes won the Most Improved award, with their robots and programming being refined between competition rounds to obtain the highest gain in collecting and sorting points. 

The Calliope Queens won Best Team Spirit with their attitudes remaining positive. The girls were said to have continually supported one another, despite plenty of obstacles that tested their patience. They were also noticed for their cheering and support for other teams.

The winners of not only the Points Champions, but also the most prestigious award, Grit, Resilience and Cooperation, was awarded to the Calliope State School team; The Beep Bops.

Watch out for this group of clever young engineers in years to come.

Mrs Crookey, Mrs Fennell and Mrs Mastro are exceedingly proud of what all of the Calliope robotics students have accomplished. Go Calliope!

 

As we start a new year, police would like to remind parents and caregivers that the areas marked in yellow below on the map are ‘No Stopping’ areas, which means that you can’t pull up and wait an extended period of time for a car to leave a car park or stop to drop your children off.

These areas are clearly signed and marked with a yellow line.

Also a reminder that the Stop, Drop and Go area is limited to 2 minutes for the loading and unloading of passengers. Police have and will continue to issue fines for vehicles stopped along the yellow lines and parked in the Stop, Drop and Go area for an extended period of time.

The maximum penalty for these offences is 20 penalty units (one penalty unit = $143.75) and can attract
3 demerit points.

To avoid the end of school traffic congestion, consider parking a bit further away and walking to collect your children or delaying pick up for 5 – 10 minutes.

Remember school staff will be at Stop, Drop and Go until 3:30pm. 

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.

TICKETS TO GIVEAWAY TO THE CAT IN THE HAT

The Cat in the Hat is coming to the Gladstone GECC in the June/July school holidays!

Calliope State School are pleased to offer one lucky family a double pass (2) to this exciting live performance, worth over $80.

If your attendance is 85% or higher during Term 2, you will automatically go into the draw to win this fantastic prize which will be awarded to one lucky family on Principal's Pararde in Week 10. 

For more information on the show please visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Catinthehataustralia or website: www.catinthehatlive.com