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- Principal's Message
- CSS Booklist 2024
- Attendance - Week 4
- What's Happening in 6A
- Volunteer Induction - Parent/Grandparent Helpers
- P&C News
- PBL Focus - Week 5
- Swimming News
- RotaKids
- School Hats
- CSS Christmas Raffle! On Sale October 30
- Breakfast Club
- Quick News
- MESSAGE TO STUDENTS
- RETURNING CALLS TO THE SCHOOL
- Late or Early Sign outs -
- Save the date!
- Gladstone State High School Transition Information
- Calliope State School Christmas Carols
- Position Vacant
Welcome to Week Five of Term 4. We celebrated Grandparent’s Day on Monday. It was great to see so many Grandparents attend our school and participate in activities with their grandchildren. This Friday we acknowledge Tuckshop Day.
Tuckshop Day - 3 November 2023
The daily efforts of our tuckshop workers and the many volunteers who support our students and our school have been tremendous this year. We should remember to say please and thank you every day, but on Tuckshop Day, Friday 3 November, we will say a very special thank you to this wonderful team. Our tuckshop provides a great service that helps out families who have to juggle many different tasks at the start of each day and some good food helps the students study and play
through the day.
We don’t take their hard work for granted and it is great to see parents putting up their hands and getting involved with our school. Thank you everyone.
Please see the attached fact sheet that contains information about acknowledging and thanking our tuckshop workers and volunteers, becoming a school volunteer and smart healthy food and drink choices
Tuckshop Day (education.qld.gov.au)
Grandparents Morning
Grandparents Day is an opportunity to show our love and appreciation for all the things our grandparents do for their grandchildren and families. It’s a special day for connecting with family and a reminder of the role senior citizens can play in raising children.
Calliope State School were thrilled to be hosting Grandparents’ Day on Monday. This is a unique opportunity for children to share all of the amazing experiences they participate in here at school with someone special, their Grandparent/s (or special friend).
Thank you to all the Grandparents or special friends that came and made this day so special. It was lovely to see so many grandparents here.
2024 Planning
We are now well into our planning for 2024 class structures. Please continue to encourage families to contact Administration as soon as possible if they are leaving our school next year. Any family who has a Prep student commencing in 2024 is encouraged to contact Administration now to ensure a smooth transition to school. We are also encouraging any families who will be commencing at Calliope next year to let administration know.
Dress Code
Student Code of Conduct
Each week I focus on an aspect of Calliope’s Student Code of Conduct. This week the focus will be Restrictive Practices.
Restrictive Practices
School staff at Calliope State School need to respond to student behaviour that presents a risk of physical harm to the student themselves or others. It is anticipated that most instances of risky behaviour can be de-escalated and resolved quickly. On some rarer occasions, a student’s behaviour may continue to escalate and staff need to engage immediately with positive and proactive strategies aimed at supporting the student to manage their emotional arousal and behaviour.
In some very rare situations, where there is immediate risk of physical harm to the student or other people, and when all other alternative strategies have failed to reduce the risk, it may be necessary for staff to use restrictive practices.
The use of restrictive practices will always be as a last resort, when there is no other available option for reducing immediate risk to the student, staff or other people. Restrictive practices are not used for punishment or as a disciplinary measure.
The department’s Restrictive practices procedure is written with consideration for the protection of everyone’s human rights, health, safety and welfare. There are six fundamental principles:
- Regard to the human rights of those students
- Safeguards students, staff and others from harm
- Ensures transparency and accountability
- Places importance on communication and consultation with parents and carers
- Maximises the opportunity for positive outcomes, and
- Aims to reduce or eliminate the use of restrictive practices.
Very rarely restrictive practices will be planned and staff will employ, when necessary, pre-arranged strategies and methods (of physical restraint/ mechanical restraint/ clinical holding) which are based upon behaviour risk assessment or clinical health need and are recorded in advance. The use of planned strategies will only be where there is foreseeable immediate risk consistent with the Restrictive practices procedure.
Seclusion will not be used as a planned response and will only be used in serious circumstances for managing an unforeseeable situation in an emergency. It will be used for the shortest time possible and in a safe area that presents no additional foreseeable risk to the student. In such emergencies, a staff member will observe the student at all times and seclusion will cease as soon as possible.
Following the use of any restrictive practice, a focused review will help staff to understand how they responded to the risk in any incident that involved the use of a restrictive practice. Staff will consider whether there are other options for managing a similar situation in the future. This strategy works well for reducing the use of restrictive practices.
All incidents of restrictive practices will be recorded and reported in line with departmental procedures.
Some reminders of upcoming events from the calendar include -
Week 5
30 October – Grandparent’s Picnic
3 November -Tuckshop Day
Week 6
7 November – Prep & P/1 Excursion, Rotakids Melbourne Cup activities @ first break
Week 7
Year 6 Camp
14 November – P&C Meeting
14 November – Year 5 Leadership Shortlisting Announcements
Congratulations to 3A who had an amazing attendance rate for Week 4. Their attendance rate was 96.52% for the Week!
Also, congratulations to the 2 classes that were at or above our school attendance target of 94% for week 4.
Remember, every day you are away is a learning day lost.
Year 6 Amazing is full steam ahead preparing for the end of their primary school life! Studying different times in history and what the future holds we are writing a letter to the future to dig up in 10 years time! Science is gross as we are investigating the best growing conditions for mould. We have discovered that school bags, left in a warm space are ideal. In HASS we are becoming early entrepreneurs and starting our own small businesses. Stay tuned for our product sale in Week 9. Camp is fast approaching and we are looking forward to some fun in the sun at Seaforth Pines. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time at Calliope State School and while we are a little excited, we are also sad to be leaving such a fantastic school. Thanks for the memories 6 Amazing.
If you would like to come to your child/s or grandchild/s classroom, you must complete the EQ Mandatory Volunteer Induction.
Our last Volunteer Induction day for 2023 will be held on Friday 3 Nov at 10am straight after parade in the office.
Please let the office know by phoning 49758333 if you would like to attend.
Hello Calliope! As we approach the middle of the term, planning is in full swing for 2024. As part of the strategic planning process, Mrs Mackenzie, our P&C President and Vice President will be getting their heads together to discuss possible improvements for our school. If you have any specific feedback or opportunities for improvement that you wish shared with our school’s amazing leadership team, please send an email directly to Heidi and/or Geoff on:
president.calliopess@gmail.com and vicepresident.calliopess@gmail.com.
This feedback can be taken anonymously! The point is to relay genuine feedback from families to the leadership team to make positive changes and your privacy will always be respected. Likewise; the P&C welcomes your thoughts and ideas on what you would like to see us doing! We know there’s no possible way to set meeting times that suit everyone! However, we still want to hear from you! Email us on the details below.
Surely you haven’t missed the fact that we’re running a Christmas raffle? We have secured some fantastic prizes from our wonderful sponsors! Check out our Facebook page for more details. Tickets are now on sale through the QKR app; so easy!! Also available at the Tuckshop through Breakfast Club times (8:35-9:00am) to staff to parents only, at participating local businesses and at upcoming Gladstone and Calliope markets events. You can also collect a book from our school office to sell at your work place! We greatly appreciate your support in our last fundraiser for the year. These funds are used to support our children in their educational ventures including bus subsidies for excursions and camps. Next week our Prep & Prep/1 classes are heading to Rockhampton for an excursion and we’re so happy to be able to subsidise the bus cost to keep these invaluable experiences affordable for families.
This Friday November 3rd is Tuckshop Day! On this day we recognise and give a very big thank you to our very special Tuckshop workers and volunteers here at Calliope SS. Lisa O’Connor has been our Tuckshop Convenor for 7 years and had been a volunteer for 3 years before that! Mel Platten has been working with Lisa for six years. Lisa and Mel make an amazing team to provide our school community with nutritious food options four days per week! We appreciate all their hard work involved in food planning, preparation and serving, so much of which goes on behind the scenes. We definitely do not take this for granted; thank you SO much!! Of course, they have some wonderful ladies who volunteer to lend a hand regularly, who play a vital role in getting that yummy food into hungry bellies! We extend a huge and warm thank you to Bev James, Lisa Newby, Angela Kummerfeld, Crystal Catling and Sarah Richmond for their ongoing contributions! Additionally, we thank all the very lovely people who pop in and give an hour or so of their time whenever they can! We understand that making a consistent commitment can be tricky and we are appreciative of any time that you spare us. Every little bit really does make a difference!
We encourage you to contact us on: communication.calliopess@gmail.com for our Communication Officer or pandc@calliopess.eq.edu.au for our Executive team.
Warm regards,
Heidi, Geoff, Angela and Lisa.
SWIMMING CAPS - Reminder every child needs to bring their own swimming cap for swimming lessons. There is heaps of caps available at the Calliope Swimming Pool for purchase which is open every morning until 8am or 3.30pm in the afternoons. Mrs Betts' supplies are running low and students are unable to swim without a cap.
RotaKids are collecting non-perishable grocery items to create Christmas Hampers for local families in need. We are working with Strong Communities in the creation and distribution to families. Our goal is to fill 20 baskets. If you are able to donate items, please place them in the container that is located at the office. If you work for a local business and would like to support this cause please contact Amanda Whale (RotaKids Leader) awhal20@eq.edu.au.
SCHOOL HATS
Parents, can you please check your child's hat has their name on it and not someone elses. We have had many hats go missing and are trying to help families out by finding out their where abouts and returning them back to their rightful owner.
Thank you for your help in this matter.
- ARTICLES FOR OUR SCHOOL NEWSLETTER: If you wish to publish a NOT FOR PROFIT COMMUNITY article in our school newsletter you can do this by sending an email to admin@calliopess@eq.edu.au with all the relevant details. This will then go through our approval process prior to publishing.
- REMINDER TO PARENTS: Reminder to parents and visitors to the school to drive carefully when accessing the front entrance of the school. Please drive slowly, abide by the speed limit, normal road rules and be mindful of your surrounds. We appreciate your attention and understanding.
- COLLECTING YOUR STUDENT EARLY FROM SCHOOL: We realise that, on occasion, students may arrive late for school, or need to leave early; it is hoped that these occasions can be kept to a minimum so that the learning of the student, the class and the routine of the school is not unduly disrupted. In the event that your child is late or leaves early, please ensure that the correct procedure is followed to sign in/out by going to the Administration building signing out on the iPad, collect a slip and present it to the classroom teacher.
These processes are in place so that the teachers and school staff are aware of the movement of students at school. This is for the protection and welfare of all staff and students. It is important to look at the impact that late arrival and early departure have on a student/s education and those around them. It is not only disruptive to learning that is occurring in the classrooms at the time of arrival and departure, it is all time that accumulates to missed opportunities for learning. A student who is arriving late or leaving early by 15 minutes twice a week will miss, in total, the equivalent of 4 days of school across the year.
- RETURNING CALLS TO THE SCHOOL: We ask parents to assist us by checking their message bank before returning calls to the school, to establish which staff member has phoned. Due to the high volume of staff within our school it is not possible for us to identify who may have called you. Please call the member on their direct number if they have provided this as this will free up the office phone lines.
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MESSAGE TO STUDENTS: As you know, schools and classrooms are very busy places!
To ensure our students are fully engaged in their learning, and our office staff are able to complete their multitude of daily required tasks, we ask that parents communicate clearly with their child at the beginning of each day where you will be picking them up from in the afternoon.
As you can imagine it is extremely difficult for our office staff to field scores of phone calls asking for messages to be passed on to children regarding pick-up information.
Should you need to contact your children throughout the day, please do this via the office. These should be emergency situations only. Messages received after 1.45pm may not be acknowledged by the class in time, so please ensure children know their pick-up arrangements.
As you know, schools and classrooms are very busy places!
To ensure our students are fully engaged in their learning, and our office staff are able to complete their multitude of daily required tasks, we ask that parents communicate clearly with their child at the beginning of each day where you will be picking them up from in the afternoon.
As you can imagine it is extremely difficult for our office staff to field scores of phone calls asking for messages to be passed on to children regarding pick-up information.
Should you need to contact your children throughout the day, please do this via the office. These should be emergency situations only. Messages received after 1.45pm may not be acknowledged by the class in time, so please ensure children know their pick-up arrangements.
We ask parents to assist us by checking their message bank before returning calls to the school, to establish which staff member has phoned. Due to the high volume of staff within our school it is not possible for us to identify who may have called you. Please call the member on their direct number if they have provided this as this will free up the office phone lines.
We realise that, on occasion, students may arrive late for school, or need to leave early; it is hoped that these occasions can be kept to a minimum so that the learning of the student, the class and the routine of the school is not unduly disrupted. In the event that your child is late or leaves early, please ensure that the correct procedure is followed to sign in/out by going to the Administration building and signing out on the iPad, collecting a slip and presenting it to the classroom teacher.
These processes are in place so that the teachers and school staff are aware of the movement of students at school. This is for the protection and welfare of all staff and students. It is important to look at the impact that late arrival and early departure have on a student/s education and those around them. It is not only disruptive to learning that is occurring in the classrooms at the time of arrival and departure, it is all time that accumulates to missed opportunities for learning. A student who is arriving late or leaving early by 15 minutes twice a week will miss, in total, the equivalent of 4 days of school across the year.
Save the Date:
Year 6 Graduation - 04 December 2023.
We had a great response to our first information session with over 100 guests on Wednesday 30th of August. We will be hosting an additional information session this year. This will be on Tuesday the17th of October from 4-5pm. You do not need to attend again if you attended the first session. We will cover the same topics such as the transition process, school expectations, curriculum at Gladstone SHS, and supporting your child. It covers everything that would be discussed in an interview and more. We will also have staff remain behind to answer any questions you might have. Admin staff will also be present at the information session. You can bring the enrolment paperwork on the day, if you did not have a chance to submit your child’s enrolment pack by the end of Term 3. We will process the paperwork during the evening.
Register for the event using this link,https://gladstoneshs.schoolzineplus.com/event/24 . We are encouraging anyone new to GSHS to attend.
On Thursday the 9th of November, we will have a school tour. Where you will be able to meet some of our amazing Teachers and Heads of Departments. Our student leaders will walk you around on the tour of the school. It is one of the events that parents, carers and students really look forward to attending. You will be sent a registration link via email if you have handed in your enrolment forms before Friday the 27th of October.
If any of the above information changes, we will send out information via our EOI list and through our feeder primary schools.
Orientation Days
An important component of our transition process is the Orientation Days. On Monday 27 November and Tuesday 28 November 2023, we plan to host the incoming Year 6 students for two days of orientation activities. This opportunity is invaluable in familiarising students with our school and easing some of their anxieties about the impending move. To be able to attend these days, we must have received the completed enrolment forms for your child along with the permission letter enclosed in the enrolment package.
We also host additional orientation events for specific groups of students throughout Term 4 to help with their transition to High School and showcase our support networks. Information has been sent to Primary schools about these days.
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student program |
Students with additional needs program |
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Session 1: Term 4, Week 3 - 19/10/23 |
Session 1: Term 4, Week 4 - 26/10/23 |
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Session 2: Term 4, Week 5 - 2/11/23 |
Session 2: Term 4, Week 6 - 9/11/23 |
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Session 3: Term 4, Week 7 - 16/11/23 |
Session 3: Term 4, Week 8 – 23/11/23 |
Please contact us on 4976 6111 if you wish to discuss any matter relating to the transition process.
