Filter Content
- Principal's Message
- Reminder - Medication Collection
- Christmas Cards
- What's Happening in 2A
- Library News
- PE News
- Cool Kids Awards - Week 9
- Attendance - Week 9
- PBL News
- P&C News
- P&C Booklist and Uniform Information
- Breakfast Club
- QParents
- RegionWatch
- Quick News
- Early Intervention
- Young Engineers Summer Camp
- Fundraiser to Support 11-16 International Acrobatic
- Festival of Summer - Ages 11-17
- Global Passport Information
Principal’s Message
Welcome to Week 10!
Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending the Calliope Community Christmas Carols. Our students did a brilliant job of performing. A massive thank you to Jade Bell who has prepared, organised and supported each grade level for their performance. Thank you to our Instrumental Teachers, Grace Rackemann and Debbie Dingle for their work in teaching our Strings Ensemble and Concert Band who also performed on the night. Thank you to all the teachers who attended on the night to support the students and their performances. The Calliope Rotary Club also worked tirelessly to create and organise this family event.
Last week our students participated in their year level Swimming Carnivals. These were a great success and it was amazing to see the improvement in the swimming skills of our students after a term of lessons during PE. Thank you to Mrs Betts for her commitment and organisation of swimming.
On Monday night we farewelled our Year 6 cohort at their Graduation ceremony. It was a lovely night and an opportunity to celebrate the successes of the students. I wish them all the very best for the next step in their educational journey. Thank you to Mrs Christine Johnston and our Year 6 teachers, Mrs Smith-Ashton, Mr Brown and Ms Drury for their organisation of this event. Also thank you to the Calliope State School P and C for their contribution to the event.
Staff Goodbyes
As we say goodbye to the 2024 school year, it is also time to say goodbye to some of our wonderful staff who are starting new adventures in 2025. I would like to say a huge thank you to these staff who have made a positive impact on our school during their time here and will be missed.
Firstly, I have been seconded to Gladstone Regional Office in a curriculum capability role for 2025.
Thank you - Mr Vic Brown (6A), Mrs Jill Schulke (2/3D), Miss Desiree Philp (4/5D), Ms Becky Drury (6C), Miss Meaghan Pedler (1C) and Miss Courtney Green (3B).
Ms Day Diaz (3A) is taking leave for the start of 2025.
Ms Natasha Crookey (previous staff member), Mrs Casey Black and Mrs Paula Hallinan have all finished with the Department and we wish them all the best for their next career pathway and/or retirement.
2025 Class Transitions
During middle session on Wednesday December 4, students will be visiting their 2025 classrooms with their 2025 teacher. This is an opportunity for students to meet their new teacher and their fellow classmates.
We have new teachers joining us at Calliope State School in 2025, and some of these are unable to attend this transition session – rest assured these classes will work with one of our specialist teachers for this time. There will be no changes to class structures until Day 8 in 2025. Changes will be made, if necessary, early in the new year depending on enrolment numbers.
End of Term Parade – Thursday December 5
Our End of Term 4 Parade will be held on Thursday December 5.
All parents and caregivers are invited to share this special parade with us. It is our last one for 2024.
This is also our school break-up day, and students are encouraged to wear their favourite Christmas outfit.
Please ensure these outfits are appropriate and sun-safe.
Our wonderful P and C will be providing a sausage sizzle, fruit and a zooper dooper ice block for all students on Break Up Day. Students are encouraged to bring their own lunch for second break. There is no Tuckshop on this day. There will be NO shared food.
Report Cards
Report Cards will be sent home on Thursday, December 12th via email.
2024 Week 4 or Term 4, Week 11 (December 9 to 13)
Calliope State School will be open for all students in Week 41 (or Week 11 of Term 4), but we wanted you to be aware of some changes during this week.
In Week 11, from Monday 9th December, we will be taking this opportunity to have an enhanced focus on student wellbeing activities through alternate programs. It should be noted:
- Students may not necessarily be supervised by their regular teacher
- Students will be combined into diverse groups varying ages depending on the students who are present at school
- There will be no formal learning of the Australian Curriculum
- Activities will comprise of tasks that a multitude of age groups can participate in
- Groups of teachers will be taken offline to work on deep planning and preparations for 2025 in line with the Australian Curriculum
- Uniform is still expected to be worn each day
- Tuckshop will be open Tuesday to Thursday
Donation Drive
We are currently taking donations for uniforms and stationery (e.g., books, scrapbooks, pencils, pencil case, glue etc) supplies for the 2025 school year. If you have uniforms and stationery that are still in good condition and are no longer needed, please donate these at our front office, until December 13th and these will be used to ensure that all our students have everything they need, everyday.
We wish all the best to the families leaving Calliope State School and look forward to seeing everyone else on Tuesday 28th of January 2025 for Day 1. Have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday.
Each year, some students like to give a card to their friends at Christmas. There is a Christmas Card Post Box in the school office, for students to post their cards in.
Our Year 6 Santa helpers will deliver the cards to classrooms. Please ensure each card has the students name and class written clearly on the front.
Due to Health and Safety guidelines, we ask that no food items are placed in the cards. The Post Box will be in the office for Weeks 9 and 10.
What an amazing Term 4 we have had in 2A. The students have been working on creating persuasive speeches to convince Ms Norris or Mrs Hughes to buy the school a pet dragon as part of their English assessment. The students thoroughly enjoyed using their creativity to come up with ideas for their speeches.
Students have also been exploring shapes and chance and data this term in maths. There have been many surveys completed and data collected. We now know our classmates really well; from their favourite pets to how they get to school and everything in between.
2A have also been working hard in other areas of the school. Last week they knocked the socks off Mrs Goodman-Jones when they created super difficult pop-up cards during their library time. She was immensely proud of their efforts, as were the children.
Hi Families,
You're probably wondering, didn’t I read that last week? The answer is YES. Reminding you our final major fundraiser this year will be our Holly Jolly Markets held Saturday 7th December 2024. We are needing donations from our school community to make this a successful fundraiser. If you have any items to donate, please drop them off to the Uniform Shop/Hall Friday mornings between 8.30-9am or email communication.calliopess@gmail.com to arrange drop off. Volunteers are still needed to help with set up on Friday and Saturday please.
All money raised, goes back to the children for 2025 to help cover costs for buses (excursions, camps, etc), cost of resources for the children such as readers/books, performances and assets like tables, fridges and microwaves.
Without volunteers and the endless task of fundraising, subsidising these events and other resources for our children would not be possible and this will then fall back on to the families to cover the costs.
If you have a spare hour or two, we would appreciate any help. As they say many hands make light work and we are all striving for the same outcome – providing resources, safety, respect and happiness for the children of Calliope State School.
So this is a great chance to declutter in time for Christmas and give back to the community as well.
Uniform Shop
Are you prepared for the 2025 schooling year? Why not get in early with your uniform order for next year. The uniform shop will be open every Friday until the end of school, with some opening hours over the school holidays. To make life less stressful and hectic, you can place your orders now for 2025. Further information about the uniform shop school holiday opening hours will be posted on the P&C facebook page.
We are urgently seeking volunteers to help pack orders weekly/fortnightly on a Friday for 1 hour (8:30-9-30am). If you are available and have completed your mandatory training, please email uniformshop.calliope@gmail.com
P&C Meeting
Well that’s a wrap for our P&C meetings for 2024. We will be back when school commences in 2025, followed by the AGM in March. Keep your eye out on our facebook page for details.
As every year, we welcome new and old families to come along to our meetings and see for yourself what it’s all about and you don’t have to be a member to help around the school. Fresh faces, many hands and new ideas are what a growing school community strives for to make it successful. The only people who benefit from a successful P&C are our children.
If you are interested at all, you can contact us on communication.calliopess@gmail.com for our Communication Officer or pandc@calliopess.eq.edu.au for our Executive team.
Tuckshop News
The amazing Miss Lisa will be working hard till the second last day (Thursday - Week 11) to provide food for our kids, this means we still need you! Miss Lisa can always use an extra set of hands or two each tuckshop day to make sure your kids get their food as quickly as possible at break times. Friday is Miss Lisa’s busiest day; it is always a rush to get your child’s food ready and packed on time so an extra pair of hands would be appreciated. If you’d like to lend a hand, please contact Miss Lisa via our Facebook page or pandc@calliopess.eq.edu.au
In Week 10, Tuckshop will be open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, with Thursday being closed. This is due to the P&C supplying a sausage on bread, Zoopa Doopa and piece of fruit to every child at Calliope State School.
In Week 11, Tuckshop will be open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with Friday being closed.
Thank you to Miss Lisa, Miss Mel and all your helpers for your hard work over the year.
Warm Regards
Geoff, Angela & Lisa
In January, our volunteers will be opening the Uniform shop during the week before school starts back on the following days:
Friday January 24th 8:30-11:00am
If there is a need for additional opportunities we will release more dates via our Facebook page.
If you’re already planning ahead for 2025 please consider shopping at Office National Gladstone for your stationery needs. The more families that purchase their booklist supplies through Office National, the more money they will give directly back to the P&C for the benefit of all our students. Office National is a locally owned business, has super competitive prices and also delivers your booklist supplies to your home for free when you spend over $50! You can drop off your booklist in person or email it in.
QParents
QParents is a secure, online portal that is free for all Queensland state schools to use and provides parents with quick, easy access to their student information including:
- student and parent contact details
- attendance details
- report cards – all report cards (past & present) are available to view and upload
- invoices and payment history
- Online consent management
The student information displayed in QParents is surfacing information that is already recorded and managed in One School. The benefits of using QParents for schools and parents include:
- a faster, more efficient way to communicate with parents regarding student information
- a secure, convenient and automated process for parents to pay school invoices
- significant time and effort savings for both your school and parent community
- an innovative online communication tool that’s free of charge for both schools and parents to use.
How do I register for QParents?
You will be sent an email inviting you to register for QParents. You will then be able to register via the secure QParents website: qparents.qld.edu.au using the unique invitation code contained in the email. You will require each child’s unique EQ ID and you must verify your identity by providing 100 points of identification. If you cannot verify your identity online, you should contact your child’s school for assistance. The school will review your registration and approve your account. You will then be able to access the QParents app.
Please note: if you have not received the QParents invitation email, please send correspondence through to admin@calliopess.eq.edu.au with your full name, student/s full name & DOB to request your QParents invitation.
- 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.
Please find a link below with information regarding the Global Passport: Explore the world in 5 days online program.
Global Passport is a fully funded online opportunity for state school students commencing Years 4–6 in 2025, and including Year 6 students transitioning into Year 7 in 2025, designed to build global competence. The program is facilitated by Griffith University and will be delivered during the January 2025 school holidays.