Welcome to week five of term one. Last week the school inducted all of our year six students as senior learners in our school. It was amazing to hear them say the school oath. Student leaders of our school were also inducted and I am working closely with our student leaders to ensure there is student voice in our school.

NAPLAN is occurring this term. There is more detailed information in this newsletter below. We are working to ensure our students have confidence to take part and navigate the online NAPLAN test.

Equity and Excellence

• We are looking to support students understand the way that online tests work, so that they are better able to feel confident and engage with the NAPLAN assessments.
• This is about the way that students interact with the online test, and is intended to support their wellbeing as they engage with this unique form of testing.
• There will be a collection of resources made available for staff and school leaders to use to support students.
• Our students will be supported to know the digital literacy with the device and the way the online test works, in order to mange their wellbeing and engagement with the materials during the test time.
• We want our students to experience success in how they interaction with the online text environment so they can demonstrate their understanding.

Prep Vision Screening

The Primary School Nurse Health Readiness Program is coming to Calliope State School.

They are a Queensland Government service that offers Free Vision Screening to all children enrolled in Prep. 

If your child is in Prep and you would like their vision screened, please complete a consent form using the below link or QR code.

The following video explains the benefits of having your Prep child’s vision screened – “What is Prep Vision Screening?”

Screening commencement date: Thursday, 27 March, 2025

Link and QR code will close on Sunday, 23 March, 2025

RotaKids

Last Friday our Semester One RotaKids were presented with their badges by Mrs Liz Cunningham. On Tuesday this week, they met with Ms Norris and Mrs Cunningham to start planning some events for the semester.

In the first few weeks of 2025 3A have been jumping into some exciting and creative learning experiences!

In Science, we’ve been grouping animals. The students have explored different groups of animals and their features. It’s been wonderful to see how much they have learned about the diversity of the animals. As part of this unit, they linked their learning with a fantastic art project. They created pastel drawings of emus, using their new knowledge of animal features to capture the unique shape and texture of this fascinating bird.

In English, the students have been developing their imagination! They have worked on creating their own characters and describing them in detail using nouns and adjectives. From brave adventurers to mysterious creatures, the characters are as colourful as the students' ideas. They have also used these skills to build incredible settings for their imaginative narratives, bringing their stories to life in vivid detail.

I would like to take a moment to thank the students for the warm welcome they have given me as I settle into Calliope State School. They have shown that they are safe, responsible and respectful learner and I’m proud to be a part of their learning journey.

Keep up the great work, Year 3A!

PBL Lesson for the week:

This week we are focusing on oval expectations, in particular where is a suitable

 place to eat. At home discussing with your child to make sure they have eaten their food in their eating area before they play will be beneficial. During play time the tuckshop is open to all years to be able to continue eating, if they are not finished. At second break Years 4-6 who need to eat, go to the tuckshop area.

GEM focus this week

The focus this week is empathy where students are thinking of one kind and helpful thing that they can do for their family. At home, ask your child what they are going to do to be kind and helpful and make a daily goal to support your child’ empathy.

Why and how is The Resilience Project relevant to the curriculum?

• The Resilience Project program aligns with the latest Australian standards and frameworks. Key curriculum areas covered from Prep to Year 10 include Health and Physical Education/Personal Development, Personal and Social Capability, and Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships topics 1–6.
• For Primary students, additional curriculum areas are integrated across various lessons, including Creative Arts, English, Maths and Science, to ensure learning time is maximised and wellbeing education can be learnt in a variety of contexts.

Positive Behaviour Data

Congratulations to the winning classes Prep A and 2B who had an amazing attendance rate for Week 4. Their attendance rate was 95.23% for the week!

Remember, every day you are away is a learning day lost. The school goal is to reach 94% or higher.

NAPLAN will be occurring later this term for our Year 3 and 5 students. The purpose of NAPLAN is to assess the literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at school. NAPLAN is about assessing learning progress and is not about passing or failing. Encouraging your child to do the best they can on the day is the best approach for preparing your child

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher as a first step.

Participation

All students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are expected to sit the NAPLAN tests unless they are withdrawn by their parents/carers or exempt. An information sheet will be sent home this week to all Year 3 and 5 parents.

Withdrawals

Parents can withdraw their child from the tests by notifying the school in writing before testing. Withdrawal is intended as an option to acknowledge religious beliefs and philosophical objections to testing.

Test Timetable

Below is the test timetable for Calliope State School in 2025.

Did you know that Calliope State School offers Centrepay as a convenient payment option? We understand that managing school and other expenses can be challenging, especially at the start of the year or when there are multiple siblings enrolled. That’s why we offer several ways for parents to manage payments, including Centrepay.

What is Centrepay?

Centrepay is a free, voluntary service provided by the Commonwealth Government to Centrelink payment recipients. Eligible parents can use Centrepay to make regular, automatic deductions directly from their Centrelink payments to cover school fees and other expenses.

If you would like to set up a Centrepay Payment Plan, simply contact our office to schedule a quick 10-minute appointment with the school's Business Manager.

For more information about Centrepay deductions, please visit: Centrepay Information.

How it Works:

• Each Centrepay deduction to the school incurs a small fee (currently $0.99) to cover Centrelink’s administration costs, but this fee is not passed on to parents.
• We recommend a minimum deduction of $10.00 per student, paid fortnightly, to cover school fees.
• You can choose a specific end date for deductions or set a target amount, and once that target or end date is reached, deductions will automatically stop.

Centrepay is our preferred method for setting up payment plans, offering a straightforward and stress-free way to make regular payments.