Welcome to Week Seven of Term One. This week we commence our NAPLAN tests for grades three and five.  We wish all our students the best. A reminder that there is no assembly this week due to NAPLAN. For 2025 our AIP (Annual Implementation Plan) priority is, “Building an expert teaching team to lead systematic implementation of the Australian Curriculum with a focus on reading.”  In the next few weeks students will commence their assessments for their first units of the Australian Curriculum.  These assessments contribute towards each student’s final grade on their report card at the end of the semester. 

Last week we launched our “nude food” program. Students were excited. Our aim is to improve healthy eating and decrease litter to our environment. Congratulations to our four students last week who won the raffle draw and received a ‘nude food’ product of their choice.

Equity and Excellence

• A key achievement for 2024 was the amazing response by Queensland state schools students and parents to the ‘Away for the day’ statewide approach to student use of mobile phones during the school day.
• Across Queensland and in our school, we have seen the increase in engagement in classrooms and the tremendous uptake of sports and games during break times—exercising our bodies and minds and making even better use of our wonderful facilities and the fantastic Queensland weather.
• Let’s keep up the awesome work with phones away to support learning, safety, wellbeing and mental health in 2025.

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

https://visionscreening.health.qld.gov.au/ParentalConsent/1111gCZF

Harmony Day

Harmony Day will be celebrated on Friday March 21. Staff and students are encouraged to wear orange on this day to support and recognise this special day.

RotaKids

RotaKids will be hosting a Crazy Hair Day on Wednesday March 26. Students are asked for a gold coin donation to participate in Crazy Hair Day.

Here we are, at Week 7 of Term 1; time is flying. 6A have been working like a well-oiled machine.

In Science/English, we’ve been hard at work with our Natural Disaster information report. The class have been researching about causes, effects on nature and humans, scientific collaborations and cultural connections of their chosen disaster, and they will turn that information into a multimedia information report presentation.

In Mathematics, 6A have are up to their next unit, which is Graphs and Data. Their first unit was Positive and Negative numbers, with Tessellations. The students have been identifying which types of graphs suit various data gathering questions, as well as creating their own types of graphs.

In Humanities, 6A are learning about the Federation of Australia, with a focus on Sir Henry Parkes, the Father of Federation. They have also learnt about the Australian Parliament, even with a visit from our local member Mr. Bryson Head, the member for Callide.

I would like to thank the 6A students for welcoming me here at Calliope State School. They have shown that they are safe, responsible and respectful learners.

Keep up the good work 6A!

PBL Lesson this week

This week we are focusing on having a go – coping strategies. As assessments ramp up, it is time that we discuss strategies that help us to cope with stressors. This week students brainstormed strategies, identified strategies that work for them and chose a new strategy they want to try. At home, discussing effective strategies that help when you and other family members are stressed.

GEM focus this week

The focus this week is “What are three things that went well for you today?” Discussing this at home after school would be fantastic gratitude practice.

How much time does The Resilience Project program take?

• Our Primary program has 30 lessons per year level which are designed to run for 60 minutes, but at Calliope State School we run 45min lessons once per week.
• Themes covered in the curriculum become an ongoing focus throughout the school.
• We have regular GEM chats and a GEM focus for the week.
• The Resilience Project works with the Social and Emotional Capability and connects well with the Kagan Collaborative Structures and PBL.

Positive Behaviour Data

Week 6 Attendance Data

Congratulations to the winning class 3C who had an amazing attendance rate for Week 6. Their attendance rate was 94.16% for the week!

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

Cross Country- Monday Week 10

Just a reminder Cross Country is coming up in Week 10. Mrs Betts is holding Running Club on the back oval on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (8:30am) in preparation for this. On the day, there will be age champion medals for 9,10,11 and 12-year old students. Students that are 10,11 or 12-year-old who place in the top five with a suitable time will get the opportunity to compete at the Port Curtis Cross Country Trials on Wednesday 7^th May, 2025 (Term 2, Week 3) at Benaraby State School. For Port Curtis trials, all runners must be able to complete their distance without walking. 

We are looking for volunteers to man checkpoints on the day. If you have completed the school’s mandatory training and would like to volunteer your time, please email Cathy Betts (cbett49@eq.edu.au).

Please make sure your child is wearing appropriate footwear on the day, and packs their hat and their water bottle.

Uniform Shop

Open Friday mornings before parade. Orders placed via the QKR app can be collected then. At the moment there is no EFTPOS available so plesae place orders via the QKR App.

What Are Your Goals for the P&C This Year?

Do you have ideas, skills, or a passion to help make our P&C even more successful? We’d love for you to get involved!

To continue the great work we’re doing, we need parents to step into executive roles.  To be part of this we are holding our AGM on the 18th of March at 5pm, all are welcome to attend.  All positions will be declared vacant at this meeting.

During the AGM, we will discuss our direction moving forward, including the possibility of reducing fundraising activities and focusing solely on the Tuckshop and Uniform Shop. This shift could impact our ability to contribute to school activities, which may result in higher costs for all parents.

Due to limited volunteer availability, we’ve had to postpone this term’s pizza day. Going forward, we may also face challenges with events like the Mother’s and Father’s Day stalls.

This is your opportunity to step up and support our school community!

A huge thank you to those who have already volunteered over the past few weeks. We look forward to meeting all the amazing parents who can spare some time to help at the AGM!

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. 

During Week 4 of this term, our Strings students had a workshop events with the one and only Mr Mark Sullivan! Our more experienced students went to Toolooa SHS on Tuesday, and learnt lots of new techniques including new notes, slurred bowings, and new time signatures. Our newest Strings recruits had workshops on Wednesday and Thursday at Gladstone West SS, introducing the magical world of holding and using the bow! Students also got to meet like-minded students across other schools in our region, making lots of music friends that they will continue to see at future music events. Thank you so much to families for organising your child’s transport to and from these events – it makes such a difference to their learning, and to their overall experience of playing music!