INTSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Wow what a whirlwind year. Our program has seem many changes this semester, one being the concert band needing to split in half for rehearsals. We came together on one day and recorded our pieces for the Digital Music Concert which will be coming out very soon for Concert Band, String ensemble and the Calliope Choirs.

We are currently in the midst of recruitment for 2021 beginners, both for Woodwind, Brass, Percussion and Strings. If you haven’t got your form in yet, its not too late, any student from Year 2 can apply for testing. Queensland is the only state that offer free lessons and ensemble practice for students, so why not take this opportunity.

We can’t wait to get back to playing for an audience to show our stuff but for now watch out for our playing on the schools Facebook page. It’s looking a bit like Xmas.

Welcome to Week 2!

I would like to introduce myself as Acting Deputy Principal for Term 4.  I would also like to formally introduce Kylie Kettle as Acting Head of Department – Curriculum for Term 4.  We are both very excited to work with the Leadership Team and continue all the hard work in our improvement areas of WELLBEING, CURRICULUM and PEDAGOGY in our new roles.

COVID Procedures Update

We are very excited to announce some easing of COVID restrictions.  We are very impressed with our students’ ability to follow our routines and expectations around entering the school grounds. As such,  the Library and Office gates will now require students to hand sanitize independently when arriving at school and make their way to the supervised areas where they will be greeted by one of our on duty staff members.  The Library gate will be open at 8.30am.  If you or your child require further assistance in the morning before school, please come to the Office window and our friendly staff will be available to help. 

We are also now able to allow parents access to our school, by appointment only.  All adults entering our school will be required to sign into the front office and will meet with the staff member they have arranged an appointment with in one of our meeting rooms. 

We will also be having focus sessions where parents will be invited to participate.  Again, adults participating in these will be required to sign in through the front office and each session will be limited to 10 participants (due to the size of our room).  This will include our Prep parents when they visit.  See our section on Prep transitions for more details.

Our afternoon pick up procedures have been running very smoothly and will remain the same for Term 4.

School Swimming

Swimming starts this week.  It is compulsory that students wear appropriate swimming attire – they must wear a swim shirt, togs and a swimming cap. Goggles are permissible; however be aware, that some activities in the program expect the students to swim without the aid of goggles. For safety reasons, jewellery is not permitted to be worn in the pool.  Please see the timetable below for your student/s swimming timeslot.

Book Week Celebrations

Book Week will be held in Week 3 (next week), 19-23 October.  The theme is ‘Curious Creatures, Wild Minds’.  Students will have a dress up/costume day on Friday 23 October.  Rehersals are well underway for the annual staff performance. It will be shown during Book Week!

Year 5 ‘Camp’ Activities

Year 5 students attended ‘camp’ activities on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Week 1.  These activities included an excursion to Central Queensland University, team building activities, giant inflatables and an afternoon in the pool.  A huge thank you to all staff involved in the organisation and supervision of these awesome days. 

P&C Meeting

Please note the P&C Meeting will be held on Tuesday 13 October at 6pm.  In you are attending, please email the P&C for record keeping purposes – pandc@calliopess.eq.edu.au

Feedback Welcome

Calliope State School is committed to ensuring that ‘everyone at Calliope State School is working together to ensure that every day, in every classroom, every student is learning and achieving’.

We want to know from our parents, carers and students, what we are doing well, and if there are any areas we can improve on or do differently.

You can give feedback at any time to a staff member, coming into the school office, or leaving a message in our Suggestion Box (in the office foyer).  Please be respectful when providing feedback.

1) Arrange a time to speak with the class teacher as the first point of call.

2) If your concern is regarding the classroom teacher or a staff member, contact the office to speak with a Deputy Principal responsible for your child’s sector.

• Miss Raelene Norris is the P-2 Deputy
• Mrs Naomi Hughes is the 3-6 A/Deputy
• Mrs Rebecca Crapp is the A/Principal.

We ask that you refrain from using social media platforms to comment about issues or incidents involving our school. We have a great school with great students and staff and together we can continue to promote our school as a fantastic learning venue in our community. 

Kindest Regards,

Naomi Hughes

Acting Deputy Principal

We congratulate our Term 3 Principal’s Award recipients

Congratulations to 5D who had an excellent attendance rate for Week 1. Their attendance rate was 100% for the week! Also congratulations to the 12 classes which were at or above our school attendance target of 94% for Week 1. We are off to a great start for Term 4. Remember, every day you are away is a learning day lost.

Weekly Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)  

Welcome to Week 2 everyone. An exciting term for students as they get to participate in swimming at the pool this term. We are very fortunate to have the pool and to have Mrs Betts and staff on hand to help teach your child/children how to swim, which is why we are looking at Safety at the Swimming Pool as the PBL lesson this week. This involves: 

• Be lined up quietly at the start of each PE session; 
• Following all teacher/adult instructions whilst over at the pool; 
• Following the whistle prompts that Mrs Betts will teach; 

• Ensuring that we walk around the concrete; and 
• Slide into the pool slowly.  

Please take a moment to remind your child/children about safety at the pool to ensure that we keep everyone safe in the water.  

If kids are keen to get into some structured lunchtime activities we have a number of them on offer at Calliope State School. Below is the timetable and there is even one activity – 'Dance class' – which the lower school children can join in on. 

Lastly, Fantastic Fun Friday is on this week and the theme is Disco Party. Please remind your child/children to get their Stamp Charts in to be part of the fun.  

Thanks. 

Brian Rowe  

Student Welfare Teacher  

P&C News!

This week our P&C is supporting the school in their activities around mental health and wellbeing. Mental Health Week is being celebrated in Queensland from October 10th – 18th and the theme this year is Take Time for Mental Health. It is a week where we can shine a light on individual and community mental health and wellbeing, Please, take the time to look after yourselves.

QKR! – New Online Ordering App

All orders from the Tuckshop and the Uniform Shop must now be made using the QRK! App please. To download the app, head to your device’s App Store and search for QKR! Find the icon that looks like the attached image and install. You can set up your children’s profiles and order their tuckshop and uniforms in the one transaction.

If you haven’t closed your Flexischools account yet, you can do this via the App as the details below explain:

Open the app > click the second icon from the right (it looks like a person > click “account” > click “close account” > choose from the 2 refund options (if you have credit on our account) > click the green “close account” button > confirmation notice will appear

Tuckshop & Uniform Shop

Tuckshop will be open Tuesday – Friday each week until the end of the year. We are still cashless so all orders via the QKR! app please.

Uniform Shop is also only available via QKR! Once you have placed your order, please allow 3 business days for your order to be processed and delivered your child’s classroom. We are all volunteers with other responsibilities, but we will do our best to get your orders to you, as soon as possible.

Contact us via Facebook or via pandc@calliopess.eq.edu.au for any queries. We are always happy to help.

Next General Meeting – Tuesday 13^th of October at 6pm (TONIGHT) in the Conference Room. If members cannot attend, all apologies must be emailed also please. If you would like to become a member of the P&C, to have your say about what we are doing to support our school, come along to a meeting. New members are always welcome, and we would love to see you there!

We hope all of our awesome Calliope families have a fantastic week.

Your P&C Team

Tenielle, Sian, Bec & Kate

2021 Prep Transition

Thank you to all the families who have already enrolled their child for Prep in 2021. If you have not yet completed an enrolment form, please do so as soon as you can.

Enrolment Interviews

We will be holding more enrolment interviews this term. The dates will be 28 October and 5 November. The school will be contacting parents on the waiting list for an interview. If you have not already contacted the school for an interview, please do so by 27 October.

School Tour/ Parent Session

This year our school will hold small group parent tours and parent talks during out of school hours only. The groups will have limited numbers and you MUST book a time to participate in a tour. Only parents of students already enrolled for 2021 are able to join a tour group. This is for parents only, no children are able to participate due to the limited numbers. Dates are Monday 26 October and Wednesday 28 October, before school and after school. Please contact the office on 4975 8333 or admin@calliopess.eq.edu.au to book a tour.

Student visits to the school and classrooms will happen later in the term.

Video Prep Tour

Our current Prep students have made a video with Mr Rowe all about being a Prep student. The video will be uploaded to our Facebook page this week, so please keep an eye out for it! They are a very talented bunch.

Mental Health Week is internationally recognised and happens between Sunday 10 October and Saturday 17 October this year. The aim of Mental Health Week is to increase the mental health of all through encouraging healthy coping behaviours, reducing the stigma associated with mental illness and fostering positive relationships. We see the week as a wonderful opportunity to promote skills which help prepare students to deal with the ups and downs of life. 

The theme for Mental Health Australia’s day this year is ‘Take Time’ for Mental Health. In thinking about this theme, it is evident that schools and classes could choose many different ways to promote the mental health of those in their community. At Calliope State School, we have chosen to focus on a specific aspect of individual wellbeing, taking time out for yourself and each other. We have arranged a week full of activities for the staff and students, where they can take time for themselves or join in with their friends to have a good time.