August / September 2024

News from the Principal

Welcome to the second half of Term 3.  It has been a busy and productive 6 weeks to date.  What has been especially pleasing is seeing every student who comes through our school gates each day trying their best and engaging in quality learning opportunities. 

Massive congratulations to all of the 17 students who recently represented Rosella Park School at the Port Curtis athletics day.  From all reports every student tried their very best in all the events they trialled in.  We all eagerly wait to hear how the students who made it to the next level of representing Port Curtis at the Capricornia trials go.  Watch this space for some exciting updates.

With the departure of Tracey Davis as our HOD of Curriculum (HOD C), I recently went through a recruitment process to fill our vacant HOD C role for the remainder of 2024.  After completing the recruitment process, I can share that our new Acting HOD C is Samantha Davies.  She will be joining our team over the coming weeks.  Please join with me in welcoming her to our Rosella Staff team.

Currently I am working with the leadership team and our teaching staff in preparation for our upcoming school review (week 1 Term 4).  Every Queensland state school undergoes a review at least once every 4 years.  The majority of schools are designated one of 2 types of review – either a school review fully conducted by the Department of Education School and Region Reviews (SRR) branch, or a school-led review conducted by the school and then validated by SRR. This year, Rosella will be undertaking a school review fully conducted by the Department of Education and Region Reviews Branch.  The reviews play an important part in supporting school improvement. They provide schools with quality feedback, tailored to their context and needs.  I will be able to use the review findings to work with our school community and school supervisor to develop clear actions to move the school forward. 

So, over the coming weeks, I will be reaching out to a number of parents who are willing to be nominated to engage with one of the three reviewers who will be at our school for 3 days starting Tuesday 1^st October until Thursday 3^rd October.  If you are interested, please contact me and let me know.  I will also make contact with families to encourage them to participate.  I genuinely look forward to hearing the feedback, so that we can continue to improve our practices. (Please see the attached parent information sheet).

I just want to continue to thank our families and carers for their continued focus on ensuring your child is attending school every day.  We are still achieving above 80% attendance (currently 82%).  It has been a number of years since the average has remained above 80% consistently across a school year.  I am hopeful we can keep this trend going.

Please call the school on 4976 8333 if you know your child will be absent so that we can document it as an excused absence.

Until our next newsletter, please take care and we look forward to working with you to maximise each day your child attends school. 

News from the Deputy Principal

Dear families,

Mental health in schools is crucial as it directly impacts students’ ability to learn socialise and thrive. Addressing mental health helps reduce and take down barriers to academic success; it improves students' social and emotional regulation and it makes sure that we are able to include everyone equally. Early intervention and being able to be resilient are used to prevent long term issues and ensure that students develop into well rounded emotionally healthy adults. Please read the information below from Beyond Blue in ways to manage resilience.

Best,

Dominique Colucci

News from Administration

Student Absences:

A reminder for all parents and carers that the correct process for reporting student absences is through the absentee line, or via SMS or email admin@rosellaparkspecs.eq.edu.au. Please DO NOT DOJO the class teacher as they may possibly be absent themselves. It is also essential if your child travels on contract transport to advise the carrier of your child's absence.

Late arrivals or early departures:

Any students arriving late to school or departing early must come through the administration office be signed in or out by the parent or carer. 

Transport arrangements:

If you make alternative drop off or pick up arrangements for your child, please advise the school. It gets very hectic at the end of day and the process happens more smoothly if we are aware of any alterations. It also avoids your child from becoming stressed or anxious about getting home.

Thank you for your assistance with these matters.

Pupil Free Day:

A reminder to our families that Friday 30th August is a pupil free day.

School Colour Fun Run:

This event is happening on the last day of term 3 (Friday 13th September) so it is fast approaching. The event itself is so much fun, with a visit from our firies (both rural and regular). The students love it, as do the staff. It is recommended that due to the colour powder and water, students wear old clothing and shoes. Also, please send in a change of clothing for your child. Being Friday the thirteenth, and the last day of term, we have decided to incorporate a free dress day, face painting and spooky themed disco for the students. They can dress in their spookiest outfits if they so choose.

We would like to encourage all families to create their profiles on the school fundraising website (www.schoolfundraising.com.au) and start your fundraising journey to earn great prizes. You can see what prizes are on offer on the website.

The prize ordering window will be open from Tuesday 9th September and will close on Thursday 12th September. Please don't hesitate to ask for my help to order prizes if you need it.

News from Junior 1

We are powering through term 3 in Junior 1 and all students have been very busy bees. We have been working hard towards our semester goals and have practically enjoyed our sequencing activities. Making toast and ice-cream has certainly been a favourite among the students. Our sensory ABC activities are also still a favourite in Junior 1. Over the course of the day however, we do tend to get a little messy so can I please remind all families to ensure your child has a spare change of clothes in their bag each day as we often need to change throughout the day.

Over the last two weeks however, we have turned our attention to Book week. The students proudly made a wonderful window display showcasing their artwork and creations around two of our focus books - “Pete the Cat’s Magic Sunglasses” and “The Magic Train Ride.” If you haven’t already done so, I invite all parents to have a little look at our window next time you visit the school. On Friday, all students will participate in our book week parade. We will be dressing as Pete the Cat and we have also been busy making a train to go along with our costumes. More information will be sent home via communication books and Dojo regarding costumes and parade time. I hope everyone has a wonderful book week!

News from Junior 2

Junior 2 have had fun reading the story, The very hungry caterpillar.  The students have worked to sequence the events in the story and match the fruit to the corresponding day.  We finished off our reading of the book by looking at some real cocoons and talking about what would come out of them.  The students worked together to show the life cycle of a butterfly and display this on a chart.  Jax especially liked this book and was able to read it to staff and his peers.

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News from Junior 3

 Hello families,

Can you believe we are already half-way through the term! At the start of term 3 students participated in the NAIDOC week events.  They enjoyed the craft activities, creatively spray painting onto a sheet and the fantastic dance session held in the library. Thank you to all involved in putting this event together; Junior 3 students had a wonderful time. Each week this semester we will be transitioning as a whole class to the Library and Adventureland of an afternoon. Students are thoroughly enjoying accessing these areas and will eagerly practice lining up at the door and walking there together.

Thank you

The Junior 3 team

News from Intermediate 1

Welcome to a busy Semester 2.  This semester students have already begun exploring their individual goals for English, Maths, Science, Japanese, Art, History and Geography. Students are really enjoying Japanese classes with Mrs Thornton. They are picking it up relatively quickly and enjoying coming back trying to teach me. Just a reminder Book Week Parade on Friday 23^rd of August at 9am. Students are to dress as their favourite story book character and have fun.

News from Intermediate 2

Intermediate 2 are enjoying term 3 and each of the subjects that we are learning about this semester.  We are continuing our work with phonics and learning about the sounds that the different letters make. In numeracy, we are learning about the duration of different activities, as well as learning to add two single digit numbers. We continue our cooking program this term and made some cupcakes as a gift for one of our staff support workers. In our History lesson we are learning about our own personal history and recognising significant events in our lives so far.

News from Intermediate 3

As part of our Science unit, we are growing lots of things in Intermediate 3. We are growing sunflowers and avocados. We are also watching a butterfly chrysalis hatch. Watch this space to see our progress....

News from Intermediate 4

Term 3 has been a bit crazy for our little class! So much sickness and different reasons for the students, our aides and myself to be away on different days. We have not had many days with all of us there. Despite this everyone is still doing well, and we are making progress on our learning.

A huge focus for this term has been the Olympic games and learning about different places and different activities people do in places. We also have been doing different activities in different places, such as races on the oval, ball games in Adventureland and target games on the grass. The boys have all been able to communicate what they do and don’t like doing and it has been fun learning more about their interests.

This week we are starting to get ready for Book Week which is from the 19^th – 23^rd August. The Book Week parade at Rosella is on the 23rd August and it will be great if the boys have costumes for it. We have been focused on reading the book “Room on the Broom” and are making decorations based on that book for in and around our classroom. Angus has been laughing like a witch and Khiann is great at making the animal noises for the cat, dog, frog and bird.

I’m away for all of book week myself as I am heading to support students at Athletics and Cross-Country events; but I look forward to seeing lots of great photos.

For the rest of the term, we will be turning our focus to communication and engaging with peers during activities. We are going to do some planting, cooking, building, writing and work as a team to learn together. The boys will have lots of opportunities to communicate with each other and work together.

Thanks to all of you for getting the individual curriculum plans endorsed and back to me, the goals are set, and assessment will happen in Term 4.

News from Intermediate 5

Every morning, we have our fruit break and talk about the importance of eating healthy food like fruit. In Intermediate 5 we have also been learning numbers through play and cooking. The boys love their food, so they really enjoyed making fruit kebabs with banana, strawberries, kiwi fruit and pears. As we put a piece of fruit on the kebab stick, we counted each one, but the best part was eating the fruit at the end.

News from Intermediate 6

The dynamics have been interesting in our classroom, with the Winter sickness wand spreading its’ love to many. Miss Nicole has been welcomed into our room. She probably thought she was in for an easy ride, with only a handful of days when all our students were present. It’s wonderful to see their happy and healthy faces once they have recuperated from any bugs… 🐛

We’ve added a few extra layers to our morning routine to practice: choosing the days of the week, weather and identifying how we feel, individually. We continue to get our hands messy with different mediums, during artwork and sensory play. Slime has been a big hit this term.

This week we’ve been busy preparing for book week, and I can’t wait to dress up as someone magical for our parade on Friday. We’ve made magic wands, but we can’t unveil them yet. Make sure you get those magic costumes out for the kids to dress up in!

We’re looking at living and non-living things in Science and have grown a Starfish in water (not a real one).

We’ve also been looking at patterns in Maths, particularly nature and animals, because they look amazing. Everyone is pretty switched on when it comes to completing patterns.

News from Senior 1

It has been a wonderful experience being in Miss Cindy's class for the past 7 weeks and I know how much they have been missing her but we have enjoyed some great learning experiences and fun while she has been away. Particularly, in Science we have been learning about living things and how the environment and conditions affect how things live and grow. We have trialled some experiments, some which worked and some that didn't. The grass seed head experiment has shown the best progress and I love how each one turned out differently with its own unique 'hairdo'. Growing seeds in different mediums has also been interesting as we discovered that seeds are able to grow in bark, sand and even cotton wool! 

Thank you so much to the Senior 1 class, particularly Miss Rhonda for all your help and for making my time so enjoyable and you will still see me around the school. - Miss Amy

News from Senior 2

During Term 3, students in Senior 2 have continued to focus on improving their skills in English, Maths and Science, with a new set of goals in each subject.

In English, we have continued to focus on improving our reading and we are developing our ability to relate characters and situations in various texts to events in our own lives. In Maths, we are learning about money, with our key priorities being counting Australian notes and coins and calculating correct change. We are also learning to tell the time and use a calendar.

Our Science focus has been on learning how different environments impact on living things. The students in the class have created an experiment that has involved planting broad bean seeds, placing then in various areas of our classroom and observing how they grow.

In Geography, we are learning about how different people use different environments. We are going to be using East Shores as our focus – the class particularly enjoyed our first visit during Week 4. In Term 4, we shall be using the HMAS Gladstone at East Shores as our theme.

I shall continue to put up pictures of our class activities on ClassDojo. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the Senior 2 programme.

News from Senior 3

This semester the students are studying Visual Arts with the focus on Where and Why people create art. Through their research they realised that lot of Australian Indigenous art was created to share information and local knowledge.

During NAIDOC week celebrations, Senior 3 created an artwork, a map of L Block to show their connection to country where they work and play.

News from Senior 4

Can you believe it, we are in August already? Another busy term full of learning has been happening already. Here is a glimpse of what is happening in our class.

Math Curriculum involves:

• Connects events and the days of the week.
• Explains the order and duration of events.
• Groups objects based on common characteristics and sorts shapes and objects.

English Curriculum involves:

• Recalls one or two events from texts with familiar topics.
• Understands that there are different types of texts and that these can have similar characteristics.
• Identifies connections between texts and their personal experience.
• Reads short, decodable and predictable texts with familiar vocabulary and supportive images, drawing on developing

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns, either by using the communication book or ClassDojo.

Mr Shaun

News from Transition 1

What a great start to the semester we have had.

This term we have welcomed a new student to the classroom. Oscar has joined in really well and we have been enjoying having him with us and showing him all our programs.

We have been busy preparing an amazing Book Week display that is bound to wow and amaze the judges. We are hoping this might be the year that we take down our Transition counterparts! Tell us what you think!

Five of our classmates have qualified at Port Curtis level for Athletics and will head to Mackay for the Capricornia trials early next week. We are all very excited to see how they go and are very proud of their efforts!

We have been busy starting our new subjects under our vocational training program, where we are continuing to build on workplace skills and post schooling options. We are excited to see how this goes and the opportunities that may open up from this point.

Don’t forget it is Pupil Free Day on 30^th August.

Miss Sally & Miss Simone 😊

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News from Transition 2

Another busy month has passed. In Transition 2 we have been enjoying our time catching up with the Endeavour Learning and Lifestyle group. We went to Tannum Sands Esplanade for our first BBQ session. We enjoyed some great hamburgers cooked by Jesse, Jessy and Tyler. We enjoyed lunch out at the Harvey Road Tavern. The food was great, and we enjoyed talking to the clients from Endeavour. We have been busy getting our Tuckshop and Café up and running again for this semester. Our first Café menu item will be quiche, chips and salad. So far, we have had a slow start to our leisure program as we focus on preparing for book week. Our classroom window display is coming along nicely and so are our colouring in competition entries. We look forward to the book week parade this Friday (23^rd August).

We have several students from our cohort taking part in the Capricorn Track and Field Trials in Mackay on Monday and Tuesday and we wish them all the best of luck.

Don’t forget it is a student free day on Friday the 30^th of August.

Japanese and Visual Arts

Students in Years 5 to 8 have started learning Japanese for the first time at Rosella Park School this semester.  I am very happy to see their positive attitudes and amazing efforts in trying something new.  It is impressive to see their engagement and how quickly they are learning about language and culture and having fun at the same time. Some students have tried ‘Mukimame’ shelled soybeans, some loved it, and others were not so enthused!   All the students have been learning how to introduce themselves and greet others in a polite and respectful way.  They are also learning about the seasons of Japan, interesting places and facts about Japan, numbers and colours and Japanese artists and their artwork.  Did you know there are over 40,000 convenience stores such as 711 in Tokyo?

In Visual Arts we have been looking at where and why various artists produce artwork and how some make art to tell a story, give information about a place or to show feelings.  We have all been having fun experimenting with printmaking, watercolour, acrylics and collage.  In Japanese, students have learned about the importance of cherry blossom season in Japan and decorating lanterns with a cherry blossom theme.  Some students have painted koi fish in a lily pond.

Some of the Japanese language students have been learning:

Konnichiwa = hello

Sayounara = goodbye

Oishii – delicious

Arigatou – thank you

Carolyne Thornton

Japanese and Visual Arts Teacher.

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Athletics

 The season for Athletics is here again!

We had 17 students attend Port Curtis Track and Field and they all did an amazing job. Everyone got some personal best times and distances. All the students showed they were able to be patient with and supportive to each other during the events. My personal favourite moments were when we had young and old students together cheering on other students; you could see the young Rosella Athletes learning to cheer and encourage others from the fantastic older role models.

The next event is coming up fast – the 19^th and 20^th August in Mackay – we have 13 students who have confirmed they are going to compete in Mackay. Miss Sally and I (Miss Harris) will also be attending.

Kayden S from Inter 4, Jack from Inter 2, Sami and Jayden from Senior 1, Tyriq from Senior 2, Rory from Senior 3, Tehmarni from Senior 4, Jessy, Jack, Holly, Joshua and Tyler from Transition 1, and Jesse from Transition 2.

It is great to see students from all age groups (10-19yrs) have qualified and can make the journey to Mackay. This year parents have rallied together to fundraise to lessen the financial burden of the trip north and have done an amazing job. Special thanks go to Shannon Grice who organised the $1,600 donation from Amatrine Supports and also organised the raffle that is estimated to bring in another $1,500+. I have also struck up a community connection with M.A.C.E (Motorcyclists Advocation for Child Empowerment) who have donated $100 per athlete this year and are committed to helping more in the future and dedicating some events to raising money for Rosella Athletics. They are also going to come in to the school and support other activities we do, which will be really exciting for all!

We will have to wait and see how everyone goes in Mackay, but it is likely a few will qualify to compete at the State Championships in Brisbane which is 8^th – 10^th October for the 10-12yr olds and 11^th-14^th October for the 13-19yr olds. I’ll be attending both Brisbane events so will get to help the athletes there.

Going forward I’ll send another letter about athletics training times at Rosella, and I look forward to working with all the athletes to make an even stronger team for next year; though we will need to work hard to fill the footsteps left behind by the 4 athletes who are grade 12 so this is the last year for them.

If any athletes (including those who have finished school; or aren’t yet old enough to join in here) want somewhere to continue their athletics journey the Gladstone Athletics Club have age groups from 5yo – Masters (adults). The sign on day for that this year is 24^th August 9:30am at Derby St.

Thanks also to Miss Sally and Miss Ash for volunteering their time to help with training and preparation. We have a really strong team of staff, students and families which are sure to keep excelling.

Community News