October 2020

Principal's Message

Welcome back to term 4! We hope you all had a great, relaxing break, and feel ready for the term ahead.

School Review

In week 9 of last term we had our school review, and we recently received our executive summary and review report. I have attached the executive summary below, and this will be upoaded onto our website shortly as well. 

As we would expect, the team pointed out some amazing work happening in the school, and also recommended some areas for improvement that will inform our next 4 year plan, which we will be documenting over the next few weeks.

One very proud moment for us as Principals was the overwhelming feeling from the reviewers that every member of our school community is passionate about student learning, and sees how important their role is in working amongst an amazing team to engage our learners each and every day they are at school. What an amazing culture to have! A huge thanks to our staff, families and extended community family for working so hard to make learning an essential yet fun focus at Rosella Park School.

Exciting Announcement - New Classroom Block

It was announced this week that Rosella Park School will be getting a new $9.5 million dollar classroom block. The 2-storey building will include 12 new classrooms, collaborative learning spaces, staff planning areas, a therapy room, a sensory room, a multi-purpose space complete with accessible kitchen, toilets and additional storage rooms.

We knew we had been approved for the design phase, and so we have been working hard with a project manager and architect, as well as personnel from Education Queensland to create the initial plans for construction. To move forward from this stage was always dependent on the application being approved, and a budget attached, so to hear this week that this occured was SENSATIONAL!!

The new building will go where our current rooms 10 and 11 are. This building will be relocated so that we have enough classroom space next year whilst the construction phase occurs. When the building is complete, the 3 old demountables in the middle of the school will be removed (YAY!!!!) and they will be replaced with landscaping, a bike track, some covered seating areas and some individaul sensory play equipment pieces.

Work is due to be completed so that we can be using the classrooms for the start of the 2022 school year. So so exciting!!

This is another step forward in making Rosella a state of the art Special School, with the resources and facilities our students and staff deserve. A few design pictures have been included below.

Attendance - New process to leave a message if your child will be away from school.

A key target for all Queensland schools is to improve attendance rates. Part of this is ensuring accurate information is recorded for student absences. At Rosella Park School we have recently updated our student absence process.

When students are away for the day or part of the day we would ask parents/carers to call our main phone number 49768333. You will then be asked to press 1 for absences or 2 to speak to reception. Please press 1 and leave a message indicating the child’s name, length of absence and reason for absence. This line is open 24/7 so you can ring at any time. We would ask this is done prior to 9.00am on the day your child is absent so we can accurately mark our rolls in the morning.

Please use this process rather than calling a teacher or using dojo – as these may not be relayed to the office in time for morning roll marking.

If the school does not receive a message, a text message will be sent out to notify you that your child is not at school. Please reply by text or again phone the school, press 1 and leave a message to explain the absence. We will also review the rolls regularly and if there are absences marked and no reason has been provided we will send home a list of absences and ask that you write the reason on the letter and return. The system currently prints out all absences but please check the list as we only need reasons for days marked absent with no reason (unexplained).

Hopefully this will ensure we get the process correct. If you have any queries please contact us.

Brekkie Club

This monday, we had our first Brekkie Club hosted by Chappie Cathy. When the students arrived at school they had the option of some toast, cereal, a muffin and/or a sandwich, and were then given the opportunity to have chats with their mates in the seated area in undercover. It was a fantastic way to start the week, and from all the smiles and hi 5's it is safe to say it was a huge success.

Brekkie Club will run each monday from 8.30 to 9am. It will be an optional activity for all students to participate in should they wish.

A huge thanks to Chappie Cathy, and her helpers Miss Carmel, Miss Tracey and Camille.

Pictures from Brekkie Club

End of Year Events

We have had numerous conversations over the past couple of weeks about what our end of year celebrations could look like with the current COVID restrictions and recommendations from the Department. We have come to the decison that we will host our End of Year Christmas Concert in week 9, however only one family member per family will be able to attend. More information will come out soon about the date and structure for the morning.

Our next P&C meeting is on Tuesday 27th October. We will discuss the P&C Family Christmas Party  and distribute information about this event following the meeting.

Yours Sincerely,

Kate and Peter

Deputy Principal

THANKYOU

So before we know it, week 1 and 2 is done and dusted for Term 4 and we are navigating week 3 already. I have had a fabulous introduction to the school, with many of the students creating posters for my arrival and my office being decorated with lots of glitter and balloons. The students have all been so welcoming and friendly. I have certainly been made to feel like part of the team from the moment I walked in the door. I do need to apologise though, for the terrible dancing and singing that was recorded and put onto Class Dojo, I think this might have been my initiation into the school, thanks to Mr O. Be sure to say hello when you see me in the school. I feel very fortunate to be a part of your child’s educational journey and I am looking forward to working with you all over the coming years.

BULLYING AND HARASSMENT – KNOW WHAT TO DO

Schools can be a fantastic place to be. The opportunities are vast, it’s full of friends and the learning experiences are different in every classroom.  For some students there are times where school can cause stress and anxiety. One such cause for this could be that a child is experiencing bullying and harassment from someone within the school community. So with this in mind it is important that we all know how to respond in this situation. Firstly let’s identify exactly what is bullying and what is not.

BULLYING is a deliberate action taken which causes an imbalance of power between two people.

HARASSMENT is unwelcomed behaviour which negatively affects another person physically or emotionally.

These behaviours include:

PHYSICAL

• Hitting, punching, pushing, spitting
• Sexual abuse
• Threatening students with any of the above
• Hiding, damaging or destroying property belonging to someone else.

NON-PHYSICAL

• Teasing, calling people names, gestures
• Telling smutty jokes or making rude suggestions
• Displaying offensive pictures, posters or graffiti
• Following someone home from school
• Pestering someone
• Sending offensive messages in writing or by mobile phone, internet, blogs
• Ridiculing, leering, wolf whistling or making hurtful comments about a person or a group
• Spreading rumours
• Belittling or ridiculing people based on gender role stereotypes

However, not all situations are classed as bullying.

When Is it Bullying?

When someone says or does something unintentionally hurtful and they do it once, that’s RUDE.

When someone says or does something intentionally hurtful and they do it once, that’s MEAN.

When someone says or does something intentionally hurtful and they keep doing it – even when you tell them to stop or show them that you’re upset – THAT IS BULLYING.

To Who do I report Bullying?

Any teacher, teacher aide, Mrs Slade, Mrs Hucker, Ms Colucci, Mr O’Sullivan, your Parents

What happens if it doesn’t stop?

• Report it again to the same person
• Report it to someone in the office
• Ask your parents to ring the school

Students, teachers, staff and parents all have the right to operate in an environment free from bullying and harassment. Everyone has the right to be treated as a worthwhile individual.

BULLYING & HARASSMENT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED AT ROSELLA PARK STATE SCHOOL ! L

Shelley Slade

Deputy Principal

Health and Safety - Canned/tinned foods in lunch boxes

We have had incidences at Rosella recently where a couple of students have cut themselves trying to open a can of food for their lunch. As such we have reviewed our risk management strategies and to ensure student safety for the future, we would like to request that any canned foods are opened at home, and put into a plastic container, ready for the students lunch. As always, these strategies are about keeping our young people safe in our school environment. Your assistance with this is much appreciated. Please do not hesitate to contact Shelley Slade, to discuss further, if you have any concerns. Thank you in advance.

Wear Red for Daniel day

Admin News

The last 2 days of Term 4 have been mandated as Pupil Free days by the Queensland Department of Education. Please be advised that the final school day for Term 4 2020 is Wednesday 9th December.

Room 1 (Junior) - Ms Atkins

Welcome back to our final term of 2020. We’ve had a busy time already celebrating several birthdays. Over the next 2 weeks, students will be completing final assessment pieces for moderation in week 5. Our current grade 2 students have started transition activities for their move to intermediate next year. These students have really enjoyed exploring the school and taking on new responsibilities. We have started planning some very exciting activities to celebrate Book Week with our buddy senior class. We can’t wait to get dressed up and share stories and fun activities with our new friends.

Room 2 - (Junior) - Mrs Wellsteed

Wow what a year it has been. It is amazing to think it is the last term already. We are all working and playing hard and developing our skills every day. Keep an eye out on class dojo for the highlights of our week. 

Room 2

Room 3 - (Junior) - Mrs Hayne

Welcome back to Term 4. It is hard to believe that the school year has flown so quickly.

The students have settled well into the routines of the classroom. This term we are continuing to focus on the Balanced Literacy. The class enjoy the books, songs, and sensory activities of the alphabet and writing.

During Maths, the students are exploring 2D shapes, investigating squares, circles, rectangles, triangles and sorting objects with similar features.

Our Health focus is about identifying actions to keep ourselves safe with water, fire, medicines, and poisons. We are having fun in Physical Education with play and regular activity keeping us healthy and well.

In HASS we have had an opportunity to celebrate some special events. Towards the end of last term, we made presents and cards for Father's Day and in the Week 1 the class celebrated Oscar's birthday.

Book Week is coming up in Week 3. On Friday 23rd October, we will be having our dress up parade and buddy class book reading. The students are invited to come dressed up as either a 'curious creature with a wild mind' or as their favourite book character. We cannot wait to see what the students come dressed up as.

Miss Leanne, Miss Laureen, Miss Leah and Miss Emily

Room 3

Junior cohort message

Junior staff are currently working to revamp the play area and to add new and exciting play experiences at lunch times. We are currently trying to create some new construction play areas and delve into loose parts play. We are asking if anyone knows builders or plumbers or who might have clean, unused leftovers and offcuts of PVC piping or plastic guttering to please send them in.

Room 4 - (Int/Snr) - Mrs Rossiter

Last day of term finished with an awesome rewards day and our class had a lot of fun playing on all the inflatables and it saw all the students going on most of the activities.

We have had a busy start to the term in room 4 and in Literacy 4 Blocks we have been writing about and reading “We are going on a croc hunt” students were able to make the connection between this and “We are going on a bear hunt”. We have also been exploring description, characters and making connections with students own experiences.

Maths has seen us exploring position and location. We have been venturing to familiar and unfamiliar areas within our school for example: walking from room 4 to another class or walking from room 4 to our fabric swing in the junior play area. This is always a fun activity as mostly we end up at the fabric swing and we always like having a swing on our new fabric swing.

Room 4

Room 5 - (Junior) - Mrs Coulston

Hello from room 5

We sent the last term off with a fun filled day which we all enjoyed immensely. All of the students were very keen to get onto the jumping castles, the staff were not as energetic though.

This term seems to be full of different events and we are already moving into week 3. We have been practicing mindfulness after morning tea each day. We have started by doing super hero poses and holding them for a few seconds. Eventually, we will be able to calm our bodies and focus on one thing at a time. This will impact every aspect of our learning and help us to better focus on our learning. It also ties into our Health and Physical Education curriculum.

As the days warm up, we are hoping to make use of more water play in our sensory garden. So the lessons we had about being sun safe will be put to good use.

Enjoy the recent photos of our students hard at work.

Room 6 - (Senior) - Mrs Buckle

Hi Mums, Dads and Carers, welcome to Term 4.

We have continued to be busy in the classroom. For English we are comparing the fiction to non-fiction genres, what do they have in common and how they differ; plus reading and writing onset rime families.

In our Maths lesson, we revised how to measure items using informal units, e.g. how many blocks long is the table, remembering to keep the blocks joined end to end. A highlight of the week is Art with Miss Mc, she has the most amazing ideas and everyone loves completing her activities.

PE sport on Monday afternoons continues to challenge us as we try our best and then compare our resting body reaction to our after-exercise reaction.

Everyone loves cooking. Charlie and Kitarna get weekly opportunities. The rest of the class get two turns per term, but they have to prepare something for the whole class.

Remember to work on your child’s Book Week costume.

‘Curious creatures, wild minds’ – we look forward to seeing what you come up with J

Room 6

Room 7 - (Senior) - Mrs Dunstan

In Senior 2, as part of our Mathematics and HASS studies, the students have been learning mapping and grid location skills.

They have created 'treasure hunt' clues as well as these terrific, colourful aliens using grid patterns.

Everyone had an enjoyable time putting their new skills to use in such a fun way.

Room 7

Room 8 - (Intermediate) - Mrs Thompson

Greetings from Room 8, the new Master Chefs of Rosella Park School.

Yes, we have started to learn about capacity and weight in our Math lessons this term by participating in cooking activities. So on Monday 12^th October we began this journey by preparing Quiches in our room. We first visited the Home Economics room to gather our utensils before Mrs T brought all the ingredients in that we needed to begin our preparations.

Then the fun really began :)

Beau helped cut the onions while Noah and Dylan carefully prepared the bacon.

Miss Kirsty then cooked both these ingredients in the fry pan.

Next, Carlo whisked the eggs and added the flour before Riley and Jesse mixed all the ingredients; adding the onion and bacon right at the end.

Mrs T had to cook the quiches for us after school so that the next day we could taste them and write about this new way of learning.

We all thought that we had been great chefs. We also thought that the Quiches tasted delicious !

Room 10 - (Senior) - Mrs Bickle

Ready, Set, Go!  Room 10 has hit the ground running this Term.  We are on fire, learning hard and ticking off goals.   We all really enjoyed the PBL rewards day and there was lots of smiles and laughter and only a few injuries (which were mostly our over ambitious and competitive teachers).  We are celebrating Miss Nicole’s and Troy’s birthday this term and will bake a cake to celebrate.  We also had an ‘unbirthday’ for Kassidy communicated that she had missed out because her birthday was in January before school started.

Our daily game of dodge ball has seen our movement skills and sportsmanship improve tremendously.  It does seem to be testing the teacher’s abilities out.   We have been learning lots about each other through our HASS (geography and history) lessons and how each family celebrates important events.   We have been exploring with the calendar and the seasons in maths and are looking forward to summer having some water fun.

The class all see themselves as writers and are enjoying writing captions for photos for a class book about what has happened in Room 10 over the year 2020.   It has been enjoyable to look at photos and think back over the year and recall all the things that have happened and everything we have done.

Room 10

Room 10 cont

Room 11 - (Transition) - Mrs Leeson

Wow, how fast is this year disappearing? Before we know it, Christmas will be here. The year 11 and 12 students have begun their post-school work experience with Endeavour Industries and Endeavour Learning and Lifestyle. The guys at Endeavour Industries spent their first shift doing book destruction. They all worked well and were a credit to the school. Keep up the good work! The students taking part in the Endeavour Learning and Lifestyle group will enjoy their first visit to a local pub for lunch.

Today in Room 11 Literacy, we listened to a podcast about “Whether kids should have GPS tracking devices attached.” After listening to both sides of the argument, they wrote about their thoughts on the idea.

Iteeca wrote that she didn’t feel it necessary to have a tracker attached as she has a phone that could do the same thing. She wrote that she would not like to be tracked.

Angel wrote that she thinks children should wear GPS trackers but not all the time. She feels she is mature enough to go for a walk by herself plus she doesn’t want anyone to know when she is in the bathroom. Angel wrote that “not all good ideas are good ideas!”

Michaela wrote, I think you should have a tracker on if you are known to do the wrong thing or you have a medical condition. I don’t think you need a tracker if you can be trusted not to do anything stupid and let your family know where you are going at all times.

Room 11

Room 12 - (Senior) - Mrs Ward

HASS - HISTORY

This term students will be looking at stories other people tell us from the past and how stories can be told and shared. We will be discussing how family and friends commemorate or celebrate past events that are important to them.

Stories of the past can be prompted by photographs and artefacts. I have always had the viewpoint that students are more driven to participate in learning experience related to real life. It would be helpful if you could provide photos of them growing up e.g. baby, toddler, child and teenager. They are free to bring any memorabilia of their family history, to share with the class.

Please send photos in with your child (we can photocopy them and return them to you the next day) or email them as an attachment to kward91@eq.edu.au

UNIFORMS

Although it’s not summer, the weather certainly is heating up already. Thanks to the wonderful parents and carers, every student in Room 12 already has a wide brimmed hat so the only reminder needed is a water bottle.

Fortunately we have access to a cold water drinking fountain, so their bottles can be filled on arrival to school and throughout the day as needed. Please ensure the water bottles are labelled with your child’s name.

BIRTHDAYS

Hip, hip, hooray!!!!! Allie turned 14 on the September school holidays. She celebrated her birthday with friends and family at East Shores. Shontae will be a teenager on the 22^nd October. Wow! Thirteen Shontae .... congratulations !

Room 12

Vintage photos

Room 13 - (Intermediate) - Mrs Nash

Welcome back to Term 4. What a different year we have had this year. I am proud to say that the Room 13 students have bounced back from everything and hit the ground running. I am very proud of each and every one of them for the effort they have put in. I am proud to say that all room 13 ICP’s have been endorsed, a big thank you to parents and carers for signing these and returning ASAP it makes my job a lot easier when I have wonderful parents/carers like you to help me out.

As a class we have decided that we would like to work towards an excursion. The favourite idea is (at the moment) McDonalds and a play at Lions park. I will send out more information around this towards the end of the term.

We will continue with our Literacy groups this term. It is showing to be working well being able to focus on the one strand and I happy to say I am seeing improvements everywhere. Communication is also an area where I am seeing vast improvement, whether it be verbal outlay or use of a PODD or P2go device all students are showing a great improvement in this area.

I’ll finish off with some pics from our recent PBL rewards day. The students all had an amazing time and can’t wait for the next one.

Room 13

Room 14 - (Transition) - Mrs Maguire

Welcome back to Term Four! Students of room 14 have already been hard at work in both maths and English to complete their individual goals for this Semester. The remaining week of school will be extremely busy with a modified Camp in week 6. Further information about camp should be sent home over the coming week. Students are excited and looking forward to the week of activities. Preparations have already begun for the school concert and graduation showcasing students’ achievements over this difficult year.

This is a very busy term for all the transition students. We have some important information dates for you to keep in mind. Good and bad news about our school camp. We have decided to cancel our planned camp to Brisbane but we are happy to announce that we will continue with a school based camp. We will have special activities/excursions all week. These activities will be locally based, including Rockhampton. Camp notes with all the details have been sent home. Please contact me if you have not received any notices.

Our second important date is for the year 12 students. Graduation has been booked for Friday 27^th November. We are just waiting for some final costings from Harvey Road Tavern before we can send notes home, so stay tuned.

Room 15 -(Transition) - Ms Harris

Room 15 students are working extra hard this term to get all their assessments and projects finished for the year. I have been impressed with how they have come back ready to learn.

I have been talking with the students about taking the time when they get home to do some things that make them feel good. As it is mental health awareness week, it is a great time for us all to remember to take time for ourselves.

It is so important to keep on top of our mental health and wellbeing, just like we take care of our physical health. Remembering to take time to relax and refresh, similar to when we take time to exercise or brush our teeth. The students have been trying different leisure activities in their leisure preferences subject and perhaps you could ask them what new things they would like to do at home.

Please remember to take care of yourselves as well, as parents and carers we so often forget to take some time for ourselves. It is really important we take care of our mental health so that we can be there for our young people. As the saying goes; we cannot pour from an empty cup.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me, on ClassDojo my name is Miss Harris and my email is charr512@eq.edu.au

School Fun Run

A huge thank you to those students who continued to raise money for our school fun run. A very big shout out must go to Artemis from Room 12 who raised an amazing $710.90 and received a medal and certificate for being the highest fund raiser. We acknowledge everyone's fabulous efforts and hope you all enjoy your well-deserved prizes.

A reminder to everyone that the actual school fun run is coming up on Friday 6th November. We have organised to have the Rural Fire Service and the Queensland Fire Service come along on the day (failing any dire emergencies) to provide the water for our wet play. This will kick off around 9:15 am; unfortunately due to COVID restrictions this event is not open to families.

Please send your child in with their swimming gear (boardies, rashie) and a towel for wet play. All students must come to school wearing their school uniforms. 

Community Notices

Gladstone Regional Council values and creates diversity and actively demonstrates our commitment to equality and inclusivity.

This year, Social Inclusion Week is held from 21 – 29 November, 2020, with the theme We would love your support if you could please add this to your newsletter and other networks.

Collect Collaborate Celebrate. Under this theme, the national message is for every Australian to have the chance and the choice to learn, to work, to be involved and to have their voice heard.

We are excited to present the following three programs in support of Social Inclusion Week 2020:

• My Backyard Story

We would love to hear your experience of social inclusion living in the Gladstone Region. Please share your story below and include a photo that best represents that experience.

Tell us why and how you have immersed yourself into the Gladstone Region Community and what brought you here. Tell us about your background, heritage and life journey.

Submission Dates: 19 October – 29 November

• Community Online Choir

Come together with fellow community members for a virtual choir, singing "Do Not Judge” by SingSongAlong.com, in honour of Social Inclusion Week 2020.

Listen to the song and then record yourself singing, dancing, signing or participating in any way. Then follow the steps below on how to submit: https://conversations.gladstone.qld.gov.au/social-inclusion-week-2020

Once we have all the submissions, we will collate the videos into one large choir ensemble, and the final version will be published on the Conversations platform on 23 November.

Submission Dates: 19 October – 2 November, 8am

• Community Art Project

Get creative with your ideas of what Social Inclusion Week is about and paint it on your own canvas! Each unique canvas will then be part of a larger artwork that will be displayed in one of Council's facilities. This is a great way to show how your individuality contributes to a wider community.

The Community Art Project is supported by the Gladstone Neighbourhood Centre and Department of Communities, Disability Services & Seniors.

Workshop Dates:

Wednesday, 25 November, 2pm-5pm

Thursday, 26 November, 9am-noon

Venue: Lions Park, Gladstone

Free, but RSVP is essential.

Please find attached the flyer for advertising or distribution to share this amongst your network and contacts.

As of Monday, 19 October, details on each project for Social Inclusion Week can be found on Council’s Conversation platform through the Virtual Neighbourhood Centre. The link will be available for use after 9am Monday: https://conversations.gladstone.qld.gov.au/social-inclusion-week-2020

Kind Regards

Michelle Lowry
Community Development Officer 

PO Box 29 Gladstone Qld 4680
Phone 07 4976 6361
Email Michelle.Lowry@gladstone.qld.gov.au l Website: www.gladstone.qld.gov.au