Dear Queenscliff Parents and Carers,

Time flies when you are having fun! We have reached the final week of a busy and engaging Term 3. Before we embark on our school holiday break, it is important for us to take time to reflect on some of the key highlights from this term that have enriched the lives of our students, teachers and school community;

• The spectacular QPS Art Show - ‘It's Alive’ - The event of the year! It was truly magical. It was a brilliant celebration of our students’ creativity, imagination and perspective hosted in the Queenscliff community.

• Book Week - The amazing costume parade and exploration of quality literature

• Science Day - Students participating in hands-on experiments based on the concept of sustainability and endangered species.

• Toy and Book Fair - Raising over $360 to support Cottage by the Sea

• Athletics Days at Goldsworthy Reserve and QPS

• Parent Teacher Interviews - an opportunity to meet with you child’s teacher to celebrate their successes and achievements this year

• Pickleball and basketball clinics

• Year 3/4 Song Room performance

• Trivia for Nature fundraising at 360Q

• Year 5/6 Showcase at the Geelong Performing Arts Centre

• The ultimate Class Container Challenge that has promoted sustainability, care for our environment and collaboration.

Not to mention, the quality teaching and learning that happens every day in your child’s classroom. I am extremely grateful for the persistent effort, enthusiasm, professionalism and dedication embodied by our teachers and Education Support staff at Queenscliff Primary School each and everyday. They strive to provide a safe, inclusive and supportive learning environment for your children, encouraging them to aim high and supporting them to grow in confidence by taking up every opportunity available. I am proud of our staff at QPS.

Trivia for Nature

On Friday 6 September, our school hosted a ‘Trivia for Nature’ fundraiser at 360Q. It was a highly engaging and interactive evening where our school community came together to connect, fundraise and have fun. I would like to thank all of our parents, families, staff and community members who attended the evening and committed to the dress up themes. There were many different themes of costumes, from trees/nature, ‘country and western’ to german lederhosens. Our parent community is certainly a creative bunch!

In total, we were able to raise $3,179.20 from ticket sales, the raffle and silent auction. All of the proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards the Nature Play Space planned to be built in 2025 in our school playground.

I would like to take this opportunity thank Mrs. Hannah Petrie and Mrs. Ebony Tannouri who hosted the trivia competition and extend a special thank you to Lisa Golightly and Daniela Sayegh for all of their time, energy and support in seeking donations for raffle prizes and the silent auction items.

Thank you to the following businesses, families and community members who generously donated raffle prizes and silent auction items.

SRC Container Challenge

Over the past 10 weeks, the SRC has coordinated the Class Container Challenge. It has been a huge effort from students, teachers and our parent community. I would like to take this opportunity to thank your SRC and Ms. Teyha Robertson for coordinating the program. Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who have given up their time to collect their child’s class contribution on a weekly basis to deposit at a container centre. Overall, our school was able to raise $887.40 across all classes. The individual class results will be announced at assembly on Friday. Classes will have the opportunity to decide how they would like to spend their raised funds from the Class Container Challenge in Term 4. The Class Container Challenge has been a wonderful opportunity for our students to demonstrate leadership, care for their environment and gain a deeper understanding of the importance of recycling.

This challenge is a perfect example of how, when we work together, we can achieve great things.

Queenscliffe Community Market

Queenscliffe Community Market will recommence for this year on Sunday 29 September from 9am-2pm at Lower Princess Park. The Queenscliffe Community Market donates a significant contribution to our school to support learning materials, technology, playground improvements, gardens and wellbeing programs. From 2023/2024, the Queenscliffe Community Market donated $20,300 to our school.

The Queenscliffe Community Market could not run without the support of our parent volunteers who assist with the setup and running of the market. I extend my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to every family who assisted with the marker in 2023/2024 - your time, energy and effort has significantly contributed to the success of the market and as a result, raising enough funds for the market to give a generous donation to our school - a total of $20,300. Thank you!

Prep Transition 2025

On Tuesday 10 September, our school had our first Prep Transition session with our new prep students attending our school in 2025. It was a complete success! Our future Prep students had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Jackie Morris who will be their Prep teacher in 2025 and spend time in their classroom. Students explored the playground on a scavenger hunt to find magical items to add to their potions. We were impressed by all of the children that attended our first Prep Transition session and we look forward to their next visit on Thursday 17 October.

Victorian High Ability Program

Congratulations to Charlie High, Zuri Lapham, Jemma Sheridan who have been selected to participate in the Victorian High Ability Program for English in Term 4. Also, a huge congratulations to Jack McDonald who has been selected to participate in the program for Mathematics.

Assembly

Our final assembly for Term 3 will be held this Friday 20 September at 9:00am. We look forward to parents, families and friends of our school community joining us for our end of term celebration. We will have our Year 5/6 students performing, as well as 3/4TA and 3/4F showcasing their learning. The first assembly for Term 4 will be held in Week 3 on Friday 25 October 2024.

School Council

Our next School Council meeting will be held on Monday 21 October 2024. I look forward to meeting with our School Council members to discuss school operations, planning for 2025 and school budgets.

I wish all of our QPS families a safe, relaxing and rejuvenating school holiday break. Term 4 will commence on Monday 7 October 2024.

Nyatne baa Gobata

(Thank you and take care)

Mat McRae

Principal

Term 3 PE Wrap-Up

The past few weeks have been action-packed for our PE department! Here’s a quick recap:

QPS P-3 Mini Athletics Carnival

Our Prep to Grade 3 Mini Athletics Carnival was a huge success, filled with smiles and friendly competition. A big congratulations to all the students who participated in running, jumping, and balancing events. Special thanks to the students from Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College for helping with events and joining the fun races at the end of the day. Our carnival earned over 1,000 house points, and here are the final scores:

• Fraser: 234 points

• Gellibrand: 249 points

• Learmonth: 280 points

• Hobson: 304 points (winner!)

We would like to send a special thank you to all parents who attended, supported and participated in our fun day. We were extremely lucky to complete our events as the rain started.

Division Athletics at Goldsworthy Reserve, Corio

Ten QPS students represented us last Tuesday at the Division Athletics in Corio. Well done to all participants for their fantastic efforts! Here are the results:

Basketball and Tee Ball Lightning Premiership

The Basketball and Tee Ball Lightning Premiership, originally set for Term 3, will now take place in early Term 4. We’ll confirm the date soon once all schools finalize their schedules.

Footy Day

This Friday is Footy Day! Don’t forget to place your sausage sizzle order with your teacher or Mrs. Young in the office. We’ll have a fun student vs. teachers football game during lunchtime, followed by football activities for Grades Prep to 4 from 2-3pm. It’s sure to be a fun way to end Term 3!

Coach Ken and Cricket

Coach Ken has been back to teach our students some exciting cricket skills and drills. If you’re interested in more cricket fun, the Queenscliff Cricket Club is hosting a 3-day clinic starting this Sunday (22nd September) through to Tuesday (24th September). The cost is $20 per day, and you can join for one, two, or all three days. For details, contact the Queenscliff Cricket Club.

Kelly Sports in Term 4

Kelly Sports will be offering after-school fun for students on Wednesdays in Term 4. If interested, visit the Kelly Sports website for more information and to sign up.
https://kellysports.com.au/geelong

We hope everyone enjoys the school holidays and comes back ready for more sporting action in Term 4!

Yesterday, our students travelled to the Geelong Performing Arts Centre to participate in the Geelong Schools Music and Movement Festival. This fantastic event brought together schools from across the Geelong region, showcasing the incredible talent and creativity of students through music, dance, and performance. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to connect with others, celebrate the arts, and experience the excitement of performing in a professional setting.

The festival highlights the importance of fostering creativity, teamwork, and confidence in young people. It's a powerful reminder of how the arts can bring communities together and give students a platform to shine. We are so proud of our Grade 5/6 students who dedicated the past two terms to prepare for this event.

Their performances included a Matilda Mashup, a lively Better When I’m Dancin’ routine, a fun-filled Super Mario Dance, Mamma Mia performed by our talented school band, and an original song by the incredibly talented Beau.

We were blown away by what they achieved on the day and couldn't be prouder of their efforts. If you missed the event, videos of the performances are available below. The students will also be performing these numbers tomorrow after assembly, so feel free to stay and enjoy the show!

Thanks,
Mrs. Petrie