Dear Queenscliff Parents and Carers,

As we head towards the end of Term 2, it is always a wonderful time to reflect on the exciting learning experiences, adventures and opportunities our students have gained throughout the past ten weeks. Students have been engaging in rich learning experiences daily, undertaking a range of different excursions including ‘Farm My School’ and visits to the Queenscliff Historic Museum, camp adventures for our Year 3 to 6 students and sporting opportunities including Lightning Premiership. In addition to this, it has been a pleasure to see our parent and grandparent volunteers assisting in the Prep and Year 1 classrooms supporting our students with their literacy and numeracy skills. It has been a busy, fulfilling and rewarding term. I am grateful for the energy, expertise, passion and enthusiasm that each one of our QPS teachers and education support staff show each and every day to make our school a thriving, engaging and supportive environment to learn and play. Thank you!

Farm My School Year 5/6 Excursion

On Wednesday 19 June, our Year 5/6 students ventured on an excursion to Bellarine Secondary College to a ‘Farm My School’ excursion as part of their Science unit on ‘Healthy Soils’. Students went on a tour of the working farm, completed a dig and compare activity learning about soil health, including carbon and PH levels, and explored processes related to effective composting. Students and staff returned buzzing with excitement sharing their new understandings about worms, soil and plant life cycles.

New 5/6PH Classroom Teacher

Mrs. Yvette Hurley, has been appointed as Classroom Teacher for 5/6PH on Mondays and Tuesdays for the remainder of the year. Yvette is a highly experienced and knowledgeable educator with over 20 years teaching experience in state, independent and catholic primary schools. She has experience as a Classroom Teacher, Learning Support Teacher and in leadership positions, including, Head of Curriculum and Year Level Coordinator, at her previous schools. Yvette is deeply passionate about education, and has comprehensive curriculum knowledge and employs evidence-based practices to support student wellbeing and differentiation.

Yvette will commence teaching 5/6PH in Term 3 on Tuesday 16 July, following the Curriculum Day on Monday 15 July. Students in 5/6PH have already had an opportunity to meet Yvette this week and some students have written letters to her telling her about themselves and how they learn best. Mrs. Hannah Petrie and Mrs. Morgan Lee Hickey will have a handover with Yvette next week to ensure important information and data is shared about each student, so that she is prepared and informed before the commencement of Term 3. Mrs. Hannah Petrie will continue her role as Classroom Teacher on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for 5/6PH.

Year 3/4 Travel Expo

Parents and carers are invited to attend the Year 3/4 Travel Expo next Friday 28th June from 10:00-11:00am in the Year 3/4 classrooms following assembly. Students have been working hard over the course of the term as part of their Geography based unit to learn about a chosen country of the world. Students have developed travel brochures showcasing information, highlights and cultural experiences from a vast range of countries. We hope to see you there.

Semester 1 Reports

Semester 1 student reports will be available for parents and carers via Compass on Thursday 27 June 2024. I encourage all families to take time to carefully read and review the reports to gain an understanding of your child’s achievements and successes from Semester 1 and to learn about their next steps for their learning journey. I commend the time, effort and expertise our teachers have put into writing these reports for each of our students.

Term 3 Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on Tuesday 23 July, 3:00-6:00pm and Wednesday 24 July 3:00-5:00pm in Term 3. Parent Teacher Interviews are a wonderful opportunity for parents and carers to meet with their child’s teacher to learn about their learning achievements and goals for Semester 2. Bookings for Parent Teacher Interviews will open in the first week of Term 3 on Tuesday 16 July on Compass. Parents and carers who wish to meet with Specialist Teachers will be able to do so only on Tuesday 23 July.

Financial Voluntary Contributions

We have had 45% of our families make voluntary financial contributions to our school over the past two terms and at the end of 2023. These contributions have gone towards covering the costs of student stationery, books, learning resources, specialist program resources and equipment and online subscriptions that were purchased for students at the beginning of the year.

Whilst I understand at this time, many families are experiencing financial hardship and difficulties due to the current climate and costs related to rising interest rates and inflation, we would greatly appreciate it if families who have not made a contribution as of yet, to consider doing so. As a result of having a significant reduction in the number of families this year who have paid voluntary financial contributions to our school, we have had to reduce budgets and costs planned for other learning programs, opportunities, gardens and grounds projects and whole-school initiatives to cover costs of learning supplies for students.

Voluntary financial contributions to our school are based on two categories:

• Curriculum Contributions of $370 - These financial contributions pay for curriculum items and activities, stationery, online subscriptions and resources for Specialist subjects.

• Other Contributions of a minimum of $50 - These financial contributions pay for non-curricular items, including playground development, improved technology and our School Building Fund.

We understand that many families may find it difficult to afford the above outlined financial contributions, however, we would be grateful for any level of voluntary financial contribution that is less than the suggested amount outlined by the school. All contributions make a huge difference to supporting our school in implementing engaging, inclusive and high quality learning programs and experiences, as well as working towards improving the grounds and gardens of our school. Thank you for your support.

Assembly

Parents, carers and friends are invited to attend our final assembly for Term 2 on Friday 28 June May at 9am on the basketball court. We will have students sharing their learning from 5/6PH, Prep and First Nations/Visual Arts specialist programs. We will also be presenting Excellence Certificates to celebrate the dedicated learning efforts of our students over the course of Semester 1.

Term 3 Curriculum Day

Term 3 commences on Tuesday 16 July. On Monday 15 July, teachers will be engaging in a Curriculum Day, so students will not be required to attend school on this day.

School Council

Unfortunately, due to a significant number of council members being unavailable on Monday 17 June, we were unable to meet this week. Our next School Council meeting has been postponed to Tuesday 16 July 2024. I look forward to meeting with our School Council to discuss school operations.

As we conclude Term 2, I hope to see many parents and carers over the coming week visiting our school. I wish all of our students and families a safe, enjoyable and relaxing Winter holiday break. Stay warm and I look forward to seeing you bright-eyed and excited for a spectacular Term 3.

Nyatne baa Gobata

(Thank you and take care)

Mat McRae

Principal

Grade 5/6PH News

This week has been an exciting time for our Grade 5/6 students as they presented their oral presentations on the theme "Events That Changed History." This project was designed to engage students in exploring significant historical events and understanding their impact on the world, while developing a range of skills related to writing informational texts. Students learned to structure their information in different formats such as timelines, reports, articles, documentaries, biographies, and interviews.

Some topics chosen by students included climate change, the space race, history of cars, women's rights, the titanic, and more. Each student/group selected a topic that interested them and conducted thorough research to prepare their presentation.

Students were given numerous activities to choose from, each with an assigned point value. Activities included creating a timeline of events, writing a detailed report, crafting a news article, producing a short documentary, creating a diorama, and more. Students needed to accumulate a total of 15 points to complete their project. This points-based system encouraged them to select tasks that matched their interests and strengths, fostering a sense of ownership and motivation in their work.

We are incredibly proud of the effort and enthusiasm our students have shown. Well done, Grade 5/6 students.

We hope everyone has had a wonderful week!

Today's information focuses on support for school refusal and Term 3 parent education sessions offered through the Parent Support Services of the City of Greater Geelong.

Responding to school reluctance or refusal:

New evidence-based parenting guidelines for parents of primary and secondary school-aged children who are struggling with school attendance. These guidelines are intended for parents who are worried about their child’s engagement with school and those whose child is already experiencing school reluctance or refusal.
https://www.parentingstrategie...

Parenting support services

Parenting support services focus on providing families with access to support and education programs. The service aims to:

• promote and enhance parenting and parent education
• identify service gaps
• provide parenting information to families, professionals and other interested community workers
• assist organisations to conduct parenting and parent education activities by providing facilitators and/or financial support
• identify parenting resources and programs available across the region
• develop and support networks between organisations involved with families
• improve links between the community and organisations providing parental support
• conduct programs and workshops for schools, community groups and the general public throughout the Barwon South Western Region.