9 February 2016

Newsletter Articles

Leadership Team Report

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back to the start of 2016. I hope you have had a great break. We enjoyed a week on Fraser Island before coming back to school, although I am still finding sand everywhere!

This year we have welcomed Mrs Loretta Levis and Mrs Natasha Hooklyn to the Jones Hill team. Mrs Levis has year 2 and Mrs Hooklyn year 4.

Last week we went through the day 8 staffing process as in previous years. I am pleased to say we have planned well and maintained the 14 classrooms we started the year with.

During the Christmas break we had some works completed around the school. I am pleased to say that the prep buildings are now fully air-conditioned (just in time for the recent heatwave) and the administration building was completed and the staff has now moved in. The year 2 classes now have their feet under brand new desks accompanied by new chairs and tidy trays. They are looking very smart as well as being far more comfortable.

Our school attendance target this year remains at 95%. We are also working towards 'Unexplained' absences being 0%. If your child is going to be away for any reason please let the ladies in the office know. Green Afternoons will continue this year. If a student is in attendance 95% or more during the term and is on the Green Traffic Light or higher 95% or more of the term they will be invited to attend the Green Afternoon. The afternoon is an opportunity for those students to celebrate their great attendance and behaviour with an afternoon of fun activities and food.

I would like to acknowledge the Gympie Regional Council who have upgraded the front crossing with blister curbing over the holidays. You may have noticed a solid white line has also been added to the centre of the road. All these efforts in addition to our crossing supervisors have assisted in making our students safer when near the road.

Students have been reminded to only exit via the front gate near the crossing and the back gate at the hall unless with an adult. Students should not be waiting at the gate to the staff carpark for safety reasons.

Trash Free Tuesday. This week will see the start of the Trash Free Tuesday program. If your child brings a lunch box to school that does not contain any rubbish that adds to landfill they will receive a token. The token goes into the draw to win a free ticket to Australia Zoo. All they need to do is show their teacher the lunch box to receive the token. Good Luck!

Students very happy with their healthy, trash free lunches.

Canberra Trip

Pam Walsh, Manager of EducaTours of Australia, will visit our school at 6:30pm on Wednesday 17. Pam will be detailing for parents the trip that we are taking to Canberra in July. Pam will also be able to answer any questions that parents may have.

The Canberra excursion is from Sunday 10 July to Saturday 16 July. The majority of students have now paid their deposit. However, there are some families who have not paid their deposit and there are also some families who have not paid their full deposit and not made any payment arrangements. It is very important that we have a commitment from you all for this trip as we are about to book the seats with the airline. Final numbers need to be known by this Friday. After we know the exact amount of students attending, a final amount for the trip will be sent home.

Payment plans are working well for those families who chose to use this option. If you need a payment plan option, please let us know. Centrepay has been of great benefit to many families wanting their student to be able to participate in this great excursion.

Visiting Canberra and all the activities students will have the opportunity to participate in, makes this trip a very exciting and highly educational time for all students.

P&C

Last night we farewelled the outgoing P&C Executives and welcomed in the new committee for 2016. It was wonderful to see so many new faces at the meeting. A huge thank you to our retiring members for their contributions, hard work and all the voluntary hours that they put in. A warm welcome and congratulations to our new committee with whom we look forward to working with this year. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all P&C members.

2016 P&C Committee

President – Carmel Window
Vice President – Jason Zerner
Secretary – Col Morley
Treasurer – Louise Younger
Uniform Convenor – Kelda Krafft
Tuckshop Convenor – Jo McEwan
Fundraising Team – Sasha Baxter, Janessa Keogh, Terrianne Williams, Jamie Young
Grant Officer – Bree Gallbraith

School Focus: Why reading is one of our major focus areas.

Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don't, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures.

In fact, there's evidence to suggest that reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.

What difference can you make as a parent?

The short answer is: a lot! Parents are by far the most important educators in a child's life and it's never too young for a child to start, even if you're only reading with your child for a few minutes a day. Reading to children helps them to develop a love of reading and they will read for enjoyment as they get older.

Building vocabulary and understanding

Learning to read is about listening and understanding as well as working out print. Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a rich and wide vocabulary. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read. It's important for them to understand how stories work as well. Even if your child doesn't understand every word, they'll hear new sounds, words and phrases which they can then try out, copying what they have heard.

As children start to learn to read at school, you can play an important role in helping to keep them interested in books, finding out what interests them and helping them to find books that will be engaging and fun for them. Give time to helping them practise reading the books they will bring home from school.

Jones Hill Home Reading Program

Prep to Year 3 students will borrow three home reading books on a Monday. These books are set at a level that the students can read easily and enjoy. They will read books at a higher instructional level in class to develop their skills. Home readers are for practice and students will be given books they can read to build confidence and further develop fluency in their reading. Books must be returned by Friday.

Children in years 4 to 7 will borrow books they are interested in from the library to read at home.

All students will take part in the schools reading strategies program, parent evenings will be conducted throughout the year to explain these skills and strategies so parents can use them with home reading.

Struggling readers will always benefit from someone else reading to them. Below is a link to a website video of authors Michaela Morgan and Christopher Edge talking through their tips on how to read with your child.

Kind Regards,
James Watt and Helen Grogan

Events Calendar

Behaviour Awards

The following students received certificates at parade on Friday February 5 for following the school behaviour expectations –

RELATIONSHIPS

Madison K (PJ), Adelayde Z (PC) and Brock S (1B).

RESPECT

Ebony W (1BZ) and Thomas F (2/3N).

LEARNING

Amelia B (2L), Keira H (3S), Ethan H (3/4C), Axton F (4H), Daryon T (4/5W), Charlotte K (5/6L) and Alyssa W (5/6C).

ALL AREAS

Cooper R (5/6K) and Camryn W (2G).

Student Absences

It is a legal responsibility to notify the school of a student's absence and the reason for absence.

• NON - ATTENDANCE - Ring the school on 5489 0566 or send a note (slips attached at the end of Newsletter, more available from the school office). Please send notes straight to the school office.
• ARRIVING LATE - Students arriving at school after 9:00am MUST get a late slip from the office before going to class.
• LEAVING EARLY - Students leaving the school before 3:00pm MUST be signed out at the office.

Jake Garrett Foundation Day

Friday February 26 is Jake Garrett Foundation Day. On this day students can wear blue and bring a gold coin donation for the foundation. Each child that participates will receive an arm band on the day.

The Jake Garrett Foundation was established in 2013 by Helen Garrett after the death of her son Jake. The foundation aims to alleviate the burden of losing a child on families. They aim to create an environment of love and warmth to do whatever is needed at the very worst time in a parent's life.

Gympie Times

On Wednesday February 17 at 9:15am the Gympie Times photographer will visit our school to take a photo of our Prep classes. This photo will appear in their special 'Little Peoples Prep Edition' of the Gympie Times published on Wednesday March 23.

P&C News

Uniform Shop

The uniform shop sale times for 2016 will be every Friday 8:00 am to 8:45 am. If you are unable to attend at these times, order forms and money may be placed in the P&C box in the school office. Orders will be filled on the Friday and uniforms delivered to your child's classroom. Please click on the uniform order form below.

FUNDRAISING NEWS TERM 1 2016

We would like to welcome all new and returning families to Jones Hill for 2016. These are some of our fundraising activities we have for this term. We are looking forward to a great year of fundraising.

NRL FOOTY TIPPING COMPETITION

The fundraising committee has organised an NRL Footy Tipping Competition for this year. The competition is open to anyone - Mums, Dads, Grandparents, friends, etc.

Please consider joining, since the more people we have, the more prize money we can offer.

The cost to join will be $25 per tipper, which works out at only around $1 per week. Half of the funds raised will go to Jones Hill State School fundraising and the other half will go to the winning tippers.

If you wish to participate, please text Janessa on 0438 832 973 and include your full name. Hurry, since round one starts on Thursday 3rd March.

Tips are entered online on the oztips website. Go to au.oztips.yahoo.com and click on Join a Competition. You can sign in using a Yahoo!7 username and password, or click on Create Account and follow the easy steps.

Comp Name - Jones Hill State School
Enter the Competition Number: 314496
Password: jones

If you have any troubles, phone or text Janessa on 0438 832 973.

BUNNINGS BBQ

Our first Bunnings BBQ stall is on Saturday 12th March. Volunteers are needed to help cook sausages and serve. We are hoping to make the shifts shorter this year but to do this we need more volunteers. It would be great if you can spare a couple of hours either in the morning or afternoon as we are there from 8am -4pm.

If you can spare some time please contact Sasha 0409 429 242 or Janessa 0438 832 973

ELECTION DAY SAUSAGE SIZZLE

There is an election on Saturday 19th March. A sausage Sizzle and Home baking Stall will be held outside the hall on the day. We will require helpers for the day and also home baking. More details to follow in our next newsletter.

NON- UNIFORM DAY

A non -uniform day will be held in the last week of term. A theme will be provided later in the term as this is usually decided by the Student Leadership Group. A gold coin donation is requested.

The below stores offer programs that donate a percentage of your purchase to our school. If you already shop at these places just mentioning us or using a tag can help raise much needed funds.

IGA TAGS

IGA Supermarket Tags are available at the school office. Just swipe the tag when you put your groceries through at Drakes IGA and a percentage will go straight back to the school.

BAKERS DELIGHT DOUGH RAISERS PROGRAM

When you buy bread our school can benefit too!!

When purchasing items from Bakers Delight in Goldfield's Plaza mention Jones Hill State School before paying and a percentage of the purchase will go towards the school.

This money helps keep our costs down at Sports Day and Sausage Sizzles as we can use these funds towards bread purchases.

We look forward to a great year of fundraising and appreciate any help you are able to give. If you have any ideas for fundraising activities we would love to hear them. We can be contacted by either leaving a note in the P&C box in the office or by email pandc@jonehillss.eq.edu.au

Kind Regards,
Jones Hill State School Fundraising Committee

Lost

1 new named McPaul (Blue/Green) bucket hat. If found please return to Cooper S in PJ.

Tennis Coaching/Hot Shots

Gympie and District Tennis Association Coaches Brett Cottrill and Matt Watkins will commence coaching/hot shots program from Tuesday 9th Feb at Jones Hill State School. Groups will be held on Tuesday (yr 5, 6), Wednesday (yr 3, 4), Thursday (yr 2) or Friday (Prep, yr 1) lunchtimes from 11.00am to 11.40am for a MINIMUM BLOCK OF 7 WEEKS. Costs will be $70.00/pupil, $130.00 for 2 or $175.00 for 3 children in the same family. Loan racquets are available each week. Groups will be arranged according to skill and year levels.

Please return this form to the office by Tuesday 9th Feb with the following completed:

For more information phone Brett Cottrill 0417 746 795.

Please make cash payment or cheques payable to Brett Cottrill.

Direct Deposit: B A COTTRILL. BSB 014585 ACCT 583359786 including students name as reference.

NOTE: Gympie Junior Tennis sign-ons for term 1 are from week 2 at The Reg English Memorial Tennis Centre, Cartwright Rd. FREE JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP

For more information phone Brett Cottrill 0417746795