19 April 2016

Newsletter Articles

Leadership Team Report

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back to term 2. I hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable break with family. We took our three girls camping to Elanda Point for a bit of kayaking and relaxing, which was a great break.

I would like to congratulate the students of 1L who started in their new class with Mrs Loughland last week. Parents should be very proud of the way they have made a quick adjustment and are into the swing of it this term.

We welcome Mrs Loughland who has had a busy time relocating houses from near Blackwater in Central QLD to Gympie. I am sure she will enjoy her time at Jones Hill School.

WIDE BAY SPORTS

Congratulations to the following students who were successful at the Gympie District Sports Trials.

Tennis – Britney F
Boys/Girls Touch – Corben B and Tashma A
Girls Soccer – Tashma A

GREEN DAY

Congratulations to the students who attended the Green day celebration last term. Students enjoyed games organised by Mrs Grogan and music by DJ Mr Nord.

This term the process resets. Students who did not meet the benchmarks last term have an opportunity to achieve the day this term.

To re-clarify how students achieve the Green Day reward, they need to be at school for 95% or more of the time and be on the Green Traffic Light 95% or more of the time. You need to be at school to be considered to be on the Green Traffic Light.

Below I have included a picture of the spreadsheet used to monitor both of these benchmarks.

While there are times when students will be sick and unable to attend school, please ensure you notify the school so that your child's Unexplained absences are zero.

While these are the benchmarks to reach it will not always be possible. If you have any questions about this process, please feel free to make an appointment to discuss any aspects of the Green Day.

SCHOOL INPROVEMENT AREAS

This term we will continue to focus on our 4 improvement areas:

1. Reading - moving every child at least 12 months in reading improvement.
2. Writing - continue to immerse students into the writing process and elements of writing.
3. Continuing to increase the number of students in the Upper 2 Bands of NAPLAN.
4. Maintain our high level of student attendance above 95%.

ANZAC PARADE

This Friday will be our school ANZAC Parade. The parade will be held in the school hall starting at 9am. All are welcome to attend.

ANZAC MARCH

Monday 25th April the school will be taking part in the Gympie community ANZAC Day March. Students and teachers will gather at Smithfield Street, march down Mary Street and finish at Memorial park.

We encourage all students, especially our school leaders to represent our school at the march. The students should wear full school uniform including a hat. We encourage students to bring a water bottle as it can get quite hot whilst waiting to march.

Students are asked to assemble in Smithfield Street at 10:00 am ready to march at 10:30 am. Please contact the school if you would like further details.

DAWN SERVICE

Some students have indicated that they would like to attend the Dawn Service at the Gympie Commemorative Service on Monday 25 April. The service is held at 5 am at the Memorial Lane. Staff and students will be meeting at the corner of Mary Street and Monkland Street, next to the Royal Hotel at 4:45am. Students are asked to wear full school uniform and leadership badges if they have one.

LIFE EDUCATION

The primary school Life Education program consists of 13 curriculum based modules focusing on issues around food and nutrition, personal safety, physical activity, cyber safety, safety with medicine and legal drugs; tobacco, alcohol and caffeine. By taking a comprehensive approach to drug and health education, Life Education modules help children to develop relationship skills, positive communication (both face to face and online), problem solving and decision making skills. If you would like to learn more about what your child will be learning or would like to speak to an educator, please contact your state office and they will be happy to help you. To read the latest news in Life Education, please visit the website. The cost per student is $7 and the program will run during weeks 6 and 7 of this term.

CROSS COUNTRY

Please encourage your child to join in the annual Cross country which is to be held on Wednesday 20th (children born 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004) and Tuesday the 26th of April (children born 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008) on our school ovals.

All races are over modified distances and range between 400m and 2000m and are designed to promote participation in running based activity as part of our JHSS HPE program.

Please note students with an asthma plan should have their reliever and preventer medication up to date. Please write a note covering any child who is unable to run due to medical or other reasons.

The program is as follows:

Wednesday 20th April 9:00 am to 11:00 am children born 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004.
Thursday 26th April 9:00 am to 11:00 am for children born 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008 (preps race first 9:00 am to 9:40am).

CANBERRA TRIP

The latest invoices for the Canberra trip were sent home last week. This means you have now been invoiced for $1050. The total cost to parents at this stage is $1252 but it could be reduced a small amount by the fundraising currently being held.

For those who are not up to date with your payments, and are not on a payment plan, please give us a ring if you are having any difficulty in paying your invoices. It is very important that we keep these payments current as the school is required to pay for the trip in advance.

We will have student sessions with the children about the trip and also plan to have a parent session soon to address any questions or concerns you may have. Please return your media consent form ASAP if you have not already done so and medical forms will be sent out very soon.

All students received on Friday a letter regarding a fundraising BBQ at Bunnings on Saturday May 7. If you are able to help out on this day please return the slip at the bottom of the note or contact the school office staff.

In the meantime, if you have any worries please don't hesitate to give us a call

POP-UP ADVENTURE

We would like to invite all 2 to 4 year olds and their parents to come and join us at our Pop-Up Adventure Play morning. This is a time to focus on fine and gross motor skills while having fun. Younger siblings are welcome.

NAPLAN

This term (May 10-12), students in years 3 & 5 will take part in the NAPLAN program across Australia. Our students have been looking at the types of questions they will be expected to answer since the start of the year. They have also had a practice run through of the Grammar and Punctuation test from a previous year. Our goal has been to ensure our students are as comfortable with the process as possible and they should not feel pressured or stressed by the assessment days.

Included in the newsletters from this point will be some sample questions for you to have a look at with you child.

Kind Regards,
James Watt and Helen Grogan

Events Calendar

PARADE AWARDS

No awards this week due to special ANZAC Parade.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC EISTEDDFOD

Any students interested in performing a solo or duet in this year's Gympie Eisteddfod, please see Mrs Thompson for a note. Entries are due in on May 1, 2016.

This is a great opportunity for your child to extend their skills further by performing as a soloist or as a duo. This is a wonderful chance for your child to gain confidence and show off their abilities in a more formal atmosphere.

Nat Thompson - Instrumental Music Teacher

From the Music Room

Reminder: All woodwind and Brass students in their 2nd or 3rd year of learning their instrument are encouraged to attend band practice on Tuesday mornings at 8am.

Anyone wishing to participate in the solo or duet section of the Gympie Eisteddfod, the closing date is MAY 2nd. Go to http://www.gympieeisteddfod.com.au/ to register online or print forms. If you are unsure of what item your child would perform in, please contact me for clarification nthom273@eq.edu.au

STRINGS

Fanfare dates have been confirmed and Jones Hill Strings are playing on Thursday May 26 at 9:30am. This session ends at 12:00pm and it is lovely if students and parents can stay to hear the other local schools. Our heat will be held at the Gympie South School Hall. We will have news about the eisteddfod and beginner concert in our next newsletter.

Judy Luke - Strings

Chappy's Chat

Welcome back to term 2 and welcome to all the new faces around the school. I am so excited to be back at school this term and excited for all the fun things that are planned. I just want to take a moment to thank all of you for your support of chaplaincy and for the opportunities that have been presented to our students through chaplaincy.

In the wider chaplaincy scope, one of our bigger fundraisers is coming up on the 28th of May and is called Spinoff. Spinoff is a great way to raise these funds as it can potentially bring in money for a little work. The idea behind spinoff is that teams of between 5 and 10 people register online and go about finding sponsorship from their own friends and family members. Then on Saturday the 28th of May from 3-5pm the team goes to Buderim where they have one spin bike per team and half an hour to ride as fast as they can. The money raised then goes to chaplaincy here at Jones Hill School to provide resources and other items that will make coming to school that much more enjoyable for our students. If you have any questions, please feel free to come and talk to me at school on Thursday's or Friday's, or email me at cforw0@eq.edu.au .

I hope you have a wonderful week, Chappy Caitlin

Relay for Life

Year 6 students received a letter last week regarding joining our School Relay for Life Team for 2016. A reminder to join early as the price will increase as we get closer to the event. If you would like more information please contact Jennifer Hurren in the office.

Playgroup

Come join us for a fun morning at playgroup. We meet in the hall every Thursday morning from 9am to 11am. Please bring a

• Healthy morning tea for your child
• Water bottle
• Hat

Coffee and tea provided for parents. A gold coin donation is collected to help with resources. Please contact Jennifer in the office if you have any questions.

Flashing School Zone Lights

In the near future flashing light school zone signs will be installed on McIntosh Creek Road.

Jones Hill School was nominated to receive these new signs as part of a Queensland Government commitment to improve school road safety.

You will notice that the new signs look similar to standard school zone signs with the addition of a red flashing ring around the speed limit as well as two flashing yellow lights at the top of the sign. The installation of flashing light school zone signs is proven to improve visibility of school zones, serving as an active reminder for motorists to slow down.

So next time you're dropping off or picking up your child, keep an eye out for the new signs and make sure you stick to the signed speed limit.

NAIDOC WEEK

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia every year and this year will be held from July 3 to July 10. Below is a range of items which may be purchased to support Murri Kids as part of the NAIDOC Week celebrations. If you would like to order any of the products please fill in the order form and return this with payment to the school before Friday May 20. Please note no late orders can be accepted.

P&C News

Welcome to Term 2. Thank you to everyone who contributed to our fundraisers last term and please continue to support our school with this term's fundraisers.

BULB FUNDRAISER

For those who ordered, your purchases can be collected from the office. Thank you to all those who participated in this fundraiser.

MOTHER'S DAY RAFFLE

We have an amazing selection of prizes to win in our Mother's Day Raffle this year.

1st Prize - Pedicure with Shellac nails kindly donated by Nat Bates
2nd Prize - Shellac polish fingers & toes kindly donated by #Beauty
3rd Prize - Family pass to Underwater World kindly donated by The Weller Family
4th Prize - Beauty bag filled with beauty products kindly donated by The Zerner Family

This year we will be sending a small booklet of raffle tickets home for each family to sell. The tickets will go home with students later this week. Tickets are $1 and will be drawn at parade on Friday 6th May. Tickets need to be returned by Thursday 5th May.

MOTHER'S DAY STALL

We will be holding our Mother's Day stall on Thursday 5th May. All classes will be given the opportunity to visit the stall to purchase something. Items will range from 50cents to $6.00.

Donations to the stall are greatly welcome.

We require some parents to help with the stall. The stall is run from 9.00am to approximately 2.00pm so if you are able to help, even just for an hour please contact Sasha on 0409 429 242

SCHOOL DISCO - FRIDAY 17TH JUNE

The P&C is holding a disco in the school hall on Friday 17th June. Time 6pm - 8.30pm -Cost $5 per student or $10 per family. The disco is only for Jones Hill State School students. It will be supervised by the P&C committee and any parent volunteers. Food and drink will be available for purchase on the night. All proceeds go to the P&C which supports the school.

*** If any parents are able to assist with supervising or helping in the canteen please contact Sasha on 0409 429 242 or Janessa on 0438 832 973***

Fete Meeting

A meeting will be held straight after parade this Friday to discuss the upcoming fete in October. We are hoping that this will be a very successful community event and we get as many as possible coming along to enjoy the day! Our fete is totally volunteer driven and will comprise the collective efforts of our children and their families. School community support will ensure our fete is a great success financially while enriching our school spirit. All funds raised will go directly to a projects that benefit the whole school and this year we hope to air-condition more classrooms! While the Committee will oversee the organisation of our fete, it is the support by many other parents and volunteers who participate and contribute by giving their own time for setting up/cleaning up, selling tickets etc. to using their skills for baking or craft stalls. Maybe you are able to donate prizes or know a business we could contact to sponsor our fete. Please come along to this meeting as everyone will have a way in which they will be able to help. Hope to see you there. If you have any ideas to share and can't make it please send them to the P & C email address p&c@jonhillss.eq.edu.au.

Tennis News

Gympie and District Tennis Association Coaches Brett Cottrill and Matt Watkins will commence coaching/hot shots program from Tuesday 26th April 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 26th April 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: Primary School Challenge 2 will be held on Monday 18th April at The Reg English Memorial Tennis Centre from 3.30pm to 5.30pm.