12 February 2020

Newsletter Articles

LEADERSHIP TEAM REPORT

Hi everyone,

Our students have had a great start to the year showing the Jones Hill expectations of LEARNING, RESPECT, RELATIONSHIPS and SAFETY. A reminder there is no access to playgrounds before or after school to maintain the safety of our students.

Birthdays at School

Due to the number of children with allergies and medical conditions, we will be unable to give cupcakes to children when celebrating birthdays at school. Parents are able to purchase the Birthday Bucket of Ice Blocks from the tuckshop, to share with their child’s class. This is a safer dietary option for the majority of our students. The safety of our students is our priority and we appreciate your understanding and support.

Attendance

Attendance at school is essential and the only way for your child to achieve their best. We aim for 95% attendance or better for every student at Jones Hill. Schools are required to have no unexplained absences. If your child is sick please keep them at home.

Student Absence

Each parent of a child who is of compulsory school age has the legal obligation to ensure their child is enrolled and attends a state school or a non-state school, on every school day for the educational program in which the child is enrolled, unless the parent has a reasonable excuse. The safety and wellbeing of students are the highest priorities for the Department. Parents need to know if their child hasn't turned up for school, and schools need to know when and why a child is absent. Parents are required to contact the school on, or prior, to a student being absent. Absences may be reported by phone, written note or by using the QParent App. State schools will be required to notify parents on the same day that any student is absent from school without explanation. The school will send out daily SMS text messages to notify parents that their child is absent and allows a reply service for you to explain the absence. Currently there are students who are on our system with unexplained absences. You will receive a letter this week regarding these absences. Please return the letter to the office with a brief explanation of what the absence was for.

Student Absence Line – 5489 0566

Illness – Hygiene

Good hygiene is important to help reduce the spread of illnesses and bugs. As part of the Australian Health Curriculum, students are taught about good hygiene practices. Queensland Health advises you can protect yourself and others from infection by practising good hand and respiratory hygiene including:

• Cleaning hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rubs
• Covering your nose and mouth with a tissue or flexed elbow when coughing or sneezing
• Avoiding contact with anyone who has flu-like symptoms.

NAPLAN Online

Year 3 and year 5 students will be participating in the NAPLAN Online testing this year, in the areas of Writing, Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy. The testing will be conducted over two weeks, 12th May – 22nd May. We have been preparing the students with practice sessions in the computer LAB. The children have been doing very well and are enjoying the online testing format.

Interschool Sport

Year 5 and 6 students will be attending interschool sport and they have nominated for one of the following sports – AFL, Rugby League, Netball, Hockey or Soccer. Interschool sport will be held over five consecutive Fridays (21/02, 28/02, 6/03, 13/03, 20/03) and the games will be between local schools. You will be invoiced for the bus and will need to fill in the permission and medical forms and return to the office by Tuesday the 18 February.

Facilities Update

New classrooms have been created for the two extra classes we have this year. We will also have the construction of walkways between prep and the old Admin building, as well as from I block to the hall. Construction will begin this term.

Kind Regards,

James Watt - Principal
Stacey Seed – Deputy Principal

EVENTS CALENDAR

The following students will receive awards on Parade Friday February 14 at 9:00am in the Hall.

Behaviour Awards

LEARNING: Madeleine (PB), Isla (PM), Olivia (1/2C), Hannah-Grace (2MD), Amelia (3D), Lilly (4S), Serenity (4/5W), Charlotte (5CL), Florence (5R), Brent (6C) Wade (6G).

RESPECT: Cohen (PR), Amity-Rose (1H), Katelyn (1L).

RELATIONSHIPS: Garrett (2/3W), Jai (4MD).

JHSS ALL VALUES: Beau (2B), Savannah (3B).

UPDATE FROM THE BUSINESS MANAGER

Canberra Parents

From Sunday 21 June to Friday 26 June, we will be taking part in a National Capital Explorer Tour to Canberra, Sydney and the Snow.

The itinerary has been finalised and on Thursday 20 February we will discuss it and the following in detail at a meeting to be held at the school with Pam Walsh from EducaTours. The meeting will be held in the Year 5 classrooms starting at 5:30pm.

The meeting will cover the following;

• activity details e.g. date, times, locations
• what the students will be doing
• staff attending
• transportation e.g. how the students will be getting to and from activities
• travel to (and from) the airport/airline details
• dress code e.g. suitable clothing to be worn appropriate to the activity
• precautions to be taken e.g. sunscreen, water bottles, medications
• any questions for Pam Walsh regarding the tour or any questions for staff attending

It is important that at least one parent/caregiver attends this meeting as all permission forms will be handed out and explained. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office on 54890555.

Pacer Rebate

Students from our school will soon be undertaking, an educational tour of the national capital. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of$60.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

Overdue Payments

If your students has an overdue account, please be aware that it may affect their ability to be able to participate in upcoming school activities. Statements are sent out regularly to allow parents to see what is outstanding on their accounts. Many families are using payment plans such as Centre Pay and BPoint. If you are having difficulty paying, please contact the Business Manager on 54890555 to discuss utilising these payment plans.

PAYING BY CENTREPAY:

• Complete the Centrepay form and return to the school office for payment plans.
• Complete Centrepay form online

PAYING IN PERSON: Payment by Credit Card, Debit Card, Cash or Cheque.

• Payment can be made at the School Office, Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:00am and 4:00pm
• EFTPOS facilities are available

PAYING BY QPARENT

Payments made be made by credit card using QParent App

Payments made by BPOINT or BPAY may not show up on our systems straight away or overnight. If you have made a payment that is due the next day, please send an email to admin@joneshillss.eq.edu.au with your receipt details or contact the office on 54890 555.

Senior Shirts

We have six size 8 Senior shirts available from the office, $30.00 each. Please contact the office 54890 555 if you would like to purchase them.

LEMs Parent Session

NAPLAN QUESTIONS

Here are some NAPLAN practice questions for everyone to have a go working out.

Year 3 Grammar and Punctuation:

Year 5 Grammar and Punctuation:

Spell the circled word correctly.

Year 3 Numeracy

Year 5 Numeracy

MATHS FUN

Maths at J.H.S.S.

At Jones Hill we build students mathematical thinking through open-ended questioning.

Open-ended questions require more than remembering facts and may have several acceptable answers. You might like to see how you and you children answer the following examples.

Lower level

What numbers can you make that are below 100 and have 6 in the tens place?

Middle level

A number has been rounded off to 1200. What might the number be?

Upper level

Two numbers multiply to give 36,000. What might the two numbers be?

Rob Callaghan
Teacher – 6C

MEET THE STAFF

Chris Walters – Teacher 2/3W

My name is Chris Walters and thank you for making me feel so welcome at Jones Hill State School. I have just moved back to Gympie as I spent the first 17 years of my life in this wonderful town. The move back has been sweeter however as I bring back a wife and 2 children, Sammy (5) and Ava (2). I am a huge sports fan however rugby league is my favourite sport and the Mighty Brisbane Broncos are my team of choice. I also love playing the guitar and doing exercise at the end of the day to help unwind and relax (crazy I know).

I am currently in my 15th year of teaching and have considerably more grey hair now that when I started. I love teaching and helping young people grow in confidence as they learn about our world and their part to play in it.

With Sensei

In Japanese lessons we have been learning to count in Japanese (we have also learnt that I am not very good at drawing pictures as well!). I am very surprised at how many students can already count in Japanese. Perhaps the most important number in Japanese and the number that everyone knows is ichi (One). There is a very common phrase in Japanese which has the number one in it and it goes like this:

一期一会

(ichi go ichi e: one meeting, one experience)

This phrase means that you should cherish every moment in your life as you will only experience each moment once. There will never be a moment in your life that is exactly the same as this one. There will only ever be this moment in your life, make the very most of it.

Stay Japanesey
From せんせい

SCHOOL RUN4FUN COLOUR EXPLOSION

The School Run4Fun Colour Explosion is back with a longer course, new prizes, plus this year we have an inflatable start/finish banner.

When: Friday, March 27, 2020.

Money raised will assist the school in funding vital projects.

All participants will need to wear a white shirt, as they will be covered in powder from head to toe. No white shirt, no running!

Fundraising:

Option 1:

• Participation fee $5.00
• Paid to the school office by Monday March 23
• Money must be in an envelope, clearly labelled with student name and class.

Option 2:

• Create a Student Profile Page at www.myprofilepage.com.au, which is unique to you and register for online fundraising. It’s the easiest way to help your child raise money and to reach your fundraising goal sooner.
• Students must obtain $10 or more in donations using the Sponsorship Form and/or online fundraising.
• You have the option to choose up to five (5) prizes, depending on the amount raised.
• $5 participation fee is not required.
• Cash donations returned to the school office by Monday March 23
• All cash donations must be in an envelope, clearly labelled with student name and class.

How to Order Prizes? (Option 2 only)

Prizes are based on the total amount of sponsorship dollars raised in cash and/or online. Please read the information on pages 7-8 of the Sponsorship Form to ensure that your child claims all of the prizes that they are eligible for.

You have two options to place your prize order:

1. Login or create a Student Profile Page at www.myprofilepage.com.au. On 31/03/2020 prize ordering opens online. Click the ‘ORDER MY PRIZE’ button and then confirm your total amount raised and order your prize/s,
   OR
2. Complete the back page of the Sponsorship Form and return to the school office in a clearly marked envelope with at least five prizes selected.

Please note, all donations need to be finalised on or before Monday, March 23, 2020. Prize ordering closes on 06/04/2020.

Money not in a labelled envelope will not be accepted.

If you have any questions about the Colour Explosion, please email rcrow45@eq.edu.au or come to Mrs Crow’s classroom in F Block before school any morning except Wednesday.

SAGE MUSIC ACADEMY

P&C News

P&C Annual General Meeting

The P&C AGM will be held in the Library on the 10th of March at 6.30pm. All parents/guardian are welcome.

FROM THE TUCKSHOP

Hello everyone,

Welcome back, and a big hello to all our new prep families. We hope everyone is settling in well. We have had a fantastic start to the year and met some lovely new faces around the school.

Just a quick reminder for everyone that the tuckshop operates Tuesday to Friday from 8.00am till 11.30am (first break only).

Our online canteen has a cut off time from 9.00am. Any orders made after that will automatically roll over to the next day that we operate. I’ve had a few families mention that they have had trouble setting up an account or ordering online, please don’t hesitate to pop up and see myself (Codie) at the canteen, I’m more than happy to try and help resolve the issue.

We also now sell ice blocks during first break (excluding Zooper Doopers). These are not on our over the counter menu but will be added to our online menu in the coming weeks. They do not need to be pre ordered if paying with cash.

We also offer fruit break for students. These are our fruit cups which come in a small or large size (MUST BE PRE ORDED) and can be collected from the canteen when your child has their class fruit break. If the fruit cup is not collected at fruit break, it will come out with their lunch order.

Thanks everyone and have a wonderful week.

Codie & Trina – Tuckshop Conveyers

A MESSAGE FROM LOWES

Dear School Community,

With escalating contamination, the full impact of the Coronavirus is not yet known. We are closely monitoring the situation with our uniform makers in China and working to determine what impact this will have on our supply of uniforms to school communities.

The situation is very fluid with increasing cases being reported inside and outside of China. Factories are taking measures to guard against its spread and at this stage are not confident in employees returning to work for fear of contamination.

The factors below may impact our delivery schedule.

1. Chinese Government has extended the break with CNY by 7 days
2. Local councils have ask all people traveling interstate during CNY to stay home for 14 days before they are able to return to work
3. Logistics and transport will be impacted due to lower number of employees and too little stock available for shipping. This will create a flood of garments for despatch when the threat is under control, potentially causing further delays.
4. Australian Federal Government agencies have advised ship’s crew that if they have joined a ship, or have been ashore in mainland China and returned to the vessel from 1 February, they will not be permitted to come ashore in Australia within the 14-day window from last being in China. If any individual member of the crew has been ashore in China and boarded the ship from 1 February, the entire crew will be required to remain on the vessel for the 14 day quarantine period.

For vessels, this means that they must remain at sea or off the coast of Australia for 14 days from when they left China. This tactic, which is beneficial in protecting the health of Australian citizens who work at the port and ship pilots, will cause delays and have a significant impact on vessel arrivals. While this is likely to impact all vessels based on delays and port congestion, in particular, this will impact express services to Australia and New Zealand where the transit time is less than 14 days.

This will also affect Airfreight

We appreciate your understanding and will keep you updated.

Our thoughts are with the families and communities of those affected by the virus during this very difficult time

CAMP AUSTRALIA NEWS

Hello Families,

In Outside School Hours Care, the children experience social skills by forming friendships. Your children get more than care with OSHC. They build self-confidence and learn life skills while having fun and trying something new.

OSHC is a great way for children to step out of their comfort zone and get to know some students at their school they may not have otherwise met.

Plus we are all about convenience. There is no travel time, traffic or complicated arrangements that we can’t handle so feel assured that your child will be playing soccer, eating a healthy snack or learning how to play a board game within minutes of leaving the classroom.

For more information please contact Jessica on 0438051962.

Can we please ask families to cancel their bookings with Camp Australia Jones Hill, if they are no longer using this service. This way there is more booking space for other families.

Week 3 and 4 programs are based on Valentine’s Day activities, craft and water play. We have a wide range of water activities planned such as water colour experiments, giant ice brick melting, coloured bubble play and water balloon rocket games.

Hope you all have a wonderful week three.

Jessica and April – Camp Australia

STAR LUNCH BOXES

HOT SHOTS TENNIS EXCELLENCE PROGRAM

Gympie and District Tennis Association Coach Brett Cottrill will commence Hot Shots Tennis program from Tuesday 11th of February at Jones Hill State School. Groups will be held on Tuesdays (starting 11th of February) - Years 3 to 6 and Wednesdays (starting the 12th February) – Prep and Years 1 and 2, at lunchtimes from 11.00am to 11.40am for a MINIMUM BLOCK OF 7 WEEKS. Costs will be $85.00/pupil, $160.00 for 2 children or $210.00 for three children in the same family.

To register for the program please contact Brett Cottrill on 0417746795 or return the completed form back to the office by Tuesday 11th February.

We accept the Get Started Sporting Vouchers.

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: After school Hot Shots games and Fixtures start commence on Thursday 6th February at The Reg English Memorial Tennis Centre Cartwright Road Gympie from 3.30pm to 5.00 pm.

HOCKEY QUEENSLAND