All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my mother - Abraham Lincoln.

I hope all of the mums (and mother figures) in our school community had a wonderful Mother's Day and were spoilt with acts of appreciation from your children. I would like to thank our wonderful P&C team for organising our Mother's Day stall last week and also thank the volunteers who gave their time to assist with running the stall providing our students with the opportunity to purchase a gift for their mum. I saw many happy faces purchasing gifts last week and I hope their obvious happiness and love was shared with their mothers last Sunday. Thank you to all of our mums, and mother figures, in our community for the work you do in supporting our students and families.

Parent Code of Conduct

When you sign in at the office you will notice a Parent Code of Conduct information sheet near the ipad for your attention. This policy is being adopted by every state school across Queensland and will become the standard by which we operate when interactions occur between parents and school. Much of what is included in the Parent Code of Conduct is already well embedded within our school community, which is why we have such a positive and supportive culture. It is truly a concern that this is not the case in many schools across Australia, evidenced by recent media reports of school staff frequently being abused and even threatened by parents and community members as a matter of course. To me, basic courtesy and the respect that we have for each other should underpin how we interact as adults. I also frequently remind all in the school community that we are role models for our students; what we do demonstrates to our students the standards we accept. I am thankful that Rochedale does not have the serious issues other schools report and reinforce that we are all working towards the same common goal of ensuring that your child, our students, are happy, safe, healthy and active learners. Thank you for your continued support.

NAPLAN

The week has arrived and from tomorrow our students in Years 3 and 5 will participate in the annual National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) to assess their skills and understanding in the areas of reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. One way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure your child that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program, and to urge them to simply do the best they can. At school we will endeavour to make these tests as stress free and supportive for all students as possible. Below are some strategies which can assist children to not become overwhelmed when sitting NAPLAN and as you read them you will also see that these tips are not just about NAPLAN but can also apply to other assessment tasks students may worry about undertaking at school.

1. Be prepared – get a good night’s sleep and have a healthy breakfast (you can’t concentrate or focus on tasks for longer periods of time when you are tired and hungry).
2. Concentrate on one question at a time. If you are unsure of the answer make note of it and go back to it later.
3. If you get stuck, don't know an answer or begin to feel anxious, breathe and try to relax (wiggle your toes, stretch, etc.).
4. Have a go – attempt every question, even if you are not sure of the answer.
5. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Testing is only one way in which your teacher gathers information on your learning.

I am sure every student will do their best.

Learner Profile: Attribute focus for the week – Communicators – Students demonstrate this by using their best manners, listening, appreciating other people’s point of view and showing respect to everyone within our school community at all times.

Kind regards
Keith Graham
Principal

Reading at Rochedale Prep – Year 2: Parent Information Session (Supporting Early Reading Skills)

Why is “Every child, every night reads” so important?  

The teaching of reading is core business at Rochedale State School.  At Rochedale State School we acknowledge that …

• reading takes place in a positive environment that maximises interest, motivation and confidence.
• all children’s reading competence can improve.
• reading is the process of understanding texts to encourage thinking.
• when reading, students actively engage in the elements of problem solving, seek solutions to inquiry questions, and acquire knowledge through texts.
• reading takes place within an active literacy framework and is integrated across all Learning Areas.

We believe that reading at home should foster a positive atmosphere and encourage our children to love reading. 

Research tells us that a child struggling to read competently by the end of Year 3 may continue to experience challenges with their learning.  This highlights the importance of reading in the early years and the need to ensure children are provided with enough reading mileage.

Please join us for a parent information session explaining Reading at Rochedale (Prep to Year 2 focus); presented by Mrs. Denise Wardle (Deputy Prep & Year 1) and Mrs. Jessica Rigby (Deputy Year 2). 

The information session will cover the following:

• Beliefs around Reading
• Why is Reading so important?
• What does reading look like at school?
• How you can help?

Numbers will be limited due to COVID restrictions and capacity in our RPAC venue; we have made available two session times.

Sessions: 4:30pm – 5:15pm & 5:30pm- 6:15pm in RPAC on Tuesday May 25.

Click on the link below to register for your place. All persons attending the session will be required to complete a COVID Declaration form.

TO REGISTER- book your seat at https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/supporting-early-reading-skills-session-tickets-144571981689

Kind regards
Jessica Rigby
Deputy Principal Year 2 / Head of Diverse Learning and Enrichment

Dear Parents/caregivers,

Transdisciplinary learning focuses upon students building conceptual understanding from across a range of learning areas. The goal is to provide students with many opportunities within a range of experiences to build their knowledge. These tasks give the students different perspectives on the key and related concepts thus assisting them to develop their understanding.

The tasks teachers draw on are both age and developmentally appropriate and are based upon the sequence of achievement standards and content descriptors from the Australian Curriculum. As students progress through their schooling these tasks become more complex and may draw upon a greater range of learning areas. The aim is to combine content knowledge and understanding with the development of higher order thinking skills.

The IB focuses on how people learn and the acquisition of transferable skills and concepts rather than just focusing on gaining content knowledge. The IB supports understanding that concepts are transferable across disciplines (IBO, n.d), and therefore learning in one subject area can assist learning within another.

Knowledge by its design, supports students in connecting their understanding of concepts and skills across disciplines and in real life contexts. By doing this within an atmosphere of transdisciplinary inquiry-based learning and teaching students are encouraged to think about how the world works and ask questions to gain more knowledge and deeper understanding. In conclusion, transdisciplinary inquiry-based learning allows students to be proactive partners of their own learning, which enables them to build the skills and knowledge base to be lifelong learners.

Have a great week
Paul Kelly
PYP Coordinator

Welcome to Week 4 of Term 2!

Premier's Reading Challenge

Premier's Reading Challenge starts today, Monday May 10.

Students are encouraged to record the books they read and reach their target before Friday August 27. Students will receive a record form from their class teachers. Additional sheets can be found on the PRC website along with a list of recommended books for reading.

https://readingchallenge.education.qld.gov.au/about/booklists

Happy Reading Everyone!!!

Brain Teasers

Q. What's smarter than a talking bird?

A. a spelling bee.

Congratulations to Beth in 3G for working this one out.

Captain Read It

Congratulations to our Captain Read It Winners 3 of Term 2

Prep C            Thomas J
1A                   Levia-Ora N
2P                   Maja J
3W                  Harry P
4E                   Grace M
5J                    Mehar B

Have a great week!
Jackie and Lorraine

ABSENCE LINE 3340 8388 or

text 0427 890 693 (24 hours)

*******IT IS NOW A REQUIREMENT THAT ALL STUDENT ABSENCES BE REPORTED ON THE DAY OF THE ABSENCE TO THE SCHOOL OFFICE*******

To report a student absence, please call the absence line on 3340 8388 or text our SMS line on 0427 890 693.  These lines are both open 24 hours a day.

When recording an absence on either our phone line or SMS line, please state the following:

1. Your name
2. Student's name
3. Student's class
4. Reason for absence

Please speak clearly and slowly and help us with spelling of names when calling the phone line.

Parents interested in meeting with others to pray for our school community, are invited to join the Parent Prayer Group meeting on Friday mornings 8.40-8.50am in the RPAC.

Because this is within drop off time, school parents do not need to sign in at the office. However, if there are grandparents or others doing drop off with you, they will need to sign in at the office as a school visitor.

For more info please contact Andie Eames – a.eames@optusnet.com.au